Standing on the bow of the "Moonlight" cruise ship, gazing at the bay, this was Zhang Fan's third trip to "Moonlight Island".
Before returning to Benghazi to assume his post, Zhang Fan suddenly received a letter bearing the personal seal of Marquis Charles, inviting him to the Marquis's mansion to discuss important matters.
After much deliberation, Zhang Fan decided that he should at least meet with Marquis Charles about this inexplicable letter.
The next time I return to Adelaide, I may not have the same opportunity to speak with the other party calmly; by then, we may already be mortal enemies.
On the ship, Zhang Fan kept thinking about what he should say to Marquis Charles. Although Grand Duke Ryan had given him the task, he hadn't told him the specific details of how to complete it.
This also means that Zhang Fan has gained a great deal of authority: no one can consult him, and Dean Erwin will no longer communicate with him; he needs to rely on his own wisdom to complete this task independently.
Although Erwin had given him a lot of information, he still felt it was far from enough. Nothing could provide more firsthand information than seeing the target in person.
So Zhang Fan came, but he didn't actually know how much information Marquis Charles possessed about their side. While you're gathering intelligence on the other side, they're also gathering intelligence on you.
He was still unsure how much information he should reveal, or to what extent, to gain the other party's trust.
Let's adapt to the situation.
The Moonlight had already docked, and Zhang Fan couldn't figure it out, so he gave up and just went for it.
At the dock, Zhang Fan saw that familiar figure again, but this time there were far fewer people to greet him. There was only a black limousine, driven by the butler Ralph, and the chief bodyguard William Xia was not there.
"Oh my, Lieutenant General Zhang, you've risen through the ranks so quickly!" a young woman wearing a light green dress and a wide-brimmed sun hat said in a strange tone.
Zhang Fan was too lazy to argue with her. He was truly here on a heavy responsibility and didn't have time to argue with her.
"Butler Ralph, please take me to see the Marquis."
"Yes, General."
After Zhang Fan got into the car, Alice sat opposite him, pouting, and turned her head to look out the window, refusing to speak to him. She was angry that she had tried to argue with him but hadn't received a response.
The car drove directly into the Marquis's mansion's back garden.
"Please wait here for a moment, General. The Marquis will not be back until tonight." Butler Ralph opened the car door and asked Zhang Fan to get out. "The Marquis has already instructed that you should not wander around in the garden. He will come to see you as soon as he returns. If you need anything, just tell the servants around you."
Zhang Fan got out of the car and found a shady pavilion to sit down. He had arrived early again, and of course, it was intentional. He wasn't there just to see Marquis Charles.
To Zhang Fan's surprise, he sat in the back garden for more than an hour, and the servants changed his tea several times, but Madam Qiu did not appear, nor did anyone send any messages.
Just as Zhang Fan was getting bored, he saw the butler Ralph walking over alone.
"Forgive my intrusion, General, but I wonder if it will disturb your enjoyment?" Ralph said, bowing slightly. "I would like to have a few words with you, General, and I also have some matters I would like to ask you about. Is that alright?"
"Please sit down." Zhang Fan was somewhat surprised. He knew that Ralph was Alice's personal butler, and his impression of him was that he was shrewd and loyal to Alice. However, he had hardly ever interacted with him before. This time, the other party took the initiative to talk to him, which must not be as simple as just chatting.
"General, you are truly a young hero." Ralph said with admiration after sitting down, "Of all the young talents I have ever seen in my life, none can surpass you."
"Old Steward, you flatter me." Zhang Fan replied politely. "As long as you are in the right place at the right time, even a pig can fly. I just happened to be lucky enough to be at the forefront of the times."
"Hahaha, it's really fun talking to the general." Ralph laughed. "I should have met the general sooner; now I feel like I met him too late."
Zhang Fan frowned. Although he was now a lieutenant general, he was not yet worthy of groveling and currying favor with the Marquis of Charlie's mansion or Princess Alice's personal butler.
Zhang Fan simply remained silent, waiting to see what the other person would say next.
“I should apologize to the general first.” Seeing that Zhang Fan did not speak, Ralph stood up and bowed. “I have offended you in the past. Please forgive me, General.”
"What do you mean?" Zhang Fan was somewhat flattered. Wasn't this just a polite greeting?
“General, you may not know this,” Ralph said solemnly, “Back in Ryan Military Academy, I tampered with the mech simulator in the training center and almost killed you.”
"I'm so sorry!" Ralph said, bowing deeply once more.
"Old butler, you flatter me. I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I?" Zhang Fan quickly helped Ralph up. Although he didn't know why the other man's attitude towards him had changed so drastically, as a junior, he couldn't accept being bowed to by an old man.
As for what Ralph said about tampering with things, Zhang Fan naturally knew about it. Dean Erwin had already investigated the matter thoroughly, but since it involved Princess Alice and the Charlie family, the matter was shelved after the investigation was completed and no further investigation was pursued.
“I planned this whole thing from beginning to end, and I hope the general will not take his anger out on Princess Alice.” Ralph’s eyes softened when he spoke of Alice. “The princess only wanted to vent her anger and never intended to take the general’s life. It was I who went too far in my anger.”
“I would have forgotten about it long ago if the old steward hadn’t mentioned it.” Zhang Fan smiled. “Don’t hold it against me. I have never held a grudge against Princess Alice over this.”
In Zhang Fan's view, Alice and Ralph are superficially master and servant, but they look more like grandfather and granddaughter.
Ralph was only a second-class butler at the Marquis Charles's mansion, and his status among the butlers in the mansion was only slightly above average. However, Zhang Fan knew that Ralph actually held the title of viscount and had been a major general who had retired early due to injury.
From the moment Alice was born, Ralph took care of her, truly watching her grow from an infant to a crawling, walking child, and growing up little by little. Marquis Charles and Madame Autumn combined did not spend as much time with Alice as Ralph did.
"That's good, I can rest assured now." Ralph nodded, then changed the subject, "General, are you aware of a major event that is about to happen to Princess Alice?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Princess Alice will be married to Prince Reinhardt three days from now."
"Oh! I see..." Zhang Fan was surprised to hear this news, but it was also within his expectations.
Reinhardt is now eager to tie himself to the Marquis Charles, and the most suitable way at present is naturally through marriage.
“Princess Alice originally intended to discuss this matter with the General today, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it, so I took the liberty of speaking to the General,” Ralph said, bowing. “Please forgive me, General.”
"It's fine," Zhang Fan replied vaguely.
No wonder I only saw Alice and Ralph at the dock today, without even a single bodyguard, including the captain of the guard William. It turns out she was looking for an opportunity to talk to me.
But why are you telling me this?
“Perhaps everyone thinks that becoming a princess is an incredibly honorable thing.” Ralph picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and looked into Zhang Fan’s eyes. “But I know that only Princess Alice does not think so.”
"Although she is a princess, Princess Alice will never be happy or joyful for the rest of her life."
"I see..." Zhang Fan acted as if it were none of his business. "The old steward should have spoken to the Marquis about this, or at least to the Marquis's wife. As an outsider, I can't help you."
“This was something the Marquis had already agreed to,” Ralph shook his head. “As for the Marquis’s wife, she has been in the palace with the Queen these past few days, and I have been unable to send her any messages.”
That's true. Given the current security level of the Ryan Palace, it's not an easy task for anyone to exchange information with the outside world.
The news of Prince Reinhardt and Princess Alice's early marriage was not made public, and even Zhang Fan only learned about it now from Ralph.
In other words, Marquis Charles wanted to get things done quickly and decisively, even keeping it a secret from Alice's mother and his own wife.
This family is really interesting!
Since it wasn't his business, Zhang Fan was happy to relax and politely said, "Is there anything I can help with, old housekeeper? Please feel free to ask if it's within my ability."
"With the general's words, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!" Ralph was overjoyed and slammed his hand on the table, startling Zhang Fan.
Ralph excitedly grabbed Zhang Fan's hand: "There is an urgent matter at hand that only the general can handle."
"Wha...what's wrong?" Zhang Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.
"Please, General, elope with Princess Alice."
puff--
Zhang Fan spat out a mouthful of tea.
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