Chapter 88 Hope Blue Diamond (V)
◎Forgery◎
The melodious dance music echoed throughout the spacious hall, and the dance floor became noisy. In the drunken heat, everyone slowly relaxed themselves and began to dance or chat with their favorite people.
The sofa seats beside the dance floor were filled with beautiful young girls. They looked at all the men with unscrupulous eyes. Most of the girls focused their attention on the captain of the guard intentionally or unintentionally.
Among those old or ugly guests, the officer was the youngest. He seemed to have a good personality, was easy to approach, and was quite handsome. Many bold and aggressive girls had already regarded him as their prey. They were not fools. Living in such a chaotic place, they were best at observing people's words and expressions and figuring out other people's intentions. The mayor brought them here, and they knew what their mission was without being told.
So in just half an hour, four girls came forward and asked him to dance. Raphael hid behind the curtain and watched François go from being at ease in the beginning, to being slightly impatient, and then to being numb and speechless. Finally, he found some reason to leave the dance floor.
Raphael identified the direction he was heading towards, which was the lounge.
Raphael thought about it, then carefully walked out from the other side and stood next to a girl. This girl was the one who had been most enthusiastic towards François just now. Judging from the fact that she kept looking towards the lounge, she probably still hadn't given up on this young talent.
"He's really young and promising, isn't he?" Raphael struggled to control his voice, imitating a female voice and acting with empathy, "Maybe I should try to contact him--"
The girl turned her head quickly, and when she saw Raphael, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes, followed by greater vigilance: "What?"
Raphael didn't seem to notice her slightly hostile expression: "Maybe I should be more proactive? Wait - did someone just pass by?"
The girl was so shocked that she didn't even bother to be on guard against the inexplicable Raphael. Like a white swan in battle, she stretched out her slender white neck and cursed like a cannonball: "A bunch of untrustworthy bitches! We agreed to fair competition! I knew you were lying to me! Damn it, I'll scratch that woman's face!"
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and walked towards the lounge with great momentum. Her steps were so fast that the hem of her skirt even created a wave of folds behind her.
Raphael watched her walk over, then he spread out his fan to cover half of his face—mainly his particularly eye-catching eyes—and moved closer to a group of whispering girls: "My God, that gentleman is so popular. If I hadn't sprained my ankle, I would have wanted to go over and chat with him."
The girls, who were keeping their eyes and ears open, quickly caught the key words in this sentence. They turned their heads and happened to see the girl who was walking towards the lounge with her skirt lifted up.
Raphael stood where he was, watching several people suddenly stand up and rush over to defend the fruits of their victory, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Well, hopefully those girls can hold off Francois for a little longer.
Thinking of this, he didn't waste any more time. He turned his eyes and quickly caught Mayor Berser who was flying around like a butterfly in the venue. He was flirting with a young girl. The girl had a slender figure. The visual effect standing next to him was quite explosive, causing Raphael to involuntarily look away.
When Raphael thought that he would soon be the person around the mayor, he couldn't help but feel a sense of humor.
Anthony was bragging about his noble status in Dudleigh to a girl he had just fallen in love with. The girl looked at him with admiration, revealing expressions of amazement, nervousness, and admiration in response to his every word, along with soft gasps. Anthony's pores opened up with comfort, and he turned a hunting story into a story in which he fought a wild boar with his bare hands for 300 rounds and finally won the victory, for which he received a commendation from the emperor.
When he said this, something vaguely flashed through his mind, and his brain, which was lightened by the wine and the girl's praise, instinctively realized that this thing must be very important. But before he could think deeply and grasp that inspiration, a voice gently interrupted his thinking.
"Dear sir, may I have the honor to dance with you?"
Anthony turned his head unhappily, wanting to reject this rude lady who interrupted his pursuit of love: "I'm sorry, ma'am, I think - oh."
His voice caught comically in his throat.
The woman in front of him was tall and slender. The amber dress looked like gilded sunlight on her. Her long light golden hair gently fell on her snow-white shoulders and chest. Her perfect face was shining with a pair of noble lavender eyes, making her look like a water fairy born from daffodils. No one could be so cruel as to refuse her invitation.
"Oh, you - what did you say? Of course!" Anthony already had two sons and a large number of illegitimate children, and so many mistresses that they could fill a lounge, but he still felt the helplessness of a young boy who had just fallen in love. For a moment, he felt that he had fallen in love!
"Of course!" he emphasized again. Thinking of this beautiful lady taking the initiative to invite him, the pride of a man in his heart swelled infinitely. He touched his carefully curled beard with one hand and completely ignored the girl next to him who was talking to him enthusiastically just now. The other party was so angry that her cheeks turned red. She glared at Anthony fiercely and walked away angrily in her high heels.
"It's an honor to receive your favor." Anthony bent down and extended his hand like a gentleman, wondering a little puzzledly, why didn't he notice such a beautiful girl just now? And she has a pair of purple eyes... But this doubt was immediately shattered by the other party's stunning beauty.
"Eulalia, sir." Raphael suppressed his nausea and placed his hand in the other's palm with dignity. At the same time, he took the initiative to give his pseudonym and gave the other a fake smile.
"Your name is so beautiful. It reminds me of the roses in the summer garden and the newborn goddess in the fountain." Anthony began to praise Raphael's pseudonym and racked his brains to use his poor literary skills to leave a better impression on the girl. At this time, he regretted very much that he did not study rhetoric well when he was young, otherwise he could now say something awe-inspiring like "sapphire blue melancholy" and "noble loneliness".
Raphael's expression twisted strangely. He suppressed his smile and maintained his dignity: "Thank you for your compliment. My uncle will be happy with your appreciation."
"Your uncle?" Anthony tried to find a new topic. They slid into the dance floor with the crowd. The music floated briskly. Miss Eulalia spun lightly, and her long hair shone beautifully like gold. When she faced Anthony again, the mayor felt that he was definitely shot by the golden arrow of Cupid.
"I was named after my uncle," replied Miss Eulalia, "a distinguished scholar who studied at the Florentine Seminary and, like you, a devout believer."
The name Anthony comes from Saint Antonio. Parents who give their children this name must be religious believers.
"Florence Seminary?" Anthony was stunned. That was an aristocratic academy. He carefully looked at the girl in front of him. He didn't expect that she was a lady from a noble family. Now he was more interested. It happened that the music played a small climax. He subconsciously put his arms around her waist with the rhythm. She also took a step forward, as if she was throwing herself into his arms. Anthony felt itchy in his heart. Before he could savor the slender and flexible waist in his palm, the beautiful lady slipped out of his hand like a fish.
"The weather is very good tonight, and we can see a beautiful moon. If you like, I'll wait for you in the garden behind the Town Hall in an hour." Miss Eulalia lifted her skirt and bowed gently to him with a reserved smile.
After understanding what she meant, Anthony became alert. He watched the young lady leave the dance floor, thinking about what gift he could give her to make her willingly become his lover.
After leaving Mayor Berthe's sight gracefully, Raphael immediately rushed into the bathroom like a cat with its tail on fire. The sound of girls laughing and talking continued to come from the lounge next door. François must be staying in there in pain, receiving abundant love. After Raphael made sure that there was no one in the corridor, she immediately opened the window holding her skirt and looked around.
The bathroom window faced the path leading to the back garden of the Town Hall. He struggled to climb out of the narrow window, and had to be careful not to get caught by his overly fluffy and heavy skirt. By the time he climbed out of the window, he was already sweating all over.
He closed the window. It was already completely dark and the music in the banquet hall became faint. Raphael identified the direction and went to the vestibule where the carriages were parked. He easily found the only person who was still at his post.
The guests were enjoying themselves inside, and the idle coachmen gathered in the servants' small house to gamble. The coachman who sat in the carriage with his back straight seemed a little too conspicuous.
"Let's go, we got it." Raphael took out the small seal in his hand and gestured. With a flip of his hand, the seal disappeared in his hand. This set of movements was so smooth and flowing that it looked like magic. Leshet was stunned for a moment and subconsciously began to wonder how he did it.
Of course Raphael couldn't tell him that this was what he had learned in his childhood. He quickly climbed onto the carriage, took out the blank paper and Anthony's document hidden in his chest, and with the faint light flashing outside the window, he took the time to familiarize himself with the handwriting on them.
Leshert put ink and quills in the carriage. The quality of the things was average, certainly not as good as what Raphael used in the past, but he couldn't ask for too much in this situation.
Leshert drove the carriage, not towards the hotel, but directly out of the city, while Raphael in the carriage began to forge documents.
At the same time, among a group of girls vying for beauty, François, who always maintained a mask-like smile, finally felt annoyed. He had a very strange personality. Sometimes he was willing to show an almost endless good temper to others, as if he would not get angry no matter what, and sometimes he would fly into a rage because of a random word - of course, his way of flying into a rage was different from others. Others chose to throw things and hit people, but he liked to walk around the garden maze with an axe late at night.
So when he felt annoyed, he was less willing to tolerate these girls.
Francois sat up straight on the sofa, gently pushed away the two girls leaning on him, pinched the root of his nose, and when he raised his eyes again, the smile in his eyes was still there, but there was something more shuddering: "Ladies, the banquet outside is very exciting. It would be such a pity if your brilliance was missing. Give other gentlemen some opportunities to dance with you."
His tone is still soft.
It was continuous, but for some reason, everyone who heard him speak stood up involuntarily.
The girls hesitated for a moment. They instinctively felt the dangerous aura in him. No one dared to say anything, and they all left the lounge obediently. When they were about to leave the officer's sight, they began to whisper to each other.
The most enthusiastic girl who ran over first whispered angrily, "Damn it, if that woman hadn't talked me into coming here, I would have definitely coaxed a rich idiot into my life by now. When I get back, I'm going to give her a smack in the face and make her open her silly purple eyes wide and remember my face!"
François, who was lying tired on the sofa, suddenly raised his eyelids.
"Wait a minute, that—" He paused. He couldn't remember the girl's name, even though he had spoken to her more than once in the previous conversation. But it didn't matter. He casually glanced over this small detail. The tiredness and irritability in his eyes were swept away, and a twisted joy as strong as fire welled up in his eyes. "Who did you say you saw just now?"
The girl hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to mention the woman. It was because she was so beautiful. If the captain saw her, she would have no hope at all. "No, it's nothing. She's just an ordinary woman. She said nonsense to me. I was a little angry, but it's not a big deal..."
François stood up. As a man, his height was very oppressive. He walked up to the girl, still smiling, and stretched out his hand.
With a muffled sound, the girls around screamed in fear. Several of them stepped back in fear, even stepping on their skirts and falling to the ground.
This seemingly polite and gentle man grabbed Sally's hair without saying a word and slammed her head against the wall. He controlled the strength just right so as not to cause bleeding, but the girl's snow-white forehead soon became red and swollen.
"Don't lie, miss. This is not a good habit." He still smiled, but this time, no one would think that he was in a good temper. The smartest ones had already dragged their companions away. Of course, they did not dare to resist. Even if he wanted to beat Sally here, what else could they do? Keeping oneself safe is their philosophy of survival.
"Okay, please think carefully again, what does the person who asked you to come here look like?" The softer he whispered, the more scared Sally became. She had a vague feeling that she had offended a serious person who seemed to have some mental problems.
The girl couldn't stop her tears from flowing down: "She, she is very beautiful, with golden hair... wearing an amber dress, and her eyes are purple, lavender, very special, I have never seen such a color before..."
"Oh," Francois exclaimed softly, full of joy, "yes, of course, very, very handsome.... Do you like him, too?"
He used "he" here. Sally thought he made a mistake in using the word, but she didn't dare to correct him. She just suppressed her sobs and said, "I, I don't like it..."
Francois raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction: "What a girl with no taste."
His comment made Sally shudder. She choked up and quickly changed the subject: "Yes, yes! I like her!"
"Ah," the smile on Francois's face disappeared, and he stared at Sally expressionlessly, as if he was staring at a shivering poor lamb, "Who allowed you to like it?"
Sally was almost scared to death. Her voice was choked in her throat, her face turned red, and her whole face was soaked with tears.
François looked at her for a while, then suddenly lost interest, loosened his hand, and watched Sally slide down to the ground exhausted. He walked around her briskly, like a wolf seeing its prey at its doorstep.
"My dear, you knew I was here, so you came to find me, right? Oh my God, I didn't find you. It's really my fault, but I will bring the most beautiful rose and send it to you, and then-" The Mad Emperor of Calais licked his lips and smiled strangely and happily, "catch you."
The author has something to say:
I don’t know why things have been happening so fast these past few days. I have monthly exams tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and I have to correct papers again. It seems like I have suddenly changed to updating every other day. This frequency is irregular but also somewhat regular, regular but not so regular… Maybe this is life [deep]
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