His Excellency the Count of Grandet

At the coming-of-age ceremony, except for the target that the Grandet family really intended to befriend—people with higher power—the others were basically people of comparable status.Not necessarily friends, because in this era of collision between capitalism and feudalism, which is called by later generations, interests are an important factor in deciding whether to be friends or not.

If Charles was down, only Alphonse would treat him as before.Forget about other friends, as Annette once taught, those people will be fine if they don't take the opportunity to make trouble!

That's why Charles said that before that Alphonse was his only friend.On the one hand, this shows the scarcity of real friends, and on the other hand, it shows that he has many other so-called "friends".

"It's been a long time, my dear Charles! I've been thinking about it for a while!"

"That's right! This dress is from Buisson, right? It makes you even more handsome!"

"Haha, it's too late for you to boast! I didn't see that our dear Mr. Grandet has already been able to rent the Earl's favorite garden as a banquet venue. It can be seen that before we knew it, Charles already had some new friends. ..."

A group of people surrounded Shire, and each said some beautiful words to make the master happy.

It seems to be talking casually, but in fact it is more like a spy wrapped in another gorgeous appearance.No one cares about the real purpose of the banquet they were invited to——Charles is an adult, and his attention is all on what they think is more important——the financial resources and interpersonal relationships shown by the Grandet family, and whether they have entered a new era their higher class.

The last point is the most important, because it means that the Grandet family has the hope of becoming their springboard.In other words, it is more valuable to be a "friend" and worthy of a good win over. Of course, Shire should be held in the sky.

Those who ask know these things, and those who listen also know.It would be a fool to take flattery seriously, Charles went in one ear and out the other, all he thought was: after the birthday party is over, he will be relieved!The flashy atmosphere of Paris is not popular in the mainland, and it is more suitable for him to display his strength.

The current peaceful situation, to use a straightforward word to describe it, is actually pretending to be false.

With a warm smile on his face, Charles moved freely among the many visitors at the entrance of the garden.Guillaume received the older guests opposite him, and was very pleased to see his son doing well.The Grandet family has only one seedling, and he is already five or sixty years old. Isn't everything he has worked so hard for now reserved for his son?

By the time the setting sun casts a fiery glow on the horizon, the guests are almost here.Annette picked such an opportunity that was neither too early nor too late, and got out of the carriage in a stately manner.

It is not an exaggeration to say that there are thousands of deportments.Because today she is wearing a small top hat with three rings of pearls around it, and her slightly off-centered bun complements each other perfectly; the long skirt is the most popular style at the moment, with a very low square neckline, and almost half of her snow-white plump breasts are exposed ; The puff sleeves are slightly bulging, lining the slender waist; the skirt is puffed up, and the skirt drags the floor; the patterned satin of the fabric is embellished with pearls and aquamarine, sparkling, and the jewelry is also matched...

Seeing this obviously specially dressed appearance, other people would probably think that this woman is really beautiful, but Charles only felt a headache for a while.Because there are so many people, it is certain that they cannot say anything or do anything, so is Annette planning to suppress all the other female guests in this silent way?

Needless to say, he guessed right.Under normal circumstances, people are always a little jealous and jealous, not to mention a woman like Annette who feels good about herself.She felt that Shire belonged to her, so she wanted to declare her ownership in this way.

"Thank you for coming, Mrs. de Sanchez." Charles cursed, but still had to greet him.

Of course Annette could see that Guillaume was on the other side, so Charles could only greet him in an official tone.But she still felt a little aggrieved for thinking that way and dressing up carefully.So during the few steps when Charles held her hand, she couldn't help but secretly pinched Charles' palm. "Of course," she said softly, "since it's your invitation, how could I not come?"

These words sounded no different from other people's polite words, but considering their relationship and that little gesture, Charles knew that she was not happy. "Thank you," he said, lowering his voice a little. "I knew you would never let me down."

Before the expected answer (a tacit touch or something), Annette's unpleasant feeling became more intense.But in a blink of an eye, she found that Guillaume was looking at them, and she didn't dare to show it. She only said one more sentence, and then took the initiative to find other people.

Dad is such a god assist!

Before Charles could give Guillaume 32 likes in his heart, Guillaume beckoned first. "Come here," he said, a little anxiously, "someone is coming!"

He said this in a cryptic manner, but there must be a great number of guests who would allow him to invite Shire to welcome them together.Charles subconsciously swept towards the entrance, just in time to see Victor getting out of the carriage, and was a little dazed for a moment.

So it was this Mr. Banker who was assisted by God?

"Thank you for taking the time to come here, Mr. Lafitte." Guillaume spoke first.When he said that, he took a few steps forward, and his enthusiastic gesture was already done.

Victor smiled slightly. "Since I agreed, I will definitely come, you don't have to be polite."

Guillaume really didn't dare to be rude.Because everyone knows that Victor is in a high position and has an uneasy temper, so it is better to be cautious.

Naturally, Charles didn't dare. "It's a pity that I didn't meet you the other day. I hope you have a good time today."

Victor glanced at him, and noticed that Ciel's soft chestnut hair had a warm color, and his expression was respectful.This made him feel a little bit better about seeing a certain scene.After all, he only saw a woman unilaterally showing affection...

Before he could answer, the sound of another carriage approaching attracted everyone's attention.As soon as the carriage came to a stop, everyone already knew who was inside—there were rows of fleur-de-lis shields carved on the beams of the carriage, and that was the family coat of arms of the Duke of Orleans.

Victor wasn't too surprised at first, but when the person inside showed half of his face, he was surprised. "Ferdinand?" Why is it a son?

He was not the only one who was surprised, and Ferdinand was also surprised. "Monsieur Lafitte," he said, and couldn't help but glance at Charles next to him.If Charles and Victor had a good relationship, why would the Grandet family have to worry about money?But he didn't hear about it?

Seeing the eye contact between the two, Charles suddenly had a strange feeling.The banker and the little duke... don't seem to want to see each other here?