After counting and packing all the paintings left behind by the old painter, the close friends returned to the Marquis de Treville in a horse-drawn carriage with the rental carriages that carried the paintings.

Just like when she was in the studio, on the way home, the scenery she saw along the way brought back memories in Fran's heart.

Since she was thirteen years old, she has been going back and forth on this road, going to the gallery with her love for painting, and then returning home with a lot of longing and joy.

There is a grandfather who loves him, a teacher who values him, and every time he goes home, he can see his brother at home...... How happy she was then!

Now, however, she can't find that feeling every time she comes home.

When she thought of this, Fran suddenly felt an extremely lost feeling in her heart.

It was because of this loss that the smile on her face vanished, and even when she returned to the house, she was in a state of displeasure, and after instructing the servants to unload all the paintings and designate a place to store them, she left them alone and left Mary to do her best for her, while she herself walked back to the mansion to go back to her bedroom for a rest.

However, when she entered the living room, she found her brother sitting on the couch, looking at her with a smile and making a joking gesture at her.

Today...... How did he end up here? The question flashed through her mind, but was quickly replaced by joy.

The long-lost feeling came back to her heart, as if time hadn't passed.

"Sir!" She rushed towards Charles and ran in front of him, "Why are you here!" ”

"Can't I be a guest?" Charles asked with a smile.

"No...... No! Of course I didn't mean that! Fran quickly shook her head and denied it. I...... I was just surprised, of course. I...... I'm so happy! Really, really, so happy!

Seeing my sister talk so incoherently. Charles couldn't help but laugh harder, and then habitually reached out and stroked the blonde hair behind her shoulder.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, and I'm happy today."

Then, he looked at Fran's clothes again, and found some dust on them, and couldn't help but be a little strange, "You seem to have been busy outside for a long time today?" ”

"Yes, I went to the teacher's gallery, where I put away all the paintings he left me." Fran immediately replied, "Didn't you tell me that before?" I'm going to turn it into a museum with the best of our Treville family's collection, and I'm going to keep them all at home until it's built. ”

"Oh, that's right......" Charles understood, and wiped her hair again, "You've just come back and you're already working on it?" It's really positive. ”

"What you give me, I will do as soon as possible. Is there a problem? Fran looked at him a little nervously, "You...... You're finally willing to let me help you, so how can I not be active? Don't...... Are you not satisfied with what I do? ”

"No, I'm satisfied. You're doing a great job, and I'm happy to have that drive, so go ahead and do it. Don't worry about anything. Charles hurriedly comforted the other party, and after a pause, he admonished. If you need money, let me know. I'll help you. ”

"Thank you, sir!" After receiving the recognition, Fran was overjoyed and looked at her brother with a smile on her face, "I will do my best!" Please never doubt my enthusiasm. ”

Then, she took the opportunity to cheer and threw herself forward, and the unprepared Charles subconsciously stretched out his hand and took her into his arms.

"Hey?!" Charles tried to push her away, but Fran had already grabbed him by the waist, and in a hurry, he couldn't push her away, but was a little scrambling.

The two of them tangled for a while, and Charles was so messed with her hair that her face was a little itchy.

Although this is very similar to the frolic between the two of them when they were children, Fran's body is now by no means comparable to the young girl back then, the two of them are stuck together, and Charles also feels the elastic touch in great detail.

She's almost twenty years old...... It's really grown up. A strange thought suddenly flashed through Charles's mind,

"Stop messing around!" After a few moments, he finally came to his senses, "I have something to tell you!" ”

"What's the matter?" Fran still hugged him, but stopped moving, "Can you tell me now?" ”

Seeing that he couldn't push it away, Charles had to give up this plan.

"Have you been available lately?" He held back the strange feeling in his heart and asked in a low voice.

"Available? I'm free! Fran immediately replied, "Is there anything you want me to do?" ”

"Yes...... Something. Charles nodded, "Would you like to go south with someone......

"To the South? With whom? Fran immediately asked, "If you need me to go, I can pack tomorrow." ”

"It's not so stressful, it's not so urgent." Charles smiled, "I just want you to help me fulfill a contract and complete a deal." Well, just go with Miss de Beauwon. ”

"Lola?!" As soon as she heard this person, Fran's body stiffened slightly, "She? What is it? ”

"That's right...... I will sell the land I bought in the south to their family, because they need it now for the railway company they run. Charles bred himself together and explained the situation to her. In order to avoid being secretly manipulated by them, I want you to follow Lola on a trip to finalize the deal, and by the way, learn how to run it. ”

After Charles' explanation, Fran finally understood.

It turned out that my brother really planned to start using me and let me participate in the family's affairs......

"How did you come up with the idea of sending me?"

"I'm sorry, I've been doing too much lately, and I originally planned to let Charlotte go, but now that she's pregnant, it's hard to walk around, so I have to trouble you if I think about it." Charles smiled again, "Say it again." We're going to visit Austria soon, and I'm afraid she doesn't have much time to go back and forth. ”

"To Austria?" Fran was a little confused. "Why are you in such a hurry to go to Austria? Also, isn't Charlotte pregnant? Why did I want to follow you? ”

"Well...... We have all sorts of considerations. Charles laughed but didn't answer. Don't ask about such details. ”

From his smile, Fran saw some clues, knew that there was something hidden in it, and knew that she shouldn't have asked. For Charlotte, who can run around with Charles, she has some irrepressible feelings of jealousy in her heart, but she buries them well in her heart.

"Of course, I know you don't like Miss de Beauwon, and if you don't want to go, I can entrust it to someone else......"

"Nope. I'd love to do it for you. Fran replied quickly. Please leave it to me! ”

It's an experience, but it's also a kind of trust. She can't live up to that trust. Although Lola is a ruthless person, she has already fought with her, and she has the confidence not to fall behind.

However, after all, it is an important matter, and she can't come casually according to her own nature. "But can you let Mary come with me? Mary has been with you for so long, and she understands a lot of things......"

"I want to do it even if you don't, so you can take her with you." Charles immediately agreed to her request. "So did you agree to my mission? Is there anything else to ask for? ”

"No, I'll do everything I can with Mary's help to achieve the results you need...... I will also study hard. Be a great assistant for you, rest assured! Lola can't beat me, I've already weighed her! Fran cheered and agreed.

"I don't dare to compliment her by weighing her methods." Charles's face stiffened slightly.

He remembered again what his sister had done not long ago, in collusion with this Miss de Beauwon.

Fran's smile was gone. Instead, there was a face full of remorse and apologies. "I'm sorry, sir. I was confused for a moment and caused you so much trouble...... I regret it now......"

Although the mouth is apologizing. But to be honest, she didn't feel much guilt in her heart.

Mary was right, if I hadn't done that, how would I be where I am today? She thought to herself.

However, this pitiful appearance still touched Charles's heart. "Okay, there's no need to talk about the past, we have to look forward, you don't collude with outsiders to deal with me in the future, otherwise I'll be really sad."

"Well, look ahead, don't worry, I'll never plot against you again...... I will only be your loyal assistant and will not back down for you......" Fran immediately gave a guarantee, and then suddenly rubbed his head against Charles's face, "Please accept my apology!" ”

Feed! If you want to apologize, you don't need to use it this way! Charles tried to scold her, but Fran was so fast that he didn't even have time to say anything, and when his sister's lips were close to his face, he was speechless in shock.

"Ahem!" At that moment, there was a sudden noise and a soft cough on the stairs.

The two siblings froze at the same time, and then quickly separated. They turned their heads at the same time, and then saw the Marquis of Trevill, who was standing on the top of the stairs on the second floor, and the old man was looking at the two siblings who were entangled on the sofa with a strange gaze.

This...... The two of them suddenly felt extremely embarrassed.

"I'll go take a rest first, you can talk to grandpa beforehand!" Fran blushed and ran away, up the stairs to the second floor, and then straight to his bedroom. Fortunately, her bedroom and her grandfather's are not on the side of the staircase, so she doesn't have to face the embarrassment of passing by her grandfather's side.

Charles, who faced his grandfather's gaze alone, finally managed to suppress the embarrassment.

"Grandpa, I heard about your rest when I came here just now, so I didn't disturb you for now. Are you resting well now? ”

"I'm fine." The old man still looked at him, and then walked down the stairs step by step, his face very calm, and he did not see anything unusual. "What are you doing with me today?"

"I'm looking for Fran because I have something to tell her."

Charles then told him the task he was going to give to Fran, "Look, Fran was so happy just now, so you don't have to take it to heart when she did that......

"Isn't it too early for you to give her a heavy responsibility at such a young age?" The old man asked suddenly.

"She's not young anymore, didn't you support her last time she wanted to do something for me?" Charles was a little confused.

"But what you're giving her now isn't trivial, besides...... She doesn't have much experience either. The old man still had some doubts.

"Experience can be gained, she's very smart, I don't think there's a problem. Besides, I'll let Mary follow her, and you shouldn't go wrong. Charles insisted anyway.

"She's grown up and she'll get out sooner or later." The old man whispered.

Charles was silent.

"You seem to have regarded her as an outsider in your heart, and I don't feel good about that." After a moment, Charles emboldened himself and looked at his grandfather carefully. "I think, you...... You should continue to treat her as you used to and treat her as one of us. ”

"Haven't you read the letter?" The old marquis asked rhetorically, his tone full of helplessness, "Although I am as reluctant as you, we have to face reality after all, child." ”

She had forced my father to write it to us, in order to create the conditions for our union—something he would never dare to say.

"I always felt that there was something strange about that letter, and that there was no reason for my dad to do it. Besides, if Dad really found an outsider to take him to raise, it stands to reason that since he has already made such a decision, then he should keep silent in the future and keep all the secrets in the dark, why do you have to drag it out for more than ten years, and then write a vague letter to tell us this? ”

"But it was your father's writing." The old man hesitated slightly. "Even if it may not be, it may be true."

"Whether it's true or not, it doesn't matter to me anymore. I don't value pedigree that much, whether he's telling the truth or not, it makes no difference to me. Charles replied with his head held high, "In any case, she is my dearest, she was raised by me since I was a child, and our bond is deep enough, if not by blood." ”

When he heard Charles say, "I don't value bloodlines that much," the old man's eyebrows moved, and he was a little unhappy. Obviously, for an old-fashioned aristocrat like him, this kind of talk is really ugly.

However, he opened his mouth, and in the end he didn't say anything, after all, it was also the granddaughter he had loved for many years...... To some extent, Charles's words untied a knot in his heart.

"Well, you're right, I really should continue to treat her as my granddaughter, and I still love her." Finally, the old man nodded, then glanced at him, "However, you two should also pay attention, why did it become like this?" I know that the two of you have been very affectionate since you were a child, and it's a good thing that you have a good relationship, but at this age, you should always avoid suspicion. ”

"yes, I know." Charles was a little embarrassed again.

"Since she is your sister, then you don't have to think about it, there are so many women in the world, why bother yourself?" The old man glanced at him again, "Charles, I know, Charlotte is pregnant recently, and you should relax, Mary, I look very good, I have time to spend more time with her......" (To be continued.) )