Descending On France 1780
Chapter 304 - 297 Christina’s Clever Calculations (crossed out)

Chapter 304: 297 Christina’s Clever Calculations (crossed out)

Charles was immediately tied up and placed on one of the cavalry’s reserve horses.

These reserve horses allow the main horses to rest during a gallop.

Now that the cavalry had captured their target, there was no need to gallop, so they could trot, which barely drained the horses’ energy.

Because of this, the reserve horse Charles was riding even seemed a bit frolicsome.

However, Charles’s mood had plummeted to rock bottom.

At that moment, as if resonating with his mood, a downpour started, and a streak of lightning slashed across the sky.

Moura’s cavalry continued to advance in the heavy rain, the light from the hand-held storm lanterns only illuminated the vicinity of the horses, beyond that was boundless darkness.

Charles had a delusion, feeling that something terrifying was lurking within the curtain of rain; he swore he had seen it more than once, so he trembled and said to Moura, "Something is chasing us!"

Moura replied, "Nothing is chasing us; it’s just the lightning illuminating the trees on the ground. They are merely shadows, understand?"

Charles insisted, "There’s definitely something following us!"

Seeing Charles so paranoid, Moura laughed even harder: "Is this a common issue for those who have been struck hard by General Frost? The Austrians insist that the General summoned Roman legions on the battlefield, these war-hardened warriors came responding to the call of undying loyalty, roaring as they crushed the Austrian troops.

"They describe it so vividly; had I not been there myself, I might have believed it too. You can tell your neurotic story to anyone later, the General doesn’t care about these rumors."

As Charles listened to Moura, he turned his head back repeatedly.

Charles: "Don’t you think the darkness behind us looks like a monster constantly chasing us?"

Moura hesitated, looked back for a few seconds, then nodded: "It does seem so—I didn’t expect you to be so expressive; however, such metaphors are not uncommon in a minstrel’s poems either."

Unlike Moura, Charles was extremely tense, seeing everything as if it were a lurking beast ready to devour him.

Finally, as the rain slightly thinned out, the lights of Versailles Palace faintly appeared ahead.

It looked like a lonely island of light suddenly appearing on a dark sea, seemingly an ideal setting for some Lovecraftian story.

Especially when a woman holding a storm lantern stood in front of the palace’s main entrance, the setting seemed all the more fitting.

Moura spoke to the person waiting at the palace entrance—who seemed to be a maid—saying, "I’ve brought the man back. Please inform Madam Christina Tolleson and General Frost."

The maid said, "If I’m not mistaken, those hurried footsteps should be Miss Christina; she probably saw you coming from the balcony."

As soon as she finished speaking, the grand doors of the palace burst open, and Andy Frost’s fiancée, the former King’s sister Christina Tolleson appeared, followed by the man whose boots all of Paris wished to worship.

Miss Christina looked delighted: "See! I told you we could catch him, and he definitely has what we need on him!"

Mr. Frost appeared noncommittal as he stared at Moura for confirmation: "He didn’t swallow the letter, did he?"

Moura pulled a sealed envelope from his chest: "No, sir. Because you warned that a dedicated spy might do so, I’ve been very careful; his body was searched three times, and I am sure that the only thing on him that looks like a secret letter is this one."

Anning reached out to take it, but Christina snatched it away.

"Hmm, the seal pattern is Lady Boarne’s ring emblem, she always carries it with her, worn on her hand, which makes it very difficult to steal and duplicate."

General Frost said, "That’s very good, let’s see what they are up to..."

Christina, however, held the letter high, even going up on her tiptoes.

Naturally, General Frost couldn’t reach the letter, but instead of forcibly snatching it, he looked at his fiancée and said, "Well, is there some special ritual to look at the letter?"

Christina smiled and said, "You should ask me why I know this letter from Lady Boarne is out of the ordinary."

General Frost shrugged his shoulders, then asked, "Why do you so firmly believe there’s something wrong with this letter?"

Christina switched the letter to her left hand, and extended three fingers from her right hand: "After investigating, I’ve found that people who communicate with Mr. Balas generally fall into three categories.

"The first category is those who send letters occasionally, but it’s uncertain whether they will receive a reply from Mr. Balas. These seem like gentlemen from Paris who seek Mr. Balas, specifically writing to plead with him. These letters usually go through the postal system, occasionally delivered by acquaintances.

"The second category involves letters sent irregularly, but they definitely receive a reply from Mr. Balas, which then prompts a response to the reply. On the surface, this looks like normal pen pal interactions, probably representing Mr. Balas’s political allies or potential allies. These letters also go through the public postal system."

"The third category is sent at fixed times, and do not receive a reply from Mr. Balas. Moreover, these letters are delivered directly to him by riders and horses specially hired by Mr. Balas.

"I speculate that these are regular reports from spies that Mr. Balas has arranged in Paris."

Christina paused, and General Frost cooperatively asked, "So, which category does Josephine fall into?"

Christina replied, "Hold on, the letters Josephine sends to Mr. Balas have no fixed time, nor do they receive replies from Mr. Balas, but she always ensures they are delivered by someone she trusts the most."

Hearing Christina mention "the most trusted person," Charles, who had been looking dispirited, suddenly perked up: "What? I am the most trusted person? Doesn’t that mean..."

Christina looked at Charles with a pitying gaze and said, "You’re just a poor fool blinded by Lady Boarne, dreaming away. Lady Boarne is only interested in those who have achieved fame and success."

General Frost said, "Don’t interrupt, continue. What happens next when the most trusted person delivers the letter?"

"There’s nothing more! I’m just inferring from this that there must be something wrong with this kind of letter, because surely a loyal lover of Lady Boarne wouldn’t open the letter, ensuring it arrives at Mr. Balas intact."

Frost remarked, "So, you have no actual evidence, just seizing it based on intuition? What if it turns out to be mushy love words inside, and it’s so mushy that she needed a trusted person to deliver it, then what?"

Christina shrugged her shoulders: "In that case, you’ll just have to join me in apologizing to Lady Boarne at Maraisson Castle."

Frost said, "Just like that? That’s it?"

Christina replied, "What else?"

General Frost sighed and raised his hand to his forehead.

Charles had been spectating the entire conversation, finally realizing what kind of situation he had walked into.

It was merely about delivering a letter, but he might end up being labeled as an enemy of the Republic and sent to the guillotine tomorrow.