The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1008: Chapter 61: Criminals, But Bourgeoisie Style_3

”Especially when a girl is deep in thought.” Arthur didn’t argue; instead, he agreed with her.

”How did you know I have something on my mind?” Clara took a sip from the oversized beer mug she was holding: ”Phew... do you have something on your mind too?”

Arthur stared at his empty glass and shook his head slightly: ”Whether I have something on my mind doesn’t matter anymore; my life is already screwed. Why make things difficult for myself in my final moments?”

”Huh?” Clara scrutinized the young handsome guy in front of her: ”Do you have some kind of illness?”

Arthur chuckled self-deprecatingly: ”I have the most incurable disease in the world.”

Upon hearing this, Clara suddenly stood up in fear: ”Did you catch smallpox or cholera?”

Arthur waved his hand: ”Ma’am, don’t be afraid, I only have the illness of being poor, and it’s not contagious.”

”Hahaha.” Clara’s laughter was like a wind chime, and she sat back down: ”You are so amusing, your poverty might not be a contagious disease, but it’s quite widespread in Paris. Lots of people suffer from it; do they all have to die?”

”It’s different.” Arthur cradled his head: ”I owe someone ten thousand francs, and there’s no way I can pay it back. The creditor threatens to throw me in prison if I don’t repay.”

Upon hearing this, Clara seemed to have thought of something, and she comforted him: ”So you thought of suicide because you owe ten thousand francs. You’re really just a kid, you neither understand people nor things.”

Arthur turned his head to her: ”Why do you say that?”

Clara took a big gulp of beer: ”Sir, the value of a person’s future is based entirely on his own estimation. You estimate your future is not worth ten thousand francs. But if I had the money, I would pay more than that to buy you out.”

”Oh, please.” Arthur said dejectedly: ”I’m useless, if only I had learned a craft instead of going to university to study history.”

”You went to university?” Clara straightened up when she heard that Arthur attended university: ”I suspected as much, your demeanor just doesn’t fit someone who should be drinking here.”

”You’re too kind.” Arthur said self-deprecatingly: ”These days, knowing the past isn’t valued. People only admire those who can grasp the present or foresee the future. That’s why professions like con artist and fortune teller are profitable.”

Clara rested her head on her hands at the bar, tilting her head to look at him: ”You say you’re a university student of history, but you don’t seem very familiar with history. Actually, there are two histories: one is the official, deceptive history, used for textbooks, read to the Crown Prince. The other is the secret history that reveals the true causes behind state affairs, a disgraceful history.

Let me tell you an anecdote you probably aren’t aware of in a few words. There was a young ambitious priest wanting to enter politics, who sucked up to one of the Queen’s confidants. The confidant appreciated him and secured him a seat in the state council, equivalent to the rank of a minister. One night, someone earnestly wrote to this ambitious young priest, informing him that his benefactor was in danger.

Because the King felt deceived by the Queen’s confidant and was furious, he planned to kill the confidant when he came to the palace the next morning. I ask you, young friend, if you received this letter, what would you do?”

Arthur pondered for a while and then responded: ”Immediately notify my benefactor.”

”You’re so naive.” Clara said with a smile: ”What actually happened was, the young priest figured if the Queen wanted to kill my benefactor, he was certainly doomed, and the letter came too late. So, he slept until noon as usual, letting his benefactor be killed by the Queen.”

”What a beast he is.”

Clara said helplessly: ”All big shots are beasts. The person I just mentioned was the cardinal Richelieu, and his benefactor was Marshal D’Ancre. You see, you said you studied history at school, but what they teach are empty contents, mere dates and facts, most of which are quite unreliable.

What good does it do to know Joan of Arc, know the Sun King Louis XIV, know Richelieu? You didn’t know that Britain and France once had the opportunity to be ruled by the same Royal Family, so that our two countries could have trampled over all of Europe. You know the Medici Family went from being ordinary merchants to becoming the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, but do you know what methods they used to become nobility?”

Arthur was half-open mouthed in surprise. Although his previous emotions had been somewhat of an act, at this moment his surprise was genuine.

This girl is indeed different from the Cleopatra that Great Dumas rolled in a rug.

”You...”

Seeing Arthur’s bewildered expression, Clara couldn’t help but let out a snicker: ”Do you feel like you wasted all that money going to university, and it was all for nothing?”

Arthur nodded slightly: ”Miss, you’re simply more knowledgeable than a professor. If I had met you sooner, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.”

Clara clinked her glass with Arthur’s: ”You’re quite the joker, I barely recognize a few characters, how could I deserve the title ’knowledgeable’.”