The Shadow of Great Britain

And that's also the reason why Louis sought out Arthur today.

In the past days, when his mind was overwhelmed by huge surprises, when Louis looked back, he suddenly realized that he might have been too harsh in his refusal of the old officer's suggestion that night.

He didn't want to create a rift with Arthur, even though this old officer now seemed not very useful.

He wanted to maintain this friendship, not just out of interest, and not just due to his mother's teachings, but also partly because of his character.

He is a very nostalgic person.

Louis couldn't exactly be considered an outgoing person, so he didn't have many friends. Although one was born in the Palace of Versailles and the other in a pigsty in Yorkshire, in over two years in London, he and Arthur had lived through life and death together and had received much care from this officer.

Louis took a drag of his cigarette and looked up at the clouds in the sky: "I thought about what you said the other day, and I think my comments that day might have been a bit arbitrary. No matter who it is, as long as they're willing to seek me out, I will always try my best to help them."

Arthur took off his hat, fanning: "No big deal, looking back now, I was also a bit thoughtless in approaching you so rashly. For you now, there's not much room to maneuver. Unlike me, you have too many eyes watching you, at least more than watching me."

After speaking, Arthur raised his eyebrows and gave Louis a look: "There are quite a few watching today too, two upstairs, and besides that, three carriages on the street. There might be more around here that I haven't noticed, after all, in this kind of work, the Great Paris Police Hall has more experience than Scotland Yard."

"What's the use of the Great Paris Police Hall having more experience?" Louis quipped: "They still haven't caught the culprit who blew up Kaidao Sai Mansion that day. In my view, the biggest reason is that they've used their extra police force to monitor me."

Arthur asked: "What have you been busy with these days? Arranging the plan to bring back Napoleon's coffin?"

"If that were true, I would be relieved. Drafting travel plans is far easier than socializing at banquets."

Louis sighed: "I suddenly miss the days at Scotland Yard, back then it was enough to do your own work, no need to be distracted by other things."

"Then you must have had it tough." Arthur joked: "The days at Scotland Yard can't be said to be good, for me, the best days were those in the countryside of York."

"Hmm... I've heard you mention before, you always said pig farming was very interesting."

"Pig farming is interesting, but not the most interesting."

"Then what is the most interesting?"

Arthur took a puff of his cigarette, eyes showing a reminiscing look: "In the Yorkshire countryside, at sunset, many idlers would crowd along the riverbank. Every summer, you could enjoy such a unique scene; a few minutes before the evening prayer bell rings, a bunch of women gather on the high embankment by the river. They wait for the evening bell to sound, thinking it's dark, and as soon as the last bell rings, all the women, thinking it dark, strip off their clothes and jump into the water for a bath.

So, cries and laughter merge into a piece, making a great noise. On the riverbank, the men keep their eyes wide open, watching the bathing women from high up, though, alas, in the dark, they can't see anything. In the deep blue water, they can vaguely see creamy white figures, enough to let their thoughts roam, simply by using a bit of imagination, it wasn't difficult to imagine the scene as Diana and the fairies' heavenly bathing, without fearing the fate of meeting Actaeon."

Louis laughed and cursed: "How old were you then, and you already knew how to appreciate this?"

"Of course, I didn't." Arthur raised his eyebrows: "But I knew that when they were focused on their thoughts, it was hard for them to notice a dirty little hand reaching into their pockets and pulling things out."

Louis laughed heartily and said, "It seems there was always a premonition that you would be knighted. From when you were a child, you spontaneously began to punish those bastards who offended ladies during their baths."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said, "No, Louis, I'm not that noble-minded. Actually, back then, even though I couldn't make sense of things, when I met a pretty girl, I'd want to take a few extra glances. But from such a distance, with the twilight shrouding everything, you couldn't tell which was the orange peddler woman and which was the prettiest of the Bohemian girls in the river."

"Bohemian girls? You had Bohemian girls there?"

"Yes."

Arthur nodded and said, "She was a milkmaid at the ranch. The Spaniards often say a beauty must meet thirty criteria; in other words, she must be worthy of at least ten adjectives, and each adjective must apply to three parts of her body. For example, she must have three blacks: black eyes, black eyelids, black eyelashes, and three fines: fine fingers, fine lips, fine hair, and that girl was just such a beauty, meeting all those conditions.

Her skin was remarkably smooth and delicate, with a complexion approaching the color of copper. Her eyes were so large and beautiful, her lips slightly thick but with exquisite lines, and every smile revealed teeth whiter than almonds. Her hair was as black, long, and shiny as a raven's wings reflecting blue light. Especially her gaze, alluring yet fierce, like a cat's eyes when hunting a sparrow, making you afraid to look at her. It was not until much later that I learned this was the wolf-like gaze unique to Bohemian beauties."

Louis, hearing this, couldn't help but say regretfully, "That indeed sounds like a rare beauty, but sadly, she must be quite old by now. But don't lose heart; you could still find a Bohemian beauty in Paris. You never know, you might meet a girl from her hometown just walking down the street."

Arthur pretended to be surprised when he heard this and said, "How did you know I ran into a Bohemian girl on the street?"

"Hmm?" Louis had just said it casually, but Arthur's words piqued his interest: "You saw such a girl?"

Arthur nodded and said, "I did meet one, named Clara. I was drinking with Heinrich and Alexander at the tavern when I happened to notice this girl sitting next to me. She looked exactly like the Bohemian girl I met as a child, especially her gaze, which you wouldn't forget in a lifetime."

Louis chuckled and patted Arthur on the shoulder, "Hearing you say this, did you succeed?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "No, I was almost the one she succeeded with."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you were pinned down by a girl?"

Upon hearing this, Louis didn't care about the plans for the rest of the day. Arthur's story had already fully captured his interest.

Seeing him hooked, Arthur pulled out the prepared line: "I first invited her for a drink, and she told me the weather was a bit hot today. So I asked her if she wanted to go to a soda fountain for some ice cream or something. I was completely captivated by her, not noticing at all she was eyeing my golden pocket watch. By the time we left the soda fountain, night had fully fallen, most shops were closed, and the streets were almost empty.

We walked past the bridge in front of the Notre-Dame and stopped in front of a house with no luxury or splendor whatsoever. A child came out to open the door, and the girl spoke a few words to him. I didn't understand them, but later I found out they were speaking some Bohemian dialect. The child left immediately after listening, leaving us in a rather spacious room, which housed a small table, two small stools, a cabinet, a jar of water, a pile of oranges, and a bunch of onions.

In the room, it was just the two of us. The Bohemian girl took out a well-used deck of cards, a magnet, a dried lizard, and a few other magical items from the cabinet, and instructed me to hold a coin and draw a cross. Then she began to perform a ritual. Her mouth was mumbling words I couldn't quite catch, but judging by her demeanor and movements, she was evidently no amateur witch...

Louis covered his forehead with his hand, "Arthur! My good brother! Did you go home with her so she could help you with fortune-telling? Or is this some special Bohemian custom?"

Arthur waved his hand, "Don't rush, I'm not finished yet."

"Then go on."

Arthur cleared his throat: "Unfortunately, the ceremony was short-lived when it was interrupted. Suddenly, the door burst open, and a man wrapped in a brown cloak with only his eyes showing came in, rudely scolding the girl. I didn't understand what he was saying, but his tone showed he was quite angry. When the girl saw him, she wasn't surprised or angry, but went forward and spoke to him rapidly in that mysterious dialect she had used in front of me just before..."