The Shadow of Great Britain

"How did I climb to this position, and how did you climb to yours?"

Arthur raised his glass of red wine to clink with Thiers, a crisp ding sounded: "Did you, like me, sell your soul to the Devil?"

"No, it's worse than that." Thiers spoke eloquently: "I sold my soul to many people, starting with Lafayette, then to Sir Talleyrand, and of course, my soul now belongs to His Majesty the King. As for you, Arthur, if you've only sold your soul to the Devil, in my view, you're far luckier than I am."

Agares, smiling cheekily, also raised his glass and clinked with Thiers. The Red Devil chuckled and replied: "You're right, kid, you're far more on track than that little brat Arthur. If I didn't dislike short people, merely for this compliment, I'd be willing to make a pact with you."

Arthur glanced at the 'De Gaulle' Devil, and with a smile, steered the conversation back to Thiers: "You mentioned that you're good at observing facts and moving according to the winds of society. It seems you've certainly managed that. First Lafayette, then Talleyrand, and finally the King. You've grasped the principle of gradual progression, just like Yulian in 'The Red and the Black.' If one's talents exceed the demands of their environment, they're destined for misfortune. Initially, Lafayette thought he could control you, then Sir Talleyrand also felt he could control you, and now the King assumes you're a controllable loyal figure."

Arthur's words weren't exactly pleasing to hear; to onlookers, the remark might even seem a bit harsh.

But for Thiers, a self-made man, he regarded this as the highest praise, even if he couldn't verbally admit Arthur was right, but he understood in his heart that today he had encountered a kindred spirit.

Arthur Hastings is Britain's Adolphe Thiers.

Adolphe Thiers is France's Arthur Hastings.

The two could not be called friends, but their similar experiences allowed them to find common ground.

Thiers verbally denied: "Arthur, you think of me as too dark. Whether it's Marquis Lafayette, Prince Talleyrand, or His Majesty the King, we all have a common goal, which is to make France better. We are striving for all the citizens of France. As for now, if I've distanced from some former partners, it's only because we disagreed on the means to achieve our goals."

The youthful Louis heard Thiers' grand statement and felt as if he had swallowed a fly. He too believed he worked diligently for France's future but was unwilling to classify himself alongside Thiers, Talleyrand, or Louis Philippe.

He straightforwardly ridiculed: "Are you saying, you have no personal ambition?"

"Ambition?" Thiers laid down his knife and fork, spreading his arms: "Your Excellency, I never consider myself ambitious. If you insist that I have ambition, then my ambition is the rise of the entire French nation. I will use my whole life and all my abilities to restore France to her position in Europe before 1815."

Arthur saw the two beginning to argue. Unsure if he wanted to calm the dispute or was genuinely moved, he retorted: "Why does everyone regard ambition as a pejorative term? To me, although ambition isn't written in the knight's code, nor listed among the Seven Virtues, it's the greatest of all virtues."

"Why is that?" Louis was curious.

"Because one cannot choose one's birth, but ambition can determine how one eventually dies. It holds the power of fate, governs all a person's actions, decides the purpose of their life, and the means they will use to achieve it."

"Fate, fate..." Thiers muttered the words, then suddenly laughed: "You seem to enjoy reading 'The Red and the Black' so much that the ideas in the book have influenced you. However, I must also admit it's a good book. It wasn't banned for being poorly written, but rather for being too well-written. However, it was created at an inopportune time, in an unsuitable place, by an inappropriate person, hence its banned fate. But I must courteously remind you, when a person begins to think about their fate, it usually signals that many bad things will happen to them."

Arthur shifted the topic: "I like 'The Red and the Black' not just because of its content, but because it made us quite a bit of money. Mr. Stendhal is a great writer. Great writers can receive much acclaim but rarely sell well. But we're delighted to find that Mr. Stendhal is an exception, which makes us very happy."

Thiers' wine glass paused: "You... work in publishing too?"

"Just a small business." Arthur focused on carving the stew on his plate: "I own some shares in a magazine in London, so to make my shares more valuable, I often help them find potential authors, whether domestic or foreign, as long as they're talented, I take them all."

Arthur put the stew into his mouth: "By the way, Mr. Thiers, are you interested in publishing your historical works in London?"

"My book in English?" Thiers was astonished that Arthur would suddenly bring this up: "This..."