CHAPTER 1307: CHAPTER 174: NIGHTINGALE MANSION’S BUSINESS EVALUATION (PART 2)

Arthur remembered Shubinsky mentioning before that although his father had fought in Tsarist Russia’s Patriotic War, he only managed to become a dragon cavalry captain by the end of the war. According to Russia’s military ranks, this was merely a ninth-grade position, an undoubted low-ranking officer.

And what about Shubinsky?

This fellow, three years ago when he served as an assistant military officer at the Russian Embassy, held the rank of ninth-grade army cavalry captain.

Three years later, he was flaunting the title of seventh-grade Guard Cavalry Colonel.

He was a Russian Thiers!

He was the Thiers of Russia!

Every time Arthur thought about it, he found this matter incredibly satirical.

Whether in freedom or autocracy, there is always a broad road to promotion and wealth laid out. Although outward appearances may differ, internally there’s scarcely any significant difference.

And the progressive youth from the University of Gottingen, dear Mr. Bismarck, still eagerly hopes to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, seeking a promising future through his wife’s family influence.

Arthur exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Shubinsky, then seized the moment when this Russian officer turned away to wink at the two French girls by the bookcase who were responsible for serving tea and water. Although their looks might not match those of the ’professionals’ in Leipzig Theater, for people like Shubinsky who mingled on the fringes of high society, girls who spoke French held an advantage over ordinary girls.

In Russia, in high-end clubs in St. Petersburg and Moscow, being proficient in German and French was an important standard for becoming a socialite.

Being able to speak German indicated that your family background should not be below the middle class.

While speaking French signified that you definitely came from the upper class.

The two girls gave Arthur a slight nod.

Even if Arthur hadn’t signaled them, the girls had long resolved to unearth Shubinsky’s secrets.

These ladies, connected to the Royalists, without exception, were girls from the provinces.

Years of struggling in Paris taught them how truly difficult it was to earn a living in these times.

Paris’s glamorous world indeed dazzles the eyes, but not everyone is lucky enough to become one of the wicked women who frequent the amorous venues of Paris year-round.

The most successful among them, Clara, invested painstakingly in Thiers for years, only to find out that this French Home Secretary had an astounding ability to be unrecognizable after putting his pants back on. Clara, who aimed to turn her fate around by this, had become a laughingstock.

Men are unreliable; only money in hand is the truth.

Sir Arthur Hastings, is he truly more sentimental and righteous than Thiers?

Hardly!

However, this British knight has always been generous and never uses emotions to deal with the ladies.

Some of the girls have long seen through what this knight engages in privately.

These women are not like the honest Royalist farmers, although they had never engaged in any high-end business in Paris, seeing the world a year in Paris surpassed half a lifetime back home in the provinces.

Furthermore, they hardly considered those so-called ideals, nations, or other nonsense abstract concepts, hence they could see things more clearly from an outsider’s perspective.

While farmers were still grateful to Arthur, the girls were convinced that this knight wouldn’t be so kind.

But so what if he’s ill-intentioned?

At least he hadn’t harmed their fellow townspeople, and besides, he distributed enough money to the accompanying Royalist farmers for them to resettle and start anew.

And not long ago, Miss Fiona’s arrival made the French ladies realize another side of this British knight — he was a bona fide big figure.

He had once been the third-ranking person at Scotland Yard, capable of dominating London’s underworld single-handedly.

The Paris underworld leader Gervais they once relied on would be considered a mere bug of such level in London, not even worthy to notify the knight.

Whether it’s Chief Inspector Tony Eckhart of Greenwich or Police Superintendent Tom Flanders of the Crime Investigation Center, both could stamp out Gervais with mere words.

Moreover, although these girls were young, their cunning was highly developed.

Everyone could tell, Miss Fiona, adorned with gold and jewelries and acting like a lady of noble birth, definitely reached this position due to hitching a ride on the knight’s boat.

Perhaps she could act innocent and pure before others, but her affairs were utterly transparent to these French girls

This wasn’t because of their keen insight, but simply because they had a reference right next to them — Clara.

Fiona’s level of attentiveness towards the knight bore a striking resemblance to Clara’s initial actions around Thiers — prudent behavior masked by seeming naturalness. If two individuals were genuinely in a standard romantic relationship, most girls would normally stand tall like a swan.

However, if this swan acted more like a duck, there’s no doubt that their relationship is certainly unequal and certainly not merely unequally, she must depend on him for survival.

A woman with her own business, how did she rely on London’s underground emperor for survival?