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Chapter 61: A True Man!

Joseph hurried to the South Wing of Versailles Palace, ascended to the second floor, and navigated a narrow corridor before finally locating the room indicated on the note.

He tried the door; it wasn't locked. So, he simply pushed it open and entered.

"You've arrived?" A woman's languid voice drifted from what sounded like the bedroom. "Please close the door."

Joseph closed the door behind him but left a slight crack, then moved towards the source of the voice.

Rounding the bedroom doorway, he saw the room suffused with a soft, ambiguous pink light. In the center, on a spacious white sofa, a woman lay reclining. She appeared to be nearing thirty, perhaps a little younger.

She was dressed in an open grey scholar's robe, with a semi-transparent gauze blanket draped over her. Her skin was fair, her hair disheveled. Beneath the nearly slipping garment, her ample chest hinted at its curves, yet the dim candlelight prevented him from discerning anything clearly.

The woman propped her chin on her right hand, casting Flirtatious Eyes Like Silk at Joseph with a hazy gaze. She raised her left hand, gently beckoning with her index finger, and purred, "Don't just stand there, come here!"

Joseph frowned slightly, puzzled, and held up the note in his hand. "Madam, did you write this?"

"Yes~" The woman's voice was sickeningly sweet and drawn out.

Outside, the 'little fairy' who had been secretly following Joseph arrived at the door. He removed his mask and wiped away sweat, revealing himself to be the Duke of Orleans' eldest son—Louis Philippe, the Duke of Chartres.

He furtively peered through the crack in the door, seeing only the flickering pink candlelight. He then tiptoed into the room. As he rounded the bedroom entrance, he saw Madame de Semberant, radiating endless temptation, and the Crown Prince's back.

His heart gave a violent thump, and he instantly understood what was happening. 'So the Crown Prince has hooked up with a supreme beauty like Madame de Semberant. No wonder he showed no interest in the girls at the ball; he snuck out twice to meet her!'

Fearing discovery, he hastily and quietly retreated.

Inside the room, Joseph looked at Madame de Semberant and asked, "What secret do you know, exactly?"

The woman again beckoned with her finger, her voice a tantalizing purr. "Why aren't you coming closer? I want to whisper it in your ear."

Joseph frowned once more, sensing something was amiss with the atmosphere. After a moment's thought, he decided to verify his suspicions. He uttered the age-old, unchanging code phrase: "Odd change, even no change?"

Madame de Semberant blinked in surprise. "?"

To be safe, Joseph changed his question. "Between Brother Chicken and Coffee Queen, which do you prefer?"

"??"

"What is E=MC squared?"

"???"

Joseph's brow furrowed even deeper. "I have other matters to attend to. If you don't tell me this 'secret' soon, I'll have to leave."

"No!" Madame de Semberant adjusted her posture, sitting up slightly, and tilted her head, teasing, "I guess your secret is... you haven't experienced intimacy yet, have you?"

Joseph let out a sigh. 'It seems I got excited for nothing. This entire setup is clearly just to seduce me, and quite an elaborate one at that.'

He shook his head and turned, walking towards the door without hesitation. Not only was this older woman truly not his type, but his young physique was currently in an important stage of adolescence; he couldn't afford to hinder his development.

"Don't... don't go..." Madame de Semberant hastily pulled her robe further down, but all she heard was the distinct "thud" of the door closing.

She was practically questioning her existence. She glanced down at herself. 'There's nothing wrong here! Any man should be utterly incapable of resisting this; I've confirmed it thousands of times. Yet, the Crown Prince just asked some strange questions about "Brother Chicken" and "MC" and then left so decisively!'

'He left!!'

Little did she know, while her seductive techniques were certainly top-tier for her time, Joseph had been "baptized" by the adult films of later generations. Her current display barely qualified as an opening scene; how could it possibly make him lose his wits and his reason?

Once Joseph was far away, the Duke of Chartres stepped out from behind a pillar. He frowned, made a quick calculation, and let out a sneer. 'Hmph, the Crown Prince is already done? He was in there for three minutes at most. What a pathetic excuse for a man.'

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Madame de Semberant's alluring figure suddenly materialized in his mind, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.

'The Crown Prince was so quick; how could Madame de Semberant possibly be satisfied?' The thought flashed through his mind, and a meaningful smile spread across his face.

'Perhaps I should go show her what a true man is!'

The more he thought about it, the more triumphant he felt. After Madame de Semberant experienced his boundless virility, she would surely be utterly disappointed in the Crown Prince and might even cast him aside.

'Joseph, I'll let you taste the bitterness of losing a lover!' He smirked coldly, pushed open the door, and strode into the room.

He was confident Madame de Semberant wouldn't refuse him. Before the Crown Prince's reputation had truly soared, he himself had been the coveted target of every young woman at Versailles!

Inside the room, Madame de Semberant was still lost in self-doubt when she heard footsteps, and her heart instantly filled with joy.

'Hmph, the Crown Prince was just putting on an act. Didn't he come back obediently after all?'

She let out a soft, bone-melting hum, about to greet the Crown Prince, but was astonished to find the Duke of Chartres standing before her.

She instinctively pulled the gauze blanket further up. "You? Why are you here?"

The Duke of Chartres was already flushed with desire by everything around him. He immediately stepped forward, seized her hand, and, panting, declared urgently, "Madame de Semberant, you are like the stars in the heavens, drawing my eyes. And like the oak in the courtyard, deeply rooted in my heart..."

Madame de Semberant was a woman of vast experience; after hearing just a few words from the young man, she instantly knew his intentions.

She couldn't help but recall the Duke of Orleans' fortune, vast enough to rival an entire nation. 'Perhaps coupling with his son wouldn't be such a bad choice, and it could also mend the crack in my confidence caused by the Crown Prince.'

She gently stroked the young man's hair and chuckled alluringly. "Is that so? Then prove it to me..."

Inside the room, light gauze fluttered, and the crescent moon seemed to stir among the clouds, shattering the tranquil, watery night sky.

After a long while, the Duke of Chartres, still unsatisfied, rubbed his lower back as he emerged from the room. He took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and a look of extreme triumph spread across his face. "Forty-four minutes! Hmph, how can that worthless Joseph compare to me?"

'If I just visit Madame de Semberant a few more times, she'll definitely lose all interest in Joseph!'

......

In a lounge beside the Hall of Mirrors, Joseph had shed his ball gown and changed into his usual attire. Madame de Villars, clad in a simple yet elegant evening gown, sat respectfully opposite him.

"Are you referring to the young man from the Davout family?" she asked, somewhat surprised. "You know him?"

"Yes," Joseph nodded with a smile. "In fact, I have quite a close relationship with the Davout family."

Madame de Villars nodded thoughtfully. 'She hadn't expected the inconspicuous Davout family to have connections with the Crown Prince.'

Joseph continued, "I asked you to come here because I wanted to discuss Lieutenant Davout and the future of the Villars family."

......

Half an hour later, Madame de Villars emerged from the lounge, taking a deep breath and nodding resolutely, as if she had made up her mind.