It was quite easy really, all he had to do was play his part right, add a little American accent that he had picked up from his father, and add a little bit of that tourist vibe while showing a bit of foreign American currency.
And voilà, you get yourself a VIP stay at any brothel in Paris a man could ask for in his dreams.
Wait a minute! Where was his American currencies?
Where are his dollars?
Damn it!
The last time he checked, they weren't in his uniform when he had handed them to Chanel, and most of all, there weren't in the clothes that he is currently putting on.
Oh no! Please no. That means the only place left was Mrs. Odette's brothel. How could he have forgotten it there?
He had changed 30 euros just to get those dollars and now they were gone.
'What kind of bad luck is this' Lucien thought as he scratched his beards in frustration.
'Well at least the woman finally got her money, so there's no need for me to trouble myself anymore when I think about her'.
Lucien sighed as he tried to forget about the matter.
"Monsieur, are you alright?" The ferryman asked warily as he looked at Lucien making different expressions in such a short amount of time.
"Peut-être ai-je rencontré par erreur un fou" The ferryman said as he involuntary gripped his paddle tighter in case of any unfortunate event that will take place.
"Don't worry, I am alright" Lucien said as he waved his hands.
"And by the way' Je peux aussi parler et comprendre le français, alors pourquoi ne pas fermer la bouche et garder vos insultes pour vous"
"J'ai aussi une mauvaise bouche, mais je ne suis actuellement pas d'humeur" Lucien said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry Sir, I didn't know that you could speak french" The ferryman said as he scratched his head awkwardly.
"And I have to say, your French is really perfect for a tourist".
"Sigh...I am not a tourist. I am a Frenchman like you. And although I might look like one, I really am not" Lucien said tirelessly as he couldn't even count how many times he has said something like this.
"Hmmm…." But the ferryman could only look at Lucien with doubt in his eyes.
"Look, we have already wasted enough time, just tell me your last price" Lucien said as he wasn't really in the mood to talk this much since the only reason he had come here was to enjoy the bottle of wine he had in his hand.
"Alright, since you are a fellow French like me, I will set the price at 10 euros" The ferryman said with a smile.
"6 euros. I will give you 6 euros as payment for the ride" Lucien replied immediately, indicating the amount of money that he was going to pay.
"I am sorry monsieur, but your price isn't worth the cost. 10 euros is the cheapest price that I can give".
"Alright then, see you later" Lucien said as he walked away without hesitation.
There are a lot of ferrymen across the La Seine river. And this isn't the first time that he had boarded a boat across the river.
Although it will take a little time before he finds the right ferryman, it still couldn't be compared to paying 10 euros for a boat ride instead of 6 euros.
So till then, his urge to get a little drunk can wait.
But the freshman became a little surprised when he saw Lucien walking away without hesitation.
'Maybe he wasn't really a tourist' The ferryman thought as he sighed out loud.
"Sigh!! Alright monsieur, I will take the money. You can hop on".
Lucien who had heard the ferryman's voice smiled as he turned back to the boat.
'It always works'.
Watching as Lucien carefully boarded the boat, the ferryman frowned as he said.
"Although I am accepting your money, there are still a few rules you should follow".
"What are they?" Lucien responded.
"I know that you are planning to get drunk, is that correct?" The ferry asked Lucien as though he already knew the answer.
And in response to the question, Lucien nodded his head.
"Alright. You can drink on my boat, but please keep your complaints and excessive rants to yourself. If not, I will have to charge you an extra for it"
"I am not saying that you shouldn't open up about how you feel. You can do it but don't just involve me. Behave as though I don't exist throughout the ride and I will do the same".
"Don't worry, I just came here to drink and enjoy the silence. And I plan to be silent throughout. I would rather keep my thought to myself" Lucien said as he found a spot at the end of the boat.
"Alright then, let's go" The ferryman said as he began paddling, gently pushing the boat into the river.
"Hey monsieur, please wait for us!?"
But before he could leave the shore, a high-pitched feminine voice attracted his attention.
"Huff!! Huff!! This i-is…Huff!! The only boat that..Huff!! We could find now".
"Yeah, but…Huff!! Are you sure that you want to boat this boat? Even if we were a little late, we can still wait a minute and board a bigger boat".
"No, it's alright. A bigger boat means that there will a lot of crowds. And besides, there is only one person here. We can just catch a ride on this boat before we get back to the hotel instead of wasting our time and waiting for the next tour".
The person who had called out the ferryman's attention was a woman who was running together with a man as they both held their hands together like couples.
Well, they did sound and look like couples from the way they talked and behaved from both the perspectives of Lucien and the ferryman.