I'm Sophie, a girl with ideals and ambitions.
Since I was a child and saw those manga with France as the backdrop, I fell deeply in love with its people, who are handsome and pretty. France, the synonym for beauty. Almost all beautiful things in the world originate from her.
So, I made a vow: I must go to France. The inherent romance of its people is fascinating. Even the Place, where kings and queens were executed, is elegant like an art center, unlike our cold and hard Meridian Gate outside the Forbidden City!
Every great ambition will encounter obstacles.
I have one dad, one mom, and one older brother. As you can imagine, they would never let me go to that "distant barbarian country" (as my dad would say) alone.
I didn't care about that. I pestered them from a young age to let me learn French. I knew that one day I would set foot on this beautiful land!
Heaven rewards those who persevere. Since the new restaurant opened next door last year, our business has been declining. Oh! I forgot to mention that my family runs a bed and breakfast, and Sha's Bed and Breakfast has been renowned in the scenic area for decades. When it comes to our service quality, we really deserve to be praised with thumbs up.
Unfortunately, a restaurant called "Love You Too" opened next door last year. Just by its name, you can tell it's not quite proper!
But tourists eat that up. Groups of them all run past our doorway to there! Sometimes, they even go so far as to park their tour buses in front of our doorway. It's really infuriating!
Not only did we lose tourists, but even our loyal guests of decades were slowly lured away by "Love You Too". Once, I even saw Uncle Shui secretly go to "Love You Too" to soak in the hot springs!
Uncle Shui, who has been coming to our place for half his life, even argued that "Love You Too" belongs to a new conglomerate with novel ideas, which is not comparable to our traditional bed and breakfast.
Dad was so angry when he heard that. That's when he finally agreed to let me go to France to study tourism. So I bear the heavy responsibility of revitalizing Sha's Bed and Breakfast!
That's how I was finally able to study in France and set foot on French soil. Thanks to "Love You Too"!
Cough, sorry for bringing shame overseas. Although Oriental girls giggling on French streets may attract some glances, I'll remember to greet the nearby French people with a friendly "Bonjour" after I finish laughing, accompanied by a standard sweet smile of Japanese girls.
Look! Blaming it on Japanese girls is such a good trick. It's what they owe us.
Hehe, although my parents and brother often say I'm a bit scatterbrained, I believe I'm the kind of person who is wise in appearance but foolish in reality, definitely not like what they say: being sold abroad and still helping to count the money.
Heh, I'm still very happy when I think about it. When I successfully applied to study tourism at a French university, I really scared everyone! Hmmph! Who dares to call me a stupid girl now!
Oh! I forgot that mom kept reminding me to call her when I got to France. I took out my phone card and dialed the beautifully styled public phone...
"Hello, Sha's Bed and Breakfast." Across the wide Atlantic Ocean, dad's voice was still loud!
"Dad, it's me!"
"Stupid girl?"
I heard dad shouting loudly that it was the stupid girl calling back.
Ugh! I sighed softly, "Dad, I'm in romantic France! Can you please not call me by that silly nickname?"
"What are you talking about? Just standing on foreign soil and you've already turned into a forgetful girl? You ungrateful daughter who forgets her roots, get back here immediately!"
Dad's voice is really loud! I secretly glanced around, fortunately, they couldn't understand it. I'll just add a "Merci beaucoup" later to blame it completely.
Mom finally came on the line, "Go to the side! It's an international call! Let me talk to the stupid girl!"
Ugh! I'm not stupid, but they keep calling me that.
Dad handed over the receiver grudgingly, and mom took it gently, "Stupid girl, you're in France? Are you tired from the flight?"
"Not tired." I sniffled.
Mom heard that and hurriedly said, "Do you miss home? It's okay, you can take the next flight back. Don't study any more in France. Our Sha's Bed and Breakfast has been operating for decades, and we still get by. It's not necessary for you to study tourism!"
"Mom—" I protested, "I wasn't trying to cry! My nose just suddenly started to itch!"
Come on! I went through ten revolutions to study in France. The extent of my efforts is not inferior to that of the founding father. Now that I've finally set foot on French soil, how could I possibly be persuaded to go back!
My nose was getting itchier and itchier. I sneezed hard, "Achoo!"
"What's wrong with you?" Mom sounded exhausted, "Did you call Roman?"
Roman is our neighbor and is currently studying in Paris.
"No!" I kicked the stones at my feet, "Roman is in Paris! I'm in Arcachon, it's a long distance. Don't bother him."
"What do you mean by bothering? They say that when you're abroad, you rely on friends. As a young girl going abroad, you're in an unfamiliar place. It's good to have someone to take care of you..."
"I know!" I quickly interrupted mom to avoid listening to her lecture at a cost, "The phone bill is expensive. Don't lecture me anymore. Quickly tell me Roman's phone number!"
Mom lectured for a few more sentences before finding Roman's phone number. I casually took a small piece of paper to write it down.
"Alright, the phone bill is expensive. Call back if you need anything. Don't call often if there's nothing, okay?"
Mom's words are really... It's not like she kept reminding me to call to report my safety!
"Okay, I got it. If I don't call back, it means I'm fine. Bye." I responded.
Wow! Even the shops in France have such an artistic atmosphere!
"Stupid girl!" Before hanging up the phone, mom suddenly shouted loudly.
"Huh?" I patted my chest, "What's wrong?"
"Your luggage! Did you remember to pick up your luggage?"
Luggage?! I anxiously looked at my empty feet...
Oh my god! I forgot to claim my luggage!
I heard that after 9/11, some airports will detonate luggage that hasn't been claimed within ten minutes. I couldn't imagine my intimate underwear being blown to shreds...
"Stupid girl?" Not hearing my response, mom asked skeptically, "Did you forget to pick up your luggage?"
"No, no! Of course I picked it up." I quickly answered nervously.
Come on! If mom catches me in this lie, she'll definitely force me to go back! How could I be willing? I've only been on French soil for a few hours! I can buy clothes again, but if I'm forced to go back to Taiwan, it would be like my aspirations dying before they're fulfilled—I'd have to stay in Taiwan for the rest of my life!
Mom seemed reassured, "That's good. You often forget to take things when you get off the car. It's not convenient to ask the police radio station to help find lost items abroad. You need to be more alert and not so casual. Did you hear me?"
"I heard you." I answered weakly. I still need to go back to the airport to pick up my luggage. I hope the French aviation police aren't that strict...Ugh! Fortunately, my backpack is a crossbody bag, which I've been wearing all the time, otherwise, it would have been disastrous!
Finally, I hung up the phone. As I turned around, the piece of paper with Roman's phone number on it was blown away by the wind. I bent down to pick it up, but someone was quicker than me.
"Mademoiselle, is this yours?"
Wow! Are all French men this handsome? With transparent blue eyes, a high nose, and a smiling mouth... This handsome guy is so innocent and pure!
Mom says that too handsome men have bad intentions. Go! I think that's mom's self-comfort, or how could she tolerate dad's bear-like behavior!
"Are you Japanese?"
"No," I straightened my chest."I'm from TWAN." Just kidding! Who still pretended to be a Japanese at a time like this!
As my eyes met, my heart was beating wildly and my blood was boiling. I could feel his interest in me. I was a proud peacock who spread out its beautiful feather screen.
The handsome guy had a dimple on his face when he smiled."Well, can you change change with me?" He waved the large bill in his hand.
From the corner of my eye, I glanced at the supermarket behind him, and then thought that exchanging money was also a way to pick up a conversation.
"You can!" I smiled and gracefully opened my purse...
What happened next was far beyond what I could imagine. The handsome guy who was so handsome actually--
Grab, go, me, bag, bag!
By the time I realized it, he had already run around the corner, and I screamed in hindsight--
"Robbery! Someone is robbing!" I shouted loudly, and by the time I rushed to the corner, he had already escaped without a trace.
This damn man!
The French are so indifferent. I shouted so loudly, but no one came forward to help! Woo--
Too handsome people really have no good intentions!
"Miss?"
I was crouching on the ground crying, and I looked up reluctantly. It was a fat middle-aged woman.
"Do you understand French?" She spoke slowly and gestured with her hands.
"Yes, I do." I stood up dejectedly. Gone, cash, credit cards, passport, everything. And my clothes, which might have been blown to shreds... Ohhh—
"My name is Anna. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Her gentle inquiry made my nose tingle, and I began to sob as I recounted what had just happened. That unreasonable deadbeat had taken all my belongings!
Anna kindly took out a tissue and wiped away my tears. "You didn't call for help just now; otherwise, we might have been able to catch him."
I was just about to argue, but suddenly remembered that in my panic, I had blurted out Mandarin. Oh well! No wonder the French people, who were as confused as ducks listening to thunder, didn't come to my rescue. I'm such an idiot!
Now I didn't know what to do, and I asked Anna with a dejected look, "Anna, what should I do?"
Anna kindly took me to the police station to report the crime, applied for a stop payment order, and asked someone to help me look for my luggage at the airport.
"Now, all I hope is to get my documents back." She glanced at the sky. "It's getting dark. Where do you live? I'll take you there."
I awkwardly explained my current predicament to Anna. My school wouldn't start for another two months. "I was originally looking for a place to stay..."
Fortunately, Anna wasn't scared off by my situation. She just nodded and asked, "So you don't have a place to go now, right?"
"Yeah." I twisted my hands embarrassedly. Should I let her think I'm a brainless Japanese girl?
"I work at a manor nearby, and my daughter usually helps me out. But recently, she's going abroad for a month-long study tour. Would you like to be my assistant for this month?"
I hugged Anna happily. "You're my angel! Thank you!" Fortunately, I met Anna; otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do!
Ha ha ha, Anna was also very happy. "I was originally going to register as a temporary maid, but this way it's much easier." She asked somewhat worriedly, "Do you mind being a maid?"
"Not at all! My family runs a small inn, so I'm very used to doing housework!" Being stranded abroad, a job with food and shelter was a godsend. How could I complain about the work?
So, I, Sophie, began my life as a maid.
Anna's manor is located in Bordeaux, north of Arcachon.
As we drove through the vast vineyards, Anna introduced, "All you can see here belongs to the Medoc Wine Cellar."
"All of it?" Sophie stretched her neck to look far into the distance. "I can see the opposite hill!"
Anna chuckled softly, "If you were a bird, and after flying for three days and nights from here, you were so tired that you decided to rest on a grapevine, I'd tell you that it's still part of the Medoc Wine Cellar."
"Wow!" Sophie widened her eyes. "The Medoc Wine Cellar is so big?" She looked around, "So we're already in the territory of the Medoc Wine Cellar?"
"Yes. The Medoc Wine Cellar is the largest wine cellar in the world, and it belongs to the Medoc family, which is the manor where we work."
While talking, Anna had already driven into a huge castle and parked. "We're here."
This was a medieval building made of gray stones, standing amidst the vast vineyards, appearing serene and majestic.
Sophie stared with wide eyes and said in disbelief, "This is a castle! How big it is!" She never dreamed that she could live in a castle!
Anna was amused by her innocent expression again. "The Medoc Castle was built in the Middle Ages and has a history of several hundred years." She led Sophie into the castle through the side door used by servants.
Sophie blinked, making sure she wasn't dreaming. Yes! She was really standing in a genuine castle, not the kind you play in at amusement parks! Above the dining hall hung luxurious crystal chandeliers, and on the walls were masterpieces by famous artists from the Renaissance such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael... Wow! What a beautiful art gallery!
"Be careful!" Anna pulled Sophie back who was almost knocked over by a chair as she looked up. She smiled and said, "You, huh!"
Sophie was moved and hugged Anna. "Can I really stay here for a month?" No need to pay for tickets, no need to rush through the exhibits, and I can see all the masterpieces? It's like a dream!
"Of course you can." Anna fondly tucked her hair behind her ears. She liked this innocent Eastern girl very much, as she reminded her of Lady Ye.
"Are you Japanese?" Most of the tourists who come to Bordeaux are Japanese.
"No! I'm from Taiwan." Sophie shook her head.
Anna nodded, "What a coincidence! Lady Ye is also Chinese." For them, all people of the Chinese nation are Chinese.
"Lady Ye?" Sophie blinked her big eyes. "Who is Lady Ye?"
"The wife of Viscount Beni. Viscount Beni was the previous lord of the Medoc family. The current lord is Baron Nathan, the son of Viscount Beni and Lady Ye."
"A baron? Are there still barons in France now?" Wow! It's like going back to the manor period!
"The Medoc family was awarded the title in the 18th century and has held it ever since." Anna said proudly.
Wow! She never thought she would live in a castle, let alone see a real baron!
"Can I see the baron?" Sophie asked with twinkling eyes.
Anna shook her head with a smile, "The duties in the castle are very specific. We're responsible for the meals. The lord—that is, Baron Nathan—has someone else specifically responsible for serving him."
"Oh." Sophie felt a bit disappointed.
Anna smiled and comforted her, "It's okay. If there's an opportunity, I'll let you catch a glimpse of him secretly."
"Okay!"