Chapter 460: After modification: Chapter 460 Gallieni’s old injury recurs
Shire ultimately received only an insignificant piece of intelligence.
At that time, the considerate Mr. Jilard waited with the others outside the airport to bid farewell to Shire. He deliberately created an opportunity for Shire and Lucia to be alone.
"I’m sorry." Lucia said, "Our relationship got out and spread to Belgium, so..."
"I know." Shire nodded, he had already guessed it.
Then Shire asked, "Did my performance disappoint them?"
Lucia raised her coffee cup and smiled, "What do you think?"
Shire didn’t need any performance; his aura was enough to impress any family, besides, his performance was quite proper.
However, Shire didn’t seem to care about this, he immediately moved the conversation to business: "Nothing happened in Paris, right?"
Lucia recalled for a moment and replied, "People are very angry about Grevy’s treachery, especially knowing he targeted you, so they plan to send him to the guillotine, scheduled for next week."
"Hmm." Shire had no reaction, he had already received the related intelligence.
Grevy deserved his fate, this idealistic stubborn man, only by sending him to the guillotine, Shire would be free from his troubles.
Lucia continued, "Arman was released, some speculate that the Second Bureau caught Grevy based on the clues he provided."
Shire nodded expressionlessly.
The truth wasn’t like that, Shire leveraged General Gallieni to send Major Fernan to make a deal with Arman: help Shire create momentum on the right wing, or be executed as a spy with Grevy.
Any smart person would take that deal.
Lucia put down her coffee, glanced at Shire stealthily, hesitated, "You have nothing else to say?"
Shire stared at Lucia blankly, thought for a moment, and suddenly "Oh" he realized, then leaned closer to Lucia, they could both feel each other’s breath.
Lucia’s heart immediately raced, both surprised and delighted, thinking this guy finally got the hint.
Unexpectedly, Shire lowered his voice and said:
"The intelligence you provided about Belgium was very accurate, the contact with the guerrilla group played a significant role in this battle."
"The victory in the battle owes much to your contributions."
"Next, the focus of the intelligence should shift to enemy-occupied areas, especially along the Leuven and Namur Fortress line."
Lucia instantly felt like she was in an ice cellar, eyes filled with disappointment, but she still silently responded, "Yes, General."
...
Lucia forced a smile all the way, patiently dealing with her family’s curiosity and questions, until she returned to Ghent, entered her room, and closed the door, the aggrieved tears couldn’t be held back anymore.
She sat on her bed in a daze for a while, starting to regret taking on this task. She thought being "Shire’s girlfriend" would be easy, who knew it would be such torture!
If possible, she would rather apply to be transferred from this post.
But Lucia knew it was unrealistic, "transferring from this post" meant two things: either Shire dumped her, or she dumped Shire.
But neither seemed normal, both could potentially expose Lucia’s identity and endanger the "Lady in White."
Lucia found herself in a dilemma, whether she liked it or not, she had to play her part well.
"Lucia?" At this moment, her mother’s voice called from downstairs: "Relatives and friends are here to see you!"
Lucia quickly got up, glanced at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes were slightly swollen, which might give things away, plus she wasn’t in the mood or had the energy to deal with them.
Thinking about this, Lucia feigned a weak voice in reply, "I’m tired, mom, I want to rest for a while."
"Alright!" Her mom responded reluctantly.
Lucia changed into her pajamas, hid under the blankets, continuing to resent Shire, she wished she could hit this dull fellow on the head.
At that moment, her mom gently knocked on the door, "Lucia? The mayor wants to see you; he invited us for dinner tomorrow night."
Lucia hesitated, then turned towards the door and replied, "Mom, I only took two days off, I have to go back to Paris tomorrow!"
"Alright." Her mom hesitated for a moment: "I’ll refuse for you."
After a while, there was another knock on the door.
Lucia was about to break down, she abruptly threw off the quilt, stuck her head out, her tone unhappy, "Mom, I just want to sleep, I don’t want to see anyone!"
Damn Shire, it’s all because of him.
Those who want to see me only because I am Shire’s girlfriend, they don’t know how tiring it is to play this role!
"Lucia!" Her mother’s voice outside sounded slightly alarmed, "It’s His Majesty the King, he’s downstairs, he wants to have dinner with us!"
Lucia suddenly sat up, looking incredulous.
His Majesty the King?
Albert I?
Downstairs?!
Alright then, Lucia thought, even though His Majesty the King holds supreme status in Belgium, internationally, Shire is much more important than Albert I.
Again, it’s because of that guy, why can’t I escape his shadow anywhere!
...
Afternoon at Antwerp Airport.
Shire and Tijani agreed they could reduce the frequency of aircraft takeoffs.
"We’ve downed 39 German reconnaissance planes in total." Tijani said, "None of them were fighters."
Then he teased proudly, "The Germans are terrified of our ’Camels,’ in terms of speed and maneuverability, they can’t compare at all."
This was thanks to the design of the "Camel" aircraft.
This idea came from the team Shire recruited from the British car company, they concentrated the engine, pilot, fuel tank, and weapons around the center of gravity of the aircraft.
This allowed the aircraft to generate additional torque during turns, reducing its turning radius.
Combined with the high thrust engine for faster speed, when the German "Fokker E1" fighters completed two circles, the "Camel" fighters would already have finished three.
This huge advantage meant the "Camel" could always easily catch up with the "Fokker E1," even if the "Camel" had run out of bullets, the enemy couldn’t do anything about it.
"We can’t let our guard down." Shire marked the points where enemy reconnaissance planes were shot down on the map: "The Germans might only be testing the range of our fighter aircraft. It seems they have a plan."
Tijani was startled, then nodded slightly, his expression turned solemn.
Sacrificing reconnaissance planes to test fighter range evidently aimed at planning for later transportation of supplies or artillery advancement, or devising strategies outside the "Camel" fighter control area.
"Brigadier." At this moment, the signalman exclaimed, "General Gallieni is hospitalized."
"What?" Shire abruptly raised his head, eyes slightly flustered, "What happened?"
"Reportedly, he had a row with the Commander-in-Chief (Xia Fei)." The signalman replied, "The General got so angry, his old injury flared up, and he fainted in the car."
Shire’s face darkened.
He knew the reason, Gallieni tried to persuade Xia Fei to delay Romania’s joining time with the Allies.