Chapter 462: Charles' Girlfriend Is Belgian
It took Lucia's family quite a bit of effort to make their way to Antwerp.
They first went to the train station, but the ticket clerk politely told them, "Sorry, sir. The last train to Antwerp is tomorrow morning."
"Why?" Mr. Girard was confused. "I remember there used to be many trains."
It's only 59 kilometers to Antwerp, after all.
"There are only two trains now, sir," the ticket clerk explained. "You missed the last one today."
"Only two?" Mr. Girard was dumbfounded.
The clerk continued, "Antwerp is on the front line, sir. Charles is organizing a defense line there, and we must prioritize getting military supplies to the soldiers. As a result, all other trains have been converted to transport goods."
Mr. Girard had no words in reply. He looked back at the others, and they too were helpless.
It was understandable; during wartime, military supplies obviously had to come first.
After a moment of silence, Mr. Girard gritted his teeth. "Let's take a taxi."
"But taxis aren't cheap now, Dad," Lucia tried to back out.
"Even so, we must go," Mr. Girard said, walking out of the station without looking back.
Outside the station, a few taxis were parked. Mr. Girard inquired about the price and instantly changed his expression. "This can't be right. It used to cost around 100 francs, and now it's 500 francs?"
Mrs. Girard came up, and after learning the situation, she asked the driver in confusion, "The Germans have surrendered, so why is it more expensive than before?"
"And five times more expensive!" Stein glared angrily at the driver. "It must be the capitalists trying to profit from this!"
"Heh," the taxi driver gave Stein an unhappy look. "We're not capitalists, kid. We're just trying to make a little profit to feed our families."
"The reason it's so expensive is because all the fuel in the country was gathered to supply Charles' troops."
"Even now, the fuel we can get is scarce and incredibly expensive, because we still have to make sure Charles' tanks and armored vehicles can keep fighting, along with military vehicles, and so on."
"Do you have a problem with that?"
The group exchanged looks, realizing that this too was understandable.
Lucia sighed inwardly. Why did everything seem to relate to Charles? He was like an unshakable nightmare in her mind, or like a shadow—though he wasn't physically present, his presence was always felt.
"I don't have that much money," Mr. Girard looked helplessly at Lucia. "I only have 270 francs, and that's all our savings."
"Then we'll wait until tomorrow to take the train, Dad," Lucia comforted him.
Mr. Girard nodded, seemingly resigned to that.
Just then, someone called out from behind, "Hey, Lucia! It's you!"
It was a fashionable-looking blonde woman, carrying a small suitcase in one hand and a coat draped over the other.
"Rost!" Lucia recognized her and, both shocked and happy, greeted her and hugged her.
Rost was Lucia's classmate from middle school, someone she hadn't seen in many years.
"Where are you going?" Rost glanced at the nearby taxis.
"We were planning to go to Antwerp, but…" Lucia started.
Rost instantly understood. "You're going to see Charles, right?"
Lucia gave a bitter smile, realizing that more people knew about this than she expected, even Rost.
But it wasn't too surprising. If one person knew, it wouldn't take long before all their classmates or acquaintances found out.
The reason was simple—Charles was too famous, especially in Belgium, where he was practically considered a savior.
Rost looked around as if guessing what had happened. She politely greeted Mr. and Mrs. Girard, then took out some money and handed it to the driver. "To Antwerp, no change needed."
As the driver reached to take the money, Rost tilted her head, smiling and saying, "You're lucky, sir. The person standing there is Charles' girlfriend."
The driver's eyes widened in an instant, and his hand froze in mid-air. He looked from Lucia to Rost, then back to Lucia. "No, this can't be…"
Rost gave a deadpan nod. "Would anyone joke about such a thing? That's Charles! And why don't you ask about their destination?"
Stein took a small step forward, proudly puffing out his chest. "We're going to Antwerp Airport, sir. General Charles should be there."
The driver froze for a moment before hurriedly pushing the money back toward Rost and jumping out of the car. He walked respectfully toward Lucia and eagerly took her luggage, placing it in the car.
"Apologies, ma'am. I'm honored to be of service to you."
"I promise I'll get you safely to Antwerp…"
"No, no, I'll wait for you to come back together. It's not easy to get a car in Antwerp. That's the front line, and even if there is a car, there's no fuel."
"No, no, don't worry about the money… It's my honor!"
As he finished, he muttered, "Oh my God, Charles' girlfriend... she's in my car! I can't believe it!"
…
At Antwerp Airport, the taxi slowed and finally stopped in front of the airport doors.
Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Stein jumped out, almost tripping at Mrs. Girard's shocked and scolding shout.
But he didn't care, his head tilted back as he squinted against the sun, trying to get a good look at the planes just taking off from the airport. He let out a loud "Whoa!"
"That's a 'Camel'! That's a 'Camel' fighter!" Stein waved his arms in the air as he shouted to the others. "That's the fighter Charles invented. It has no match in the air. German planes are no match for it!"
Mr. Girard muttered, getting out of the car and straightening his suit. He glared at Stein with a frown. Had this guy never seen the world? Didn't he care about embarrassing himself in front of Charles?
The moment Lucia stepped out of the car, the guard stationed by the entrance recognized her and immediately approached. "Lucia, are you here to see the General?"
Lucia nodded.
"Please wait here," the guard said. "I'll report to the General."
"Okay," Lucia replied, "thank you!"
With just a few simple words, her family, as well as the driver, all looked at her with admiration and awe.
Mr. Girard gave a small, proud nod, his eyes filled with pride.
Mrs. Girard was so excited she nearly screamed, clutching her chest as if she couldn't catch her breath.
Stein swallowed hard, staring blankly at his sister, as if trying to figure out how to impress her.
Though they had believed Lucia's words before, it was hard to believe this was all real. It felt like a dream!
However, the guard's reaction confirmed it.
Even the driver now seemed unsure whether he had been deceived. Now, he could see this was all real—this woman named Lucia really was Charles' girlfriend!
"My God, Charles' girlfriend is Belgian!" the driver shook his head in disbelief. "Tomorrow, everyone will go crazy over this! I'm going to be a star!"
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