Victor Hugo's self-deprecation brought a silence over all the literati present.
The entire meeting, initially full of fervor, gradually descended into a dead silence.
Victor Hugo, the instigator of all this, looked at the silent literati present and realized he might have ruined this hard-organized salon. He hurried to remedy the situation, saying: "Friends, since things are irreparable, why don't we face it with an optimistic attitude? Maybe the situation isn't that bad!"
After saying this, Victor Hugo suddenly thought of something, and he turned to Mathilde to change the subject, "Honorable Princess, may I ask where Prince Jerome is?"
"Huh?" Mathilde, coming back to her senses, responded with confusion, "Father is still residing at the Rhine Inn!"
"I am not referring to Prince Old Jerome, but your brother Prince Jerome Bonaparte! You don't know yet, do you? His votes in Seine Province have already surpassed mine!" Victor Hugo said to the literati present.
