41. THE ROYAL RING
Lydia and her friends are in the city of Tunis, in Tunisia.
They have heard that the Flower in Seven Colours might be in Sicily.
This island being close to Tunisia,
our three friends are preparing to leave for Sicily.
Can I sit at your table, Miss?
Of course, sir!
Thank you.
Dou you intend to travel to Sicily?
Excuse me, I forgot to present myself. My name is James.
I happen to have an extra ticket. It would be my pleasure to offer it to you.
You are so kind! My name is Lydia.
What are we waiting for? Let's go!
- But... - Don't worry, leave everything to me.
- That is a charming gentleman! - A little too much, I think.
Are you referring to James, Cador? He seems a nice man.
Hurry up, Boris!
Give the check to that gentleman, please.
Thank you for waiting.
- It is I who should... - Please.
This is outrageous! What is this? You make me pay for people I don't know?
- How could I have known... - If I ever find this man!
Why are you wearing sunglasses, Mr. James?
So that Cador can come with us. We can say that he is my guide dog.
You are very kind, Mr. James! I am moved.
Boris! Hurry up!
Where is he?
Somebody stole my child's ticket.
My umbrella is missing too.
It could be only him! I am sure of it!
Give me my money back for the ticket!
- Where is this airplane going? - To Cairo.
To Cairo?
- How come that we are going to Egypt? - It's just a small detour from Sicily.
Don't worry. I have something to do in Egypt, and it won't take long.
After that, we will go to Sicily.
This means that it's too late to get out of this airplane?
What a day! Who was the man who dared to make me pay its restaurant bill?
Just forget about it. You have been had, as usual.
You are so unfair, Miss Sabrina!
What a strong light! I wasn't expecting such blinding sunlight.
You are sure that this man fits the description sent by the detective from Tunis?
He has an umbrella, wears sunglasses and he is accompanied by a young woman.
- He looks suspicious indeed! - I am sure of it. Get after him!
What's happening? I don't understand!
Come with us at the police station, nice and quiet!
Let me go!
It looks like the police have arrested someone.
They must have caught a thief or something. Let's go.
- Where are we going, Mr. James? - In the Valley of the Kings.
- Really? - Indeed.
- But why do you want to go there? - Take a look here.
This ring belonged to an ancient queen of Egypt.
The queen wore this ring?
It was found in a tomb and it is priceless.
Do you mind if I ask you what do you do for a living?
What do I do? This is my job.
- Are you a salesman? - It's the wrong one. This.
- You are an insurance broker. - That isn't good either. Here.
- So you are a journalist? - Exactly.
I am writing a story about the ring. So now you see.
- This is so interesting! - These are the pyramids, Lydia.
Wonderful! What a magnificent view!
- What's wrong, Cador? - I don't trust this James guy.
You are still doubting him? He got us onto the airplane.
Yes, but still...
Such a gigantic monument!
These are the ruins of a huge temple. Let's spend the night here.
All right.
*The ring will be mine! From tomorrow!*
Miss Sabrina! Miss Sabrina!
I have finally found Lydia!
Well done! Now we must chase away the man that accompanies her.
You can trust me for this! I think I have a great idea.
Yes, you!
May I ask what do you want?
Look at that woman.
She's the descendant of queen Cleopatra!
What? Of queen Cleopatra?
- I want to ask you something. - What can I do for you?
The girl that is with you, she's under a terrible curse.
If you stay with her, you risk great trouble
and you will fail in everything you want to do.
- Me? Fail? - I have warned you. Stay away from her.
I understand. I will do it. But can I ask you something?
- What do you want? - Can I borrow your Jeep,
so that I can go away from her as quickly as possible?
- What do you say, Miss? - I agree!
Thank you. I will follow your advice and leave right away!
Wasn't it a great idea, Miss Sabrina ?
Indeed!
Wake up! Enough sleeping! It's time to find the Flower in Seven Colours!
We must go after them, Boris!
This is gas!
This guy is unbelievable! He really made a fool of us!
Shut up!
It took so long to find such a great partner.
I couldn't let her go so easily.
These sleeping pills are extremely efficient. They sleep like logs.
- This is the Valley of the Kings? - And this is the digging site.
I have slept so good! I didn't feel when you carried me in the Jeep.
You must have been really tired.
Don't you find this situation a little odd, Cathy?
Why, Cador? What makes you doubt him?
It's amazing that we all fell asleep so quickly, without noticing.
- We were really tired. - You think so?
What? You want to see the queen's ring?
I didn't tell you in advance, I know.
Are you an archaeologist?
*But he told me he was a journalist?*
Lydia, go outside and ask them to show you the tomb they are excavating.
I must have a talk with their chief.
I know that you came a long way, Doctor.
But we cannot show the ring to anyone. It's too precious.
Let me explain. The gods have sent me here!
- The queen herself asked me to come. - What do you mean?
To be honest with you, Lydia is the descendant of the queen.
What? I thought that she is French.
She is, but I have found out that her ancestors were Egyptian.
To my big surprise, she proved to be the direct descendant of Cleopatra!
This can't be!
Such beauty!
Look, Lydia! Flowers!
They must be an offering for the queen buried in the tomb.
- What are you doing, Lydia? - I want to look like the queen!
Flower! Flower! Flower!
Magnificent!
You should not use the Magic Key just for fun!
- But... What's going on here? - Is it you, Lydia?
I apologize!
Astounding! I thought that she was the queen herself!
I told you, she is the queen's descendant!
Where did you find those clothes, Lydia?
I apologize. I was just trying the garments found in the tomb.
Don't apologize, it was really beautiful. Now I know that I have a good partner!
Doctor?
He agreed to show us the ring.
The queen's ring? It's beautiful! I can't believe my eyes!
The police sent us a message. Someone wants to steal the ring.
It's no danger.
Please, guard it in a safe place, where no one can reach it.
Obviously!
What did you say? He exchanged the ring with a fake?
- Are you sure? - Very sure!
He sought to steal it from the very beginning.
- That's really something. - Well, he has multiple cards.
I can't believe that he is a thief! I will ask him face to face!
What? You saw me? I didn't realize that you did.
So you stole it? But why?
Listen, Lydia... I can't hide the truth from you anymore.
Look here.
A private eye?
You can't fool me twice!
I wish that you would believe me. I was hired to protect the ring from thieves.
This is why I chose to hide it.
Did you hear about the message from the police?
I replaced the ring with a replica so no one could steal it.
But I have a better idea.
You will keep the queen's ring.
Nobody could imagine that you have it.
All right.
- Please forgive me for suspecting you. - Of course!
It is often part of my job to cheat my friends in order to fulfill my mission.
This guy is really impressive! He must be a true crime genius!
Let's not give him the chance to fool us again.
I couldn't agree more, but do you have an idea how to do it?
What would happen if we would replace the replica with the real ring?
An excellent idea, Miss Sabrina!
What are you waiting for to steal the replica from the box?
You can count on me! The job is already done!
This is the tomb where we have found the queen's ring.
Chief! Something terrible has happened!
Chief! The royal ring...
- What? - It was stolen!
Don't worry! In fact, I have the real ring!
Lydia!
The thieves have stolen just an imitation.
- Are you sure it's the real one? - Of course!
James had replaced him with a fake so it would not be stolen.
- The archaeologist? - In fact, James is a private eye.
He secretly gave me the ring for safekeeping.
I owe you one!
Without you, my career would be now over.
- I don't think so. - Thank you also!
*I don't understand. It would have been very easy to steal the ring.*
*What happened? It was Lydia's presence?*
You will not escape me this time, James!
You worked carelessly this time.
You can't make me believe that you wanted to protect the ring.
I would not even try, inspector. I don't know what happened.
Mr. James!
Hurry up! The boat is leaving!
I was talking with a friend.
- Are you a detective too? - No, an inspector.
But we work together sometimes.
I can't go with you to Sicily.
Why? You promised to accompany me.
Well... I have a new mission.
Too bad. I liked the idea of travelling with you.
Hurry up, the boat is leaving.
- So you will stay here? - It's time to go.
Then, I will see you soon!
I'm happy to have met you, Mr. James! Good bye!
Me too! Good bye, Lydia!
Good bye!
- Good bye! - Good bye, Mr. James!
Have a safe trip!
- I always liked this James character! - Now you realize? It's too late!
Lydia will never now that he was played for a fool from the beginning to the end.
Thank you for understanding.
You always betrayed your entourage, but this girl was stronger than you.
Lydia never suspected me. She always trusted me completely.
I feel relieved.
Hi! Will you plant these seeds in remembrance of Lydia?
She always thought you were a classy man.
Florent's seeds soon became beautiful flowers.
They were petunias.
When he smelled their sweet perfume, James remembered Lydia's trust and friendship
and felt relieved.
In the language of flowers, the petunia stands for resentment appeasing.
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