He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 67

(66) An Uninvited Guest at Napoleon and Josephine’s Announcement

Here is a girl who doesn’t yet know that the calmest time is right before the storm.

“I wish every day could be like today!”

Hortense de Beauharnais Paget, a girl who just turned 11.

She is a student at the ‘Pentemont Abbey School for Girls,’ where she was sent after being chased away by her father, Alexandre.

However, she actually spends more time at ‘home’ than at school.

This is because the famous ‘Paget Salon’ in Paris is Hortense’s home.

A newly established famous salon that stood tall amidst the collapse of famous aristocratic salons during the revolution.

It is run by Madame Paget.

Today, a party is being held in this salon.

It was when Hortense, a girl who loves parties, was smiling as she looked at the shining chandelier.

A beautiful 16-year-old girl came up to her and spoke to Hortense.

Marie Therese de Cafe, the ‘sister’ Hortense really likes.

“Hehe, do you like it that much, Hortense?”

“Yes! Mom, brother, everyone is here! And Marie too!”

“Oh my, you’re even welcoming me? Thank you.”

Hortense smiled brightly, hugging Marie, who was smiling innocently.

“Of course! You’re pretty, kind, and you like my brother!”

This time, Marie blushed and looked a little touched.

Of course, it’s probably because Hortense is still young, but she doesn’t reject women who like her brother.

It was also thanks to Marie’s hard work in frequenting the Paget Salon and making a good impression.

Marie stroked her friendly younger sister, Hortense, and nodded.

“Okay. As a reward for the welcome, I should give our good Hortense a gift, right?”

“Huh? What gift?”

“I should give you the latest *mode* clothes. Madame Rose Bertin? Over here!”

*Mode*, a French word meaning fashion.

In short, it means giving her the latest fashion dress.

A plump woman who had entered the salon with Marie approached.

Rose Bertin, who was once the royal ‘Fashion Designer’.

However, Bertin was busy looking around the salon in a daze.

“Oh my, Princess! This salon is really nice! Madame Paget’s salon is really famous! Look, that person over there! Isn’t that Monsieur Lafayette?”

“Don’t call me Princess, call me Mademoiselle Marie. Anyway, General Lafayette is a regular here. You used to go in and out of the palace a lot, aren’t you being too dramatic?”

“Oh my, Councilor Brissot is also there? Oh my gosh! It seems like all the famous people from the revolution are here!”

Of course, Bertin’s words were half wrong.

Madame Paget’s salon was a hotbed of revolutionary moderates from the beginning.

Mirabeau, who died, used to frequent it, and after him, Lafayette, who became the ‘opposition leader,’ frequented it.

It is quite far from the Jacobin Mountain faction, which is currently leading the revolution.

Nevertheless, it is a salon frequented by the Feuillant and Girondin factions, which still hold a majority of the National Convention’s members.

From the perspective of the Mountain faction, it is a thorn in their side, but it is a place that is difficult to touch recklessly.

On the other hand, there is a high possibility that it will become dangerous in the event of political upheaval.

Hortense, who is unaware of these political circumstances, smiled brightly.

“Those uncles are kind, I really like them! And they’re handsome!”

“Huh? Oh, well, yes. Of course, not as good as our Eugene.”

“Hmph, brother is young. Still. He doesn’t have a manly charm. But who is this person?”

Hortense, who is already judging men’s looks, asked, and Rose Bertin laughed, pointing to her chest.

“Hehe, our little lady has an eye for men? I’m the best ‘Fashion Designer’ in Paris. I designed the dress your mother is wearing!”

At one time, all the women of the French royal family and aristocratic families visited Bertin’s *Boutique* [fashion store].

However, after the revolution began, of course, no one visited Bertin’s boutique.

But how is Bertin still holding on?

Hortense, who knows Madame Paget’s dazzling dress, was startled and asked.

“Wow! Really? Then will you make my clothes too?”

“Of course, your brother always pays me a lot of money.”

“Really? It seems like my brother earns a lot of money?”

This is because Eugene is giving donations.

Coincidentally, when captivating the women of the Bonaparte family, the clothes from Bertin’s boutique played a role.

Blinking slightly, Bertin replied.

“Maybe he’s one of the top ten richest people in Paris? I heard he built a new gunpowder factory. Princess, or rather, Mademoiselle, do you know?”

At that time, Marie looked away slightly and smiled awkwardly.

“Yes? Ah, I know. I heard that Monsieur Lavoisier and Monsieur DuPont participated as developers.”

“I heard that over 1 million *livres* [French currency] were invested? How much is that in the new currency, *franc* [another French currency]? Oh my gosh.”

“Well, maybe about 5 million francs? But they say they’ll have to invest more in the future. It seems like the development is already done, but it hasn’t been stabilized yet.”

At that moment, the quick-witted Bertin’s eyes lit up.

“How do you know so much about it? Does Patron Eugene tell you things like that?”

Is Eugene, who is not yet 14 years old, already in that kind of relationship?

Or is Marie deeply involved?

It was the moment when Marie, caught off guard, hesitated without answering properly.

A young man hurriedly entered the salon looking for someone and ran towards Marie.

“Ah, you were here. Mademoiselle Cafe.”

Armand Ganeda, once a page to Queen Marie Antoinette.

Originally, he hated the royal family so much that he cut ties with them after the revolution.

However, Armand’s attitude now was extremely polite.

With Bertin and Hortense wide-eyed, Marie asked with dignity.

“Armand, what’s wrong?”

“It’s an urgent report. I heard that Patron Eugene is at the Public Safety Headquarters. Jean Samuel Paulie, the rifle developer, has just arrived in Paris. He said he will go to DuPont Societe soon.”

“Really? That’s good. Can we put the new detonator into practical use?”

A close secret conversation, and it’s about the Gunpowder Factory that was just mentioned.

Marie was startled when she realized that Bertin was listening with great interest next to her.

Waving her hands, Marie denied to Bertin.

“Huh? No, I’m just delivering the news.”

“Yes, Mademoiselle. Does that mean you will be the new *patron* [benefactor]?”

“No, that’s not it.”

The quick-witted Bertin nodded leisurely, as if she had roughly understood the situation.

On the other hand, Marie’s face turned bright red.

At that moment, Hortense, who had lost interest in the uninteresting story, turned her head and waved her hand.

Because her brother, Eugene, whom she had been waiting for, had appeared.

“Oh, there’s brother! Huh?”

Bertin, who was turning her gaze, clapped her hands.

“Oh my, Patron Eugene is escorting General Bonaparte! Isn’t he the most powerful military figure in Paris?”

Napoleon Bonaparte, Paris Security Commander.

Napoleon, wearing a navy blue military uniform, was entering with Eugene and his adjutants.

Marceau, Duroc, Juno, and Marmont and Hippolyte Charles.

They are currently the top figures in the Paris Security Command.

They were also daring enough to frequent this salon where the Opposition Party gathers.

There was another Reason to overcome political obstacles.

However, Hortense, who saw Napoleon, pouted.

“I don’t like that person.”

“Huh? Why? He seemed like a nice person.”

“Marie too. He’s rough and unsophisticated! And skinny. Hmph!”

Hortense has seen sophisticated men in Paris, such as Lafayette and Brissot.

Naturally, she thinks Napoleon, who has just come to the city from the ‘countryside,’ is unsophisticated.

Besides, Hortense has another reason.

He frequents this salon too often and even comes at night.

To Madame Paget.

Pouting again, Hortense grumbled.

“Well, he’s handsome, but still.”

It was Hortense, an 11-year-old who still didn’t like Napoleon.

Unaware that she would later remain the greatest Bonaparte worshiper in the original history.

***

Of course, the best Bonapartist right now is definitely the Boy Knight.

“Commander, there is no time to come to such a salon. The movements of each *commune* [administrative division] in Paris are unusual these days.”

Marceau, who has now been promoted to lieutenant colonel, spoke carefully next to Napoleon.

Unlike other adjutants, Marceau commanded an independent unit in the Vendée.

So, he is playing the role of senior adjutant.

In particular, the special postal unit that worked with Marceau is playing the role of informant and is quite proficient in collecting information in Paris.

The public sentiment trends of those using military mail are unusual.

This is the common report from the Paris Special Postal Regiment that is coming up to the Public Safety Headquarters.

So, there is no time for everyone to come to the salon to hang out.

If Napoleon wants to come, the adjutants must protect the Public Safety Headquarters.

Nevertheless, everyone came to the salon today because of Napoleon’s insistence.

Napoleon looked back at the worried Marceau and chuckled.

“Ah, we can’t just work every day, can we? Sometimes we have to come to the salon and relax? Hahaha!”

“Sir, still.”

“Oh, isn’t this salon run by the mother of our adjutant, Eugene Beauharnais?”

Lightly patting Marceau’s shoulder, Napoleon smiled meaningfully.

“Besides, there will be an important announcement today.”

Leaving Marceau, who was blinking, behind, Napoleon hurriedly disappeared into the salon.

The remaining adjutants looked at each other.

Suddenly, Juno, the most active man among the adjutants, asked.

“Hey, do you know what’s going on? Boy Knight?”

“He is clearly our superior. Call him by his rank. Lieutenant Colonel Juno.”

“Oh my, you can do that in the unit. Do you have to do that in this salon too? Duroc? Let’s not be so formal in a place like this.”

Leaving Juno, who was grumbling lightly, and the strict Duroc behind, the sociable Marmont asked instead.

“Do you happen to know what’s going on, Colonel Eugene?”

“No, not at all. You know? Lieutenant Colonel Marmont. These days, I’m so busy with the development of ‘Fulminated Mercury.’ I think we’ll be able to go straight to practical use soon.”

“Ah, that detonator that explodes easily! I saw a test piece once and it was good. Hehe.”

Marmont smiled, recalling the Fulminated Mercury that Lavoisier had announced a while ago, and then tilted his head.

“No, then what are you announcing today?”

Unfortunately, even Eugene, whose mother’s house this is, doesn’t know.

Instead, Eugene was looking at the old Constitutional Monarchists in the salon.

Lafayette, who was standing far away, raised his glass slightly and sent a greeting to Eugene.

Eugene raised his glass in response and smiled.

Surprisingly, Lafayette seems to have adapted well to the new revolutionary situation.

He no longer advocates for a constitutional monarchy.

It is an era where you cannot survive unless you are a supporter of the republic.

Lafayette is advocating for a moderate revolution in line with the political changes.

In particular, he has allied with the old Jacobin moderates, Girondins, whose power has weakened.

As evidence, he was chatting with Brissot, the leader of the Girondins and an abolitionist.

“Did you talk to General Lafayette?”

Eugene turned his head slightly at the sudden question.

“What are you talking about, Marceau?”

“That detonator. You’re going to use it for the breech-loading rifle, right? General Lafayette would know the effectiveness better. He also participated in the American Revolutionary War, where breech-loading rifles first appeared.”

“Ah, that’s right. That’s right. Fulminated mercury doesn’t just replace the flint, it also makes it easier to use breech-loading rifles.”

This is the technical difficulty of the so-called breech-loading, formally known as breech-loading rifle.

In the muzzle-loading type, gunpowder is pushed into the muzzle and fired with flint.

However, if you make a breech-loading type, you need a place to put the gunpowder to be fired behind the muzzle.

The Patrick Ferguson Rifle solved this problem by creating a separate bullet loader called *breech* [the part of the firearm behind the barrel].

Still, when the gunpowder explodes from behind, residue remains and gas leaks.

But if Fulminated Mercury or Fulminate is created, the situation changes.

If there is an easily exploding detonator, fulminate, there is no need for flint.

Furthermore, since the detonation can occur at the rear and fire the bullet, it is suitable for breech-loading.

However, fulminate itself is unstable, and it is difficult to wrap it with bullets in paper cartridges.

But Marceau took something out and said.

“Then we need to stabilize it a little more, right? I’ve been thinking about it.”

Eugene’s eyes widened as he looked at the small Metal Cylinder that Marceau was taking out.

“How about using this?”

An object that people in this era would never have even thought of.

A device that can only be imagined in the modern era of the original history, where ammunition and fulminate are combined into a bullet.

In other words, it is an object corresponding to the prototype of Cartridge.

An object similar to the first percussion cap, which was first attempted in Scotland in 1807 and only became practical in the 1820s.

“Percussion Cap?”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, how do you use this?”

At Eugene’s question, Marceau smiled and slipped a bullet into the cylinder.

“Like this, it covers the bullet. It puts gunpowder and bullets together like a paper cartridge. It’s difficult with a flintlock, but what if it’s changed to a detonating type? Isn’t it possible to use it?”

The percussion cap, or Cartridge, is effective in itself.

It makes it easy to use fulminate for detonation without flint or wicks, even if it is not breech-loading.

This means that rifle shooting is possible regardless of weather conditions.

Moreover, this is only the initial stage, and eventually a formal metal cartridge that breech-loading needle guns detonate will be born, which can be developed into modern Bullets.

Eugene looked at Marceau with excited eyes.

“Excellent. Marceau. This, we can use it.”

It was then.

Other people approaching Eugene came into Eugene’s eyes.

First of all, Marie and Hortense were seen.

But the two people who were approaching happily stopped.

Because someone completely unexpected was approaching Eugene.

-Step, step, step.

Everyone paid attention to the person as the sound of military boots echoed on the floor.

Everyone in this salon knows this man.

Because he was a person who had a very deep relationship with the salon’s hostess.

Alexandre de Beauharnais was entering.

“What, General Alexandre Beauharnais?”

“Why did that person come to this salon? I heard he was on the Rhine front.”

“Isn’t he Madame Paget’s ex-husband? And Colonel Eugene’s father.”

While Juno, Duroc, and Marmont were whispering, Alexandre stood in front of Eugene.

“It’s been a while, Eugene. I heard you’ve been promoted?”

Eugene shrugged, looking intently at his father, Alexandre.

“What’s going on, Father?”

It is quite an unfamiliar conversation for a father and son who have not seen each other for over a year.

However, from Eugene’s point of view, it can’t be helped.

He is the most unwelcome guest to the owner of this salon, and Napoleon has come today.

But Alexandre replied nonchalantly.

“Your mother called me. So, I rushed from the battlefield.”

“Yes? No, why?”

“She didn’t tell me the reason. Maybe.”

Suddenly, Alexandre twisted his lips and smiled.

“Maybe she’s begging for a reconciliation? Hahaha.”

Of course, that’s not possible.

But when his suddenly successful ex-wife called, Alexandre seems to have rushed over.

Eugene also became a little curious.

Why did his mother call his father to this place?

At that moment, Hippolyte, who was standing behind Eugene, shouted.

“Ah, there’s Madame Paget coming out!”

Madame Paget.

Soon, Josephine was walking out.

With Napoleon accompanying her from behind.

***

This salon, party, and stage were specially created by Josephine.

-Click, click, click.

Josephine loves the sound of high heels hitting the floor.

Before the revolution, the parties in Paris that she first saw during the old royal era were very splendid and wonderful.

It was only because Josephine was a lower-class aristocrat from Martinique that she was treated coldly.

Now, thanks to her precious son, Josephine is happy to be able to return and hold salon parties every day.

Most of all, Josephine is happiest to have a man next to her that she can ‘boast’ about.

“Thank you to the distinguished guests who have gathered today.”

Josephine elegantly parted her lips, looking back at countless distinguished guests.

“Members of the National Convention, wealthy people of Paris, and artists who always brighten our salon.”

Distinguished guests, including Lafayette, lightly greeted Josephine.

In fact, most of these distinguished guests are far from the Mountain faction, who are leading the revolution, so Josephine’s salon is a very grateful place.

Furthermore, the fact that the salon’s hostess, Josephine’s son, is a Knight of the Princess was also an important factor.

Josephine only welcomed famous people to the salon.

Suddenly, Josephine’s gaze turned to Hortense and Eugene.

“Also, my precious son and daughter.”

Also, the unwelcome man next to Eugene can be seen.

“Even my ex-husband has come here.”

Josephine glared at her ex-husband, Alexandre, very coldly, and then raised her nose.

“Everyone, they are people who decorated a page of my life. I would like to introduce a new chapter in my life in front of those people.”

At the moment when Josephine turned her gaze, Napoleon walked out.

-Clang, clang, clang.

The lieutenant’s insignia shines in the candlelight of the chandelier.

Truly, two dazzling men and women stood under the stage.

Josephine, standing on the stage that everyone is paying attention to, felt a feeling full of joy.

I wanted to do this for my first marriage too.

Not being dragged to Paris as if being sold for debt.

Alexandre, who still hasn’t come to his senses, looks at Josephine in a daze.

This will be revenge on the husband who abandoned her and a new beginning.

Josephine declared, revealing her pure white teeth.

“Today, here, I would like to announce that General Bonaparte and I will be holding our future engagement ceremony.”

At that moment, Alexandre was the first to be surprised and shouted.

“What!”

Even Eugene, who had been satisfied with Josephine’s ‘healthy teeth’ until then, was surprised as if his eyes would pop out.

On the other hand, those who had often seen Napoleon at the salon were different.

Lafayette and Brissot, the adjutant Juno, ran over and offered congratulations.

“Oh, are you getting married?”

“Congratulations, General! Madam!”

“Oh my gosh, what a happy thing!”

However, Josephine waved her hand, slightly embarrassed.

“Ah, wait. Don’t misunderstand. Not yet.”

It’s not a marriage yet.

Everyone tilted their heads, saying that they would hold an engagement ceremony but postpone the marriage.

But Josephine is not yet sure.

Besides, it was actually something that was done a bit on a whim.

Anyway, the man next to her is completely in love with Josephine, but on the other hand, Josephine has not completely fallen in love yet.

“I’m just planning to hold an engagement ceremony in the future. Nothing is confirmed.”

“Yes? What does that mean, Madam?”

“General, would you like to say it instead?”

Then, the man standing next to Josephine with a flushed face, Napoleon, opened his mouth.

“I want to marry our Madame Paget. However, Madam only agrees to announce that we are planning to get engaged now.”

Suddenly, Napoleon’s eyes flashed.

“I will definitely get her marriage approval by the engagement ceremony.”

That confident and intense look.

It has the power to capture Josephine’s heart.

If he had been as good at ‘night work’ as that look, Josephine might have already fallen for him.

But Josephine is not yet satisfied with Napoleon’s ‘bedtime’.

In fact, it is naturally impossible for Napoleon, who has little dating experience, to satisfy Josephine.

Anyway, Napoleon proposed, and Josephine, after thinking about it, held this party with the determination of Revenge.

Seeing Alexandre collapsing now makes me think I did a good job.

It was the moment when Josephine was about to smile brightly.

-Thump!

The door burst open.

Everyone’s eyes were focused and then horrified again.

Because someone who has never entered this salon and will not come in the future has come.

One of the three giants of the revolutionary radical hardliners, the Jacobin Mountain faction, a terrifying member of the Committee of Public Safety.

Georges Danton was smiling with a grim face.

“Congratulations on your engagement to the most beautiful woman in Paris, General.”

Napoleon frowned at Danton.

“Monsieur Danton?”

Josephine blinked at the sight.

Something is wrong.

It was as if a ‘dangerous element’ had entered Josephine’s peaceful, splendid, and dazzling party.

Suddenly my heart is beating.

With anxiety.

Suddenly, Napoleon grabbed Josephine’s hand tightly.

It was the moment when Josephine was about to feel relieved, looking at Napoleon with trusting eyes.

Danton shouted magnificently.

“Now, give me an answer to my letter!”

Josephine did not yet know that this uninvited guest’s cry would plunge everyone into turmoil.

Even her own destiny.