I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 56

Homecoming (1)

The Tuileries Palace in Paris, where the Prince and Princess resided.

With its owner, Christian, absent, Marie organized her schedule for the day as usual.

“The Versailles weekend banquet was yesterday, so there’s no need to go this week… The interview with the newspaper publisher this afternoon can be done here… Am I missing anything?”

“Yes. There’s a cooking demonstration scheduled in front of the Tuileries Palace after the interview with the publisher.”

“Ah, is that today? Thank you for reminding me.”

Lavoisier, the Director-General of Publications.

Having been asked by Christian to take care of Marie before he left, he was now half acting as her secretary.

The father was the princess’s secretary, and the son was the prince’s asset manager, growing his wealth.

On top of their original duties, the two men had been incredibly busy lately.

Still, they were more than satisfied with their promotion from cleaning up after the court to being close aides of royalty.

“The Prince will be surprised when he returns. It hasn’t even been a few months, but she’s changed so much.”

“He’ll be happy, won’t he?”

“Of course, he will. He asked me very earnestly to take care of you. I heard that things are going well over there too, so he’ll be back soon.”

“I wanted to give him another surprise gift…”

Marie sighed softly and lowered her gaze.

Hoping against hope, she had been regularly examined by a doctor, but she hadn’t heard the news she was longing for.

It is said that a marriage alliance is completed not by the wedding ceremony but by the birth of an heir.

A child inheriting the blood of both royal families would be a symbol signifying the bond between the two nations.

Lavoisier, sensing Marie’s feelings, offered gentle comfort.

“It is said that children are a gift from God. Perhaps it’s just not the right time to have a child, with Your Highness and the Prince being so busy.”

“…I suppose so. It hasn’t even been a year since we got married. Some people take years, so I shouldn’t be too impatient.”

Marie steeled her heart and decided to focus on her tasks for the day.

Recently, there had been many events involving contact with the citizens.

If she showed a bad image here, she might lose the popularity she had barely gained in an instant.

Frankly, hoping to have a child right after getting married was probably greedy.

She was happy enough as it was, so she decided not to want too much at once.

“By the way, how many people have applied for the cooking demonstration?”

“Well… just the day before yesterday, I received reports that it had already exceeded several thousand.”

“What? I thought we were only drawing ten people.”

“How many opportunities are there to taste dishes made by the Princess herself? Bourgeoisie [middle class], nobles, everyone applied regardless of status. There’s even a bishop who applied…”

In reality, it was called handmade cooking, but the chefs had already finished preparing the ingredients and basic work, and Marie was only doing the finishing touches.

The theme of this event was that Marie, who was deeply immersed in French food culture, would cook herself, but the response was hotter than expected.

“The competition is too high. Hmm… should I cook more? I didn’t expect so many people to come.”

Just as she was seriously trying to analyze the cause of this huge event.

“That’s because the Princess’s popularity in Paris is literally exploding right now.”

A middle-aged man who entered the palace said with a playful tone as he approached.

Standing before Marie, he knelt politely and greeted her.

“Greetings to the esteemed Princess of France. I sincerely wish you a peaceful day today.”

The middle-aged man was the newspaper publisher who ran a publishing company in Paris.

Among the many newspaper publishers in Paris, he was just an ordinary bourgeois with nothing particularly special.

That was the case until just a few months ago.

But not anymore.

“Welcome. Was today’s theme ballet?”

“Yes. This time, I’d like to make some comparisons not only with Austria but also with England. The Princess has deep knowledge of the arts, so I think we’ll get a high-quality article.”

The publisher’s smiling mouth was almost up to his ears.

When he first heard about this project, he expected it to do well.

But the current response was far beyond that.

People in Paris who were not illiterate were eager to read the articles published by his newspaper.

Even those who couldn’t read yet were constantly asking their acquaintances what was written this week.

It wasn’t just about publishing articles; Marie’s external activities related to them created a great synergy effect.

Right now, no matter how much they printed, the supply couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Not only in Paris but also in other regions, there were desperate cries for supply.

The publisher regretted his complacency in not expanding the printing facilities on a large scale before publishing this article.

If he had taken out a loan and expanded the facilities, he would be sitting on an even bigger pile of money by now!

Even though he was giving 30% of the profits to Christian, he didn’t regret it at all.

From the beginning, he had no interest in media balance or justice.

Most of the newspaper companies in Paris had making money as their primary goal, and to make money, they had to write articles that sold.

For him, Marie, the goose that laid the golden eggs, was an object of living faith.

Who cared if she was Austrian or whatever.

If someone made him money, that person was a goddess and a messiah.

“Alright, then, Princess. Let’s start the interview now. Please feel free to talk as you have been. We will edit and publish it in the most stimulating… no, interesting way possible.”

“Yes. Shall we start right away then? My schedule is packed afterwards.”

She wanted to give Christian a pleasant surprise when he returned.

Like Robespierre had said before, depending on her actions, she could either hold Christian back or push him forward.

Since her husband’s background was weak, she would put in more effort to fill his shortcomings.

Holding a near-determined resolve, Marie cheerfully got up and moved to the garden.

※※※

A clear and cloudless, sweltering afternoon.

We arrived safely at the port of Marseille, where summer weather was now in full swing.

“Oh! Finally back. My France.”

Auguste stretched and yawned, exclaiming in a theatrical tone.

Perhaps it was due to his confidence in having faithfully fulfilled his role in this meeting, but his tension was strangely high.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Of course, I can’t help but enjoy myself. You wouldn’t have wanted to stay in the Vatican any longer either. His Holiness the Pope was very sorry to see us leave, though. Considering that, would it have been the right decision to stay a little longer?”

“No. After the secret negotiations with England ended, I only thought about returning to France.”

“Because of your wife, right? You’re such a devoted husband.”

Auguste, who seemed particularly excited today, didn’t stop chattering even after getting off the ship.

“Come to think of it, I might be getting married soon too. The Romanov dynasty…”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to form a marriage alliance.”

“No, that’s not it. And frankly, for me, rather than being completely equal, it’s better if the background is slightly lower… Does that sound strange? Anyway, I’m a bit burdened by a bride with an excessively strong background. A rising country like Russia would be perfect.”

Considering Auguste’s personality, it seemed better for him to marry a woman who would unconditionally follow her husband’s words.

And if the bride’s background wasn’t much different from Auguste’s, there was a risk that the timid Auguste would lose control of the marriage.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to thoroughly verify the personality of the person who will become your sister-in-law before proceeding with the marriage.”

“Yes, yes. I’m just trusting my brother. I’m really benefiting from having such a capable brother this time.”

As we got off the ship, chattering boisterously, the royal staff who came to greet us approached with a fuss.

“You’ve finally arrived! Thank you for your hard work on the long journey!”

“His Majesty is very pleased with the results you’ve achieved this time.”

“What could we have done? It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s grace.”

I accepted the welcome appropriately and got into the carriage heading to the Palace of Versailles.

“Your Highness. Were you satisfied with the Vatican?”

It was Lavoisier, my asset manager, who had been waiting in the carriage.

I nodded, taking the newspapers he handed me.

“It wasn’t bad. It seems like things are going smoothly here too.”

“Yes. My father has been incredibly busy lately because of this.”

The newspapers Lavoisier brought were full of stories about me and Marie.

Even just looking at the eye-catching headlines, they were roughly like this:

[The Power of F Quarantine Created by Prince Christian! France Achieves the Lowest Level of Smallpox Patients in Europe! The World is Paying Attention.]

[England. Why are They Shedding Tears of Blood at France’s Great Success? Prince Christian’s Choice, Which He Was Confident In.]

[Was French Culture at This Level? Princess Marie Antoinette is Also Surprised by This Aspect of France.]

It was content that I had planned, but just reading it made me feel suffocated and made my whole body and space-time cringe.

I thought that nationalistic content would be a great success, but frankly, I didn’t expect such an explosive reaction in such a short period.

I don’t think even I properly grasped the pride that the French people have in their own culture.

In modern times, there is a lot of opposition to this kind of nationalistic content, but there was none of that in France right now.

This was because France had been defeated in the war against England and had been experiencing a time of humiliation.

France, which had been full of confidence as the strongest country in Europe, needed something new to fill its self-esteem.

In the midst of this, such a project appeared, causing an unexpected and enormous whirlwind.

Analyzing it now, it seemed that my existence had a big impact.

A member of the French royal family, representing France, had properly humiliated England and enhanced France’s prestige around the world.

On top of that, the princess of the Habsburg family [ruling house of Austria], who had been in constant conflict, was said to have been impressed by France’s superior culture, so what could be more conducive to enhancing the French people’s sense of superiority?

If only Marie or I had been there, we wouldn’t have caused such a huge reaction.

You could say that the synergy of the couple brought about unexpected positive synergy.

Of course, this tendency could lead to fascism if done wrong, and its popularity could quickly fade once its effect wears off.

That’s why Marie was not only publishing articles but also actively interacting with citizens to build goodwill.

The plan was to gradually reduce the proportion of nationalistic content and increase social activities such as poverty relief as her popularity increased.

But the speed at which her popularity was increasing was faster than expected.

Lavoisier, who had been waiting for me to finish reading the articles, carefully offered his opinion.

“The growth trend is faster than expected. Shouldn’t we bring forward or revise the plans we initially set up?”

“Yes. We’ll need to do that. Let’s think about it after we get back.”

I thought things would slow down a bit when I returned, but it seems like such a dreamlike thing won’t happen.

I smiled bitterly and closed my eyes to rest, even if only for the ride to Versailles.

※※※

A grand party was scheduled in Versailles to celebrate the return of me and the Crown Prince.

In fact, I didn’t care what happened to the party; I just wanted to see Marie’s face first.

She would definitely be waiting in Versailles, so I could meet her as soon as I entered the palace.

But when I got out of the carriage with a fluttering heart, the first thing I saw wasn’t her lovely face.

“Congratulations on your return, Your Highness.”

“Duke of Chartres… Haven’t you heard that you’re a bit tactless?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Just pretend you didn’t hear that. But I didn’t know you liked me so much that you’d wait outside the palace.”

Why did I have to see the face of that annoying slicker instead of my beautiful wife when I returned from a long journey?

In the first place, does this guy even know that his family is on the list of likely suspects?

Or is he just sticking around to check and monitor me, a future powerful competitor, because he’s confident?

Considering that, one possibility comes to mind.

Since it’s a good opportunity, should I test him?

“By the way, Duke of Chartres, what does the Duke of Orléans think about you coming to see me so often?”

“Ah, I think you’re misunderstanding something, but I’m not here to monitor Your Highness…”

“I don’t think so. I’m just asking because I’ve never met the Duke of Orléans in person.”

“Come to think of it, my father did say that it would be rude to bother Your Highness too much since you’re busy. But I don’t come that often, do I?”

The Duke of Chartres smiled affably.

At this point, I roughly understood the situation.

I naturally walked into the palace with him and said.

“It’s a bit much if only you come, so I’ll visit you next time. I hope I can have a meal with the Duke of Orléans then.”

“We’d welcome Your Highness anytime. I’ll tell my father.”

“Thank you. By the way, since ambassadors from various countries gathered at the Vatican, I heard some interesting stories. Would you like to hear them?”

“If it’s a story I’m allowed to hear, I’ll definitely listen.”

To the Duke of Chartres, who showed a surprised reaction, I calmly began to tell the story.

“It’s said that something happened in Ottoman Turkey, and there are surprisingly many people who revolt there. Of course, there are also many cases where they are suppressed.”

“As expected of infidels, they lack loyalty.”

“It’s not just that they lack loyalty. Surprisingly, such revolts are often detected by the betrayal of family members. What do you think about this, Duke of Chartres? Is loyalty so high that even acts of treason against the state cannot be forgiven, even by family members?”

“Isn’t that just selling out the family because they’re afraid of dying if they get caught? They don’t have the guts to go all the way, even though they’re on the same boat.”

“But the son or wife might not have known that the head of the family was plotting a revolt.”

The Duke of Chartres seemed to be contemplating, then slightly nodded his head.

“In that case, that head of the family should be seen as incompetent and irresponsible. If that were the case, I would take the lead in bringing down the head of the family. I can’t stand by and watch the family collapse due to an individual’s foolish judgment.”

“I see. You are discerning as expected. In fact, when I heard this story, the choices varied from place to place.”

“If I may say so, I think people who make other choices there lack at least a minimum of judgment.”

As the expected answer came back, I couldn’t help but suppress the laughter that was leaking out.

The Duke of Chartres, seeing my reaction, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No. I just thought that people who choose other options are fools.”

“Your Highness, in my opinion, there are many people in the world who seem to lack intelligence. Even if they are nobles.”

Looking at the Duke of Chartres, who was so full of confidence and pride, I sneered without him seeing.

“That’s right. I hope you don’t lose that spirit and keep it.”