I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 83

Orléans Duke

“I fully understand Your Grace’s desire to live.”

At my signal, servants entered with a glass and wine.

I poured the red wine directly into the glass and handed it to the Duke of Chartres.

“Some might criticize you for abandoning your parents to save yourself, but I don’t see it that way. Isn’t all of this proof of Your Grace’s deep loyalty to France?”

“…I can only be grateful if you see it that way.”

“Yes. Since you’ve gone this far, I will keep my promise. I will ensure the Duke of Chartres’ safety.”

“Is Your Highness going to appeal directly to His Majesty?”

The Duke’s eyes were full of doubt, as if he had been deceived by this side more than once or twice.

His restless heart, still worried about hidden traps, was clearly visible.

“Of course, I intend to. If I present this evidence directly, His Majesty will pardon at least the Duke.”

“…Then, my father will not be able to avoid the death penalty after all.”

“Even if it were just the diamond fraud case, it would be different, but the circumstances of trying to assassinate me and attempting to hand over national secrets to England are too clear, so there’s nothing I can do.”

The Duke of Chartres nodded powerlessly.

He probably knows it too.

That it is unusual for even just himself to be saved here.

“But… what is the reason for showing me such mercy? In fact, Your Highness could easily send not only my father but also me to the execution ground.”

“If Your Grace had been involved in this, I would have. However, the laws of France originally prohibit guilt by association. Even when there was an assassination attempt on His Majesty in the past, only the perpetrator was punished, not the relatives.”

Of course, this is only nominally the case, and a family that has tried to assassinate the king or committed treason is practically socially dead.

And in this case, it was easy to tie the Duke of Chartres to the crime as well.

“Aren’t you worried about the aftermath of leaving me alive here?”

“I think the Duke of Orléans must have urged you not to harbor any foolish thoughts.”

“…He did.”

Well, no matter how much he heard those words, it would not be easy to shake off the hatred for the man who had ruined his family.

To be honest, it would be troublesome for me if he became too obedient.

Then I would have to find additional value in him in my own way, but the Duke of Chartres’ personality has already been grasped.

“I believe that Your Grace is rational and will not act rashly. Or am I misjudging people?”

This man will never abandon his desire for revenge against me.

“No. I am also a person who knows gratitude. And if I were to be picky, Your Highness did nothing, but was unilaterally threatened by my father… If I were to harbor resentment towards Your Highness for my father’s actions, it would be truly brazen.”

“I appreciate you saying that. In fact, both during the court case and this case, I never strike first unless someone touches me.”

“Yes. I know.”

Having said this much, he probably won’t rush in rashly.

I hope he lives like a dead man for about ten to fifteen years and builds up his power.

So that he can become a symbolic figure that nobles who oppose Louis Christian can put forward.

“Now, shall we finish the post-processing work?”

The Duke of Chartres sensed that what was coming was finally arriving, and took a heavy breath.

He has no choice but to be unilaterally exploited, and he can’t even resist, so he can’t help but feel disturbed.

“First of all, I will allow you to maintain your position and territory.”

“Thank you.”

“However, all titles and territories held by the Duke of Orléans will be confiscated, and you will not be able to claim inheritance rights. Do you agree?”

“Yes. I think it’s a natural step…”

Even while answering immediately, the Duke’s voice trailed off.

“Of course, this also applies to the titles and properties recently inherited from the Duke of Orléans.”

If I don’t make this clear, the Duke of Orléans might transfer all his assets to his son in advance.

In addition to preventing this in advance, there was also the purpose of making the transfer of the territory easier.

What I’m aiming for is to legally, and with the consent of the original heir, the Duke of Chartres, get everything from the Duke of Orléans.

“I am just grateful that you allow me to keep my title. I will follow Your Highness’s will for the rest.”

“Okay. Then please sign here.”

The Duke of Chartres’ eyes shook like a small boat caught in a storm when he saw the pledge I held out.

No matter how hard he tries to pretend to be calm, he can’t suppress his emotions.

In fact, I would have been the same if I were in that position.

The Duke of Chartres, who received the pen from the servant, soaked the tip in ink with a trembling hand.

The titles he agreed to give up inheritance and be subordinate to me were as follows.

[Duke of Orléans, Duke of Valois, Duke of Nemours, Duke of Montpensier.]

And of course, all the enormous land attached to it is also included.

In other words, all of the vast lands, accounting for 5% of the current Kingdom of France, will be vested in me.

The Duke of Chartres, who was supposed to inherit all of this, will become penniless in an instant.

Even if he endures here, it is certain that all the Duke of Orléans’ territory will be confiscated.

If I don’t like it, I can just leave the Duke of Chartres’ title as it is and incorporate his territory into the royal family’s property.

To keep even his current position, he has no choice but to agree to this highway robbery-like signature.

“I… will follow… Your Highness’s will…”

With a voice that sounded like he was spitting blood, the Duke of Chartres signed the paper and stamped it.

I smiled with satisfaction and took the agreement.

“Thank you. I will definitely guarantee Your Grace’s safety in the future. Even if other nobles cause trouble, I will solve everything. You have made a wise decision.”

“Then, may I… leave now?”

I can feel his desire not to stay here any longer.

I wanted to torment him a little more, but I couldn’t hold him any longer because I had things to do too.

“Please do so. I hope you depart in peace.”

“Yes. Thank you once again for your mercy.”

As soon as my permission was given, the Duke got up from his seat.

He bowed his head and turned around, leaving the room without looking back.

Only the red wine that he had not even tasted was sadly guarding the place where he had been sitting.

※※※

After sending the Duke of Chartres away, I immediately went to the Palace of Versailles.

Louis XV, who had directly confirmed the evidence of all this with his own eyes, showed more diverse reactions than expected.

“How dare these bastards! Release the soldiers right now and arrest them all… No, you’ve already taken care of everything, so there’s no need to do that? But is this really true? How could Orléans…”

“Didn’t you get a rough idea from the debate in the palace last time?”

“I suspected that the Orléans family was behind the diamond fraud case. But I never imagined that the guys who tried to assassinate you were them… And they were even going to tell you about the plan to go to war with England?”

The King’s palms, scanning through the data brought by the Duke of Chartres, were soaked with sweat.

His head seemed unable to keep up with the reality that far exceeded his imagination.

So he was not showing a consistent reaction, getting angry, falling into doubt, and wavering.

After reviewing all the evidence, Louis XV closed his eyes and sighed as if the ground was sinking.

I waited patiently without saying anything until the King’s emotions were sorted out.

After some time, he finally opened his eyes and slowly met my eyes.

“No matter how you look at it, all the evidence has been secured, and since they have confessed, there is only one decision I can make. You have done a great job this time as well.”

“You flatter me.”

“No. The Orléans family has the highest succession rights among the collateral royal families. Of course, I should have expected them to be greedy for the throne. If you hadn’t caught them, I shudder to think what other plots they would have hatched.”

“Then, may I proceed with this agreement?”

Even if it is natural to confiscate all the territories and titles of the Orléans family, there is room for controversy in taking all of this.

The position of Duke of Orléans is the position with the power that cannot be compared to anyone except the King and Crown Prince in France.

If I take that position, I will become the undisputed second-in-command in France.

Even if the King’s favor disappears, a foundation will be laid that I can survive on my own.

Even if he is a grandson, Louis XV may be reluctant to transfer such great power to others.

Decisively, I am a royal family member, but I am an illegitimate child with no succession rights.

It was a contradiction in itself for such a person to rise to the position of Duke.

Of course, I have been thoroughly playing the role of a loyal dog under the King until now for this day.

In addition, the royal family who maintains the best relationship with the Crown Prince, who will be the next king, was me.

Louis XV probably judged that I could give more power to the Crown Prince than even his own brothers.

Now, all I have to do is diligently appeal that I have no desire for the throne.

And I had also laid the groundwork for this.

Fortunately, Louis XV was a person with no flaws in his judgment or intelligence, even though he could not put it into practice.

The King, who had been reading the agreement signed by the Duke of Chartres, discovered something strange and scratched his head.

“But why did you exclude Prince de Joinville from the titles belonging to Orléans?”

“Because I have no reason to call myself a Prince. I don’t think it will benefit the royal family either.”

“Even though your origins are complicated, you are a member of the royal family that I have recognized. Of course, I think you are also qualified to use the name of Prince.”

The current Duke of Orléans is the number one in the French collateral royal family, so he naturally has the title of Prince de Joinville, which can be expressed as Grand Duke or Prince.

But I deliberately excluded this.

“Your Majesty. What do you think is the reason why such a terrible situation has occurred?”

Even though it may feel like a sudden question that has deviated from the topic, Louis XV seriously considered it.

“Well… isn’t it because the Duke of Orléans had too much power?”

“To be exact, it is because his son, the Duke of Chartres, had the highest succession rights except for Your Majesty’s direct line. Since he has all the wealth and power, he will naturally be greedy for the throne.”

“…That’s right. But what does that have to do with you not receiving the title of Prince de Joinville?”

“It is because I, who will inherit the title of Duke of Orléans in the future, will not have the right to inherit the throne.”

Originally, the Duke is a person who has royal blood in some form, so there can hardly be a Duke without succession rights.

If I take the position of Duke of Orléans, there may be those who oppose it for that reason.

However, the current situation is literally a special situation, so exceptions could occur as much as possible.

If the King’s will is strong, he will be able to promote me to the Duke’s position.

And I was able to perfectly present the reason why I had to do so.

“If a royal family member with higher succession rights inherits the title of Duke of Orléans, this will happen as much as possible in the future. The system itself is made this way, so it doesn’t make sense to leave it to people’s good will.”

“I know what you’re trying to say. You’re saying that the possibility of this happening in the future will disappear because you, who have no succession rights, will take the position of Orléans?”

“Yes. I don’t want the right to inherit the throne, and I won’t in the future. I want to support my brother, who will be the next king, as the first nobleman of France.”

Deep emotion settled in Louis XV’s eyes.

He clenched his fist, trembling with excitement, and nodded his head.

“Yes. It’s admirable that you thought that far from the beginning and wrote this agreement.”

“Thank you.”

“As you said, it seems that there is a structural problem with the fact that a royal family member with the power next to the king has high succession rights. It will definitely be of great help to the Crown Prince if a nobleman who is friendly to the royal family but has no succession rights occupies this position. And if that person is you, I can watch without any worries.”

As expected, the image I have built up in the past is what exerts great power at times like this.

From the moment I was recognized as a royal family member, I have only shown loyalty to the King and the Crown Prince.

The option of doubting my good intentions did not even exist in Louis XV’s head.

“As Your Majesty said, the future Duke of Orléans will be a completely different being from what it has been. I will be the shield that protects the royal family and the sword that strikes Your Majesty’s enemies.”

“Good. There is no need to hesitate any longer, so I, Louis XV, King of France, acknowledge that this agreement is in effect in my name. On the day all of this is completed, you will formally inherit the name of Duke of Orléans.”

“I am grateful. I will continue to serve the royal family with all my abilities.”

In a warm atmosphere without even a hint of doubt, Louis XV kindly patted me on the shoulder.

I thoroughly suppressed the sense of accomplishment that was rising in my heart and accepted his praise with a face full of emotion and loyalty.

Until now, it was only called conventionally, but from this moment on, the Duke of Orléans has nobles among nobles.

It explicitly implies the meaning of the first nobleman of France.

And the first owner is me.

Louis Christian de France, Duke of Orléans.