I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 157

The Bait

‘At this rate, there will be nowhere for nobles to set foot in France.’

The King had already decided to eliminate all the nobles and had been steadily carrying it out for a long time.

In the end, the naive nobles who were unaware of the situation were just being played by the King.

At first, the nobles were skeptical, but now they were slowly beginning to recognize reality.

This was all thanks to the Duke of Chartres.

After talking with the Duke of Orléans at the Tuileries Palace, he repeatedly emphasized that his claim was correct.

“I am once again convinced after my conversation with the Duke of Orléans. The mastermind behind all of this is indeed His Majesty.”

“No… really? Is His Majesty really trying to exclude us?”

“It was strange, as the Duke of Chartres said. The Duke of Orléans was strangely silent about the tax reform.”

“That’s right. Logically, he should be more dissatisfied than us, but seeing him keep his mouth shut, we can only assume that there is a higher power involved.”

The Duke of Orléans is essentially the number one noble in France.

If there is someone above him, then there is only one possibility.

“But can His Majesty push through something that the Duke of Orléans opposes? I don’t think so.”

The Marquis of Launay, Governor of Bartillat, cautiously offered his opinion.

“I agree. Even if His Majesty had such intentions, if the Duke of Orléans strongly opposed it, he would have eventually given up.”

The Marquis of Bellile nodded in agreement.

Having been scolded by Christian once before, the two recognized the Duke, not the King, as the real power in the palace.

Not only the two of them, but many nobles shared similar opinions.

The Duke of Chartres did not deny their thoughts.

“It’s probably right to see the Duke of Orléans as at least a passive accomplice.”

“Hmph… this is absurd.”

“I feel like I’m being stabbed in the back by the lance I trusted. How could His Majesty and the Duke of Orléans do this to us?”

I could feel the anger building up past the tipping point.

And for good reason.

Think back on Louis XVI’s actions so far.

To think that he had devised such a vicious plan with that innocent face was shocking and even terrifying.

Simple anger cannot easily unite a group.

Even if they calculated that they were in a superior position, it was clear that the nobles were now on the defensive.

In this situation, in order to meet Christian’s demands, it was necessary to evoke emotions beyond anger.

That’s why the Duke of Chartres pointed to Louis XVI as the mastermind, and the effect was better than expected.

“If we continue like this, we will all die! We must come up with a plan.”

“First, we need to know His Majesty’s purpose. I don’t think he set up such a meticulous plan just to collect taxes from us. What is his real purpose?”

“It’s obvious. He’s trying to completely take away our power. He must think that the royal authority will become much stronger if he does that, which is a very one-dimensional thought.”

“Does he not know what will happen if he raises commoners to catch us? If he knows what happened in America across the sea and still does this, then we can only assume that he has no thoughts…”

The idea that weakening the nobles strengthens the royal authority was a logic that worked in the Middle Ages.

In this era, if you use the power of the commoners to suppress the nobles, the ending that awaits you is the end of the class system.

As the French nobles who enjoyed the most privileges in Europe, it was an ending they could never accept.

“But if the class system disappears, won’t the King be destroyed as well?”

“Is that really the case? Even if the class system becomes nominal, the citizens’ support for the King and the Duke of Orléans is absolute. Besides, the wealth that the Duke of Orléans has accumulated is not going anywhere. The current King may prefer to go to a constitutional monarchy and just live with respect and praise, given his personality.”

“I agree with the Marquis of Bellile. There’s no way the Duke of Orléans would have overlooked what we’re thinking. He just didn’t care.”

Now, no one said anything complacent like, ‘His Majesty would never do that,’ or ‘Let’s wait and see a little longer.’

In a cauldron of intentional anger and fear.

“I have a plan of my own. If this works, we can breathe a sigh of relief, but if not… there’s only one thing we can do.”

“Now that it’s come to this, we will trust and follow the Duke of Chartres.”

“I understand. Then let’s move immediately. Now is not the time to be complacent.”

The Duke of Chartres decided to move the plan to the next stage at once.

※※※

“Your Majesty. I apologize for making you wait so long.”

The faces of the nobles who were lined up in Versailles as a group, breaking the long silence, were completely different from before.

You could even feel a kind of solemnity.

It seemed that the Duke of Chartres had done a good job of inciting them.

“It doesn’t matter now that you’ve come. It’s more important to create a bill that everyone can agree on, even if the decision is a little late.”

“Thank you for your understanding. We have shared our opinions with not only the representatives of the first and second estates [clergy and nobility, respectively], but also with many other nobles, and have analyzed the current situation calmly. And we have finally come to a conclusion.”

The Duke of Chartres, who was now acting completely like the leader of the nobles, stepped forward.

My innocent brother, Louis XVI, didn’t seem to know what was going on and was smiling as if he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I thought it would be more helpful if he didn’t know the whole story, so I kept my mouth shut, but I was starting to feel a little sorry for him.

“Tell me what conclusion the nobles have come to.”

“First of all, we will abide by the decisions made at the Estates-General [a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm]. We can’t just deny a bill that was passed by a fair vote just because we don’t like it.”

“Yes. That is a truly noble mindset. Then I will prepare a new tax reform plan according to your opinions.”

“Yes. But what was decided at the Estates-General was only the abolition of our tax exemption privileges. It was not decided how we would pay.”

So, they’re going to interfere in this way.

They will pay taxes, but how they pay is up to them, which is not logically wrong.

The Estates-General did not specifically decide how to collect taxes from the nobles.

“Then tell me what method the nobles want. I thought there would be no problem if I made a bill in a similar way to what is currently imposed on commoners.”

“Even if we pay taxes, we are still nobles. How can we pay taxes in the same way as those belonging to the Third Estate [commoners]? So, we put our heads together and thought of a suitable method.”

The Duke of Chartres glanced back, and one of the nobles quickly came out and unfolded a large piece of paper.

“As you can see, we have roughly determined the taxes to be paid for each income bracket. It would not be a burden on the household to have poor nobles who earn less than 10,000 livres [French currency] a year pay only about 100 livres. Nobles with an income of more than 10,000 livres and less than 100,000 livres should pay about 500 livres, and nobles with a high income of more than 100,000 livres should pay about 1,000 livres, wouldn’t that be appropriate?”

“······.”

Silence fell in the Hall of Mirrors for a moment at this absurd claim.

At this point, Louis XVI could not possibly be unaware that the nobles were openly acting up.

If he didn’t know that they didn’t want to pay even 1% of taxes in terms of percentage, it would be abnormal.

“I understand the desire to pay a fixed amount for administrative convenience, but I think the amount is unrealistically low?”

“No. How many commoners pay more than 1,000 livres a year right now? It may seem small in terms of percentage, but in terms of absolute payment amount, it is by no means a small amount.”

“No, that’s······.”

This is the limit for Louis XVI, who originally couldn’t demand something strongly.

Judging that it was time for me to step in, I took a step forward in front of the throne and opened my mouth.

“Let’s say we collect taxes that way as you said. Wouldn’t that amplify the dissatisfaction of the commoners even more? They would think they were being mocked.”

“If they want more than what they’ve been given, then there’s nothing we can do. We have to crack down on them firmly at that time. If that situation really comes, we will lend our strength, even if it’s only a small amount.”

“It’s impossible to try to suppress it clumsily in the current situation, it will only cause a bigger riot. If you really want to pay a fixed amount, how about leaving the criteria for calculating it to us?”

“I’m really sorry, but this is the maximum amount we can accept. We cannot accept any amount beyond this. This is also the will of all of us.”

I guess so.

From the beginning, they presented conditions that I could never accept.

“I don’t understand. Was this all that came out of the long hours of discussion? You don’t think His Majesty would really do as you wish, do you?”

“Is there any reason why he can’t? As I said at the Estates-General, this is not simply a matter of paying taxes or not. If we don’t show that we are clearly distinct from the commoners, the period of the class system will be shaken. Surely Your Highness and His Majesty are not going to stand by and watch this terrible situation?”

“That’s too much of an exaggeration. There’s no way something that serious will happen.”

“If you really think so, then Your Highness’s acuity has become very dull.”

The nobles lined up behind him trembled at the precarious level of his remarks.

In particular, the Marquis of Bellile, who had been traumatized by me, was fidgeting and whispering.

“Wait a minute, Duke of Chartres. Isn’t this going too far?”

“Then are we in a position to laugh and joke right now? If you’re scared, Marquis, you can leave.”

If it’s trauma, the Duke of Chartres, whose family was ruined, would have more trauma, not less.

Nevertheless, the nobles looked at him with respectful eyes as he stood up to me without backing down.

Of course, from my point of view, knowing that this was all a setup, I could only laugh.

“Duke of Chartres, you should think carefully when you speak. Don’t forget that this is in front of His Majesty.”

“That’s why I’m saying this even more. We are serious right now.”

“Then I will tell you clearly. I can never accept such absurd demands, so be aware of that.”

“Really? You won’t even consider it?”

“Of course. If you’re going to present conditions, refine them to a more plausible level.”

From the nobles’ point of view, it was a kind of ultimatum, but it was out of the question.

Even if this wasn’t a setup, who would accept the crazy idea of not paying even 1% of taxes?

“I understand. Then we will step back.”

The Duke of Chartres bowed lightly and turned around as if he knew this would happen.

Following him, the nobles rushed out of the Hall of Mirrors.

The Marquis of Bellile and the Marquis of Launay stuck close to him as if they were Chartres’ henchmen, matching his pace.

Anyone who saw them would think they were righteous fighters being unfairly oppressed.

I was a little upset, but it wasn’t a bad situation because the Duke of Chartres had completely emerged as the center of the nobles.

Grouchy, who was watching my mood, cautiously approached and asked in a small voice.

“Will it be okay? You’ve already talked to the Duke of Chartres, right?”

“Yes. I’ve already hinted that the army near the capital is in my hands, no matter what they do.”

“···Isn’t that insurance too weak with just that?”

“There’s no reason to show them all my cards in the first place. It’s up to them to judge how to interpret this.”

“···Yes? What does that······.”

I gave Grouchy another order, who didn’t understand what I meant.

“Send a message to New France [French colony in North America] as soon as you get back. Tell them to bring their troops here as soon as they are ready.”

By the way, it’s a shame if a fun folk game doesn’t have a fun fireworks display.

There aren’t that many prepared firecrackers this time, so instead, I prepared a better fireworks device called a cannon.

And no one except me knows who the maestro who will conduct the fireworks is and how capable they are. No, maybe even the person themselves doesn’t know yet.

< The Bait > End