He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 166

(166) Marie Causes a Scandal

It’s easy for someone at the center of a storm to forget they’re in one.

“Whew, why do I have so much work? Something’s not right!”

Marie Therese’s space is the inner chamber of the Chateau d’Haut-Segur mansion in Bordeaux.

Originally, it was a room in the Palazzo Serbelloni in Milan, then the inner chamber of the Palazzo Giorgio in Genoa, and now the fortress in Bordeaux has become Marie’s home.

Of course, Eugene had established a base inside France in Bordeaux, so she simply followed along.

But unexpectedly, all the commercial activity approvals for the Eugene cartel came to Marie.

Why?

The reason is simple.

While creating the Surété [a secret police force], Eugene became engrossed in intelligence operations.

Thanks to this, the Eugene Cartel members, not knowing why, sent documents to Marie, and Marie, also not knowing why, was sending back appropriate approval responses.

In fact, Damas is making proxy decisions on important matters, so there are no major problems.

Still, it’s true that she’s busy.

Suddenly, Emilie de Beauharnais, who was attending to Marie by her side, smiled and replied.

“Indeed. Princess Marie should be focusing on preparing for her marriage now.”

Marie was startled and stopped the pen she was signing with.

“What do you mean, Emilie?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Why else would Eugene have called the women of our Beauharnais family? It must be to serve the Princess.”

“Th-that’s not it. Eugene just… because I was bored coming here alone. And, I’m not a princess anymore.”

At that moment, Stephanie de Beauharnais, who was playing in the room, turned her head.

“Our father called you Princess! He said that when the King returns later, he will definitely reinstate you! He told me to get close for that time!”

Emilie and Stephanie were both noble young ladies from the Beauharnais family.

After the successful sale of Florida, Eugene came directly to Bordeaux to handle the aftermath of the New World issue.

At the time, Marie stubbornly followed along, and there was a need for someone to attend to Marie.

It was a bit of a shame to just hire maids, so Eugene called his cousins.

Coincidentally, in the original history, Josephine directly took care of these women from around this time.

This was because the economic situation of the old nobles deteriorated as the revolutionary government took hold.

The Beauharnais clan was in a similar situation.

Moreover, they would be taking care of Marie, the princess of the old royal family, so Emilie and Stephanie’s fathers hurriedly sent their daughters.

However, Marie smiled and shook her head.

“Stephanie, that will never happen.”

“Never?”

“The King cannot return. Not to this France.”

Suddenly, a determined light flashed in Marie’s eyes.

“Too much blood has been shed.”

The old royal family, the Bourbon dynasty, cannot return.

Even now, the Count of Provence, who calls himself Louis XVIII [Louis XVI’s brother], the Count of Artois, who was the king’s youngest brother, and the Duke of Orléans, who was a cousin, are watching for opportunities from abroad.

Furthermore, foreign royal families, including the Habsburgs, are subtly supporting the Bourbon dynasty.

However, Marie, the legitimate daughter of Louis XVI, did not receive any contact from all those people.

Even in Vienna, where she had last met her relatives, she only watched from afar and avoided direct contact.

Marie remembers the countless people who died when the revolution broke out.

Above all, she cannot forget the blood of the king.

She does not want such a thing to happen again.

Besides, if a king were to return to France, who would be the first to be killed?

The generals of the revolutionary army.

Marie’s lover, Eugene, is one of them.

At that moment, Stephanie asked innocently.

“Then when are you marrying Eugene?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, no? I guess our father said that? He said that even though he’s a detestable revolutionary general, he’s the guy who’s going to marry the princess, so listen to him carefully.”

Marie blushed instantly.

This is not Stephanie’s words, but the words of her father, Count Claude Beauharnais.

Furthermore, it is what the revolution-compromising faction among the old nobles related to Beauharnais wants.

But Marie didn’t know when Eugene would ask for marriage.

Come to think of it, Marie is already 19 years old.

By the standards of the old era, she would already have children.

Eugene is now 16 years old, and can no longer be called a child.

Indeed, when will Eugene propose?

Or will he even do it?

It was then.

“That’s… he’ll take care of it when the time comes, Stephanie.”

Emilie, who had been listening with a smile, was startled and turned her head.

Eugene was standing there.

Just as Marie was about to cover her mouth, Emilie bowed her head first.

“Brother! I’m sorry. Stephanie is being thoughtless!”

“No, I think everyone in the Beauharnais family thinks that way. However, I would like you to keep one thing in mind.”

“Yes? Just tell me. I will definitely keep it.”

Eugene treated Emilie with a gentle smile and cold eyes, and said.

“You are my maternal cousin, and Stephanie is my sixth cousin. This will not change. But, I am not a Beauharnais, but a Bonaparte. Keep this in mind.”

A declaration that he is now Napoleon’s son, not a Beauharnais.

Furthermore, it means that he will live as a general of the revolutionary army, not as an old noble.

However, it is a harsh word for Emilie, who is still living as the daughter of an old noble.

Emilie bit her lip and bowed her head deeply.

“Yes, Brother.”

Marie sighed as she watched Emilie leave with a pale face and Stephanie leave without knowing why.

“You seem too harsh, Eugene.”

“In the age of revolution, old nobles must be very careful to survive in the republic.”

“That’s… that’s true, but…”

But Eugene stared at Marie and grabbed her shoulders.

“So, our princess seems to have to go to Paris to give a warning.”

Marie blinked and tilted her head.

Who on earth does she have to go to warn in person?

***

A six-horse carriage raced noisily to the outskirts of Paris.

-Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

A series of cavalry accompanies it like an escort.

Marie sat in the carriage and felt a strange feeling.

In the past, the carriage prepared when trying to escape Paris with the guidance of Count Fersen was a six-horse carriage.

But now she was entering Paris in that carriage, so she couldn’t help but feel strange.

Moreover, the escort is a general of the revolutionary army.

The carriage stopped and the window opened.

Marie took a deep breath and looked at the general outside the window.

“Is it finally Paris?”

“That’s right, Mademoiselle Marie. Haha! I never thought that I, who only commanded cavalry, would be guiding a carriage like this!”

“Thank you, General Lan.”

General Lan laughed cheerfully and waved his hand.

“Hahaha! Anyway, I had to come to Paris to see my wife. Also, there were instructions from Eugene Freischütz. Then, see you when you return to Bordeaux! Hippolyte, please take good care of Mademoiselle!”

Lan’s Pyrenean cavalry escort rushed into Paris all at once.

Of course, coming to see his wife is just an external excuse.

It was clear that he had come after receiving a mission from Eugene.

Just like Marie now.

Still, Marie felt somehow happy to return to Paris after a long time, even if it was for a mission.

“Hoo, I’m back again.”

As she got out of the carriage, Hippolyte, the last remaining escort, greeted her with a smile.

“Are you feeling refreshed, Patrone [patron or protector]?”

“Are you making fun of me too, Hippolyte? I’m nothing now.”

“Why are you nothing? You have hundreds of thousands of francs in deposits in the Milan bank, and you’re the owner of a canning factory, aren’t you?”

At that moment, Marie’s true feelings burst out from her lips.

“What good is that? Eugene and I are still strangers.”

Hippolyte shut his mouth.

In fact, this issue is a problem that not only Marie’s acquaintances, but also Eugene’s close aides are thinking about.

From the beginning, Eugene introduced Marie to his close aides not as a simple ward, but as a [Patrone].

That means he is not simply protecting Marie because of his connection as a former royal page.

Besides, isn’t the reason why Eugene participated in the military well-known?

In the first place, he risked his life to protect the Queen, and furthermore, the Princess, but was forcibly enlisted by Robespierre.

Hippolyte, his adjutant, followed him to protect Eugene at that time, and became a soldier.

But Eugene is leaving Marie, who is getting older, alone.

What is the reason?

But behind Marie, Emilie, the ‘maid’ who had followed in the carriage, grabbed her shoulder.

“Princess, no, Mademoiselle. Don’t worry too much and trust Eugene. I’ve only heard about it, but he’s the one who crossed the Atlantic to keep his promise to save his mother.”

Marie smiled brightly.

She is grateful for Emilie’s words of comfort.

But there is a problem here.

Eugene promised to protect Marie, but he never promised to marry her.

When they were first together, they were not old enough.

Besides, Pauline, Napoleon’s sister, is always a concern.

Nevertheless, Marie shook her head and shook off her thoughts.

Now is the time to do what Eugene asked.

“That’s right. He saved my mother too. Where is she?”

The outskirts of Paris, the residence where the old royal family stays.

The former princess Marie moved her steps there.

Instead of the crumbling house she used to live in, it is a slightly larger middle-class mansion.

When the door of the mansion opened, a familiar face greeted Marie.

“Oh, oh, oh?”

“Louis! You’ve grown so much!”

“Sister?”

It was her younger brother Louis Charles, and Madame Campan, the former head maid, who was scolding the maids.

“My goodness, Princess!”

Marie hugged Madame Campan and smiled brightly.

“Madame Campan! I’m here. Marie Therese!”

“You are now a perfect noble lady. You can get married!”

“Hehe, well, I can only go if the person I’m going to marry likes me.”

Then Madame Campan frowned and glared at Hippolyte.

“Is Beauharnais, the minor baron, no, the baron, still leaving the princess alone? No, he’s not married, so that’s natural, but still!”

Hippolyte, who used to enter and exit the palace with Eugene when he was a page, pretended not to notice and turned his gaze away.

It’s an even more uncomfortable story because he knows Madame Campan.

Of course, Marie just shook her head and smiled.

“It’s Bonaparte now. Eugene is a gentleman. Well, it’s not like he doesn’t do anything at all.”

“Surely not… the bedroom! He became an adopted son of a rootless rural noble, and he committed such rude acts!”

“N-no, it’s not like that!”

Emilie watched Marie blush and explain from behind, and looked at Hippolyte.

“It’s very noisy, Hippolyte.”

“That’s right. Hmm. Mademoiselle Emilie.”

“Anyway, where is the famous Queen? I don’t see her.”

Hippolyte stroked his slightly grown mustache and smirked.

“Well, if the reason Eugene sent me is correct, she’s probably meeting a man. Huh?”

Suddenly, Hippolyte’s eyes sparkled.

The person he had been waiting for had arrived.

Even with the [Target].

“Charlotte?”

Marie Therese Charlotte, who was blushing and explaining her… love affair with Eugene to Madame Campan, turned her head.

There was a longed-for face at the door.

The Queen, Marie Antoinette.

But there is a problem.

Eugene had said a word.

But she didn’t really believe it would be like that.

Marie stared intently at a man next to another Marie, and asked [Marie].

“Maman, who is the person next to you?”

Marie Antoinette’s face turned pale, and the handsome man next to her greeted her with dignity.

“It’s been a long time, Princess. It’s Axel von Fersen.”

Axel von Fersen.

The man who was the main culprit of the royal scandal during the old royal family was in Paris.

Even standing right next to Marie Antoinette.

***

This is why Eugene sent Marie.

“Please, Maman! What is this all about!”

Marie exclaimed in shock in the drawing-room.

In fact, the fact that Marie Antoinette was meeting Fersen was not in the Surété’s report.

Neither Rochejacquelein and Vidocq, who were sent by Eugene, nor other postal soldier-turned-agents, or even the Eugene Cartel merchants knew.

Nevertheless, Eugene was certain that Antoinette would meet Fersen.

The reason is simple.

Fersen is the one who risked his life to help Antoinette escape.

Also, in the original history, he never marries, longing for Antoinette for the rest of his life.

But he infiltrated Paris and didn’t meet the Queen?

That can’t be.

This is the problem that Eugene requested of Marie.

Warn the Queen that she is probably meeting Fersen, and tell her not to meet him again.

But the Queen didn’t seem to want to listen.

Taking a deep breath, Marie grabbed the Queen and asked.

“I’m sorry, Maman. But this is too dangerous. Have you talked to General Lafayette about it? That Fersen has come to Paris?”

At that moment, Count Fersen, who had been waiting outside the drawing-room, entered and said.

“Princess. It’s not something to discuss with the traitor Lafayette.”

Marie glared at Count Fersen.

Of course, Eugene’s influence has also become stronger now.

However, his official position is still only the chief adjutant of the Italian garrison.

The official protector of the old royal family is still the head of the old constitutional monarchy, Lafayette.

But what is Fersen doing in Paris, ignoring Lafayette?

She has never heard the details from Eugene.

But Marie spent her growing years in the revolutionary era.

She has an uneasy feeling.

“Get out of here right now, Count Fersen. And I’m not a princess. Just like my mother is not a queen.”

“To me, you are always the princess, and this person here is the Queen.”

“If you think so, you should disappear even more. When, where, who knows who will see you!”

Then Count Fersen asked.

“Princess, don’t you have any intention of regaining your position?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to live like this, as a former princess of the old royal family, being monitored by the revolutionary government, and only being used? Eugene Freischütz is using you. He is holding the symbol of the old royal family hostage. Do you know? The Duke of Orléans and His Majesty Louis XVIII are now… what the Princess wants most!”

There are currently three people whom the French royalists revere.

One is Louis XVIII, the younger brother of Louis XVI.

The other is the Duke of Orléans, the head of the old constitutional monarchy, who still has enormous wealth.

The last one is Marie Therese, the only heiress of the king, instead of Louis Charles, who has legitimacy issues.

Of course, the French Old Royal Family Succession Law is dominated by the so-called [Salic Law] [which excludes females from royal succession].

It is a legendary law used by the Salic tribe of the ancient Frankish kingdom, a tradition that only men can inherit the throne.

However, it is also true that Marie Therese is currently the only legal heir to the royal property.

Those who want to use this legal justification are aiming for Marie Therese.

As a bride.

When her thoughts reached this point, Marie felt terrible.

She seemed to know why Eugene still couldn’t propose.

“Stop it.”

Marie bit her lip and turned her body.

“I’m leaving.”

“Charlotte, listen to me a little more!”

“It’s okay, Maman.”

At that moment, Marie shook off Antoinette’s arm, who was holding her hand, and shouted as if screaming.

“Eugene is using me? In the first place, you don’t even know what Eugene sacrificed for Maman and me!”

Marie ran without looking back.

She still remembers.

Who Eugene killed.

And that she was dragged to a battlefield where she might die to atone for it.

All of that was only for Marie.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

She is breathless.

Marie stopped after running mindlessly.

This is the outskirts of Paris, so there are still many dark forests.

“Wolves may come out, Patrone.”

Before she knew it, Hippolyte was approaching from behind.

Eugene’s closest bodyguards, including Hippolyte, followed.

In fact, Marie knows their faces too.

Because in the past, when Eugene and Marsot were dragged into the army together, they were the faces she saw in the carriage at that time.

Marie looked back at them quietly and parted her lips.

“Hippolyte, what should I do?”

“Eugene sent Patrone as a warning to Her Majesty the Queen. It means don’t get involved in this game recklessly. But, it seems…”

“Rather, you’re going to go deep into it.”

Hippolyte shrugged.

“If you want, we can detain Her Majesty the Queen for the time being. There will be some disruption to the [Operation], though.”

Hippolyte and Eugene did not tell her what kind of operation it was.

But Marie has a hunch.

If she just leaves it alone and closes her eyes, Hippolyte or Eugene might take care of it on their own.

But Marie knows one more thing.

Eugene killed the king for Marie.

But can’t the queen kill for Marie?

Marie shuddered slightly and said.

“I learned something while being by Eugene’s side. No, maybe it happened more often in the royal family.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When an incident occurs, cover it up with a more noisy incident. Eugene did that. That’s how he saved me and my mother.”

Just as Hippolyte’s eyes widened, Marie asked urgently.

“Anyway, Fersen has come to Paris. Everyone who knows knows, right?”

“Yes, those who are in the center of power know. They just don’t know the real purpose.”

“Then, we need to make it more noisy. Cause a scandal. It would be even better if it was featured in the newspaper.”

Suddenly, Marie’s eyes flashed like a flame.

“That our Maman and Fersen are having an affair in Paris.”

This time, it’s time for Marie to save ‘Maman’.

Even by putting a stain on her.