He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 2

(1) Became a Gambling Prodigy

Still, Eugene is a gambler.

“Now, odd or even? Take your pick.”

The stage is Paris, the back alleys of Faubourg Saint-Germain.

Southeast of the Seine, a place lined with monasteries, military academies, and aristocratic mansions.

But in reality, it’s not just a glamorous place.

This era isn’t like modern Paris, with streets neatly planned.

Even on streets teeming with the wealthy, there are back alleys.

The streets there are dirty, a mix of taverns and vagrants.

In the center, intellectuals drink coffee, but here, they drink cheap wine.

And there’s gambling.

“Damn it, if I lose this time, I’ll lose everything, won’t I?”

At the end of the 18th century, men gathered in a Paris tavern, staring at the board on the table.

The boy in front of them is a child with sparkling brown hair and blue eyes.

Odd or even.

The most basic gamble, one that even a child could do.

Next to the middle-aged man groaning as he sat across from the boy, his friends burst into laughter.

“Haha, what a sight to lose to a kid? Hey, isn’t he even 10 years old yet?”

“Judging by his gambling skills, he must be 14. What are you talking about? He’s just malnourished. Wow, how much is that?”

“Wow, that must be 100 [sous – a former French coin]?”

On top of the pile of coins on the table, the king’s face gleamed.

Louis XV, the former king.

He’s the one who made a mess of the country, but money knows no class.

The middle-aged man only stared at the back of the card under the boy’s hand.

A playing card.

The official name is a French card game.

The card games passed down to modern times were originally created in Paris, France.

Right from the 18th century, a gamble that swept the era from the 1780s.

Of course, what the boy and the middle-aged man are playing now isn’t a formal card game.

It’s just a very simple pattern of matching odd and even.

However, as the coins piled up on the boy’s side show, the middle-aged man has already lost dozens of times.

The middle-aged man’s gaze suddenly turned to another card already revealed.

The number 3, an odd number.

At that moment, the boy smiled and opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you going to decide, mister? Then I’ll choose first.”

The surprised middle-aged man, Thierry, made his decision.

“I’ll do it! Even!”

“No regrets?”

“No regrets! Open it!”

The boy, Eugene, sparkled his blue eyes and flipped the card over.

“Odd.”

King, numerically 13.

Thierry threw the coins down.

Of course, the tavern’s drinkers who were watching from the side laughed and enjoyed the misfortune of others.

“Wow! 33 consecutive wins!”

“Wow, Thierry, you lost everything again today?”

“Ugh, how! Everything I choose is wrong!”

Eugene chuckled and got up from his seat.

“It’s the opposite. What I choose is right.”

Thierry blinked and asked.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you know I was talking on purpose when you were about to choose ‘odd’ earlier? I was trying to lead you to even.”

“Ah, no. Th, then. You knew it was even? How? I didn’t see you cheating?”

Eugene winked at Thierry, who asked in surprise.

“Intuition.”

This is, of course, a lie.

Of course, considering that the word [intuition] originally means something like divine inspiration, it may be half true.

Because the ability from his past life, like the grace of a transcendent being, is visible to Eugene right now.

That is, pure white silver, the letters of the ‘Silver Text’.

[Even.]

Looking at the clear silver letters, Eugene grabbed a coin, 1 sol [another former French coin], from the table.

“Then, I’ll take this one?”

“Hey, Eugene. The kid’s generous?”

“Hahaha! It’s a wise choice, since we’d take it from him if he took it all!”

Suddenly, Eugene, who was leaving, stopped.

“Get the name right. I’m [Eugene], mister.”

Eugene.

This name is actually derived from Greek, but in French, Eugene is correct.

However, his father, who originally named him, named him for a different reason.

Eugene de Savoy, a famous Austrian general from France.

His father participated in the American Revolutionary War and named him Eugene in commemoration of earning that nickname.

So at home, he’s always called Eugene, not Eugene.

In English, or rather, in American pronunciation.

The tavern’s drinkers looked at each other at Eugene’s words and burst into laughter.

“Hmm, is that the English pronunciation?”

“No. It’s the A-merican way. He’s got a lot of New World in him. His father went to the American Revolutionary Army, right?”

“Isn’t his mother from the New World? Anyway.”

That’s right.

The son of a nobleman who participated in the American Revolutionary War.

And the son of a woman from the New World.

‘Reincarnator’, Eugene de Beauharnais, left the tavern.

-Clang!

Holding one ‘coin’ in commemoration of today’s gambling victory.

***

In the year 1788 AD, Paris is noisy everywhere.

-Thump!

A dark back alley, a street full of filth, a difficult place for a boy to walk.

But Eugene stepped out into the street without a care.

The noisy noise is full of reality.

“Stop there! Don’t run away with the bread!”

“Who do you think will stop! You’re funny!”

“I’ll kill you if I catch you!”

The sound of a pickpocket running down the back alley and a baker shouting was loud.

The problem is that Faubourg Saint-Germain, that is, the neighborhood of Saint Germain, is a relatively wealthy street in France.

Since the 17th century, nobles have crossed the Seine and built mansions.

If you look up from this back alley, you can see the back of the huge mansions.

Nevertheless, there are poor people who cling to it and live there.

“The year 1788 AD. It’s a mess.”

Eugene grumbled, trying not to step on the filth as he walked quickly.

How nice would it have been if I had been reincarnated into a more comfortable era, a more comfortable position?

Or if I had become aware of my reincarnation when I was an adult.

Because I became aware as a child, there was no way to relieve stress.

Except for gambling, a habit I had learned since my past life.

Suddenly, Eugene shivered.

It’s definitely spring, but it’s cold.

It was the moment he realized that 1788 was a year famous for its sudden cold wave.

“Ugh, it’s cold. Huh?”

At that moment, the pickpocket running from the other side collided with Eugene.

-Thud!

The still young boy, Eugene, couldn’t even respond properly.

Compared to Eugene, who collapsed clutching his body, the pickpocket boy was skinny but full of energy.

Staring with his eyes, the pickpocket ran at Eugene.

“Hey, what is it! I’ll kill you!”

“Th, there, I’m a child. Assaulting a minor is a serious crime!”

“What nonsense are you talking about, you bastard!”

At this moment, he seems to have forgotten the fat baker chasing from behind.

Eugene squeezed his eyes shut.

It’s a situation where he can’t avoid the reality of being a child.

It was then.

-Crack.

Someone grabbed the pickpocket boy’s wrist violently.

It was a cheerful boy who was handsome at a glance.

Maybe fifteen years old.

His physique was quite sturdy, and unlike the pickpocket boy, it was obvious that he was well-fed and well-grown.

The cheerful boy smiled and said to the pickpocket.

“Hey, boy. Are you now committing murder in addition to theft? He’s not even 8 years old yet. If you hit him, he might die. That’s very troublesome.”

“Th, th-that’s right! L, let go! Th, there’s the owner!”

“Ah, okay. Goodbye!”

As soon as the cheerful boy let go, the pickpocket ran far away, between the alleys.

“Why did you let the thief go! May you be cursed by Saint Germain! You rotten bastard!”

The baker, who was running breathlessly, passed by, spewing curses.

It seems that the pickpocket had been robbing the bakery quite often, as he had left the store empty and ran after him.

But wouldn’t the bakery be robbed even more by the poor in the meantime?

Even while rolling around, Eugene had such thoughts.

Anyway, wheat is incredibly precious these days.

At that time, the cheerful boy smiled and held out his hand.

“It’s a mess. Come on, boy. Don’t despair in the dark streets! There will always be God’s salvation!”

Looking at the blond boy who was saying something that would only come out in a boxing comic, Eugene snorted.

“Bullshit.”

“Hey, I saved you, and this is how you treat me? Can you please say something nice to your mom?”

“You’re only 15 years old, and you’re already chasing after married women. Your future is bright, isn’t it?”

Looking at Hippolyte, a teenage boy who was in love with Eugene’s ‘mother’, Eugene asked.

“Hippolyte, what about the fabric business? Why are you wandering around this alley?”

Louis Hippolyte Charles.

A friend Eugene met in Paris after his reincarnation, and a boy who was like a sunflower to Eugene’s ‘mother’.

Originally, he was the son of a fabric merchant, and he came to Paris because he opened a branch in Paris.

He became friends with Eugene, who was from Paris, because Eugene’s ‘mother’ often came to the fabric store.

That is, Joséphine de Beauharnais.

Hippolyte smiled and lifted Eugene up.

“Of course, I came because your mother asked me to. You haven’t even had your birthday yet, have you? You’re only 7 years old, geez. You’re more than precocious, you’re strange?”

Eugene, born on September 3, 1781.

So the boy, who is not even 10 years old yet, snorted.

No matter what, Eugene is naturally 10 years older than Hippolyte inside.

“Well, I’m a genius.”

It’s a very simple explanation.

In fact, there is a reason why this is possible.

This era is the era of geniuses.

***

The 18th century in Europe is truly a turbulent era, the era of [geniuses].

“By the way, what will happen to this country?”

Not only Napoleon, but also child prodigies called [prodigies] like Mozart, Beethoven, and Goethe first appeared.

In modern terms, it was an era full of extremely high-IQ children.

Beethoven was 7 years old when he played at the prodigy concert.

Exactly Eugene’s age now.

Because of such an atmosphere of the times, Hippolyte also understood Eugene’s words and actions that did not match his age.

The reason why he suddenly asked about the country on the way home is also because of that.

Of course, Eugene was hanging on Hippolyte’s shoulder when he snorted.

“Why are you, a fabric merchant, worrying about the country?”

“Ah, is there a law that only noble lords should worry? I have patriotism too, you know?”

“Patriotism. Even after seeing that?”

Eugene smiled bitterly and put the [truth] into words.

“Well, a gambler would bet on it collapsing.”

Even if you don’t know the original historical future, you can see it.

The French Revolution, a result that anyone in the 21st century knows.

But there are things you can’t know unless you live in that era.

Right now, there are people starving to death because there is no wheat all over Paris.

The stories of the tyranny of the nobles, the financial collapse, and the queen’s extravagance are rather secondary.

Originally a fertile land, France is now literally in famine.

There was a drought in 1785, a flood in 1787, and this year there is a record cold wave.

It’s amazing that it hasn’t collapsed yet.

Of course, Hippolyte, who actually brought up the topic, was surprised and looked around.

“Hey, isn’t your family a marquis? Is it okay to say such things carelessly?”

“Looking at this, do I look like the young master of a marquis? And my father is not an heir either. He’s just a soldier.”

“Well, still. Aren’t you a nobleman?”

Surprisingly, when you know it, the Beauharnais family is actually a [marquis] family.

Of course, Eugene’s father is the second son, and he had already squandered his assets during his grandfather’s time.

That’s why Eugene lives on the street of Saint-Germain, where nobles live, but his house is in the back alley.

However, it is true that it is a great noble family to Hippolyte, the son of a mere fabric merchant.

But Eugene retorted cynically.

“A nobleman, well, there probably wasn’t much difference 5 generations ago?”

Rather, the Charles family, a ‘bourgeois’ family that has advanced to Paris, will be wealthier.

The still young Hippolyte Charles smacked his lips and nodded.

Even if he is not a genius or a gambler, Hippolyte has eyes.

“It’s true that it’s a mess in many ways. It’s cold this year, there was a flood last year, and there was a drought a few years ago, right?”

“Isn’t there a shortage of food these days?”

“Thanks to you. Haha! When I came up to Paris, I was indebted to you. Wow, when I think about it, wasn’t that when I was 4 years old? Why is the kid so precocious?”

Once, when he first came to Paris, there was a time when he was in trouble because wheat had fallen due to the drought.

At that time, Eugene, who lived next door, helped Hippolyte.

That was the first opportunity for the two to become friends.

Suddenly, Hippolyte tapped Eugene and put him down.

“Okay, we’re here. I heard that wolves sometimes come, so don’t walk alone in the future.”

“None of your business. Can you catch a wolf if it comes?”

“Oh, I can if I have a gun. You know, when I was in Romans-sur-Isère, I caught deer and everything at once. Hahaha!”

Looking at Hippolyte, who was making ridiculous bluff, Eugene snorted again.

“Don’t bluff when you’ve never shot a gun. Gunpowder is precious.”

“Ugh, pretend you don’t know when an adult is bluffing!”

“There may come a time when your head will be cut off if you bluff wrong. If the country collapses.”

Of course, in the original history, Hippolyte actually lives longer than Eugene.

Still, who knows what will happen in France, where the revolution will take place, in this turbulent period?

Looking at Eugene’s serious expression, Hippolyte shook his head with a shudder.

“Hey, stop talking about ominous things! Anyway, our royal family has been around for nearly a thousand years!”

A thousand years, strictly speaking, 891 years.

It is the time that the French royal family, the Bourbon dynasty, has endured since the time of the Capetian family, which is the main family.

Currently, no other European royal family has survived as long as the Capetians.

This is even true in modern original history.

Nevertheless, Eugene scratched his head lightly and chuckled.

“Yeah, so a gambler would judge it that way.”

“The kid, after learning to gamble, geez, the way he talks.”

“But if he’s a real gambler.”

Suddenly, Eugene’s gaze turned south.

“I’d bet on a new empire.”

Probably the direction where Corsica is.

Still, the era is when the king rules.

The time for Eugene to gamble has not yet come.