He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 24

(23) Eugene Chooses the Battlefield, and the Princess Bids Farewell with Tears

He saved the Queen and rescued the Princess.

But despite all that, something remained unchanged.

What?

The war.

-Thud!

Alexandre de Beauharnais threw the newspaper down violently and shouted.

“Do you know what you’ve done? You forcibly saved the Queen in this time of war! You’ve eliminated the excuse for a national mobilization order!”

Eugene had come to the Beauharnais mansion for the first time in a while, not the Banque Beauharnais building.

Of course, it was because Alexandre, still Eugene’s legal guardian, had summoned him.

The entire front page of the newspaper was filled with a single sketch.

It was a sketch of Marie Therese, the former princess, now the deposed princess, embracing Eugene.

In fact, there was more explanation about this sketch in the article than about the Queen being saved.

Lightly lifting the newspaper, Eugene retorted.

“The newspaper will sell a lot. I should tell them to pay me some subscription fees.”

“What? This is no time for jokes, Eugene!”

“Either way, if they had killed the Queen, Austria would have used it as an excuse to declare all-out war. They’re even using the King’s death as it is. Besides, the war has already begun.”

France was already entering the [Revolutionary Wars].

Last year, in 1792, the Battle of Valmy took place in the Belgian region.

This year, in 1793, the 300,000 Levy Act will soon be declared.

It is also the beginning of the infamous military ‘conscription system’ of later generations.

After the declaration of this forced conscription system, France would operate a standing army and fight against all of Europe.

Originally, the main members of the revolutionary government, the National Convention, intended to use the Queen’s death as justification for the conscription order.

But thanks to Eugene’s intervention, they couldn’t kill the Queen.

Even in Paris, where support for the revolution was highest, opposition to the Queen’s execution had risen significantly.

However, Alexandre was dumbfounded by his overly relaxed [prodigy] son and shouted.

“Are you even saying that right now! If you knew that, you shouldn’t have intervened! You were a page before the royal family fell! We’re not even nobles anymore!”

If he didn’t know anything, he would at least understand that it was because he was a child.

But the child in front of him was truly a ‘prodigy’.

Only 12 years old now.

But he is conducting tens of millions of livres [French currency] worth of financial transactions annually, centered around Banque Beauharnais.

He certainly didn’t do it without knowing anything.

That’s why Alexandre was even more dumbfounded.

Why would he do something that would put him in the bad graces of the National Convention?

But Eugene snorted.

“Father, that’s just your opinion.”

“What? You little!”

“We’re all seen as old regime nobles by the Jacobins! They see us as enemies of the people, worthy of immediate death!”

Eugene’s eyes flashed, and Alexandre stepped back in surprise.

“If the Queen dies? Who do you think is next? The old nobles. You fool, Father!”

That is what actually happened in the original history.

Originally, the Queen dies in October 1793.

What followed immediately was the infamous Reign of Terror.

The following year, in July 1794.

That’s when Alexandre dies.

It’s a time when the royal family is killed, the old nobles are executed, and all opposition is killed.

Eugene pointed out this historical sequence.

Of course, Alexandre was simply terrified and stepped back.

“Y-you!”

“That’s right. You’re right, Alexandre.”

“Who, oh? General Lafayette!”

Instantly, a man in his thirties entered the Beauharnais mansion.

Normally, the servants should have stopped him first, but this man could not be stopped.

He was General Lafayette, Alexandre’s superior and the hero of the Battle of Valmy.

Lafayette stared at Eugene instead of the hesitating Alexandre.

“Brave, Beauharnais. No, wise.”

Lafayette also noticed that Eugene had influenced the Queen’s trial.

In fact, anyone with eyes could tell.

It’s just that Eugene is too young, so everyone is only half-convinced.

But Lafayette had been watching Eugene since the King fled.

So he couldn’t help but know.

That Eugene had dominated the trial.

Suddenly, Eugene replied politely.

“It’s thanks to the General’s help.”

“What did I do?”

“You moved public opinion from behind. By using the constitutional monarchist members and the ‘Freemasons’ [a fraternal organization with Enlightenment roots].”

Lafayette’s eyes widened.

“How did you know? That I’m a Freemason?”

Eugene smiled and pointed to Lafayette’s sword hanging on the wall of the mansion.

“Well, wouldn’t you know by looking at that sword? Besides, given the General’s position, he wouldn’t be an ordinary member.”

Originally Lafayette’s item, and a sword given as a gift to Alexandre.

In history, an item recorded because Eugene went to Napoleon to get permission to possess it.

Freemason Sword.

Looking at the sword, Lafayette smiled bitterly.

“Yes. Originally, the head of the French Freemasons is the Duke of Orleans. But the Duke has fled.”

“Didn’t he just go outside the border? I thought he would have influence.”

“In such turbulent times, such cowards cannot have power. They can’t persuade. They have no influence. Besides.”

Suddenly, Lafayette frowned.

“The Duke has resigned from the Grand Master himself.”

This means that there is a separate de facto head of the French Freemasons now.

For example, the hero of the Battle of Valmy.

You can know without having to mention it by mouth.

At that time, Lafayette, the head of the French Freemasons and the leader of the constitutional monarchists, sighed.

“But there are things that I can’t do even with the power of the Freemasons, or as the head of the constitutional monarchists.”

“What is it?”

“The Jacobins’ hatred for you.”

Lafayette’s gaze turned to Eugene.

“Now the Jacobins will try to kill you, not the Queen.”

In particular, Hébert, Saint-Just, who tried to kill the Queen, and Marat, who is likely behind them, are the problem.

Even if it’s not them, there are also the sans-culottes [radical lower-class Parisians] hard-line citizens who support the Jacobins.

This Paris has become extremely dangerous for Eugene.

Eugene understood that much.

He just hadn’t thought of a solution yet.

It was then.

His father, Alexandre, nodded vigorously and said.

“Yes, anyway, we have to fix the situation. Eugene, you go to the military.”

“Yes? What do you mean, Father?”

“There’s no other way! Besides, our Beauharnais family is originally a military family!”

At that moment, Lafayette also nodded.

“Yes. Enlisting when an accident happens is a traditional solution.”

Run away to the military.

That was the reason why Lafayette came today.

***

A son going to the military is every mother’s nightmare.

“Crazy! I married such a guy! Sending my son to the military?”

Josephine was furious and jumping up and down.

It was enough to make her usual efforts to become an elegant Parisian pale in comparison.

Of course, it couldn’t be helped.

Even in peacetime, the 18th-century military is an organization that harshly exploits people.

Moreover, it is wartime now.

If he is dragged to the border, his life cannot be guaranteed.

However, Eugene, who is about to be dragged into the military, replied calmly.

“Anyone listening would think Mom is going to the military.”

“Absolutely not! I’d rather go myself. How can I send you?”

“Mom, what woman is in the military?”

Then Josephine shouted very confidently.

“If it were me, I could seduce even the commander and be safe! How do you know what will happen to you!”

Eugene was speechless and opened his mouth wide, then burst into laughter.

“Puhaha!”

That’s really Josephine-like.

Even in front of her son, who is only 12 years old in actual age, she casually mentions [seduction].

Of course, Josephine was dumbfounded to see Eugene laughing.

“Eugene, war is not a joke! This is no time to laugh. Let’s go find Madame Récamier or that someone from England? The one you’re in business with!”

“Are you talking about Mr. Baring? If you contact that person now, you’ll be called a traitor.”

“Then anyone else is fine! Should we run away to the Netherlands? Or Switzerland? Let’s pack our bags quickly!”

Then Hortense suddenly opened her mouth.

“O-Oppa. Are you going to die?”

Pajet’s mansion living room.

Hortense had also come out of her bedroom and was listening to Eugene and Hortense’s conversation.

Quietly hugging Hortense, Eugene smiled.

“I’m not going to die, Hortense.”

Of course, fate is unknowable.

But Eugene had something to believe in.

One is that Eugene is dragged to the battlefield from a young age even in the original history.

Still, he didn’t die.

The other is the Indian notification, [Silver Letter], which is still shining before his eyes.

When the crossroads of choice comes, this letter will surely let him know.

The way to live.

Eugene, considering that point, turned to Josephine.

“Mom, I have to leave Paris to live.”

“Yes, you have to run away! If you stay here, it’s the guillotine. So, to a foreign country!”

“But if I run away, Mom and Hortense will be in more danger. It will be difficult to run away together. Can you live away from Paris?”

However, Josephine uttered a cry that Eugene had not expected at all.

“Why can’t I live? I was born in boring Martinique!”

Eugene was speechless for a moment, his heart pounding.

In history, Josephine is a profligate woman who lives in luxury, pleasure, and ecstasy.

But Josephine, who is just thirty years old, is truly showing the appearance of a mother.

Even if it means giving up everything she has achieved here, she wants to protect her son’s life.

Barely suppressing his agitation, Eugene said, trying to hold back the lump in his throat.

“Don’t worry, Mom, take good care of Hortense while I’m at the battlefield.”

“Eugene!”

“It’s just going 3 or 4 years earlier anyway. I’m a soldier’s son. Mom. The battlefield is inevitable.”

In fact, in the original history, Eugene becomes a page to his mother’s lover, Hoche, around this time and is dragged to the battlefield.

A battlefield more terrifying than the border, the site of the famous [Massacre of the Vendée].

After that, his father Alexandre drags him to the border battlefield.

In some ways, it might be better than that.

Anyway, Eugene is going to decide the battlefield.

“Rather than that, use this.”

Suddenly, Josephine tilted her head as she looked at the gift Eugene had prepared.

“What is this?”

“What else is it? It’s contraception.”

“What?”

Again, Eugene said shamelessly to Josephine, who was dumbfounded.

“If I go to the battlefield, I can’t control Mom’s relationships with men, right? Actually, I’ve given up too. So be careful. It’s the latest British product that I asked Mr. Baring to bring in.”

At the end of the 18th century, contraception is the best British product, just like in any field.

Of course, Eugene is probably the only son who gives his mother contraception.

But Eugene is not doing this as a joke.

Anyway, Josephine’s relationships with men can really determine the fate of Eugene and the Beauharnais family.

Besides, even if she doesn’t choose Napoleon, wouldn’t it be difficult if she lived too promiscuously?

At that time, Josephine, who was glaring at Eugene, pinched Eugene’s cheek hard.

“Eugene! You really! This precocious kid has nothing he can’t say!”

“Ouch! Mom, it hurts!”

“I’m pinching you to hurt you! You little!”

Instantly, Josephine, who was pinching Eugene’s cheek, hugged Eugene tightly.

“I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry, so come back safe. Definitely!”

He is a son who has been extraordinary since he was very young.

She also knows that once he makes a decision, he will never break it.

Isn’t he the child who ran all the way to that distant Martinique to save his mother?

She just hopes that he will come back safe.

Eugene smiled and said to Josephine.

“Yes, I’ll find Mom a husband while I’m there.”

“What did you say?”

“Oh, why? It’s a battlefield, right? Who knows, there might be a handsome general?”

Josephine looked at her son, who was going to the battlefield, with indescribable eyes and burst out laughing.

“Pfft! Yes, you must bring him! Sniff!”

Looking at Josephine, who was shedding tears and bursting into laughter, Eugene made a decision.

He will definitely come back alive and protect Josephine and his family.

***

However, Eugene has one more thing to sort out.

“I’m going to liquidate my business.”

Even in modern times, if the owner is dragged into the military, the company stops.

Needless to say in the 18th century.

However, Eugene had someone he could trust and leave the aftermath to.

It was his business partner, Jacques Récamier, who was drinking bitter coffee and smiling bitterly.

“You’re surprisingly calm. The Jacobins’ henchmen are all over the streets looking for you.”

“Until last year, they would have been ordinary citizens. A barber, a baker, or a painter.”

“Speaking of painters, it’s about time you left a portrait. You never know when you’ll die.”

Listening to a joke as if he was telling him to leave a portrait, Eugene smiled.

“Worry about your daughter’s portrait. Monsieur Récamier.”

Récamier, who was hit by an unexpected blow, widened his eyes.

In short, he is talking about Julie Bernard, the future Madame Récamier.

Of course, on the surface, she is only a friend’s daughter.

But Eugene has long known that she is actually Récamier’s daughter.

Of course, Récamier, who thought he had hidden it well, asked in embarrassment.

“Since when did you know?”

“What are you talking about when you’ve been showing it off from the beginning? Well, there’s no sin in love, right?”

“Ahem! I do like the revolution for that reason. These days, moralists who don’t even marry are making a fuss.”

So, Julie is the child that Récamier had with his friend’s wife through an affair.

In the original history, Récamier, who couldn’t find a way to protect Julie, eventually chooses [marriage].

It’s like marrying his own child, but at least it’s a way to ensure inheritance of property.

It’s happening this year, in April 1793.

Eugene was a little sad that he had to leave for the battlefield without seeing that famous marriage.

Then Récamier asked Eugene again with a serious face.

“So, are you going to give up everything? It’s a bit of a waste of scale.”

He is talking about the bond and stock speculation that Banque Beauharnais was doing.

All of these transactions are difficult to carry out without Eugene.

Therefore, Eugene asked him to take care of the bank and trading company, and told him to stop the speculative transactions.

But Eugene wasn’t sad at all.

“It won’t last long anyway.”

“What?”

“It’s a transaction that uses the crash of the Asanya bond [revolutionary currency] and the stock price crash, right? It’s inevitable that it will catch the eye of the revolutionary government. Besides, the East India Company will end soon.”

Eugene smiled coldly.

“They will go bankrupt, or Robespierre’s guillotine will fly.”

In August 1793, the National Convention suspends the French East India Company again.

There is only one reason.

The reason is that the directors of the East India Company are counter-revolutionaries.

In fact, the real reason was that they supported Robespierre’s opposition, including Danton.

In the end, the French East India Company is forcibly liquidated.

All stock transactions end with that.

Of course, it is a time when there are no signs of that yet.

But Récamier, who had been watching Eugene’s actions, nodded.

“Yes, you’re probably right. Such gambling-like decisions are really ghostly.”

“I hear that a lot. Since I was young.”

“Still young.”

Looking seriously at his business partner, who is only 12 years old, Récamier said.

“I’ll protect your business and property. Don’t worry about Madame Pajet, and come back safe.”

Then a woman suddenly jumped into the reception room of Récamier’s mansion.

Julie Bernard.

She is the girl who will become Madame Récamier.

She is only 15 years old, but her beauty, which remains the best beauty of the French Revolution, is dazzling.

“Yes, you must come back safe from the battlefield!”

Julie still remembers.

The boy who protected her from the wolf 5 years ago.

Looking at Julie, who was tearing up, Eugene smiled and kissed her hand.

“Of course, Miss. No, Madame.”

But on the way out, Eugene couldn’t avoid his secretary, Hippolyte, who was giving a strange smile.

Hippolyte teased Eugene with a sly expression.

“Wow, from Madame Pajet to Madame Récamier, it’s a world of married women’s love?”

“Do you want to die? I told you I’d cut you off if you coveted my mom, right? And Julie isn’t married yet?”

“Ah, I get it. Why are you only picking on me?”

Suddenly, Hippolyte, who was grumbling, tilted his head.

“Then, where are you going?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Ah, I have to tell my father where I’m going to die, right?”

Facing the surprised Eugene, Hippolyte smiled and winked.

“Why are you like this? If you go, Eugene, I can’t not go!”

The battlefield is a space of death.

Even if Hippolyte is immature and a young man who has just turned 20, he will know that much.

A secretarial relationship is just an employee.

Eugene and Hippolyte, who are closing their business, may no longer be related.

Nevertheless, Hippolyte willingly offered to follow.

To protect Eugene even on the battlefield.

Or to protect him.

Just like he swore to Eugene’s mother, Josephine, when he was very young.

Eugene unknowingly spat out profanity.

“Crazy bastard.”

But still, he couldn’t help but feel agitated.

For a moment, Hippolyte watched Eugene, who looked up at the sky as if he was about to cry, without saying a word.

Suddenly, Eugene lowered his gaze and looked at Hippolyte again.

Now that it has come to this, Eugene must also take responsibility for Hippolyte.

Then there is only one choice.

If you can’t resist fate, get on it.

“Yes, I can’t choose to be dragged into the war, but I can choose the battlefield.”

“Good. The day has come for me, Hippolyte, to become a hero on the battlefield! Where is it? Rhine? Walloon? Or Italy!”

“No.”

There is a separate place that will become Eugene’s battlefield of fate.

“Toulon.”

It is the city where Napoleon first leaped forward, the battlefield of legend.

At this moment, Eugene decided to choose Napoleon.

***

Even if the king dies and the royal family falls, the sun rises.

“Our puppy, you have to wake up now, right?”

Today, Marie Therese Charlotte opens her eyes, which she can’t bear to open.

It’s because the bed is rough and she can’t sleep well.

In the past, even the Palace of Versailles, or the Tuileries Palace, would have had a much softer cotton bed than this.

This is a straw bed.

Barely opening her tired eyes, Marie Therese asked ‘Mama’, who had just spoken to her.

“Did you say that to Disby, or to me?”

“Both. Or three? Louis! Get up now!”

“Oh, Mom. I’m sleepy.”

The youngest sibling, ‘Louis’, yawned and got up from the bed far away.

In the old days, it was a family that could only gather after a servant called from a room far away.

But now they gather in a small room to sleep, wake up, and eat bread.

It’s a life they couldn’t have imagined just a year ago.

But the moment she saw Louis, Marie breathed a sigh of relief.

It’s not a dream.

Just a while ago, Louis was living in a drunkard’s house, and ‘Maman’ [Mother] was imprisoned.

Marie was also confined to a monastery, no better than a prisoner.

But now, at least they are in the same house.

They are still under surveillance by the Republican soldiers, but they are all together.

Except for their dead father.

Just then, Madame Campan, the governess, shouted cheerfully from the living room.

“Today’s special is oatmeal, Princess!”

The princess yawned as she came out, then shook her head.

“I’m not a princess anymore, Madame Campan.”

“Oh, you’ll always be a princess to me!”

“You shouldn’t say things like that so carelessly. We might all die at any moment.”

At that moment, ‘Maman,’ Marie Antoinette, also warned with a worried face.

“That’s right, Charlotte is right. Madame Campan, you should leave us too. You have to live first.”

Versailles, once filled with people, is now close to ruins.

The Tuileries Palace, where the royal family lived in Paris, has been taken over by the National Convention [the revolutionary assembly in France].

The princess’s family resides in a small house in the suburbs provided by Lafayette [Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War].

Moreover, even though the queen lived, it is not known when it will become dangerous again.

In this revolutionary state, those who have been saved can be killed again at any time.

In this situation, even if she was the royal governess, it is right to leave.

However, Madame Campan opened her eyes wide and said firmly.

“I am not like Polignac. Your Majesty, I will never abandon you!”

Back in 1788, when the Palace of Versailles was still lavish, three women held influence over the royal family.

Chief Lady-in-Waiting, Madame Polignac.

Governess, Madame Campan.

And the Princess de Lamballe, who was once the queen’s favorite.

Polignac fled to Switzerland as soon as the revolution broke out, and Lamballe was imprisoned.

Now, only Madame Campan remains by the Queen’s side.

The Queen looked as if she was about to cry, then smiled brightly.

“Thank you. But it’s dangerous. By the way, is Princess Lamballe still alive?”

“Yes, she is still in prison. General Lafayette barely saved her.”

“I’m so grateful. At one time, I thought of her as an enemy.”

Princess de Lamballe.

She was the wife of the Duke de Lamballe, a great-grandson of Louis XIV, but she became a widow when her husband died early.

She wasn’t particularly extravagant, nor did she do anything bad, but the problem was that she was the Queen’s Chief Lady-in-Waiting.

Originally, she dies in September 1792 in the original history.

She refused the judge who asked her to swear hatred for the King and Queen, saying:

“I can admire freedom and equality, but I cannot hate the King and Queen.”

In return, Lamballe is abused, beheaded, and her body is displayed.

That’s what happened in the original history.

Lamballe is still imprisoned, but she is not dead.

This is thanks to the fact that the public’s hatred for the royal family is not extremely high, and Lafayette has become a hero of Valmy [site of a French victory in 1792 that helped stem the tide of the Prussian invasion].

“I hope Princess Lamballe is okay?”

Marie Therese took a spoonful of oatmeal and worried.

In fact, it is a much more fortunate result compared to the original history, but still, prison is not a good place.

At that time, Madame Campan handed oatmeal to Louis and said.

“By the way, General Lafayette is helping with the living expenses here. Of course, that money seems to be coming from the Beauharnais family.”

At that moment, Marie unknowingly threw down her spoon.

-Clang!

Antoinette was surprised and shouted at Marie.

“What are you doing? Charlotte!”

“I’m not eating it.”

“Charlotte! We are no longer royalty! Every piece of food is precious to commoners!”

But Marie couldn’t help but shout.

“You said it was bought with money from Eugene! He’s a traitor, Eugene is!”

Marie is the only one in this house who knows something.

It is grateful that Eugene saved ‘Maman,’ Antoinette, at the trial that time.

Still, there is something that cannot be forgiven.

Suddenly, Antoinette knelt down towards Marie and cupped her cheeks.

“Charlotte, Eugene saved your mother.”

“Still! He abandoned us when we were at our most difficult! Besides, Eugene is······!”

“In return, Eugene may end up going to his death.”

Marie, who was about to say something, was surprised and widened her eyes.

Die, what does that mean?

Madame Campan carefully wrapped the spoon in a scarf and lifted it up, sighing.

“That’s right, Princess. The young Baron Beauharnais will soon be dragged to the battlefield.”

It has been four years since all noble titles were abolished.

But to Campan, who is still a member of the old royal family, Eugene is the eldest son of the Beauharnais baronial family.

So, Madame Campan said this.

Eugene is being dragged to the battlefield.

Marie asked in a trembling voice.

“Battlefield? Why? What did Eugene do wrong!”

“He didn’t do anything wrong. But he has become hated by many people for saving the Queen. That’s why he’s being dragged away.”

“That’s ridiculous! Eugene!”

As Marie shouted, Antoinette shook her head sadly.

“This revolution must be like that, maybe. Charlotte, don’t hate Eugene. That child risked his life to save us.”

However, Marie is the only one who knows something.

Therefore, she could not forgive Eugene.

And now, Eugene is being dragged to the battlefield.

Because he saved Antoinette, ‘Maman.’

The 15-year-old girl who was a princess, Marie, sat down and let out a low scream.

“Eugene······!”

It felt like it was all because of Marie herself.

***

At that moment, Eugene went to meet a very important person.

-Knock.

The owner of the room, who was sitting at his desk writing a letter, looked up the moment the door opened.

“Have you come?”

A neat appearance, obsessively neat clothes, and above all, a stern expression.

If the incarnation of the revolution exists, it might be someone like this.

Maximilien de Robespierre, the owner of this room and the highest authority in the National Convention.

But there was someone who had arrived before Eugene.

Eugene’s eyes lit up.

“Monsieur Hoche was here first.”

“From the beginning, Hoche is my friend. Before he is your collaborator.”

“Surely not. Captain Hoche and I are just loyal citizens of the Republic.”

At that moment, Robespierre said coldly.

“You have to be exact. Boy. You are not yet an adult citizen. Still, you did something very dangerous.”

There is no need to upset Robespierre’s mood.

Hoche, who probably came first to defend Eugene, was also giving him a slight look.

Eugene bowed politely.

“I’m sorry. I was just ahead of my blood.”

“Perhaps, is it love?”

“Yes?”

It was such a sudden attack that Eugene couldn’t find an answer.

Love.

It probably doesn’t mean that he is dating now.

He is asking why he interfered in the Queen’s trial and ruined the Mountain faction’s [radical faction during the French Revolution] work.

Was it really because of love?

It was an answer that Eugene himself found difficult to answer.

But Robespierre looked at Eugene’s expression and burst out laughing.

It was as if it was written all over his face.

“It’s not the Queen, it’s the Princess. Heh heh.”

“No, that’s… I just acted according to my conscience and revolutionary spirit.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you see me as a [Execution Devil] who doesn’t know love? I understand, boy. Puppy love is very intense.”

Finally, the expression returned to Robespierre’s face.

It looks like when he was just a lawyer before the revolution broke out.

At that time, Robespierre thought of Eugene as a promising boy.

Now, he has become a rather troublesome ‘financial prodigy.’

Robespierre got up from his seat and said.

“But not everyone will understand. There are many voices calling for you to be sent to the guillotine as an example.”

“I understand, Monsieur Robespierre.”

“Understand? Do you know you’re going to die? Don’t say presumptuous things!”

Robespierre hardened his face.

Eugene in front of him is still 12 years old, a boy, no matter how smart he is.

There are rumors that the boy’s head should be cut off with a guillotine, that he should be imprisoned, or even sent to the battlefield.

No matter how many people Robespierre has already killed in the name of the revolution, a child is a different story.

He can’t feel good.

But he claims to understand death.

It’s extremely arrogant.

At that moment, Eugene stared at Robespierre.

“Monsieur Robespierre, I have shot people to death with cannons.”

Robespierre blinked.

But Eugene has really killed people.

It was during the voyage back from Martinique, when they fought with Islamic pirates.

Looking back at the group he was with at the time, Eugene said.

“There, my collaborator and your friend, Captain Hoche will testify how brave I was as a sailor.”

Hoche nodded and explained.

“That’s right, Monsieur Robespierre. When I brought Madame Fajet from the Atlantic, I met a pirate.”

“You fought directly at that time? That boy?”

“It’s not just that. He almost directed the steering of the ship. Moreover, he shot a grape shot and even drowned the pirate boss.”

Adding a little exaggeration, Hoche smiled.

“He’s a very brave boy soldier. Already.”

Robespierre closed his eyes.

He heard from Hoche that Eugene would rather go to the battlefield.

There is already talk in the Mountain faction about getting rid of the troublemaker by sending him as a boy soldier.

But is the revolution something that must be protected even by sending such a young boy to the battlefield?

Unfortunately, Robespierre had no choice but to affirm.

Robespierre, who opened his eyes, said.

“Okay. The battlefield will be more glorious than the guillotine, right? I’ll let you choose the battlefield.”

From the beginning, he came to Robespierre to solve this problem.

To choose the battlefield.

Eugene said politely but firmly.

“Then, please send me to Toulon.”

“Toulon? That’s a place already occupied by disloyal rebels, in alliance with the British.”

“That’s why I’m going. My ancestors were sailors, Monsieur.”

Deliberately putting grandiose reasons and boyish thoughts into his mouth, Eugene’s eyes shone.

“I want to reclaim the navy and bring victory to the Republic.”

Toulon.

A military port in southern France near Marseille.

This place is now occupied by royalists who have risen up and brought in the British fleet.

Instead of the border area or the Vendée [a region in western France], where there is a serious rebellion, Eugene chose this place.

Is it easy?

No.

This is because there is one prospective general who will definitely come here.

However, Robespierre, who would not know that fact, stared at Eugene and nodded.

“Okay, the real obstacle to the revolution is not actually the Habsburgs [one of the most influential royal houses of Europe]. It’s England.”

He was tacitly forgiving for saving the Queen from the Habsburg family.

But Robespierre’s position is that he cannot officially say these things.

Suddenly, Robespierre signed the document he had been writing on his desk since earlier.

-Scribble, scribble, scribble.

It was an appointment letter appointing Eugene as a [Second Lieutenant].

“Go to the battlefield, prodigy. Show me that you’re not just good at gambling.”

Eugene was slightly surprised by the unexpected gift, then bowed politely.

He is a man who may kill Eugene’s father in the future.

But he is also a revolutionary who is doing his best for France and its citizens.

Perhaps Robespierre’s failure was inevitable after all?

Suppressing his thoughts, Eugene opened his mouth.

“Of course. Victory to the Republic.”

But at the end of that victory, the Republic will eventually disappear.

***

To get from Paris to Toulon, you have to take a carriage.

“Crazy bastards! Sending a 12-year-old to the battlefield!”

Hippolyte, who got on the military carriage, kept swearing.

Of course, this is only possible because he has already left Paris.

Touching the newly worn boy’s military uniform, Eugene replied lightly.

“Anyway, I was originally going to go to the Vendée with Captain Hoche.”

“Huh? What’s in the Vendée?”

“It’s very disloyal, to the point where a rebellion will break out.”

It is now February 1793.

Soon the Republic will declare a 300,000 mobilization order.

In the land where farmers live, the Vendée in western France, a rebellion breaks out in response to this conscription order.

The rebellion combines with the forces of the royalist nobles and turns into a civil war that sweeps the Vendée for more than 10 years.

The Vendée rebellion, in which at least 300,000 people were massacred, is recorded in history.

Hoche is likely to go to the border area and then to the Vendée.

So why would Eugene say that he would follow Hoche?

In fact, in the original history, Hoche takes Eugene as his aide.

Seeing that he was dragging a child around on the battlefield, it is clear that Hoche, Josephine, who sent him, and Alexandre, who allowed it, were all out of their minds.

Of course, the most insane thing may be Eugene, who voluntarily goes to the battlefield.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Eugene looked the other way.

“By the way, Marceau, is it okay for you to follow me like this?”

François Séverin Marceau, originally one of the winning generals of the Vendée civil war.

But he became the vice president of the Beauharnais Bank, and unexpectedly went with Eugene.

Right to Toulon.

Marceau laughed heartily.

“Heh heh, our employer is going. I have to go with him! But isn’t the princess sending him off? Hahaha!”

“Wait, why don’t you ask me?”

“Hippolyte, you said you’d follow me anyway, right? Besides, you’re going to die if you stay anyway. I know everything you’ve done for me, from the Public Safety Committee.”

The famous guillotine decision maker of the National Convention, the Public Safety Committee, has just been launched.

Their first mission is to catch and kill anyone who seems to be against the revolution.

Eugene’s secretary, Hippolyte, who is a thorn in his side, will probably be the first to be executed.

Watching Hippolyte tremble, Eugene turned his gaze south.

“I wonder if I can see you in Toulon.”

“Huh? Is there anyone you want to see? Is it a beauty?”

“No, it’s a man.”

This time, Hippolyte teased Eugene lewdly.

“Hey, do you like men, huh!”

Of course, Eugene didn’t leave Hippolyte alone.

There is a separate reason for taking Hippolyte anyway.

To keep him away from Josephine.

But to make a sexual joke is unforgivable.

Just as Eugene, who had kicked his lower body as usual, was about to threaten him coldly.

“What is this bastard saying? You take good care of your lower body. You’ll die if you get a sexually transmitted disease. Huh?”

That’s when it happened.

Eugene stopped talking at a completely unexpected sight.

No, the carriage stopped.

Because someone was riding a horse and rushing up from behind.

The sound of hooves is loud in the suburban forest.

-Tadadak!

Watching the scene, Marceau said the truth as if joking.

“Oh, my. The princess has really come.”

The princess of the old royal family, Marie Therese Charlotte de Bourbon.

She is the girl who is riding a horse and running now.

The girl jumped off the horse, panting.

Hippolyte poked Eugene, who was staring blankly at the scene.

“Hey, what are you doing? Aren’t you going?”

Eugene got out of the carriage in a daze and approached Marie.

“Eugene.”

“Princess.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not a princess. Call me Marie.”

Marie stared at Eugene.

Already 15 years old, she clearly shows signs of becoming a woman.

Eugene, whose face was slightly red, was at a loss for a moment, not knowing where to look.

At that moment, Marie said something completely unexpected again.

“I, actually, saw it.”

What is she talking about seeing?

Marie didn’t say anything.

But Eugene realized what this story was about.

King’s suicide.

Eugene’s eyes widened.

“P, Princess. Surely.”

“So I really resented you. I hated you so much. But.”

“That’s, Princess.”

Marie shouted as if screaming.

“I know too! That it’s because of me! That’s why I hated you more!”

It wasn’t just Eugene and Hippolyte who were in the Temple Tower that time.

By chance, that day, the princess missed her father, Louis XVI, so much.

Coincidentally, that day, the security of the Temple Tower was so lax because of Eugene.

On that very day, the princess, who was about to greet the king and Eugene with a happy heart, could not turn the wall and saw it.

The king committing suicide.

From then on, she had no choice but to resent him.

She knew that it was Eugene’s own decision to protect the princess, so it was even more so.

The king died because of the princess.

Eugene killed the king because of the princess.

Eugene saved the queen because of the princess, and now he is going to the battlefield.

Marie bit her lip and barely parted her lips again.

“You mustn’t die. Absolutely not. Come back, or.”

Marie said, engraving Eugene’s appearance clearly in her eyes as if she would not forget even one of them.

“I’ll follow you even to the end of hell.”

Watching the scene, Eugene smiled brightly.

“I promised to save the princess. I’ll definitely come back, even to not kill the princess.”

“I told you to call me Marie!”

“Okay, Princess. No, Marie. Eup!”

Before he could react because it was too fast, Eugene was robbed of his lips.

Blinking his eyes, Eugene could only watch Marie jump onto the horse.

With a very red face, Marie was already running as if bouncing the horse.

The sound of whistles is loud from behind.

Hippolyte, Marceau, and 보안 [unidentified], and Louis Tournet, who is going to the army together.

“Wow! Awesome!”

“Wow, it’s the coolest scene to send off the battlefield!”

“Whew! When is our boss going to his honeymoon? Hahaha!”

Suddenly, Marie’s voice echoed in the forest as she ran the horse.

“Be sure to come back!”

Eugene returned to the carriage in a daze.

“Really, you killed it!”

Hippolyte smiled with a grin.

Eugene smiled bitterly at the smile.

It’s like receiving an unexpected gift while going to his death.

“The real death is on the battlefield.”

Of course, Eugene has no intention of dying.

From the beginning, he is going to Toulon to live.

Why?

That place is none other than Napoleon’s war debut stage.

“Now, I’m going to the legendary battlefield.”

The legendary battlefield, the place where the Napoleon legend began.

Eugene was running to Toulon.

With the princess’s kiss on his lips.