He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 321

(321) Louis-Philippe Is in the New World Now

The Americas, known as the New World in Europe, are truly vast lands.

“For instance, even a royal exile like myself could set foot here, and no one would know. Heh heh.”

Louis-Philippe de Bourbon, commonly known as the Duke of Chartres.

Once a general in the revolutionary army, briefly a French teacher in Switzerland, and for some time, an exile.

But now, he is fortunate enough to set foot in this New World with the noblest woman from the northern reaches of Europe.

Alexandra Pavlovna, wearing a stylish hat, smiled radiantly.

“It’s so vast and warm here.”

“If it’s just warmth you seek, there are plenty of places in southern Europe. If it’s vast lands, Russia has countless. This place is valuable for other reasons, Princess.”

“What reasons might those be?”

Louis-Philippe smiled as he looked at the ‘humble’ harbor where countless ships were arriving.

“Here, a vast land rivaling Russia is entirely undeveloped. Especially the northern part of the New World.”

The name of this place is New York Harbor, which in the original history of later years, would be called the world’s greatest harbor and the world’s greatest city.

But now, it is merely one of the leading port cities in the New World.

Countless immigrants, fishermen, and slave ships make up the largest businesses here.

It was here that the *Predestina* ship, which had departed from St. Petersburg, arrived.

Being a warship built during the time of Peter the Great, it faced little scrutiny.

However, its dignified appearance was certainly fitting for transporting members of the royal family.

Alexandra looked around with curiosity and said,

“Then our Russia can also find new opportunities here, Philippe.”

“Indeed. For now, we are only developing the frozen lands, but as we move south, the story changes.”

“But that is to the east, or rather, to the west from the New World’s perspective. Why did we sail west to arrive here in the east of the New World?”

Having crossed the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to reach this distant place, Alexandra does not know the reason.

She simply followed her beloved Philippe, who had departed under her father’s command.

Louis-Philippe smiled, took Alexandra’s arm, and escorted her.

“Well, it’s because this New York Harbor is the most developed port in the New World. To know this place is to know the New World.”

It is not comparable to the palaces and grand aristocratic mansions of St. Petersburg.

However, New York was full of life.

Numerous carriages passed by in an instant, and people bustled about, chattering.

For Alexandra, who had never seen the common people, it was a completely new experience.

Nevertheless, there were unavoidable sights even in this New York.

“Hey! Bring those slaves over here!”

“Agh! Ah, it hurts!”

“What are you saying? You damn slave! Shut up and walk! Do you know how much it cost to bring you here?”

Seeing the slaves chained and dragged away, Alexandra asked in surprise,

“Philippe, what is that?”

Philippe gestured to the guards in plain clothes to block her view and replied,

“Those are black slaves. It’s a common sight in this city, along with the lines of immigrants.”

“Good heavens, are they from the African continent? I can’t believe they still practice slavery.”

“Slavery still exists in Arabia. This place is no different.”

Of course, France itself had abolished slavery long ago, since the early 18th century.

However, slavery only remained in the West Indies, which were colonies.

Furthermore, Philippe, a sympathizer of the French Revolution, which was the realization of the Enlightenment, could not possibly like slavery.

However, Philippe did not cross the Atlantic to abolish slavery in America.

“More importantly, there should be someone here to meet us. Ah, there he is.”

Philippe, who had been turning his head away from the lines of slaves, noticed someone and his eyes lit up.

“Duke of Chartres! Wow, you look radiant!”

A very handsome man approached, waving his hand.

Except for the slightly receding hairline, his appearance was impeccable.

Of course, what was most comfortable for Louis-Philippe and Alexandra was fluent French.

Alexandra recognized the man and nodded.

“Oh, I think I’ve seen this person somewhere.”

“Haha! Princess, it’s been a while. I’m John Quincy Adams, who was assigned as the Russian consul.”

“Oh, Mr. Adams. Here, I’m just ‘Mrs.’ Alexandra.”

John Quincy Adams looked around and smiled subtly.

“Oh, is that so? Then here, is the Duke also Mr. Cafe?”

“That would be good. Americans probably don’t know much about the Bourbons yet, do they?”

“That’s mostly true. But it wouldn’t be bad to reveal it. Didn’t the Bourbon family help our United States in the War of Independence? Whatever the case in the home country, they are very popular in the New World.”

John Quincy Adams, a 35-year-old gentleman who until recently served as the unofficial American consul in St. Petersburg.

A natural diplomat who had traveled through Europe since the age of 14, serving as a secretary in various American consulates.

However, there is another reason why this man is famous.

He is the son of the recently retired second President of the United States, John Adams.

In other words, from the American perspective, he is the best choice to welcome the princess of the Russian Empire and her ‘husband.’

“Heh heh, that’s fine. More importantly, how are my siblings doing?”

At Philippe’s question, John Quincy winked and snapped his fingers to call the prepared carriage.

“Of course, they are doing well. Hey, driver. Take these distinguished guests!”

It was a carriage to take them to the residence of Louis-Philippe’s siblings, who were currently staying in New York.

***

Somerindyck House, the Bourbon family’s mansion on Manhattan Island in New York.

“Brother, what brings you here?”

The younger brother, Louis Antoine, who was teaching children here, stood up in surprise.

“Antoine! You look radiant. The New World must agree with you?”

“Oh, the water here is really good. There’s not much lime in it. Haha!”

“Puhaha! So, do you have a girlfriend? If you have a lover you need permission from Father for, I’ll go back and get it for you.”

Then the blond handsome man, Antoine, laughed heartily and grabbed Philippe, replying,

“Not yet. How are Mother and Adelaide doing? It must be difficult to live in France.”

Adelaide is the youngest sister of the three Orleans ducal brothers.

She was currently staying in France with the Duchess of Orleans.

Of course, Philippe had not seen her in almost 10 years, but they were exchanging letters.

Through the Boarnais Milano Bank Post Office.

“I heard they are doing well. Since Robespierre died, the persecution of our family has significantly decreased. They’ve returned about half of our property.”

“But they didn’t take away the Palais Royal, did they? I heard Eugene Bonaparte bought it.”

“Wasn’t that place going to be sold anyway because of debt? It’s a good thing, what. Instead, more than half of the debt we had disappeared.”

Philippe made an ironic expression and winked.

“Because the creditors died.”

At that moment, the third brother, Louis Charles Alphonse, who had been busily working, stopped to wipe his hands and asked in surprise,

“Oh, who is this? Mademoiselle?”

Only then did the people at Somerindyck House see Alexandra.

This was the private property that the Bourbon Orleans family had bought after coming to the New World.

Here, the Orleans ducal brothers spent peaceful times teaching students.

However, Philippe, who had once been a soldier, could not bear the boredom and returned to Europe, eventually going to Russia.

Alexandra, the greatest treasure of his trip to Russia, stepped forward and smiled.

“Hello. I’m Alexandra. I’m not Mademoiselle, but Philippe’s wife.”

“Yes? No, Brother. When did you get married? Why didn’t you tell us? Oh, be careful of the mud!”

“Russia has a lot of mud anyway. Besides, we had the wedding right before departure. Aren’t letters sent by ship anyway? So, since that’s the case, I came to tell you myself.”

Philippe was telling Antoine, then lowered his voice.

“I also have a mission I received from the Tsar when we got married.”

In the summer of 1802, just before setting sail, Philippe finally succeeded in marrying Alexandra.

It was Tsar Paul’s capriciousness that was decisive.

It was difficult to gain glory in Europe, the domestic situation was difficult, and there were no opportunities to expand into the New World.

However, with no particularly capable nobles around, Philippe caught his eye.

As a result, Paul married Alexandra to Philippe and sent them to the New World.

But Antoine was surprised by something else.

There was a status that came to mind with the names Tsar Paul and Alexandra.

It was the princess of Russia.

“Wait, Brother. Could it be.”

“Shh.”

“Good heavens. We have been honored to welcome such a noble person. It’s an honor.”

Alexandra smiled, stepping on the mud without fear.

“The honor is mine. The Orleans ducal family was famous even in Russia. They said you were nobles like kings.”

In the original history of modern times, it is a completely paved city, but in this era, New York is still unpaved.

Manhattan was not much different.

Nevertheless, staying in such a place shows that the Orleans family brothers are enlightened nobles.

Of course, it may just be that they like teaching children.

Then Antoine tilted his head and asked.

“But why did you come all the way here? You should be enjoying your honeymoon in St. Petersburg.”

“I’ve rested for a long time. I’ve done a lot of work too. Shouldn’t I be looking for an opportunity to revive the family now?”

“Isn’t that only possible in Europe? I heard the situation in France is constantly changing.”

Pinching Antoine’s cheek, Philippe smiled.

“That’s why the New World is an opportunity. There’s no chance for us to squeeze in in the home country.”

The hardline royalists, the Chouans [French Royalist rebels], tried to reverse the situation with terrorism but failed.

However, Philippe is convinced that terrorism is difficult and cannot change the times.

Conversely, the Bonaparte family’s empire has already taken hold in France.

Therefore, it seems there is no room for the Orleans family, who are not even the Bourbon legitimate royal family, to squeeze in.

That’s why Philippe readily crossed the Atlantic at Paul’s command.

Philippe also had quite a few acquaintances in this America.

But Alphonse tilted his head and said.

“Well, from what I heard from the French embassy last time, the Consul, or rather the Emperor’s adopted son is coming to the New World. It seems the new regime is also complicated.”

At that moment, Philippe’s eyes widened.

“Freischütz [Eugene Bonaparte’s nickname] is coming to the New World?”

This was something Philippe had not anticipated.

***

In fact, Philippe had departed before Eugene but arrived later.

“Hmm, it seems you’ve heard. We also received the news a while ago. A large French fleet is crossing the Atlantic.”

A former Russian consul, the son of the American president, and a prominent politician who is a Massachusetts senator.

The 35-year-old John Quincy Adams nodded.

It was ultimately due to Russia’s not-so-great navigation skills.

Philippe, who had missed very important information, clicked his tongue and sat in the drawing room of the Adams residence, asking.

“A large fleet? How many are there?”

“About 200 transport ships and 30 escort ships.”

“Good heavens, are they waging a war or something?”

Sipping his tea, John Quincy shrugged.

“It’s an immigration fleet. France has decided to send 1 million immigrants to Florida in 10 installments. They seem to have a plan for about 3 years.”

That means at least 100,000 people have arrived this time.

Philippe narrowed his eyes.

A tickling sensation sent shivers down his spine.

It’s not certain yet, but something, an opportunity, has come.

The good-natured politician, John Quincy, who did not notice Philippe’s slight trembling, smacked his lips.

“Who is the commander of that operation, again?”

“Eugene Bonaparte?”

“Ah, that’s right. I heard he was appointed as governor-general and viceroy? Well, if the king is coming back, why did they have a revolution?”

As a supporter of the republic, John Quincy Adams seemed critical of the empire.

But it’s good news for Philippe.

The restoration of the monarchy could also be an opportunity for the old aristocracy.

Especially in the New World, where there is no burden.