He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 4

(3) Mother is a Heartbreaker and a Timeless Beauty

What kind of person makes a good mother?

“My son, you’ve grown so much, haven’t you? Hehe, you probably don’t need your mom anymore, right?”

This place is the Pentemont Abbey, located northwest of the Saint-Germain district in Paris.

A temple first established in 1217, over 500 years old.

It’s a truly historic abbey, but in reality, it’s not used for the nuns’ religious life.

It’s a refuge for women, especially upper-class noble women who have been divorced or separated.

Of course, Josephine, standing before Eugene, was vibrant and didn’t seem like a divorcee at all.

In fact, she wasn’t officially divorced yet.

“Is that something a mother with young children should say?”

Eugene grumbled lightly.

Marie Josèphe Rose de Beauharnais, nicknamed Marie Rose.

Her brown hair, brown eyes, and fair, tan-tinged, rosy cheeks were truly beautiful.

Anyone who saw her would probably be captivated.

Of course, Eugene was rather indifferent, perhaps because he was her son.

The 24-year-old young mother, recorded in history as [Josephine], pinched her son’s cheek and smiled.

“Pfft, what are you, a child? You’re all grown up inside. Enough for this mother to return to her hometown.”

“Are you really going? Martinique is at the far west end.”

“Hehe! It might be the end of the world for our little Parisian bumpkin, but it’s a very dear hometown to me.”

Looking west from the abbey with wistful eyes, Josephine reminisced about her hometown.

“There’s plenty of sweet sugarcane, too.”

Martinique, a French colony in the West Indies [Caribbean Islands].

In modern terms, it’s an island north of Venezuela in South America.

This is Josephine’s hometown.

An officer who ventured into the colony and managed a sugarcane plantation was Josephine’s father.

Watching his mother reminisce about the old days, Eugene lightly handed her a toothbrush.

“Take good care of your teeth. Wherever you go, be sure to.”

“You’re saying what I was going to say.”

“You’re the one who’s immature, Mother.”

It’s not well known, but Josephine suffered from cavities.

This is because she had a habit of sucking on sugarcane since she was young.

The mysterious smile left in later portraits is mostly an effort to hide her cavities.

Of course, she seems to have cavities even now, but she’s still only 24 years old.

She can definitely prevent it if she tries.

Unaware of her son’s struggles to protect her beauty, Josephine asked with an elegant demeanor.

“Then, will you come with me, my son? Martinique isn’t cold, unlike here.”

Of course, Paris isn’t that cold unless there’s a cold wave.

But Martinique, close to the equator, is a truly hot place.

Naturally, Eugene, who could guess the heat from his past life’s experiences, only snorted.

Still, a mother is a mother, it seems.

To want to take the son of her husband, from whom she is practically divorced and separated, to her hometown.

This era is the late 18th century.

Even in Europe, women’s rights are not very high.

Moreover, it’s much better not to take children when remarrying.

Nevertheless, Josephine loves her son.

This son who has shown amazing qualities since he was very young.

Eugene packed Josephine’s luggage and retorted.

“Do you have money? Weren’t you originally married to Father because your family went bankrupt?”

“Hmph, you’re hitting a sore spot. By now, my father would have recovered the plantation, right? Do you know how vast it is? A whopping 500 hectares [1235.5 acres]. There was so much sugarcane that you couldn’t see the end of it.”

“If you say that one more time, it’ll be the 500th time.”

That’s about 5,400,000 square feet.

Josephine’s family was quite wealthy in Martinique.

However, they went bankrupt once due to a hurricane and were practically sold off to the Beauharnais family, a noble family in mainland France, to marry.

That’s the story of how Josephine married Alexandre.

Of course, Alexandre was a typical French nobleman who cheated a lot.

Even to the point of cheating with Josephine’s cousin.

Perhaps feeling guilty about that, Josephine jumped up and down, claiming that the daughter she prematurely delivered was not his daughter, leading to this separation just before divorce.

Tired of Parisian life, Josephine stayed at the abbey and eventually decided to return to Martinique.

That was already three months ago.

The problem is that it’s not necessarily a good thing.

Suddenly hesitating, Eugene opened his mouth.

“Um, I might go to the royal court.”

Josephine’s eyes widened.

“The royal court? Why? You? Did Aunt Fanny pave the way or something?”

“Not really. It’s just Father’s connections. I might become a page [a ceremonial attendant at court].”

“Oh my, that’s great. My son.”

Fanny, whom he just mentioned, is related to the Beauharnais family.

She is the owner of a famous salon in Paris and also served as a [godmother] to Josephine’s daughter.

However, what’s more important from this era’s perspective is that Fanny is the wife of Claude de Beauharnais.

A captain who won against a few British ships in the Seven Years’ War.

In short, he was a naval admiral.

He even received the title of Count directly from Louis XV, so the widowed Fanny has some connections to the royal family.

Of course, Eugene, who benefited from his father Alexandre’s lover, kept that point to himself.

However, he had something he wanted to say, so he brought up the story.

“Mother, why don’t you just stay here? Even if you really get divorced and remarry, Paris would be better.”

Martinique is dangerous.

As Eugene, who knows the original history, it’s a natural conclusion.

During the French Revolution, a revolution or riot also occurs in Martinique, which was a colony.

The large landowners, the Beauharnais family, are naturally in danger.

Josephine barely escaped, which is how she married Napoleon.

But that was just a series of coincidences.

However, Josephine looked at Eugene quietly and said seriously.

“Eugene, you know it too, right? It’s a mess here right now.”

The moment Eugene’s eyes widened, Josephine said in a low voice so that the nuns wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t know when it will explode. Something. It’s seething. It’s like that all over the city.”

Although he’s only a 7-year-old child, Josephine knows that her son is not just a child because she’s his mother.

Perhaps that’s why she told him what she sensed.

Rather, Josephine thought Paris was dangerous and wanted to take her son with her.

As Eugene, who knows history, it’s a surprising insight.

Certainly, Josephine is no ordinary woman.

After all, when Alexandre was beheaded, Josephine survived and became the lover of powerful figures.

While the surprised Eugene couldn’t speak, a sturdy man appeared from behind the abbey garden with a girl on his shoulders.

“Oh, Eugene? Long time no see. How have you been? Hahaha!”

The girl, Eugene’s younger sister Hortense, laughed when she saw Eugene.

“Kya, it’s Oppa [older brother]!”

Eugene was happy to see Hortense, but he also had to smile bitterly at the man.

Whether she has great intuition or outstanding beauty, Josephine definitely has a problem.

Josephine smiled like a rose and approached the man, hugging his arm.

“Oh, O’Hoche! You’re here? Hehe!”

That’s it.

That she is an undeniably flirtatious woman.

***

Of course, the French are a people who originally have many lovers, both now and in the past.

“Hehe! Ah, it’s a shame that I have to part with you.”

“Oh, that our love must end like this. It’s truly tragic. Even ‘Racine’ [French dramatist] couldn’t have written such a tragedy.”

“Yes. But, let’s never forget our love?”

While packing her luggage at the abbey, Josephine flirted with her new lover, ‘Hoche’.

This abbey should originally be a place forbidden to men.

Because its original purpose is closer to a noble girls’ school.

However, as it became a refuge for divorcees, naturally, men had no choice but to enter.

Eventually, during the revolutionary period, it was closed with the notoriety of being a lewd place.

Of course, it’s a slander by the revolutionaries, but Eugene thinks it seems right now.

While Eugene was watching Hoche and Josephine’s lovey-dovey antics with a sour look, someone grabbed Eugene’s collar.

“Oppa.”

It was Eugene’s younger sister, Hortense.

“Why, Hortense?”

The girl, who is now 5 years old, being 3 years younger than Eugene, looks at Eugene with sparkling eyes.

“Aren’t you going to Martinique?”

“Well, I have to find a job now. I have to support the family.”

“Can’t you come with us?”

Eugene couldn’t answer.

No matter how much of a reincarnator he is, this life is reality.

Mom and younger sister are all Eugene’s family.

Can he just send his mother and younger sister to the New World, that faraway place?

Especially when it’s obvious that things will go crazy.

For a long time, Eugene was lost in thought.

On the other hand, leaving Eugene in his worries, the young Hortense went to take a nap.

Josephine was about to go in to take care of Hortense.

“Yes. If you go to the New World with us, I’ll feel a little relieved.”

Suddenly, a sturdy young man, Hoche, approached and smiled, talking to him.

Eugene stared at Hoche.

If this young man, who is barely 20 years old, is just one of Josephine’s countless lovers, there’s not much to worry about.

Of course, the problem is that it’s not.

Louis Lazare Hoche.

A famous general who suppressed the Vendée rebellion during the French Revolution.

Later, Napoleon praised Hoche like this.

He called him [a master of war].

Of course, he’s wearing the uniform of a private soldier, not even an officer’s uniform.

Because he’s just a private in the Guards.

In modern military ranks, it’s about a corporal or sergeant.

Naturally, Josephine, a noblewoman from a marquis family, would seem like an unattainable tree to Hoche.

However, all of this will be completely reversed next year.

Eugene scratched his head and opened his mouth again.

“Mr. Hoche, can you promise me one thing?”

“What is it? Anything I can do. I swear on your mother’s beauty.”

“I can’t trust that even more? Anyway, it’s related to my mom.”

Suddenly, Eugene stared at Hoche.

“When I say I have to go to Martinique, can you go with me?”

He can’t leave everything to the coincidences of history.

Josephine certainly survives the riots in Martinique after the Great Revolution.

But he can’t just leave everything to chance.

The problem is that Eugene is still just a boy, and he will be the same when the riots break out.

He doesn’t have the power to get his mother and younger sister out of that faraway island in the New World.

But if he’s with this man who will be called a hero in the revolutionary period, it’s a different story.

Hoche, who doesn’t know the future, blinked and readily replied.

“I’ll definitely go even if I have to take a vacation. But, why? Why don’t you just follow us now?”

“Who said I want to see my mom? It’s because something big will happen once.”

“What do you mean?”

After rolling his eyes for a moment, Eugene made a suitable excuse.

“Hoche, did you forget? Martinique is originally within the patrol range of the British fleet. There have already been several battles. It used to be British territory, right?”

Martinique is a French colony.

However, in the late 18th century, the sea belongs to England.

Martinique, located in the Atlantic Ocean, is within the sight of the British fleet.

In fact, in the original history, the British fleet briefly attacked during the revolutionary period.

Hoche was convinced by those words.

“Indeed, that’s possible.”

“Well, even if it’s not that. Anything can happen at any time. For example, a slave rebellion.”

“Slaves? No way. What ability do slaves have to start a rebellion? They’re all chained up.”

Eugene smiled bitterly and spoke to Hoche again.

“Hoche, you may be taking my words lightly now. But remember. Everything we believe in can be broken at any time. In a single moment.”

That’s the era of the Great Revolution.

***

Eventually, the time came for Josephine to leave.

-Swish!

In an era without airplanes, the Atlantic Ocean must be crossed by ship.

Bordeaux, a French port.

A city with a long port tradition, it was actually a place where the slave trade flourished.

However, after France was completely defeated by England during the so-called [Seven Years’ War], trade is not the same as before.

Still, it’s just not the same as before, and many ships still leave over the sea.

The ship that Josephine and Hortense will ride today is also like that.

“Kya! Exciting! I’ve never seen a place like this before!”

Hortense shouted in a shrill voice towards the port and the many ships.

“You saw it here when you were little, our little one.”

“Why?”

“When you were a baby, you lived in Martinique. Hehe.”

Josephine, who lightly patted Hortense, looked at Eugene.

“Well, it’s farewell, our son.”

Josephine is not going to Martinique completely alone.

She has hired maids, people from Martinique, and servants of the Beauharnais family to protect the journey.

Even though she’s a daughter-in-law who’s been put out, she’s still the marquis’s daughter-in-law and the daughter of a large landowner.

Still, it can’t be easy for a woman to go to the faraway New World.

Even so, she decided to go, so you can see how tired she is of Paris.

Even to the point of deciding to leave her son and lover behind.

Hoche, who followed her to Bordeaux, put the luggage in front of the ship and took a breath.

“Phew, I barely made it here. Well, the husband didn’t come after all?”

“Of course, he didn’t come. Don’t say you’re going to duel with my husband later? It’s so unsophisticated.”

“Hahaha! I’m also a Parisian. Madame Beauharnais. Love is love, and farewell must be elegant!”

It was then.

-Tap tap!

A familiar face was running from the other side of the port of Bordeaux.

Eugene was slightly surprised and widened his eyes.

Hippolyte Charles, the son of the fabric merchant who lives next door to Eugene.

Also, a teenager who is in love with [Madame Beauharnais].

“Madame Beauharnais!”

Hippolyte ran panting and handed something to Josephine.

“Before you leave! Please take this!”

Josephine asked with wide eyes.

“Oh my, Hippolyte? What is this?”

“I, it’s a gift. A, it’s a cross. It will protect you.”

“Oh my goodness. You came all the way here to Bordeaux to give me this?”

Paris to Bordeaux is by no means close.

Even if he’s the son of a relatively wealthy family, it wouldn’t have been easy to pay for the carriage fare.

Hippolyte ran all the way here just to see Josephine.

The wooden cross is naturally an excuse.

Hippolyte smiled brightly and shouted.

“Yes, Madame!”

At that moment, Josephine, with a touched face, lightly grabbed Hippolyte’s cheek.

-Kiss.

The moment Hippolyte, who turned bright red, was panting, Josephine smiled and said.

“Cute. Please take good care of our baby until I come back?”

She’s truly a woman of charm who captivates boys even on her way.

Hippolyte, who was completely captivated, grinned with a flushed face and shouted.

On the other hand, Eugene had a headache and had to cover it for a while.

“O, of course, Madame!”

Looking at that scene, Hoche laughed absurdly.

“Kya, it’s good to be young, right?”

“Don’t talk like you’re old, Hoche. You’re just a 20-year-old greenhorn.”

“Look at this old man. Haha!”

Of course, to Josephine and Hoche, the teenager Hippolyte would seem like a child, so they would say this.

However, there is a problem that only Eugene knows in this place.

In fact, Hippolyte is the one who causes a [scandal] with Josephine in the original history.

Even when that famous Egyptian conquest takes place.

Josephine, who doesn’t know who she has captivated, grabbed her beloved son’s cheek.

“Yes, our son. Whatever happens, you must be safe?”

Eyes the same brown as Eugene’s look at Eugene kindly.

She’s a woman with an irresistible charm.

No matter how much she captivates men, causes problems, and is a mother who abandons her son and returns to her hometown.

Eugene, who was quietly looking at Josephine, grabbed her cheeks and smiled.

“Yes. Whatever happens to me, I’ll definitely come to pick you up.”

The ship left Bordeaux.

Looking at the ship going to the vast Atlantic Ocean, Eugene sighed deeply.

It’s only now that it feels real.

Because the events that happened in history are happening one by one.

For example, Josephine, who won the separation lawsuit with Alexandre, leaves for the New World.

Then, it will definitely happen even 1 year later.

That famous Great Revolution.

“1 year left.”

“Huh? What? Are you going to see your mom? Then let’s go together.”

“Shut up. If you covet my mom, you’re really going to die. This is not a joke.”

With truly terrifying eyes, Eugene glared at Hippolyte.

All the other lovers may be unavoidable.

But Hippolyte alone is not allowed.

It’s not because he’s Eugene’s friend.

It’s because it’s a scandal that ruins Josephine’s life.

Of course, neither Hippolyte nor Josephine intended it, but.

Hippolyte was startled and replied.

“Ah, you don’t have to say it so scary. Okay, whatever.”

Of course, it’s just a teenage boy’s love right now anyway.

If he gets another woman, he’ll soon forget.

Not to mention Josephine, who will have countless lovers in the future.

-Swish!

Eugene looked at the sea again.

1 year left.

The royal family will surely collapse.

Nevertheless, there must be a reason why [Silver Letter] showed the royal family as a career path.

“Okay, even if it’s a losing hand, the royal family is the royal family. I’ll bet on it.”

In April 1788, Josephine left for her hometown in the New World.

It was when the Great Revolution was 1 year away.