He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 540

Napoleon’s Genius Son – Episode 540 (541/547)

Side Story (18) Edgar Allan Poe Meets Alexandre Dumas in the Ceylon Express Murder Case

In the New Century, the uncharted sea is not the Atlantic but the Indian Ocean.

“Raise the sails! Let’s go out to the open sea! A new adventure awaits us!”

The time is a night with clear starlight.

Not as vast as the Pacific or Atlantic, but the Indian Ocean is also a vast sea.

Especially the sea route passing through the Red Sea, crossing the Arabian Peninsula, and heading to India.

However, unlike the boy who is excitedly humming a song on the deck, this ship is just a passenger ship.

The boy’s guardian, Henry, blushed at the sight of the sailors laughing and passing by.

“We’re almost docking, Edgar. What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Henry. Can’t you see the island far away? It’s Ceylon Island! The home of tea!”

“Really? Where? Is that Ceylon?”

Henry, though older than the child Edgar, was still a teenager.

He looked at the dark horizon with a curious face, excited to finally see Ceylon Island, which he had only read about in books.

Just as the island seemed to materialize from the distance, someone giggled from behind.

“Tea originated in Qing [ancient China]. The British stole seedlings and spread them in Ceylon. Hehe.”

At the sound of shattering the boy’s romantic vision, Edgar pouted and turned around.

Both Edgar and Henry were surprised.

A young man with considerably dark skin, possessing distinct African features, was standing there.

Edgar exclaimed in surprise.

“What is it? How can a black slave be on a passenger ship!”

“Oh, how rude! I am clearly a French citizen. You seem to be British; don’t you know that the abolition of slavery was 20 years ago? It was even before you were born.”

“We are Americans.”

Instead of Edgar, who was simply answering and looking curiously, his brother Henry hurriedly apologized.

“There are still slaves in America. I’m sorry.”

For many Americans, black people were still synonymous with slaves.

Of course, this ship departed from London, England, where slavery had been abolished.

However, unlike France, black people did not flock to the mainland to actively participate in social activities.

Of course, the young gentleman was closer to being mixed-race than a completely black person.

The mixed-race young gentleman stroked his chin and exclaimed in a theatrical tone.

“That’s a truly disappointing story! When will America embrace the path of civilization?”

“Although it is less developed than France, America is clearly a Western European civilized country. Don’t insult us.”

“Really? Then is there any writer from the United States that I should know?”

The mixed-race gentleman retorted teasingly towards Edgar, who was shouting, acting far from his age.

“I don’t think there’s even one. A country without a writer who can surprise people is a civilized country? Nonsense!”

It was, in fact, true.

Authors who would come to represent the United States, including Mark Twain, had not yet been born.

Most of the famous American writers were politicians, including Benjamin Franklin.

But why did the mixed-race gentleman use [writer] as a measure of civilization?

This was related to the characteristics of the 19th century.

With the development of printing technology, the 19th century was an era dominated by newspapers and books.

It was also the time when the so-called bestseller was first born.

To put it in modern terms, [influencer] was synonymous with writer.

It is no coincidence that famous writers who dominated the era were born in the 19th century.

In France alone, Chateaubriand and Madame de Staël were dominating Europe and the New World with their novels.

Instead of getting angry at the teasing, the boy, Edgar, tilted his head.

“I see, you are a writer?”

“Hehe, I’m still an aspiring playwright. Do you know Henry III? He’s the main character of the play I’m writing these days. He’s an old-fashioned royal figure, but he’s a very complex and interesting person!”

“I don’t know? What did he do?”

Towards Edgar, a boy sensitive to trends, the mixed-race young man exclaimed with shining eyes.

“Homosexual, traitor, and assassin!”

Henry III, King of France.

He is said to be the main culprit of the famous St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre [a massacre of French Huguenots (Protestants) in 1572].

Also, in the days when Protestants and Catholics were at war, he was the man who eventually handed over the throne to Henry IV, a Protestant monarch.

He was expected to be a promising player throughout his life, but the only achievement left in history was the selection of a successor.

Edgar’s eyes widened at the words of the mixed-race young man.

“There is such a person?”

“Of course. Henry III inherited the blood of the Medici family. Catherine de Medici! A woman who killed all the Protestants with conspiracy!”

“Oh my! Such a vicious woman!”

The mixed-race young man excitedly recited about the historical play he was writing.

“Like this woman’s son, Henry III was also a conspirator! There’s even a story that he poisoned his own brother, Francis II!”

“He’s a bad guy!”

“But he was a genius of fashion, an elegant gentleman, and a pervert who liked pretty boys. Hehehe.”

After reciting about Henry III, a [hip] man who was ahead of his time, the mixed-race young man lowered his voice.

“But the most amazing thing Henry III did was the murder of the Duke of Guise.”

A secret voice as if it were happening now.

Both Edgar and Henry, who had only been listening, swallowed dry saliva and held their breath.

Clearly, if the mixed-race young man were to play the role of a storyteller, he would have the talent to make a lot of money.

Then Henry clapped his hands as if he had remembered something.

“Duke of Guise is the man who almost became the King of France, right?”

“Oh, the brother knows history better.”

“I learned it at boarding school. We are actually students at a boarding school in Chelsea, London.”

Henry said slyly and proudly.

Boarding school is a school system that originated in England from the 19th century and is a so-called Oxbridge preparatory school [schools that prepare students for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge].

Aristocrats are taught by tutors, but the [gentry] class, which is emerging recently, tries to raise their status through schools.

Although they are Americans, they are also sons of families based in England, so they attend boarding school.

However, Edgar, who was too young to be interested in class society, was more interested in the story.

“But why, how, and with what did the Duke of Guise die?”

The mixed-race young man was about to explain with a smooth smile.

“Kyaaak!”

When the young man, the boy, and the teenager turned their eyes, a sailor ran out and shouted.

“It’s a murder!”

Suddenly, a marine locked-room murder case occurred.

***

Surprisingly, there was also a police officer on this passenger ship that departed from London, England.

“There will be an investigation for a while.”

A plainclothes police officer with a pipe in his mouth said arrogantly.

On the clear deck, the passengers in the cabins trembled and looked around.

Talk about the police went back and forth among the passengers.

“What is it? Why is the London Metropolitan Police on this ordinary passenger ship?”

“I heard someone is tracking a dangerous person.”

“If it’s dangerous to the British, isn’t it French? Maybe?”

This ship departed from London, and most of the passengers are naturally British.

But there is someone whose French-style clothes stand out.

It is the mixed-race young gentleman.

The police officer, who was smoking a pipe with an arrogant attitude, asked.

“Mister, what’s your name?”

The mixed-race young gentleman pouted and replied.

“Dumas. Alexandre Dumas.”

It’s a very famous name.

Not as a writer.

It’s on the military side.

Why?

This is because it is the name of the man who led the [Western Indian Conquest] of New France [French colonies in North America].

Especially Edgar and Henry, who were from the United States, were so surprised that their mouths dropped open.

The plainclothes police officer from London was also a little embarrassed and asked.

“What is your relationship with Marquis Dumas?”

“Well, should I say he’s my father in terms of genealogy?”

“I’m sorry. But I think you’ll have to tell me where you were last night.”

Even after hearing the name of the big shot Dumas, the police did not give up.

All the passengers’ attention was focused on the mixed-race gentleman, Dumas.

What was the son of Marquis Dumas doing last night?

Dumas cleared his throat.

“Ahem! I was having a very good time. It’s a matter of a noble lady’s honor.”

Only then did the police look back at the woman who was trembling, the one who screamed last night.

“You are the first to discover the body.”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t want to catch the heir to the French Empire’s aristocracy, but I think you’ll have to go to the cabin.”

The passenger ship is now in front of Ceylon Island.

But going to the cabin means virtually being imprisoned.

If he gets off the ship, the son of the Marquis of the French Empire must be investigated in Ceylon, which was once a British colony and is now a colony of Holland again.

Of course, Holland is a pro-French force, but considering that prejudice against blacks is strong among the Dutch, it is a very unfavorable situation.

At that moment, Edgar shouted.

“He was with me!”

The moment the police, passengers, and sailors looked at him, Edgar shouted.

“He may have been with a noble lady at night, but he was with me after that!”

“Boy? What’s your name?”

“Edgar, Edgar Allan Poe!”

The captain came up and whispered.

“He is the adopted son of the Allan family, a merchant in the United States. He is said to be a wealthy man in the New World. He is the richest man in Richmond.”

“I’ve heard of him. It’s a family that makes quite a fuss in London. Hmm.”

“Well, it seems like a reliable testimony.”

The London Metropolitan Police can catch a big shot from France.

But it is difficult to touch the adopted son of a big merchant in England.

The Metropolitan Police detective frowned and told Dumas.

“Then, I’ll let you go for now. But you can’t get off this ship.”

While the detective went to question another person, Dumas whistled and approached Edgar.

“Whew, thank you, boy.”

“You’re from the Marquis family? A black man?”

“I’m mixed race. Besides, our France declared the abolition of slavery 30 years ago. Hehe.”

Dumas, who was reciting his lineage very lightly, lowered his voice.

“That’s right, but isn’t that police officer suspicious?”

Edgar blinked and asked.

“Why?”

“If it were me, rather than questioning like this, I would have locked everyone up and received confessions first.”

“But, that’s not fun.”

Edgar replied with a very excited face.

“No, this is an actual murder case.”

The moment Dumas opened his mouth.

-Bang!

The detective fell to the floor with the sound of a gunshot, and one of the passengers shouted.

“Monsieur Wilhelm Loede. I finally caught the tail! This Vidocq!”

Vidocq, the president of France’s best detective agency, has appeared.

***

After a series of farces, the passenger ship finally entered Ceylon.

“So, what happened?”

When Edgar asked, Dumas, who had used his father’s status to ask Vidocq, simply answered.

“The self-proclaimed London Metropolitan Police detective who was questioning us was actually an anti-French activist.”

“Why did he question us in the first place?”

“He was looking for someone to blame.”

Dumas smiled as he watched the fake police officer being dragged away by the Ceylon Island police and Vidocq.

“For the murder of a revolutionary traitor.”

Originally, Loede, who led the German Revolution in the original history, is just a murderer here.

Of course, it was just an interesting ‘material’ for Dumas and Edgar.

Suddenly, Edgar said with shining eyes.

“Wow, murder cases are really thrilling.”

“Wow, that’s a scary thing to say, boy.”

“That’s true when it actually happens. But what if I write this as a novel?”

Edgar asked back with a bright smile.

“Wouldn’t it be really fun?”

Looking at Edgar Allan Poe, who would later write the first detective novel in the original history, Dumas laughed loudly.

“I feel like I have a competitor. Okay, I’ll show you the murder drama of Henry III that I wrote!”

The era is the early 19th century.

The era when novels really shook the world.

Two people who can become great writers met.

-Chwaaa!

It was a romantic day on Ceylon Island with waves crashing.