I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 10

## The Guillotine Wasn’t Originally the Guillotine

The next day, I headed to Lavoisier’s laboratory as soon as the sun rose.

“He’s the type who doesn’t even go home and just writes papers…”

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier was different from his father, who was a lawyer through and through.

In his early days, he studied law under his father’s influence, but his interests turned to natural science.

By the time he graduated from college, he had already demonstrated outstanding achievements, even receiving a medal from the Academy of Sciences.

A typical research fanatic who doesn’t go home for days once he gets hooked on something and starts writing a paper.

I could roughly guess what type of person he was even before seeing him.

In fact, I was more familiar with this type.

In my extremely biased social circle, there were quite a few researchers like that.

The catch is that the memory of being holed up in a lab, writing papers day and night, would trigger PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event].

“Are you the young master that my father mentioned?”

As I entered the room, a voice came from behind a pile of documents.

Standing on tiptoes, I could see the back of a person’s head as they were bent over, moving a pen.

The young man, who didn’t seem to be even thirty yet, didn’t even glance this way.

After a formal greeting, only the sound of the pen scratching filled the room.

“Nice to meet you, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. I am…”

“I know. Louis Christian. And all the hidden titles that come after.”

The young Lavoisier raised his head slightly to look at me.

Even then, the hand moving the pen didn’t stop.

“You’ve heard everything about me?”

“My father came himself last night. He told me everything about you, young master, and what you’re planning to do.”

“Really? That’s good, saves me time explaining. Can I get an answer right away?”

“My father certainly told me to work with you, but… I can’t understand it no matter how much I think about it.”

The expression of the promising young genius staring at me didn’t look too good.

Is he thinking that his research time is being wasted on ridiculous stories?

Or perhaps he thinks it’s absurd for a child to act so smart.

Of course, it could be both.

“It’s natural that you can’t believe it yet. But when everyone gathers, I’ll show you the data, so judge then. I’m sure you’ll agree with me.”

“Data… Speaking of which, do you even know anything about science? I can’t shake the suspicion that this will be a waste of time.”

“Are you saying I’m just spouting nonsense without knowing anything?”

It was an extreme interpretation, but it wasn’t exactly wrong.

The young Lavoisier didn’t argue and pointed to a pile of papers stacked on the desk.

“There’s no need for us to waste each other’s time. These are the data that formed the basis of the paper I wrote to be recognized as a regular member of the Academy of Chemistry this time. Can you take a look and give me your analysis?”

Is he saying that if I want his cooperation, I need to show at least a minimal understanding of science?

It’s funny, but if it’s to get the cooperation of a future genius chemist, I can’t refuse.

Looking through the top materials, a feast of raw data unfolded before my eyes.

Ah, I understand perfectly.

White is paper, and black is writing.

I’m not kidding, there’s no way a liberal arts person like me can understand the subject of the research just by looking at these data.

No matter how well I know the history of this period, there’s no way I can know all the papers Lavoisier wrote.

Nevertheless, I didn’t lose my composure.

I was lucky this time.

Because Lavoisier himself gave me the answer just now.

A paper completed to enter the Academy of Chemistry.

Even if I don’t know anything else, I definitely remembered researching that one before.

Moreover, words like the soil conditions of various regions or the characteristics of local mineral water, which were sparsely visible in the data, were good hints.

Pretending to scan the paper, I racked my brains and finally came up with the answer.

“I see. There’s so much useless data, so I can’t be sure, but I roughly know what you’re trying to write.”

“You knew right away just by looking at that? There’s no way…”

What?

Was he not trying to test me, but just looking for an excuse to refuse?

Well, unless you’re using mind-reading, it doesn’t make sense to figure out the other person’s intentions in this flood of countless data.

But there’s no way I can miss a goose that will lay golden eggs in the future.

If I can’t read the other person’s mind, I can just recite the facts recorded in the future.

“The water springing from the mineral spring has been known to have special effects since ancient times. The taste of the water is unique, and some water is said to have healing effects. Looking at the data you’ve researched, you’ve extensively analyzed the soil and ecosystems of various regions.”

“…You have a good eye.”

“Things like the incidence of diseases, animal excrement, and local specialties don’t seem to be important factors, so you can filter them all out. From a comprehensive point of view, aren’t you trying to prove that the composition of mineral water is closely related to the state of the soil? Or not?”

It was a casual remark as if I had lightly inferred it, but the shock the other party received was not small.

“I heard you’re entering the Lycée Louis-le-Grand [A prestigious secondary school in Paris] next year. Are you perhaps… majoring in natural science?”

“No. I haven’t really decided what to do later? And you know what my status is. Wouldn’t it be difficult for me to choose a major and delve into just one thing?”

“Ah… That’s right…”

The young Lavoisier, who had been silent for a long time, got up from his seat and bowed politely.

“Anyway, I apologize for the rudeness I showed. I was ashamed to have hastily concluded that your insight wouldn’t be very deep because of your young age. And since your background is what it is…”

He looked at me with eyes full of anticipation and continued.

“In fact, the higher-ups above have a terrible understanding of science. All they’re interested in is increasing the range of cannons and increasing the power of bullets. Do you also think that the most important element in science is such visible results?”

“I wondered if natural science was being neglected here too. To answer your question, of course not. If you neglect basic sciences like natural science, development will inevitably stagnate in the long run. Eventually, you’ll end up lagging behind, belatedly bringing in technologies developed elsewhere.”

Sometimes, when I ate with professors or graduate students majoring in that field, there was a story that came out like a regular.

I don’t know if it’s true or if it’s a complaint from their hearts that they’re not being treated well.

However, modern Korea, which had to achieve rapid growth in a short period of time, had no choice but to neglect investment in basic science more than applied science.

It was funny and sad to learn that this reality was not much different in the Western world of the 18th century.

“That’s right! That’s exactly what I mean. Physics, chemistry, geology, these basic disciplines must be the foundation for military technology to develop. But the royal family and the great nobles only want immediate results and are pouring support only into scholars who study weapons. Scholars like me have no choice but to fund their own research.”

“If you achieve results with me this time, France, no, the attention of the whole world will be focused at once. Then you can build a bridge to people who will sponsor your research and cross the Seine River [A major river in France, symbolizing access to influence and resources].”

Listening to the story, I understood why Lavoisier joined the tax collection association and worked as a tax farmer [A system where individuals or groups were granted the right to collect taxes on behalf of the government, often leading to corruption and exploitation].

Tax farmers can earn enormous income depending on their abilities, but in proportion to that, they are hated by the public.

Its history goes back to ancient Rome.

The tax collectors who were hated by people in the Bible were tax farmers.

Lavoisier was a capable tax farmer and earned a wealthy income comparable to that of any great nobleman, but he was hated by the public and was executed on the guillotine.

But he wasn’t exactly obsessed with greed and greedily scraped money together.

Just looking at the record that he poured most of the money he earned into research, it is clear that a significant part of the purpose of collecting money was to fund research.

The incident of burning diamonds in front of everyone to prove that diamonds are crystalline carbon was an anecdote that clearly showed his tendency.

Scholars can be largely classified into two types.

Pure academic fools who are terrible at anything other than their major and all-round superhumans who are versatile in all aspects.

Lavoisier and Lee Yong-wook, who used to nag me, were clearly people belonging to the latter.

However, strictly speaking, the tendencies of these all-rounders can also be divided into two types.

Professors like Lee Yong-wook live by wielding the money and influence they earn with their abilities without hesitation.

On the other hand, people like Lavoisier poured all the fruits they obtained in that way solely into their research.

They try to maximize income and increase social status, but all of that is to do the research they want to do.

It is precisely because of that tendency that Lavoisier has no choice but to fall for my proposal.

That’s because he knows how much wider his range of activities as a scientist will be if he can catch smallpox.

As expected, the young Lavoisier was staring at me with intense eyes as if lasers were coming out of his eyes.

Finally, he slowly nodded.

“If the data you’ve researched is convincing, I’ll stick with you to the end.”

“Good. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“I hope it’s not just words. Can we get the data that you’re so confident in when the British doctor arrives?”

“Yes. And there’s one more person I’ve scouted. I’ll make a place for that person to join us soon.”

No matter how famous Lavoisier is as a young scientist, he is still just a promising prospect in external evaluations.

Not to mention Edward Jenner, who is now undergoing an apprenticeship, or me, who is about to enter college.

With this composition, even if we submit plausible data, there is a high possibility that no one will pay attention.

To avoid being cut off at the entrance, it is necessary to secure at least a minimum level of awareness.

Lavoisier understood that point without any explanation and nodded his head.

“I also agree that another prominent scholar should participate. But you managed to scout an outsider. Usually, they would dismiss it as pie in the sky and refuse.”

“Well, I sent a letter in your name. If it’s the claim of a rising young genius scientist, it’s natural to come with the intention of hearing the story.”

Logically, who would be interested if a kid they’ve never heard of told them to come?

Of course, you have to sell someone else’s name in this case.

Of course, Lavoisier, who was suddenly subjected to identity theft, couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

“No! What if the plan fails then…”

“Come on, don’t worry. In that case, I’ll just cover it up by saying that I sold your name.”

“Hoo… I understand. By the way, what’s the name of the scholar who’s going to join us? You’re not going to tell me that later, are you?”

“Of course not. I can tell you right here. He’s a professor at the University of Bordeaux and is currently taking a doctoral course at the Paris Medical University. Have you ever heard of him? Joseph-Ignace Guillotin.”

“…Are you talking about that person who is trying to get a medical doctorate while being a literature professor? I remember hearing that he’s quite famous in the church.”

Strictly speaking, Dr. Guillotin’s achievements as a scholar were not comparable to Lavoisier’s.

The reason I chose Dr. Guillotin is that he was one of the people who actively promoted the introduction of the smallpox vaccine to France.

Moreover, from a modern point of view, Dr. Guillotin remained in people’s minds much more intensely than Lavoisier in some ways.

But what made Guillotin leave his name to posterity was neither his activity as a doctor nor his achievements as a literature professor.

Unfortunately, he, who was a doctor who saved lives, did not leave his name in a positive sense.

Contrary to that, the name of Guillotin that later generations remember was a device of execution that cruelly took people’s lives.

Even though he had nothing to do with the development or production, everyone called the execution device by this name.

The guillotine that cuts off people’s heads.

The guillotine.