I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 151

< Public Trial >

In March, when the cold wind had not yet subsided, the Paris police urgently arrested the agitator Robespierre.

“Robespierre used the tongue of a snake to incite good citizens and make them dissatisfied with the government. Therefore, in the name of Louis Le Pelletier de Mortefontaine, the Provost of Paris, I accuse him. I hope the court will impose a reasonable punishment.”

The city was shaken by the indictment, which directly bore the name of the Paris Minister [the Provost of Paris was essentially the chief administrator and law enforcement officer of the city].

Naturally, intellectuals unanimously issued statements opposing this absurd measure.

The first to take the lead were Danton and Jean-Paul Marat.

“Specify exactly which laws Robespierre violated and what crimes he committed. France clearly has laws, and trials must be conducted in accordance with these laws.”

“Punishing a person on the abstract charge of incitement can only be seen as an attempt to gag the citizens. Wielding the law as a weapon is a lower-class act than that of gangsters and tarnishes the face of His Majesty the King. The Provost should take responsibility and resign!”

The series of movements was unusually swift, and a large number of people were mobilized.

People responding to Danton and Marat’s cries held demonstrations in the square every day, and the bourgeoisie also expressed concern.

As the situation turned out like this, Pelletier, who had confidently filed the indictment, was embarrassed.

“Something is strange about the situation?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I didn’t expect the opposition to be this strong.”

“No, it’s not just that it’s strong. Does it make sense that the statement was released on the same day we arrested Robespierre? Unless he knew he was going to be arrested…”

“Are you saying there’s someone leaking information?”

Pelletier sighed and nodded.

Logically, the current situation didn’t make sense unless that was the case.

Otherwise, the movements of intellectuals and the bourgeoisie don’t make sense.

The current trend couldn’t have come out with only a few days of preparation.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this originally…”

Of course, Pelletier’s original plan wasn’t like this.

He had expected that there would be voices of opposition if Robespierre was arrested.

Rather, he was planning to arrest some of the intellectuals he usually hated, using this as an excuse.

However, the story changes when hundreds of people come out.

With hundreds of people gathering and protesting with one voice, it was impossible to simply crush them.

If there were only a few protesters, he could just mobilize the police to step on them, but now it has already passed the stage where that is possible.

To calm this situation, in the worst case, he would have to consider firing on the crowd.

If it doesn’t calm down even in that situation, he will have no choice but to carry out a large-scale suppression operation.

If it were normal times, he would have committed it without a moment’s hesitation.

However, the biggest problem is that the King has just been replaced.

“If I throw all the commoners who oppose me here into prison… will the situation calm down?”

“…I don’t think so. There will be an uproar, and you should be prepared for it to reach His Majesty’s ears…”

“Damn it! Then I’ll get a notice to move out right away!” [He fears being dismissed from his position.]

He arrested the agitator to keep his position, but if he suppresses the protests here and loses his position, wouldn’t that be a complete reversal of the means and the end?

His head is spinning.

Strangely enough, he even felt like he was being manipulated by someone’s strings like a puppet.

“Isn’t there a way to keep my position and contain the situation?”

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you would ask Duke of Orléans for cooperation in moving the media?”

“That’s right. I should seek his wisdom first.”

Once he made up his mind, he had to act immediately.

Pelletier hurriedly sent someone to the Tuileries Palace to request an interview.

Fortunately, the Duke of Orléans immediately sent a carriage and brought Pelletier inside.

“Thank you so much, Your Highness! I’m sorry to ask for your help with this matter.”

“It’s okay. I know what’s going on in Paris these days. You seem to be having a hard time.”

“That’s really true. Frankly, I don’t know what the hell these guys ate to go so crazy.”

Pelletier unknowingly burst into anger.

The things that have been happening in the last few days are so absurd that he is even losing his hair.

Whenever he woke up and saw the hair piled up on his pillow, he wanted to literally tear the protesters to death.

“Your idea that you should have put a brake on the citizens’ anger makes sense. But if you arrest them openly like this and put them on trial, wouldn’t there be a backlash?””I think there is a traitor who leaked information.”

“I think a little differently. They probably already had a plan in place so that they could show similar movements no matter who was arrested. I think they calculated that if they all stood up together in the current situation, there would never be a large-scale crackdown.”

“So, I have a favor to ask… Can you allow a strong crackdown? If Your Highness allows it, I will arrest all those noisy guys right now.”

The Duke of Orléans is currently the only person in France who represents the King’s will.

If he gets his permission, he doesn’t have to worry about being dismissed even if he causes a bit of an unreasonable commotion.

However, as expected, Christian slowly shook his head with a troubled face.

“Do you know how long it has been since His Majesty ascended the throne? It’s only been a month. But are you saying that he should arrest citizens one after another and put them in prison as soon as he ascends the throne? You can’t be serious, right?”

“N, no, of course not. Of course, that’s not going to happen. Haha… Hahaha…”

Of course, he had expected this reaction.

Even the nobles who shared Pelletier’s views were all negative about the hard-line crackdown.

It wasn’t because they were worried about the citizens, but for the selfish reason that they didn’t want to take responsibility and be pushed out of their positions.

“But if we leave it like this, the citizens will be even more rampant. But we can’t release Robespierre…”

“There’s no choice. We have to show some compromise.”

“If you mean compromise?”

“Look at their claims. They say to clearly reveal what Robespierre’s crime is. Then just reveal it. Accept the citizens’ demands, hold a public trial, and reveal Robespierre’s crimes there. Then the justification they put forward will disappear, so it will be difficult for them to be more rampant.”

If it is a demonstration without justification, this side will have a reasonable basis for suppressing it, so it is better if they continue to be rampant.

It certainly wasn’t a bad suggestion.

Except for one problem.

“Um… Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be a serious problem if we lost the trial?”

“You will be criticized for trying to arbitrarily gag the intellectuals,” said the Provost.”

“Yes. That’s right… Ha… Hahaha.”

If that really happened, he might receive a dismissal notice from the courtroom right away.

“Your Highness. The judges of the High Court are those who have been touched by Your Highness’s hand, so… can you please take a look at the situation?”

“Are you saying to intervene in the trial?”

Christian narrowed his eyes and asked back.

His gaze seemed to be asking, ‘Did you really arrest someone without any evidence?’

“No. I’m not asking you to manipulate it, but just to say one word to the judge to consider the future and security of this country…”

“Okay. I’ll just say that. The Minister of Paris asked me to do that, but the judge can judge according to his beliefs. I’ll say it like this. Are you satisfied?”

“That’s enough. Thank you!”

If the judge isn’t a serious airhead, he won’t be able to go against what the highest authority in the country says.

This was practically the same as the Duke of Orléans telling him that he would let him win.

“I will never forget this grace!”

Just imagining sending the agitator who doesn’t know the subject to the Bastille prison [a symbol of royal authority and a common prison for political prisoners] makes him feel like the hair that had disappeared is growing back.

All that’s left is to create appropriate logic and excuses so that the verdict doesn’t look forced.

Pelletier left the Tuileries Palace [the royal palace in Paris] with a satisfied smile for the first time in a while.

He was most pleased that he wouldn’t have to see a lot of hair falling out tomorrow morning.

※※※

There were several happenings, but in the end, the situation flowed as I had誘導 [guided/intended].

Pelletier hurriedly issued a statement saying that Robespierre’s arrest was justified and that he fully understood the citizens’ complaints.

At the same time, he requested the High Court to reveal Robespierre’s charges in detail through a public trial.

The High Court accepted this, and the rampaging citizens became quiet, saying that they would watch the trial first.

In the end, all that was left was to watch the outcome of the trial.

With everyone’s attention focused, the trial surrounding Robespierre’s punishment was held.

The presiding judge decided on Louis XV Square, which could accommodate as many people as possible.

“Defendant Robespierre, come forward.”

“Woo-woo-woo! Release the innocent Robespierre!”

“Robespierre is innocent! Release him!”

Wow. Look at the loud voice.

As always, the loudest voice is the best.

The citizens surrounding the square shouted so loudly that their ears fell off every time Robespierre took a step.

“Be quiet, be quiet!”

The judge shook his head and asked Robespierre, the center of the controversy.

“The defendant is accused of inciting citizens and disrupting public order in order to bring chaos to Paris. Do you have any objections?”

Robespierre’s expression didn’t change even at the judge’s stern voice.

He straightened his back proudly and turned his head towards where his lawyer was sitting.

The young lawyer, who was watching Robespierre, stood up and shouted loudly.

“I am Camille Desmoulins, Robespierre’s lawyer! We strongly deny the charges against Robespierre.”

Camille Desmoulins, Robespierre’s close friend and one of the main players in the French Revolution.

In the original history, he did not succeed as a lawyer due to his stuttering, but it was different now.

The results of his constant efforts since childhood were shining to some extent.

“What did Robespierre incite, and what chaos did he bring to disrupt order? First of all, please present that specifically!”

This was the defendant’s natural right, so the judge nodded without objection.

“The plaintiff is to present evidence to refute the defendant’s claim.”

“I understand.”

The judge put forward by Pelletier stepped forward with a confident face.

“Robespierre’s crime is clear. He has consistently made remarks that threaten the class system, which is the foundation of the kingdom, and tried to explode the citizens’ dissatisfaction. As evidence, Robespierre has constantly said that nobles must also bear obligations. Here is a record of his speech.”

While the judge was carefully examining the data, Camille Desmoulins immediately resumed his rebuttal.

“How does advocating the obligations of the nobility negate the class system? The statement that the obligations of the nobility must follow the rights of the nobility is based on the premise that the special rights of the nobility are recognized. I ask everyone here in reverse. Is this obvious statement that obligations must follow rights negating the class system?”

And as promised, he turned to me and bowed politely.

“Your Highness, the Honorable Duke of Orléans. I am sorry, but I would like to ask you a question on behalf of the intellectuals of Paris.”

The judges, as well as Pelletier, who was in the upper seat, looked at me with stiff faces.

He did not do the foolish act of intervening before my answer.

All the citizens in the square waited with nervous faces for my mouth to open.

After taking some time to set the mood, I slowly uttered the promised words.

“Okay. I will only accept one question regarding matters related to the trial.”

< Public Trial > End