I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 38

“First of all, I want to state unequivocally that I had absolutely nothing to do with the assassination attempt on His Highness. Frankly, I’m utterly bewildered and at a loss as to why this even happened.”

Choiseul looked as desperate as a man with his back against the wall.

Now adrift like a kite with a cut string, he likely had no means to defend himself.

“Then why did you assign Esterhazy as my guard?”

“Because I believed he was the most qualified for the position. His family is renowned and prestigious. Moreover, his loyalty to France has always been beyond question. I sincerely, truly, never imagined he was capable of such a heinous act.”

“So, whoever incited Esterhazy either knew in advance that he would be assigned as a guard, or contacted him after you recommended him, Your Excellency…”

“It’s quite possible they knew in advance. Most nobles anticipated his selection.”

I stared intently at Choiseul, who spoke with fervent conviction.

His face and gestures seemed to genuinely reflect a sense of injustice.

If he were acting, it was far too obvious.

From the beginning, I had largely dismissed the possibility of Choiseul being the mastermind.

When plotting a scheme, one naturally considers how to cover their tracks in case of failure.

Especially since this mastermind was meticulous enough to poison Esterhazy to silence him.

Would such a person be foolish enough to personally recommend the would-be assassin as the guard in charge?

Moreover, Choiseul wasn’t particularly adept at such machinations.

I was subtly pressuring him, intending to use him effectively as my right-hand man later on.

“However, other nobles are currently highly suspicious of Duke Choiseul. There’s been considerable talk about him being the prime suspect and the first to be investigated.”

“…That’s… Your Highness is well aware, isn’t he? The vultures, convinced I’ve fallen out of His Majesty’s favor, are trying to tear me apart. They’re not interested in finding the real culprit, but merely want to use this incident to destroy their rivals.”

Of course, I know it well.

No one knows better than I do how precarious Choiseul’s position is right now.

In the original timeline, he advocated for France to be willing to wage war with England, which led to Louis XV losing faith in him. Furthermore, his relationship with the king’s mistress, Madame du Barry, deteriorated, making his removal from power inevitable.

And he never regained his former prominence before his death.

But the current situation is far more dire than that.

He wasn’t simply disgraced, but had also made the colossal error of recommending a royal would-be assassin as the head of security.

If he remained Prime Minister, he could at least defend himself, but dismissed, he’s utterly defenseless.

“I understand that Your Excellency feels wronged. But without concrete evidence to prove your innocence, it will be difficult to dispel the suspicions of those around you. It won’t be easy to avoid His Majesty’s displeasure either.”

“Then I will do everything in my power to help catch the real culprit. That way, the suspicious eyes on me will also fade…”

“Didn’t you say you knew nothing about this incident? Then wouldn’t it be impossible for you to provide meaningful assistance?”

“Of course, I can’t identify the culprit specifically. But I still have many connections and a wealth of knowledge about the nobles. If I share everything I know, Your Highness might be able to find a clue, mightn’t he?”

If someone were to ask the definition of ‘desperation,’ I would tell them to look at Choiseul’s face.

How much torment did he endure in Versailles to become so desperate?

It’s advantageous for me.

As Choiseul said, even a rotten fish can be useful, and he can still be used as a pawn.

If I help him completely clear his name, he would become completely loyal to me.

“Certainly, Your Excellency’s experience and knowledge could be of great help. I will speak to His Majesty directly.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much. I will definitely help catch those who committed this heinous act.”

“I look forward to working with you. Then, have you considered where to begin the investigation?”

“Of course. First, we must narrow down the target by examining each of the suspects one by one. Let’s start by considering the possibility of foreign interference. The likely candidates would be England or Prussia.”

Certainly, when I was in Austria, I had suspected those two as well.

England’s relationship with France was never amicable, so it was clear they would harbor ill feelings towards me.

Prussia also had sufficient motive, as they were the country that most strongly opposed the alliance between France and Austria.

But for now, I had concluded that it was best to exclude those two.

“If England or Prussia had swayed Esterhazy, the price would have been money. They couldn’t possibly guarantee him things like vested interests in France. But even though Esterhazy acted on his fanatical beliefs, he didn’t seem motivated by money. He was a typical zealot, intoxicated by his own cause. It wouldn’t be easy to manipulate someone who believes himself to be a patriot in that way with mere money.”

“Is that so? Then the possibility of foreign instigation becomes less likely. Indeed, with Esterhazy having been assassinated, it would be a stretch to see England or Prussia as the culprits. I doubt they would have planted their agents so deeply in Austria to that extent.”

“Above all, how many nobles would listen to England or Prussia and kill me, no matter how much they disliked me? Unless there’s a personal vendetta, it’s an absurd assumption.”

Even if you dislike your country’s rival or a politician, the common sentiment is that it should be resolved internally.

Even if you think a politician isn’t doing their job properly, if a hostile country says, ‘Your politicians are terrible, lol,’ people’s instinct is to respond with curses.

It’s unlikely that a French noble would have been swayed by England or Prussia to try to assassinate their own prince.

“Then the pool of candidates naturally narrows down to domestic ones… In fact, there aren’t that many people who could pull off something of this magnitude. It shouldn’t be difficult to identify the potential suspects.”

“I’d like to hear who Your Excellency has in mind. I’d also like to compare them with the people I’ve already considered.”

“Yes. First of all, putting aside myself, who is mentioned the most… the next person who is often talked about is Maupeou.”

“Maupeou…”

Of course, he must be one of those who is squirming with anxiety right now.

Unlike Choiseul, he hadn’t committed a major blunder, but he was the one who had spearheaded the effort to send me to Austria.

It would be strange if suspicion wasn’t directed at him.

However, Maupeou was different, as he had taken over the position of Prime Minister from Choiseul and was in the midst of attempting reforms.

Of course, it’s just a slightly better situation; he’s still in trouble.

The Prime Minister of France is nominally the second-in-command, but merely the king’s representative.

When the king supports him, he can wield power befitting the second-in-command, but once the king’s trust disappears, that’s the end.

Like Choiseul, he is immediately ousted from his position, and his successor takes his place.

Whether he realizes it or not, Maupeou must be agonizing over the fear that the king might suspect him at any moment.

“By the way, Your Excellency, did you consult with Maupeou about this matter?”

“I tried to, but… he refused to meet with me. He probably judged that associating with me would only harm him. What a cunning man.”

He’s been cut off.

It’s not incomprehensible.

What else would people say if the first and second suspects were seen together, other than, ‘Are they finally trying to confess?’

“In my opinion, Maupeou is not the culprit, just like Your Excellency. If he had sent me to Austria and then tried to assassinate me there, that would be foolish. Of course, if he were truly foolish, we could suspect him, but Maupeou is not that kind of person.”

“Still, isn’t it certain that he doesn’t harbor good feelings towards the prince?”

“That’s because he thought I was close to the court. He must have been trying to keep the court in check by sending me to Austria, but if that’s the case, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to assassinate me.”

“But Maupeou failed to suppress the court.”

“That’s because I gave the court a heads-up in advance.”

Choiseul’s mouth opened slightly.

“You had prepared that far in advance? So, Your Highness is basing his power on the court…”

“That’s not it.”

The reason I kept the High Court [Parlement, a regional judicial body] alive wasn’t for the robe nobles [noblesse de robe, nobles who gained their status through judicial or administrative posts], but for myself.

Originally, I was going to wait a little longer, but my attempted assassination coincided, and the game was set up quite interestingly.

Thanks to that, it seemed like I could have a lot of fun, but there was no need to tell Choiseul this.

I didn’t give him a specific answer to his questioning look and turned the topic back to the original.

“Let’s leave the story of Maupeou at that and see if there are any other candidates.”

“Um… there is. In fact, I think this person is one of the most likely candidates. Count Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux de Maurepas. This old fox has enough ability and motive to plot such a thing.”

“I was also thinking that I should be wary of that person.”

Count Maurepas was a powerful figure who had also overseen the French Navy, and above all, he was close to the Crown Prince.

Even judging by his personal inclinations, he was skilled in plotting, so I had been thinking that he was suspicious.

There is also a theory that Count Maurepas influenced Turgot, who was the Director-General of Finances in the late 18th century, to fail in his reforms and step down.

“Count Maurepas will be full of thoughts of wielding power under the Crown Prince, so Prince Christian’s existence will be a thorn in his side. You should be careful when facing this man in the future.”

“Thank you for the good advice. Then, does Your Excellency think there is no one more likely than Count Maurepas?”

“There’s no one as suspicious as that person… Ah, there is one more person. It’s not so much suspicion, but in terms of having the resources to commit such a thing, it might be worth paying attention to. He’s such a prominent figure that I was late in thinking of him.”

“If he’s a prominent figure, is he even a member of the royal family?”

“Similar.”

If it’s a person who would elicit this kind of reaction from Duke Choiseul, there are only a handful of people in present-day France.

My head nodded naturally up and down when I heard the name from his mouth.

“The current Duke of Orléans’ son and heir. Duke of Chartres, Louis Philippe Joseph.”

Because the last candidate mentioned was such a prominent figure, Choiseul’s voice was so low that it was hard to hear unless you were concentrating.

It was no wonder he was reacting this way.

The Duke of Orléans has traditionally been the foremost among the French nobility.

The current Duke of Orléans controls a whopping 5% of the Kingdom of France as his territory.

Louis Philippe Joseph, who is scheduled to become the next Duke of Orléans, currently holds the title of Duke of Chartres and has inherited a vast fortune by marrying a princess of the House of Bourbon.

I, too, had marked this person as the most important figure, regardless of the assassination attempt.

The reason is simple.

This person is cunningly intelligent and has a dark heart.

There are many examples that demonstrate his character, but the essence can be summed up in one word.

An ambitious man who spearheaded the revolution to strengthen his position, despite being the foremost among the nobles and the first in line of succession among the cadet branches of the royal family.

In the original timeline, he opened his home to liberal thinkers, supported revolutionary forces, and relentlessly attacked Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

He was someone I would inevitably clash with in some way if I were to build up my power in the future.

“The House of Orléans… Certainly, we need to be careful. Duke Choiseul, if possible, please take charge of Count Maurepas. If you do well, I will help you get reinstated.”

“Leave it to me. I will do my best to meet Your Highness’ expectations.”

If I leave Count Maurepas to Choiseul, I will have the opportunity to focus on the other side.

Choiseul will do his best because he will think his life is at stake.

The Duke of Orléans is such a prominent figure that it is necessary to approach him carefully as well.

I came up with a few plausible plans in my head.

But the opportunity for contact came faster than I expected.

※※※

The day of Marie and my wedding was clear without a single cloud.

The people who filled the gardens of the Palace of Versailles were craning their necks, hoping to catch a glimpse of Marie’s face, even once.

The inside of the palace was no different.

An enormous number of nobles flocked in, so much so that I was worried that I would be swept away if I lost my mind.

Originally, the bride’s side takes up an overwhelming amount of time in preparing for the wedding, so I quietly waited for the ceremony to begin.

Some of the high-ranking nobles were eager to come up to me in the meantime and try to say something, anything.

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

“How happy you must be to have such a beautiful princess as your wife.”

“It would have been even better if we had caught the heinous criminal before this auspicious day arrived.”

Only a few were sincerely congratulating me with goodwill.

Most of them probably wanted to know how the investigation was progressing.

As I was giving appropriate responses without divulging information, the nobles’ idle chatter suddenly ceased at some point.

It was because they noticed the presence of a young man who approached with measured steps.

He must be in his early twenties now.

The nobles around me naturally stepped aside and cleared the way for him to approach.

“A pleasure to meet you, Prince Christian.”

The young man, who exuded an air of intelligence, greeted me gracefully and introduced himself.

“I am Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Chartres. Congratulations on your auspicious marriage.”

Our eyes met, but he did not avert his gaze and gave me a genuine smile.

I, too, did not look away and faced him directly, extending my hand.

“I am simply grateful that you came all the way here to congratulate me. I have heard much about the Duke of Chartres’ reputation.”

We were shaking hands and smiling brightly at each other, but I could instinctively sense it.

And I was sure that he felt a similar emotion as well.

I’m not sure if this guy is the culprit or not.

But the conviction I have at this moment is…

I don’t want to get close to this bastard.