I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 4

If the sky falls, find a hole to emerge from (1) [A Korean proverb meaning to have a plan B or a way out of a difficult situation].

First, I need to get out of this mansion as quickly as possible.

The best option would be to meet my patron, Lavoisier, but this plan hit a snag from the start.

“The master said he has important matters and cannot meet anyone for the time being.”

“My business is just as important; can’t you make an exception?”

“He said absolutely not today… If you tell me the reason, I can at least pass it on.”

This is driving me crazy.

My life is on the line, so it is indeed more critical than anything else.

But telling them an assassin is after me won’t work at all right now.

There’s no proof, and telling Melissa would only complicate things further.

Thinking about it, even meeting Lavoisier would pose problems later on.

Since he’s busy now, it might be better to come up with a suitable excuse and meet him later.

“Then, the south… Orléans would be good. I’ll take a breather there, so tell Lavoisier to send someone when he’s done.”

“Are you planning to leave Paris? Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s hard to explain here. Anyway, it’s incredibly important, so please take care of it. And I won’t be returning to this mansion for a while, so you should go to Lavoisier’s residence.”

Leaving Melissa, who was tilting her head in confusion, I quickly got on the carriage.

No matter how reckless they are, they wouldn’t openly attack Lavoisier’s residence, which is backed by a legal noble.

If it were just about killing me, they might sneak in, assassinate me, and flee, but they probably wouldn’t expect me to be in Orléans.

To be safe, leaving Paris is the best option for now.

From there, I can devise a plan to win Lavoisier over and then take action.

Lavoisier should be able to find out who orchestrated the assassination.

Once the target is clear, the rest is simple.

Anyone who hires an assassin can’t have a clean background.

If I mobilize all my knowledge, I can bury them completely.

As complex as my thoughts were, they neatly stopped the moment the carriage entered the main street.

“Oh… real 18th-century Paris, France.”

I felt like my eyes were literally being sucked into the sight before me.

From the bustling streets to the attire of the passersby and the style of the houses.

The materials I had frantically studied until they were etched in my brain were now moving and alive before my eyes.

Even though I had seen them countless times in graphic materials, the sense of reality was on a different level.

The terribly uncomfortable carriage ride and the seemingly dirty street hygiene didn’t matter at all.

What did any of that matter?

The materials I had dedicated half my life to researching were now real and reflected in my eyes.

In essence, history PhDs are history nerds, obsessed with history to the point where they can endure the insane process of becoming a history PhD.

Perhaps that’s why the intensity of the emotion I felt was impossible to express in words.

I was hit in the back of the head and died on the first day after being reborn.

That absurd experience seemed to have made me feel less real until now.

“Yes, yes, that justaucorps [a close-fitting, knee-length coat worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries] slightly modified into a gentleman’s suit. It’s exactly as I know it.”

The process of confirming that the knowledge I had memorized to the point of bursting was real was somewhat fascinating and fun.

Dresses, gentleman’s suits, and even minor accessories that would mean nothing to others were wonders to me.

To exaggerate a little, or a lot, I even thought it was good that I died and was possessed.

That thought grew even stronger when I saw the magnificent cathedral in the distance.

“Notre-Dame Cathedral… and it’s the original form before it was damaged!”

From a distance, it didn’t look much different from what I had seen as a student, but the feeling itself was different.

Notre-Dame Cathedral, the symbol of French Gothic architecture, was considered a symbol of the ruling class during the French Revolution.

Naturally, it was one of the first targets during the French Revolution, and it even suffered the humiliation of being used as a barn during the Napoleonic era.

But now, the authority of the clergy and nobles is very much alive, let alone the French Revolution.

This means that not only the appearance of the cathedral but also its social value remains in its original state.

It’s not just the cathedral.

The Panthéon, Paris’s representative national mausoleum, must have started construction by now.

“I’m probably the only modern person who can see the panorama of the Panthéon under construction rather than its completed form, right? Ah, I feel dizzy with joy.”

As I live on, I may meet historical figures I’ve only seen in records, one after another.

No, I have to meet them.

If I can regain my status as royalty, I’ll have to face them whether I like it or not.

The late 18th century in Europe wasn’t just about the French Revolution.

From the American Revolutionary War to all sorts of historical events and figures intricately intertwined, it was a chaotic mess.

It was a time when people who even those with no interest in history would immediately recognize were coming out in droves.

The thought of actually meeting the protagonists of that era made my heart race.

I can understand a little bit of how my friend felt when they skipped class and waited to see their favorite idol.

What did they say? They were stanning [to be a devoted fan of someone or something] real, living people, not people in graves?

In that sense, the people I’m eagerly waiting to meet are also people who are alive and well in this era.

In other words, I might be a kind of idol fan in this era.

“Let’s just deal with those assassin bastards and then see. I’m going to chew, tear, taste, and enjoy 18th-century Paris life to my heart’s content.”

While I was gleefully thinking, the carriage exited the south gate and headed towards Orléans.

How many hours had passed?

As the surroundings grew dark, the coachman stopped the carriage.

“I’m sorry. I suddenly got a signal… May I be excused for a moment?”

“It’s okay, take your time.”

As soon as my permission was given, the coachman jumped up and ran into the dense bushes.

He ran so fast that he disappeared from sight.

Well, he must have really needed to go.

However, I wondered why he needed to go so far when there were few people around.

If it was a sudden urge, it would be better to take care of it nearby, but at that moment, I heard the sound of hooves from behind.

Not just one, but at least two.

“I guess people come to places like this too.”

The coachman must have heard the sound in advance and tried to get away from the road.

If he went deep inside to take care of his business, he wouldn’t have to clean up after himself.

As I continued with such silly thoughts, a tremendous sense of unease ran through my entire body.

“Wait. Clean up…? Traces?”

The suspicion wriggling in my heart grew like a snowball, as did the sound of hooves getting louder.

“Come to think of it, that’s strange? Does this make sense?”

Because of the unbelievable experience of returning from death, the compulsion to escape from the mansion, and the sudden realization of my situation, I had overlooked a crucial fact.

“Those assassin bastards… How on earth were they planning to clean up after killing me in the mansion?”

I could understand if they kidnapped me to a secluded place and killed me, or killed me with as few traces as possible and then disposed of the body.

But they didn’t do that.

The memory of being hit hard in the back of the head and stabbed in the back with a knife was still vivid.

Judging by the amount of blood I shed at that time, the mansion floor must have been literally covered in blood.

Even if no one was inside the mansion at the time, it was almost time for people to return.

There was no way they could erase all those traces.

It would be tight on time just to carry the body and run.

The problem is that the mansion is owned by Lavoisier, a legal advisor to the High Court.

No matter how much their goal is to kill me, would they send assassins to the house owned by the High Court’s advisor and openly kill someone?

Without even cleaning up?

This wasn’t just Lavoisier’s personal problem.

It could also be seen as an act of ignoring the High Court itself, to which he belonged.

So, the person who committed this act is someone who thinks they can easily trample on whatever the legal nobles say.

How much of a background would you need to do such a crazy thing?

No one immediately came to mind.

But just one thing.

If the suspicion that is fiercely rising in my heart right now is correct, there is a high possibility that I have been fundamentally mistaken about something from the beginning.

Doo-doo-doo-doo

The sound of hooves grew louder and louder, and two men came into view.

The fact that they were wearing hats with large brims pulled down to cover their faces made me feel that my uneasy premonition was true.

Sure enough.

The two men who revealed themselves blocked the front and back as if to surround my carriage.

And they got off their horses and slowly started walking towards me.

“Disgusting bastards. They chased me all the way here.”

They’re determined to kill me no matter what… It was the first time I realized that having someone target your life like this is truly terrifying.

Even if I get out of the carriage and run away now, I’ll be caught in less than 10 seconds anyway.

“You trashy bastards. Why would you want to kill a twelve-year-old kid so badly?”

I wanted to swear a blue streak, but now wasn’t the time to simply vent my emotions.

Death, which was already upon me, was unavoidable.

Now, I can only hope that what I experienced was not a precognitive dream but a regression, and that the regression will not end with just this one time but will continue to happen in the future.

And to ensure that I never have to go through such terrible pain again, I need to clarify the things that I need to address.

In the first death, when those assassins entered the mansion, the inside was as quiet as a mouse, and there was no one except me.

And they killed me without even thinking about cleaning up.

It’s not much different now.

The idea of escaping to the south was something I came up with spontaneously today.

The only people who know my plan are the servants of the mansion except me, but those guys already knew and chased me right away.

The coachman also made a plausible excuse and abandoned me somewhere.

In other words, the conclusion that is derived naturally is one.

“Those damn… So you were all in cahoots from the start.”

Now I understood the subtle expression that Melissa had shown.

That look that was a mixture of pity and sympathy.

It was the gaze of someone looking at a poor child who would soon be murdered.

“Hoo… damn it. Life isn’t easy, is it.”

I feel like I want to smoke a cigarette right here if I had one.

I don’t know how far their connections reach, but there’s no doubt that the mansion servants are on the assassins’ side.

It was a truly messed up situation.

When I opened the carriage door and came out, I met the eyes of the assassins who had already drawn their weapons.

One of them shook his head with a face that didn’t seem very pleased.

“Even if it’s a request, killing a kid like this is a bit much.”

“I agree. But what can we do? We got paid, so we have to take care of it quickly and leave.”

“No matter how good money is, let’s be more selective in the future. What is this, really.”

The assassin who muttered gloomily frowned and approached me.

“I don’t know why, but I’m sorry. I’ll send you off with as little pain as possible, so don’t be born in a place like this in your next life.”

Yeah, your heart is very grateful, but unfortunately, my next life will start this morning.

As I was unexpectedly calm, the assassins sighed deeply and raised their weapons.

The blade looked much longer and heavier than the decorative smallswords that are usually worn.

I don’t know what sins I committed in my past life, but this is the third time I’m experiencing death.

But there’s no point in complaining about my fate.

Thanks to the conversation those guys blurted out, perhaps because of guilt, I was able to grasp a very important clue.

Since I’m going to die anyway, it’s a gamble.

Let’s extract as much information as possible and die.

“Excuse me.”

The assassin’s hand, which had raised his weapon at my voice that feigned as much composure as possible, stopped abruptly.

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go. Our lives are on the line.”

“Ah, that’s okay. I’m going to die anyway, so can you just tell me one last thing? I want to go to the afterlife with a peaceful heart.”

“……”

It was definitely more powerful because it was said by a child who was only twelve years old, not a grown adult.

Towards them, who were momentarily conflicted, I asked the question as casually as possible.

“Lavoisier told you to, right? To kill me.”

The pupils of the two men, who were holding weapons and were immersed in conflict, shook slightly.

Bingo. Judging from the reaction, the answer is obvious even if I don’t hear it.

But what should I say… I got the answer right, but I felt really dirty.

He brought me in, saying it might be useful, and now he’s hiring assassins to kill me?

Even if the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all in one place, they would have no choice but to think the same thing as me in this situation.

These are really crazy bastards.