I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 5

If the Sky Falls, Find a Hole to Emerge (2)

4. Mutually Assured Destruction

“……”

I stared intently at the assassins.

“I know everything, so there’s no need to scheme. I only wanted to confirm it anyway.”

“I see. So that’s why you suddenly ran away? But why did you escape in the family carriage, knowing everything?”

“Well, that was the only way I could think of to escape. I was planning to get off and run away when we reached the village, but I didn’t expect to get caught before that.”

Being young is a good excuse in times like these.

The assassins, somewhat convinced, exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

“So, you already knew your guardian was trying to kill you… You’ve had a rough life.”

“Tell me about it.”

Of course, it was a lie.

I wasn’t sure Lavoisier had ordered the assassination until I saw the assassins’ reactions.

The possibilities I considered were twofold.

First, a third party bribed the mansion’s servants and sent the assassins.

Second, Lavoisier himself hired the assassins.

So, I bluffed, pretending to know everything, just to test the waters.

Fortunately, the gamble paid off handsomely.

People tend to let their guard down when they think the other person knows all their secrets.

Besides, they seem uncomfortable with the idea of killing someone so young.

If they make my passing a little easier, they might alleviate their guilt.

It’s pathetic self-justification, but if I can get information out of it, it’s the best outcome for me.

“Let me tell you, we don’t know the details. We were just hired to take care of you.”

“And they told you not to worry about the cleanup, right?”

“…That’s right. We don’t know anything beyond that, and we didn’t ask. We don’t ask for unnecessary information when we take on a job.”

So, these guys don’t know about my hidden identity or why Lavoisier wanted to kill me.

Actually, there’s no reason for an assassin to know such things, so it makes sense.

It would have been nice to find out the reason, but this is good enough.

“Just one last question. When did you receive the assassination request?”

“Three days ago. Sorry, but we don’t have any more time to waste. We need to get back and tell our employer that the job is done.”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead.”

Even though I know I’ll probably regress, I can’t help but fear death.

Especially the thought of experiencing that terrible pain again made me grind my teeth.

But I suppressed that fear with animosity toward the mastermind.

I clenched my fists until they bled and said in as calm a tone as possible,

“Please, make it quick and painless. If you can’t, you’ll probably suffer in your next lives.”

It was a literal threat, but the assassins, thinking I was just joking, simply gave bitter smiles.

“I hope you’re born into an ordinary noble family and live a happy life next time.”

Swish!

A gruesome sound of flesh tearing filled the air, and unbearable pain choked my throat.

I thought I’d get used to it since I’d experienced it twice already, but no such luck.

“Sh…it……”

It hurts.

It was so excruciating that no further explanation was needed.

Who said you don’t feel pain when you die in one clean cut?

You die before you can feel the pain?

That’s bullshit.

But I couldn’t vent my anger or scream.

It might have been a fleeting moment in reality, but it felt like an eternity to me.

My throat was blocked with blood, and the sensation in my hands and feet was fading.

Having experienced it a few hours ago didn’t help one bit.

Soon, my vision flickered to black, and this life, like the last, came to an end.

But at least this time, it wasn’t as futile or buried in frustration as before.

My hands won’t move anymore.

My eyes and ears are gradually losing their function as organs.

“…This…isn’t…easy……”

“We should…think about…changing…jobs……”

I can’t even tell what they’re saying anymore.

The excruciating pain that felt like it was tearing my body apart has now stopped.

Even in the midst of all this, the fact that my mind is still working is a strange feeling.

Until the moment my brain dies and all its functions cease, I thought and thought.

In the final moment, I had the certainty that I had grasped something that flashed by, and I lost my life for the third time.

※※※

When my consciousness awakened, I saw a face that was now completely familiar.

The Latin teacher who always nagged about my slow progress.

“Tsk, are you daydreaming again? How can you be so lacking in concentration…?”

Hearing him say the same thing as if it were a script, I couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

“Young Master, did you hear what I said?”

Fortunately, this time I didn’t spew out curses like I did during the last regression.

“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t feeling well for a moment.”

“Come to think of it, you look pale… Goodness, you’re covered in cold sweat…”

“Yeah… I sweated a lot.”

The teacher couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he checked my soaked clothes.

It’s a trace left by the tremendous pain I felt before regaining consciousness, just like last time.

I have no idea what principle causes such pain.

But what’s certain is that this time, no, this time the intensity of the pain was even stronger than before.

It’s not a delusion.

I can’t describe it, but if I had to, I’d say it was the pain of my soul being compressed.

Most of all, the biggest problem is not only the intensity but also the length of time I feel the pain.

The pain was so great that it felt long, but looking back, the time I suffered from the pain when I first regressed was probably only about 10 seconds.

But it’s not like that now.

At the very least, it’s a minute, several times longer than before.

A minute may sound short, but it’s a minute of being stabbed all over with knives and having your soul crushed.

If I die again next time, will I have to writhe in a nightmare for an even longer time than now?

Just imagining that made me get goosebumps all over my body, and the cold sweat wouldn’t stop.

If this is repeated a few times, I might even think it’s better to just die and be done with it.

“I think we should stop here for today’s lesson. I’ll go down and tell them that you don’t seem to be feeling well.”

“Thanks for your hard work. I hope I can see you again next time.”

The teacher tilted his head at my incomprehensible greeting, packed his books, and left the room.

“Okay, so what should I do…?”

In the empty room, I tilted my head and firmly etched the current situation in my mind.

“The one who orchestrated the assassination is my guardian, Jean Antoine Lavoisier. All the servants in the mansion are presumed to be on his side. The assassins are expected to arrive before evening at the latest.”

Even with a normal way of thinking, the feeling of being screwed is inevitable.

If I just run away aimlessly, I’m penniless and can’t prove my identity.

The probability of starving to death or being caught and killed by pursuers within a few days is 99.9%.

So, what is the way to break through this difficulty?

No matter how much I rack my brain, the only answer that comes out is one.

“…Direct confrontation.”

Realistically, that’s the only way to break out of this predicament.

At first glance, it was the worst situation, but if you reverse the perspective, it’s not that bad.

Anyway, I knew for sure who was behind the assassination, didn’t I?

I’m just grateful that my identity hasn’t been leaked to the outside and that the assassins didn’t come from outside.

If that were the case, I would have been floundering in a truly hopeless situation.

If I know who I have to deal with, I can come up with a plan.

“Okay, let’s think positively. I just need to win over one person. I like it even more.”

I recharged my morale with mental victory and pondered for a while with my chin resting on my hand.

Unlike when I first entered this body, after returning from death, several memories came to me.

I tried it now, thinking it might be the same, and sure enough, various pieces of information flooded into my head.

Looking back on what has happened so far, there is no room for denial.

Every time I die, I return to the point when I first entered this body.

And every time, for some reason, I have to suffer tremendous pain.

I don’t know if it’s because of that influence, but the more it happens, the clearer the memories of this body become.

Most of them are trivial.

Favorite foods or the park I used to take walks in with Melissa.

Fortunately, among those seemingly useless pieces of information, there were some memories that I could use.

“This guy… was completely a pushover in front of Lavoisier?”

In fact, I was of royal blood, but I couldn’t say a word in front of Lavoisier.

I wasn’t very smart, and my academic achievements were low, so I could easily guess how the legal nobles saw me.

If I close my eyes, I can vividly remember.

Lavoisier giving me openly dismissive glances and myself groveling in front of him.

Just thinking about the humiliation and contempt I felt at that time made me want to swear.

“Wait, the emotions are clear?”

Just as I was about to feel the identity of some tremendous sense of incongruity, Melissa came in with warm milk and snacks.

“Young Master. I heard you weren’t feeling well. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah. I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

Melissa’s expression wavered slightly at my lukewarm answer.

After learning the identity of the emotions this woman shows, I didn’t feel very good either.

If you’re going to look at me with such pity, you should at least tell me how to survive.

“…If you overdo it, you may feel worse tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow… I wish I could be sick.”

“Yes?”

I didn’t give Melissa, who was startled, any more attention and walked out of the room.

“Melissa, prepare the carriage. I need to go see Lavoisier.”

“Yes? You must be busy preparing your thesis…”

“Not the son, the father. I need to talk to him about something important.”

Of course, I already know what answer will come next.

“I’m sorry. The master said he has important business and can’t meet anyone for the time being.”

“It’s much more important than that important business, so it’s okay. I’ll take responsibility for whatever happens, so just prepare the carriage.”

“Yes? No, I mean…”

“If you can’t prepare it, I’ll have to walk. This is a really important matter? If something goes wrong, it could cause enormous damage not only to the Lavoisier family but also to the High Court. Do you understand? If I can’t go here, you might end up taking the blame.”

Melissa seemed flustered because I, who was usually as quiet as a mouse, was coming on so strong.

I could clearly feel that she was wondering if something really big had happened.

“Can’t you tell me first? If I inform the master and get permission…”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. As I said before, it’s such an important and secret matter that I can’t tell anyone right now.”

“But that’s… because the master specifically told me…”

“If Lavoisier says anything to you about this, I’ll take responsibility, so don’t worry.”

“Even if you tell me not to worry.”

Melissa sighed.

Well, even if a guy who’s been groveling like a pushover every day suddenly says he’ll take responsibility and asks you to believe him, it’s not going to sound convincing.

It seemed like I had no choice but to mix in a little lie here.

“This is also about Lavoisier’s son, the precious young master who is working hard on his thesis to become a member of the academy [a prestigious learned society]? If something goes wrong with his son’s work, that man who goes crazy over his son? A huge mess will happen, right?”

It’s easy to confirm how much expectation and love Antoine Laurent Lavoisier received from his father through records.

Jean Antoine allowed his son to receive the best education to open up his future and even bought him the title of nobility in the future.

Considering that his son later grew up to be called the father of chemistry, his insight was not wrong.

If it’s something related to his proud son, he’ll have no choice but to react.

Melissa, who knows that fact well, eventually called the carriage as if she had no choice.

The carriage took me, who got on without hesitation, and slowly set off towards the mansion where Lavoisier was staying.

With this, I can say that I’ve survived until I meet Lavoisier.

Of course, I can’t say that I’ve escaped the crisis with just this.

If I don’t settle things here, I’ll be dragged to some dark place and end my life as soon as I leave the mansion.

From the beginning, the hurdles to overcome seemed a little high, but nothing will change if I exaggerate.

Unless I want to taste death indefinitely until the regression ends someday, I have only one option.

Subjugate all those who are after my life and survive.