I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 60

He is a Legend

Although there was an incident with a slave escaping, the auction proceeded without any setbacks.

Pierre, the president of the trading company, who had been watching from afar, quickly noticed that Marie’s complexion didn’t look good.

“Madam, is this your first time in a place like this? It might be a bit too stimulating for some. If you’re uncomfortable, would you like to go inside the ship and wait?”

“That might be a good idea. Madam, you should go inside and rest.”

“No. I want to see more.”

Deon and I were both worried by her unexpected refusal.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. Let’s go inside together.”

“No. I want to see how the world works.”

She clearly stated before coming here that she didn’t want to live like a flower in a greenhouse.

“I was shocked when I heard that there were people starving to death everywhere outside the palace. And even now, things like what happened earlier are happening as a matter of course in a world I don’t know. I’m determined to be helpful to Christian… Count Lamarche. I can’t be helpful if I don’t know more about the world, can I?”

Deon gave me a strange smile and whispered.

“You’re very lucky with your wife.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. It’s something I’m always aware of.”

Since I decided to respect Marie’s opinion, I can only support her choice.

“Then let’s go inside.”

“Understood.”

I walked next to Marie, with Deon and President Pierre following behind.

“The slaves in the auction now have all been inspected at least once. You could say they are verified products.”

We arrived at the front yard.

President Pierre, who was experienced in this field, explained the detailed process.

“First, slaves who don’t meet the weight requirements are filtered out. Then, we check for diseases and the condition of their teeth. In the case of female slaves, of course, they undergo inspection based on separate criteria.”

“What happens to the slaves who don’t meet the standards?”

“As you saw earlier, defective products are simply disposed of in the sea.”

This meant that even if they weren’t trying to escape, if they were unsuitable for sale, they would be killed without question.

Marie, who had a brief look of bewilderment at his nonchalant words, suddenly pointed to the outskirts of the auction house.

“But aren’t those people over there also from the African continent?”

Looking where her finger was pointing, there were indeed black people dressed in proper attire looking down at the auction house.

The corners of Pierre’s mouth turned up in a sneer as he looked at them.

“They are from the Kingdom of Dahomey. Very useful people. They supply a significant number of the slaves brought here.”

“Excuse me? Aren’t they from the same continent?”

“It’s a bit difficult for us to go directly into the interior of the African continent because of endemic diseases. They took note of that and directly capture slaves and sell them to us.”

Initially, Africans captured and handed over their compatriots to protect themselves from the clutches of Europeans.

At least if they captured and sold other people, they wouldn’t be taken themselves.

However, as this happened repeatedly, some realized that it could be a considerable source of income.

That is the Kingdom of Dahomey.

They were more aggressive than anyone else in invading neighboring African countries to secure slaves and sell them to Europe.

Europe also secretly supported them with weapons since they could obtain slaves without any effort.

With this fantastic, no, a nightmarish symbiotic relationship established, the slave trade became even more active.

“Even so, to go this far…”

Marie couldn’t find the words as she watched the people of the Kingdom of Dahomey gleefully receiving money from European merchants.

In my opinion, both the buyers and the sellers were equally disgusting.

Hugging close to me as she quietly watched the auction, Marie whispered in a small voice.

“So, this is what it means to see shocking sights. Am I being too sensitive to feel uncomfortable seeing these things?”

“Of course not. It would be strange if you were okay with seeing such garbage for the first time.”

“Then, can you do something about it…?”

“No. That’s a separate issue. Let’s say I buy all the slaves here and set them free. What changes? The slave trade will continue anyway. New slaves will fill their places, or those who escaped will be caught again and sold.”

Sentimentalism cannot change such a huge trend.

All you can get is a tiny bit of self-satisfaction.

“So, in the end, we have no choice but to leave it as it is.”

“That’s how it is now. Of course, that doesn’t mean it will always be that way.”

I turned away from Marie, who was tilting her head, and turned my gaze to President Pierre.

“When slaves are loaded onto the ship, how do they usually eat?”

“What kind of meal would they get? They just pour it in so they don’t die.”

“One of the customers who will receive the slaves this time is a very important person. So, I want you to keep the slaves in the best condition.”

“Well… I can do that if I have to, but the profit will be…”

Pierre was about to make excuses, but there is a special medicine that can shut him up in times like this.

“I’ll compensate you for the loss, including interest.”

“Yes! As you command.”

Pierre bowed his head obsequiously and quickly raised his voice to the workers who were moving the slaves to the ship.

“Hey! The guys you’re loading this time are going to an important person, so take care of them. Feed them on time, and let them relieve themselves once a day… no, twice.”

“Yes!”

Marie’s complexion improved a little as she watched Pierre diligently running around and giving orders.

Deon, who quietly approached me, cleared his throat.

“Didn’t you just say that being sentimental to slaves is meaningless? Isn’t it a waste of money to simply try to make the Madam feel better?”

“It’s not just because of that, it’s a rehearsal.”

“Excuse me?”

“An individual cannot change the flow of the times, but if you know the direction of change, you can prepare for it.”

Deon didn’t seem to understand the meaning of my words at all, but I didn’t say it for him to understand anyway.

The slave trade is a global trend now, but this trend will be reversed within a few decades.

If that’s going to happen anyway, it’s advantageous for us to take the position of a pioneer.

Considering the development plans in the New World, we cannot maintain long-term momentum by maintaining slavery.

The problem is how to approach it.

We won’t be able to avoid the backlash from the vested interests with just humanistic logic.

We need to give the people who are profiting from using slaves a carrot to make it work.

“I hope I can come up with some useful ideas on this trip.”

I turned around without regret and headed to the ship we came on.

Marie looked at the people being dragged away with empty eyes, then turned her gaze away and followed me.

※※※

The route across the Atlantic Ocean has become relatively stable in modern times.

Of course, only the safety has increased, and it still takes a month.

It would be exhausting if the first voyage was this long, but surprisingly, Marie didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

It wasn’t that she was really okay, but she didn’t want me to worry.

As evidence of that, when the long voyage ended and we finally arrived in the New World, Marie ran out of the ship as if she was about to jump off.

“We’ve finally arrived, right? This isn’t a stopover, and we have to go further, or anything like that, right?”

“Yes. This is the destination.”

Pierre, who was on the same ship as us, approached and said.

To be honest, I was also reaching my limit, so I sighed in relief and got off the ship.

“Hmm, is this the New World? I thought it would be a completely different world from where we came from, but there’s not much difference.”

“This place was also developed by the British. If you go further in, there are places where you can see unimaginable natural scenery. But it’s still too dangerous to go there now.”

“That’s a shame. But where exactly is this in the New World?”

“The New World has large continents in the north and south based on a small isthmus in the center. This is Virginia, a British colony located in the southwest of the northern continent.”

While explaining to Marie, I secretly looked around.

In my previous life, I couldn’t even think of coming to America because I didn’t have any money.

But now, I was stepping on the land that was first pioneered among all the states of the United States before it was even founded, and I was deeply moved.

Although it was still far from the powerful America that modern people think of, it felt even more mysterious because of that.

“It seems that the person we were supposed to meet hasn’t arrived yet.”

“…Ah, yes. Actually, we arrived a little earlier than expected. The waves were very stable. But I don’t understand, even if they are a big shot who buys slaves on a large scale, is that person worth the Count meeting in person? Even caring about the health of the slaves?”

“Of course. He is one of the people I most look forward to meeting in this New World.”

Pierre, who knew my identity, frantically scanned the documents he had with a dumbfounded expression.

“Mrs. Custis, whom we are meeting today, is certainly the richest person in Virginia, but she is still just a plantation owner.”

“That’s what she is now.”

“…?”

I took the documents from Pierre, who was bewildered, and read the part about Mrs. Custis.

‘The widow of Daniel Parke Custis, who was the richest man in Virginia.’

‘And 10 years ago, she remarried another man and changed her last name.’

It was written here with the last name she used before, but now there are few people in this land who remember her by her old last name.

I didn’t find any information worth referring to in the data Pierre had, so I handed the documents back to him.

“Have you ever traded here before?”

“Of course. Mrs. Custis is a large landowner who owns almost thousands of slaves as a whole family. She mainly trades with British merchants, but I have met her a few times.”

“What about her husband?”

“I heard he was a soldier, but I only saw him once in passing and never talked to him.”

As far as I knew, he ordered the slaves to be released after his death, but he did not release the slaves while he was alive.

He was not a harsh slave owner and allowed them to marry, but in the end, he did not overcome the limitations of the times.

So, it is not particularly strange to buy slaves in large quantities at this time before the Revolutionary War has even broken out.

While I was lost in thought, Deon, who had come to my side with Marie, pointed to the other side.

“Count. It seems that the person you have been waiting for has arrived.”

Turning my gaze, there was a group of people approaching, raising a cloud of dust.

A middle-aged man dressed in black from head to toe got off his horse.

“You arrived first. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“It’s okay. You came earlier than the appointment time. It was my first time here, so it was fun to look around, so I wasn’t bored waiting.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Perhaps because of his experience as a commissioned officer in the regular army, his tone and gestures were clearly disciplined.

I reached out my hand to him first.

“I am Count Lamarche from France. I look forward to working with you.”

“You were a Count. I am honored that you came all the way here.”

While looking at me, he naturally scanned the appearance of the group.

He sent a slightly wary gaze to the escorting soldiers, but soon checked the appearance of Marie and Deon and relaxed his expression.

Logically, if they had come with impure intentions, they would not have brought women with them.

Well… strictly speaking, one of them was not a woman.

Apart from that, I was staring intently at the man in front of me with a face half-filled with emotion.

It felt like the sensitivity that had been worn down by repeated death regressions had returned to when I first came to Paris.

I didn’t get this emotional even when I saw Rousseau or Louis XV, or even when I had an audience with Maria Theresa.

It can’t be helped.

The man in front of me now has a symbolism that cannot be compared even if you combine them all.

If I hadn’t prepared myself in advance, the hand I reached out to shake might have trembled.

The man who took my hand stated his name in a polite but strangely disciplined tone.

“My name is George Washington. I will do my best to ensure you have a comfortable time during your stay in Virginia.”

George Washington.

What more explanation is needed?

The name that would become a legend was standing in front of me.