I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 74

Diamond Scam

Dawn slowly pushed back the darkness of night.

Duke Chartres, sitting at his desk with his chin propped on his hand, let out a faint sigh.

“Hoo…”

His desk was piled high with documents.

He picked up the newspaper on top and held it up to the candlelight.

[Russia Crushes Its Arch-Rival, the Ottoman Turks. Rapidly Emerging as an Undeniable New Power.]

Those familiar with international affairs knew that the current state of Turkey was not as strong as it used to be.

However, even so, few had expected the gap between them and Russia to be this large.

[…Alarmed by Russia’s growing influence, Britain intervened once again. Russia expressed displeasure at their actions, which seemed to imply they fancied themselves as the world’s police. On the other hand, Prince Christian’s remarkable judgment, anticipating Russia’s victory and preparing for an alliance early on…]

The rest was filled with flowery rhetoric, so he skimmed through it.

Just when things seemed quiet, these laudatory articles had suddenly begun to increase again.

[Princess Marie Antoinette expects that France’s superior culinary skills will find a way to make even unappetizing potatoes delicious. She has promised to reward those who discover how to make potatoes delicious, even if it means spending her own fortune. The fact that dishes using potatoes are always on the table at the Tuileries Palace [the Parisian palace of the French monarchy] shows the beautiful heart of the Princess, who sincerely cares for the citizens…]

The praise wasn’t just directed at Christian.

A friendly princess who was always with the citizens.

That perception had recently been taking root more and more firmly in Paris.

“This must also be Prince Christian’s work.”

He was honestly impressed by Christian’s actions.

Most nobles lived in a world completely separate from the common people from birth, so they didn’t understand their lives.

Even Duke Chartres, who frequently interacted with bourgeois [middle class] intellectuals, often felt that sense of disconnect.

That was why, no matter how much the royal family tried to win the hearts of the citizens, it would only end up as empty, theoretical talk.

However, Christian knew the hearts of ordinary people very well.

He boosted their pride and didn’t forget to provide support in areas that were practically helpful to their lives.

There were also rumors that various pilot programs for tenant farmers were being run in the Lamarche County.

As if it were only natural, the press followed all these actions and diligently churned out promotional articles.

No French royal in history had ever tried to win the hearts of the citizens this systematically.

“At best, he’s an illegitimate child with no right to succession… No, it’s not enough to simply see him that way anymore.”

For Duke Chartres to ascend to the throne, he had to eliminate all the legitimate heirs of the current royal family.

However, with Christian around, even shaking up the Crown Prince didn’t seem easy in reality.

Above all, the way Duke Chartres was trying to expand his power overlapped with Christian’s.

He intended to gain the support of the citizens through bourgeois intellectuals.

The problem was that even in this, he was being pushed back by Christian.

Not only was there an intellectual like Lavoisier by the Prince’s side, but also supporters from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand [a prestigious secondary school in Paris] were gathering one after another.

At this rate, he might have to admit defeat without even stepping onto the playing field.

“If you look at it that way, Father’s judgment is correct, but… why do I get the feeling that he’s being so impatient?”

Duke Chartres put aside the newspaper and turned his attention to another pile of documents.

“I agree that Prince Christian needs to be monitored, but this is too aggressive of a method.”

If he followed the orders of the Duke of Orléans, he could end up in conflict with Christian not only in Paris but even in the Lamarche County.

Something was off about this, considering his father’s thoroughly stability-oriented approach.

No matter how threatening the opponent was, the family’s way was to approach them more cautiously.

Furthermore, the Duke of Orléans didn’t even tell him the reason properly.

“You just need to monitor Christian’s every move and tell me what kind of reaction he shows. It’s confusing, but if you don’t know the exact purpose, Christian will be even more confused.”

His father said that and handed down a mountain of instructions.

“I don’t understand it, but… Father must have his own reasons.”

There was nothing that would change anyway if he grumbled alone here.

Lately, it had become increasingly burdensome to have one-on-one meetings with Prince Christian, but what could he do if the head of the family told him to do it?

He frowned slightly at the brightening sunlight and listlessly got up to prepare to go to the Tuileries Palace.

※※※

Late afternoon.

Today, too, I was suffering from the gift offensive of the nobles who visited the palace.

Living in Paris instead of Versailles meant that I had no choice but to put up with these annoying things.

I decided to just treat it as part of my daily routine and move on.

“My, my, it seems that His Highness the Prince’s power has reached the point where even flying birds are falling.”

However, it was a bit unexpected that Duke Chartres kept coming around and spouting nonsense without any context.

“Surely you jest. It can’t compare to the Orléans family. You could say that I’ve finally become a royal who’s pulling his weight.”

“Haha, how modest. If you were to pick the most watched person in Paris right now, nobles and commoners alike would mention His Highness the Prince’s name without exception.”

“That’s probably just because I’m very active. By the way, Duke Chartres, I heard that the Duke of Orléans has been frequenting Versailles more often recently. Are you aware of this?”

“Yes. It’s my father’s business, so I know that much. But he didn’t tell me the reason.”

He answered nonchalantly and sipped the tea he had brought as a gift.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed that he really didn’t know the reason, not just ‘pretending’ not to know.

“I thought he wasn’t usually interested in politics, but this is unexpected.”

“Indeed. Does His Highness the Prince have any idea why?”

“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that there must be an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with.”

“……”

Duke Chartres nodded slightly.

His reaction confirmed it.

The Duke of Orléans was clearly drawing a line between himself and this guy.

Of course, I could guess the reason.

But what was unexpected was that it was unexpected.

I thought that by now, he would have honestly revealed the assassination plot and considered countermeasures together.

The Duke of Orléans had clearly tried to assassinate me for the sake of his son’s future.

However, the son still didn’t know what his father was doing.

It was truly an ironic situation.

“It seems that in the eyes of parents, their children always look young. It’s an emotion that I can’t understand yet, but I might become like that when I have children.”

“But usually, you always share your opinions.”

“I see. So, there have been a lot of things that he’s been keeping secret lately.”

“‘Secret’ seems like too grand of an expression. He probably just didn’t think it was something worth mentioning.”

He’s going to try to keep it that the son wasn’t involved in the incident until the end.

Is this the heart of a parent who wants to take everything on themselves and become dew on the execution ground in the worst-case scenario?

Duke Chartres is pretending not to be, but he’s constantly bringing up various topics and trying to gauge my reaction.

Of course, he probably doesn’t expect me to answer honestly either.

He’s probably interpreting my words on the premise that I’m basically hiding the truth.

“Duke, would you like to go hunting together sometime if we have the chance? I haven’t had time to relax and enjoy myself lately, so I’m planning to make an opportunity soon.”

“I’d love to. I’ll be waiting for you to call me.”

I could guess why the Duke of Orléans was distancing himself from his son, Duke Chartres, but there was still one flaw left.

Even if he was hiding the truth, if the Duke of Orléans’s charges were revealed, Duke Chartres wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed just because he didn’t know.

He was the son of a man who had committed treason, no less.

Maintaining his title was out of the question. He would be lucky if he could take all his assets and flee overseas.

I could roughly guess what kind of scenario he had in mind, but this was actually a good thing for me.

Duke Chartres was still very useful.

Even if the Duke of Orléans didn’t, he shouldn’t retire this early.

For the sake of this France, and for my sake as well.

※※※

Marie was originally a person with a deep appreciation for art.

Since she was in Austria, her aesthetic sense was more outstanding than her sisters.

On important days, her sisters would come to Marie and ask for her opinion on what accessories and dresses to wear.

After coming to France, she had been restraining herself as much as possible on her husband’s advice, but even so, a great ability was bound to be revealed somehow.

Rumors had already spread widely among the nobles of Paris that no one was as knowledgeable about fashion as Princess Marie Antoinette.

Furthermore, Marie had taken Christian’s advice and didn’t try to introduce new styles like in the original history, or do anything on her own initiative.

She focused on valuing France’s existing culture and decorating herself accordingly.

The press also focused on this point and promoted Marie, and the citizens accepted her without any resistance.

Of course, this was because Marie’s popularity was currently soaring.

Originally, people who were popular with the public would be seen favorably no matter what they did, and conversely, people who were disliked would be seen negatively no matter what they did.

Recently, Madame du Barry had even joined this group, which had made the atmosphere a bit strange.

“…You look so beautiful today too, Your Highness the Princess!”

“Thank you. You look even more beautiful today, Madame.”

Marie chuckled and looked around at the ladies around her.

Originally, they didn’t like Madame du Barry very much, but it was difficult to openly reveal that in a place like this.

Marie thought that Madame du Barry was quite useful in that she didn’t have to listen to the chattering of the noisy ladies.

“What topic should we talk about today?”

Madame du Barry opened her mouth as if she had been waiting for it.

“His Majesty said that he would reduce the royal family’s spending as much as possible in the future. What kind of effect will this have?”

“That’s a good topic. Nobles are bound to be affected by the royal family’s decisions in some way, and then, of course, the whole country will be affected, even if only slightly.”

Of course, Madame du Barry wasn’t considering this butterfly effect, but rather worried about the impact on her jewelry collection.

However, the ladies of this time surprisingly possessed considerable knowledge and insight.

It wasn’t for nothing that some of the women who led the salon culture that blossomed in 18th-century France were among them.

Of course, the overall level of education was much better for men, but there were also a considerable number of women who engaged in discussions about society, culture, and even religion.

Of course, Madame du Barry was an exception.

Just as a full-fledged conversation was about to begin, Marie realized that there was a woman who hadn’t spoken yet.

Was she about the same age as herself?

The woman, who was among the youngest in this place, stiffened and froze as soon as her eyes met Marie’s.

The Marquise de Brinvilliers, who was sitting next to her, opened her mouth instead.

“She is a noble that I am sponsoring.”

“Ah… you are, Madame?”

“Yes. She is none other than a descendant of the Valois royal family [the former ruling house of France]. I have even checked her birth certificate, so there is no mistake. I felt so sorry that a descendant of the old French royal family was living in poverty, so I have been supporting her all along.”

Marie nodded roughly and checked her name on the list.

“…Huh?”

She wondered if she had seen something wrong, so she rubbed her eyes and looked again.

As expected, the name was still the same.

“Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy…?”

Marie looked back at Madame de Brinvilliers as if to ask if she had read it correctly.

“Yes. That’s right.”

At her words, Marie blinked silently.

The Marquis de Brinvilliers was one of the highest-ranking officials currently holding key positions in Paris.

She had expected that someone being sponsored by such a person would not have an ordinary status.

However, this was too unexpected.

“…How strange…”

A groan mixed with bewilderment and surprise flowed from her throat, unheard by anyone.

It was because she had heard something from her husband, Christian.

“If there is someone called Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, or Countess de la Motte, be sure to remember her.”

“Why?”

To her question, her husband had clearly said this:

“Because she’s a con artist. But please don’t show it if you happen to meet her. I’m planning to use her until she’s in rags and then throw her away.”

“Ahahahahaha…”

Marie, recalling the conversation from the previous day, felt sorry for the girl who was a con artist in front of her for some reason.