I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 80

Separation and Collection (2)

“The necklace… is fake?”

The room fell silent at Prince Christian’s words.

The Duke of Orléans and the nobles who followed him could only gape like goldfish, unable to speak.

“…As expected.”

Louis XV smiled contentedly.

It was unexpected, but not entirely surprising.

There was no way his grandson would just stand by and be taken advantage of.

“They’ve been dancing in the palm of his hand from the start.”

Louis XV leaned back comfortably and rested his chin on his hand.

He had never seen the Duke of Orléans so flustered before.

He asked again, his voice trembling.

“F-Fake… How can the necklace be fake?”

“It’s simple. I already knew that Countess de la Motte was trying to commit fraud by impersonating my wife.”

“…No, no. That doesn’t make sense. If you knew in advance, you could have caught her on the spot. There’s no reason to go through all this trouble.”

The Duke of Orléans’ expression visibly stabilized as he sorted things out in his head while arguing.

Other nobles nodded in agreement.

They believed that if Countess de la Motte was indeed committing fraud and he knew it in advance, there was no need to escalate the situation this far.

Louis XV also agreed to some extent.

“It seems like an additional explanation is needed. Why didn’t you stop the fraud even though you knew about it?”

“This situation proves it.”

Christian replied calmly.

His tone was as matter-of-fact as explaining that 1 plus 1 equals 2.

“If I had arrested Countess de la Motte there and ended it, in the worst case, only that woman might have been punished.”

“Does that mean this isn’t her solo act of fraud?”

“Of course. But if I were the mastermind, I would have definitely prepared a way to cut off the tail. So, I created a situation where things unfolded as they intended.”

Christian leisurely looked around at the nobles.

None of those who had been intoxicated with a sense of victory just a moment ago could properly meet his gaze.

“Perhaps those who planned this incident really wanted to tear me apart. Logically, there’s no way articles would have been pouring out from all directions otherwise.”

“That’s right. If this was really a planned operation, then most of the newspapers that published the articles were moving under orders.”

“Yes. They are the kind of people who don’t care about the prestige of the royal family as long as they get money. We need to help the media function with conviction, but allowing this kind of licentiousness will only harm the national interest. May I tell the Director-General of Publications to take appropriate measures?”

“Of course. There’s no reason to be lenient to those who engage in clear incitement and manipulation, not just those who say things we don’t like to hear. I will leave the level and method of punishment entirely up to you.”

The Duke of Orléans’ face turned pale.

He was beginning to see the outline of what the Prince was aiming for.

He pretended to be unilaterally defeated while exposing as much of their base as possible.

If the newspapers under the influence of the Orléans family were shut down, the media would fall completely into Christian’s hands.

Moreover, the nobles who made remarks that seemed to doubt the Princess were already considered to be on the Duke of Orléans’ side.

He couldn’t let the flow continue like this.

The Duke of Orléans desperately racked his brains to come up with a rebuttal.

“Of course, if it is true that someone intentionally tried to tarnish the reputation of the royal family, then those people should be punished. But first, solid evidence that the necklace is fake and that Countess de la Motte was trying to commit fraud must be presented to minimize backlash.”

“That’s easy. The real diamonds are safely in the possession of the jeweler Böhmer. Ah, of course, there might be claims that they hurriedly returned the diamonds to Böhmer after the incident and are putting on an act.”

Christian, having preemptively blocked the upcoming rebuttal, leisurely took a step towards the Duke of Orléans.

“Countess de la Motte will be brought back here as soon as she arrives in England. The fake diamonds she’s carrying will be the most solid evidence.”

“…Did you perhaps already coordinate with the English side?”

“Yes. I told them that a con artist impersonating royalty was trying to sell fake diamonds in England. I even told them the exact arrival time, so she’ll be arrested and dragged back as soon as she gets off the ship at the port.”

“If that’s the case, you could have just arrested her before she got on the ship and detained her…”

“There are several reasons. First of all, if I caught Countess de la Motte before she even left France, the despair she would feel wouldn’t be severe enough.”

Christian’s voice, which had been speaking in a dry tone, contained a chilling murderous intent at this moment.

“The greater the fall, the greater the despair one experiences. Considering the crimes Countess de la Motte has committed, this amount of mental anguish is an appropriate punishment.”

Countess de la Motte, who was elated to be on the ship heading to England, believing that all her plans had gone well.

Imagining her life unfolding brightly without any suspicion, even a little seasickness would feel happy.

But what if she was immediately arrested by English soldiers and pushed back onto a ship bound for France as soon as she got off the ship?

It wasn’t hard to imagine how deep the despair she would feel then.

Moreover, wouldn’t every second spent on the narrow ship with no place to escape be terrifying as she came back to France?

Of course, Countess de la Motte isn’t the only one who will be anxiously awaiting the time of approaching destruction.

The Duke of Orléans could naturally feel the depth of anger that Christian held.

“I wouldn’t have tolerated it if they had attacked me, but they dragged my wife into this, who has nothing to do with politics. I wanted to make them pay the price for such a vile political maneuver.”

“Hmm~ Yes, I understand your feelings well enough. Of course, you should.”

Louis XV nodded.

The Duke of Orléans gritted his teeth at this elaborate excuse.

Originally, if you set up traps in this double or triple manner and then carry out a purge using this as an excuse, you might incur the backlash of the nobles.

However, the fact that Prince Christian and his wife were so affectionate with each other that they couldn’t live without each other was already widely known throughout the country.

So, if you emphasize your feelings for your wife in this way, you won’t incur any resentment.

The sinister act of brutally crushing political enemies is transformed into the righteousness of punishing those who have hurt your woman.

The Duke of Orléans was confused.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t expect the plan to be exposed. It wasn’t just a simple impression.

Everything that he had thought was going smoothly was just a funny farce to the other party.

Where and how did everything go wrong?

What mistakes did he make, and what could he have done to prevent things from going so wrong?

No matter how hard he racked his brains, his thoughts didn’t come together.

Therefore, he felt not only confusion but also a sense of fear.

It can’t be helped.

It is everyone’s instinct to feel fear when seeing something incomprehensible.

Some accept that awe and worship the other party, while others try to eliminate the other party in order to eliminate fear.

However, the Duke of Orléans could not choose either of the two at the moment.

He reluctantly realized that the choice itself had already disappeared.

Perhaps he was the only one who didn’t know that he had been in that situation for a long time.

When no one else opened their mouths, Louis XV smiled contentedly and wrapped up the situation.

“Then let’s conclude this matter here for now. When that con artist is brought here, we will conduct a full interrogation to find out the mastermind behind this incident. This is a serious crime that dares to disgrace the royal family, and no matter what happens, we will find the mastermind and hold them accountable. All those involved will not be able to avoid punishment, but those who confess before the interrogation begins may receive a slight reduction in their sentence, so make a wise decision.”

The Duke of Orléans’ body trembled.

Thérèse lowered her head to hide her decaying expression.

In addition to them, many nobles were looking around, not knowing what to do.

Christian, who led all of this, approached the Duke of Orléans with a benevolent expression.

Christian’s cold voice was heard in the Duke’s ear, who had stiffened with tension.

“I didn’t tell you one reason why I waited until Countess de la Motte arrived in England, but I’m sure you can guess, Duke?”

“…”

“Please rack your brains until the very last moment. I will be waiting with pleasure to see what choice you make.”

The Duke of Orléans clenched his fist so tightly that blood leaked from his hand, and he couldn’t say anything.

Only regret that he had started a fight against an absurd monster raged in his heart.

※※※

The nightmare-like time at the Palace of Versailles ended, and the Duke of Orléans returned to the Palais Royal [Duke of Orléans’s residence in Paris].

He wondered if all of this was a nightmare and if he was actually dreaming, but unfortunately, such a miracle did not happen.

Sitting face to face with Thérèse in the drawing room, he felt as if he was suffocating from the weight of reality slowly tightening around his neck.

“…What should we do now?”

The Duke of Orléans did not open his mouth even at Thérèse’s weak voice.

He poured wine into a glass, one glass, two glasses, and finally emptied three glasses before the Duke let out a sigh.

“We’re completely cornered, what more can we do?”

“We still have to come up with some kind of plan. Now that things have come to this, we should send an assassin as soon as Countess de la Motte arrives at the port…”

“Do you think Prince Christian wouldn’t anticipate such a shallow trick? He’ll rather seize our collar as if he’s been waiting for it.”

“Haa… Then are we just going to wait to be dragged to the guillotine like this?”

Others might be able to avoid a heavy sentence, but the Duke of Orléans and Thérèse, who are the main culprits in this incident, cannot avoid it.

No, the Duke of Orléans is a collateral member of the royal family and has enormous wealth and power, so he might be able to save his life somehow.

But even so, he can’t just get away with it as if nothing happened.

At least he should be prepared for the Orléans family to be completely destroyed.

The Duke of Orléans’ eyes flashed as he drank the wine.

He couldn’t let his son’s future be completely blocked, even if it was just him.

Of course, his son, the Duke of Chartres, had nothing to do with this conspiracy.

However, if the Duke of Orléans is punished, his son will inevitably receive a political death sentence.

The ambition to take the throne would only become an unattainable delusion.

No matter what he does, he must not harm his son.

“…There is only one way. There is a method of reversal to overcome this situation.”

“Oh, you are indeed the Duke! What is that method?”

“Now it’s a gamble… I’ll entrust this letter to the Director of Finance.”

Thérèse, who received the letter tightly sealed with wax, widened her eyes.

“What is this? Could it be…”

“Yes. If I don’t come back, please give this to the British ambassador. And get a promise that they will accept our exile in exchange for this information.”

“The war matter… That’s too dangerous.”

Informing the British side of this, and no one else, is an undeniable act of treason.

The Duke of Orléans shook his head resolutely with red, bloodshot eyes.

“Of course, I don’t intend to really hand this over to the British. But we have nowhere else to retreat. We cannot negotiate with Prince Christian without sending a signal that we have no way out.”

“That’s… certainly true. But why are you giving this to me? I’m also in a position where I’m being suspected along with the Duke. Wouldn’t it be better to entrust it to one of the Duke’s trusted confidants?”

“No. I can’t trust anyone right now.”

Even though he was cornered, the Duke of Orléans was calmly analyzing his current situation.

Christian must have known from the beginning that Countess de la Motte was planning a fraud.

He even knew exactly what methods she would use.

If he even prepared a fake necklace, he must have noticed the conspiracy a long time ago.

This was something that could never be explained without the existence of a traitor.

However, the problem was that he had no idea who the traitor was.

What was certain was that the traitor had leaked both the Austrian assassination attempt and Countess de la Motte’s fraud.

Based on this fact alone, it was clear that the traitor was one of the Duke of Orléans’ closest aides.

He couldn’t rashly use other people now without knowing how far the traitor’s influence extended.

So, other than his son, the Duke of Chartres, Thérèse was the only person he could entrust with the task.

Thérèse had only recently learned about the full details of the plan, so there was no possibility that she had reported this to Christian.

“I understand. Now that we’ve come this far, I’ll follow the Duke’s wishes until the end.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll go and make the final preparations.”

The Duke of Orléans immediately got up from his seat and called for a carriage.

Before leaving the room, he looked back with a determined face, taking in his mansion one last time.

“Please trust me and wait. I will definitely come back with results.”

※※※

The aftermath of the necklace fraud case that shook Paris did not last long.

Surprisingly, the truth of the incident was revealed.

The citizens were furious that all of this was a fraud to frame the beloved Prince and Princess.

The newspapers that instigated this were immediately shut down, and the presidents were dragged away and imprisoned one after another.

The citizens of Paris did not send any sympathy to those who were dragged out, saying that it was a natural measure.

Rather, they were eagerly anticipating the revelation of the identity of the mastermind behind all of this, and they were happily anticipating a bloodbath.

I received visits from nobles and bourgeois [wealthy middle class] who supported my decisions every day at the palace.

And before long, as expected, one person requested a private audience.

His face was haggard as his high pride was chipped away, but his gait was still dignified and full of energy.

“…Thank you for accepting my request.”

The Duke of Orléans.

He walked slowly, bowed his head, and sat down in front of me.

“I see you expected me to come.”

“Actually, I thought you’d come sooner. You must have been a little late reassuring your supporters.”

“…I won’t make any excuses. I’m here to negotiate with Your Highness the Prince.”

“Negotiate?”

I didn’t bother to hide the emerging sneer.

“Do you think you are in a position to negotiate with me, Duke?”

“Of course.”

The Duke of Orléans took a light breath and straightened his back.

Since it’s all or nothing anyway, there’s no need to even measure the angle any further.

He directly laid out his cards.

“I heard you are preparing for war with England.”

“…”

“If England finds out about this, all the ambitious plans you are preparing will be in vain.”

I stared silently at the Duke of Orléans.

He had already crossed the point of no return and was running wild, looking only ahead.

“I have already written a letter to be given to the British ambassador and entrusted it to my colleague. If things go wrong here or if I am detained, this truth will be immediately conveyed to the British side. Then Your Highness the Prince will also suffer a considerable blow.”

“So, you’re saying you want me to forgive you in exchange for keeping your mouth shut?”

“That’s right. Of course, I’m not asking you to pretend that nothing happened at all. I will hand over all authority to my son and completely retire from politics. And our family will never oppose Your Highness the Prince again. No, rather, we will support you with all our might.”

A condition that you have no choice but to accept if you don’t want to perish together.

The Duke of Orléans’ pupils, who undoubtedly believed that this method was the key to a one-shot reversal, stared straight at me.

It’s a place where there are only two of us anyway.

I don’t have to hide my true feelings anymore.

I didn’t bother to avoid his gaze and chuckled.

As expected, it was a proposal that didn’t deviate from my expectations.

The answer I will give is enough with just one word.

“Screw you.”