I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 97

Another One, Christian

Recently, smiles hadn’t left the faces of the nobles in Paris and Versailles.

Although war was raging elsewhere, peaceful words were exchanged as usual in the Tuileries Palace.

“I’ve been enjoying playing the stock market lately. Every time I check, the price seems to go up. Hahaha.”

“Me too. Lately, all the news coming in is about victories, so it’s only natural.”

“Isn’t this all thanks to His Highness? Once this war is over, any nobleman in Paris who hasn’t doubled their wealth will be considered a fool.”

Perhaps it was because the battlefield wasn’t on the European continent.

Most of the nobles seemed to lack the awareness that they were even at war.

Of course, lavish banquets weren’t being held, and the King’s proclamation strictly forbade extravagance.

However, with only positive news coming in every day, the nobles, overflowing with money, were busy aggressively investing and increasing their wealth.

Of course, I was no exception.

Since Lavoisier [Antoine Lavoisier, a famous chemist and economist] had bought a large amount of stock that he had picked out in advance even before the war started, my return on investment was incomparable to that of ordinary nobles.

“Does His Highness have any stocks that he’s been keeping an eye on recently?”

“There are several. But are you all keeping up with how the war is progressing?”

“Of course. But with how things have been going lately, it doesn’t seem necessary to even check anymore.”

“When I asked my father, he said the atmosphere is completely different from the Seven Years’ War. Surely, this time, victory belongs to those who are prepared. Hahaha.”

The nobles exchanged wine and laughed heartily.

I could guess how they felt.

With money being duplicated every time the stock price was updated, how could they not be happy?

“Still, if you think the market is too overheated, you need to adjust to some extent. There’s also the saying that a sharp rise is always accompanied by a sharp fall.”

“That’s only for stocks that rise when the reason for the increase is unclear. If the war ends like this, core stocks will rise at least twice as much.”

“Even if it drops a little, I will never sell and will hold on to it.”

“Good. Then I hope you continue to approach it with the heart of a beast, just like now.”

“The heart of a beast, what an appropriate expression. That’s right. We all must become beasts. Hahaha!”

In my experience, these are the kind of people who panic sell the moment the stock drops even a little.

I already knew about a good opportunity, but I didn’t bother to say it out loud.

Probably tomorrow, or the day after at the latest, the Paris stock market will fluctuate.

If the atmosphere is like now, where everyone seems to be collectively hallucinating that the war will end unilaterally, the effect will be even better.

“Then we’ll be on our way.”

“We will always support Your Highness, who is working hard for France.”

The ants who thought they were whales left, not even able to guess the future that awaited them.

“Would it be alright if you didn’t tell me the news that came in today?”

Marie asked with a slightly worried face as she saw them off.

“It won’t affect the big picture anyway. It might be quite a shock to people who are investing money so optimistically without any intelligence, like they are now.”

When victories continue, people naturally start to believe that this momentum will continue.

Even though the opponent they are fighting is England, they are with several allied countries.

It was not unreasonable for the nobles to be optimistic about the current situation.

“If the fact that the Spanish Navy was defeated is known in this situation, it will definitely shock the stock market. You’re planning to buy more then, right?”

“Lavoisier recommends doing so. I’ll follow his advice when it comes to investing.”

Of course, this is something I can do because I am confident that France will eventually win the war.

“But England is strong. Even with France, Spain, and the Netherlands joining forces, it hasn’t been decided right away…”

“That’s why they’re England. In terms of actual military power, the strongest country in the world right now is England.”

“When I was in my hometown, I learned that France and England were similar, and that we were not lacking compared to those two countries.”

“Well… there’s the pride of the Holy Roman Empire.”

That may have been true in the past, but now, just looking at the economic power and national strength of the home countries, the Holy Roman Empire is far behind France or England.

If you consider the income from overseas colonies, it becomes ridiculous to even compare them one-on-one.

Of course, whether they know it or not, the Holy Roman Empire will not readily admit it.

“Even if the battlefield is on land, it is necessary to control the Atlantic Ocean to secure the New World, so England’s advantages are maximized. That’s why I told Spain and the Netherlands in advance to refrain from individual actions as much as possible…”

No matter how much I emphasize it, they won’t necessarily follow our intentions unconditionally.

At first, things proceeded as discussed.

France’s Mediterranean fleet successfully broke out into the Atlantic Ocean and joined the navies of the Netherlands and Spain, completely crushing Admiral Keppel’s British fleet.

To say they crushed them, they only chased away a small fleet that didn’t receive proper support from England with more than five times the numerical superiority.

Still, when this fact spread, the morale of our side rose greatly.

It was only natural since the navy, which was the pride of England, was broken from the start.

The Paris stock market started to fluctuate from this point.

However, Spain, which had risen in momentum, became greedy.

With the ambition to drive England out of Gibraltar in this gap, they ambitiously dispatched a fleet to Cape St. Vincent.

And as expected, acting independently, they were defeated by England, and the capture of Gibraltar was thwarted.

I was fortunate to have anticipated this situation from the beginning, or else I would have had a hard time.

Even if it’s not the peak of the 19th century, the British Empire is the British Empire.

There is no answer to facing them head-on in the sea.

“…Then isn’t that a big deal? If Spain shrinks due to this defeat, I’m afraid the war will become sluggish…”

“It’s okay. I expected this level of variable.”

Certainly, the power of England, which had regained its senses, was formidable.

While somehow fighting against the allied fleets of the three countries in the Atlantic, they are sending supplies to America, and in America, they are maintaining the front line by fighting against Spain, the United States, and the Indian Confederation.

To see them somehow holding out against the combined forces of France, Maratha, and Mysore in India as well, it was honestly amazing.

“They cannot handle such a wide front alone without allied countries. Eventually, one place will have to be breached.”

“Ah, I see.”

Marie straightened her back and nodded seriously like a student studying hard.

My eyes naturally went to her belly, which was now drawing a perfect curve.

“By the way, what does the doctor say?”

“He says I’ve entered a stable period, so I just need to avoid overdoing it.”

“Then, shouldn’t you slowly go in and rest now? It doesn’t seem good for prenatal care to hear these grim and complicated stories…”

“Don’t worry. Amadeus [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart] is already playing music that is good for prenatal care almost every day.”

Come to think of it, I’ve heard that Mozart’s music is often listened to for prenatal care even in modern times.

But did they have music prenatal care in this era too?

Above all, the fact that Mozart himself is playing the music is incredibly amazing.

“Then I’ll enjoy prenatal care with our child today too. Thanks to you, my ears will be happy.”

“Shall we? Then I’ll have to go with the feeling of taking care of two children today.”

Marie literally giggled and slowly got up from her seat.

I quickly let her lean on me and moved to the bedroom.

I thought about ad-libbing “Wah” but couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Later… I’ll have to find a chance to do it after the child is born.

※※※

As Christian expected, the British Empire did not fall easily.

After defeating Spain in the naval battle, they took advantage of the momentum and succeeded in landing a considerable number of troops on the American continent.

George III personally attended Parliament and clearly stated his intentions in front of all the members.

“The independence of the colonies cannot be recognized under any circumstances, and we will punish their disobedience with an extension of the eternally promised infinite war!”

The British government defined the independence of the colonies as a clear act of treason, so they could not back down.

If they gave the impression of succumbing to the traitors, the prestige of the British Empire itself would be tarnished.

But the briefly reversed atmosphere was only temporary.

The combined fleet of France and Spain seized more than 50 British merchant ships in the West Indies, causing enormous damage to British maritime trade.

The British nobles and merchants valued India far more than the North American colonies.

This was because they could mine not only profitable specialty products but also saltpeter [potassium nitrate], almost infinitely.

In this era, the firepower of the army depended on how smoothly the supply route of saltpeter, an important ingredient in gunpowder, was secured.

The reason why France was trying to hold on to India at all costs was also to secure saltpeter.

“It is good to punish the colonies, but if we lose India, it will only be a huge loss for us as a result. I understand His Majesty’s intention to punish the rebels in the colonies a hundred times, but shouldn’t we concentrate more troops on India now?”

“That’s right. If we lose India, it’s pointless to protect the colonies. Moreover, if we lose India, it means that India will fall into the hands of France.”

“Even if we suppress the colonies here, it will take a lot of resources to suppress those who have risen up like this once. Shouldn’t we pay more attention to the distribution of power?”

The British Parliament, recognizing the current situation as an unprecedented crisis, completely stopped the petty power struggles.

The ruling and opposition parties united as if nothing had happened and were busy devising the best way to overcome the current situation.

Their response was excellent so far, as if maintaining the position of the world’s strongest power was not just for show.

“Lord Grafton, what happened to the cooperation proposal sent to Prussia?”

“We sent a request as soon as the war started, but there was no response. Even when we sent a diplomat again recently, they only made strange excuses and did not give a definite answer.”

“There is intelligence that they are sending instructors to the rebels in the colonies to help train the soldiers, let alone helping us. It is better not to expect support from Prussia.”

“Their intentions are obvious. It seems we have no choice but to overcome it with our own strength.”

Lord North’s face sank gloomily.

Certainly, no matter where they searched in Europe right now, they could not find a country that would stand on their side.

Even the countries that did not directly take France’s side clearly showed that they hoped that England would fall on this occasion.

Still, it was bearable so far.

If they could win a great victory in the naval battle even once, they might be able to break the unity of the allied forces by taking advantage of the momentum.

If either Spain or the Netherlands withdraws from the alliance, this side will have enough breathing room.

If they could just seize an opportunity once.

However.

As if to mock Lord North’s earnest wish, the bad news that Russia and Austria had additionally declared war on England echoed loudly in Parliament.

“Oh, God…”

Lord Grafton’s sigh of dismay was heard in my ear.

“Prince Christian, who arranged the marriage alliance between Russia and France, is expected to be behind Russia’s participation in the war this time as well.”

Lord North, hearing the story of the officials analyzing the situation, reflexively grabbed the back of his neck without saying a word.

Was that name there without fail this time too?

“That damn bastard! I will chew that guy up and eat him for sure… Ugh!”

“Lord North!”

“Doctor! Call the doctor!”