Chapter 60: Poisoned Chalice (8) Versailles Palace, the Finance Minister's office.
Sitting in my chair, I counted off on my fingers and spoke.
"Let's see. We got the military authority, and we also ate up the Church's property…"
Damn, we sucked it dry properly. When Orléans gets to Versailles, he'll be crying tears of blood.
Buuuurp! So damn tasty!
"Hah. For someone who just turned the place into a madhouse, you're awfully relaxed, Finance Minister Guillaume."
Commander Lafayette, seated across from me, glared as he spoke.
"…Still, didn't I tell you ahead of time this time?"
"I suppose you did, but I just received a report that another one-tenth of the officers we finally secured has vanished somewhere. As for me, it's hard to suppress the anger inside me right now, Minister."
Uh… um… uh…
"…If I say I'm sorry, will you let it slide?"
"Just know this: if Ms. Marie's pumpkin pie had been even a little less tasty, you might already be half-dead."
"H… haha…"
He says terrifying things…
"Still, thanks to this, you'll be more comfortable later too, Commander."
"Hm."
Even at my words, Commander Lafayette kept his arms folded and continued glaring at me.
Sir, please listen to me.
After clearing my throat a couple of times, I spoke slowly.
"So… think about it, Commander. Now the finances have eased up, and military authority is basically in our revolutionary faction's hands, right? Won't the military system run stably now?"
"Well, as you say, it won't collapse at a single word from the king."
But Lafayette added,
"Thanks to that little ball you fired up today, if an objection comes in from the Papacy, military stability and everything else could be scattered to pieces. Up to now, the French are more familiar with Catholicism than Enlightenment."
"Isn't that interference in domestic affairs?"
Lafayette shrugged.
"Wasn't France joining the American Revolutionary War also interference in Britain's domestic affairs?
Of course, those English pirate bastards deserved to be punished, but still."
"…Come on. Even so, surely it won't lead to war."
I forced a smile at Lafayette's words.
The rising star and war hero Napoleon wouldn't show up until the early 1800s. Right now, it was late 1789.
And sure, I twisted the French Revolution just a little, but the big frame was the same, wasn't it?
Besides, we hadn't even cut off the king's head.
With the king's head still attached, there was nothing especially extreme that would provoke the monarchs of neighboring countries, either.
"Who knows. War isn't something that happens or doesn't happen that innocently."
Commander Lafayette said that, took a sip of tea, then continued.
"Finance Minister. May I ask you something?"
"…I don't get a good feeling about this."
Even at my uneasy expression, Lafayette spoke without caring.
"Can our finances sustain a war?"
Mm…
First, the debt—three billion—could be handled by turning Church property into quick cash by selling it like bonds.
But even if we fixed the debt, that just meant we'd be plus-minus zero. It didn't mean we'd be comfortable.
"Honestly, it's impossible."
I shook my head side to side. Seeing my gesture, Lafayette nodded quietly.
"Hm. Then we'll have to scrap the plan to invade Italy."
"…Pardon?"
What did I just hear?
"Invade… Italy?"
"Yes. I think the best move is to strike first before the kingdoms in Italy attack us under the Pope's name."
"…That's a bit…"
Leaving aside the reason for war, the moment we did that, the treasury would definitely start flashing red.
"Then we'll have to conduct a defensive war. We may need to expand or repair fortresses on the border."
"Fortresses…?"
Just hearing it made it feel like it would cost a lot.
"Hm. Is that also not possible?"
"…"
Commander Lafayette rolled his eyes around, then looked at me and said,
"This won't do, that won't do."
"Th-that… I… I'm sorry."
It's not like I'm doing this because I want to.
"Then could you do just one thing for me?"
"Y-yes? Does it cost money?"
"No. It doesn't cost money, Minister."
If it doesn't cost money…
"Whatever it is, if it doesn't cost money, I'll do it."
"Ha ha ha! That's what you're saying, Finance Minister?"
Uh. This feels like something went wrong.
"Please come with me for a moment, Finance Minister Guillaume."
Lafayette stood with a beaming grin and said.
"You definitely said you'd do it all?"
"…"
Commander Lafayette pointed at the tower of documents stacked in the middle of his desk and cackled.
I got played.
"…What is this?"
"These are profiles of junior officers nationwide. As you know, it's been over ten years since I graduated from the military academy, so I don't know the faces of junior officers these days at all.
Because of that, it's hard to confirm whether someone truly supports the Revolution, or is only pretending to, or if they're simply a subversive element.
In fact, among the officers who reportedly fled this time, some were officers I personally selected after careful consideration."
"I… I see."
All fine, but why are you telling me?
"But among those officer profiles, your name is in there too, Finance Minister Guillaume."
"Uh…"
Lafayette stepped up to the stacked documents, picked up a few sheets from the very top, and read them.
With every sentence he read, cold sweat ran down my back.
"Guillaume de Toulon.
Born in Gehenna, located in the southern Marseille–Toulon region.
Graduated second in his class from the Paris Central Military Academy, received the rank of artillery second lieutenant, but after applying for discharge was placed into the reserves.
Started a business during his cadet days and became successful enough to own shops across all of Paris.
Organized commoner and provincial noble cadets into a private association abbreviated as the 'Equality Club.'
The 'Equality Club' has approximately 250 members. At present, most members of the 'Equality Club' sympathize with the Revolution and are handling practical duties within each regiment."
After finishing, Lafayette placed the profile neatly back atop the pile and looked at me with a grin.
"…How did you find all that out…?"
"How did I know? This time, the 2nd Dragoon Regiment attached itself to watch the German mercenaries, and there was a young officer who made a great contribution. I asked him whether there were any trustworthy officers."
"…"
"And that fellow told me: someone named 'Guillaume de Toulon' is trustworthy.
So I pressed him a little, and he sent me this long letter."
Lafayette opened his desk drawer and held out a letter with its wax seal already broken.
"…Acting Major of the 2nd Dragoon Regiment, Emmanuel… de… Grouchy…?"
Th-this… fuck…!
Looking at my dazed expression, Lafayette spoke in a satisfied voice.
"You said you'd do it all, Minister?"
"Uh…"
"Go through all the officer profiles here by tomorrow morning and bring me a shortlist of the trustworthy ones. I suffered quite a bit thanks to you, Minister, so I thought it would be good for you to suffer once too."
"I—I'm just going to leave."
"You may come in as you please, but you can't leave as you please, Finance Minister."
Lord Christ.
A smiling angel.
Joan of Arc on horseback, holding a sword.
The Virgin Mary.
The royal fleur-de-lis crest set upon the cathedral roof.
The beautiful cathedral ornaments painstakingly made, stitch by stitch, by master carpenters D'Orbet and Jean Leroux, Gosset and Soissons.
With every step, the Duke of Orléans filled his eyes with all of it again and again, as if he would never forget.
When the Duke of Orléans stood before the cathedral's great doors, the guards began opening them with salutes.
Kiiiik—
The heavy wooden doors creaked with friction, slowly revealing what lay within.
White marble columns and engaged columns rose vertically some thirty meters, forming arches that supported a thick ceiling—like a massive redwood forest.
Not to be outdone, purple-backed stained glass painted in brilliant colors with the Magi, Lord Christ, and the Virgin Mary caught the light and cast a dazzling glow across the cathedral floor.
Orléans walked down the center, step by step, slowly.
With each step Orléans took, countless people bowed their heads and knees toward him in reverent posture.
Like a wave passing, the height of the silhouettes lowered.
At the end of that wave, Orléans knelt.
The Archbishop of Reims, white-bearded, asked the Duke of Orléans solemnly.
"Who are you?"
"Louis-Philippe Joseph d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans and lord, lord of the Château de Saint-Cloud, and master of the Palais-Royal."
"Do you swear, like Clovis baptized by Remigius, to spread Lord Christ's will widely through the world?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear, like King Charles VIII and King Louis XII, to become a protector of the faith?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear, like King Charlemagne, to take responsibility for the people, property, and safety of all in France and Navarre, and to bravely confront foreign enemies?"
"I swear."
The archbishop lifted the golden crown, cleansed with holy water, in both hands, and slowly set it upon the head of kneeling Orléans.
"Long live the new King of France and Navarre, and ruler of Brittany, Orléans, and Normandy—Great King Louis XVII!"
After placing the crown on Orléans's head, the archbishop bowed his head, raised his arms high, and shouted.
"Long live Great King Louis XVII! Long live! Long live!"
?
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