Becoming a Sister Who Dotes on Her Brother?

For the days that followed, the pattern remained largely the same: first, purchase two tickets for the stagecoach, then spend the day traveling to a city or town closer to Paris, find a monastery (or an inn, if none were available) to rest for the night, and then set out to buy the next set of tickets...

Just like that, on the evening of the tenth day, Alfonso and Joseph finally arrived in Paris, the capital of France.

The stagecoach rattled through streets thick with dust before finally coming to a halt on a road called Rue de la Neige. This was a street on the outskirts of Paris; on one side stood the gloomy, tomb-like convent of the Congregation of Perpetual Adoration, while the other was lined with the ramshackle huts of the impoverished lower classes.

The stagecoach went no further. To continue, passengers had to pay for a public carriage, or if they lacked the funds, they had to rely on their own two legs.

Because their destination was still quite far and the area was not particularly safe, Alfonso took Joseph onto a public carriage. After another half-hour of travel, they arrived at the magnificent Sainte-Geneviève Cathedral.

This cathedral would later be confiscated by the revolutionary government after the outbreak of the Revolution and converted into a mausoleum for great men, known as the famous Panthéon. At this time, however, Sainte-Geneviève Cathedral remained an important church belonging to the Catholic Church. This was not Joseph's destination, but it was the destination of Brother Alfonso. He led Joseph into the church, asked him to wait in the parlor for a moment, and went off to deliver a letter to the bishop.

Joseph waited in the parlor for a short while before seeing Brother Alfonso return.

"Very well, the letter has been delivered. Now, I shall take you to see Father Jean-Jacques."

The small church where Father Jean-Jacques resided was still some distance away, and by then, the public carriages had stopped running. The two walked along the streets lit by whale-oil lamps, trekking on foot. They walked for nearly an hour until the moon had risen high, finally arriving before a small church. The moonlight slanted down, illuminating the steps in front of the entrance.

Alfonso led Joseph up the steps and knocked gently on the door. Moments later, light leaked through a crack in the door panel wide enough to fit a pinky finger, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps descending from the floor above, thumping all the way to the main entrance. Judging by the sound, it seemed as though a grizzly bear, rather than a man, was approaching.

"Wait a moment, I'm opening the door... Damn it, Nanon, why is the bolt stuck? Ah, wait just a moment, it will be open soon..." a gruff voice called from inside.

The door did not open as promised. Instead, a series of chaotic noises erupted from within, accompanied by the sound of someone tugging forcefully, yet the door remained shut. Complaints drifted out: "Damn it, what is wrong with this thing? Why won't it open? Ah, wait just a moment longer..."

After another ten minutes, a sharp click echoed from inside, and the door was suddenly flung open, a gust of wind rushing out from within.

Joseph peered inside to see a fat man, no taller than himself, but with a waistline at least two or three times his size. In Joseph's eyes, if this man were to travel to the future, he could play the Mountain King without any makeup. Beside the fat man stood a person dressed like a nanny, holding a candlestick in one hand while shielding the flame with the other to prevent the wind from blowing it out.

"Alfonso! Ha, you finally arrived. Well, how is the old man?" the Mountain King laughed heartily, his voice loud enough to startle the birds sleeping in the nearby trees.

"Father Jean-Jacques, the Bishop is doing very well," Alfonso replied. "Furthermore, besides asking me to bring Joseph, the Bishop also asked me to deliver a message to you."

"What did the old man say?" the Mountain King asked.

"The Bishop told me to inform you that gluttony is also one of the deadly sins," Alfonso replied calmly.

"That old man..." The Mountain King's voice dropped, and he muttered something under his breath that sounded like a complaint, though Joseph could not make out the words.

"Enough. Do not complain. Now, let me introduce you; this is Joseph, the Bishop's godson. The one who is preparing to study at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand..." Alfonso said.

"Ah, I know. Well, come in, come in. This damned door... Nanon, go move that cabinet over here; we'll use it to block the door for tonight..."

"Father, I understand. But that cabinet, it would be best if you could help me..."

"Honestly... I told you, you must eat more, you must eat more! How can you have strength if you don't eat? Can't even move a cabinet..."

This was the place where Joseph would live for the next few years.

Passing the entrance exam for the Lycée Louis-le-Grand was not difficult for Joseph, so he soon received an invitation to enroll. Joseph planned to study at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand for a few years, take the opportunity to meet people and build connections, and then leave Paris before the Revolution broke out (Paris was simply too chaotic then; whether one lived or died often depended on luck rather than anything else). He intended to head to the provinces and, during the time the Girondins were in power, use his "foresight" to engage in speculation and hoarding, securing the first pot of gold for himself and his family.

After that, he could hide behind his "stupid brother" and push his family to become the number one family in Europe. Of course, he would also have to find a way to stop his "stupid brother" from his foolish, self-destructive behavior later in Spain, and especially in Russia. To stop him, Joseph had to carry enough weight; he could not be the useless figure from history whom Napoleon viewed as someone who only became King of Spain because of him.

"My stupid brother is a man who thinks too highly of himself, a proud and arrogant fellow. Putting the brakes on him won't be easy."

Days passed slowly according to Joseph's plans. He performed well at school, successfully securing a full scholarship, and gained a decent reputation within small circles of literature and natural science enthusiasts. Additionally, Joseph would occasionally take on translation work and other odd jobs to earn a few francs. Thus, besides covering his own expenses, he could even save some money. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but just then, a letter was delivered to Joseph.

The letter brought terrible news: his father was ill, and quite severely so. The family's financial situation was now extremely strained. Joseph's own studies and living expenses were not a burden on the family, but it was no longer enough for him to simply not ask for money. Napoleon's living expenses, along with those of his other younger siblings, had become a problem. The letter from home expressed the hope that he could find work as soon as possible to take on the burden of supporting his younger siblings.

Dropping out of school immediately was clearly not an option, as it would negatively impact Joseph's entire plan. Therefore, it was best to earn more money while maintaining his studies.

"Sigh, how could I have forgotten about the Bonaparte family's hereditary stomach cancer?" Joseph thought.

The Bonaparte family had long been threatened by hereditary stomach cancer, especially the men. Among the brothers, Joseph was almost the only one who hadn't been afflicted. Of course, Joseph also knew that cancer was a roll of the dice; just because he hadn't developed it in the original history didn't mean he wouldn't in this life. He would have to be careful. For instance, in the original history, his father's stomach cancer was only discovered a year later, but in this timeline, it had unexpectedly surfaced early.

The only thing left to consider was how to shoulder the heavy burden of the family. But what could he do to effectively increase his income? Working a manual job was impossible—that would never happen in this life. Currently, Joseph was barely scraping by on his scholarship. Then there were the various salon gatherings; going to them felt like coming home, and the atmosphere was even better than at home. The people who attended were all talented and spoke beautifully. Joseph had no choice but to search these salons to see if there were any opportunities to make money.

"Joseph, what are you looking at? You don't look so well," a voice rang out.

Joseph turned his head to see a young man with a few freckles on his face looking at him with deep concern.

This was Joseph's classmate, Armand René de Lavoisier. He was a young man with a flair for the arts and an uncle whose name was etched into human history. Unlike his famous uncle, Armand had almost no talent for natural science, but he was quite skilled in the arts and was even one of the pillars of the Lycée Louis-le-Grand student theater troupe.

"Oh, it's you, Armand. I'm fine, I just received a letter saying my father is ill. It might affect my current financial situation," Joseph said, putting away the letter.

"Joseph, your father must be very ill, right?" Armand walked over to the bench where Joseph was sitting and sat down beside him. The midday wind blew through the sycamore trees above them, rustling the leaves.

"I know you have a full scholarship, and since you live at the church, you shouldn't have many expenses. You don't need money from home at all. Therefore, the reason you look like this shouldn't be a financial problem." As Armand spoke, he pulled out a small bottle. He unscrewed the cap, carefully poured some liquid into it, and said to Joseph, "Would you like a drop?"