The Rose of Versailles

On the second floor of the Versailles Palace, Joseph was planning his important tasks for the next few days. The gathering of numerous King to celebrate Louis XVI's birthday was a grand political and diplomatic event in Europe, and he needed to seize the opportunity to maneuver effectively and secure a favorable International Politics for France.

This morning he welcomed Crown Prince of Spain Carlos Antonio, who will later become Carlos IV. According to the schedule, the Russian Crown Prince, the Sardinia Crown Prince, and the Prince of Poland will also arrive tomorrow.

Almost all Europe countries sent members of their Royal House families or special envoys. Countries with good relations with France naturally came to offer their congratulations, while those with poor relations wanted to see if France had any opportunities to exploit in the aftermath of the disaster.

As Joseph was deep in thought, he heard cheers of "Madam Galan" echoing from the Marble Courtyard.

He looked at Eman with some confusion:

Why is Madam Galan so popular?

The attendant was also puzzled. Seeing this, the maid next to him leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Eman nodded in realization and said to Joseph:

"Your Highness, a singing and dancing competition is underway outside, and Madam Galan is widely considered the most likely winner. Ariel says she once studied under Mr. Haydn."

Haydn?

"It's Mr. Franz Joseph Haydn."

Joseph inquired further and learned that the man was a very famous music master, especially since he had two very talented students— Mozart and Beethoven.

If Madam Galan were Mozart's junior, winning the championship would be almost a certainty.

Thinking of this, Joseph hurriedly sent Eman to inquire with the Lord Chamberlain about the betting situation for the upcoming song and dance competition— the King's Birthday Preparatory Committee had opened a "prize prediction contest" for both competitions, where anyone could bet on who would win, and those who won would receive double the prize money.

Shortly afterward, Eman returned and reported:

"Your Highness, it seems that more than half the people bet on Madam Galan to win the championship."

Oh no! We shouldn't have used fixed odds! No wonder those Nobility were so excited. Joseph rubbed his forehead. He had been too careless. It seemed the dance competition was likely to lose money. He could only make a little money from the Sword Competition; otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to cover the costs of the birthday celebration.

Just then, a pretty figure wearing a pinkish-purple Puffy Skirt and with her hair styled in a bird-like bun knocked on the door and entered, smiling and curtsying to Joseph.

"Cousin, the sword fighting competition has started. Will you take me to watch the sword fights?"

Joseph laughed, "Aren't you going to see the song and dance performance? I've heard that Madam Galan is an excellent singer."

Clementine pouted and said in a soft, sweet voice:

"I'm tired of seeing singing and dancing all day long in the palace. Sword fighting is so much more interesting; I want to see sword fighting!"

The little girl usually stays with Queen Mary, but since the Queen is going to be a judge today, she can only bother her cousin.

Joseph, unable to resist her persistence, had no choice but to give in to her wishes.

As soon as the two stepped out of the main gate of the Versailles Palace, they saw the Crown Prince of Spain Antonio, who bore a striking resemblance to Louis XVI, walking towards them.

Although Antonio is nearly forty, his expression still carries the purity and straightforwardness of a young man.

He also saw Joseph, quickly stopped and gave a standard hand-to-chest salute, saying somewhat shyly:

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Crown Prince."

The Noblewoman beside him, with a slightly round face and yellow teeth, also lifted her skirt and curtsied.

Joseph quickly returned the greeting. His gaze swept across the woman's face, and he immediately recalled some stories about the Crown Princess of Spain.

Maria Luisa was a womanizer who cheated on her husband with countless "environmentally friendly" women.

Her bedmates included her Servant, Guard, Spain officials, and even the France ambassador to Spain.

The most famous of these was Manuel de Godoy, who rose from the ranks of Guard to become the Chief Minister of Spain.

After Antonio ascended to the throne, his fondness for hunting and mechanical engineering led to Maria Luisa and her lover Godoy firmly controlling the Spain government. The two ruled haphazardly, recklessly wreaking havoc on Spain with various suicidal decrees.

Ultimately, they successfully exhausted Spain's national strength and military power, directly leading to Napoleon's deposition of the Spain Bourbon Royal House.

Joseph looked behind Luisa and saw a reddish-skinned Guard following behind with his head bowed.

In reality, commoners were only allowed to participate in the celebrations in the Versailles Palace Square these past few days, and there was no need for Guard in the area near the Versailles Palace. Therefore, this person was most likely Godoy.

Clementine, maintaining her sociable demeanor, stepped forward to bow to the Crown Prince of Spain and his wife, and then warmly invited them:

"Crown Prince Highness, my cousin and I are going to watch a sword fight. Why don't you come along? It'll be so much fun!"

Antonio glanced at his wife, and seeing her nod slightly, he then addressed Joseph and his wife:

"Thank you for your invitation. Let's go watch the swordplay competition then."

Luisa stood to the side, offering an apologetic smile.

"Your Highness, I'd rather see a song and dance Crown Prince?"

Joseph nodded imperceptibly, "As you wish."

Joseph and his two companions then parted ways with Luisa, which was actually in line with his expectations.

Although the current King of Spain Carlos III, is a very capable monarch, his health is already very poor. Joseph doesn't remember the exact year he died, but it should be soon.

After that, Antonio, who was standing beside him, became King of Spain — Carlos IV.

Because Spain and France share the same Bourbon lineage, and because Spain has many conflicting interests with the United Kingdom in the Americas, France and Spain can be considered natural allies.

In particular, Spain still retains the lingering glory of its former empire, possessing not only numerous Colony and abundant gold and silver revenues in the Americas, but also a formidable fleet—approximately 30% the size of the British Navy.

If France wanted to develop, it had to break free from the United Kingdom Naval Blockade, and joining forces with the Spain Fleet was the best strategy. Historically, France did just that, and the Franco-Spanish Joint Fleet's fighting power even rivaled that of the United Kingdom at one point. Unfortunately, they encountered the brilliant United Kingdom fleet commander Nelson, and with a bit of bad luck, they were ultimately defeated by the English Army at the Battle of Trafalgar.

In this life, Joseph must not allow such a tragedy to repeat itself.

Therefore, the first step is to help Spain get rid of Godoy, this scourge, so that Spain can avoid detours, continuously strengthen its national power, and thus provide more assistance to France.

Joseph glanced back and said to Antonio:

"Your Guard looks quite spirited."

The latter seemed a bit socially awkward, and whispered:

"Oh no, Your Highness, he is Luisa's Guard. His name is Godoy."

"It really is this guy," Joseph nodded, then asked, "Is he an 'ordinary' Guard?"

"He's pretty ordinary, I think."

After that, there was a moment of silence.

Joseph shook his head inwardly, thinking to himself that communicating with someone with a social anxiety disorder was really difficult... He had to find a way to get to know him better, otherwise it would be hard to help him even if he wanted to.

After walking for a while, Joseph and his party arrived at the open space between the Versailles Palace and Petit Trianon.

This is where the sword fighting competition takes place.

This venue is much larger than the singing and dancing competition venue. There is even a temporary three-tiered spectator seating area made of Wood around the stage, with as many as seven or eight hundred seats.

By this time, the stands were full, with many civilians watching from the outer ring. Fortunately, the ring was very high, and the situation could be seen from the stands.

The two Crown Prince and one princess naturally had the best positions.

The three sat down in a temporary cubicle on the third floor on the west side. Two robust young Nobility walked onto the arena, each picked up a sword with its tip covered in Wood, and politely struck each other with the blades. The match began at the referee's signal.

Both were clearly trained; their footwork was agile, their swordsmanship fluid, and their moves skillful. For a moment, the arena was filled with flashing swords and darting figures, making for an exceptionally exciting fight.

Joseph was engrossed in watching and was about to chat with Antonio about the sword fight when he turned around and saw Antonio staring intently at the scoreboard, which was more than four people high, with a gleam in his eyes.

One of the Nobility on the field made a careless move and was hit by his opponent. Someone pulled hard under the scoreboard, and the Flywheel on it spun, causing the huge wooden piece on the scoreboard to flip backward, revealing the number 1 underneath - 1:0.

Antonio exclaimed with delight, "It really is automatic! I knew it!" He then looked at Joseph and asked, "Who designed this? It's ingenious! Using Flywheel to store power and automatically adjust the score! Otherwise, that person would have to climb such a high Wooden Frame."

Joseph touched his nose and laughed, "This is His Majesty the King's masterpiece."

"He's truly amazing," Antonio said. "I must go and see His Majesty."

Joseph suddenly remembered that the Crown Prince seemed to have a fondness for mechanics, which was something he shared with his father.

Now that they had found a breakthrough, things became much easier. Joseph then started talking about mechanical topics, from machine tools to Steam Engine, from Carriage suspension to automatic tractors—the most primitive trains.

After nearly an hour of conversation, the Crown Prince of Spain's eyes widened, and he gestured excitedly, feeling as if he had known Joseph for a long time.

The France Crown Prince was his true confidant!

After the two became more familiar with each other, Joseph tentatively asked again:

"Antonio, don't you think there's something wrong with that Godoy?"

"He has a problem? Oh, it seems his left eye isn't very good." The Crown Prince of Spain, no longer so socially awkward, waved his hand and said, "Why mention him? Or tell me how that crankshaft drive you just mentioned works?"

Joseph couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile; it seemed his cousin truly hadn't noticed the slight discoloration on his head.

We need to find a way to remind him! Otherwise, once Godoy takes power, it won't be so easy to remove him.

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed he needed to create some opportunities for the adulterous couple first.

As he pondered, the two fighters on the stage finished their match and left. The Court Official in charge of the proceedings gestured to the Servant to clean up the "battlefield," and then announced loudly:

"Next up, warriors number 631 and number 112 will compete. Welcome them to the stage!"

To ensure fairness, all matchups are determined by random drawing. Before the draw, no one knows which number corresponds to which player.

Just as two figures were about to ascend the winding steps, an official ran over and whispered something to the referee, who immediately stood up and announced:

"Number 631, you are not allowed to participate in the competition! Please leave."

"That's not fair!" came Soleil's indignant voice from the side of the ring. She waved her registration certificate in her hand and glared at the crowd, saying, "I've already registered, I can participate!"

"But you are a lady." Seeing the audience laughing, the referee became even more stern, "This is against the rules!"

"I believe that whoever has the superior swordsmanship should stand in the ring." Soleil brandished her Rapier, looking at her opponent. "Don't you agree?"

She then looked at the audience and shouted, "They shouldn't have driven the champion away!"

The young Nobility was somewhat embarrassed and could only turn his face away and remain silent.

The referee, a renowned Duke, was already somewhat angered. He turned to his Servant and said, "Have someone take her away!"

"Yes, sir."

Joseph frowned upon seeing this, recalling that the chuunibyou girl next to the arena had played a part in his success in obtaining the United Kingdom Automatic Loom.

He then stood up and gestured to the referee. "Duke of Saint-Simon, perhaps we can disregard her gender."

"A sharp blade doesn't care whether the person wielding it is male or female; as long as that person can make it pierce their opponent, they are a good swordsman."

"Thank you, Your Crown Prince!" Soleil bowed to Joseph with a man's gesture, touching the hilt of her sword to her chest and raising her hat.

"But..."

Joseph replied, "Let her compete. I've seen her skills; she's incredibly agile."

The Duke of Saint-Simon could not refuse the Crown Prince's request, so after hesitating for a moment, he finally turned around and sat back down in his chair, pretending not to have seen anything.

Soleil leaped onto the Grandstand and bowed to Joseph, saying, "Thank you again. But you certainly made the right decision, Your Highness; you saved the championship."

She whispered again, "You can bet on me to win; I guarantee you'll win the prize."

Seeing her confident gaze, Joseph immediately thought of an old anime—"The Rose of Versailles." Could this quirky beauty really be like the female lead, Oscar, whose swordsmanship was unparalleled in France?

He gestured to the court official who was registering and placing bets not far away. When the latter approached respectfully, he raised his hand and held up five.

Satisfied, Soleil turned and went onto the ring.

The official in charge of placing the bets hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your Highness, are you betting 500 Livre on Miss Soleil to win?"

"What are you thinking about?" Joseph immediately shook his head. "It's 5 Livre."

"Your Highness, I'm so sorry, the minimum is 10 Livre."

"Oh," Joseph scratched his cheek, "Then 10 Livre it is."

Soleil climbed the winding steps to the ring, looked towards Joseph's position, and muttered to herself:

"Your Highness, betting 500 Livre is a bit too little. But I will make sure you get the 1000 Livre bonus."

(End of this chapter)

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