Chapter 227: First Impressions (5)
“Mmm.”
As the sunlight coming through the window tickled his eyes, Napoleon let out a short groan and stretched.
When he got up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Considering that autumn was all but over and it was now late December, well into winter, he seemed to have slept two or three hours longer than usual.
When I think of my cadet days, when I burned myself out on just two or three hours of sleep a day, can I really afford to become this lazy?
That thought drifted in and out of one corner of his mind, but—
Huh?! How can anyone live like that!? Mister, you’re going to drop dead if you keep that up!
At the words of a friend of twenty years that suddenly came to mind, he shook the thought off and lifted himself from the pillow.
Then the woman sitting at a table in one corner of the bedroom, reading the newspaper with tea beside her, turned her head and said,
“You’re awake?”
“…Jane?”
“You’re hungry, right? I made this while you were asleep.”
—Clink.
Wearing nothing but a fluttering single-layer dress, the woman held out a tray toward Napoleon.
Three or four slices of thinly grilled beef, two fried eggs, and a plate of lentils. It was perfect for a light breakfast.
But for some reason, instead of eating the meal on the tray, Napoleon kept looking back and forth between Jane and empty space.
“Ahem, ahem.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s broad daylight, so you could have changed first.”
“My. You liked it last night. Is daytime different?”
“…….”
Not wanting Jane to notice how red his face had suddenly become at her chuckling smile, Napoleon hurriedly lowered his head toward the tray and began stuffing the fried eggs into his mouth.
At any rate, perhaps because she was English, she seemed to find great amusement in teasing Frenchmen.
After smiling for a while, Jane rested her chin on the table and asked Napoleon,
“How long did you say your leave lasted?”
“Until the day after tomorrow. Why?”
“Then that means you have time today?”
Something, something was coming.
Seeing how brightly cheerful she looked, something was definitely coming.
Napoleon swallowed the piece of beef he had been chewing and slowly opened his mouth.
“Aaand?”
“Well, that’s good! Today is Christmas Eve, after all. The boss hinted that he’s prepared a special event.”
A special event. Guillaume, what the hell are you trying to do this time?
“Aaand?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’? I’m asking whether we might go out together and have a look with the young ladies. …Why do you keep avoiding my eyes?”
Napoleon’s head began to spin.
…So in other words, those two lunatics, Marie and Caroline, had to be let loose in front of that bastard Guillaume?
His head was already beginning to ache.
“How about this?”
“That stands out too much.”
“Then this one?”
“That’s too plain, isn’t it? People will think we’re from some impoverished country village.”
“Then……”
“Honestly. Why do you have to pick at every little detail? You could just wear anything.”
When Pauline Bonaparte, sitting there with her chin propped on her hand and watching her sisters with a sullen face, said that, the expressions of the two sisters adjusting each other’s dresses and outfits twisted as if to say, How can you possibly say something like that?
“Big Sister! Look at Little Sister. She really doesn’t understand what kind of opportunity this is!”
“Pauline, do you even know where we’re going today?”
“As if I don’t. We’re going to meet Brother’s friend.”
Her answer was indifferent, but what came back was explosive.
“And you can say that knowing full well!?”
“Guillaume de Toulon, Guillaume de Toulon! He’s the richest man in France!!”
“I heard somewhere that his wealth is equal to France’s annual budget!”
“…So what does that have to do with anything?”
“What does it have to do with anything!? If you can just seduce him, your life is set! You’ll be able to live without ever worrying about money until the day you die!”
“And besides, Mr. Guillaume is such a man of character. He’s never once raised his voice at his employees, and he always treats ordinary citizens with a smile. Just imagine how well he must treat his lover.”
“Honestly, I think both of you have read too many of the books our future sister-in-law wrote. ……Well, whatever. In any case, good luck to both of you.”
After saying that, Pauline kicked back her chair and walked out.
After the Bonapartes were driven from their homeland of Corsica to the mainland, was it not thanks to her second brother Napoleon and the benefactor who had backed him, Guillaume, that the entire family—Mother, Lucien, Marie, Caroline, Pauline, Jérôme, Louis—had been kept fed?
It was only fortunate that her eldest brother Joseph had now succeeded as a lawyer. Otherwise, the Bonaparte family would still be scraping by.
“And yet instead of feeling gratitude toward their benefactor, all they can think about is how to use him to improve their own lot.”
As expected of those lunatics whose daily routine was going to parties and banquets every other day to snare men, the way their minds worked was something else.
Well, that was probably why they stubbornly remained in this expensive city of Paris even though they could have returned to Corsica if they wished.
“Still, how many years has it been since I last saw him?”
It had been well over ten years, back when her second brother had only just become a second lieutenant.
As she traced the hazy afterimage left in her memory, a tall, handsome young man came to mind.
That handsome youth who had ridden hundreds of kilometers and, though tired, had still used hands and gestures to plant dreams instead of sleep in a child’s heart.
“……I’ve gone mad, absolutely mad.”
Pauline, slapping both hands against her flushed face as if to bring herself to her senses, realized that she had already made it back to her own room.
“…No one’s here, right?”
Drawn by impulse, Pauline approached the mirror set in one corner of the room and struck what she thought was a seductive pose.
If anyone saw her, they would probably ask whether this was performance art or whether she was imitating an amphora vase.
“Still, for someone like me… I’m fairly pretty, aren’t I?”
What nearly gave Pauline a heart attack as she kept posing before the mirror was the voice from behind her.
“…Pauline, what are you doing?”
“Kyaaah! Napoleon, you wretch, knock before you come in!!”
December 24, 1798.
Outskirts of Paris.
“Mr. Florian.”
“…….”
“Mr. Florian.”
“……Yes, boss.”
“Why do you look so miserable?”
“Because you’re the one making me miserable, boss.”
No, what did I even do to make you sigh like that, old man?
“What did you do? Why in the world do I have to wear this bizarre red outfit?”
“It’s not a bizarre red outfit. It’s a Santa suit.”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking. Why red, out of all colors?”
Come now. The reason Santa’s suit is red is an ancient tradition, as seen from the tale of Tangun and Hongik Ingan, and from the anecdote of the Red-Clad General Gwak Jae-u. How dare you spout such heresy.
“And besides, Santa Claus is English to begin with. Why don’t you just call him Saint Nicholas?”
“Well, Saint Nicholas just doesn’t feel right on the tongue. Santa Claus! Ah, doesn’t that stick so nicely in the mouth?”
“What kind of nonsense is that now?”
“…Fine. If Mr. Florian doesn’t want to wear it, I’ll just wear it myself. Sigh, what’s the point of going out and earning money when I only get scolded by my Vice Chairman like this?”
“No, if you put it that way, it makes me sound like the unreasonable one!”
Then just wear it.
In the end, Mr. Florian, his mouth jutting out by a full yard, began grudgingly picking up and putting on the red Santa suit I had prepared.
For the finishing touch, I hung the white fake beard I had prepared over Mr. Florian’s face.
“Oh my, doesn’t that look wonderful? The little children are going to squeal and laugh themselves silly.”
“…….”
“Why are you glaring at me like that?”
“Boss, you don’t like me, do you?”
“Oh, come now, why would you say that? Alright, let’s smile together. Smile~.”
“……Smile.”
Really now, if an employee at a company selling toys can’t even preserve a child’s innocence, what is the world coming to? Tsk, tsk.
“Boss! So this is where you were! Just as you instructed, all the gift bundles have been prepared!”
“Good. Ah, what about the children?”
“They’ll be here soon. Please take your places first.”
I attached a fake beard to my own face as well, then took my place under Mr. Pétion’s guidance.
The seat, decorated by modifying a train carriage to resemble a sleigh, had been furnished in a way that seemed ready to burst with childish wonder at first glance. As expected, there was nothing money could not solve.
“This way now.”
“Mom, who is that old man?”
“He is Saint Nicholas, who has come to give gifts to our little friends.”
“Ho, ho, ho. It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Santa Claus.”
I waved at the children approaching hand in hand with their parents.
“So then, what is our little one’s wish?”
“I want a toy.”
“Then this Ears of the Nation card pack is just the thing for you. Here you are. Use it well.”
“I want to learn to read!”
“Then this Ears of the Nation card pack is just the thing for you. Here you are. Learn well from the priest.”
“I……”
“Then this Ears of the Nation card pack is just the thing for you. Here you are.”
“Th-thank you……”
Khehehe.
There’s no one in the world who dislikes free things.
Our little children, start with the starter pack, get crushed by the neighbor kid, get swindled by some sly little brat. You’re annoyed, you say? Well, who knows? If you buy more cards, maybe you’ll win.
“Mr. Pétion.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Tell Trevithick and Murdoch to inspect the locomotive one more time. No matter how much you inspect it, caution never hurts.”
“Yes, boss.”
A short while later, the all-clear signal came from the locomotive.
It had already been four years since we entered the steel industry and began producing steel from blast furnaces. At last, the remaining steel ingots from the main railway line stretching from Minnesota to Louisiana had arrived on the French mainland. So now, was there not only one thing left to do?
“Do you think the citizens of Paris will accept it well?”
Mr. Florian, who had by now handed out every card pack from his bundle, had also stuffed his beard into his pocket and come to stand beside me.
“Will this really work, boss?”
“Has there ever been a time when things failed after I told you they wouldn’t?”
“Ugh. That’s true, but…”
“Wouldn’t a dazzling Santa Claus iron horse make a better first impression than a wordless iron horse suddenly rolling through the middle of Paris?”
And then—
I added,
“Since we even brought in the war hero who saved Paris twice, it would be strange if the citizens weren’t pleased.”
“…Understood. And on top of that, if we throw some money at the magazine publishers tomorrow and have favorable articles pour out, that would be the icing on the cake.”
“That’s our Vice Chairman for you.”
When I turned my head, our honored guests were already stepping down from the carriage.
“Oh my, our living billboard—no, our honored guests have arrived.”
“Billboard?”
“I said honored guests.”
“Anyway, what’s all this commotion?”
“It’s the next-generation su-per transport vehicle invented by our company, powered by coal.”
“…That thing you’ve been working on for the past ten years?”
“Yep. The savior of our Parisian citizens, Napoleon Bonaparte, will personally board this transport vehicle and widely proclaim its harmlessness and usefulness to the whole nation—ow! Don’t hit me!”
Ah, ah! That hit bone! Bone!