Descending On France 1780
Chapter 299 - 292 Hunter and Prey

Chapter 299: 292 Hunter and Prey

Throughout the entire ball, Josephine was waiting for an opportunity to approach Napoleon.

Of course, the dance must go on, and it’s hard to keep looking at Napoleon while spinning around in circles. But once out of the dance floor, Josephine would immediately confirm Napoleon’s location.

Josephine noticed that this Corsican seemed not to be very fond of dancing either; he sat at the edge of the room, sipping champagne, and chatting with Bertier, the Chief of Staff who also shared his disinterest in dance.

Thanks to this, keeping an eye on Napoleon was not difficult at all.

Finally, Josephine saw the moment she had been eagerly waiting for.

Napoleon suddenly stood up and walked towards the terrace.

The main terrace of the Royal Palace, like those of other palaces, afforded a view of the garden at night, so anyone feeling stuffy inside the ball could step out to the garden for some fresh air.

In an era without ventilators, with so many people reveling in the hall, it was natural for anyone to feel the need for a breath of fresh air.

Napoleon was no exception.

When Napoleon headed for the terrace, Josephine immediately stood and followed.

Upon reaching the terrace, several people were already there taking in the fresh air. Seeing Napoleon step out, they all came up to greet him.

Then a clever soul noticed Josephine following out and coughed loudly to interrupt everyone’s conversation.

Now everyone saw Josephine, and they naturally assumed that the two had taken a liking to each other and stepped out onto the terrace for a chat.

So, the crowd politely excused themselves, leaving Napoleon alone.

Napoleon saw Josephine too. He leaned against the terrace railing, waiting for her to approach.

"What do you need from me?" Napoleon spoke before Josephine could.

Josephine: "Tomorrow, I am hosting a tea party at Maraisson Castle, so I was wondering if I could have the honour of Mr. Bonaparte’s presence?"

Napoleon sized up Josephine for a moment: "Is this because you failed to invite Andy, so you settled for me instead?"

Josephine: "You misunderstand, I have also been quite interested in Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous defender who captured the Holy Roman Emperor’s brother."

Anning would surely have burst into laughter had he been there to hear this.

Napoleon turned into a famed defender, disturbing history is indeed amusing.

Napoleon was very pleased with Josephine’s flattery, but still modestly replied: "I simply charged out of the gates at the right moment. In reality, I didn’t do anything significant."

Another Napoleon from a different reality was very adept at self-promotion—he would always embellish his achievements, turning one part into ten.

For instance, at Austerlitz, according to Napoleon’s account, the French Army bombarded the ice when a massive number of enemies were fleeing across a frozen lake, breaking it apart and drowning countless foes.

However, according to records and memories of contemporaries, indeed people fell through the ice, but the numbers were significantly fewer than what Napoleon claimed.

In short, Napoleon’s talent for self-promotion was undeniable.

But this Napoleon from an alternate reality was not only refraining from self-aggrandizement but was being self-deprecating.

The flutter of Anning’s butterfly wings had already caused visible changes.

Josephine was very adept at seizing others’ sore spots to start a conversation. Now she always felt it seemed to be Napoleon’s sore spot, so she said, "You could share with us all the war stories from Sedan at the tea party. I think the gentlemen and ladies attending the tea party would really love that."

Napoleon curled his lip and said, "Is that so? Sounds good. So, you’re inviting Andy to the tea party specifically to have him recount war stories?"

Upon hearing Napoleon’s response, Josephine immediately realized that this was not Napoleon’s sore spot.

"We want to witness the most formidable general of the Republic’s resplendence on the battlefield," Josephine corrected Napoleon’s understanding with a slight adjustment.

Napoleon replied, "Alright, resplendence. Why not, I can go and tell you this story while I also have some tea and pastries.

"But let me make things clear beforehand."

Napoleon suddenly put on a serious face, staring at Josephine, "Don’t do anything that would harm Andy’s interests. If you do, I will blast you to pieces with grapeshot!"

Josephine laughed, "You can rest assured, what ill intentions could I possibly have?"

Napoleon snorted, "You’re like a spider, hiding in a web woven from interpersonal relationships, waiting for the prey to get caught."

Josephine replied, "A spider eats its prey, while I will be eaten by the prey, that’s the difference."

In another universe, when Napoleon first met Josephine, he was a green young man who was instantly captivated by his ’big sister’ figure.

But this universe was different, Napoleon in this universe had gotten familiar with Lasalle, and Lasalle had shown him the vastness of the world fiercely.

So he felt absolutely nothing!

In fact, though Josephine’s looks weren’t bad, to Napoleon, who had seen Italian beauties, it was "nothing special."

So to Josephine’s hint at this time, Napoleon unapologetically retorted, "Don’t regard yourself as some rare delicacy. Even if you were, I would still have the right to choose not to eat."

For a moment, Josephine felt disheartened. She couldn’t help thinking whether the Royal Palace was hexed since nothing had gone well since she arrived.

She quickly adjusted her attitude, stepped forward, leaned on the railing beside Napoleon, and looked at the garden under the night sky, pretending to ask casually to continue the conversation, "Your sister is dressed in military uniform, did you send her to a military school?"

Napoleon replied, "Isn’t that obvious? I sent her to the Briena Military School."

"So, you don’t plan to arrange a marriage for her afterward?"

Napoleon scratched his nose awkwardly, "No, actually it’s a financial issue. In the year 1790, the Revolution had just begun, I was but a minor lieutenant, yet I had to sustain the whole family on my meager salary. At that time, I believed I could never afford my sister’s dowry, so I agreed to her request to enter the military school."

"I’m not Andy. How could I have predicted the current situation, how could I have foreseen that I would become the confidant of the French Army’s entire command?"

Josephine raised an eyebrow and asked nonchalantly, "Frost actually predicted the current situation?"

When it came to this subject, Napoleon’s enthusiasm lit up, all previous reservations thrown to the back of his mind, "Of course! You have no idea how incredible he is. In 1781, in Briena, he predicted the occurrence of the Revolution to me!"

Josephine joyfully noticed that this was Napoleon’s sore spot!

So she put on a shocked and curious expression, "What? Really?"

Napoleon, still too naïve, was led by the nose, "Of course! Let me tell you, he also predicted..."

Napoleon spoke animatedly, while Josephine listened with a face full of curiosity.

Just like a hunter quietly approaching its prey.