Descending On France 1780
Chapter 310: Mr. Balas’ trip to Paris

Chapter 310: Mr. Balas’ trip to Paris

Josephine saw that Balas had made up his mind, and sighed deeply, "Alright, but you can’t go alone, you must find someone with influence over Robespierre to go with you."

Balas: "Didn’t I say that I would not ask Andy Frost for this favor?"

"Who else can influence Robespierre, like Saint Just or maybe Mr. Fouché!"

Balas: "That old fox would never easily lend a hand, we should be thankful if he doesn’t kick us when we’re down. And it’s too late to find him now, it’s more than a day’s journey to Lyon. I’ll head back to Paris right now, are your carriage conditions okay, can it be used?"

Josephine: "It can be used, although we’ve traveled urgently, my carriage is of very good quality and regularly maintained; the axle won’t break over this."

"That’s great then, let’s go."

**

A day later, Paul Balas stood in front of Robespierre’s new apartment.

He saw a woman, possibly the landlady, watering the plants at the door and greeted her, "Hello, my name is Paul Balas, I’m here to see Mr. Robespierre."

The landlady raised her head: "Mr. Robespierre is not here today."

"I have been to the Savior Committee and he was not there, and Parliament is not in session right now. Everyone told me that Mr. Robespierre should be at home drafting documents!"

The landlady hesitated a moment, then asked, "What do you want from him?"

Balas: "It’s a very important matter, concerning... concerning the fate of France!"

Originally he wanted to say it concerned his own life or death, but he always felt Robespierre would not care about that, so he changed his words.

The landlady thought for a moment, then nodded, "He’s in his own bedroom on the second floor, you can go in."

Balas immediately strode into the house, heading straight to the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, Balas saw Robespierre in front of a mirror, adjusting his outfit, seemingly preparing to go out.

Balas immediately spoke in a tone familiar to old friends, "You actually care about dressing up? I thought you never cared about this!"

Robespierre turned his head to give Balas a glance and slightly furrowed his brow, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he walked to the basin, scooped up a cup of water, picked up a toothbrush, dipped it into tooth powder, and started brushing his teeth—

Balas was enraged by Robespierre’s blatantly ignoring attitude, but he tried to calm himself and stated his purpose to Robespierre.

"Mr. Robespierre, there might be some rumors about me recently, I must say they are extremely mistaken! My loyalty to the Republic is witnessed by everyone, and I have performed substantial services for the Republic!

"I hope the Savior Committee will investigate everything and restore my innocence!

"My friend, Madame Josephine Boarne, has lost a letter written to me, which someone might use against me, but those are manipulations by malicious people; I can clarify everything mentioned in the letter!"

Robespierre continued to meticulously clean his teeth without giving Balas a single glance.

Undeterred, Balas continued, "I demand to confront the person who accused me face to face; I will refute his accusations one by one!"

After finishing brushing his teeth, Robespierre began to rinse his mouth, deliberately tilting his head back, gurgling the water in his mouth.

Balas: "Mr. Robespierre! Please believe me, my loyalty to the Republic..."

Robespierre spat the water into the waste basin, then put down the cup, turned around, and looked at Balas.

He just looked, and remained silent.

Balas almost couldn’t suppress his anger and nearly slapped Robespierre across the face.

But he endured it.

Seeing that there was no result, Balas could only take his leave: "Very well, Mr. Robespierre, I will visit you again at the Savior Committee!"

Having said that, he turned and left the room.

On the first floor, Balas saw the landlady again.

Landlady: "That was quick, discussing such a crucial matter that concerns the fate of the Republic?"

"No, Mr. Robespierre won’t talk to me."

Landlady: "That’s because it’s his personal time, he only talks to people he feels somewhat okay with during such times. Obviously, he doesn’t like you."

Balas: "Is that so?"

"Don’t worry, he will talk to you during working hours."

"Because he has no choice?" Balas asked back, but immediately shook his head annoyed, "Dammit, of course it’s because of that."

It seems there’s no use trying to approach Robespierre directly, Balas quickly reviewed in his mind other people he could approach.

At last, the choices of Dan Dong and Frost surfaced.

Balas thought for a while, finally deciding to leave Frost as the last option, since Frost has always shown an attitude of disinterest in the politics of Paris.

Balas hopped onto a carriage, telling the coachman to "go to Dan Dong’s place."

Josephine’s coachman naturally knew the addresses of all the important figures in Paris City, and without a word, cracked his whip, urging the horses to pull the carriage forward.

Half an hour later, the carriage arrived at the front door of Dan Dong’s house.

Dan Dong lived in a rather luxurious manor, the type that rural nobles built in Paris before the Great Revolution, and now these manors either became barracks or were occupied by those in power after the revolution.

Seeing the manor Dan Dong lived in, Balas felt more assured in his heart.

Because this showed that Dan Dong was a person who knows how to enjoy life.

He walked up the stairs, just about to knock, the door opened, Saint Just came out from inside, still looking back and talking to Dan Dong.

Dan Dong, seeing Balas, immediately showed a surprised expression: "Mr. Balas, you’ve returned to Paris so quickly? The message from the Savior Committee was only sent out last night."

Balas was also shocked: "The Savior Committee sent a message for me?"

Generally, for those who were summoned by the Savior Committee, it never ended well, at the very least it meant the guillotine.

Dan Dong: "Don’t worry, it’s just to ask you to explain the content of a letter sent to you by your lover."

Balas thought indeed that letter had caused trouble, and meanwhile cursed the people who intercepted the letter and their ancestors fiercely.

Balas: "But I just went to see Mr. Robespierre, wanting to explain, but it was as if I didn’t exist to him."

Dan Dong: "That means he has identified you as an enemy of the Republic, that man is a bit paranoid, many people appear as enemies of the Republic in his eyes."

Saint Just gave Dan Dong a peculiar look.

Dan Dong continued: "Don’t worry, Mr. Balas, you won’t have any problems."

Saint Just: "Well, you guys continue to talk, I will take my leave now."

Dan Dong nodded: "Have a safe journey. As for you, Mr. Balas, please come in and have a seat, let’s talk about what’s going on."