Make France Great Again-Chapter 800 - 791: Class (Part 1)

Under Jerome Bonaparte’s charm, Crown Prince Leopold spent a wonderful night, and it wasn’t until noon the next day that Jerome Bonaparte met with Crown Prince Leopold again.

At this moment, Crown Prince Leopold was beaming with satisfaction as he sat opposite Jerome Bonaparte, talking endlessly about the marvelous night he had spent with the actress Marguerite.

Jerome Bonaparte listened quietly to Crown Prince Leopold’s speech, occasionally chiming in with a word or two.

After Crown Prince Leopold finished speaking, Jerome Bonaparte whispered, "Leopold, it seems that little enchantress left you feeling very satisfied!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Crown Prince Leopold replied to Jerome Bonaparte, with a look of lingering pleasure on his face, "She made me experience feelings I’ve never had before!"

"As long as you’re satisfied!" Jerome Bonaparte continued to smile at Crown Prince Leopold as he spoke.

"By the way, Your Majesty!" Crown Prince Leopold went on to ask, "How much is she worth?"

Jerome Bonaparte’s expression froze, then he replied indifferently, "I don’t know about that! You can ask Mokar, he has quite the knowledge in that area!"

"Hmm!" Crown Prince Leopold nodded again, then left Jerome Bonaparte’s study.

After Crown Prince Leopold left, Jerome Bonaparte resumed his work at his desk.

The coal and steel community alliance agreement between Duress and Philip was still progressing steadily.

That afternoon, Jerome Bonaparte ordered Mokar to prepare a necklace for him.

"Your Majesty, who is this necklace intended for?" Mokar asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"Why ask so much?" Jerome Bonaparte slightly frowned as he replied to Mokar, "I asked you to prepare it, so just prepare it! Why all the unnecessary questions?"

Seeing Jerome Bonaparte a bit displeased, Mokar quickly responded with a "Yes," then left Jerome Bonaparte’s study.

That evening, as the weary Jerome Bonaparte was about to lie down to rest, the voice of Empress Augusta reached him, "I heard you prepared a necklace!"

Mokar, you betrayed me!

Jerome Bonaparte felt an intense urge to replace Mokar, but for now, he had to pacify Augusta.

No matter how Augusta had previously allowed him to stray, it was because all Jerome Bonaparte’s flings were under Augusta’s control.

Now that the Marchioness Aile had left Paris with the Young Marquis for the southern city,

And Vilnius was Empress Augusta’s private secretary (formerly under Jerome Bonaparte), while Eugenie was currently in a "cold war" phase with Jerome Bonaparte, having had no contact for a long time.

At this point, Empress Augusta had completely suppressed all competitors, so Jerome Bonaparte was sure Augusta would never allow a new challenger to arise.

"Who told you?" Jerome Bonaparte raised his voice to ask Augusta, with a look of being caught, "Was it Mokar?"

"Whether it was Mokar or not doesn’t matter! I just want to know what you prepared the necklace for!!" Empress Augusta asked Jerome Bonaparte with a slight anger in her tone, "Is it for a new lover?"

"What’s wrong? Jealous?" Jerome Bonaparte teased Augusta.

"As your wife, I’m obliged to know who the necklace is for!" Empress Augusta coldly replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Since you’re so eager to know, I’ll graciously tell you!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Empress Augusta, "This necklace is indeed for someone else, and it’s not any of you!"

"It’s for Marie Margaret Monroe, right!" Empress Augusta continued to say to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte looked as if he had seen a ghost, astonished, he asked, "How did you know?"

"Intuition!" Empress Augusta replied simply.

"You’re right!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded in agreement, "The necklace is indeed for that actress!"

"Weren’t you trying so hard to match the actress with Leopold? How come you’ve suddenly decided to do it yourself?" Empress Augusta asked Jerome Bonaparte with a hint of sarcasm.

"Let me explain!" Jerome Bonaparte quickly recounted to Empress Augusta the entire conversation between him and Marguerite in the backstage dressing room.

"So that’s how it is!" Empress Augusta murmured to herself, then allowed Jerome Bonaparte to go celebrate Marguerite’s birthday tomorrow.

...

Early the next morning, Jerome Bonaparte, having disguised himself, took the necklace Mokar had prepared for him. He refused the protection of soldiers and the escort of a carriage, choosing instead to leave the Tuileries Palace alone, heading on foot to Marguerite’s residence.

When Jerome Bonaparte arrived at a newly constructed building, it was six stories high, with the first two floors entirely leased to a department store, while the upper floors were traditional residential areas.

Marguerite remained in a room on the third floor, and as Jerome Bonaparte entered through the entrance of the department store, he was greeted by Baroque style decorations and a Florentine styled spiral staircase. Various goods were neatly arranged in their designated areas, and every guest entering the store was either a well-dressed gentleman or a glamorous lady, with no truly lower-class individuals among them.

After admiring the "scenery" on the first floor, Jerome Bonaparte climbed the stairs. Two "ladies" dressed in sky-blue corseted gowns and holding folding fans slowly descended from upstairs, and the three of them happened to bump into each other in the hallway.

"Ladies!" In a gentlemanly manner, Jerome Bonaparte politely addressed them.

Due to the fact that Jerome Bonaparte’s Parisian accent wasn’t yet perfect, coupled with his somewhat rustic attire today, the two "ladies" instinctively mistook Jerome Bonaparte for a rustic noble from the countryside.

Adhering to the Parisians-supreme philosophy, the two "ladies" curled their lips into scornful smiles as they said to Jerome Bonaparte, "Tch! Country bumpkin!"

"Indeed! The Emperor really shouldn’t let these country bumpkins settle in Paris! If I see the Emperor next time, I’ll definitely suggest that he sends these country bumpkins packing out of Paris!"

Watching the backs of the two "ladies" as they gradually disappeared, Jerome Bonaparte muttered quietly, "Who are they? I have no impression of them!"

With that, Jerome Bonaparte continued to climb upwards, soon arriving at the door to the second floor.

Through the glass of the second floor, Jerome Bonaparte observed that it was vastly different from the first floor. If the first floor was a place for the upper-middle class of Paris to consume, then the second floor was a haven for the aristocracy.

Jerome Bonaparte saw through the glass door several Countesses walking around inside, seemingly choosing something.

"What do you want! Why are you not moving along!" As Jerome Bonaparte quietly observed the scene, a voice reached his ear.

Jerome Bonaparte snapped out of his reverie and quickly looked to the side, finding a man in a gray uniform standing behind him.

"Brother, what do they sell in there?" Jerome Bonaparte asked the nearby customer quietly.

"Sell what!" The man in uniform scanned Jerome Bonaparte’s attire, "You seem like a decent chap, but the items on the second floor, well, you probably couldn’t afford them even with a year’s salary!!"

"What could possibly cost more than a year’s salary!" Jerome Bonaparte feigned disbelief and retorted.

"I once had the privilege of entering for a few years, and the price of a suit in there is nearly thirty thousand francs!" The man in uniform chuckled and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Twenty thousand francs!" Jerome Bonaparte’s face showed a hint of surprise.

Though he didn’t care about the price of twenty thousand francs, the clothing inside indeed exceeded the annual income of an average Parisian middle-class family.

"That price is considered relatively cheap!" The man in uniform said to Jerome Bonaparte with an experienced tone, "There are even more expensive items that you haven’t seen yet!"

"Well, I really can’t afford that!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and replied.

"Alright, you should be heading upstairs!" The man in uniform began to urge Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte ascended to the third floor, and at a corner on the third floor, Jerome Bonaparte stopped and gently knocked on the door.

After a moment, an elderly voice came from the other side of the room, "Who is it!"

"Marguerite’s friend!" Jerome Bonaparte replied softly.

The door of the room slowly opened, and a white-haired old crone appeared before Jerome Bonaparte, scrutinizing him closely, "I don’t seem to know you!"

"I’m one of Miss Marguerite’s new friends! I’m here to celebrate her birthday!" Jerome Bonaparte said softly to the old crone.

"Come in, sir!" The old crone invited Jerome Bonaparte inside. It was only upon entering that Jerome Bonaparte realized Marguerite was not in the room.

"Marguerite is still performing; she won’t be here for about an hour!" The old crone warmly invited Jerome Bonaparte to sit down and then said to him, "I’ll make you a cup of coffee!"