The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 966: Chapter 44: Assassinating the King and Killing the Emperor_2

The Great Dumas didn’t stand on ceremony with Arthur as he deftly fished out a tobacco tin from Arthur’s pocket and filled his pipe: “Your private secretary is about to patrol Saint Helena Island, aren’t you going to intervene? If he goes to Napoleon’s exile location, who will accompany you to Hanover for your appointment?”

Arthur replied with a smile: “It’s no big deal, bringing back Napoleon’s coffin clearly takes precedence over going to Hanover with me. Besides, my stay in Hanover won’t be long—once the new constitution passes, I’ll have to head to St. Petersburg.”

The Great Dumas raised an eyebrow and lit his pipe: “You’re going to Russia? Arthur, you’re braver than I imagined.”

“What’s wrong?”

The Great Dumas took a drag and said: “I thought you planned to endure the Liverpool affair, but I didn’t expect you to plan to go directly to Petersburg to settle with the Tsar. For being so bold, do you need me to teach you how to make explosives?”

Arthur waved his hand: “No need, Alexander. As Mr. Talleyrand said, Tsars often die of strokes, and I don’t intend to change Russian traditions. I greatly respect Russian customs; Russian matters should be handled by Russians.”

“Oh… like Greece?” The Great Dumas leisurely exhaled a puff of smoke: “It’s surprising how quickly you’ve mastered the techniques of the Foreign Office after joining not too long ago.”

Arthur couldn’t fathom what was bothering the fat man today, always thinking of assassinations, and said: “Alexander, I have some minor disagreements with the Russians, but it’s not to the extent of regicide. Besides, even if I truly intended to do so, it’s doubtful any Russian would accept my commission.”

The Great Dumas snorted: “If Tsar Nicholas I hadn’t distrusted the French, you could consider hiring a French assassin. French assassins are excellent, be they gentlemen or ladies proficient in this art, like Francois Ravaillac who assassinated Henry IV, or Charlotte Corday who assassinated Marat…”

Arthur added: “And Yano Dorian.”

“Yes, Yano Dorian…” The Great Dumas paused, stroked his chin in thought, and suddenly asked Arthur: “Who is Yano Dorian?”

Arthur shrugged: “If you don’t know, never mind.”

At this point, Arthur suddenly recalled his conversation with ‘Mr. Coconut Palm’ following the Liverpool assassination plot.

He smiled and winked at Vidocq: “It seems business in Paris is indeed tougher than in London; although we encounter assassination cases too, the frequency is not as high as in France. Looking back now, your Security Department’s familiarity with assassination cases suggests you’ve possibly been involved in investigating such cases before.”

Vidocq stretched languidly: “Such high-profile cases generally don’t fall into the Security Department’s hands, but we do run errands for prominent figures. We were quite involved when the Crown Prince Duke of Berry was assassinated.”

Just as Vidocq finished speaking, he suddenly heard a steady and synchronized sound of footsteps from behind.

Everyone turned to look, and it was King Louis Philippe himself approaching.

A subtle smile lingered on his lips, the air of contentment evident upon his face made it clear his mood was good.

Louis Philippe halted mid-path, gazing at Vidocq’s face, he spoke with interest: “This person bears certain resemblance to me.”

Accompanying the King, Paris Police Chief Jusco hurriedly explained: “Your Majesty, this is the inspiration for the play ‘Parisian Sleuth’ soon to be staged at the opera house, former Security Department Chief Francois Vidocq.”

“Oh, is he?” Louis Philippe recalled: “I’ve heard of this name; I’ve heard he performed well at the Security Department?”

Vidocq, seeing the King’s arrival, nervously bowed in greeting: “Your Majesty, it is a tremendous honor to meet you.”

Noticing the King’s interest in Vidocq, Jusco subtly shifted the topic elsewhere.

Admittedly, Vidocq was an exceptional talent, but his work at the Security Department was overly unconventional.

Ambiguous budgeting, peculiar arrest techniques, and his team of trusty aides with backgrounds all diverse.

Though Vidocq achieved remarkable results with these methods, for Jusco—focused on standardization—such uncontrollable characters couldn’t be rehired.

Jusco spoke: “Mr. Vidocq fought diligently at the Security Department for thirty years, admired during the imperial period by Napoleon and Minister of Police Fouche, well-regarded during the restoration era by Duplacey and others; if not for his retirement age, I indeed considered retaining him for several more years.”

Jusco’s words were polished, which made it sound at first as if he was praising Vidocq’s exceptional abilities.

Yet, to those familiar with French politics, Jusco’s remarks were tantamount to sentencing Vidocq’s policing career to death.

The admiration from Napoleon and Fouche signified Vidocq was a Bonapartist.

Being valued during the restoration period implied possible inclination toward the Orthodox Party.

Throughout Jusco’s words lurked the subtext indicating Vidocq’s political stance was problematic.

In Britain, those maneuvering between the Whig and Tory Parties thriving remain many, like Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston, former Prime Minister Sir George Canning, and others.