Mono rose, anxious, and sidled up to Joseph, whispering:
“Ah, Your Highness, you are my best friend! You mustn’t let this matter slip out…”
Nowadays, taking a lover was hardly a matter of note; some “enlightened” noble couples even introduced lovers to each other.
But Count Mono, in this regard, was keen on seeking thrills—his mistresses were always of exceedingly high difficulty.
For instance, Countess Mesayer. She was her husband’s beloved, and the nobleman who once tried to pursue her ended up with his arm broken by Mesayer.
Or like the Countess of Saint Priest who had just run out earlier, whose husband had a very strong possessive desire and forbade any man from approaching her. Her first lover was framed by Saint Priest and sent to toil in the Caribbean Sea.
However, these two ladies had both fallen to the audacious Mono.
Of course, Mono was also afraid of their husbands’ wrath. With his status, he wasn’t worried about them being underhanded, but he dreaded being challenged to a duel to the face—with his 170-pound, bulky frame, dueling with swords was practically akin to being a stationary target.
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So today’s affair was a bit problematic.
Having heard about the Minister of War’s anecdotes of dealing with his wife’s lovers, Joseph immediately realized he’d struck “gold” upon seeing Mono’s expression.
He nodded earnestly at once, “Rest assured, my finest trait is keeping secrets.”
“I’m so grateful to you…”
Before Mono could finish, he saw the Crown Prince signaling to Clementine, who was busy looking for the cat in the adjacent compartment, and in a lowered voice said, “However, my cousin, as you know, loves to chat with others.”
The Minister of the Interior was instantly panicked, and wanted to plead with her for secrecy but then hesitated—how was he to discuss such a matter with a young girl? Besides, she might not even take his request seriously.
He then turned to look pitifully at Joseph, “Your Highness, please help me one more time! You are her brother. She will surely listen to you.”
As they were speaking, Clementine’s soft voice came from the side: “Cousin, Monsieur Mustache is not here! Let’s move to the next room quickly.”
Joseph patted Mono’s shoulder, solemnly saying, “I’ll give it a try, but it’s not guaranteed. Wait for my news.”
After speaking, he turned and left in front of Mono’s anxious gaze.
The search for the cat continued for over an hour, disturbing nearly half of the nobility in the Palace of Versailles, until they finally spotted Monsieur Mustache in Princess Therese’s drawing room.
At that moment, he was triumphantly perched on the back of the princess’s Chartreux, intending to commit the feline deed of a lifetime.
But Clementine let out a cheer, affectionately called out “Dear Monsieur Mustache”, and went up to promptly scoop him up without any explanation, indifferent to his angry and desperate struggles, turned to thank everyone, and apologized to Therese.
Then, she got scratched by Monsieur Mustache for the first time in her life…
The next morning at 10 o’clock, Joseph rose from bed yawning, extremely reluctant.
He had been up until past 3 a.m., following the little girl’s whims.
Of course, it was not without gains. As he was pondering what he could “knock out” of Mono, he saw Eman coming towards him with a quick pace, bowing:
“You’re awake, Your Highness. Count Mirabeau has been waiting for a while now.”
“Good, I’m aware. Thank you,” Joseph quickly got dressed, washed up briskly, and went to the drawing room.
“Delighted to see you, Your Royal Highness,” Mirabeau greeted with joy on his face, placing his hand over his chest in a bow, “I bring you a few pieces of good news.”
“Oh? What sort of good news?” Joseph motioned with a smile, “Please, take a seat.”
Mirabeau took a seat and said:
“First of all, our paper mill has completed its trial run and has officially started production.
“The first batch of paper produced three days ago weighed twenty thousand pounds and of very good quality, it was snapped up immediately! Now, pre-orders are queued up for five months in advance. Starting from next month, we can expect a monthly profit of one hundred thousand livres!”
“You’ve done your job well,” Joseph nodded with a smile. He hadn’t been much involved in the paper mill, which was managed by Mirabeau and others, but was glad to hear it was going smoothly.
However, he wasn’t surprised by the brisk sales—the paper was selling for two-thirds the price of similar quality paper, so the rush was inevitable. As for the profits, they would undoubtedly continue to rise as production capacity increased.
Mirabeau rubbed his hands together:
“I only did what was required, but credit goes to your new technology. Oh, by the way, the paper mill in Lyon has also started construction and will begin production in three to four months.”
He continued, excitedly discussing the factory construction and recruitment of artisans, then broached another piece of good news:
“Your Highness, the core area of the industrial development zone in Nancy has been essentially completed. Currently, there are seventeen or eighteen workshops, bustling with people. You must really take a look. Oh, there’s also your ‘French United Steam Engine Company’. Its factory area is the largest in the whole development zone.”
The core area of an industrial development zone was essentially about finding an area close to a water source, leveling the land, broadening the roads, adding a surrounding wall and, voila, it was done. As for banks, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure, those could be built over time; they weren’t essential for the workshops to start moving in.
“Nancy’s tiers état has also approved the tax reduction scheme for the development zone,” Mirabeau continued eagerly, “Of course, they were bound to agree. The development zone will soon bring prosperity to Nancy.”
Joseph knew that the tiers état he was talking about was entirely different from the one during the Great Enquête. The current local tiers état was an administrative auxiliary body that amalgamated various opinions and needed the King’s permission to convene, though its resolutions could still be vetoed by the government.[note 1]