Joseph's forehead creased with lines of vexation as he tried to explain, "You see, I have urgent matters to tend to in Lorraine, and I really can't spare the time to take you to see the coal mines."
Clementine shook his hand as she pleaded, pouting, "Please, take me with you—"
The little girl suddenly stepped back, pointing to her delicate, tender neck, and said with a grievance, "I listened to you and gave up 'Star's Wish'. That was my absolute favorite necklace! Don't you think you should compensate me a little for that? Please—"
Joseph couldn't help but let out a long sigh to the heavens.
A few days ago, when he saw 'Star's Wish' around the young girl's neck and asked about it out of curiosity, he found out that his frivolous mother had spent nearly 700,000 livres on it, adding to his cousin's 560,000 livres for a necklace that turned out to be a total scam.
He immediately told the young girl that he had never worn the necklace and advised her to return it posthaste.
Clementine was quite savvy; realizing she had been duped, she found the jeweler and managed to return the necklace by a combination of wheedling and stubbornness, finally compensating the jeweler with 20,000 livres.
In truth, the jeweler didn't lose out—the tale of how two princesses vied for 'Star's Wish', eventually auctioning it off for over a million livres, was well known to all, granting the item fame and making it easy to sell at a high price in the future.
In the end, Joseph could not withstand Clementine's incessant coaxing and relented, agreeing to take her along to Lorraine, reasoning that it was a way to thank her for saving the Queen the huge sum of 700,000 livres.
The following afternoon,
Clementine looked back at the three carriages she had packed the night before—with all her cosmetics, clothes, kitchenware, toys, and cat food—and, feeling reluctant, she asked the Crown Prince once more, "Cousin, are you sure I can't bring them?"
Joseph massaged his forehead, "You have to choose, either we bring the carriages, or I bring you."
"Oh..." The young girl immediately signaled to her maid with a knowing glance, directing her to move about a dozen suitcases onto Joseph's luggage cart.
The caravan set off, heading in a northeast direction.
Soon, Joseph realized that bringing Clementine along might have been a good decision after all.
The young girl's constant antics and playful banter dispelled the monotony and dullness of the journey. Despite her tender age, she was surprisingly familiar with the noble families of Europe, and she ended up teaching Joseph much about this topic. It seemed she had been studying these matters from a young age.
Well, aside from the occasional resentful glances cast from the carriage following behind, sending chills down Joseph's spine, everything was quite pleasant.
Those were looks of jealousy from Perna.
She had hoped for a "touristic" outing with His Highness the Crown Prince like their previous trip to Bordeaux, and had come along as his personal physician. However, she hadn't anticipated the presence of a young girl "stealing the business," preventing her from even sharing a carriage with the Crown Prince...
Along the way, Joseph could already see signs of drought everywhere.
Some streams had dried up, leaving many fields showing patches of withered yellow.
Farmers were busy transporting water to their fields by cart, or carrying it by hand, to mitigate the effects of the drought.
However, France's primary approach to farming was still crude; relying on abundant land and sparse population, they practiced extensive cultivation with low yields, making the amount of land needing irrigation unbearable at times like these.
Joseph was aware that the critical moment was drawing ever nearer.
Fortunately, most of the grain reserves in various regions had been completed before the dry spell, and large quantities of grain bought from overseas were transported to major cities via water routes.
Especially in Paris, where two huge grain reserves had been established—the stockpiled grain in them alone was enough to feed the Parisians for four to five months.
Joseph silently hoped in his heart: May we endure through that perilous moment next year, so that I may have the opportunity to rebuild the glorious France.
Joseph's convoy had stopped at Carolina's estate. It wasn't until the Crown Prince's Guard dispersed to stand watch that Carolina realized a VIP had arrived, and he hurriedly led his relatives and servants out to greet them from that off-white villa.
After the standard pleasantries, Joseph followed Carolina inside the house and immediately motioned, "I need to speak with you alone."
Carolina led him to a modest study, closed the door behind them, and then respectfully said, "Your Highness, please take a seat."
"You may sit as well," Joseph forwent all formalities and got straight to the point, "I need information on Necker, the kind that could put him in prison.
"You are a very trusted old servant of the royal family, and I hope you can trust me too."
Carolina put on a troubled expression, "Crown Prince, you must have heard some rumors. I really don't have..."
Not wanting to watch him play dumb, Joseph interrupted him, "You can name your price. What will it take for you to give me what I want?"
"This... You've got the wrong idea..."
Seeing him still looking constipated, Joseph directly showed his hand, "What if I could help you return to Paris, would that earn your trust?"
A look of surprise immediately sparkled in Carolina's eyes; he had grown tired of Toul, this dreadful place, and had thought he'd rot here for the rest of his life. Now, unexpectedly, hope had resurfaced.
He nearly nodded reflexively, but before he could utter a word, he stiffened.
"I... Your Highness, I indeed wish to return, but I don't have the things you mentioned..."
Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. If such a considerable benefit did not tempt him, then there must be another possibility.
Carolina had something to hide; that's why he dared not expose Necker!
Joseph's voice cooled, "Viscount Carolina, you've heard about the murder of Mr. Evans from the Justice Investigation Department a few days ago, haven't you?"
"Yes, Your Highness, I have."
"Hmm, Evans and Mala only visited here that day, asking the same question as I am, right?"
Carolina shuddered, realizing that the Crown Prince's visit right after that man's death was no coincidence!
He nodded, "Indeed, that was the case."
"Hmm, which makes you the prime suspect in the murder case." Joseph looked at Carolina sidelong, his voice icy, "I'll be frank with you, this is a serious matter. The Justice Investigation Department has mobilized its full force and will arrive two days after me to launch a comprehensive investigation into you.
"Oh, and the Secret Police. They will be involved in the investigation as well."
Carolina was shocked, "Why would the Secret Police be involved?!"
Joseph thought to himself, of course, it was because I tipped off Robel to put some pressure on you.
"Because the deceased Evans was a very important investigator. The cases he handled involved significant ramifications, and he had some crucial clues in his hands. His death has nearly halted the investigation."
Carolina wiped a bead of cold sweat silently. He instantly realized Evans must have been investigating Necker, so the Crown Prince's description of the case as 'greatly involved' was quite reasonable—after all, the matters concerning Necker certainly entangled many people.