I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 173: Nowhere to Run

"Oh?" Joseph looked at Fouché and asked, "Do we know who's looking for Necker?"

"Not yet, but our informants at Claisson Bank report that the bank has recalled all its commercial spies, likely for an important task. We've also heard that the Bank of Paris is hiring a large number of private detectives."

"So, it's definitely the bankers." Joseph nodded slightly. It seemed Carillon was right—Necker must have had a lot of shady dealings with the banks, and now they wanted to find him before the government did.

Joseph drummed his fingers on the armrest, feeling something odd. Necker, being a representative of the big banks and a high-ranking member of the banking guild, should have immediately sought help from the banking community. Instead, he chose to go into hiding.

This could only mean one thing—Necker didn't trust the members of the banking guild.

That made sense. Necker was Swiss, not deeply rooted in France. Now that he was in trouble, he couldn't be sure that the French bankers wouldn't kill him to prevent any leaks.

With this in mind, Joseph became even more certain about deploying the secret police to conduct a house-to-house search. He was even prepared to mobilize the military—he had to find Necker before the banking guild did!

Joseph gave Fouché more instructions to intensify the search and then headed straight to Versailles to discuss a citywide manhunt with Brienne and Robert, head of the secret police.

During the carriage ride, Clementine noticed the serious expression on Joseph's face and the furrowed brows. She asked carefully, "Cousin, is something bothering you? Sometimes talking about it can help."

Joseph sighed and casually said, "Clementine, if you had to find a missing person, where would you start?"

The little girl thought for a moment and then answered seriously, "Well, I'd start by asking his friends or servants where he might have gone, and then I'd…"

Joseph froze, suddenly realizing he had overlooked something crucial—the banking guild knew Necker far better than he did! Even Necker's own servants might have been recommended to him by one of the major banks.

With these people possibly giving the banks clues, no matter how many men he deployed, it would be difficult to guarantee success…

What to do?

Clementine kept talking, but when she noticed that her cousin's frown deepened, she tried to comfort him, "If it's a friend who's gone missing, you shouldn't worry too much. Maybe he just had something to take care of and will return soon."

Joseph forced a smile at her, "Thank you for the comfort, but this person won't come back on his own…"

Wait!

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly felt like he had caught onto something.

If he couldn't outmatch the banking guild in finding Necker, why not force Necker to reveal himself?

Just like when besieging a city, leaving one side open would make the enemy flee toward the unblocked path.

If he could block all of Necker's other escape routes, Necker would be forced to take the one path Joseph left open for him!

Following this line of thought, Joseph carefully refined the plan in his mind, forming a strategy of "leaving one path open."

He turned to Clementine and sincerely thanked her, "You're an expert at finding people. I can't thank you enough!"

The little girl blushed with pride, rewarding herself with a vanilla mint candy and giving another to Joseph.

When the carriage stopped at the marble square of Versailles Palace, Joseph immediately headed for the finance minister's office.

The key to this "leave one path open" strategy lay in the unblocked path, and it required the cooperation of the Queen.

Before long, Interior Minister Monnot and Justice Minister Breteuil joined Joseph in Brienne's office, all looking puzzled.

"Your Highness, I don't quite understand. Shouldn't we be focusing on capturing Necker right now? Why do you want to withdraw the arrest warrant and have the Queen announce his pardon?"

These ministers, being part of Joseph's political team in the cabinet, had naturally heard about Carillon's revelation of Necker's embezzlement.

Joseph looked around at them and said, "When a man faces certain death, and you show him a way to survive, he'll take it without hesitation. I want the royal family to be Necker's only way out."

Breteuil immediately responded, "But, Your Highness, with Necker's serious crimes of embezzlement, he should face strict judgment. Pardoning him seems inappropriate."

Joseph replied, "Necker himself isn't important. What I want is the information he holds. As for the pardon—well, even if the King pardons him, we can't control what others might do to him."

Brienne looked at Joseph and asked, "Your Highness, what exactly does Necker know?"

"It could involve several million livres of government debt!"

The room fell silent.

That afternoon, several cabinet ministers led a group of influential nobles to the Petit Trianon to persuade Queen Marie to announce a pardon for Necker, promising that he would not be sentenced to death or even face long-term imprisonment.

The Queen had previously seen Brienne's report on Necker's embezzlement. Although she didn't fully understand the ministers' and nobles' motives, she had a soft heart.

After listening to their arguments about "demonstrating the royal family's compassion," "showing the King's care for his ministers," "recovering the stolen funds," and "giving the former minister a chance to redeem himself," the Queen thought it all sounded reasonable and agreed, albeit a bit dazed.

The next morning, Queen Marie publicly announced that Necker would be dealt with leniently, showing the signed decree from the King, all in front of numerous nobles and journalists.

At the same time, several pamphlets began to circulate wildly in Paris.

Most of the pamphlets were filled with the usual scandalous stories about the nobility, but they also contained a piece of news: Someone was offering 150,000 livres as a bounty for Jacques Necker's head, with 100,000 livres for any information leading to him.

Soon, the underworld in Paris received an even higher offer: 180,000 livres for Necker dead, 120,000 for his location.

That day, the headlines of Paris's major newspapers featured two stories. The top half was about "Necker Suspected of Embezzlement, Royal Family Decides to Spare Severe Punishment," and the bottom half covered the "Unknown Forces Offer Huge Bounty for Necker's Death."

Meanwhile, the secret police and the public security office received new orders to divert much of their manpower to the outskirts of Paris, sealing off the city to prevent Necker from escaping.

The next day, the mysterious forces raised the bounty to an astounding 200,000 livres.

And various newspapers and pamphlets, guided by Joseph's subtle influence, started speculating on who wanted Necker dead. All signs pointed to the banking guild.

…

In a modest house on the northern outskirts of Paris, Necker's butler, Aaronque, peered through the curtains, carefully surveying the street to ensure there were no suspicious figures. He then carried a tray of food to the bedroom.

After closing the door, he pressed a button on the bedpost and dresser, triggering a soft "click" from behind the wardrobe.

Aaronque moved the wardrobe to reveal a hidden entrance in the floor and climbed down.

In the dimly lit basement, Necker looked haggard as he took the tray, first giving food to his wife and two children. He skipped his meal and immediately grabbed the newspaper on the tray.

It was the Paris News. He only skimmed the front-page article before his heart skipped a beat.

Though the article didn't explicitly say it, it strongly suggested that the 200,000-livre bounty on his head was backed by the banking giants. The article emphasized that these powerful entities were known for their reliability, ensuring that the reward would be paid even if the person who killed Necker didn't survive.

"Those devil-possessed bastards!" Necker growled, throwing the newspaper to the ground.

The Paris News belonged to the Duke of Orléans, one of the key figures behind the banking guild.

If even his newspaper was saying this, it meant the guild was determined to see Necker dead.

These people—Necker had made them so much money, but at the first sign of trouble, they discarded him without hesitation!

What Necker didn't know was that the Paris News had been blocked from publication by the government for days. What he was reading were fake copies produced by Joseph's Paris Business newspaper, circulated by newsboys.

As for copyright infringement? Well, once the Necker issue was resolved, Paris News could sue in court if they wanted. At most, they'd get ten times the damages, but it's not like they could shut down the Prince's newspaper.

Necker then picked up the pamphlets Aaronque had brought and saw that the bounty had been raised again, now a terrifying 300,000 livres.

He knew all too well what this number meant.

It wasn't just the underworld that would go wild—any ordinary citizen seeing that amount would immediately turn into a cold-blooded killer!

This also meant that he could trust no one. Every person he encountered might betray him for the reward. He couldn't risk contacting the people who had planned to help him escape—300,000 livres would make them turn on him in an instant.

Though he had a fortune worth millions, most of it was anonymously deposited in various banks, many of them foreign. He had only 2,000 écus in gold on hand—carrying large sums in cash was impossible.

So he couldn't afford to buy off those who might claim the bounty.

And even if he could, he wouldn't dare to risk it—who knew if they would take his money and then still turn around and kill him for the 300,000 livres?

After all, that was 300,000 livres!

Honor and morality became jokes in the face of such a fortune.

Necker's wife, seeing the newspaper in her husband's hand, asked in a trembling voice, "Dear, are we still leaving tomorrow?"

Necker suddenly grabbed her arm and snapped, "Leave! All you can think about is leaving! Do you want to get us killed?!"

He pointed at the basement entrance. "I swear, before I even get into the carriage, the driver will stab me in the back! It's over… it's all over…"

He slumped onto the bed, catching sight of the open newspaper. It contained a piece of news he had read yesterday: the Queen had publicly announced that his life would be spared, and he might not even face more than five years in prison.

The newspaper speculated that as long as Necker returned the embezzled funds and paid a fine, he would likely be sentenced to exile.

A fierce internal struggle played out in his mind. After a long while, he suddenly stood up, eyes filled with hatred.

Since the banking guild wanted him dead, he might as well cooperate with the French royal family!

That evening, his butler, Aaronque, quietly slipped into the night...

About an hour later, over a hundred officers from the public security office and the secret police surrounded Necker's hideout.

Fouché personally led the raid, but found the hidden basement empty.

Just as he was growing anxious, a few subordinates rushed in to report that Necker had been captured.

"Where did you catch him?" Fouché asked, puzzled, as he glanced at the empty basement.

"He crawled out of a sewer grate on the street."

Little did Fouché know, the 300,000-livre bounty had made Necker distrust even his most loyal butler, fearing he would return with assassins. So Necker had left the house early and hid in the sewer.

Having finally completed his mission, Fouché personally escorted Necker to the Bastille.

…

At the Palais-Royal, the banking guild's leaders anxiously looked to the Duke of Orléans.

Their operatives had nearly pinpointed Necker's location, but the sudden appearance of a massive bounty had thrown all their plans into disarray.

"We didn't expect the royal family to pardon him," the Duke of Orléans said, frowning. "With that 300,000-livre bounty, Necker might turn himself in to the royal family."

The Earl of Kapfpfel said, "We need to get a message to Necker quickly, to let him know we didn't place that bounty!"

The Earl of Isaac scoffed, "If we knew where he was, we wouldn't need to bother with all this."

The Duke of Orléans shook his head. "The publications are controlled now. Even my newspaper has been counterfeited, so it's hard to get a message to him."

Just then, the Duke's butler hurried in, whispering in his ear.

"What? That idiot got himself caught!" the Duke of Orléans exclaimed, glaring at the butler. "Is the information reliable?"

"It came from our informant within the secret police. Necker is being transported to the Bastille as we speak."

The room erupted in panic.

The Duke of Orléans barked, "Calm down, all of you! We couldn't find Necker before and let the royal family spread lies, but now that he's been found, it might be a good thing."

He thought for a moment, then instructed the butler, "Go find Lieutenant Colonel LaVell, and have him find a way to see Necker. Tell him…"

Two hours later, Necker was finally placed in a cell at the Bastille, just as he had hoped.

Unlike what many imagined, his cell was a suite with a toilet and dining area, very clean and well-furnished, even including a sofa and a cushioned bed.

Fouché, fearing another mishap, personally led a team to keep a constant watch on Necker and his family, not even allowing them privacy during bathroom breaks.

At that moment, a tall officer, accompanied by guards, approached and exchanged pleasantries with Fouché before indicating Necker. "You know the procedure—every prisoner here needs to undergo a routine checkup. I'll take care of it."

(End of Chapter)

Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.

You can also buy the book if you are only interested in reading the novel.