The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Closing the Net

Guizot's face stiffened as he glared at Valéan. "Control your men! What nonsense is he spouting?"

The carriage came to an abrupt halt. Valéan gave a wry smile, looking as if he was on the verge of tears, and shifted slightly. Only then did Guizot notice the dagger pressed against Valéan's lower back.

Guizot’s pupils contracted sharply. He bolted upright, lunging for the door handle, but the slender man moved faster. The moment Guizot’s body lifted from the seat, a hand clamped around his neck, slamming him back against the seat.

Guizot struggled violently, shouting hysterically, "Let go of me! I am the Paris Chief of Police! You have no evidence; you can’t arrest me!"

The man seated silently to Valéan's right suddenly spoke. "I am Ambroise de Hermann, here as a witness on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. I can testify to your crimes."

The carriage door swung open from the outside. Arden and another policeman, pistols drawn, pointed them at Guizot, their faces brimming with indignation. Arden declared, "I was driving the carriage earlier. We all heard everything and can testify to it!"

Guizot collapsed into his seat, his resistance fading...

...

In the courtyard of the Saint-Antoine District Police Station, Joseph observed a large formation of officers jogging past, nodding approvingly as they shouted loud slogans in response.

Arden was visibly elated and couldn’t stop chattering to the Crown Prince about the morning’s events. "Viscount Antoine’s men were waiting at the street corner and immediately took Guizot away. I think they took him to the secret police—cough, the royal police’s interrogation room. I joined another team to search Guizot's residence. When I saw a bulge at the head of the bed, I knew something was off. I broke it open and found a hidden compartment—"

Joseph, who had already heard the story earlier, smiled patiently. "And then you found the notebook. You’ve done a great service."

Guizot's notebook contained detailed information on the main gangs in the Saint-Antoine District and numerous notorious criminals. The final pages recorded how Guizot had protected these individuals in exchange for bribes.

Joseph immediately mobilized all available police forces, reinforced by his own royal guard, and launched a coordinated raid targeting the criminals’ dens.

The Saint-Antoine District erupted into chaos. Gang members and criminals were caught completely off guard, fleeing wildly through the streets, only to be tackled to the ground by riot suppression teams. Those who resisted were swiftly subdued—sometimes with bullets.

The operation lasted two days. Informed of the action, the citizens cooperated by staying indoors. Some bold individuals even grabbed clubs and helped block fleeing criminals at street corners.

The cells at the Saint-Antoine District Police Station quickly filled to capacity. Overflowing detainees were sent to the Bastille.

The commotion drew nearly all the journalists in Paris to investigate.

...

On White Fleur-de-Lis Street, a middle-aged man with disheveled hair, deep nasolabial folds, and a perpetually contemplative expression frowned as he watched a royal guard escort a group of bound, bloodied prisoners down the road.

The young man beside him said nervously, "Mr. Marat, you really didn’t need to come here yourself. This place seems quite dangerous..."

"It’s fine." Marat waved dismissively. "You can’t uncover the truth without being on the scene!"

He strode into a nearby grocery store, bought some random items, and pointed at the distant royal guards. "Do you know what they’re doing? Arresting political prisoners?"

The shopkeeper shot him a glare. "Political prisoners? Those are Viper Gang members. They’ve never done any good!"

The shopkeeper rolled up his sleeve, revealing a scar. "Look at this. I got this last year from the Viper Gang. Before the Crown Prince brought in the new police force, they extorted five livres from me every month! May the Lord bless the Crown Prince. Now those vile thugs are finally caught! I can finally afford to buy some butter for my children!"

Marat instinctively took out his notebook to jot down notes. "Can you tell me about this new police force?"

"Of course," the shopkeeper said, putting down his work and eyeing him. "You’re a journalist, aren’t you? Could you print my thanks to the Crown Prince in your paper?"

"Ah? Sure... I suppose..."

After chatting for a while and being inundated with praise for the Crown Prince, Marat left the grocery store with growing suspicion. He stopped a passerby and asked again about the police and the guards’ actions, receiving a similar answer.

He continued interviewing seven or eight more people, visited the neighborhood’s security kiosk, and even questioned some of the arrested criminals directly. Finally, Marat began to believe that the royal family had genuinely done something beneficial for the common people.

It was utterly baffling!

In his mind, the monarchy and the aristocracy had always oppressed and exploited the populace. Eliminating criminals for the public good—and without extorting funds—was unprecedented.

Still, he was a man who respected facts. After collecting a wealth of firsthand accounts, Marat returned to his inn and wrote the headline for his next article: "Crown Prince’s Police Reforms Yield Remarkable Results, Eradicating Crime in the Saint-Antoine District."

...

Several gray-black carriages rumbled along the northern bank of the Seine River, heading toward Versailles.

Inside the central carriage, Joseph coughed repeatedly, feeling as though he were riding a pile driver. He rubbed his aching forehead, muttering to himself, I need to get a spring suspension system, maybe even rubber tires. With all the traveling I’ll have to do, this contraption is going to shake me to pieces.

Yesterday, he had received a commendation letter from the Cabinet, praising his success in purging the Saint-Antoine District of crime. The letter also summoned him to Versailles to report on his accomplishments, bearing the signatures of both the King and Queen.

Joseph shook his head with a faint smile. Reporting to the palace after just twenty-odd days in office must be some kind of record. It was likely just an excuse for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to summon their son home.

The timing, however, aligned perfectly with Joseph’s plans.

Joseph had no intention of staying long at the police headquarters. His primary goal remained saving France’s finances and preventing the nation from going bankrupt—and his own head from ending up on the guillotine.

This success provided an excellent opportunity to request the position of assistant to the Minister of Finance. Let’s see what excuses the Cabinet could use to oppose him now.

Oddly enough, Joseph had Guizot to thank for this victory.

If Guizot hadn’t poured tens of thousands of livres into creating chaos, Joseph could never have orchestrated such a high-profile anti-crime operation that stirred all of Paris.

Joseph’s eyes flicked over the sheets of paper in his hand.

They contained Guizot’s confession and interrogation records, sent over by the secret police.

From these, Joseph learned that his restructuring of the police force had disrupted the practice of selling police positions for profit, provoking Guizot’s extreme retaliation.

Fueled by the promise of twenty thousand livres, the gangs of Saint-Antoine had killed over ten citizens in just a few days, with even more injured. The situation had nearly spiraled out of control.

Joseph took a deep breath. If not for Similion’s lack of financial counterintelligence skills, this scheme could have left him overwhelmed and derailed his police reforms entirely.

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