Chapter Ch130.2 - Noble

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

There was the sound of thunder from outside the window. Raindrops splashed and fell down the open glass doors to the Palace of Versailles as Wu Jin retrieved his gaze.

The frequency of the instances, the bad weather, the constantly moving timeline for the Louis XV era––

This second round was much more difficult than he’d thought.

Chu Chu ran in through the rain just as Wu Jin looked down the stairs, “They’ve just started fighting.”

Chu Chu looked down and was shocked. Two life-saving capsules were left in a corner, and there were marks from bullets and fighting on the walls and ceilings, with the players nowhere to be found.

“There are fewer and fewer nobility instances. Just now, there was a team ambushing others for cards.” Wu Jin paused for a moment, “But, after the players were eliminated, the card didn’t drop.”

“What!” Vera and Chu Chu’s mouths both dropped open. The two teams were still allied but still lacked a second promotion card. Almost all the nobles in the Palace of Versailles refused to allow them to take part in their instances, and their only hope had been to snatch cards from other players. At this time, even that hope had been dashed.

Chu Chu’s expression changed faster than Vera’s. The Madame de Pompadour card was in Wu Jin’s hands, and she was still unable to advance––

Wu Jin took a deep breath. The big boss was a guest of Madame de Pompadour, but other than the captain Zoe’s and Brother Wen Lin’s two teams, at this time, there was nobody else who knew about this in the entire Palace of Versailles.

He had an obligation to take responsibility for the big boss’ and Chu Chu’s promotion.

Thunder rang out again. Wei Shi came to join them, and Wu Jin looked at Vera.

Vera understood after a moment, and her eyes curved, “Let’s go, I can’t just watch Chu Chu be eliminated.”

Wu Jin’s eyes lit up and he was very moved as he thanked her. Then, he quickly led them through the dark corridor, “In the first round, we hid a purple card in the storage room. If it’s still there, the purple card is likely to be a French aristocrat––”

The door to the storage room squeaked open.

The armor lifted up its sword angrily, and Wu Jin skillfully dodged, the sophisticated bayonet coming up to meet the knight’s sword that was slashing in from the other side. Vera reached out and easily snatched the card away from the armor.

Wu Jin’s heart fell to the ground like a stone, but even before he could touch the stone, Vera’s expression changed, “This card…”

Wei Shi stretched his hand out for the card.

The card still retained the clue from the first round, and on the surface of the card, there was a simple description of a woman’s life. Chu Chu leaned in and read out, “Julie, the mistress of Louis XIV’s stable manager, a common girl of poor birth…”

They all stilled at the same time.

A civilian.

Chu Chu read it out loud again in a trembling voice, but she still couldn’t change the fact that this card was a civilian card, even if this stable master’s mistress was a purple card and the situation seemed rather strange. Chu Chu gritted her teeth, “Should we solve this card?”

Wu Jin hadn’t yet opened his mouth when their wrist watches all rang out with prompts at the same time.

Louis XV’s ball would begin at 8PM that night.

“There’s six hours left&#k2013;&#k2013;”

Wu Jin’s heart sped up. Six hours. It had taken almost nearly six hours to obtain the Pompadour card as well. He spoke anxiously, “Let’s leave this card first. The clues to unseal the purple cards are too scattered, and we can’t afford to take the time.”

“There are still six hours left until the dance. 171 players are still in the game, and up until now, there are at most 30 teams who have obtained promotion cards. The proportion isn’t right.”

Chu Chu: “What proportion––”

Wu Jin narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly calculated in his mind, “Other than instances, there should be other ways to obtain a noble card and be promoted.”

The instances, the identity cards.

In the Palace of Versailles in the 18th century, in addition to nobles, servants, and civilians, there were also––

There was a class of cards that had only appeared during the Louis XV round.

Wu Jin got up quickly and almost ran into the pile of miscellaneous items in the storage room. A rough palm landed protectively over the small curls.

The heart that had originally sped up finally calmed down.

“We need to obtain a card.” Wu Jin spoke swiftly, “Not necessarily aristocracy, but it needs to be closely related to the nobles.”

The entrance to the dark corridor was pushed open and cold wind blew through the open corridor.

“If there’s no way to obtain a noble card, then they are the closest ‘noble’ characters. They had no aristocratic status, but they knew all the secrets of the aristocracy, including their family properties and privileges. They could even influence the political situation and the royal family.”

“For example, Voltaire. He wasn’t of noble birth, but he was a creditor to many nobles in the Palace of Versailles. He lent them money, and he was––”

Chu Chu’s expression was confused, but Wei Shi raised his brows, “A bourgeoisie.”

The south wing of the Palace of Versailles.

Wu Jin looked at the ghosts who were waiting for guests in the rooms, “France is heavily in debt from successive years of war, and the nobles have to borrow money from the bourgeoisie in order to maintain their dignity.”

Vera finally understood, but she was still frowning, “Even so, there is no reason to speculate that the rich middle class identity cards have clues to the noble cards.”

Chu Chu pushed open a door and suddenly grabbed onto Vera, who’d walked halfway through.

The other side of the door held a small reception room.

A well-dressed gentleman was quietly waiting for his guests. The sign on his door said ‘Banker, ammunition chief, tobacco supplier. Dwerney.”

“He’s really rich.” Chu Chu complained two seconds later.

Wu Jin nodded and explained to Vera, “We don’t need to obtain clues for the noble cards.”

“The Anglo-French war was lost, and the salaries for nobles were reduced. Any nobles here are Madame de Pompadour’s political enemies, and we won’t be able to obtain a single noble card.”

Wu Jin’s gaze swept across the long list of titles on the door once again.

Banker, ammunition chief, tobacco supplier.

“The wealthy bankers who made money off the war were basically creditors for the entire Palace of Versailles. What we need is his identity and the capital behind it.”

“Mister Dwerney can balance the accounts for the French royal family and pull Louis XV out of the war deficit, solving France’s decades-long fiscal deficit.”

“There was only one requirement––to confer a title. Dwerney, Baron of France.”

“If you were the king, would you agree?”

Chu Chu was very decisive, “Yes! The deficit is about to blow up. What does it matter to confer another baron––”

All of a sudden, Chu Chu’s eyes widened in surprise.

She murmured, “… Without a noble card, we can coerce the King to confer a noble title. ––!!! Can this be done too?!”

One hour later.

Chu Chu panted as she ran into the Council Hall to meet up with Wu Jin, “Mister Dwerney is a blue card, and the task is much simpler. God Wei cleared it explosively within half an hour––”

Wu Jin looked at the big boss who walked in amidst the thunder and mist, and the candle light reflected in his eyes, bright and sparkling.

“The next round of parliament is a quarter of an hour away.” Wu Jin spoke concisely, “Six positions. We’ll try to grab two. There are other contestant who will vote for us––”

Around the council room were many damp contestants with no identity cards.

As expected, there were only 30 noble cards. Whether or not Louis XV would agree to this deal wasn’t merely a fight over titles, but also a fight for their promotion. At this time, there were less than four hours before the start of the next ball. Wu Jin had quickly pulled in many civilian allies, and all of Versailles’s bourgeoisie cards had been pulled out within just an hour’s time.

The trainees who already had noble cards wouldn’t allow this trade to happen so easily, but the trainees with no suitable identities were more enthusiastic.

Caesar was another trainee who hadn’t managed to obtain a noble card. He was crouched in the corner, and who knew where he’d found an iron bowl to clang on, “Down with feudalism! Overthrow the aristocracy!!”

Wei Shi stretched out a hand, and Wu Jin handed over the council proposal in his arms to the big boss, simultaneously placing his cold hand against the big boss’s waist to warm it up.

Wu Jin chattered on and explained, “It’s not a good idea to write that we’re using titles in a transaction directly, so I improved on the wording––”

The topic was written in a line of small, round handwriting.

<French Financing Innovation! On the sale of new Treasury bond financial products integrating land management rights, tax relief, and an aristocratic dividend (sale of the title of Baron)>

The corners of Wei Shi’s lips hooked up.

In the far corridor, the King reappeared. The six entrances to the council opened up at the same time, and Wu Jin hurriedly grabbed Vera, the big boss, and Chu Chu and rushed inside––

He made a vow at the same time.

Wu Jin: “Wait for me to earn you a place––No, a title!!”

The big boss’s voice was deep, vibrating teasingly against his ear, “Okay.”

Wu Jin: “……”

Wu Jin’s face was red as he squeezed in through the door frame.

Chu Chu sighed emotionally from behind the two, “Sister Vera, don’t you think that the friendship between the two of them is very deep!”

Vera: “Ha-ha.”

Chu Chu: “It’s a little like a son saying to his mother, I’ll definitely bring you back a wife. Brother Wei is really like Little Witch’s mother!”

Vera: “……” What kind of observational abilities do you have? Are you a straight man who mixed in with the female contestants?!

Countless contestants rushed in from the conference room, and the King almost fell into a daze at the sight.

The big boss snatched up the first chair, followed by Wei Yan, Caesar, and Ning Fengbei…

Wu Jin’s small body wasn’t even able to snatch up the edge of a chair, so he could only stand next to Wei Shi.

The six doors slammed shut.

The last cabinet meeting for the second round began. Wu Jin gestured to the big boss.

The youth faced the opulent iris-patterned drapery, the magnificent throne, and walked straight ahead.

Juurensha: So smart Little Witch!

xiin: *drowning in wiki links*