Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 124: A Future Certain

Once they accepted, Napoleon II shook hands with the brothers, expressing his gratitude that they accepted the challenge to build an aircraft.

"You will be one of those guys whose name would go down in history," Napoleon II praised.

"Your Imperial Majesty, we are simply doing our job to help the French Empire’s progress," Nicéphore replied. His eyes were still fixed on the chalkboard behind Napoleon.

Claude nodded once. "If it succeeds, it will not only be our names attached to it. It will be France’s."

Napoleon II gave a short nod.

"That is the correct answer," he said. "Individual glory fades. Industrial capability remains."

He turned back toward the chalkboard and tapped the drawing of the aircraft with two fingers.

"This machine will require more than just an engine and frame. It will require coordination. Metallurgy, machining tolerances, material science, aerodynamics, fuel systems, and structural stress calculations. We cannot approach this casually."

Nicéphore stepped closer again.

"The radial engine alone will demand a separate development team," he said. "Air-cooling fins must be cast precisely. The master rod assembly will require exact machining. If tolerances are off even slightly, vibration will destroy it mid-flight."

Claude added, "And aluminum. We will need consistent quality alloy. Not brittle. Not too soft. The wing spars must withstand bending loads. We must calculate lift forces at various speeds."

Napoleon II folded his arms.

"You will establish a separate division within your company," he said. "One branch for automobiles. One for aviation research. They will operate independently but share engine knowledge."

Nicéphore nodded slowly.

"We will need a testing field," he said. "Long, flat ground. Free of obstacles."

"There is land outside Paris," Napoleon II replied. "Agricultural plots that can be requisitioned or purchased. We will convert part of it into a proving ground."

Claude glanced at the drawing again.

"And pilots?" he asked. "Who will fly it?"

"Of course, it will be you," Napoleon II simply replied, as if stating the obvious. "As you go along building the aircraft, you’ll eventually know how to handle it," Napoleon II finished. "You will understand its balance, its limits, its weaknesses. No one else will know it better than the men who built it."

Nicéphore did not answer immediately.

"You are asking us to risk our own lives," he said at last.

"Yes," Napoleon II replied.

Claude let out a slow breath through his nose.

"If we build it, we should be the first to test it," he said. "A hired man would not understand what he is feeling through the frame. A vibration, a lag in throttle response, a pull in the rudder cable—those details matter."

Napoleon II nodded once. "So, gentlemen, I think I’ll leave you two so that you can begin planning around my design. It’s been a long day. I liked the performance of the vehicle, and I’m sure when the aircraft is completed, I’ll not only like it, but love it."

Nicéphore inclined his head. "We will not waste time, Your Imperial Majesty."

Claude stepped forward and extended his hand once more. Napoleon II clasped it firmly. There was no ceremony in the gesture. It was an agreement between men who understood the scale of what they had just committed to.

Napoleon II turned toward the heavy garage doors and pulled them open. The late afternoon light spilled inside, cutting across the chalkboard and the outline of the aircraft still drawn upon it.

Outside, Charles-Louis and Minister Lemaine were waiting in the courtyard. Both straightened at once.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Lemaine said.

"It has been productive," Napoleon II replied. "Your Ministry continues to justify the investment."

Lemaine allowed himself a restrained smile. "We serve at your direction, Sire."

Napoleon II glanced back once toward the garage. The doors were still open. Through the gap, he could see Nicéphore already wiping part of the chalkboard again, likely preparing to redraw sections with adjustments.

"Ensure that procurement requests from the brothers are prioritized," Napoleon II said. "Metals, machine tools, land acquisition. I want no bureaucratic delay."

"It will be handled personally," Lemaine answered.

Charles-Louis stepped closer, ready to escort.

The carriage stood at the gate, horses steady, guards positioned on either side. The courtyard had returned to its normal rhythm, though a few workers still cast glances toward the automobile inside the garage.

Napoleon II descended the short stone steps and approached the carriage. A footman opened the door.

He paused briefly and turned back to Lemaine.

"Today was the automobile," he said. "In three years, it will be something else. Prepare your Ministry for that pace."

Lemaine bowed. "We will keep up."

Napoleon II entered the carriage. Charles-Louis followed and took his seat opposite him. The door shut with a solid thud.

The driver cracked the reins. The horses began to move.

The carriage rolled through the gates of the Ministry and onto the boulevard. Electric lamps stood silent along the sidewalks, unlit in the daylight. Trams rattled along their tracks. Paris moved as it always did.

Inside the carriage, Charles-Louis remained quiet for several moments.

"You got something to say?" Napoleon II asked.

"Well, I must say that I kind of felt the sudden change. Earlier, we were riding an automobile but now it’s back to the carriage. And even though the experience wasn’t that long, I’m starting to prefer that carriage—"

"Over this?" Napoleon II finished for him.

Charles-Louis gave a small nod. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. It was smoother. Faster. Quieter in its own way. I did not have to think about the horses tiring or being startled."

Napoleon II leaned back slightly against the padded seat as the carriage swayed over a minor imperfection in the road.

"That feeling you have," he said, "is the beginning of transition."

Charles-Louis looked at him, attentive.

"There will come a time," Napoleon II continued, "when horse-drawn carriages will no longer be the standard means of transport in this Empire. They will not disappear entirely. Nothing truly disappears. But they will become secondary."

The carriage rolled past a tram crossing. One of the horses snorted and shook its head.

"In the future," Napoleon II said calmly, "horses will remain for agriculture, for cavalry in certain terrains, and perhaps for leisure. People will ride them for sport. Visitors may hire carriages for nostalgia, to experience how their grandparents once traveled."

"For nostalgia?" Charles-Louis repeated.

"Yes. As a novelty. A reminder of an earlier era."

Charles-Louis glanced toward the window where another carriage passed in the opposite direction.

"And the roads?" he asked.

"They will be filled with machines," Napoleon II replied. "Personal vehicles, cargo carriers, buses transporting dozens at once. The infrastructure will adjust. Fuel stations instead of stables. Mechanics instead of farriers."

The carriage jolted lightly again. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Charles-Louis gave a faint smile. "Then I suppose we are riding history, while you are building its replacement."

Napoleon II looked forward.

"Exactly."