Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 36: The Important Day

Morning came quietly to Versailles.

Napoleon II arrived first, as he always did. He stood near the tall windows of the smaller council salon, hands clasped behind his back, watching sunlight move across the gardens below. The lamps along the paths were dark now, their glass dull in daylight. Last night already felt distant.

Behind him, the doors opened.

Napoleon I entered with Marie Louise at his side. Both were dressed simply, formally, without ceremony. This was not a celebration. It was business.

"Sit," Napoleon I said, not unkindly.

Napoleon II obeyed.

Moments later, the opposite doors opened again.

Princess Elisabeth entered with her parents.

Her father, Duke Maximilian von Wittelsbach, carried himself with controlled dignity. Not stiff. Not deferential. A man used to standing before emperors without bowing his spine. Her mother, Duchess Charlotte, moved with quieter authority, eyes sharp, posture measured.

Elisabeth walked between them.

She wore a pale dress, unadorned, hair pinned cleanly back. No attempt to dazzle. No attempt to retreat.

Introductions were brief. Formal. Efficient.

Once everyone was seated, Napoleon I did not waste time.

"I will be direct," he said.

No one reacted. They had expected this.

"Your daughter is engaged," Napoleon I continued. "To Count Friedrich von Hohenberg."

Duke Maximilian nodded once. "Yes."

"I am asking you to cancel that engagement."

Silence.

Napoleon II did not move. He had known his father would speak this way. Elisabeth kept her eyes forward, expression neutral.

Napoleon I continued.

"I am not asking lightly. I am not asking indirectly. And I am not asking without compensation."

Duchess Charlotte folded her hands. "You assume we are here to be persuaded."

"I assume you are here because you understand what is being proposed," Napoleon I replied. "And what refusing it would mean."

Marie Louise watched them closely, but said nothing.

Napoleon I leaned forward slightly.

"My son will be Emperor of France within the year. The woman he marries will be Queen."

Hearing that, Napoleon II was stunned, he’ll become Emperor within the year? Is he abdicating already?

Duke Maximilian met his gaze evenly.

"And you believe that woman should be my daughter."

"I believe she already understands the weight of that position," Napoleon I said. "And I believe she would not break beneath it."

He gestured slightly toward Elisabeth without looking at her.

"She did not come here to be taken. She did not bend when opportunity stood in front of her. That matters."

Elisabeth felt the weight of her parents’ attention shift briefly toward her, then back to the Emperor.

"And the count?" Duke Maximilian asked.

Napoleon I answered immediately.

"He will be compensated. Titles. Lands. Pensions. Whatever is required to make this clean."

"That does not answer the question," the Duke said. "Engagements are not contracts alone. They are honor."

Napoleon I nodded. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Which is why I am offering something of equal weight."

He straightened.

"Bavaria and France would become an eternal ally, and what France enjoys, Bavaria will enjoy too. Trades, investments, everything, you know what that means to you, your king, and the kingdom means."

Duke Maximilian did not answer immediately. He leaned back slightly, fingers resting together, eyes steady on Napoleon I.

"You are asking us," he said at last, "to exchange a private promise for a public bond."

"Yes," Napoleon I replied. "One that will outlast the men in this room."

Duchess Charlotte spoke next, her voice calm.

"Trade and investment are not gifts," she said. "They come with influence."

Napoleon I did not deny it.

"Everything worth having does," he said. "But this influence would not come with troops. Not with pressure. Bavaria would not become an extension of France. It would become... anchored to it."

Napoleon II listened in silence, his attention fixed now. The words about abdication still echoed in his head, but he set them aside. This moment was not about him reacting. It was about him being seen as someone worth choosing.

Duke Maximilian’s gaze shifted briefly to his daughter.

"Elisabeth," he said. "You have heard what is being offered."

"Yes," she replied.

"And you understand what would be lost."

"Yes."

"Then tell me," he said. "Do you feel compelled?"

She answered without hesitation.

"No."

Napoleon I’s eyes narrowed slightly—not in displeasure, but interest.

"And do you feel tempted?" the Duke continued.

Elisabeth paused this time.

"Temptation is not the right word," she said. "I feel... considered. Not as a piece to be moved. As a person to be included."

Napoleon II felt his chest tighten, just briefly.

Duchess Charlotte studied her daughter closely.

"And the count?" she asked.

Elisabeth did not look away.

"He is honorable," she said. "But he was chosen for me. He did not choose me. That difference mattered long before last night."

Silence returned.

Napoleon I folded his hands together.

"I want an answer today, because we are on a deadline here for my son. If your daughter is not going to take it, then we will have to choose another. After all, within a year, my son will become an Emperor of France, and he will need a queen when that time comes."

All eyes turned to Elisabeth now, as she was the one holding the key.

Before she could speak, Napoleon II chimed.

"Elisabeth, if you choose to become my Queen, then I swear to you with all my heart that I will protect, cherish, and love you. I won’t do anything that will hurt you, I will make you my equal in all things that matter. I will not rule over you—I will rule beside you."

The room did not move.

Napoleon II stood, slowly, deliberately. This was not planned. Not rehearsed. Napoleon I did not interrupt.

"I won’t promise you a life without pressure," he continued. "That would be a lie. You would be Queen of France. The weight would be real. The scrutiny constant. There will be days you will be tired of courts, of ministers, of being measured."

He looked at her directly now. Not at Bavaria. Not at her parents.

"At those moments, you will still have a choice," he said. "You will have a voice. I will listen. Not because you are my wife—but because you are right."

Elisabeth’s breath slowed.

"I will not bind you with ceremony and then forget you behind it," Napoleon II went on. "I will not trade your dignity for convenience. If you disagree with me, you will do so openly. If you are unhappy, I will not dismiss it as weakness."

Napoleon I watched without expression, but he did not stop him.

"I cannot promise you love today," Napoleon II said, steady now. "But I promise you honesty. I promise you patience. And I promise you this—whatever grows between us will grow by choice, not obligation."

He paused.

"And if one day you decide you were wrong to choose me," he added quietly, "then I will accept that I failed you. Not that you failed me."

The silence that followed was different.

Elisabeth did not speak right away. She did not look at her parents. She looked at Napoleon II—really looked at him. The restraint. The refusal to corner her. The fact that he had spoken vows without demanding an answer in return.

"You speak as if power does not excuse cruelty," she said softly.

"It doesn’t," he replied. "It only exposes it."

Her fingers tightened slightly around each other.

"For my whole life," Elisabeth said, "I was taught that marriage would be my duty. That affection, if it came, would be a bonus. I accepted that."

She inhaled.

"But you are the first man who spoke to me as if my consent was not a formality."

Napoleon II did not respond. He waited.

She turned, finally, to her parents.

"I will not be taken," Elisabeth said. "But I will step forward."

Duke Maximilian closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.

"You are certain?"

"Yes," she said. "Because this is not surrender. It is a decision."

She turned back to Napoleon II.

"I choose you," Elisabeth said. "Not because you are Emperor. But because you treated me as if I mattered before the crown."

Napoleon II let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Napoleon I nodded once.

"Then we proceed," he said simply. "Princess Elisabeth is to become the future Empress of the French Empire."