Third chapter. It's Robespierre's turn. And I've decided to pull in a certain other anime character, with differences dictated by real-life history. When she'll appear you'll see which ones.

by lord Martiya

Robespierre's Job

I am Maximilien too-many-names de Robespierre, and I'm warning you all: never piss off Oscar François de Jarjayes, she can hold grudges like nobody else.

Why I say this? One reason: I am entrusted with Calonne's public image, and I'm sure she knew how bad he is with that when she suggested my name to the Queen, even if she says she doesn't.

Make no mistakes, I'm glad of being an advisor to the Royals and serving the people better than just as a provincial lawyer, but Calonne couldn't piss off people more if he did it on purpose! Seriously, without me, or the help of Bernard and the other journalists, not only he would have failed in imposing the measures to try and stop the crisis, but he would have probably ended being held accountable for everything!

Speaking of Bernard, I owe him one. Without him marrying de Jarjayes' protege (no idea on how it happened), she would still studying ways to make me serve France while making my life hell for causing that bar brawl in which her secret boyfriend had his wallet stolen. Then again, I didn't out him as the Black Knight, only convinced him to quit before Oscar brought him in (he says it cost him a thousand livres, but I didn't make him pay when I won him his last name back in that civil suit).

Without counting Calonne, life is good: I'm helping the people on larger scale, I can still practice at the bar, I have an officer of the French Guards who owes me for saving his career when he punched out a superior for harassing his sister (he also owes Oscar: she happened to be there to coordinate a failed attempt to arrest that female version of Bernard, and was the one who involved me with the trial) and defends me from attempted murders, got the Queen to let Calonne and Necker do their job, and the crisis is finally stopping getting worse.

Now it's the year 1788, and future looks good.

I said future looks good. I was wrong: the King just informed me that the Parliaments (all sixteen of them) have refused to approve the suppression of internal customs (as opposed to the current suspension that is about to end. They also refused to renew it) and the universal land tax. The latter would allow to fully cut down the taxes in a few years, but they refused because most of the land is property of the Church or the Nobility, and that would partly empty their pockets.

"The Estates-General have greater authority than them in tax matters." is the suggestion of madame de Polignac (no idea how she managed to remain as Governess of the Children of France, but she became a better person after Jeanne Valois sarcastic tongue made her understand what an horrible woman she had become). An intelligent suggestion... If not for a couple particulars she obviously didn't know.

"The Estates deliberate separately." the Marquis of Dreux-Brézé points out. "And even if they didn't, the delegates are roughly in parity, and the Nobles and the Church would use their superior numbers to-"

Dreux-Brézé was forced to put a hand on his mouth to prevent himself from laughing his ass off. I have no such compulsions and have realized the same thing: we only have to double the number of the Third Estate, and with the current political climate they'll do the job for us and draw at least some of the delegates of the two other Estates. Then the King will just have to ratify it. I'm so returning to Arras: I can do a lot more in the Estates-General. And Necker is more than enough to keep Calonne out of trouble.

Author note

And so the story goes on to the Estates-General. Because, seriously, the Revolution happened exactly because the Parliaments had constantly blocked attempts at reforms that would tax the nobles and attempts at levying other taxes to try and recover some money in an attempt to weaken the King's power while passing themselves as the victims. That and Marie Antoinette had little idea on how to rule a country, with her husband being too shy to oppose her.

And if you wonder why Robespierre is convinced Oscar held a grudge against him... Well, he has a reason: one night Oscar was trying to drown her sorrows for Fersen in a pub when Robespierre showed up and, to provide Bernard with material for an article, revealed her status as a captain in the Garde du Corps (the Household Regiment Oscar served in) fully knowing it would cause a brawl, brawl that ended with the pub destroyed, half of the patrons knocked out by Oscar and Andre and Oscar and Andre defeated, with Andre's wallet stolen to boot. Oscar never held a grudge against him, but she could have.