Chapter 163: Rebellion

After "escaping" from his home, Roland jogged all the way towards the outskirts, heading for the arsenal.

"Huh! Why are the lights still on? Are people still working so late?" Upon arriving at the arsenal, Roland was surprised to find that the lights inside were still on.

"Strange, why are people still here at this hour?" Roland wondered as he approached slowly to investigate.

"Boom! Boom!"

As Roland neared the factory, he saw that it was bustling with activity. All the workers were working overtime diligently. In Europe at this time, there hadn't yet been a public/social revolution, so the workers' status was quite low, and working overtime was normal.

"Roland, you're here." Seeing Roland arrive, Jobst immediately greeted him.

"Jobst, why are you still here so late? Haven't you gone home?" Roland was surprised to see Jobst still at the factory at this late hour.

"I'm worried about the order. When you get an order, you're naturally happy, but have you thought about it? This is for a hundred thousand rifles! How long will it take to produce? And they're for the military—if we delay, it won't be good. So, I've had to organize overtime to get the workers to produce." Jobst said, looking frustrated.

Although his factory wasn't small, the orders Roland received were even larger.

"Alright, Jobst. Stop complaining. Big orders mean big money, you know? This is an 80 million franc order. Even if you only take a tenth of that, you'll make 8 million. That's enough to buy your entire factory." Roland said with a smile.

"But you have to consider whether my factory can handle it. So I'm thinking about increasing production." Jobst said.

"We definitely need to increase production. Hire more workers! After all, in the future, we won't just be making rifles—we might also be making cannons!" Roland said, smiling at Jobst.

"Cannons? No way, can we really produce something like that?" Jobst said in shock. The technical requirements for cannons were very high, and he doubted whether their group of people could produce them.

"Why not? We'll take it slow. By the way, did you find the cannon expert I asked you to look for?" Roland asked.

"Of course, how could I not do what you asked? But I have to say, Roland, one of these days you're going to get me killed. Because of this, I almost had the police on my tail, and I nearly ended up in jail." Jobst looked at Roland with resentment, expressing his displeasure.

"Haha! Jobst, I didn't do it on purpose! At the time, I was still in Italy fighting, remember? So I had to leave it to you to handle," Roland scratched his head awkwardly in response to Jobst's complaint.

"Oh, by the way, Jobst. Here, take this." Roland pulled out a document from his pocket and handed it to Jobst.

"What's this?" Jobst took the letter from Roland's hand and asked in confusion.

Opening it with his hand, he felt the heavy weight of the contents as he looked at what was inside.

"Roland, this... this is..." Jobst pointed at the document in his hand, his face full of disbelief. In that moment, he felt as if happiness had come too suddenly.

This document wasn't just any document; it was a military officer's commission that Roland had begged Napoleon to grant to Jobst, promoting him to the rank of major. Although it was an honorary rank without actual authority in the military, it meant everything to Jobst.

With this rank, Jobst would no longer be looked down upon, and incidents like being arbitrarily detained would be a thing of the past. For Jobst, this wasn't just about having a military title but also about preserving his dignity. That was why Jobst was so overwhelmed with emotion.

"Roland, I... I don't know what to say... Thank you so much," Jobst was so moved that he could hardly speak properly.

"Alright, don't get too excited. From now on, I've got your back. No one will dare to touch you again," Roland patted Jobst on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Of course, with Napoleon's nephew as my backer, who would dare to mess with me?" Jobst smiled, and with his laughter, much of the tension of the past was swept away.

"Your Highness Roland!" Just as Roland and Jobst were enjoying their conversation, a voice called out to Roland.

Upon hearing the voice, Roland turned to look, only to find that the person calling him was none other than his acquaintance, Barrett, Napoleon's chief guard.

During Roland's hospital stay, many French officials had come to visit him, and Barrett was one of them, so Roland remembered him.

"Colonel Barrett!" Roland nodded when he saw Barrett, but he was also curious how Barrett had managed to find him.

"Roland, Napoleon was right. You're indeed here," Barrett said.

"Napoleon guessed I would be here?" Roland wondered aloud. Could it be that Napoleon already knew him so well?

"That's right! When I went to your house and found you weren't there, Napoleon guessed you might be at the armory, so he sent me to find you. It seems Napoleon's guess was correct. Your Highness Roland, come with me quickly! Napoleon has urgent matters to discuss with you!" Barrett urged.

"Urgent matters? Could something serious have happened in the country?" Roland's excitement grew upon hearing Barrett's words.

"And you said you went to my house first? Does that mean my parents already know I'm not at home?" Roland realized another important issue.

Originally, he had planned to sneak out under the cover of darkness, check out the armory's situation, and return before daybreak. But now, with Napoleon involved, was his escape from home already exposed? His mother Maria might kill him!

"Damn Napoleon, he's such a troublemaker. Thanks to him, I'll probably face my parents' wrath for a long time. After this is over, I must hold Napoleon accountable," Roland thought bitterly.

Despite Roland's frustrations, there were more pressing matters at hand. Whatever had Napoleon so worked up couldn't be trivial. Roland needed to get to the Palace of Versailles immediately.

After bidding farewell to Jobst, Roland boarded the carriage prepared by Barrett and swiftly headed towards the Palace of Versailles. The carriage's speed confirmed Roland's suspicions - something significant was indeed happening, and since Roland hadn't received any news about a war breaking out, it was likely a domestic matter.

"Could it be that the domestic rebels are making a move?" Roland speculated inwardly. As far as he knew, ever since Napoleon returned to France, he had been hunting down domestic rebels and loyalists to the Bourbon dynasty. If anyone could cause trouble for Napoleon, it would likely be them.

As the carriage sped along, Roland's thoughts raced. Before he knew it, they had arrived at the Palace of Versailles. Upon arrival, a heavy atmosphere enveloped them.

Napoleon paced the room incessantly, the atmosphere thick with tension. Even Josephine felt uneasy, sensing the turmoil within her husband.

Seeing this, Roland hurried forward and called out, "Uncle Napoleon."

"Hmm? Roland, you're back. There's something I need to discuss with you. Come, have a seat. I'll fetch something," Napoleon replied, snapping out of his reverie upon seeing Roland. He first addressed Roland and gestured for him to sit down before promptly leaving to retrieve something from the back.