Looking for a Helping Hand

"Master..! Master~! It's already morning, wake up. You said you are going somewhere important today…"

Napoleon could feel his cheek getting poked by Ciela's finger, causing him to arouse from his sleep. He groaned and opened his eyes to the sight of his faithful servant, Ciela, standing over him with a wide smile on her face.

Ciela beamed a smile of admiration at her master and helped him get up. Napoleon rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head and focus on the task at hand. He took a deep breath and looked around the room, taking in the familiar sights and sounds that had become a part of his daily routine.

"Master, I already cooked you breakfast and prepared your bath. Just as you told me yesterday, the headmaster has given me permission to cook food for you," Ciela said, gesturing towards a small table in the corner of the room.

"Is that so?" Napoleon stood and stretched his arms. "Thank you, Ciela. That was very kind of you."

"Oh master, it is one of the primary tasks as your personal maid to cook your food, there's no need to thank me," Ciela replied, her eyes shining with adoration for her master.

Ever since Ciela arrived in his dormitory yesterday, there's not been a time where she would praise and reiterate her devotion to Napoleon, which made him a little uncomfortable at times. He was not used to having a personal maid, let alone someone who was so devoted to him. But he couldn't deny that her presence made his life a bit more comforting.

As he sat down to eat his breakfast, Napoleon thought about the important agenda he had today.

First, before the semester starts in a week, he would meet with a certain individual that would allow his thesis about thermodynamics to be recognized by the great intellectuals in Paris. Secondly is to hand over a private correspondence to the La Poste Royale, containing a message to his family asking why they would hire a personal maid for him.

Ciela watched him eat with a small smile on her face and occasionally refilled his tea cup. When Napoleon finished, he stood up, took a bath, and got dressed.

Ciela walked forward with his jacket and walked behind him.

"Uhm, Ciela, I can dress…"

"No, Master, I insist. This is one of my responsibilities as your personal maid, and I take it very seriously. Please allow me to assist you," Ciela said with a gentle smile as she helped him put on his jacket.

Napoleon sighed and nodded, realizing that there was no point in talking to a persistent girl like her.

Ciela skillfully buttoned his jacket while gazing up at Napoleon with a smile. She was cute up close if he were to admit it, with her bright eyes and rosy cheeks.

As they made their way outside, Ciela walked close to him, holding an umbrella to shield him from the light drizzle of rain. The school grounds were relatively empty, with only a few people walking about.

As they arrived at the courtyard of the school, Napoleon saw the man he asked to meet. It was the person whom he had defeated in a fencing duel, Louis.

He was sitting inside the gazebo, with his attendants composing butlers, maids, and other servants who were busily attending to him. Must feel good to be born into a wealthy family.

He walked towards the gazebo with Ciela following closely behind him. As they approached, Louis looked up and he noticed their presence.

"Napoleon…" Louis said softly, there was a lace of apprehension tinged in his voice.

"Bonjour Louis, I'm glad that you came despite our not-so-close relationship," Napoleon said, entering the gazebo.

"Well, I had to come. You left me no choice," Louis replied, his tone curt.

After getting humbled by Napoleon, Louis's impression of Napoleon changed bit by bit. At first, he was bitter, of course as a nobility who carried himself with great pride, losing to a commoner like Napoleon was like a stain on his reputation. So he was determined to get revenge on him, not on fencing, but on other things like academics. He tried competing with him in all subjects but failed utterly, as Napoleon always aced his exam with ease, impressing the teachers and leaving him in the dust. With time, Louis started to appreciate Napoleon's intelligence and began to respect him.

Napoleon sat down opposite Louis and his attendants scurried to bring him a cup of tea. Ciela stood behind Napoleon.

"Who is that girl?" Louis asked. "Is she your attendant? I don't expect you to have one."

"Well, that is a bit complicated," Napoleon chuckled. "You see, my parents hired one for me so there she is. Her name is Ciela if you are curious."

Ciela lifted the side of her hem and curtsied politely. "Bonjour, je m'appelle Ciela. Je suis la femme de chambre personnelle de Napoléon," she introduced herself in a soft, melodic voice.

Louis raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A personal maid? That's a rather unusual arrangement for someone of your social standing, Napoleon."

Napoleon shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know what to say, so can we move forward with our meeting?"

"What do you want, Napoleon?" Louis asked.

"I was hoping that you if know how a person can present their thesis in the University of Paris or the French Academy of Sciences. I'm sure as someone from your social standing, you would know the process. After all, you want to become a scholar right?"

Louis's brows furrowed. "You have a thesis? What is it about?"

"It's about the science of heat, disproving the idea of the famous caloric theory by Antoine Lavoisier."

"Ah that scientific theory huh? I heard about it and it seems very interesting. But you see, Napoleon, the caloric theory is the best one there is. Why would you want to disprove it?" Louis asked with a hint of skepticism.

Napoleon leaned forward, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "Because I have evidence that contradicts the caloric theory. Though I haven't experimented with it yet, I'm confident. My theory is that heat is not a fluid as Lavoisier suggested, but rather a form of motion."

"So you wrote a thesis without experimenting on your hypothesis?" Louis suppressed his grin, Napoleon may excel academically but he still has a lot to learn about scientific research and methodology.

Napoleon chuckled. "I know, that's why there is another thing I want to ask you aside from it. I want you to loan me some money so I can build a contraption that would confirm my hypothesis. I'm talking about 200 livres."

Louis leaned back, looking at Napoleon with a mix of amusement and surprise. "Two hundred livres? That's quite a sum for an untested theory. And what makes you think I would lend you that kind of money?"

Napoleon leaned back as well, his expression confident. "Because I know you are a man of great wealth and influence. And I also know that you are interested in the sciences, Louis. Think of it as an investment in the pursuit of knowledge…" he looked down and saw a book on the table. "Is that Bernoulli's Differential Equation book? I happen to know a great deal about that subject, want me to teach you."

Louis's eyes widened a bit and scoffed. "You can't possibly know this, Napoleon."

"Try me," Napoleon challenged.

Louis hummed. "If you answer this question, I'll let you borrow 200 livres. Not only that, I'll speak with my father who has an associate in the University of Paris and the French Academy of Sciences. But if you answer it wrong, you know what happens."

Napoleon nodded, accepting the challenge.

Louis picked up the book and opened it. He flipped through the pages, looking for the hardest examples. After a few moments, Louis found what he was looking for and pointed to a particularly complex equation. "Can you solve this one?" [dy/dx + 2y/ x = x2y2sin(x)]

Napoleon takes a moment to examine the equation before him, analyzing each term. He recognizes that this is a first-order linear ordinary differential equation of the form dy/dx + p(x)y = q(x)y^n, where n = 2 p(x) = 2/x and q(x) = x^2 sin(x).

This question takes him back to his college days when he was in his original world, differential equations are one of his best subjects and to think that Louis would consider this a hard question baffled him. This is simple differentiation.

He got to work, writing down his solution and boxing his final answer. Napoleon solved it within three minutes and Louis was dumbfounded at how fast he was able to solve it.

He compared Napoleon's solution to the book, although the steps were a bit different, they arrived at the same answer.

"How..?" Louis asked, his eyes wide-eyed as he looked at Napoleon with disbelief.

"Well, I told you before, I'm just good," Napoleon grinned, no need to consult with his cheat blessings. "So? Do we have a deal or not?"

Louis sighed. "Fine, you have my word, Napoleon. But make sure to teach me your method, yours is very straightforward and seems easy to understand compared to this book. Also, we can only do it in my dorm room, I don't want anyone seeing me lumping with you."

"No problem," Napoleon said, sipping his tea.