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Chapter 1027: A Different Path in Life

"What is so bad about the Bourdois widow?" Léonore’s voice crackled with fury. "Romain should listen to his uncle and return to marry her immediately..."

The front door of the Léonore residence was shoved open with a violent bang, and a leather suitcase came flying out from within.

"A man in his thirties, yet he is still playing at running away from home. If he stays here any longer, Uncle Sapina will surely come and kick my ass!"

Immediately following the suitcase, a scrawny man with a large head and a spindly neck stumbled out. He picked up his luggage, looking back toward the courtyard with a helpless and aggrieved expression.

Madame Léonore followed closely behind, whispering words of comfort to the frail man.

Then, the eldest son of the house, Dommi, emerged as well. He turned back toward the courtyard and spoke up. "Father, Uncle has the right to pursue love. Madame Bourdois might have some money, but her insolence and bitterness are legendary..."

Léonore’s figure appeared before them, his face clouded with irritation. "Pursue love? Hah, no wonder he came to our house..."

He caught the look on his wife’s face—it resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption—and quickly swallowed the rest of his sentence.

This Monsieur Romain was Madame Léonore’s cousin and had even pursued her in their youth. Although Léonore had ultimately won her hand, he still harbored a bit of a grudge over the matter.

Dommi spoke up immediately. "Father, I plan to leave for Paris next week. Maria will be coming with me. Uncle can just take my room then."

Léonore frowned. "What are you going to Paris for?"

"To apply for the Paris Military Technology School."

Léonore gestured toward Romain and roared at his wife, "Do you hear that? Just listen to this! It is your cousin. He spends all day filling Dommi’s head with nonsense about 'Administrative Universities' and 'Military Schools' until the boy is completely dazed!"

"Dommi is the eldest son. Now he wants to take his new wife to another province? Who is going to inherit the family estate?!"

Dommi puffed out his chest. "Father, you know my dream is to become a tax official. I want to save families from suffering, just like ours did back then..."

"A tax official?" Léonore waved a hand dismissively. "You are a farmer’s son. You should stay home and till the earth like an honest man. Do not go dreaming of being some official."

Dommi argued, "Uncle said the government has new regulations now. If someone graduates from the military school with high marks, they have a chance to be recommended for the University of Economics and Taxation, or they can apply for the University of Public Administration."

"Even if I cannot be a tax official, I want to join the Notary Investigation Bureau."

"As for the family estate, Mark can take over."

Mark was the second son, thirteen years old, and already considered quite a sturdy lad in the countryside.

"You cannot just shirk your responsibilities like that, brother," Mark said, pouting.

His grades were excellent; he had consistently ranked in the top three at the local parish school, and he certainly planned to make his own way in Paris eventually—the path chosen by most French second sons.

He looked at his father. "Actually, you do not need to worry. My brother cannot even count to ten thousand. He will never get the grades for a recommendation. He will be back by next year."

Counting to ten thousand in French is certainly no easy feat; one must master basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division just to navigate the numbers. This was perhaps why France always seemed to produce so many mathematicians.

"I can definitely do it!" Dommi retorted indignantly. "I can ride a horse; that will earn me extra points!"

"No!" Léonore barked, exerting his fatherly authority. "You are staying home. You aren't going anywhere!"

Dommi stood his ground, his neck stiff with defiance, but he did not dare talk back to his father again.

Just then, he spotted Rochefort standing nearby, watching the spectacle. He immediately strode over and bowed deeply and respectfully.

"Monsieur Rochefort, you are from Paris and surely have seen much of the world. Please, help us settle this..."

Léonore followed him and bowed as well. "Monsieur, please tell this boy that it is God's will for the eldest son to inherit the family estate."

Romain whispered from the side, "Monsieur, Dommi has a real talent for learning. He was just held back by circumstances as a child. He has a strong sense of justice; he should be allowed to try..."

"Shut up!" Léonore turned and snapped at him before addressing Rochefort again. "Monsieur, this brother-in-law of mine has been good for nothing since he was a boy. He sows the seeds in his fields every year and then never touches them again. His harvest is not even half of mine."

"He spends all his time borrowing books from the church or Monsieur Hervé’s house. He kept shouting about going to Reims for university, but here he is in his thirties, having achieved nothing—he hasn't even found a wife."

"Now he is back to egging Dommi on to follow in his footsteps."

"Tell me, shouldn't I give him a good thrashing?"

Rochefort felt his head throb. He silently regretted lingering to watch the drama; now he could not leave even if he wanted to.

He knew that this scrawny man was not necessarily a layabout. In the past, even if someone was academically brilliant, they had no chance of schooling without money. Forget university; even the tuition for a normal school was more than a farmer could afford.

But things were different now. Children from poor families could take the route of military or police academies. Not only was tuition waived, but they could even earn scholarships.

High achievers could go on to university for free after graduation.

He had heard the government was also planning industrial technical schools to train mid-to-low-level technicians, using the same semi-free model as the military schools.

There were even rumors that ordinary schools would soon be tuition-free.

So, if Dommi truly had the ability to learn, going to the big city was a viable choice.

He chose his words carefully, addressing the fuming Léonore. "Look at it this way. Now that we have steam water pumps, all sorts of industrial fertilizers, and the Universal Flying Cart, the two of you can easily manage the family lands yourselves."

Dommi added from the side, "And the steam mills."

"And steam threshers," Mark chimed in.

"Exactly," Rochefort nodded. "So why not let the boy see the world?"

"If it does not work out, he can always come back to inherit the estate."

"But if he succeeds... well, do you know Colonel Ney? The one who fought his way to the gates of Vienna alongside General Moreau? His family were coopers! After graduating from the Paris Police Academy, it took him only five years to reach the rank of Colonel."

"Besides, even if he does not become an official, a sharp mind can do business in Paris or become a technician. In two or three months, he could earn what you make in an entire year."

Although Léonore heard the gentleman from Paris speaking with such logic, he still felt uneasy. He was about to argue further when he suddenly saw a black carriage pull up in front of the house.

A well-dressed young man stepped down, surveyed the group, and asked politely, "Excuse me, is Monsieur Romain Odoric Sapina here?"