Chapter 1

**The Empire's Bonaparte - Chapter 1 (Prologue) (1/200)**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

"Really, it's just shit, really."

I stuffed a chocolate bar into my mouth. Well, eating something sweet is probably better for my health than smoking, and if I don't eat something sweet when I feel terrible, I really do feel like shit.

"Seems like something's bothering you."

"Don't even mention it."

I shook my head. The part-timer who had spoken to me nodded and continued with her work. Well, I come here so often that my face is pretty familiar, so that's probably why she said something.

"The world is really shit..."

I know, humans are all like that, and the way the world works is the same, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still shit.

"It's the same."

I bit into the chocolate bar, but at the same time, a bitter smile appeared on my face.

"Sigh, what good does it do to curse?"

"You could do something about it."

It was the part-timer from earlier. I shook my head at her words.

"Ultimately, the basic principle of how this country, and the world, operates is like this. What good does it do for me to sit here and curse? I might as well finish this job and quit, and maybe go back to farming. I have a plot of land that my father left me, after all."

"Is that so?"

"But aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I'm done, and there are no customers right now, so I'm just chatting. The manager isn't here either. And it's a bit hard to just let it go, since you've been coming here for a while... almost three years? Four years?"

"Come to think of it, it has been four years."

Over those four years, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything, and it's disheartening.

I can't remember who said it, but this really resonates with me.

The dream is grand, but the reality is a cesspool.

I've struggled as much as I could, and I once had the hope that I could do something. It was foolishness born of ignorance.

After my mind cleared a bit, I realized that one problem is linked to others like a chain, and the ripple effect of one action can naturally reach other countries. Solving it like Alexander cutting the Gordian knot? It was a futile dream.

To fix it, each issue would need to be addressed one by one, requiring immense time and effort. In reality, the resistance that follows is so deeply rooted that it would be almost impossible without some kind of hypnotic app. If I were to try to solve it, it would be better to go back in time and prevent the problem before it starts. Even that wouldn't be easy.

"Maybe an emperor could, but there are very few people who have the ability to turn everything upside down. In fact, it's not just a small country's emperor, but someone who could go back a century or two and be on the level of an emperor of an empire that could really discuss world order."

"Could you try?"

"Could I be an emperor? Our country is a democracy. Well, there was one president who staged a coup and became an emperor, so it's not impossible, but do you know Napoleon III? I don't think I could even become a president, let alone be born a prince."

"Hmm... Napoleon III might be a bit difficult. How about his son? You said a prince would be fine, right?"

"Most people don't... Wait, what did you say?"

Did I hear that wrong?

"Up to 170 years ago, it should be possible, but not as an emperor, only as a prince. Go ahead and try everything you want."

Just as I was about to ask what she meant, everything went dark before my eyes.

***

"...Huh? When did he leave?"

The part-timer, who had come out of the storage room, tilted her head. The leftover packaging trash was left on the table.

She was a bit puzzled that the regular customer, who usually cleaned up after himself, had left the trash behind, but she quickly forgot about it because she was busy.

'Probably got an urgent call or something.'

She just shrugged it off.

***

Now, I should mention that I was quite an avid reader.

When I was young, I read many books at the library, and there were a lot of books at home.

Later, I started reading web novels. I was captivated by various exciting stories and would wait for the daily updates, feeling disappointed when a hiatus notice was posted two hours before the scheduled update.

And there was something that came up several times in those stories.

The so-called "binghwan."

Possession, reincarnation, and transmigration.

Possession is when you become a character from history, reincarnation is when you come back to life after dying, and transmigration is when your body is transported to the past or another world.

So, is this reincarnation or possession?

After the part-timer at the regular convenience store playfully pushed my chest, I lost consciousness and found myself in the past, 170 years ago, as a completely different person.

Eugène, Eugène Bonaparte, born in 1854.

Bonaparte.

Isn't that a very famous name? Isn't it the surname of Napoleon Bonaparte, who proclaimed that nothing was impossible and inscribed his name in every dictionary in the world?

Of course, anyone interested in the Napoleonic era would know that most of his family members were so trollish that one might suspect they were from a different lineage.

However, after Napoleon became the first emperor of France, the emperor of France remained a Bonaparte until the last emperor was deposed. There were only two emperors in reality.

Napoleon I and Napoleon III.

While Napoleon I is well-known, Napoleon III, who was both the first president and the last monarch of France, is less known to most people.

And the eldest son of Napoleon III, the Crown Prince of the Second French Empire.

That was the identity I was born with.

'Just because I talked about Napoleon III, I really became his son?'

First, I'm definitely not possessing someone else's body. Why? Because in the original history, Napoleon III had only one legitimate son, but now I have a brother.

I, Eugène Bonaparte, and my younger brother Louis Bonaparte, who is two years younger. So, one of us must be someone who didn't exist in the original history, and it's reasonable to assume that I am that person.

"Mother!"

I saw Louis running up to her. I also stood up to greet her.

"Mother, you've come?"

"Yes, I heard you weren't feeling well. Are you better now?"

"This is nothing."

Empress Eugénie picked up Louis, who had run to her, but her eyes looked a bit sad.

Of course, that's understandable.

She gave birth to me, but I can't really call myself her son.

Of course, no one else knows this fact, but perhaps there is such a thing as a mother's instinct.

But even so, I didn't feel like throwing a tantrum. Even if it might make a completely devoted and loving mother sad, I was too overwhelmed by my surroundings.

It's just too hard to call my father "father," my mother "mother," and my brother "brother."

That's all there is to it.