I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1382 Fraudster and Hero
In an upscale residence not far from the Palace of Versailles, a slightly overweight middle-aged man looked at the front page of the Paris Business Daily, stood up and exclaimed, "Quick, we have to go too, otherwise all the benefits will go to Tangi!"

The newspaper published yesterday's interview with the "hero who facilitated the reunification of Bern," which was personally hosted by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Cambaceres—the ceremony was incredibly grand.

Furthermore, the Deputy Minister confirmed in front of all the reporters that His Highness the Crown Prince would confer the title of hereditary Baron Tanji upon him.

Other newspapers also reported that Tangi had been invited to a dinner at Versailles.

The blond man looked at Folger anxiously and said, "We should also have a share of that title; we can't delay any longer."

Previously, Folger, just to be on the safe side, forbade Tangi from revealing the names of the three of them, but now, it seems that the title is about to be taken away by the least powerful member of the gang.

After going through all the details again and finding nothing suspicious, Folger finally nodded and said, "We'll go to Versailles tomorrow morning too."

Things went surprisingly smoothly, and they received a grand welcome.

The French police chief accompanied them throughout the visit and, after hearing about their "chance encounter" with Count Elach, praised their wisdom.

"His Highness the Crown Prince will receive you all the day after tomorrow," a court official informed them. "You must decide who will receive the title before then. If you change the candidate, His Highness will be in a very difficult position."

Folger bowed to him with his hand on his chest: "It is me, sir, and it will never change."

Hereditary titles are extremely valuable, and naturally there can only be one. And no one in the gang dared to compete with him, the leader.

After leaving the room, Viscount Besançon immediately instructed his men: "It should be him. Proceed to the next step."

"Send people to keep a close eye on them. If anyone tries to leave, use a reporter interview or a banquet to keep them occupied."

"Yes, my lord!"

The next day, as the palace officials were instructing the four men on the etiquette for their audience with the Crown Prince, the police chief suddenly knocked on the door and whispered something in their ear.

The palace officials were immediately shocked: "Such a thing has happened? I must inform His Highness immediately."

Folger frowned and looked at Besançon: "What happened?"

The latter hesitated for a moment, then said, "Just now, two people claimed that they brought the Bernese parliamentarian to France. So we need to confirm who is lying."

"These damned frauds!" Folger roared in fury. Clearly, someone had their eye on his title and was impersonating him. "Please allow me to expose them!"

"This... I'm afraid that won't work. There are many reporters interviewing them right now."

Soon, the court officials returned and informed Folger that the investiture ceremony would be postponed until the matter was clarified.

To Ferger's surprise, the number of imposters kept increasing, and the next afternoon, three more groups of people came to "claim" the fraud against the Bernese councilor.

In fact, these people were all security agents arranged by Joseph, with the aim of diverting public attention from Ferger so that he wouldn't actually bestow a knighthood upon the fraudster.

Fergen's conman instincts told him that something seemed amiss.

However, when he was about to leave the mansion where he was staying, he was politely stopped by a group of servants who said that His Highness the Crown Prince might summon a "distinguished guest" at any time, so he could not go out.

Fortunately, Viscount Besançon soon brought him good news, saying that Versailles Palace had invited Count Elach to Paris to publicly confirm who was the true "hero of the Union".

After waiting for nearly half a month, the fraud gang finally received a notice to meet with the Bernese parliamentarian.

The following day at noon, in the police station lobby, Ferger and his associates, along with several other groups who had "claimed credit," were surrounded by dozens of reporters. Several hundred citizens had also gathered outside to watch the spectacle.

Ferger glared at the "liar" beside him and said in a deep voice, "Fools, you will soon be exposed and arrested for 'fraud'! I will visit you in prison then."

Those "scammers" remained calm, even as they faced death, they still shouted back: "You're the fake ones!"

"We'll be receiving an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince soon!" "Just you wait, you damned imposters..."

Soon, Count Elach, Baron Frey, and others entered the hall.

Viscount Besançon first gave a brief introduction to everyone, then pointed at the swindlers and said to the Swiss, "Then, please tell everyone, who exactly was the person you contacted in Baden?"

Count Elach's gaze swept over the nearest group of people, and he shook his head: "It's not them."

Frey and the others also shook their heads.

Folger quickly raised his head and leaned forward, saying proudly, "Your Excellency, it is an honor to see you again."

Count Elach frowned: "Who are you? I don't know you at all."

Folger paused, suddenly remembering that he wasn't the one dressed as "Viscount Norbert" back then, and quickly waved to the blond youth: "Esprit, come here quickly!"

However, Elach and the others kept shaking their heads as they looked at the blond youth's face. "No, it's definitely not him."

"I've never seen them before."

Even the Swiss servants said they had never seen Folger and his group.

When Count Elach looked at the next group of swindlers, Folger's face turned ashen.

Without confirmation from the Swiss, he was not a "hero of the Union," but a fraudster who had fraudulently claimed a title!

He grabbed Elach by the back of his collar like a madman and roared, "Look carefully! He said he could get you a French title at the Karlsruhe Royal Palace, and your mistress was there too!"

"What are you doing? Stop!" Viscount Besançon forcefully pulled him away. A group of policemen immediately rushed over and restrained Folger and the others.

More than ten minutes later, Count Elah identified all the people who claimed to be "heroes of the Union" and then announced to the reporters: "They are all frauds here. I have never seen them before."

Yes, that was Joseph's whole plan.

He said he would pardon the man who defrauded the Bernese councilor and grant him a title, and he will certainly do so.

The credibility of the royal family must never be compromised.

But for fraudsters who claim credit for others' work, the matter can only be handled by the police.

Moreover, all the newspapers will then focus on a group of "imposters" arranged by the security bureau, and Folger and his group will soon be forgotten by everyone.

As for the "meritorious figures of the reunification", none of them have ever appeared?
Oh, that's such a shame.

Two days later.

Palace of Versailles.

Joseph was talking to Archbishop Beaumont and several other high-ranking church officials when Emmanuel knocked on the door and came in, whispering a few words to him.

Joseph immediately smiled: "Very good. Use the money to buy dozens of steam irrigation machines and send them to the villages of Bern."

Emmanuel just told him that after the group of swindlers were sent to the No. 34 prison, they quickly confessed to the whereabouts of the 33 francs they had swindled under “strict interrogation”—currently, 7 francs remain.

On the advice of Count Elach, the Bernese Parliament decided to give the money to the great and wise Crown Prince.

(End of this chapter)