It took Lionel an entire day of subtle probing and piecing together fragments to finally understand the full story.
Among the substantial sponsorships the Sorbonne received, despite his absence from the "Poetry Gathering" held on the last weekend of Easter, was a 150,000 franc donation to establish a "Rothschild-Sorbonne Literary Scholarship" at the Sorbonne, awarded annually with a prize of 5,000 francs to students with outstanding creative achievements.
This year's award was almost certainly destined for Lionel by default.
However, since Lionel would be graduating next year and could only receive it once, people were more envious than jealous, and there wasn't much speculation about Mrs. Rothschild's relationship with him.
After all, she had been one of the Sorbonne's major benefactors in previous years; this year, she simply sponsored an exceptionally large amount.
However, another donation, totaling a staggering 300,000 francs, was almost explicitly made because of Lionel—
"With this humble sum, I pay profound tribute to the Son of Sorbonne Literature who could have attended the 'Poetry Gathering,' but chose absence for dignity and conscience!
—From Baroness Balf Alexeyevna Durova-Shcherbatova"
After a proud-looking servant from the Baroness's estate finished reading this statement at the "Poetry Gathering," a luxurious carriage with heavy wheels drove into the Sorbonne square where the event was held, in front of everyone.
Several burly men unloaded a few chests from the carriage.
The servant opened the lids on the spot, and a dazzling golden light instantly blinded everyone.
Inside the chests were "gold Louis" coins that had ceased circulation nearly a hundred years ago, each embossed with the likeness of "Sun King" Louis XIV.
Each "gold Louis" contained 6.45 grams of gold and could be exchanged for 20 to 24 francs, so the nearly 15,000 gold coins present at the scene truly astonished everyone.
What was even more remarkable was that "gold Louis" coins had already exited French currency circulation in 1795, replaced by the current franc.
Most people had exchanged their gold Louis for the new currency for convenience.
Even in some aristocratic families, "gold Louis" were mostly kept for appreciation or decoration, not genuinely used for purchases.
It was likely that no magnate in all of France could produce such a quantity of "gold Louis."
As for who the "Son of Sorbonne Literature who could have attended the 'Poetry Gathering,' but chose absence for dignity and conscience" was, it was obvious to anyone.
Regarding the use of this donation, the servant proudly declared:
"Baroness Alexeyevna allows the Sorbonne to dispose of this money as it sees fit; she trusts in the noble character of the Sorbonne people!"
Then she boarded the carriage and left, leaving behind the bewildered Sorbonne faculty, students, and guests.
The Sorbonne faculty and students were nearly frantic—300,000 francs with no restrictions on its use!?
Could such a good thing really exist!?
It was well known that Mrs. Rothschild's 150,000 franc donation was for a scholarship, which not only had dedicated account management but also required the academy to submit an annual usage report to her and be subject to audits by her private accountant at any time.
Even trying to divert a small sum was extremely troublesome.
According to gossips, after Baroness Alexeyevna arrived in Paris, her flamboyant and generous demeanor caused her to be ostracized by the Parisian ladies' circles.
This donation carried a strong implication of showing them up.
However, choosing Lionel as the justification made the subtle implications worthy of careful consideration.
Spurred by her actions, the noblewomen attending the "Poetry Gathering" also began to compete in donations.
By the final tally, the Sorbonne had received or was set to receive over 2 million francs in total.
This way, although Baroness Alexeyevna's 300,000 francs still stood out, her proportion of the total decreased as the overall donations rose, saving the Parisian noblewomen from too much embarrassment.
2 million francs was also the largest single-year fundraising amount in the Sorbonne's history.
And the person who brought all this about was none other than Lionel, who hadn't attended the "Poetry Gathering" and had "mysteriously disappeared" for two weeks during the Easter holiday!
It was rumored that Baroness Alexeyevna came from one of Russia's oldest aristocratic families—the Shcherbatov family.
Her father was Prince Sergei Ivanovich Shcherbatov, and her mother was the daughter of Count Vorontsov, with half Georgian royal blood.
The inheritance her father left her upon his death included:
Four estates located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Chernihiv, Ukraine;
Shares in the Baku oil fields;
A 40% stake in a salt mine in the Don River basin;
A three-story villa on Rue Varenne in the 7th arrondissement of Paris—though, of course, she disliked living there, finding it too small.
Baroness Alexeyevna, thanks to her inherited wealth and controlled dowry, enjoyed an annual income exceeding 1.4 million rubles (approximately 3.5 million francs).
This annual income was unparalleled not only in Russia but across the whole of Europe.
As renowned as her wealth was her appearance—a round face, large ears, a straight nose, a square mouth, towering in stature with a broad waist, a bristly, badger-like beard on her cheeks, and a palm-width patch of protective chest hair.
She possessed the courage of ten thousand men, truly a formidable figure.
It was said that Baroness Alexeyevna had moved from Moscow to live in Paris long-term with the full support of her husband.
That Lionel could "battle" with her for two whole weeks was even more remarkable than his literary talent—for on this European continent, literary giants are easily found, but a Rasputin is hard to come by.
Now, looking across the entire Sorbonne, no professor or student dared to slight Lionel again.
————
Knowing all this, Lionel felt helpless.
He couldn't very well tell people:
"During the Easter holiday, I first went to Jersey to pay respects at Mr. Hugo's former residence, then I stumbled upon a sensational three-person love-triangle murder case in Paris, and finally I moved out in a terrified hurry..."
Even if he did, everyone would surely wear the same "you don't need to explain, I understand" expression.
Furthermore, he had no idea what Baroness Alexeyevna's intentions really were.
Was it because she admired "The Old Guard," or because she appreciated his character for confronting Professor Terry and speaking up for Chen Jitong?
But she had spent 300,000 francs on his behalf, and while not a single cent had landed in his pocket, the goodwill she projected was as immense as a hurricane.
Lionel was racking his brain over how he would "repay" her in the future.
Could he really be expected to pay back a debt of money with his body?
After two days passed in this dazed state, by Tuesday, Lionel could finally extricate himself from the suffocatingly ambiguous atmosphere at the Sorbonne and take a breath by attending a historically famous literary salon—
"Charpentier's Tuesdays."
(End of Chapter)
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