I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 105

Bon appétit

The historical union of the House of Bourbon and the House of Romanov.

The implications of this monumental marriage were enormous.

Especially since the wedding was held immediately after a historic victory, people saw it as a celebration of France’s triumph.

From Russia’s perspective, it was also necessary to maintain friendly relations with France in order to increase its national power and become a global powerhouse.

In other words, the responsibility placed on the person who would become the Queen of France was quite significant.

Just before the ceremony, Juliana Romanova still couldn’t believe that she had been given such an important role.

“Princess… no, from now on, I should call you Crown Princess. Crown Princess, you may be confused, but don’t worry. I, Alexandre, will assist you from now on, so you can trust me.”

Alexandre, who became the Russian ambassador to France at an exceptionally young age, had a voice that inspired trust.

“Yes… I’m counting on you, Ambassador.”

She was only a royal by blood, and it had been less than a year since she had been treated like this.

This was because her maternal uncle, Ivan VI, was deposed and her family was literally torn apart.

The logic of the world is that a fallen royal family is worse than commoners.

Even though Juliana was reinstated because she was the only woman who was eligible to marry the Crown Prince of France, she was very unfamiliar with this treatment.

Moreover, she was confused because she was going to spend a new life in a faraway foreign land overnight.

She heard that she would not be able to return to her home country until she died, and she would not be able to see the faces of her remaining family.

So, whether she liked it or not, the only people she could rely on were her future husband, Crown Prince Auguste, and Ambassador Alexandre, who was from her hometown.

“After the ceremony, the Crown Princess will have to live in Versailles. What was your impression of the Crown Prince? Do you think you’ll be able to get along well?”

“He seemed like a kind person. Is there anything I should do?”

“The Crown Princess should just aim to be a good Crown Princess who can receive the love of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“I heard warnings from my home country that the Crown Prince of France is an unpredictable person, but he didn’t seem like that… Am I wrong?”

Alexandre sneered and narrowed his eyes.

“Ignore what the old men in your home country say. They don’t know anything. I have the most accurate information about France. That’s why I’m in this position.”

Then Alexandre handed over a document.

It was a document with notes on France’s current power structure and things to watch out for, which he had researched in his own way.

“…I need to be sure to familiarize myself with this.”

Juliana carefully read the contents.

The name he already knew was at the top of the list.

“Duke Louis Christian of Orléans. He’s the younger brother of the man who will be my husband, right?”

“That’s right. However, the Duke of Orléans is the half-brother of the current Crown Prince. But they are closer than real brothers. The Crown Princess must never, ever be at odds with him. If anyone in the palace tries to bring up such a story, consider them to be trying to distance Russia and France.”

“Is he that important?”

Juliana was living in exile in a remote part of Russia just a year ago.

Even though she had heard a lot of stories, her political sense was no better than that of an ordinary person.

“He’s not just important. This is just my personal opinion, and it’s a very sensitive story, so just keep it in your heart.”

“Yes.”

“It’s no exaggeration to say that the Duke of Orléans, not King Louis XV, is the one who moves France today. So think of him as the de facto number two in this country.”

“Not the Crown Prince, who will be the future king?”

“Yes. That’s how I see it. If the current Crown Prince ever ascends the throne… the Duke of Orléans is likely to be the one who actually rules France.”

After hearing this, Juliana understood roughly.

But at the same time, she also felt a sense of crisis.

Her maternal uncle, Ivan VI, was in that position before being ousted from the throne and tragically ending his life.

“Then couldn’t there be a power struggle?”

“That won’t happen. The Duke of Orléans has repeatedly emphasized that he has no right to the throne, and that he will fulfill his duties as the first aristocrat of France. The Crown Prince wouldn’t antagonize his strongest ally. No, I think he will rely entirely on the Duke of Orléans.”

“Haa… then I have to get on his good side too.”

“Yes. In order to maximize the benefits of our Russia, we must maintain a close relationship with His Highness the Duke of Orléans.”

Juliana’s eyes turned to the bottom of Christian’s name on the document.

“I guess the reason why I should be close to this Marie Antoinette is because she’s the Duke of Orléans’ wife?”

“Yes. In my opinion, it would be better to get close to his wife first than to try to become friends with the Duke of Orléans directly. It would be much more natural.”

“What about this Madame du Barry?”

“She is the current King’s mistress. This is a bit complicated, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be bad to be friendly with her.”

Alexandre hesitated a little this time, as if he wasn’t sure.

After all, it was difficult for a man to make a hasty judgment about the complex and subtle relationships between women.

“First of all, Madame du Barry doesn’t get along with the King’s daughters… the princesses. So, she will usually be abandoned when the next king ascends the throne… but recently, there have been rumors that Madame du Barry is on friendly terms with the Duke of Orléans.”

“Ah… then it could get a little complicated.”

“But if you have to choose between the princesses and the Duke of Orléans, you don’t have to hesitate to choose the latter. So I think the Crown Princess should do some work on this part.”

At Alexandre’s request, Juliana lowered her head silently.

In the end, it meant that she would have to step in between Marie Antoinette and Louis XV’s daughters and engage in a subtle battle of wits.

Could she really withstand such an atmosphere?

“…I’ll do my best.”

First of all, I should contact Marie Antoinette first.

Juliana wanted to run away from this place if she could.

※※※

…After the wedding, which symbolized the union of the two royal families, was concluded in a grand manner, a banquet was held to celebrate the future of the Crown Prince and Princess.

Even while everyone was laughing, chatting, and enjoying food and drinks, subtle political battles were taking place behind the scenes.

José Moñino.

He, who was recently nominated as the next Prime Minister of Spain, looked at me with a pleasant smile.

“Congratulations on your successful wedding. This will make France’s power even greater.”

“The congratulations should be given to my brother, who is the one getting married. I just did my best to prepare the stage.”

“Haha, how many people don’t know that this union is the work of none other than the Prince?”

“It’s just an act for the benefit of the country.”

José Moñino is a different type of person than Alexandre.

He was a person who was friendly to this side, but he independently pursued his own interests.

If you were to pick the most capable politician in 18th century Spain, he would definitely be one of them.

If you let your guard down, you might get backstabbed at any time.

“The benefits that France has gained from His Highness’s loyalty are almost impossible to calculate. You have regained control of the West Indies, recovered all of your colonies in the New World, and curbed the momentum of your rival, England.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to Spain’s faithful assistance? Your country also got Gibraltar, which you wanted so much, so it’s a win-win situation.”

“That’s right. But the truth is, the really important thing is from now on. It’s harder to protect something than to take it away, and it’s harder to build up the interior than to ruin it.”

“Yes. That’s why I have a lot of worries. India is one thing, but the New World is like having to draw a picture from scratch.”

José, who was listening to this, made a subtle expression for a moment.

Then, he lowered his voice and asked in a subtle tone.

“I heard that His Highness is going to be the governor of New France this time. Is France going to put more emphasis on the New World?”

“There’s no point in putting more emphasis on one side or the other. It just seems like it’s going to take a lot of work, so I’m going to go there once.”

“In that sense, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear about something that would benefit both countries?”

“There’s no problem with listening. But I can’t promise that I can give you an answer right away.”

José nodded as if it was enough and took out a small piece of paper from his pocket.

It was a small map showing the approximate territory of the New World.

He even brought this, so he must have been aiming for it from the beginning.

“Currently, North America is largely divided into our country, the newly acquired colonies of France, and the newly independent United States.”

“That’s right.”

After the defeat in the Seven Years’ War, most of Canada and the North American colonies that France had were handed over to England, and the rest were ceded to Spain.

And this time, all the areas that had been handed over to England were recovered, and a significant portion of the lands that had been ceded to Spain were also recovered in exchange for giving Gibraltar.

Still, the area corresponding to modern Louisiana was still occupied by Spain.

Spain called this colonial area Nueva España [New Spain], just like France, and the territory of this Nueva España was so vast that it included the entire territory of Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and parts of Texas.

“Just as France feels the need to strengthen New France, we are also hearing voices that we need to re-examine our current territory for the same reason. And the conclusion is that the area we have to manage now is too unnecessarily large. Especially now that we have to thoroughly defend Gibraltar so that it doesn’t get taken back by England.”

“That seems like a reasonable recognition of reality.”

“Yes. So, this time, the parliament has come up with the idea of simply ceding the areas that are not easy to manage to France and taking practical benefits instead.”

José pointed to the part corresponding to Louisiana on the map and continued.

“To be specific, we will hand over this area to France. In fact, this basin was also the land that France had before the Seven Years’ War. It was originally supposed to be returned to France in the Treaty of Paris.”

“Even if we are allies, we can hurt each other’s feelings if we are too greedy. I have no intention of making such a mistake.”

Of course, that’s not what I really think.

If New France occupies Louisiana here, the only country that borders the United States is New France.

So, I deliberately left Louisiana so that Spain and the United States could border each other.

Even if a person like José didn’t notice my plan, he couldn’t have overlooked the fact that he could border the United States.

So, wouldn’t he be trying to eliminate their risks and take the benefits of the other side at this opportunity?

And as expected, José made a proposal that didn’t deviate from expectations.

“If you have Louisiana, New France will be in contact with the Atlantic Ocean not only in the north but also in the south. So it will be of great help to New France.”

“So, what does Spain want in exchange for ceding this area?”

“We would like you to permanently recognize Gibraltar as our territory and sign a treaty to defend it together if England uses force.”

They are passing on the United States, which could be a nuisance in North America, to this side, and they are also borrowing this side’s power to block Gibraltar.

As expected, even if you are an ally, if you take your eyes off for a moment, you will get your nose cut off in this era of diplomacy.

As soon as the behemoth called England gets caught on a reef, Austria tries to annex Bavaria as if it had been waiting, Russia is full of thoughts of hitting Turkey, and Spain is making plans to regain its past glory.

Of course, if you come out like this, I have my own thoughts.

“Okay. If that’s the story, there’s no need to think about it anymore. I’ll tell His Majesty right away and get permission.”

You may think that you have made a brilliant move, but it is not the sky that determines which side will cry and which side will laugh in the future.

The person who determines that is not Spain, the United States, or even France, but me.