I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 261

His Empty Seat

The British Parliament, usually on the receiving end of setbacks without any chance to retaliate, was, as usual, engrossed in unproductive debates that day.

A blame game of epic proportions, with accusations hurled at France and no one willing to take responsibility.

Witnessing such a spectacle, anyone would feel a sense of hopelessness welling up, yet no one offered a viable solution.

So, basically…

“We must! We absolutely must blame France! Isn’t it already agreed upon that we don’t differentiate between parties on this matter!”

“Then tell us specifically how we’re going to pin it on France! Give us concrete methods!”

The parliamentarians, with their deadlines fast approaching, were bloodshot with desperation.

The capitalists who had been providing support were already lamenting, and donations were not as plentiful as in previous years.

If things got any more tangled here, most of the current parliamentarians would lose their seats.

Then what would happen to the businesses they had secretly started and the vested interests they had been promised?

Hand them over to others or let competitors, who were watching for a chance to strike, snatch them away?

That could not happen. Absolutely not.

“Now, now, let’s calm down.”

“Is this a time to calm down? Perhaps you have something to rely on, Prime Minister?”

“Ahem! There’s no point in us getting worked up amongst ourselves. Let’s trust the Prime Minister and wait!”

Peat, who had been listening to the meeting from the corner, coughed and averted his gaze as everyone’s attention turned to him.

The way they only worked together at times like this was truly sickening.

It was another moment of confirming the truth that what mattered most to the parliamentarians was not national interest or the citizens, but their own seats.

In any case, he couldn’t continue to remain silent when all the parliamentarians were demanding an answer.

He moistened his parched lips with cool water and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Ah… everyone. I’ve been thinking about it in many ways…”

“As expected, Prime Minister!”

“You’ve come up with a brilliant idea!”

A brilliant idea, my foot.

If he had, would he have kept his mouth shut until now?

Peat pondered how to prevent the parliamentarians’ expectations, which were shining at him, from turning into anger.

But no matter how much he racked his brain, could he suddenly realize the answer he hadn’t been able to find until now?

Percival’s suggestion to blame all of this on France was, frankly speaking, delusional.

Going that route would essentially mean going to war, but what would happen if Britain went to war with France alone right now?

Of course, France’s allies wouldn’t necessarily side with France.

France, having taken excessive gains in Asia, was under the watchful eye of all of Europe.

But that didn’t mean they would help Britain. The possibility was close to zero.

Perhaps almost all countries would hope that Britain would inflict as much damage as possible on France and be gloriously annihilated.

Was there any need to voluntarily step into this entrance to hell, where only a future of destruction awaited?

After a moment of contemplation, Peat steeled his heart and took a deep breath.

“Honorable members of Parliament…”

Just as he was about to say the usual words about overcoming the difficult future by joining forces, there was a bang!

A secretary burst through the door and hurriedly handed Peat a small piece of paper.

“What is this commotion… hmm?”

The help from heaven he had so desperately wished for.

The moment Peat saw the short sentence ‘French Queen Dies’ written on the paper, he felt the existence of God with his whole body for the first time in a long time.

“Hallelujah…”

God had not yet abandoned the British Empire.

From now on, not a single second should be wasted.

A short moment, splitting a moment into fractions.

Having made all the judgments, he excused himself to the parliamentarians and rushed out like a madman.

Surely it wasn’t too late yet?

It absolutely had to be.

He wouldn’t even dare to plot such a scheme at any other time, but wasn’t that Louis Christian far away in Asia?

It had to be now.

If not now, the British Empire would forever be stuck in second place, always behind France.

There wasn’t even time to think anymore.

Peat cut off his thoughts and, not wanting to waste even a few seconds calling a coachman, drove the carriage himself out of Parliament.

“How long exactly did it take for this news to reach me?”

“Of course, it was reported as quickly as possible, prioritizing everything else.”

“Good. Then there’s enough time.”

The end of the direction he was heading, of course, was the Russian Embassy.

The long night called war was not over yet.

Rather, the real night was just beginning.

※※※

Grand Duchess Leopoldina, and Queen of France.

Although not directly related by blood to the current Tsar of Russia, she was undoubtedly of the Romanov imperial lineage.

Unlike these glamorous titles, the life of Queen Julianne of France was tragic itself.

It was good to be a member of the imperial family, but she had been expelled from the palace since she was old enough to understand, living a life worse than a commoner.

Catherine II [Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia], with her heart of iron, showed no mercy to the descendants of her rivals.

Considering that her whole family had died miserably or was destined to die, she was better off.

At that time, Russia needed a political marriage with France, and she was the only Romanov woman of suitable age to marry a French royal.

However, she could not be happy to abandon her original name and never return to her homeland.

Besides, she was just a figurehead, with no foundation or backing, even though she was called a queen.

But still, once she got used to it, it wasn’t so bad.

Her husband, the king, was an eccentric who didn’t want power or responsibility, so they got along surprisingly well.

The presence of Marie, who always helped her in every way and was a conversational partner, was also a great help.

If she hadn’t been there, Julianne would not have lasted a few years due to depression.

She decided to live in a distant foreign land, to love, to have children, and to continue living.

Louis XVI also didn’t dislike such a wife.

She was a person who felt a strange sense of kinship, even though she was in a completely different situation from himself.

So he wanted to cherish her as much as possible and make her happy.

Fortunately, the couple continued to have a good relationship, and it was fun to watch the children grow up.

He thought that they would continue to grow old together and have a happy old age, but people’s fate is not always as they wish.

“······.”

“Your Majesty. Were you here?”

“···Is there something more I need to do? The funeral must be over.”

“Yes, but Your Majesty needs to meet with the Russian diplomats…”

Marie couldn’t bring herself to continue speaking at the sight of Louis XVI, who looked at her with eyes as hollow as a corpse.

How great must have been the psychological shock.

If Christian had passed away, she would have stopped eating and drinking and would not have been able to do anything.

So she could guess how a man who had lost his wife would feel.

But that was that, and this was this.

Even if it sounded cold, the king had to fulfill his duties as king.

That was the responsibility of someone born into the royal lineage.

“Your Majesty. Currently, the parliament is also confused by this untimely tragedy. If Your Majesty shows signs of wavering, the entire country will inevitably be affected.”

“···I knew that my wife’s health had not been good for months. I should have paid more attention then…”

“The doctor said it seemed like she had a heart condition… It’s not Your Majesty’s fault.”

“I should have been more considerate…”

Louis XVI was slumped over like a doll with a broken string, repeating the same words over and over.

No matter how she looked at it, he was not in a mentally sound state.

He needed to rest for a few more days… But even so, shouldn’t someone step forward and take care of this chaos now?

Even though it was a constitutional monarchy, the influence of the royal family was by no means low.

It was because Louis XVI himself had no intention of exercising it, but if he wanted to come to the fore, he could control the state affairs as much as he wanted.

Especially now that her husband was away, the king had to take on this role instead.

But she was just dizzy as to why she was doing this role.

“···Your Majesty.”

“I’m sorry, but could you do it for me? Now that my capable brother is away, I don’t know what to do.”

“Wouldn’t it be enough to meet the ambassador, express your condolences, and get assurances that the alliance between the two countries will remain strong in the future?”

“My brother used to take care of all that… I don’t think there’s any point in me doing it.”

She wondered if he was being sarcastic, but she didn’t feel even a hint of it.

This was really 100 percent sincerity.

Was it that he had left everything to his brother, so he didn’t even feel like doing something without his brother’s request?

‘This is not good…’

Of course, she understood his feelings.

But now that everything from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the National Assembly was in chaos, what was the head of the country supposed to do if he was just grieving alone?

Besides, he was asking her, the First Lady, not the Prime Minister, to take care of the aftermath.

Even though there seemed to be some signs of women’s rights being promoted these days, she wondered if this was really happening in France, where the prevailing opinion was that women should not come forward too much.

Of course, she knew very well that this was not about men and women, but because she was the closest person to Christian in this country.

“Yes. I’ll try to do something for now, so I hope Your Majesty will be strong and regain your strength. The Queen will be resting comfortably by the Lord’s side.”

“···Thank you for saying that.”

Marie left the Palace of Versailles, leaving behind the powerless words of Louis XVI.

As soon as she appeared outside the palace, the parliamentarians and Foreign Minister Talleyrand, who had been waiting, rushed up and poured out a barrage of questions.

“What does Your Majesty say?”

“Will he meet with the Russian ambassador?”

“Has the Prime Minister contacted you separately?”

“I’ll answer one by one. His Majesty said that he doesn’t think he can do anything for the time being, so I think the Minister should meet with the Russian ambassador. And I haven’t heard from my husband yet.”

Why were people who used to handle things so brilliantly suddenly acting like this?

In fact, even if the queen died, it wasn’t like the king had died, so there was no need to be so flustered.

What really needed attention was the relationship with Russia, so if they just kept that in check and waited for her husband’s call, wouldn’t that be enough?

Marie could once again realize how deeply her husband’s shadow was cast over this country.

It wasn’t that they were incompetent and floundering like that.

It was because they were too dependent on one person. With the superior who always made the best decisions absent, they suddenly had a brain freeze.

“First of all, Minister Talleyrand, please do your best. If you need any help, please tell me anytime.”

“In that case, wouldn’t you like to go with me to meet the Russian ambassador? After all, the Queen was closest to your wife, so I think it would be easier to talk if you were there.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

In any case, she had no choice but to work together until her husband returned.

Marie smiled bitterly at her situation, sighing more than usual today, and headed to the Russian Embassy.

His Empty Seat End