I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 113

< Integration or Eradication >

During my stay in Philadelphia, I took the time to observe the political situation in America.

As expected, the biggest topic of discussion was gradually shifting from the conflict between Republicans and Federalists to westward expansion.

[The most important thing the federal government should do is stabilize the newly acquired land. We are the disseminators of freedom and have a duty to spread this freedom to the edge of the continent.]

This kind of argument should have taken a little more time to emerge, so what is accelerating this trend?

[Small-scale skirmishes have occurred between Indian tribes on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. For our safety, we need to consider a large-scale Indian extermination operation in cooperation with France……]

After talking with officials, I could roughly understand why these voices were emerging.

Unlike the original history, the United States won the War of Independence against England much more easily this time.

This was because England couldn’t pay as much attention to the New World, but in any case, it was a sufficient victory to boost American confidence.

In addition, as a member of the French alliance, which boasts the strongest power in Europe, there was no need to be mindful of other great powers.

So, the opinion of expanding the territory without restraint and beating down those who get in the way is becoming the mainstream.

This public opinion in the United States was a considerable threat to me.

Because it was happening much faster than I had anticipated.

Fortunately, the high-ranking officials in the United States are still endlessly friendly to France and regard Nouvelle-France [New France, the area of North America colonized by France] as comrades.

However, this is only because the founding fathers and the generation of the War of Independence regard France as comrades.

It’s also because no one knows that I secretly monopolized all the prime real estate.

But this will all become apparent in about two generations.

Because France has taken over the area near the Great Lakes, which is like a cheat key for developing industry, the Great Plains, the most fertile plains in North America, and the northeastern part of Texas, where oil will gush out in the future.

Logically, they wouldn’t think I did it knowing all this, but public opinion can change at any time.

It is definitely necessary to prepare in advance.

In that sense, it was definitely an excellent choice to stop by Philadelphia before going to Canada.

Once today’s meeting with government officials is over, I need to go back and come up with countermeasures.

But the person who’s supposed to pick me up should be here soon. Is the meeting going to end late again?

“Huh? Who are you?”

A young, high-pitched voice rang out.

Wondering if there was a child, I naturally turned to look.

A girl who looked a little over ten years old was staring at me intently.

“I’m a guest here. What’s your name, miss?”

“A guest? Are you here to see my dad?”

The place I was waiting was clearly the office of the current Vice President, John Adams.

Then is this girl Adams’ daughter?

I quietly nodded.

“It seems Mr. Adams’ meeting hasn’t finished yet. But miss, are you close to Mr. Adams?”

“Of course. My dad loves me so much.”

“Ah~ so you’re his daughter. Could it be that your younger sibling’s name is John Quincy Adams?”

“Huh? How do you know my sibling’s name? Did you hear it from my dad? By the way, my name is Amelia.”

I see. This child is the daughter of Vice President John Adams and the sister of the sixth President, John Quincy Adams.

Her full name was probably Abigail Amelia Adams.

She carefully examined me and then clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

“Ah! I heard my mom and dad talking about a guest from France, is that you, sir? No… but you seem too young to be called sir… I think they called the guest a duke.”

“You can call me Duke of Nemours. I’m only about 10 years older than you, so I’m not old enough to be called sir.”

“Ah, yes, Duke. But isn’t a duke a very high position? Then the Duke of Nemours must be a very important person in France, like my dad?”

“Well… Amelia, how high do you think your father is?”

“Um…”

The girl, who was about to answer right away, suddenly seemed confused as if she was having trouble opening her mouth.

“So… you said he’s the vice president… Father says that His Excellency Washington is the highest person, so my dad is next… a prince? No, a prince is the son of a king, so that’s different…”

Confused, she soon gave up on the answer and changed the subject.

“Anyway, that’s okay. Since you’re from France, do you know the Duke of Orléans?”

“I know him.”

“Really! Is the Duke of Orléans not coming to America? I was kind of looking forward to him coming to Canada.”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled as if the modifier ‘twinkle’ was a perfect fit.

It was strangely funny to see her wanting to see me in front of me, so I shrugged my shoulders, pretending not to know.

“Is the Duke of Orléans famous in America too?”

“Of course! If someone doesn’t know the Duke of Orléans, they must be a British spy… no, if they’re a British spy, they’d know him even better. It would be better to say an Indian spy. Anyway, the Duke of Orléans is such an amazing person that…”

Amelia, who was very excited, chattered on and on about me for several minutes without stopping.

It was a good opportunity to find out what kind of image I had not only to politicians but also to ordinary people, but it was also a bit embarrassing because it was too laudatory.

“So, to summarize, he’s smart, handsome, has a good personality, and knows how to care for the weak, making him the best person of this era.”

“Yes. Since you’ve seen him in person, you must know it too, Duke. Ah, but I wanted to ask you this too. Is the Duke of Orléans really that handsome?”

“…Well, I don’t know what the standard for being really handsome is, but I think he’s similar to me.”

“Similar to the Duke of Nemours?”

Amelia, who was staring at my face, laughed and fluttered her hands.

“Looking closely, you’re also very handsome, Duke. As expected of the Duke of Orléans! Ah~ I wonder when I’ll be able to meet him in person.”

For some reason, her reaction reminded me of the female classmates who liked idols in middle and high school.

Is the tension of girls in this age group always like this, regardless of the era?

She, who had been spreading her wings of imagination alone, looked at me again and said.

“Duke of Nemours, please do your best when you return to your country. You’re handsome and have a good personality, so I’m sure you’ll be able to achieve great things.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

“And if you ever come to America again, please bring the Duke of Orléans with you.”

I silently nodded appropriately.

Just when I was starting to worry about how long I would have to be with this child, the door opened and the owner of the room appeared.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Oh, Dad!”

“Amelia. I was wondering where you were. I hope you haven’t done anything rude to the guest?”

“Of course not. I was talking about the Duke of Orléans from France.”

Adams, who couldn’t figure out what she was talking about, blinked for a moment and then bowed to me as if he was sorry.

“Duke, now that the meeting is over, I will escort you to the Capitol.”

“Yes. Shall we go then?”

“Amelia, I’ll escort the Duke and come back, so wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

“Yes~ Dad!”

Leaving her answering cheerfully, Adams and I went outside.

Before we could take a few steps, Adams cautiously spoke to me.

“Duke, if my daughter has done anything rude, I apologize on her behalf. She is still a child, so I ask for your kind understanding.”

“No, it was quite fun. You have a very lively and cute daughter. I envy you.”

“Haha, children are always lovely. But the mistakes children make are ultimately the responsibility of the parents. It was my fault that I made you worry about something that wasn’t planned.”

Of course, strictly speaking, it could be seen as impolite, but there are few people who would nitpick at a ten-year-old girl for asking to play a little.

I wondered if there was any reason to go this far, but as expected, Adams scratched the back of his neck and coughed dryly.

“So, I was wondering if you could give me a chance to make up for the mistake I made this time. I would like to treat you to dinner before Your Highness goes to Nouvelle-France… would that be alright?”

“…Hmm.”

In the silence of a moment, a cool breeze blew past my hair.

Could it be that he was aiming for this picture from the beginning and deliberately sent his daughter to the office where I was waiting?

Trying to create a place where only the two of us could meet naturally under the pretext of apologizing?

Of course, I only have suspicions, and there is no evidence, so if I say anything about this, I will only be seen as a strange person.

And if I do well, I might be able to get a lot of information through Adams, so there’s no reason to refuse.

“I understand. Would tomorrow or the day after tomorrow be alright?”

“Thank you. I will wait with the best preparations I can make.”

John Adams, smiling as if he thought his scheme had worked out well.

I stared at his profile for a moment, then gazed intently at the passing street scenery.

I have made all the preparations I can.

Now I have to choose the options that I think are the best at the time and watch the results.

※※※

After finishing all my schedules in the United States, I entered Quebec, the center of Nouvelle-France.

Despite the enormously vast territory on the map, the area where development has been completed in Nouvelle-France is only this much at best.

Fortunately, this area has not been under British rule for a long time, so it strongly maintains its French characteristics.

The citizens of Quebec seemed to enthusiastically welcome the French government’s return after driving out the British.

On the other hand, the British citizens who settled here after the Seven Years’ War could not hide their anxiety, fearing that they might be oppressed.

“Let’s make it clear first. There will be three things that will not exist in Nouvelle-France, which I will govern from now on.”

As the newly appointed governor-general, I immediately announced a series of policies to win the hearts of the people.

“There will be no heavy taxes imposed on the colony in the future. And as long as they take root and live in Nouvelle-France, they are all citizens of the Great French Kingdom, His Majesty the King, and me. I promise to pay close attention so that no one is discriminated against.”

The British residents officially breathed a sigh of relief at my promise that they would never be discriminated against.

The French, who had been secretly expecting to suppress the haughty British, immediately cheered at the promise to lower taxes.

“And there will be no more coercive policies that ignore the voices of the colony. I am the governor-general, but the council and officials will mostly be composed of locals, and they will be in charge of the national affairs of Nouvelle-France with my help. As long as I impose taxes, I will grant you that much right.”

Since there is a governor-general, complete autonomy is not allowed, but the fact that an independent council can be formed was enough to elicit a positive response from the people.

In fact, I had already formed a provisional cabinet, respecting the recommendations of the locals as much as possible.

Now, all that’s left is to grind them as much as possible… no, to refine the overall administrative system with their help.

But contrary to expectations, a big incident broke out less than a month after I was appointed governor-general.

“Your Highness! A group of Indians from Ohio are asking to see you. It is a warrior of the Shawnee tribe named Puckeshinwa.”

A visit from warriors who were responsible for one axis of the American-Indian War.

The endlessly cold and precarious balance faced its first crisis.

< Integration or Eradication > End