I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 49

Let’s Solve It Our Way (1)

The plaza stretched out in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, the symbol of the Papal States.

In the middle of it, two flags fluttered, incongruous with the Papal States.

Prussian Friedrich Heinrich couldn’t hide his amusement.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Grafton of England couldn’t take his eyes off the spot where the French delegation had stood.

“The impression is completely different from what I’d heard…”

“It seems the Crown Prince of France didn’t want to talk to your country very much.”

Heinrich’s gibe made the Duke of Grafton narrow his eyes and click his tongue.

There was no time to protest this discourtesy.

As soon as Auguste closed his mouth, Christian politely excused them, saying that the Crown Prince was tired and needed to rest.

“…Is that really Crown Prince Louis Auguste himself?”

“I believe so. He looked just like the portrait.”

“I understood that his main assessment was that he was timid and indecisive, but I wasn’t the only one who knew that, was I?”

“Rumors are always distorted. Or is it that your country’s impression is so bad that even someone with that timid personality would react that way?”

Tension crackled between the two men.

The Duke of Grafton sighed and shook his head.

“Since I don’t know France’s intentions, I won’t argue any further for now. Does your country intend to hold talks with us at this opportunity? There are several issues we need to discuss.”

“Well… I don’t think our country has much to say to yours.”

“It’s true that there was an unfortunate incident in the past, but didn’t both countries end up well as a result? Isn’t now the time to discuss the future constructively?”

“…Heh, the future.”

Heinrich chuckled.

He, of all people, clearly remembered the situation at the end of the Seven Years’ War.

In the middle of the war, England cut off support, and Prussia’s forces, which had been relying on foreign mercenaries, were reduced to less than half.

Naturally, there were utter defeats [惨敗] after utter defeats, and Frederick the Great was in a desperate situation, even contemplating suicide.

It was only by a stroke of luck that the Russian king was replaced and withdrew from the war; otherwise, Prussia might have faced the worst possible outcome.

Having watched all of this from the sidelines, Heinrich couldn’t help but be appalled by England’s audacity.

“It’s true that cutting off support for Prussia was a mistake on our part. However, I hope you understand that at that time, our cabinet was also undergoing changes, and there was confusion in the political situation.”

“Knowing it in your head and accepting it in your heart are two different things. Above all, His Majesty’s intentions are the most important.”

“…I understand. I will respect your wishes for now. After all, we were blood brothers who fought together in the war. So, there’s no reason to clash now, is there?”

Heinrich, guessing the Duke of Grafton’s intention to subtly emphasize their alliance, sighed and nodded.

“I understand. We don’t want to cause any trouble with England here either. We already have a lot to worry about.”

Frankly speaking, Prussia didn’t have time to worry about England right now.

England was just an annoying presence; after all, they were far away across the sea.

Rather, the increasingly solid Franco-Austrian alliance was more likely to pose a real threat to Prussia.

The reason Heinrich came to this place was to observe the Prince of France, who was the core of the Franco-Austrian alliance.

The Duke of Grafton was able to maintain such a relaxed attitude because he knew that.

“Opportunities for representatives from each country to gather in one place are rare. I hope that both we and your country can get what we want from this meeting.”

“…Let’s do that. Then I trust you will stop any threatening moves from France. I’ll be more concerned about Austria.”

“Yes. I was going to keep a close eye on France from the beginning. Prince Christian and the Crown Prince both give me a somewhat unsettling feeling.”

The two men, having reached a minimal agreement, nodded simultaneously as if by appointment and turned away.

Even if their thoughts were different, now was not the time to show their teeth to each other.

Just confirming that was enough for both sides to consider their objectives achieved.

※※※

One hour after the unexpected meeting in the plaza.

Auguste, who had been guided to his lodgings, paced around, openly revealing his unease.

“…Will it be okay? Nothing will go wrong, will it?”

“…”

I was trying to quietly review the documents, but he kept throwing words at me, making me nervous.

I gave him a rough answer that he wanted to hear.

“Don’t worry. There won’t be any problems.”

“For someone who says that, the atmosphere seemed pretty tense?”

“They must have been surprised too, so that was a natural reaction. It wasn’t an official occasion, and I cleaned it up, so they can’t officially make an issue of it.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

Auguste was still taking deep breaths and stroking his chest as if his heart hadn’t calmed down yet.

“Your Highness, didn’t you make a fairly natural unpleasant expression when you first saw the British flag? If you keep recalling that feeling, your acting will become even more natural.”

“…No, that’s because the other party was England…”

“Then you don’t need to worry even more. You just gave it to England in a big way. Leave the detailed conversations to me, and if Your Highness leaves a strong impression on them, the goal will be a success.”

“Okay. Then let’s go with this when we meet with foreign diplomats. But… what if I meet His Holiness the Pope?”

In fact, I was also worried about that point.

No matter what, I can’t just keep cutting off short sentences like ‘I see’ and ‘Thank you’ in front of the Pope to set the mood.

Even if the Pope’s power has diminished a lot now, it cannot be denied that he is an entity that must be treated with due respect.

“There’s no need to maintain such an attitude in front of His Holiness the Pope, but… you shouldn’t be too humble or show a weak appearance either. After all, Spain will want us to put pressure on the Vatican together this time.”

“Ah… you mean officially signing the expulsion of the Society of Jesus [the Jesuits]. I’m not confident…”

“Frankly, it’s not a high priority. Just show that you’re doing it in form.”

“Then, can’t you do that for me instead?”

Auguste smiled awkwardly, perhaps because he was taken aback by what he had said.

As expected, it was inevitable to go in this direction.

I had considered the possibility that this picture would be made even before leaving France.

However, setting Auguste up as a scarecrow and having me lead all the discussions was not an unconditional solution.

“I can coordinate the short conversations with representatives from other countries from the side. But if I meet His Holiness the Pope, the story may get longer, so there may be situations where I can’t handle everything.”

“I have a good idea. What if I just don’t meet His Holiness the Pope?”

“First of all, Your Highness is the head of the diplomatic mission. If I skip over Your Highness and meet him, it might look a bit…”

“Ah… I see. It might seem like France is ignoring the Vatican.”

France, as well as all other countries, has the superficial purpose of congratulating the new Pope on his inauguration this time.

However, if the head of the diplomatic mission returns without even seeing the Pope’s face, it will be interpreted as indirectly dissing the Vatican.

Since other great powers are in one place, it is best to avoid giving them an excuse to attack.

“No, wait. Depending on the case, it may not necessarily flow that way.”

If there is only an excuse, I can create a picture of me meeting the Pope directly, excluding Auguste.

The problem is how to create such a situation.

Just as I was about to think a little more.

“Your Highness. Cardinal Lazzaro of the Vatican has sent a message.”

A good excuse to create a plausible situation came on its own.

“Cardinal Lazzaro? What’s the matter?”

“Yes. It seems that since there are dignitaries from each country, he wants to create a welcoming event. He says that if there is anything to discuss there, he hopes not to create anything to blush about.”

“Judging from his expression yesterday, I thought he would do that.”

Scanning Cardinal Lazzaro’s letter, his restless heart was revealed as it was.

However, the fact that England also agreed with the Cardinal’s opinion was a bit of a concern.

Auguste also read that part and showed a suspicious reaction.

“What trick are the English up to again?”

“It’s obvious. I can guess roughly how they’re going to be stubborn.”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll just trust you and do as you tell me.”

“Yes. But before that, I need to do some preliminary work here first.”

I quickly asked for a piece of paper and handed it to my subordinate after writing down the instructions.

“You can secretly convey this to the people on the Spanish and Austrian sides. Try not to let it get into the ears of the English… no, the Prussian side.”

“Yes.”

Auguste, who was watching the subordinate walking away with restrained steps, asked in a questioning tone.

“Do you think Prussia will side with England? There was a cold atmosphere when we met earlier.”

“They won’t actively take sides, but even if sides are divided, they won’t be on this side. It’s never bad to be careful.”

“…Yes. That’s right. Just because they don’t have a good relationship with England doesn’t mean they’re necessarily on our side.”

Of course, this side also had no intention of deliberately provoking Prussia to make them an enemy.

Austria may be eager to crush Prussia, but that’s their situation, not ours.

Rather, it is a million times more important to give England a big, beautiful middle finger.

Now is the time to lay traps for the main event that will decorate the finale.

A guy who lives only for tomorrow gets eaten by a guy who lives only for today, but that’s only possible because he doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow.

Stocks, negotiations, wars, and information cannot be won by those who do not have information in their hands.

It’s simple, but that’s the truth of the world.

※※※

The vast conference room of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

This place, where many bishops usually sit, was attended by less than one-tenth of the usual number of people.

Even though the number of people was small, the space did not feel empty, perhaps because of their status and position.

I took a seat next to Auguste, who was frowning.

People like Grafton and Heinrich were also sitting leisurely with their entourage.

Cardinal Lazzaro, sitting in the center, was trying his best to look calm as he looked around.

His hands are shaking so much that I’m worried he might collapse.

The first person to speak in the room, where such a strange atmosphere was floating, was Russian Ambassador Ivan Osterman.

“Isn’t everyone here now? I think we can start soon.”

“Crown Prince Selim of Ottoman has not yet arrived.”

“Is there any reason to wait for him? In fact, I wonder why someone who doesn’t even believe in God came to the sacred Vatican.”

Everyone smiled bitterly without answering.

Russia and Ottoman were the only countries actually at war in this place right now.

Russia hurriedly sent an envoy to the Vatican because it wanted to take this opportunity to make even a little more of its own side.

And Ottoman knew that, so it must have sent the Crown Prince to interfere with Russia or at least to find out how things were going.

But what would a ten-year-old Crown Prince know?

The Crown Prince is just a figurehead; realistically, it will be the Janissaries [elite Ottoman soldiers] who came with him under the pretext of escorting those from Ottoman who will lead them.

The representatives of each country, who knew this situation, refrained from making hasty remarks and saved their words.

Just as an awkward silence was about to prevail, fortunately, the owner of the last seat arrived.

Squeak.

The door of the huge conference room opened with the sound of wood scraping, and everyone’s eyes were focused there.

The Crown Prince of Ottoman Turkey, who arrived late.

Selim bin Mustafa headed to his seat with the Janissaries guarding him.

The gazes of the representatives of each country looking at him were various.

Before anyone could say anything, one of the Janissaries politely greeted him with formality.

“I’m sorry for being late. We will only quietly observe your conversations, so you don’t have to be wary.”

“Who would be wary? Of a toothless lion.”

It was only a small murmur, but the Russian ambassador’s words were clearly heard by everyone in the room.

Startled that a fight might break out, Chief of Staff Lazzaro hurriedly made the first move.

“Then, since all the dignitaries have attended, let’s start talking. First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Duke Grafton for suggesting this meeting.”

“You’re welcome. Isn’t it natural for a civilized country to resolve things in a peaceful and gentle way?”

“…Ahem.”

When such words came out of the mouth of England, of all places, laughter erupted here and there.

It is, in a way, amazing that a place that is one of the leading proponents of non-peace and non-violence can say such things so brazenly.

Perhaps Chief of Staff Lazzaro, who is wearing a good-natured smile, is also inwardly dumbfounded.

The Duke of Grafton continued to speak with a calm expression, as if he didn’t care what others felt.

He slowly looked around and finally brought up the topic that everyone was trying to avoid.

“However, there may be attempts to put unspoken pressure on the Vatican. For example…demanding that they quickly sign the expulsion of the Society of Jesus or condemn the inhumanity of a particular country.”

Perhaps the Duke of Grafton expected to elicit an uproar from Spain or France with these words.

But unlike his expectations, the Spanish side showed no reaction.

Why?

Because this side had already made arrangements in advance.

The Duke of Grafton quickly scanned his surroundings with a puzzled look when he didn’t get the reaction he wanted.

Soon, when his gaze turned to Auguste and me, I subtly held out four fingers so that only Auguste could see them.

“That’s right.”

The Duke of Grafton’s eyes widened at Auguste’s mechanical response.

Heinrich of Prussia, who had not been given prior notice, also had a similar expression.

“…Uh…um…thank you for agreeing.”

The Duke of Grafton’s words were slightly twisted, as he had not expected such a development.

I gave him a gentle smile as our eyes met for a moment.

The Duke of Grafton’s face hardened even more when he saw that.

I understand that feeling well.

He must be incredibly embarrassed.

Did this guy eat something wrong? Did he misread this side’s intentions? What other ulterior motives does he have? All sorts of thoughts must be messing with his head.

Yes. That’s it.