novelraw Chapter 85: Directory Government - Delaying Tactics (Diplomacy)
Chapter 85: Directory Government - Delaying Tactics (Diplomacy)
The proposal to elect the King of Francia by popular vote seems to have caused considerable backlash and confusion within the Germania Empire.
Even so, because Eris, backed by the Holy Theocracy, was the heir to the throne, they did not immediately declare war.
Instead, the Germania Empire sent a delegation to adjust the process of electing the king and the king's authority to a level more acceptable to them.
The Northern Alliance, where the Second Princess resides, also sent a delegation, likely just to show the two countries with heirs were in agreement.
The one who greeted the emissaries was Maurice Talleyrand, the chairman of the Revolutionary Party and Francia's diplomatic expert.
"The Kaiserin of the Germania Empire is deeply concerned about the rights of the elected king that you have proposed. If you truly repent of your past misdeeds and intend to recognize the succession of a legitimate monarch, shouldn't the king be given the appropriate authority?"
Talleyrand replied without changing his expression to the Empire delegation's rude demand, which seemed like interference in internal affairs.
"I see. We will submit your concerns as an agenda item to the National Assembly for consideration."
“The election process itself is problematic. How can the sacred legitimacy and rights of the king be determined by the votes of commoners? At the very least, only legitimate nobles of Francia should be granted the right to vote, or...”
When the representative of the Northern Alliance spoke, the representative of the Germania Empire went a step further."Francia has already lost a significant number of legitimate nobles due to your so-called 'revolution'. If you truly wish to prevent a recurrence of this situation and establish a normal state under the order of the king, wouldn't it be right to reflect the opinions of qualified foreign nobles in the process of electing the king?"
It was a statement that seemed to provoke our representative to break off talks and use it as an excuse, but Talleyrand smiled and replied again.
"Giving foreign nobles the right to vote in the election of the King of Francia is an interesting but potentially complicated proposal. Still, if conditions are met that the people of Francia can accept, we will consider it."
At this point, the delegates narrowed their brows slightly.
“As I said, we cannot accept the draft you presented as is. As it stands now, it's no different from commoners placing a puppet king on the throne and controlling Francia!”
"It was beneficial to hear your honest opinions. Of course, the National Assembly is also reviewing your opinions in various ways, so I hope that we can reach a substantial agreement in the near future."
Talleyrand's unwavering expression and openness to possibilities eventually forced the delegation to retreat without saying anything further.
Once the delegation retreated, the National Assembly would be held, pretending to discuss the matter at length, and before the next meeting, a few of their demands or agendas that seemed like concessions from the National Assembly would be approved.
Then Talleyrand would listen to their demands again, tie them up with ambiguous words, and repeat the meeting.
As a result, the concessions we passed were limited to giving the elected king the right to veto bills passed by the Assembly, or granting the king immunity. Such rights a king would normally possess.
Even these concessions were passed under the pretext of needing to pretend to comply with their demands, something the National Assembly had no intention of guaranteeing.
There were almost no changes to the election process, which was their biggest concern, and the delegates, after spending months in a stagnant process in Francia, left without much success, promising to meet again next time.
*
That winter, as the year drew to a close, I was in my mansion in the capital.
I sat at the table, smiling at Christine.
Christine glanced at me and forked a piece of chicken, cut to the right size, and put it in her mouth.
Having observed Christine for quite some time, I've learned that she is diligent yet lazy.
At first glance, it sounds like an absurd combination, but there is no more appropriate expression for Christine.
She is extremely enthusiastic about paperwork, managing the merchant company, and using her brain, yet she is infinitely bothered by activities she has no interest in, like spending time eating.
Looking at her face, it seemed she wanted to stop and talk, but she was reluctantly eating...
Fortunately, she accepts my dinner invitations, and if I diligently cut her food into easy-to-eat pieces, she eats it, even if just to acknowledge my effort.
"I worry it doesn't taste good. I hoped to impress you this time, so the chef and I racked our brains before serving it..."
Christine, with a truly bothered expression as she forked the chicken, paused.
"...No, it's delicious."
Then she smiled awkwardly, chewed a little, and looked slightly surprised.
"This is delicious, really."
Seeing her immediately fork the next piece, I chuckled bitterly, feeling that she was sincere.
If she's eating food without knowing the taste, what is her brain thinking and how busy is it?
"I'm glad to hear that. I should invite you every day from now on."
"...Every day?"
Christine's expression was ambiguous, unsure whether to be happy about seeing me daily or dislike spending so much time on meals, and I chuckled.
"If you're always working like that and only eating things that you can easily grab, your body will suffer. I need to take care of your body."
Christine tilted her head slightly, as if in thought, and then replied.
"...A full dinner every day would be difficult, but a simple meal would be fine."
For a genius whose schemes and financial management are beyond me, her compromise after much consideration was so cute that I ended up bursting into laughter.
*
After the meal, we were in the office.
Christine handed over the reports and spoke.
"The atmosphere inside the Revolutionary Party is not bad. Talleyrand seems to have decided to go along with you, at least for this matter."
"I see. Even though it's the chairman's decision, I thought there would be some opposition within the Revolutionary Party because it's a restoration of the monarchy."
Christine nodded readily at my words.
"A little. But it's not blatant. Your and Her Highness the Princess's popularity is one thing, and the farmers, who are most averse to war, are their core supporters."
Indeed, I was expecting that somewhat, but it seems to have gone even better than expected.
"The Liberal Party is also led by Chairman Brisseau, who has always looked favorably on us, so it's even better. I think that, at least for the time being, there will be no problems due to the domestic atmosphere."
"Thank you, Christine. You've done well."
"It's my job."
Christine smiled and replied.
It's funny that someone who was just trying to make a cute compromise to reduce the time spent on dinner is the same person who seems to naturally grasp the internal affairs of the National Assembly and other parties.
Christine handed over another report, saying,
"Using the Kingdom of Alps, with whom we are trading, and the Holy Theocracy, we are making good progress in planting spies in the Germania Empire. It's still in the early stages, but if we have enough time, we'll be able to get a sense of their internal affairs as well."
"Hmm, it's amazing that we're building this in a hostile country. By the way, their Empress is still stepping up preparations for war, it seems."
Christine nodded lightly.
"Yes, even if the feudal lords don't, the Empress is definitely completing war preparations. I didn't think she would back down, but it seems difficult to avoid war."
The fact that such preparations are possible only with the imperial family, not the entire empire...
It must be thanks to the cooperation of that damn Abyss Corporation.
"...We also need to prepare. Just buying time is a sufficient gain."
"Ah, and..."
Christine handed me another document.
"This is?"
"A collateral royal survived the revolution. He's lobbying the party and looking for a supporter."
"Huh."
I looked at the documents about a man in his 30s named Baron Henri.
Before the revolution, he was just a collateral royal without much presence, but after the royal family was wiped out in the civil war and revolution, he entered the line of succession.
"Even if it's a direct line, a man educated at court should be on the throne rather than a woman who was away from the palace...?"
I chuckled at his claim.
I wondered where this guy suddenly came from, and it turns out he was lucky enough to escape to the south with his fortune from the revolutionary north, and he seems to have had some business acumen, starting a textile factory and making a profit.
Living quietly in the south, doing business, now that the madness of the revolution has subsided and things are improving, he suddenly decided to challenge the restoration of the monarchy.
The restoration of the monarchy is possible because Erise is a saint loved by the people, but this guy, ignorant of the National Assembly's inner workings, believes that by getting concessions from the saint, he can defeat the foreign Empress.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Shall we take care of him?"
Christine smiled lightly, covering her mouth with a fan, at my tone, as if I were asking if we should have dinner.
"Hmm."
It's like dropping the ball in a finished game, but now this unwelcome guest appears.
The possibility of such a person becoming king is almost non-existent, but if left alone, he could be associated with anachronistic nobles and cause disruption in the well-run National Assembly.
I sighed lightly and spoke.
"Even so, killing him is a bit awkward because I don't want to make the National Assembly needlessly wary..."
"Yes, then I'll take care of it without killing him and make sure he doesn't become a problem."
Christine added casually, with a very sinister smile on her face.
"It's a good opportunity for the Aquitaine Merchant Company to get into the textile business and make a profit."
"Haha..."
This royal, Henri or whatever his name is, is going to have his hard-earned business swallowed up because he was too greedy when he thought he could get by.
I looked at Christine, who was smiling as if she was in a good mood and lost in thought, and vowed inwardly never to do anything that would anger her.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The servant who entered bowed to me and Christine and handed me a letter.
"It's a letter from Talleyrand."
"Talleyrand?"
Did he have any business sending me a personal letter?
Wondering, Christine and I opened the letter together, and it contained a brief but important message.
[To Marquis Lafayette, Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army of the Republic of Francia.
Today, we received official diplomatic correspondence from the Germania Empire.
The Germanians have demanded talks between representatives of our nations, to be held in the neutral Kingdom of the Dwarven Alps, not Francia. These talks are to include the heirs to both thrones.
This matter requires urgent discussion with Her Highness the Princess and yourself, Marquis, to determine our response.
Maurice Talleyrand, Chairman of the Revolutionary Party.]
"...The Empress, she's playing hardball."
At Christine's words, who narrowed her eyes, I also sighed lightly.
The Empress is stepping forward herself and demanding that Eris be present as well?
It's one thing for a delegation with delegated authority, but it's difficult to stall for time like this if the other party is the one with decision-making power and the right of succession.
She has no intention of being dragged along by our tricks.
It seems that the Empress intends to bring war with the spring after all.