Chapter 370: To a Mother, There's Only One Important Thing in the World
Queen Mary gazed at her son in astonishment, the Belgian pastry, covered in spun sugar and cocoa powder, that she held in her hand still untouched. "You mean, Archbishop Talleyrand expressed support for Russia's occupation of Sweden, and that was at your behest?" she questioned.
"Ah, consider it my foreign policy recommendation to him," Joseph replied, opting for a more delicate phrasing so his mother wouldn't think the foreign minister had disregarded her. "And he happened to agree with it."
"But why would you indulge the Russians?"
"It's to make them temporarily forget about Poland. You know, once Russia's army becomes idle, Poland will suffer."
Queen Mary blinked. "In that case, we should negotiate directly with Russia, not sacrifice Sweden."
"That..." Joseph privately gripped the armrest of his chair, patiently explaining, "Sweden is capable of resisting a Russian invasion."
"But I don't believe Sweden is much stronger than Poland."
"Sweden will receive aid from Britain and Prussia."
"How can you be so sure?"
An hour and a half later, Queen Mary had completely forgotten about her pastry, her eyes fixed on the Crown Prince, filled only with astonishment. "So, your strategy is to first stabilize the situation around Tunisia, and then send Marquis Lafayette to India to cause trouble for the British?"
"Ah, I merely offered some advice to the Minister of War. Marquis Lafayette received deployment orders from the Duke of Broglie before heading to the Far East."
Joseph had to do his best to cover for the cabinet ministers. "According to the Intelligence Bureau's investigation, both Algiers and Tripoli have received British support. If Britain has to commit substantial forces to India, then our pressure in North Africa will lessen.
"You see, after Mysore declared war on the British East India Company, the British Foreign Minister immediately came to Paris. If I'm not mistaken, he's here to ask us not to interfere in the Indian situation.
"Of course, we cannot agree so easily, especially since we recently defeated the Hanoverian army. We must consider it only after he offers sufficient concessions..."
Queen Mary hardly registered her son's subsequent words. Her heart swelled with excitement and pride. Her son had grown up, and he was so brilliant, speaking of these international affairs with such clarity. Even Archbishop Brienne had never explained things so thoroughly before.
At the same time, she felt a touch of sadness. At this rate, her son would soon no longer need her protection. He would be like a fledgling bird with fully grown wings, spreading them to fly from the nest she had built for him.
She suddenly froze, then vigorously shook her head.
'What was she thinking? Her son was almost sixteen, he was already a man! He was the Son of Divine Favor!'
'She couldn't always hold him in her arms as she did when he was small. He ought to spread his wings and soar over the vast expanse of France.'
And it was clear, he would do very well.
With this thought, only one thing remained in Queen Mary's mind. "Joseph, you'll be sixteen in a few months. I know you have grand ideals and wish to dedicate all your energy to strengthening the nation, but you must also consider your marriage.
"You don't have to marry right away, but that doesn't stop you from choosing a fiancée. For heaven's sake, just do it to put your father and me at ease."
She then lowered her voice. "Honestly, you don't happen to prefer men, do you? Oh, your father once mentioned it to me."
Joseph instantly felt a headache. 'How could you suddenly shift from matters of state to *this*?'
"Of course not," he quickly shook his head. "Don't worry, I will definitely choose a girl I genuinely love and marry her."
Queen Mary immediately seized the opportunity. "So, you see Clémentine..."
"Ah, Mother, Cousin Clémentine is wonderful, but she's certainly not my ideal wife."
"Then what about the Princess of Sicily? No? The Princess of Savoy? Not good either? The Princess of Spain..."
Joseph didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although his mother had listed off princesses from a whole circle of surrounding countries, thanks to the dreadful custom among European royalty—essentially only intermarrying within a few major royal houses, never introducing fresh DNA—this meant all the young ladies she mentioned were close relatives of his!
Even the most distant ones were collateral relatives within three generations; closer ones, like Clémentine, went without saying. 'How could one possibly marry them?'
Seeing Queen Mary, with a solemn expression, extending her list of candidates to Britain, Joseph could no longer hold out.
"Uh, dear Mother, my requirement is actually quite simple," he gritted his teeth and said. "I wish to marry a girl with no blood relation to me."
"Ah? Why is that?"
Joseph's head throbbed again. If he were to directly say that inbred marriages often produced simpletons, it would sound like he was insulting his own parents. After all, his grandparents on both sides had all been closely related.
Moreover, as a person who had undergone the baptism of 21st-century concepts, he could not ethically accept a close relative as a wife.
"This," he deliberated, saying, "is a matter concerning genetics. That, Mendel... oh, no, he hasn't..."
Queen Mary looked at her son's troubled expression, then suddenly revealed a benevolent smile, taking his hand. "Good, good, I understand. But as the Crown Prince of France, you truly cannot marry a commoner."
In her eyes, her son must have fabricated this excuse to marry a commoner girl.
"Ah?" Joseph instinctively said. "I didn't say I wanted to marry a commoner."
"Oh? Really?"
"A princess, I really will marry a princess," Joseph declared emphatically, mentally exhausted. "As long as she's not a close relative."
Just then, Brienne arrived with an important document, requesting Her Majesty the Queen's signature, which fortunately interrupted their conversation.
Joseph quickly seized the chance to escape the forced marriage discussion.
After attending to state affairs, Queen Mary strolled onto the balcony, gazing at the vibrant assortment of vegetables and flowers in the courtyard, her mind, however, replayed her son's recent words.
"'No blood relation'," she frowned slightly. "'But he wants to marry a princess.' Are there such princesses among European royalty?"
All things considered, even the British royal family was related by blood to the French royal family, though it was quite distant now. 'And surely, the Crown Prince couldn't actually marry an Englishwoman...'
'What could her son be thinking?'
She pondered, and the gentle, large eyes of a young girl suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her eyes lit up. That little girl indeed had no blood relation to the French royal family. 'So Joseph likes that little girl! Hmm, she is a bit young, but she is truly adorable, especially her eyes.
'That's right, she's in Paris right now. No wonder Joseph had suddenly rushed back from the Southern Netherlands.'
She then remembered Joseph had once said he wanted to marry a princess from a powerful nation. Though Russia was poor and backward, its vast territory and large population certainly made it a great power.
She suddenly felt a pang of self-reproach. Her son had mentioned the person he had in mind long ago, yet she had never understood.
He truly was a shy boy, liking a girl but not saying it directly, forcing his parents to constantly guess.
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