Chapter 371: For a Mother, There's Only One Important Thing in the World
Queen Marie looked at her son in surprise, holding a Belgian pastry wrapped in sugar and covered in cocoa powder, but she never brought it to her mouth. "You mean to say that Archbishop Talleyrand expressed support to Russia for their occupation of Sweden, and this was done with your approval?"
"Ah, it was more like a diplomatic suggestion I made to him," Joseph replied, trying to phrase it in a way that wouldn't make his mother feel like the Foreign Minister had ignored her. "And he happened to agree with it."
"But why would you encourage the Russians?" she asked.
"It's to keep them distracted from Poland. You know, if Russia's army isn't occupied, Poland will suffer."
Marie blinked. "In that case, shouldn't we negotiate directly with Russia rather than sacrificing Sweden?"
"Well..." Joseph subtly tightened his grip on the armrest, patiently explaining, "Don't worry, Sweden can defend itself against a Russian invasion."
"But I don't see how Sweden is much stronger than Poland."
"Sweden will get help from Britain and Prussia."
"How can you be sure?"
"Well, it's like this..."
An hour and a half later, Queen Marie had completely forgotten about her dessert. She looked at her son in shock, her eyes wide with astonishment. "So, your strategy is to first stabilize the situation around Tunisia and then send the Marquis de Lafayette to India to cause trouble for the British?"
"Ah, I just gave the War Minister some suggestions. The Marquis de Lafayette went to the Far East under orders from the Duke of Broglie," Joseph said, trying to downplay his role and give credit to the cabinet ministers. "According to intelligence reports, Algiers and Tripoli were both supported by the British. If India requires significant British resources, our pressure in North Africa will lessen."
"You see, as soon as Mysore declared war on the British East India Company, the British Foreign Minister rushed to Paris. If I'm not mistaken, he's here to ask us not to interfere in the Indian situation. Of course, we won't agree so easily. Given our recent victories over the Hanoverian army, we must ensure that he offers us enough benefits before we even consider..."
Marie wasn't really listening to the latter part of Joseph's explanation. Her heart was filled with a mix of pride and excitement. Her son had grown up to be so capable, speaking fluently about international affairs. Even Archbishop Briand had never explained things as thoroughly as he did.
At the same time, a hint of melancholy crept into her heart—at this rate, her son would soon no longer need her protection. He would be like a fully-fledged bird, ready to spread his wings and fly away from the nest she had built for him.
She suddenly caught herself and shook her head firmly. What was she thinking? Her son was almost sixteen years old; he was already an adult! He was, after all, the child blessed by God.
She needed to stop treating him like the little boy she once cradled in her arms. He was destined to soar across the vast skies of France.
And clearly, he was going to do very well.
With that thought, Marie's focus narrowed down to one thing. "Joseph, you'll be sixteen in a few months. I know you have great ambitions and want to devote all your energy to strengthening the country, but you also need to think about your marriage.
"You don't have to get married right away, but that doesn't mean you can't choose a fiancée. For heaven's sake, just think of it as giving your father and me some peace of mind."
She lowered her voice. "Honestly, you're not... interested in men, are you? Oh, your father mentioned something like that to me once."
Joseph immediately felt a headache coming on. How had the conversation suddenly shifted from state affairs to this?
"Of course not," he quickly assured her, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I will definitely choose a girl I like to marry."
Marie seized the moment. "So, what do you think of Clementine?"
"Ah, Mother, cousin Clementine is wonderful, but she's definitely not the ideal wife for me."
"Then what about the Sicilian princess? No? The Savoy princess? Also no? The Spanish princess..."
Joseph was caught between laughter and tears. Although his mother listed almost every princess from the surrounding countries, thanks to the terrible habit among European royals of marrying only within a few major families and never introducing new bloodlines, all of the girls she mentioned were close relatives!
The most distant were third cousins, and some, like Clementine, were even closer. How could he possibly marry any of them?
Seeing that Queen Marie was seriously considering extending her list of candidates to England, Joseph couldn't take it anymore.
"Um, dear Mother, my requirements are actually quite simple," he said, gritting his teeth. "I just want to marry a girl who isn't related to me by blood."
"What? Why?"
Joseph's headache worsened. If he said outright that close-relative marriages often resulted in unhealthy offspring, it would sound like he was insulting his own parents, who themselves came from closely related families. After all, both his paternal and maternal grandparents were close relatives...
Besides, having been influenced by 21st-century ideals, he simply couldn't bring himself to accept the idea of marrying a close relative.
"Well," he carefully worded his response, "it's about genetics. Uh, Mendel... oh, wait, he hasn't even..."
Queen Marie watched her son struggle with his words, then suddenly smiled warmly. She took his hand and said, "Alright, alright, I understand. But as the Crown Prince of France, you really can't marry a commoner."
In her mind, her son must have come up with this excuse because he wanted to marry a commoner.
"Huh?" Joseph blurted out. "I didn't say anything about marrying a commoner."
"Oh? Really?"
"I'm going to marry a princess, I really am," Joseph said, now thoroughly exhausted. "Just as long as she's not a close relative."
Just then, Archbishop Briand arrived with an important document for the Queen to sign, interrupting their conversation.
Joseph took the opportunity to escape the pressure of his mother's matchmaking.
After finishing her official duties, Queen Marie wandered to the balcony, gazing at the lush garden below. Her mind replayed her son's earlier words.
"He said she shouldn't be related by blood," she mused, furrowing her brow slightly. "But he also wants to marry a princess. Is there such a princess in Europe?"
She pondered over it, realizing that even the British royal family shared blood ties with the French royals, though more distantly. Besides, she couldn't seriously consider letting the Crown Prince marry a British woman...
"What could my son be thinking?"
Marie pondered this for a while until a girl with gentle, large eyes suddenly came to mind.
Her eyes lit up. That girl indeed had no blood ties to the French royal family. "So, Joseph likes that little one! Well, she may be a bit young, but she's certainly very charming, especially with those eyes.
"And she's right here in Paris, too. No wonder Joseph suddenly rushed back from the Southern Netherlands."
She recalled that Joseph had mentioned wanting to marry a princess from a strong country. Although Russia was poor and backward, it was vast and populous—a strong country, indeed.
Suddenly, she felt a twinge of guilt. Her son had already hinted at who he liked, but she hadn't understood it.
He really was a shy boy, liking someone but not saying it outright, leaving his parents to guess.
Marie was somewhat disappointed that Clementine hadn't been chosen, but she quickly cheered up again. At least she was certain now that her son wasn't interested in men.
(End of Chapter)
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