I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1455 The Regent

Joseph looked at his parents, both amused and exasperated: "So, you just wanted to travel to Brittany for an extended period of time, and you..."

He had intended to say "turn the whole of Paris upside down," but seeing his mother's childlike expression of having made a mistake, he reluctantly changed the second half of his sentence to a long sigh.

"Actually, if you want to go out and have fun, I can find you an excuse anytime. There's no need to go through all this trouble. For example, we could hold a diplomatic conference in Brittany with the participation of monarchs from various countries."

Queen Marie Antoinette blinked. "That's a brilliant idea! How come I didn't think of that... But, ah, wouldn't it be troublesome to send so many kings to Brittany?"

Joseph thought to himself that even having the Pope preside over the meeting wouldn't be a problem.

“We don’t need to worry about that anymore.” He sighed again. “Well, actually, traveling around is good for your health. But you can’t stay in Brittany forever, can you?”

"I mean, there will come a day when you miss the balls at Versailles and the Royal Theatre."

Just now, Queen Marie Antoinette told him about the follow-up plan that the Duke of Levis had devised for her—to publicly claim that Louis XVI was suffering from serious aftereffects, intermittent hearing loss, and extreme forgetfulness, so that he could stay in Brittany to "receive treatment."

Queen Mary was immediately torn.

This is indeed a problem. If they return to Versailles, her husband will have to feign illness, which is obviously too much to bear.

But never attending dances or watching plays seems hard to accept.

"Then, what should we do?"

Louis XVI, however, scratched his chest nonchalantly and said, "Even if we don't go back to Paris, it's fine as long as you can help me move the Royal Workshop to Brittany. Besides, there are bound to be many interesting things to do at the shipyard."

Joseph smiled and said, "Actually, you're overthinking it."

"Rules are not considered broken as long as no one mentions them."

"My advice is that you can return to Versailles at any time and don't need to worry about anything. At that time, the nobles will give the results of their 'needs' regarding Father's health. Even if you attend balls every day, it can still be said that you are 'in poor health'."

"And you don't have to just focus on Brittany, there's also the ancient monastery at Mont Saint-Michel during high tide, the palm groves of Cannes, the warm and beautiful Bay of Angels in Nice. Even the hot springs and Roman ruins in Upper Germania, oh, Basel is at war, it's too close, we'll have to go there later."

"Upper Germania" refers to places like Bern, Switzerland.

Queen Mary's eyes lit up, only regretting that she hadn't discussed it with her son from the beginning.

Then, she hesitated and said, "But your father is still 'sick,' so it might not be appropriate for him to travel around like this."

“No problem,” Joseph replied without hesitation. “Sanatoriums will always be built in various places; you’re just going there for treatment.”

As he spoke, he noticed that his father was still scratching incessantly, and had already scratched his shoulder until it bled. He quickly asked, "Father, what did you use to apply to these red patches on your body?"

“A kind of paint used on wood,” Queen Mary said somewhat nervously. “I asked Mr. Tristan, and he said he often gets it on his hands and it’s harmless.”

Joseph frowned: "Why aren't you using lipstick?"

"I'm worried it will be washed away by sweat..."

Joseph sighed and immediately summoned the royal physician to examine him.

After a moment, Dr. Petit pointed to the small red dots under the "red spots" and said, "I think His Majesty is intolerant to this paint..." Joseph rubbed his forehead: "It seems to be an allergic reaction."

The next day.

Although he was speechless at his parents' "divine actions," things had already come to this point, and Joseph had no choice but to return to Versailles Palace and hold a simple ceremony to assume the position of regent.

However, led by the Senate, the nobles of Versailles took the matter very seriously. All family members who could attend the ceremony came to the Versailles square, and the music and cheers continued until dusk—Joseph had returned to his room to rest several hours earlier.

The moment Alexandra saw her husband, she seemed to relax completely, throwing herself into his arms without regard for etiquette, murmuring, "Thank God! You're back, that's wonderful..."

Joseph patted her back gently, reassuring her, "Don't worry, there's no coup at all. Paris is the safest place in the world."

He knew that Alexandra had grown up in the Russian court where "there was no coup and no Tsar," so it was understandable that she would overthink things when faced with such a strange situation as "the king being seriously ill while the crown prince was out of town and unable to receive news."

Seeing his relaxed expression, Alexandra finally relaxed, but only for two seconds before she said anxiously, "I need to send someone to the Royal Military Academy immediately. Uh, I'll have some of your old subordinates prepare for the 'worst-case scenario'..."

The Royal Military University was formerly the Paris Police Academy, which is the most loyal military force she could think of to the Crown Prince.

Although Joseph felt she was being overly sensitive, he felt immense warmth and gratitude.

He whispered in his wife's ear, "Actually, uh, would you believe me if I said that all of this was just because Father and Mother wanted to go on a trip?"

That night, Alexandra held him tightly even in her sleep, as if afraid of suddenly losing him.

By noon the following day, news such as "His Highness the Crown Prince has officially assumed regency, and His Majesty the King's condition has temporarily stabilized" appeared in all the newspapers, and the major cathedrals of Paris were immediately surrounded by citizens who came to pray for the King.

At the Fontainebleau Sanatorium, on the lawn outside the King's room, Berthier bowed to Joseph and said, "Your Highness Regent, will this interfere with your care of His Majesty the King?"

Joseph said helplessly, "It's alright. Actually, His Majesty's condition has begun to improve, and he will soon be going to Brittany for treatment."

"Thank God. His Majesty will surely recover."

The Chief of the General Staff offered a prayer for the King before continuing, "Your Highness, the General Staff has sent the withdrawal plan to Warsaw and advised them to stabilize the current front and begin to withdraw."

Joseph nodded: "What was the response from the other side?"

"The Polish General Staff stated that the matter was of great importance and that a decision had to be made by Søren Søren."

Joseph frowned immediately.

It will take at least half a month for the various factions in the parliament to finish their tug-of-war, and unexpected events could happen at any time on Koschusko's side.

He looked at Emmanuel: "Please write a letter in my name to His Majesty Stanisław, and have him issue the evacuation order directly."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Berthier added, “Your Highness, according to the news we just received, Mirza ambushed the Ottoman army south of Tbilisi at the end of last month, killing and capturing more than 13,000 men.”

(End of this chapter)