I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 929: Saying Mom's lines, leaving her with nothing to say

"Wait," Lady Adelaide's eyes widened, "Maybe I heard it wrong. Did you just say, Queen?"

"Yes, Queen." Joseph confirmed again, "I can assure you that the Queen of Modena was crowned by the Pope himself."

"But...how is this possible..."

Joseph motioned her to go on, explaining:
"You know that His Majesty Ercole III has no heir. If you marry, you will naturally take over Modena after his death. As for the coronation, the Pope will take the initiative to propose it to you."

Lady Adelaide held her hands in the air and said in surprise:

"I remember that Ercole III has a daughter, and her son is already an adult. Ercole III may leave the position of Grand Duke to that young man."

"No, he won't." Joseph said firmly, "Even if our country agrees, other member states of the Mediterranean Security Organization will firmly oppose it."

Lady Adelaide understood instantly.

The daughter of Ercole III married the son of Queen Theresa of Austria, and their children have the surname Habsburg!

Today, the northern Italian countries have tied their interests firmly to France. How could they accept the emergence of a country ruled by the Habsburgs next to them?

Although Madame Adelaide was in the Palace of Versailles, she was not a lady who only knew how to dance and knit.

On the contrary, she is very familiar with politics.

During the period when Louis XV was seriously ill before his death, she briefly presided over French politics.

This was also one of the important factors why Joseph decided to let her go to Modena - she was capable enough to control the situation.

Joseph continued: “I believe that His Majesty Ercole III himself understands this.

"It would be the best scenario for him to marry you and, in the last days of his life, have the full support of France, make Modena stronger than ever, and enjoy the peak of his life."

Lady Adelaide's heart suddenly began to beat violently.

She was a capable woman who was never willing to die of old age in the Palace of Versailles. At the same time, she also longed for the marriage and love that she had never obtained.

And all of this can be satisfied as long as you go to Modena.

Yes. She nodded silently in her heart. Her life should end as a queen!
She looked at the Dauphin and smiled gratefully: "Oh, dear Joseph, you are so considerate. I will follow your arrangements in everything."

half a month later.

The French marriage envoy arrived in Modena and formally conveyed to Ercole III the French royal family's positive attitude towards his marriage to Lady Adelaide.

In fact, the Grand Duke of Modena had learned the news through the Chap signal tower more than ten days ago and was extremely delighted at the time.

You know, when Lady Adelaide was young, she was a famous beauty in Europe, which is why she had scandals with many European monarchs. When Ercole III was young, as the crown prince of a small country, he didn't dare to have any improper thoughts about her.

Even the old King Carlos III of Spain was still thinking about her until his death.

Although she is older now, her elegance and temperament remain unchanged.

Ercole III felt that he had finally fulfilled his dream when he was young. At least, he had won over the King of Spain in this respect.

He also knew that Lady Adelaide had saved up a very generous dowry.

In this way, Ercole III signed a marriage agreement with the French envoy on the same day and formally sent an envoy to the Palace of Versailles to propose marriage.

...The day after the warm-up ball for the World Expo, Queen Mary sent someone to invite Joseph to her tea room to taste the seasonal desserts.

In the Petit Trianon, after Joseph tasted all the desserts on the table, he wiped the dessert residue from his mouth with a napkin and looked at his mother with a smile:

"I guess you have something to tell me?"

"Ah, that's true." Queen Mary was just worrying about how to start the conversation when she got a "god's help" and immediately continued, "I was thinking that our country and Austria have been fighting for a long time...

“Yes, the war was unprovoked by Vienna and caused great harm to our country.

"They will also have to pay a sufficient price for this, such as ceding territory in northern Italy.

"but……"

Joseph immediately replied, “But the war should end. Continuing the war will not benefit either side.

"And Vienna was also deceived by Britain. If they are willing to correct their mistakes, I don't think it is necessary to kill them all."

Queen Mary blinked her big blue eyes. She felt that her lines had been snatched away by her son. She stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Joseph stuffed a piece of strawberry pudding into his mother's mouth and continued:

"You see, His Majesty Leopold II and I once fought against the Prussians together. His Majesty Francis II is also my cousin. Whatever I say will not embarrass him too much, right?"

Queen Mary just kept nodding as she chewed her dessert.

Joseph picked up the cocoa-flavored macarons and fed them to his mother:

"I will try my best to persuade the ministers to keep the most basic decency for Vienna, so don't worry."

Queen Mary quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and looked at her son with some concern:

"My dear, you are now shouldering the heavy responsibility of being the regent of France. You cannot just consider your relationship with Vienna and ignore the losses of our country. You must demand the compensation you deserve."

"Well, don't worry, I will make this war end decently." Joseph said as he fed his mother dessert and looked back and forth, "Where is the violinist from last time? I want to hear his performance."

On the side, Countess de Berninac gestured to the door:

"Mr. Lachapelle, His Royal Highness the Dauphin invites you in."

Just like that, more than an hour later, Queen Marie watched her son leave the Petit Trianon Palace and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she had successfully fulfilled Count Moses' request.

She did not mean to harm France's interests. She knew that Austria must make compensation to France, but she just didn't want to make her old friend too miserable.

But she never noticed that although Joseph seemed to have said a lot just now, there was actually not a single definite promise.

The next morning, as expected, the Austrian envoy, Count Moses Argentot, asked to see Joseph.

He had received a reply from Queen Marie yesterday and knew that the French Crown Prince would show leniency, so he felt more at ease.

After some solemn etiquette, Count Moses said respectfully to Joseph sitting opposite him:
“Your Highness, the Tougut cabinet, which has made serious mistakes, has stepped down.

"On behalf of Count Kaunitz, I would like to discuss the armistice with you in private."

(End of this chapter)