Ch.381The Queen of France, Ana-chan (2)

# The Unexpected Queen of France

“What’s going on? I thought she went to France for a vacation?”

“This is ridiculous. Just like that?”

“Wait, why is there suddenly talk about a French queen?”

“Hold on, does this mean Spain is the only one left out?”

The Spanish side was particularly vocal.

Of course they would be, since Spain was still a monarchy.

In fact, with recent talk of monarchical restoration in France, they had hoped that if it happened, it would naturally connect with Spain.

It made sense since France now shared its southern border with Spain, so any alliance would logically start there.

Now imagine if France fell under Romanov control.

Britain was already scheduled to join the Eastern Military Alliance in the future, Germany had already joined, and Turkey, while technically a Roman protectorate, had legitimate historical ties and made enormous contributions during the Great War, so it didn’t necessarily need to join the Alliance.

That left only Spain, which had little previous connection to the Romanovs.

For Spain, this was concerning.

Meanwhile in France, only one person felt completely blindsided by these developments.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty the Queen!”

“Ah, um. Hmm. Yes.”

Anastasia’s mind was racing at being addressed as “Your Majesty.”

“From now on, this Gallic province is your land!”

But her complicated thoughts weren’t exactly positive.

She found the royal title simply absurd.

***

Well, um. The voting had already begun.

In the blink of an eye, a referendum on “French Romanov Dynasty” approval/disapproval had started.

I was momentarily dumbfounded.

“How did they prepare this so quickly?”

I was reading the newspaper while spreading famous French butter on a warm baguette.

The voting was already underway.

I really don’t understand how a vote could be organized this quickly.

“They must have been preparing in advance.”

But with polling stations set up so quickly, it seems a bit…

Could there be vote manipulation?

That would be dangerous. The French people… if their opinions aren’t properly reflected in a manipulated vote, that could be problematic.

Well, I’m just waiting and eating for now.

“Fine, let’s assume that’s the case. This butter is delicious.”

“It’s the famous Bordier butter from France.”

“Is that so?”

Bordier butter? I don’t know what it is, but it tastes good.

A warm, freshly baked baguette. It’s different from the baguettes I ate in Korea when I was young.

Even the most expensive baguettes from shops with “Paris” in their name in Korea can’t compare to this.

Of course, de Gaulle and La Rocque probably arranged for the best.

“Yes. The food here is likely more diverse than in Russia.”

The food is more varied than in Russia.

Hmm, I have to admit that’s true.

Personally, French food suits my taste. Turkish desserts are delicious, though.

“True, French food is better. Turkish desserts are good, but French cuisine is superior. Oh, do you have mint chocolate?”

Spreading butter is nice, but I always finish with mint chocolate.

It seems like I’ve been eating almost every meal that way while in France.

“Yes. Would you like to spread it on the baguette like yesterday?”

“No, I’ll eat it separately this time. Putting mint chocolate on a baguette doesn’t seem right.”

Mint chocolate goes well with many things.

Seeing how eagerly de Gaulle and La Rocque are entertaining me, they’re clearly determined to secure Burgundy.

The question is whether this vote will actually work out.

“Do you think this vote will go smoothly?”

“I doubt it.”

The French have their pride.

If you think about it, they might feel resentful about suddenly becoming a commune and helping Germany in the war.

Considering how quickly de Gaulle’s Free French government took control of French territory, it seems the French people under the Commune weren’t particularly enthusiastic supporters.

But still, it was the Russian army that defeated France.

The bombs were Russian-made, after all.

“Even so, you’re the Russian Tsar. The French wouldn’t want that.”

Exactly.

No matter how you look at it, this normally wouldn’t happen.

Realistically, it seems impossible.

Even though the Commune’s foolishness split the population, lost territory, and led to Burgundy’s independence, there should still be enough French people left.

“Hmm, you might be surprised.”

“Why?”

“Because people don’t usually think that way.”

Huh? People don’t usually think that way?

Does that mean all French people like me, like Louise does?

“What do you mean by ‘usually’? French people don’t usually think that way?”

I wonder how the French see me.

I’m curious how they would react if I went out and announced, “I am the Tsar!”

Well, Louise likes me. I consider that an unusual case.

“That’s right. You’re surprisingly popular in France too. Among young people, especially.”

Popular among young people?

Hmm, I do have looks that appeal to young people, but France is really unexpected.

While there might not be many who dislike me, France and Russia have a rather dissonant relationship.

France was essentially split by Russia’s nuclear finishing blow in the last war. In this situation, the French like me?

“Really?”

“You unified Europe. You never age, so you’re like a saint. And there was also this recent incident.”

“Oh, anti-French protests in Russia?”

I’ve been away so long I didn’t know about this. Anti-French protests in Russia?

What did France do to suddenly trigger anti-French protests?

“Yes. There were anti-French protests in Russia with people saying they couldn’t let France take away their Mother Tsar. That probably stirred up the French people too.”

Ah, I can see Russians doing that.

After all, Russians are the eternal legitimate children of the Tsar.

As Russians, they would naturally feel resistant.

Maybe I should create a public holiday later to console the Russian people? The problem is that I feel awkward about it.

I don’t think it will have that much impact.

Russians may worship the Tsar, but they also understand the importance of Roman unification.

“Hmm, I don’t think it will have that much impact.”

No matter what, I didn’t think it would. At least that’s what I thought at first.

Shortly after, La Rocque came in clapping his hands.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty the Queen!”

I came here planning to stay a bit longer than expected to see how things would unfold, but suddenly I’ve become the Queen of France while on vacation.

I wonder how I’ll be treated later. It’s kind of funny.

Will I be recorded in something like Wikipedia like this?

‘The Tsar traveled to France and was crowned Queen of France.’

Sheesh, when you put it that way, it sounds ridiculous.

But in terms of Roman unification, this is definitely not a bad thing.

“Well, let’s have a modest coronation ceremony. Honestly, from my perspective, it feels like I was suddenly kidnapped and made Queen of France.”

I emphasized “suddenly” twice because it’s important.

No matter how I look at it, I feel like I’ve been scammed and kidnapped.

Of course, it’s not a real kidnapping, but still.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have a grand ceremony?”

“Even so, I can’t expect too much for a throne decided so suddenly. The French people must be surprised too—wouldn’t it be strange to suddenly hold a coronation ceremony for a queen?”

The voting happened too quickly as well.

Honestly, I suspect some manipulation here.

From what I can see, there seem to be many people like Louise in the Croix-de-Feu now?

If they used these people to force this through, that would make sense.

“Don’t worry about that.”

La Rocque shook his head slightly.

“What do you mean, don’t worry? I can’t take up the French people’s time for something like this.”

The French people must already be annoyed by this vote.

A coronation ceremony would only make it worse.

“No, really, you don’t need to worry.”

La Rocque seems to want me to stay no matter what.

I’m already giving them Burgundy, so why is he being like this?

“No, but this seems suspicious. Are you trying to use my authority for something?”

“I absolutely have no such intention.”

You’re essentially confining me here, kidnapping me, brainwashing me to be the French Queen, and you’re telling me not to worry? This is suspicious.

But think about the situation. Every day when I express doubts, they offer me mint chocolate.

Seeing how they’re trying to condition me with mint chocolate makes me suspicious.

Even now, telling me not to worry is strange.

Considering all this, I wonder if there’s vote manipulation too?

“Can you swear there’s no vote manipulation?”

La Rocque looked at me with honest eyes and said confidently:

“I can assure you with absolute certainty there is none, Your Majesty.”

La Rocque strongly denied it.

They say a strong denial is actually an affirmation.

Isn’t it easy to manipulate votes in this era? Like quietly replacing ballot boxes?

If they do it secretly at night, it doesn’t seem impossible.

If I went out now and said, “I am your mother,” would they say, “Ah, yes, of course”?

“This still smells fishy to me. Not even a little bit?”

“I swear on my life it’s not true.”

How important is La Rocque’s life anyway?

Well, there must be some credibility to it. That’s why he speaks with such confidence.

Looking at the nationwide French voting results, I found it a bit amusing.

There was some opposition in the northern regions, which likely suffered more from the nuclear explosions.

“Fine. If you say so, what can I do about it?”

If he says there’s no manipulation, I can’t do anything about it.

Still, it’s worth checking the public sentiment.

So, having been elected Queen, I went out to gauge public opinion.

As soon as I left the Prime Minister’s residence, I saw it.

“Please look here, Your Majesty!”

“You will be the Mother of France!”

“We Gallic people want Your Majesty the Tsar to be our mother!”

Oh my, the same mouths that once shouted “Long live the Commune” are now calling me mother!

These French people must have multiple layers of steel plates welded to their faces.

“Amazing! Ana-chan!”

I’ll just ignore that last person. Why is there always one of these people in every country?

Is it like the school bully that every class seems to have?

This is strange. Why are the French people exalting me as their mother?

This smells very suspicious—are there Croix-de-Feu members pointing guns behind each of these people? Sheesh, that would be problematic.

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly went back into the residence.

“Sigh, fine. Prime Minister de Gaulle. I can become the Queen of France. But before that, I need to get Russia’s understanding.”

What if our Russian people get angry?

That absolutely cannot happen.

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

“We can just frame it as being for Roman unification, right?”

Russia is the suzerain of Rome.

France is now part of Rome.

If we frame it this way, what’s the problem?

“I’ll prepare a radio broadcast.”

Sigh, I never imagined I would become the Queen of France.

No matter how many times I think about it, I wonder if this is right. It feels like I’m dreaming.

“Dear Russian citizens. This is your mother, Anastasia.”

Your mother, Anastasia.

When this statement is broadcast across Russia, they’ll generally understand.

That I’m speaking to them as their mother.

“While traveling in France, I received a proposal from Prime Minister de Gaulle and La Rocque, the leader of the Croix-de-Feu.”

Even now, I seriously wonder if this is kidnapping and confinement.

Why? Because it really seems that way.

Seeing how they’re trying to prevent me from leaving, I’m afraid they might threaten me to become the French Queen while they’re still being nice about it.

Of course, they probably wouldn’t actually do that.

“Yes. As you all know, it was a proposal to become the Queen of France. But I initially refused. Why? Because they hadn’t asked the French people’s opinion, and I already have legitimate children in the Russian people. However.”

I slowly took a breath.

I had to think about how to phrase this.

It’s a bit awkward for me.

“Today, France is in a very chaotic situation. They voted and pleaded with me to become the mother of France. How could I, as the Emperor of Rome, not listen to such a call?”

As the Emperor of Rome, I cannot ignore this.

As the Emperor of Rome, I must accept it. France is the province of Gaul.

Of course, separate from that, there was the desperate cry of the French people. That’s all I need to say.