Ch.393The True Emperor of Rome

“Yes. I can’t say there isn’t any.”

“Why not?”

I roughly guessed that from Spain’s position, now isn’t the time to be wary of France.

“If France becomes arrogant in the future, wouldn’t the area south of the Pyrenees be in danger?”

The area south of the Pyrenees would be in danger.

What does that mean? It means France might become hostile toward Spain.

Honestly, it’s difficult for France to exert the same potential as before.

Burgundy is currently going through voting procedures. They’ve also lost the northern territories to an angry Britain. And they’ve made significant investments to appease Algerians during the process of incorporating Algeria.

They’re also bound by the Roman Treaty.

“The Roman Treaty, right. France isn’t likely to expand further anyway.”

If they tried to expand, wouldn’t they be torn apart immediately?

If nothing else, Britain’s surveillance is extremely strict.

After Dunkirk, Churchill mobilized even the Commonwealth government to divert anger toward himself, instilling anti-French sentiment by portraying France as the world’s worst bastards.

“But if they propose territorial adjustments in the Roman Treaty, like redistributing domains, we might have to hand over territory.”

Oh, I didn’t know that. That’s entirely possible.

“Hmm. That’s true.”

That’s an undeniable fact.

If France uses my influence and their recovered national power to gain more sway in the Roman Treaty, Spain would be like a dog that chased a chicken only to end up staring at the roof.

Eventually, it will come down to verbal disputes in the Roman Treaty.

In the worst-case scenario, there might be attempts to divide territories. If this happens, even the position of Roman Emperor could be jeopardized.

It would be troublesome if territorial disputes arose just when unity has been achieved.

Even if Spain is only expressing concern about French expansion, this implies future confusion in the Roman Treaty integration.

Even if France truly has no ambition and declares they’ll maintain their current territory.

“So what are you thinking? Surely you’re not asking me to take the throne to guarantee Spain’s security, like other countries have done.”

I can’t depose a perfectly good king and take the throne myself.

I’m a saint, a saint. As a saint, I cannot accept this.

“Isn’t it natural for an emperor to be above a king?”

“Is that so?”

Don’t tell me these guys…

I think I know what they’re getting at.

“Please become the Emperor of Spain. If you become the Emperor of the Spanish Empire and guarantee our safety, that would be enough.”

I see. The Roman Treaty has essentially become a feudal alliance of nation-states.

Of course, there won’t be wars among them since they’re already integrated.

As science and technology advance, the bonds of the Roman Treaty will strengthen.

So they want to ensure their safety until then.

“Our Majesty has also stated that being the king who rules the Western Roman lands on the border is sufficient.”

Still, Spain once managed the world.

Considering that, they can’t just overlook France’s expansion. Honestly, I clearly recognize this point as well.

“Emperor of the Spanish Empire.”

The position of Emperor of the Spanish Empire is truly unexpected, but if there’s already a king, they’re raising the rank to make it seem natural.

Isn’t that what they’re saying? It doesn’t sound bad when you think about it.

“Wouldn’t becoming Emperor of the Spanish Empire lead to becoming the Roman Emperor?”

“I suppose so.”

Since I’m revered as Emperor in Byzantine and Western Roman territories, I am indeed the Roman Emperor.

If I become the Emperor of Spain, I would be the Roman Emperor in the true sense.

Switzerland is in the middle, but if the Iberian side is resolved, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Is your country’s king really okay with this?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He’s already preparing to meet with you.”

Rivera and Franco are making this request.

That shows how much Spain feels threatened by my becoming France.

Perhaps this will be recorded in modern history books as the “Spanish Crisis.”

Alright then, let’s meet.

* * *

The meeting with King Alfonso of Spain took place.

He appears older than I expected.

“I never thought you would make such a choice.”

Wouldn’t this make the Spanish king’s position somewhat ambiguous?

Spain and France would essentially be bound by the same monarch. Of course, this is assuming territories are guaranteed.

“I was fortunate to be restored to the throne in the first place. Above all, aren’t we bound by the Roman Treaty? I don’t want to create unnecessary discord.”

Alfonso is currently on the Spanish throne, but he’s a symbolic monarch.

Politics continue in the Spanish parliament under the Falange party. That’s to be expected.

Looking at his advanced age, it seems his time is coming.

Somehow, when I meet national leaders, I first notice their age.

The youngest one is Gaddafi.

I don’t know when Alfonso will die, but he seems to be enjoying his current life.

“I see.”

Depending on how you interpret this, there’s something presumptuous about it.

“I was restored to the throne by the Falange party, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s troublesome. Just handle it yourself.”

Isn’t he just passing the troublesome matters to me?

That’s exactly the impression I’m getting, while he looks like he’s experiencing some kind of enlightenment.

“For me, it’s enough that the Spanish dynasty continues.”

“You’re not ambitious.”

“Actually, because of the Anastasia supporters… I would be happier if Your Majesty quickly secured the Western Roman throne and became the true Roman Emperor.”

Is he saying this because it would ensure the preservation of the Spanish dynasty?

He’s making this choice to maintain Spain by any means necessary.

* * *

Russian Commonwealth State Duma

The Russian Commonwealth State Duma was operating actively today as well.

Of course, it wasn’t as good as before. Why? Because Mother Tsar wasn’t there.

It was like a child left alone at home while mother was out.

But still, thanks to the Roman Treaty system, the country was functioning normally.

Today, as usual, Mother sent a peculiar communication.

“Today’s agenda.”

“What is it?”

“It’s from Mother Tsar, sent from Spain.”

Today’s agenda. Like a mother asking what her child wants her to bring back from a foreign trip.

Today, the Duma received news from Mother in the form of a letter.

However, the Duma was always worried on such occasions.

After all, didn’t she recently become queen in Egypt?

And it wasn’t even a formal ascension to the throne.

It was as if she had picked up a title while passing through.

“Haha, the newspapers are already buzzing about how she went to scold Nasser in Egypt and briefly mentioned ‘becoming Queen of Egypt.’ What else is there now?”

Mother Tsar’s coronation as Queen of Egypt.

Without exaggeration, it just happened. It was difficult to express this feeling in words.

“Her Majesty went to Spain.”

“Spain. Come to think of it, she hasn’t been there for a leisure trip before, has she?”

So she’ll be staying there for a while?

“That’s right. And she received another gift during her travels.”

“What is it? Spain already has a king and an heir.”

The Falange party restored the monarchy to legitimize themselves.

Alfonso gladly accepted, and Spain became a constitutional monarchy.

Surely not.

Would the Falange party suddenly dismiss their monarch and heir?

“Spain wants to elevate our Mother Tsar as Emperor of Spain.”

“What does that mean? Emperor out of nowhere?”

Spain wasn’t an empire, was it?

There’s still a king, but that’s it.

“Instead of making it a direct territory of the Roman Emperor, let’s just formally appoint Alfonso as the King of the Iberian lands.”

Mother Tsar’s authority already extends throughout the world.

Would it be impossible to appoint a king of Iberia?

But it’s also amusing that Spain urgently requested imperial status.

“They must have been quite envious of France.”

“They must be concerned about pressure from France.”

“This isn’t bad. After all, what they want is to place our Mother Tsar on the imperial throne to maintain peace in Iberia.”

Since Mother Tsar is Queen of France, if she becomes Emperor of Spain, safety would be guaranteed.

Although they’re bound by the Roman Treaty, it’s understandable that they’re worried, given that it’s an alliance of nations.

Above all, if they gain more influence in the Roman Treaty, they could aim for territorial adjustments.

But if she ascends to the position of Spanish Emperor, which is higher than the king, the story changes.

Actually, if they have the same monarch as France, that alone would protect Spanish territory.

Spain must have thought this through quite well.

“Well, from our position, we don’t have veto power.”

After all, if Her Majesty accepts, that’s the end of it, and the Roman Treaty will move toward territorial integration anyway.

“In any case, Mother Tsar’s ideals are becoming more magnificent by the day.”

If they become more magnificent by the day, that’s not a problem.

“She collects kings wherever she goes, really.”

How many titles does she need?

At this point, it would be better to just consolidate everything under the Roman Emperor.

Of course, there would be issues with Manchuria and the Mongolian steppes.

But couldn’t those also be made part of Rome?

“It’s not a bad thing for us. If nothing else, with the Spanish Emperor position, our Mother Tsar’s actual governing territory spreads across the Roman realm.”

In other words, she becomes the practical Roman Emperor.

It truly means the era in Europe where territorial boundaries between nations become meaningless.

“In that case, why not also address Greece and Bulgaria?”

Especially Greece needs to be resolved.

After all, Greece was also part of Byzantine territory.

Isn’t it wrong that it’s the only land without a king?

Bulgaria also has good relations, so it shouldn’t be impossible.

“Rather, why not use this to formally elevate Mother Tsar as Emperor in each country? Until now, she was the ‘Emperor of the Roman Treaty.'”

“That’s a good idea.”

Why not just integrate everything and make her the Roman Emperor?

Mother Tsar will take care of the rest.

* * *

With the mention of the Spanish Empire, Spain underwent a new transformation.

It’s the Spanish Empire, but as Italy was split into a federation, it’s being preserved as the center of the Western Roman region.

Incidentally, this also allows them to avoid pressure from France.

The problem is that there’s been some discontent from the French side.

“Spain has an Empress, why are we only a Queen?”

“We must be reborn as the French Empire in name and reality!”

“Make the Tsarina the Empress of the French Empire!”

France also wants to immediately elevate her to Empress.

Of course, I accepted this proposal.

Since both are the Empress’s domains, there can’t be territorial disputes.

At most, there might be some disputes between individuals claiming “this is my land, that is yours,” but that’s all.

“Wait, this really makes me the Western Roman Emperor.”

Consider France-Spain, followed by Algeria and Morocco which these two occupy.

Italy is now fragmented and has essentially become papal territory, so if we set that aside as an exception, I’m the complete Emperor of the Western Roman region.

Whew, I never expected it to lead to this.

“Hahaha, this is wonderful. Now if we set a date for the coronation—”

“Wouldn’t it be better to postpone the coronation?”

Rivera and Franco are excited and happy, but Maria seemed quite displeased.

“Maria? What do you mean?”

Is she suddenly displeased? Certainly, Maria is Russian, so perhaps she’s uncomfortable with Mother Tsar also being the Spanish Emperor?

“Why not include Portugal as well?”

“That’s right. You were planning to visit Portugal anyway.”

“Wouldn’t it be good to contact them in advance?”

Ah, there’s still Portugal. If we’re considering the Western Roman realm, Portugal is missing.

It’s been mentioned recently, but I was getting ahead of myself thinking it had already passed in the Duma.

If we incorporate Portugal as well, I would truly become the Western Roman Emperor, not just in name.

It would mean the unification of East and West.

“Will Portugal agree?”

“France and Spain have already agreed, what choice do they have?”

Portugal might have resisted in the past, but the current Portugal isn’t exactly in a normal state.