I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

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“Why not? The answer is right there.”

“I feel like I’m being too forward.”

“Wouldn’t the French appreciate it more if you did that?”

“Why should I go out of my way for those baguette folks?”

“Hmm, even if that’s the case, it looks too obvious.”

“It would seem like I’m just trying too hard to win public favor.”

Unfortunately, I’m not someone who particularly wants to stand out that much.

Truth be told, how long has it been since I became a Queen that I would say, ‘I’ll lead your army to North Africa!’

“Sometimes, being obvious can be good. France has been mired in defeatism for decades. Even with Free France back, most of the mainland was occupied by the Commune. Even the north was taken by the British. Of course, from Britain’s perspective, they need to take something to make up for their betrayal.”

Now, with land being snatched here and there, France has crumbled from its formerly proud status, so that defeatism is quite serious.

Then, maybe the reason the French want me as their Queen is for that very reason.

“So, if I do this, will the French be able to escape their defeatism?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t they consider themselves part of true Rome?”

“Part of true Rome. Right. There’s no place more adrift than France.”

Other regions have been seamlessly integrated.

Even Northern Europe is coming along now. Switzerland is entirely under the Rome Treaty now.

Only France is currently in a state of limbo.

“Well, if that’s the case…”

There’s really nothing to lose, but still, at my age, going that far might be a bit ridiculous.

I’m definitely not in my youth. Of course, if I wash my identity, I can start over from scratch, but that’s a different matter.

I’m not sure if it’s right to restore the French pride like this.

That said, if Louise is complaining about defeatism, then they probably don’t see the Rome Treaty as legitimate.

They might still regard themselves as outsiders.

At the very least, I should at least pretend to go there.

After wrestling with various thoughts, something did come to mind.

Are the French really going to go along with my wishes? Could they possibly go on a rampage?

After all, the ones who beheaded Algerians were the French.

“Should I just go and take a look?”

It’s not particularly because Maria asked me to.

* * *

Rome Treaty

Under the Rome Treaty, the issue of rearming France has passed again.

Of course, some conditions will be attached, but it’s a lot better than maintaining a self-defense force.

For starters, the condition is that, as a member state of the Rome Treaty, they must maintain a defense force, while the Burgundy region shall be designated as a demilitarized zone.

In the first place, this is just a formality.

In fact, among the member states of the Rome Treaty, there were countries that had practically disbanded their armies altogether.

Given that situation, how significant is a demilitarized zone?

“No, are you saying we should go easy on France now?”

The Danube Federation, which suffered the most from France, showed some discomfort, but to be frank, France can’t easily be defeated by any country in Europe now.

Their army has already been utterly destroyed, so what can they do?

“There’s no harm in letting them off, I suppose. They brought this situation upon themselves.”

“Burgundy’s situation seems to support that, considering it came from Russia’s side.”

It’s from the strongest anti-communist country, after all.

They’re also in favor of the integration of Burgundy, and since it’s already passed, it shouldn’t matter, but isn’t it a little peculiar?

“Hmm, but Gallic… Are they planning to change their whole national name?”

Changing it to Gaul would sound quite plausible and not bad at all.

“It seems like the Kingdom of France under the Rome Treaty will become Gaul.”

The Kingdom of France under the Rome Treaty.

I wonder if it’s even appropriate to call it a ‘province,’ but since the Tsar of Russia says so, what can be done?

At least, as it won’t be direct governance, there’s no fear of textbooks being rewritten drastically.

“Talking about the Kingdom of France under the Rome Treaty gives the entire of Europe a feeling of being part of the Holy Roman Empire, doesn’t it? But it isn’t, right?”

In reality, it differs from the Holy Roman Empire from the very roots.

Yet superficially, it still doesn’t change the odd appearance of it all.

“Unlike the rather ambiguous branding of the Holy Roman Empire, this is another Rome.”

Comparing the Holy Roman Empire to the Rome Treaty would indeed be a mistake.

“Well, there are certainly more important issues at hand.”

France is no longer a problem.

It’s merely a matter of the Tsar going over to crown the Queen.

It’s the usual business, but the crucial matter lies elsewhere.

“Oh, by the way, something came from the Tsar.”

“It’s about Libya and Egypt.”

Libya and Egypt.

Those seeking oil and Suez shares in exchange for a crown.

Well, I can understand that to some degree because they have certainly endured a lot.

However, that remains within the realm of understanding; it’s something viewed from a third party’s perspective.

Surprisingly, the Rome Treaty has provided them with substantial support.

How they are spending that money is beyond me as it’s not contributing to the country’s development but lining the pockets of the powerful instead.

“To be honest, aren’t they being a bit shameless? They were colonies, and Egypt was a semi-colony. Sure, we’ve given them some support, but there’s a degree to these things. They’re pocketing the money we’ve provided them, and if the Tsar were not a crown collector, this could have been serious.”

Although, being a crown collector is a bit much.

“France is going to take care of this matter.”

“Oh, really?”

If they can handle that, it should be alright to allow them to rearm, right?

To put it bluntly, there are countries that were dissatisfied with France for not rearming all this time.

It’s essentially a free ride on security. Of course, they’re tied through the Rome Treaty, but aside from that, the French army’s significance has been nearly nonexistent due to its self-defense force title.

This is somewhat understandable.

Moreover, it’s clear one thing will happen in Libya and Egypt.

This matter with France isn’t looking too bad.

“Who’s in charge of managing the Suez? Someone has to be held accountable.”

“It’s a British national.”

“Shouldn’t we swap the Suez manager with someone from Turkey or Russia?”

“We plan to replace the individual and arrest the current one.”

The Suez share issue can simply be addressed by summoning the person in charge and then replacing them.

Of course, aside from that, we still need to address issues with Egypt.

“Understood. But… what is this?”

Something strange has come to light.

What it was, was quite… exceedingly suspicious.

The Tsar is now planning to lead the French army directly to Libya and Egypt.

“The Tsar is personally heading to North Africa?”

“Isn’t he the one who said it’s difficult? He mentioned wanting to rest.”

Is that the same Tsar who wanted a break?

Given that, going over there is practically working again, isn’t it?

It seems that Tsar is undoubtedly a workaholic, to the extent that others want him to keep occupying the position.

Moreover, now that he’s become a Queen of France, he couldn’t easily relinquish the Tsar’s throne either.

Logically, even if he were to abdicate to Vladimir, he can’t simultaneously maintain the position of Queen of France, so for a while, he’s unlikely to step down as Tsar.

“Exactly. It seems like he’s taking on work in the midst of that.”

“Honestly, I wonder if His Majesty really needs to make his presence felt.”

If the Emperor steps in, doesn’t that make everything more complicated?

From the perspective of the Rome Treaty Headquarters, that would hardly be beneficial.

“It seems he wants to give the French at least a little boost. I’ve heard that the French are currently deep in a sense of defeat.”

“Well, they brought it upon themselves.”

Of course, it’s true that the Commune suddenly took power, so the French couldn’t help but react as they did, but that’s separate from this. France caused its own downfall.

Out of some pity, we might have turned a blind eye to them managing to keep Algeria in check.

“They’ve lost quite a bit. If they don’t firm up a bit, they’ll become the most adrift area within the Rome Treaty.”

France will soon be referred to as the Gallic region of Rome – the Kingdom of France, but indeed, having suffered so much during the Commune and through anti-communist education, the French people now view themselves as sinners, and their pride has hit rock bottom.

“After all, what could possibly happen in Libya and Egypt?”

There shouldn’t really be much of a problem.

After all, I highly doubt there will be any terrorism emerging from Libya and Egypt, and it’s quite clear that the Tsar is trying to restore the spirits of the French.

For some reason, I’m reminded of Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition, but I believe that’s not the case.

It’s undeniably suspicious, but the members of the Rome Treaty decided to simply brush it off.

“Well, let’s approve it.”

“After all, since it’s the Tsar, he’ll probably handle it well.”

He’ll probably manage it just fine. Worrying would be a foolish endeavor.

Meanwhile, Libya and Egypt were perplexed by the last ultimatum from the Rome Treaty.

“Why would they suddenly issue an ultimatum on the pretext of the Rome Treaty’s support funds? If they don’t want the crown, they should just say so.”

“Are they issuing ultimatums because we’ve been steadily taking the shares of Suez?”

“Come on, surely they wouldn’t go as far as attack.”

In the olden days, nations within the Rome Treaty, as a national union, were honestly both an object of hatred and an easy mark.

They apologized for colonizing, offered all sorts of compensations, and made it clear they wouldn’t mess with the infrastructure.

After that, they provided so much funding; it’s staggering.

But, ironically, that has turned out to be poison for them.

* * *

This is North Africa. A place filled with both words and woes.

Before coming here, I sent an ultimatum to Libya and Egypt.

As if to say, they’re really in a severe situation.

Unfortunately, these guys seemed to be fools.

I don’t know if they were aware that they have something to feel guilty about or if there’s some other reason, but either way, these guys were fools.

“Did Libya refuse the demands of the Rome Treaty?”

From what I gather, it seems they’re indeed refusing the demands.

Then what happens?

It may genuinely come down to a military action.

“Yes. They have refused to cooperate with the investigation.”

These guys have outright rejected the serious demands of the Rome Treaty.

They declined to investigate.

What might this mean? Let’s think about it for a moment.

“Are they looking down on us?”

That’s exactly what it means—they’re looking down on us.

Considering how lenient we’ve been towards them, these idiots apparently haven’t realized the gravity of the situation.

Do I let this slide? No way.

Despite how they come across, European states are almost all colonial empires, aside from a few minor players.

Even Spain was included in that.

The very union that formed the Rome Treaty is made up of such nations.

Right now, Libya was under Italian control, and Egypt was under British control, wasn’t it?

They’re taking us too lightly.

“Yes. Without a doubt, they’re underestimating us.”

These are truly hopeless characters.

If this continues, the blood of pillagers from the European states will boil.

Before that happens, I need to finish this with the French.

Of course, we shouldn’t repeat the historical massacres in Algeria.

In truth, I’ve only just realized that point.

The French have historically committed atrocities in Algeria. Considering that, someone needs to step in to lead during this situation.

It’s only fair to establish some order before things escalate.

“I can’t believe you would personally head all the way to North Africa.”

Ra Roche welcomed me with a bewildered expression.

Is it really that strange for me to come this far?

It’s just a light affair, after all.

“As the King of France, I ought to do at least this much.”

Again, I can show a little leniency. This situation shouldn’t be that serious after all.

Simply suppressing things would likely suffice.

“The local Libyans have extremely low economic power.”

“They are low on economic power?”

Honestly, I didn’t expect Libya to be thriving.

It’s abnormal if they’re doing well.

However, I thought that with a little support from the Rome Treaty, they’d develop by themselves, but this indicates there’s no investment potential.

“Yes. Considering our support, the overall condition of the citizens is not good. They must be living in poverty.”

That makes sense. If everything is going into their pockets, it would naturally become like this.

Initially, trying to do something with the land of Libya would be a challenge, but it isn’t completely uninhabitable, as it’s still close to the sea up north.

What a bunch of idiots. Just like those guys in Afghanistan.

This can all be deemed a result of their greed.

It’s apparent that this area isn’t in a great state.

There isn’t a single decently built city. Probably, you might see a few things piled up in the capital if that’s even where it is.

“Ugh. In that case, incorporating them under our governance might be a better idea.”

Frankly thinking, that might very well be the best approach.