LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 397
After the national marriage ended, I attended the Duma.
I mean, it wasn’t like it had been ages. It had only been a few months since I saw them in France.
Now that I think about it, there was that time when I shouted “Tsar strike!” and left the grading to Vladimir for a couple of months. Just a few months, really.
If Spain had held a separate coronation ceremony, the Duma would probably have come by.
But all they did was announce that a new emperor had arrived, and that was it.
Honestly, Rivera wanted to prepare for the coronation, but I’ve already been through so many coronations, even bundling France, Spain, and Portugal together. I couldn’t just do it again after the one in France, and everyone agreed on that.
Let’s be real, can you imagine how much money it would take to hold a coronation every time?
It was honestly a bit surprising that I got to witness this national marriage.
I managed to sneak back home, and the wedding of Charles and fake Maria followed, so I tagged along a bit. Anyway.
I went thinking I’d be able to discuss something, but it felt more like I just did a lot of work.
“Your Majesty. Have you been well?”
“Of all times to return, it had to be during their wedding.”
I never dreamed I would end up in such a situation.
Ugh, so annoying. I’m really busy with all this stuff.
What did I do to deserve this at my age—having to congratulate others on their weddings?
“Still, it’s fortunate to be here for such a happy occasion.”
Well, “together” might be a stretch since I was basically kidnapped in the middle of it.
I found myself attending a Dual Monarchy wedding out of nowhere.
“I should have come even later.”
They say timing is everything.
Since I’d been so annoyed by the coronation, someone save me.
“Delaying the wedding would have been a problem, Your Majesty. Usually, everyone wishes to receive Your Majesty’s congratulations.”
“Right. I can see that.”
Receiving congratulations from the Roman Emperor.
Hmm, thinking about it, that actually makes for a pretty nice picture.
“Hahaha, it’s a great day after all. Europe truly has one emperor again.”
Alisa laughed heartily.
One true emperor, the idol of all European nations.
“What can I say? It’s a world that can’t function without me.”
This world has become one where I’m indispensable. There’s no denying that.
I suppose the Duma will continue to rely on me to grade things moving forward.
But I can’t shake off the feeling that this whole situation is solely because of me.
As time goes on, the more I embody immortality, the more people lift me higher.
If I play my cards right, it’s honestly not hard to influence all corners of the world.
“Not much going on at home, right?”
“Nothing really, aside from Vietnam.”
“What did Vietnam do now?”
Well, the fact that nothing has come up means they’re managing well, but seeing them juggling between the United States and the Rome Treaty feels a bit sketchy.
Those guys were the ones we kept feeding while setting the stage for them to side with the US, yet back during the colonial era, they complained about the “excessive influence of ‘France,’ a signatory of the Rome Treaty, so we have to cooperate with the treaty even if we don’t want to.”
They kept trying to benefit while whining about it.
Due to the Rome Treaty’s directive to apologize to “former colonies” during the imperialism era, we couldn’t provide them much support.
That became the problem.
We couldn’t stop helping, so we ended up almost forcibly assisting them.
“Vietnam is currently witnessing a revival movement to reclaim ancient territories.”
“Reclaiming territories?”
What is this, some sort of King’s re-conquest movement?
That’s right. In the past, Vietnam did rule over some parts of Southern China.
They want to reclaim those territories? Now that’s commendable.
Historically speaking, it’s something they’d have never dared to try.
China’s divided now; it’s worth a shot. That’s it.
I greatly want to commend that.
“We’re not really saying anything on our end either.”
“That’s how it should be.”
What can we possibly say to those guys? Neither support nor opposition.
It’s intervention at all costs. I have neither the right to obstruct nor to grant permission for what Vietnam is doing.
“They’ve appealed to the international community expressing a desire to regain ancient territories.”
But now, how would recovering those change anything?
Sure, they would expand the land, but they’d have to integrate a massive number of Chinese into Vietnam. If they genuinely plan to reclaim all of Nam Viet’s territories, that is.
From what I see, achieving that would be impossible for Vietnam.
“What is the United States saying about this?”
The issue is that the US is meddling unnecessarily.
If the US says they want to do something about China, we have no choice but to get involved.
That’s because if the US keeps Vietnam and China under control in Asia, we’re bound to feel the pressure.
“They don’t oppose or support it, but they say they respect the intention.”
Respect, huh. That’s a pretty vague stance to take.
In the end, we’re just watching. We’ll intervene when the time is right.
That’s a route that could be taken.
“They say they respect the intention. Hm.”
Yeah. The US probably thinks that they don’t need to push too hard. After all, we’ve long since lost interest in China.
As long as we mediate just enough when there’s a conflict with Israel, that should suffice.
We only need to keep things balanced. If Vietnam goes off the rails from China, we need to step in.
“We also replied that we will keep watching.”
“Good.”
That’s more than satisfactory. If they want to fight it out among themselves, let them.
Why would we bother meddling in their affairs?
“Your Majesty, by the way.”
“What is it? Is something going on?”
One of the council members hesitated, trying to muster the courage to speak.
“I want to know if the way we’ve handled the Vietnam situation hasn’t upset you.”
What’s so significant about dealing with Vietnam? Should I really be sad over that?
A lot has changed in the Duma while I’ve been away.
This level of cowardice is something else.
“Why would I? Not particularly.”
I don’t understand why they need my permission for these things. Honestly, everyone’s like a mama’s boy. They need to step out of their mother’s embrace and handle some politics themselves.
Seeing them like this worries me a lot.
Will the country run fine without me? Will the Rome Treaty keep rolling?
What if it all ends up falling apart?
Truly, AI Anastasia seems to be the only way to solve this situation.
“As for territorial matters, it’s up to you to resolve, Your Majesty, so I just thought I’d check.”
What is there to check about?
There’s nothing we can gain through Vietnam.
If reclaiming territories is just a pretext, we should maintain absolute neutrality. However, if they overreach beyond mere reclamation, then we’ll have to intervene.
Nam Viet’s territory? That has to be Guangdong? Isn’t that about it?
If so, we can merely keep an eye on it, and should they get greedy, then we’ll smash them.
Honestly, Vietnam attempting to split Southern China with Israel seems like a viable option.
Splitting it up under the guise of Nam Viet’s territory? Sounds like it could be fun. An Israel-owned China in the South, Nam Viet. That would make for a rather messy but not entirely bad proposal for Israel.
It’d be the perfect case to really shake things up in China.
The Duma is likely pondering this too.
“Let me reiterate, this is a matter that the Duma needs to handle. So don’t worry about me and just take care of it. After all, the Duma is bound to put the brakes on any reclamation beyond what’s necessary, right?”
If they’re only going to stop at a reasonable line, then it doesn’t matter.
“Yes.”
“Then we’re in sync; there’s nothing to worry about.”
The Duma already knew what I would do.
So there’s really no reason for them to scold me if I just go along with things.
“Perhaps you might consider taking advantage of Vietnam to slice deeper into China.”
Cutting is good. That’s a nice thought. And hey, these aren’t idiots we’re dealing with. If it goes any further, then heh. I love slicing into China! That could put my status as a saint at risk.
While I might have successfully maintained my saintly status through pretense, if I were to state that I wish to further divide China using Vietnam, then my position as a saint would also be at stake.
“No, that would put the saintly status at too much risk. While China is the source of all evils, it no longer has the capacity to unify, and the leaders are all mediocre.”
China has become irreparably fractured from decades of civil strife.
The evil spirits that once emerged, like the historical CCP, will no longer be able to rise again.
Surely it’s out of the question to confirm that here. The Tsar didn’t do something bizarre!
“However, there is one problem. I believe I should discuss this with you, Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“Vietnam is continuously benefiting from being caught between us and the United States.”
“But isn’t it Vietnam we agreed to hand over?”
So do we keep playing along with the guys we agreed to hand over to?
Since we acknowledged that they fell under US influence, how will that affect our relations?
The US isn’t clueless, so they probably understand that the Rome Treaty is trying to draw a line with Vietnam.
But the problem lies with Vietnam’s actions.
Just because we have zero interaction doesn’t mean they won’t act. Usually, they’d think, “What does an ex-colonial force have to lose by approaching their former colonizer?”
Maybe in the future, things could be different, but since Vietnam has sought a close relationship with us ever since gaining independence.
“It’s problematic that Vietnam is deliberately trying to approach us.”
Exactly. They’re still doing that.
Of course, you can’t simply look at this as “Hey, let’s be friends!”
Those Vietnamese are smart; Ho Chi Minh is one sharp cookie.
“Deliberately, huh? They’re likely trying to maximize their benefits.”
They’re deliberately reaching out to the Rome Treaty, trying to make the US anxious and gain their support.
On the other hand, I’ve called for “repentance for imperialism,” emphasizing the importance of supporting former colonies in gaining a foothold in the international community. Hence, we’re sort of caught in a tight spot.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Hmm, then we should start reducing support gradually as a compromise. It’s a hassle to get caught by the US.”
We’ve already extended plenty of benefits up until now.
We’ve made the US anxious many times for profits, so I feel like we’ve done our share.
If we strictly consider things.
From an imperialist perspective, I’ve developed the colonial infrastructures massively merely to reap profits.
We didn’t destroy those, instead passing them on while keeping educators and military advisors in place before sending them back to their home countries.
On top of that, we provided funding, weapons, and various aids.
There’s nothing like realizing the other side is aware of their advantages.
“Yes. I’ll proceed with that.”
Following that, the Duma continued with meetings focused on various Rome Treaty-related legislation.
As a government holding more than half of the shares of the Rome Treaty Headquarters, we got into detailed discussions on my status as an officially recognized emperor.
Hmm, looks nice. Looks great.
Regarding territorial matters, I took the lead, but I only need to grade this.
Once an electronic government sets up, my role would be eternal.