Queen Mary nodded forcefully.

Indeed, what everyone is really concerned about is just the name of the King.

As long as someone can help Louis attract people’s attention, he can smoothly escape.

Thinking of this, her eyes couldn’t help but light up. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

So, if Joseph could take on a title that can "overshadow" the King’s, everything would be easily solved!

She turned her head to look at the maid standing beside her and said excitedly, "Pauline, don’t you think it’s quite suitable for the Crown Prince to become the Regent?"

The maid’s smiling face suddenly froze, thinking: Oh God, I’m just a mere Duchess of Levis, why are you telling me such significant matters...

Seeing the Queen still looking at her, she had no choice but to stammer, "Yes, Your Highness is indeed very suitable."

Queen Mary snapped her folding fan against her palm: "Great, I told you this definitely isn’t a problem. I’ll discuss it with the gentlemen of the Senate right after returning, no, it’s better to write a letter to Baron Breti right now."

The scene of catching sea crabs on the white sandy beach that day appeared before her eyes, and she couldn’t hide the sweet smile at the corners of her mouth.

If she could pick lobsters and dig barnacles with Louis in Brest every day in the future, life would be like living in heaven.

The Duchess of Levis swallowed, cautiously reminding her: "Your Majesty the Queen, but His Majesty the King is currently in good health, this might not follow the rules..."

Queen Mary was taken aback.

Indeed, by convention, a regent is only established when the King is too young, critically ill, or away from the capital, rendering him unable to personally govern.

But Louis doesn’t fit any of these conditions right now.

She sighed, why are there so many annoying rules...

Hmm, if Joseph encountered such a matter, how would he handle it?

Having observed her son governing for so many years, Queen Mary got somewhat "seasoned" and immediately tried to think from her son’s perspective.

...

By late September, Potsdam was already a bit chilly, but Charles didn’t care about the cold wind hitting his face at all. He kept his head out the carriage window, seemingly expecting that figure to suddenly appear by the roadside.

"Your Highness, up ahead is Berlin."

A voice came from beside the carriage; it was the Guard Captain. Charles’s heartbeat quickened a bit, as though he could smell her hair fragrance at the tip of his nose.

He glanced at his pocket watch, just past four in the afternoon, and loudly instructed the driver: "Mr. Albert, faster!"

An hour and a half later, the carriage entered the suburbs of Berlin. Charles commanded most of his entourage to stay behind and entered the city with just five or six trusted followers.

Before twilight, he finally followed a maid to a villa on the south side of Leipziger Street in Berlin.

A figure dressed in this year’s Paris autumn collection white long dress, with her hair styled like the female protagonist from "The Count of Monte Cristo," ran down the stairs and threw herself into Charles’s arms.

The heart of the Prince of France pounded violently like a steam hammer, holding tightly to the person who haunted his dreams, greedily inhaling her enchanting fragrance.

"My Louise, I swear before Jesus, I’m thinking of you every moment."

The woman extricated her head from his chest, eyes full of tenderness: "I am too, my dearest Charles. Why has it taken you so long to come see me?"

"You know, my mother was ill, and I had to take care of her", Charles sighed, "also, my brother disagreed with me becoming the Governor of Essen. I begged Archbishop Talleyrand for a long time to get this diplomatic mission."

"My rose, I missed you so much..."

As Charles spoke, he closed his eyes, intending to kiss her, but Louise, like a nimble little doe, gracefully turned and broke free from his embrace: "You’ve been on the road for so long, you must be thirsty. I’ll get you a glass of wine."

"No, no, don’t go." Charles reached out to grab her, "I don’t want to be away from you for even a second."

Louise took the opportunity to place his hand on her slender waist, alluringly saying: "Alright, alright, I’ll stay here with you."

Suddenly reminded of something, Charles took out a small silver box from his pocket, opened it, and softly said: "This is a present for you."

The woman glanced at the diamond earrings in the box and gently pushed it back: "You better keep it. Right now, no jewelry can make me happy in this miserable situation."

Charles immediately anxiously said: "Please tell me, what trouble are you in?"

"It’s... never mind, I shouldn’t tell you this."

Louise hesitated to speak but finally, under Charles’s repeated questioning, furrowed her brows slightly: "You know, William encounters governance issues daily, and he always takes out his temper on me..."

"That bastard!" Charles immediately said angrily, "I’ll have my brother send troops to teach him a lesson!"

Louise’s face turned white at once, hurriedly waving her hands: "You can’t do that, after all, he’s my husband..."

Yes, the William she’s referring to is the current King of Prussia, William III.

Two years ago, Charles followed the French diplomatic envoy to Berlin to participate in the signing ceremony of the additional clauses for the Franco-Prussian armistice agreement.

It was there that he met the Prussian Queen Louise. The latter was Prussia’s plenipotentiary representative.

The young Prince of France was immediately captivated by her mature, gentle, yet confident charm. And the Prussian Queen seemed to have a fondness for him as well.

The two quickly went from the negotiation table to falling in love.

Charles irritably rubbed his hair: "Then what should be done? I can’t just ignore you."

Louise sneakily glanced at his expression, speaking with grievance: "William is troubled about raising funds for the indemnity. He is even eyeing my dowry.

"If you could exert your influence at the Palace of Versailles, I believe with your prestige, it shouldn’t be too difficult to convert part of the indemnity into a loan to Prussia. I think he’d treat me much better than now."

Charles knew she was referring to the war indemnity Prussia owed France, with 7.2 million taels remaining. And the part due this year has already been delayed—it should have arrived by June.

He hesitated and said: "I’ll, I’ll try. But even if the Ministry of Finance agrees, the interest rate will certainly be quite high."

Louise’s eyes flashed with joy, but she immediately appeared weak, saying: "You are my only support in this world. Without you, what would I do..."

She didn’t care about the interest. Interest is a matter for the future, and nobody knows what will happen then.

For now, she and Prince Henry and other ministers are planning to vigorously develop the steel smelting and machinery manufacturing industry, which requires a large sum of money.

The young French prince in front of her is her only breakthrough.