I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 422 Destiny and Future

Joseph II, who was standing by, immediately made an anxious "uh uh" sound upon hearing this.

Leopold II leaned forward to listen, and then said to Thugut: "Your Majesty, did the French mention the sovereignty of Wallonia?"

"Archbishop Talleyrand says sovereignty still belongs to the King of the Southern Netherlands."

"What about the province of Ghent?" Leopold II asked again.

Ghent borders the Atlantic Ocean to the south and is able to control the outlet of the Rhine River, so its strategic location is extremely important.

"Ghent is not included in the special trade zone," Turgut added, "nor is Bruges."

Bruges is another coastal province next to Ghent.

Leopold II was relieved to hear this. In this case, the so-called "special trade zone" was completely inland, including only the two provinces of Mons and Namun, and part of the southern part of Liege. The area was only slightly larger than Luxembourg.

As long as the coastal provinces are in hand, together with Antorf, the estuary of the Rhine can be firmly controlled, and the greatest interests of the Southern Netherlands will not be lost.

He looked at Joseph II and nodded, "Your Majesty, I think this condition is acceptable."

In fact, the Rhine River estuary, which he valued most, was just a hot potato for Joseph.

The Rhine River is the main commercial artery of the German region. If France controls the estuary of the Rhine River, it will gain a huge trade advantage in the German region and even squeeze Britain out of here. At that time, the British will definitely not hesitate to start a national war to drive France out of here.

Historically, one of the core factors for Britain to actively instigate the anti-French alliance was that France occupied the entire Southern Netherlands.

In addition, if the British wanted to have any bad intentions towards Wallonia, they would first have to cross the coastal provinces controlled by Austria, which would become a barrier for France.

Therefore, it would be most appropriate to leave the coastal provinces to Austria.

What Joseph cared about was the coal resources in Wallonia and the large French population. After the establishment of the Wallonia Special Trade Zone, it could be connected with Luxembourg. When the railway was completed, the coal and iron resources of the two places would become another powerful engine for the French Industrial Revolution.

As for sovereignty, it is just a false name.

After the previous operation, the current Wallonia Chamber of Commerce was basically promoted by Joseph, and even the president was a Frenchman. The original military supplies preparation committee had already controlled every aspect of the trade.

If the Chamber of Commerce managed the administration - a common model in France - then Joseph would be in control.

At the same time, there are no longer any Austrian troops stationed in Wallonia, and the Walloon police are the only violent agency here.

It seems that this will be an "undefended" trading zone, but the police's combat effectiveness has huge room for fluctuation.

Haven't you heard of the Paris Police Academy? Let's take the Walloon police there for some training first. Don't blame me if I make your regular soldiers cry.

Joseph II was silent for a long time, and he also thought that this was a sure win, so he nodded with difficulty and squeezed out a word from his throat:
"agree."

……

While Joseph was busy signing the Vienna Treaty with Leopold II, Madame Delvaux's funeral had completed a series of ceremonies and was officially held.

When Joseph rushed to the cemetery from Schönbrunn Palace, all the guests at the funeral had left. Only a newly built grave stood there isolated. On the tombstone was engraved Madame Delvaux's name and a line of small words: She was once remembered by Her Majesty, the most beautiful queen in the world.

Camelia still stood in front of the tombstone, with her head lowered, unwilling to leave for a long time.

Joseph stepped forward, patted her on the back, and said softly:
"The dead are gone, and you will have a new home. Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for you at Versailles."

The girl slowly turned her head, knelt down and saluted, choking with sobs: "Thank you very much for your care, Your Majesty the Queen. May God bless you and Your Majesty."

Joseph nodded and said:

"I shall be returning to Paris the day after tomorrow. Will you go with me, as Madame Delvaux wishes?"

Camelia glanced at her grandmother's tombstone and nodded with tears in her eyes:

"Yes, Your Highness... Paris is the only place I can go..."

As he was speaking, the court officials of Schönbrunn Palace came over, led by Emmanuel, and saluted Joseph.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor invites you to attend the ball tonight."

The signing of a treaty that had a huge impact on Austria was naturally a cause for celebration.

Joseph had no choice but to comfort the girl a few more words, leaving two servants to take care of her, and rushed back to Schönbrunn Palace to participate in political and social activities.

The next afternoon, Camelia finally had her first meal in nearly two days, then wiped away the tears from her eyes and prepared to go out to say goodbye to her only friend.

The servants sent by Joseph to take care of her immediately busied themselves preparing the carriage - all the servants of the Delvaux family had been dismissed, leaving only Camellia's personal maid, and they were the only ones who had to do these things when going out.

In a middle-class villa on Ralston Street, Mr. Bazel enthusiastically brought hot cocoa to Camelia:

"Drink some, it's got lots of sugar in it, it'll soothe your soul."

Seeing the girl silently picked up the cup, he asked carefully:

"Well, what are your plans for the future? If..."

He tried to muster up the courage to say, "If you want, I can take you away from Vienna to anywhere, and I will take care of you for the rest of your life."

Although he is Camelia's music teacher, he is also deeply infatuated with her. So when others avoid her because of fear of Baron Walter, he still firmly protects her.

Now that Madame Delvaux has passed away, he is the only one left in the world who can protect this poor girl. He can't deal with Walter, but he can take her away. For her, he would rather give up his comfortable life and spend the rest of his life on the run.

However, before he could finish his words, he heard the girl whisper, "Grandma wrote a letter to Her Majesty the Queen of France, and the Dauphin of France will take me to Paris."

She looked up at Bazel and said, "I'm scared. It's a faraway and unfamiliar place. I don't know what kind of fate awaits me. Do you think I should go?"

Basel's heart tightened, and he immediately wanted to say "No, don't go", but he was immediately stunned again.

The Dauphin of France?

He slowly lowered his head. If Camelia could go to the Palace of Versailles, it would be a thousand times better than following him around to avoid Baron Walter.

That was the life she was supposed to have.

It only took him two seconds for his eyes to become firm, and this was an opportunity for her.

He had heard Camelia mention the relationship between her grandmother and the Queen of France, which meant that she had many opportunities to come into contact with the future King of France!
Although she would never become a crown princess due to her background, her fate would change drastically if she could get close to the crown prince even a little bit.

(End of this chapter)