The Tyranny of the French Empire

Chapter 27 : Divinity

"In Ostlandia military not everyone is infantry"

"In Imperial French Armed Forces EVERYONE is infantry" (x3) – Colecaragan, chapter 26.

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"Are you serious ?" Ariane asked her father with a dubious look.

Causing King Alistair IV to chuckle at her reaction.

"The Emperor of the French used those same exact words when I told him"

Ariane couldn't believe that her father was taking this matter too lightly.

"Listen, I know very well that no monarch ever gave his own country for nothing in the entirety of Humankind's History" She said.

Causing Alistair to laugh even harder.

"Again, you used the exact same phrase as the Emperor of the French, word by word and in that order"

A few hours earlier, King Alistair IV had made an oath of vassalage to Aether, turning his Kingdom as an integrated part of France due to its status of Empire.

The term of the vassalage's contract in this situation was similar to the past feudal societies during the medieval era. Alistair is still the King of Drakonia, but Aether as the Emperor can interfere as much as he wish.

If France was just a Kingdom, Drakonia would have only been a puppet state and not a part of the French Empire.

"I know that you're perplex about my decision, but I guarantee you that we have everything to win from this" Alistair reassured his daughter.

Ariane could only sigh at her father's words, the vassalage's contract was already signed and could only be broke by Aether or through a rebellion.

"Since we came to France, we have constantly been in awe of the advancement made by the French Empire" Alistair started "They have shown their interest to exploit the natural resources of the Kingdom, by becoming their vassal they will surely take the opportunity to directly build factories and roads in Drakonia to optimize the production. This will lead them to modernize the rest of Drakonia as well, significantly boosting our economy and the living conditions of our citizens"

Another reason King Alistair IV hasn't evocated is the protection provided by the French Empire as a vassal state.

Drakonia has always despised war, to them it's only brought destruction and misery. They preferred to slowly develop their economy by their own, isolating themselves from the external market that was much more unstable.

As for the reason they survived this long in the continent, they were lucky to be well placed on the map. The only country that bordered them was the Kingdom of France, a sleeping giant prior to the Franco-Ostlandian war of 1771. No country dared to cross the Kingdom without permission at the time.

"It's sound like you're trying to integrate Drakonia in the French Empire" Ariane commented.

"Because that's exactly what I'm trying to do"

Ariane's eyes widened when she heard that answer, she didn't thought her father would actually have this idea.

"Another reason, more personal this time, is that I want my daughter to have the future she chose" Alistair explained.

Causing Ariane to look at the ground with a little bit of guilt in her eyes.

Since she was a little girl, Ariane has showed by many time that she didn't wanted to be a Queen one day, she aspired to a simpler life far from the political world.