บท 457: Chapter 370: To a mother, there's only one big thing in this world

Queen Mary looked at her son with surprise, the Belgian pastry wrapped in sugar threads and dusted with cocoa powder still hadn't reached her mouth, "You mean to say, Archbishop Talleyrand has expressed support to Russia for their occupation of Sweden, and this was done with your instigation?"

"Ah, it kind of counts as a diplomatic policy suggestion I gave him," Joseph didn't want his mother to think that the Foreign Minister had disregarded her, so he chose a more tactful way to put it, "And he happens to agree."

"But why would you indulge the Russians?"

"It's to make them temporarily forget about Poland. You know, if the Russian army has nothing to do, Poland will suffer."

Queen Mary blinked, "In that case, we should negotiate directly with Russia, instead of sacrificing Sweden."

"This..." Joseph secretly pinched the armrest of his chair and explained patiently, "Rest assured, Sweden can withstand a Russian invasion."