After a brief silence, Marie seemed to pluck up her courage and was the first to break it: "Augustus, what do you think of the relationship between Spain and France?"
Augustus's hand, which was raising his cup, paused slightly. Was this Marie's true purpose? It seemed Marie had indeed come for France this time.
Marie, unlike Ferdinand, was not as deep or as full of schemes, and quickly got to the real subject. This was good; finally, they could discuss something useful.
Augustus thought for a moment and replied with a tone of regret: "France and Spain were originally the right and left arms of the Catholic Church, but due to conflicts of interest and some irreconcilable contradictions, there is a very serious rift, even hostility, between them.
This constantly weakens the authority of the Catholic Church and also causes great losses to both nations, bringing deep suffering to their people. These are all things I do not wish to see."
After speaking, Augustus made a very devout sign of the cross over his chest.
"My husband is very hostile towards Spain. He does not believe there is any possibility of reconciliation between France and Spain, and that a war is inevitable sooner or later. I am very worried this will lead France into an irreversible situation," Marie said with a deep frown.
Augustus's eyes widened. This truly subverted his understanding. In his memory, during this period, between France and Spain, it was basically always Spain that was constantly provoking and taking hostile actions, while France often responded passively and with very limited counterattacks.
Under these circumstances, to attribute the poor relationship between Spain and France to Henry IV was too much of a betrayal! It seemed Marie's desire to improve relations between France and Spain through her own efforts dated back long before Henry IV's death.
Was it truly for France, or was it to use this to strengthen her own power and influence? Augustus thought for a moment; it was probably both. At least she believed that what she was doing would be good for France.
"Are you saying that the deterioration of relations between Spain and France is primarily Henry IV's responsibility, and not Spain's?" Augustus looked at Marie with a surprised expression.
"No, I didn't say that! That's not what I meant!" Marie instantly lost her composure, shouting in a sharp voice, and at the same time, she couldn't help but glance around.
Seeing Marie's strong reaction, Augustus smiled apologetically: "Oh, I understand. It's alright, don't be nervous. There are no outsiders here, you can say whatever you want. I just wanted to confirm if my understanding was wrong. So, what do you mean?"
Marie had lost her previous casualness. After thinking for a long while, she carefully replied: "My meaning is that while the primary responsibility for the relationship between France and Spain lies with Spain, my husband Henry IV's attitude towards Spain is also a very big obstacle."
Augustus nodded, indicating agreement, and then knowingly asked: "May I be so bold as to ask, how is your marital relationship with Henry IV?"
Marie was stunned for a moment, then replied in a voice so low it was almost inaudible: "It's fairly harmonious."
Augustus knew that was not the case.
Henry IV was nearly 47 when he married and had a host of mistresses. Marie was long at odds with Henry's mistresses, and she frequently argued with Henry's chief mistress, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues.
Henry had promised Catherine he would marry her after the death of his previous official mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées. When Henry broke his promise and married Marie, it led to constant quarrels and political intrigues behind the scenes.
Although the King could have easily banished his mistresses and supported his Queen, he never did so. Instead, Marie showed great sympathy and support for Henry's exiled ex-wife, Marie, and she even encouraged Henry to allow her to return to France.
Augustus asked this question not to know about their marital relationship, but about Marie's attitude towards Henry IV. Receiving such an answer, it was clear that Marie had not yet reached the point where she wanted to get rid of him quickly.
"You can't persuade Henry IV to change his mind?" This was another rhetorical question. If Henry IV could be swayed by her naive ideas, he would have lost his life long ago.
"Yes, he doesn't listen to me, but listens to those treacherous villains, and stubbornly opposes Spain," Marie said somewhat indignantly.
Augustus almost couldn't help but laugh. Treacherous villains? Alright, if you say so.
No wonder he later alienated capable ministers like Duke Sully and vigorously promoted a bunch of useless people who were either completely incompetent or caused widespread resentment.
The black in her eyes was not black, and what white she spoke of was what white.
"How can I help you?" Augustus asked very understandingly.
"Thank you so much!" Marie said excitedly, as if grasping at a lifeline, "I hope you can help reconcile the relationship between France and Spain. Stop Spain's hostile actions against France, and also persuade my husband to eliminate his prejudice against Spain. Let the two countries return to good terms."
After Marie expressed her beautiful vision, Augustus felt quite speechless. Good heavens, she really thought he was God.
If there were conflicts between small nations, the Pope would mediate, and the conflicts would disappear; if there were conflicts between great nations, the Pope would mediate, and the Pope would disappear...
He thought this in his heart, but of course, he wouldn't say it aloud: "Alright, these are all my responsibilities, and I would do them even if you didn't ask, but to what extent I can achieve them is something I cannot guarantee right now. Can you understand?"
"Yes, I understand, it's wonderful that you can do this!"
"Do you have any specific plans at the moment that require my cooperation?"
Marie searched her mind: "Not at the moment."
Augustus breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought she came prepared, but he didn't expect her to be so easily dealt with.
"Alright, if you have any plans in the future, inform me in time. Of course, you also understand one thing: doing this will take time, and during this period, I will also be doing other things.
If something happens to me, this matter will also fail. My gaining more things will also help this matter. So, if you encounter anything related to France later, I hope you can also speak a few words for me at the appropriate time."
In fact, Augustus did not expect Marie's current words to have any effect. Henry IV was not influenced by her at all, so how could he listen to her advice? He said this only to reassure her, as unconditional giving was too suspicious. What Augustus truly needed was the help Marie could provide as regent.
"That is a certainty," Marie promised.
After leaving, Marie consulted her lady-in-waiting beside her: "Dori, what do you think of the Pope?"
Leonora Dori tilted her head and teased: "He's quite handsome."
"Be serious, I'm asking you about important matters. Aren't you afraid I'll tell your husband Concini?" Marie feigned a scolding tone, but there was no trace of anger on her face.
"Alright, alright." Dori put on a thoughtful expression, and after a while, she said seriously: "I think the Pope is very sincere and helpful, a very reliable person."
"That's wonderful then! We have another reliable ally!" Marie exclaimed joyfully.