I Reincarnated as Louis XVI to Stop the Revolution and Be Happy with Antoinette

Anti-Britain Grand Alliance

(310)

"Three-Legged Race"

☆　☆　☆

February 15, 1778

Palace of Versailles, France

"How is it...?"

"Yeah, it's warm... Drinking hot coffee when it's cold is still the best."

"We have sugar and milk too, you know?"

"No, I feel like having black coffee today. I heard it's the best for the body... What about you, Antoinette?"

"Well... Then I'll have it with milk."

Pouring the coffee into a cup, we drank it together.

.........

Today's coffee is more bitter than usual...

I wonder if this bitterness of the coffee will serve as a good lesson for the future...

Lately, she had been scolding me for pushing myself too hard, so for the time being, I ended up assisting her with her duties.

It's also the result of the effort we've put into studying together since she came to France as a bride. I've really come to think lately that studying was a good thing. Rather, I find myself being overly considerate of Antoinette, so I need to make sure I take breaks too, so as not to burden her...

"...I'm glad your cold is getting better."

"Yes, I was saying that you might have developed pneumonia if it got worse... Please do take care, won't you?"

"You're right... Yes..."

I caught a cold in mid-September.

I had a fever, and I thought I'd be fine if I rested for a while, but the illness and fever persisted until late October, which made me very anxious. It's not often that I suffer from illness for almost a month. In a world where you could die if you contracted pneumonia or tuberculosis, I was really on edge just from catching a cold.

"In that case! Lord Auguste, you really should stop shouldering everything alone! Especially now that Thérèse and Joseph are growing up! What will you do if something happens!?"

"...I'm sorry... You're right..."

On the third day of being bedridden, Antoinette came over, and although we conversed from behind a barrier to avoid any chance of droplet transmission, it was the time I got scolded the most. Brigitte immediately mediated, but what she was saying made sense, and before falling ill with the cold, I had been in a state of overwork for quite some time... If Archduchess Theresa were to ask me, she'd probably scold me too...

But, I was happy that Antoinette got angry with me. It felt like being scolded by a mother... Eventually, her voice became hoarse from crying. Her voice, pleading with tears while worrying about me and scolding me, resonated directly with my heart. I decided to entrust everything except for essential approvals to ministers like Hauser. I ended up taking my second extended vacation in this life... Even so, since my signature is required for important approvals, it feels like I'm half teleworking.

"Hmm, let's prescribe a slightly stronger medication. A decoction of willow bark has antipyretic effects, so please take it along with that."

"In addition, to alleviate the fatigue, it would be advisable to take a brief outdoor bath for about 10 minutes, ensuring that your body doesn't get too cold..."

"Just to be sure, for the time being, let's refrain from bathing and just wipe your body down."

The royal physicians were quite concerned as the fever wasn't subsiding. Since there were no remarkable antibiotics or antiviral drugs available, I rested and took antipyretic medicine prepared by the royal pharmacist and Brother Sanson, which included herbs, rhubarb, and willow bark. Meanwhile, routine tasks were delegated to government dignitaries like Hauser.