News of the referendum spread across Europe with remarkable speed.
Telegraphs buzzed, newspapers rushed to print late editions, and government offices from Paris to London began receiving official diplomatic confirmations.
Belgium and the Netherlands had voted. The union of the two countries had birthed the Kingdom of Lower-Lorraine.
And the borders of the German Reich had moved west once again.
The rain fell softly across the city of Paris.
From the balcony of the Élysée Palace, the streets looked almost peaceful. Carriages and automobiles moved slowly through the grey afternoon, their tires hissing against wet stone. Shopkeepers pulled awnings forward to shield their storefronts from the weather.
To a casual observer, the capital of France looked much as it always had.
But appearances were deceiving.
Inside the palace, King Henri, Count of Paris, now styled Henri VI, King of France, sat quietly at a long oak table.
