diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index dcc489c..787cecf 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ keywords = ["bot", "chatbot", "ai", "conversational", "library"]
 categories = ["api-bindings", "web-programming"]
 
 [features]
-default = []
+default = ["database", "i18n"]
 full = ["database", "http-client", "validation", "resilience", "i18n"]
-database = []
+database = ["i18n"]
 http-client = ["dep:reqwest"]
 validation = []
 resilience = []
diff --git a/src/i18n/bundle.rs b/src/i18n/bundle.rs
index da17c61..bdcda6f 100644
--- a/src/i18n/bundle.rs
+++ b/src/i18n/bundle.rs
@@ -173,55 +173,59 @@ pub struct I18nBundle {
 
 impl I18nBundle {
     pub fn load(base_path: &str) -> BotResult<Self> {
-        let base = Path::new(base_path);
-
-        if !base.exists() {
-            #[cfg(feature = "i18n")]
-            {
-                log::info!(
-                    "Locales directory not found at {}, trying embedded assets",
-                    base_path
-                );
-                return Self::load_embedded();
-            }
-            #[cfg(not(feature = "i18n"))]
-            return Err(BotError::config(format!(
-                "locales directory not found: {base_path}"
-            )));
+        // When i18n feature is enabled, locales are ALWAYS embedded via rust-embed
+        // Filesystem loading is deprecated - use embedded assets only
+        #[cfg(feature = "i18n")]
+        {
+            log::info!("Loading embedded locale translations (rust-embed)");
+            return Self::load_embedded();
         }
 
-        let mut bundles = HashMap::new();
-        let mut available = Vec::new();
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "i18n"))]
+        {
+            let _base_path = base_path; // Suppress unused warning when i18n is enabled
 
-        let entries = fs::read_dir(base)
-            .map_err(|e| BotError::config(format!("failed to read locales directory: {e}")))?;
+            let base = Path::new(base_path);
 
-        for entry in entries {
-            let entry = entry
-                .map_err(|e| BotError::config(format!("failed to read directory entry: {e}")))?;
+            if !base.exists() {
+                return Err(BotError::config(format!(
+                    "locales directory not found: {base_path}"
+                )));
+            }
 
-            let path = entry.path();
+            let mut bundles = HashMap::new();
+            let mut available = Vec::new();
 
-            if path.is_dir() {
-                match LocaleBundle::load(&path) {
-                    Ok(bundle) => {
-                        available.push(bundle.locale.clone());
-                        bundles.insert(bundle.locale.to_string(), bundle);
-                    }
-                    Err(e) => {
-                        log::warn!("failed to load locale bundle: {e}");
+            let entries = fs::read_dir(base)
+                .map_err(|e| BotError::config(format!("failed to read locales directory: {e}")))?;
+
+            for entry in entries {
+                let entry = entry
+                    .map_err(|e| BotError::config(format!("failed to read directory entry: {e}")))?;
+
+                let path = entry.path();
+
+                if path.is_dir() {
+                    match LocaleBundle::load(&path) {
+                        Ok(bundle) => {
+                            available.push(bundle.locale.clone());
+                            bundles.insert(bundle.locale.to_string(), bundle);
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            log::warn!("failed to load locale bundle: {e}");
+                        }
                     }
                 }
             }
+
+            let fallback = Locale::default();
+
+            Ok(Self {
+                bundles,
+                available,
+                fallback,
+            })
         }
-
-        let fallback = Locale::default();
-
-        Ok(Self {
-            bundles,
-            available,
-            fallback,
-        })
     }
 
     #[cfg(feature = "i18n")]