He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 112

When Sir Simon Hughes started talking about economics, his friends were indifferent, but their eyes lit up as gambling was about to begin.

Unlike before, they actively tried to converse and engage.

‘They seem to be trying to get Simon’s attention by exaggerating their expressions and saying useless things. A typical shill [a person who promotes or endorses a product or service, often deceptively] pattern… Are they really a gambling fraud gang?’

The game was Whist.

It was a card game commonly played in clubs, with four people sitting down and forming teams of two.

And so, the gambling began…

‘…?’

For the first few rounds, things went normally, but then suddenly, the movements of his friends became strange.

The way the three people sitting at the table, excluding Simon Hughes, as well as the friends standing around, exchanged glances with each other was too obvious.

‘What is it? How long has it been since the game started… And what are those looks? They’re not professional gambling swindlers, are they?’

The two people who were Simon’s opponents, as well as the friend on his own team, were constantly exchanging secret glances.

It was so obvious that anyone could tell at a glance that they were cheating.

The problem was Simon.

Sir Simon Hughes was so engrossed in the card game that he didn’t notice their behavior at all.

A sigh escaped from Tae-oh’s lips.

‘Ha- It wasn’t even a sophisticated gambling scam. It was just a very low-level trick. They were taking advantage of Hughes as a sucker, using each other among friends.

How could someone who seems quite intelligent be fooled by such a clumsy scheme…? He trusts his friends too much, and the beginner’s luck at the beginning must have been the cause.’

Gambling addiction is often formed through a process called Beginner’s Luck.

In other words, when you start a new game and things go well, experiencing luck or success quickly, you can’t forget the thrill you felt at the beginning and become addicted more quickly.

Perhaps Simon, who was bright and lucky, had many good experiences of success in gambling at first.

And as those successes continued, he thought he was very capable and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The gambling, which started as a hobby and for fun, stimulated Simon, who was living a boring life, and even created a goal of making more money.

In comparison, the friends who kept losing money became a gang at some point, and it seems they found a completely different kind of fun in cheating and taking Simon’s money.

‘There’s no need to watch any longer.’

Tae-oh finished his wine in one gulp and got up from his seat without regret.

◈ A few days later. London, Westminster, Hughes Earl’s Townhouse.

Tae-oh instructed Gregory Dawson, the company’s information investigator, to investigate the friends who were associating with Sir Simon Hughes.

As soon as the results of the investigation came out and the suspicious whereabouts of their money were confirmed, Tae-oh notified Earl Hughes of his intention to visit.

Upon receiving the call, Earl Christopher Hughes summoned Tae-oh to his townhouse.

Woah- Woah-

As the carriage entered the grounds behind the Hughes Earl’s townhouse near Westminster Palace, a courtyard connected to the mansion came into view.

Tae-oh, who got out of the carriage, looked around the building.

‘Wow- In modern terms, it’s almost the size of a mid-level hotel.’

The Hughes Earl’s townhouse was located around Westminster Palace, where prestigious nobles lived.

Although it didn’t have a vast garden like a country estate, the building itself was large enough to rival the prestigious noble houses around it.

‘The exterior is made of real red bricks….’

In London, real bricks indirectly indicated the wealth of the family.

Usually, the exterior of townhouses was painted with a mixture of lime, marble powder, and clay to make it look like white stone.

Because the distance from London to the quarry was too far, it cost too much to transport real bricks and stones to build with them.

After passing through a Greek temple-shaped portico, the front door appeared.

Tae-oh knocked on the door.

Thung- Thung- Thung-

Tae-oh, guided by the butler who came out to greet him, waited in the living room for a while.

Looking around the living room, there were so many works of art on display that it seemed excessive. Portraits, landscapes, and paintings depicting scenes from mythology were hung everywhere on the walls.

Judging from the Hughes Earl’s rigid personality, it seemed that the Earl’s wife was interested in art.

‘…?’

However, strangely, the wall on the right side leading up to the stairs was empty, with no paintings hanging on it.

Judging from the marks on the wall and the space, it seemed like there used to be a painting there.

‘Why is there no painting only in that spot?’

At that moment, the butler came down and told Tae-oh.

“Sir Sanderson. Please follow me.”

Tae-oh, who got up from his seat, followed the butler up the stairs.

Knock knock-

The butler, who went to the innermost room on the second floor, carefully knocked on the door, and soon the Earl’s voice was heard from inside.

“Bring him in.”

Thud-

The door opened and as he entered the room, a magnificent bed made of mahogany was visible in the center of one wall, and next to it stood Earl Hughes.

On the bed, a middle-aged woman, emaciated and sickly, was sitting with a hood on her head.

She was so thin that her cheekbones were all exposed, and even her eyes seemed to be losing their vitality.

“I am so sorry to ask you to see me in this state.”

Unlike her gaunt appearance, her voice was quite beautiful and sounded young.

“Not at all. I am even more grateful that you are meeting me in person despite your illness.”

“I have hardly been out, but lately, I have often heard stories from other ladies who have come to visit me about Sir Sanderson’s wonderful matchmaking successes. I was very impressed.”

“Impressed? I am embarrassed.”

“As the Earl has mentioned, I am not feeling well. It is getting worse and worse. My wish is to see our eldest son have a happy family before I get even sicker than I am now.

Whenever I heard Sir Sanderson’s matchmaking stories, I always thought I should ask you to find a marriage partner for Simon, but you were not in London for a while, so I was so anxious… I really regretted not asking you sooner.”

As soon as she heard that Tae-oh, who had returned to London, had started a matchmaking company, Earl Hughes’ wife pestered her husband to send him to Kensington.

Earl Hughes asked with a somewhat worried face.

“Judging from Sir Sanderson’s sudden visit, it seems you have something to say about my son? Have you perhaps seen our son?”

Tae-oh carefully opened his mouth.

“Yes. That is correct. I thought I should see for myself how addicted he is to gambling. So, I recently went to the Libertine Club and secretly observed your son.”

“And what did you find?”

“Your eldest son was strongly addicted to gambling. And his friends were taking advantage of him. I think he has lost a lot of money that way.”

“Oh dear, really. I knew it. What a pathetic son!”

Although he had expected it, Earl Hughes could not hide his feelings of disappointment and anger at the news that his son was being taken advantage of by his friends.

The Countess also closed her eyes and made a painful expression.

Tae-oh continued.

“In this state, even if he gets out of the gambling scene, it will be difficult for him to pull himself together easily. Of course, marriage will be difficult too.”

The reason why people who are addicted to gambling cannot easily escape from that world is because a ‘reward circuit’ that repeats certain behaviors is created in their brains.

In fact, the ‘reward’ created in the brain is not only a natural phenomenon but also an essential element for maintaining human life.

However, ‘rewards’ artificially created like drugs or gambling have an abnormally high level of satisfaction compared to natural rewards, causing a large release of dopamine and leading to strong addiction symptoms.

Also, in order to taste that artificial reward again, they constantly indulge in it, and they no longer feel any satisfaction from existing normal rewards.

Due to this series of processes, they become more and more immersed in drugs or gambling in order to obtain artificial rewards.

“Sir Sanderson. Isn’t it clear that doing gambling not just as a hobby, but continuing to do it while losing so much money like my son, is the result of a mental illness? Is there really a way to cure this?”

The Earl desperately asked Tae-oh for a cure.

“There is one sure and certain way to stop your son’s gambling addiction.”

At Tae-oh’s words, the Earl and Countess’s expressions changed with anticipation.

“What is it? If there is such a way, please tell us quickly!”

At the Earl’s urging, Tae-oh replied in a firm voice.

“It’s isolation.”

Earl Hughes had a somewhat disappointed look on his face at the word ‘isolation’.

“Hmm… Isolation? If isolation means preventing him from entering gambling dens, is that all there is to a sure cure, just preventing him from going to gambling dens?”

Tae-oh nodded.

“Just as a person addicted to drugs gradually becomes normal if they quit and stay away from drugs, gambling also works on the same principle. Staying away from gambling dens is the first step and the only way to get away from gambling addiction.”

“But will someone who is already so deeply addicted to gambling willingly quit and comply with isolation? I myself have repeatedly warned him strongly not to go to gambling dens and tried to stop him, but it was useless.”

“Yes, in fact, people who are addicted to gambling often do not follow isolation well, and it is not very effective in most cases. This is because there is no other thing that can give them as much reward as gambling.

However, fortunately, Sir Hughes seemed to have a very high aptitude as a businessman. That aptitude is what made him addicted to gambling so quickly.

In such cases, giving them a great sense of accomplishment as a businessman can give them a much greater reward than gambling, which can be a sure opportunity to break away from gambling.”

“I don’t understand how success as a businessman can make him quit gambling.”

Tae-oh explained that Sir Simon Hughes had a stronger sense of belonging, autonomy, and a high desire to achieve goals than anyone else.

He also informed them that he was currently satisfying those psychological needs through gambling.

“In your son’s case, he has a greater desire for achievement from work than anyone else. Since he has no means to satisfy that desire, he has become addicted to gambling while feeling vicarious satisfaction from the rewards that come from it.

If he jumps into business with that energy, the rewards there will be much greater than in gambling, so the possibility of breaking away from gambling addiction will increase accordingly.”

“……..”

“So, I am saying this, I was wondering if I could hire your son at my trading company, which is scheduled to be established soon. However, since working is frowned upon in aristocratic society, I wanted to ask the Earl for his opinion first.”

Recommending a trading company job to a son who will receive the title of Earl would be the natural reaction of an aristocrat in this era to oppose it, raising a great fuss.

However, the Earl and Countess were staying up all night worrying that their son would squander the family’s fortune due to gambling addiction and not be able to marry.

“If he quits gambling and comes to his senses, what great flaw would it be to work for a trading company? Moreover, in a world where merchants who earn a lot of money are more vocal and treated better these days.

If you can get him to quit gambling by getting him a job at Sir Sanderson’s company, I would really like to bow down and thank you.”

The Earl and Countess firmly promised to actively trust and follow whatever Tae-oh said, as long as it could help their son escape from gambling addiction.

“Sir Sanderson. Please take care of my son so that he can come to his senses.”

“Yes, please don’t worry too much.”

*

On the way out of the room, Earl Hughes asked worriedly.

“But, will my son, who is addicted to gambling, willingly work at a trading company? I don’t know if I should force him to go to the company.”

“No. You don’t have to do that. He won’t come to the company even if you do that. Please wait because I have a method in mind.”

“Then, I will trust only Sir Sanderson.”

“Yes. Just watch as I do.”

“Yes, I will do that. Then, let’s go down.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t notice it when he came up, but as he went out, the walls of the second-floor hallway were also full of wonderful paintings.

“It really feels like I’m in an art gallery. I’ve been to many noble houses, but I don’t think I’ve seen a place with as many great works of art as the Earl’s house. You seem to have a very deep knowledge of art.”

“Oh, really? Everyone is surprised by the many paintings when they come to our house. Actually, I don’t have any insight like that at all. My wife is interested in art.”

As expected, they were works that reflected his wife’s taste.

As he went down to the first floor, Tae-oh pointed to the empty wall and asked.

“But why is there no painting hanging here? It looks like there used to be a painting.”

At Tae-oh’s question, Earl Hughes gave a bitter smile.

“Originally, that spot was reserved to hang our family portrait. But three years ago, my wife got sick, and the plan was repeatedly postponed. My wife always said that when she recovered her health, she would put our whole family in the painting in a happy state and hang it there.”

Years passed like that, but his wife’s illness did not recover and only worsened. Naturally, the vacant spot could not be filled.

Last year, they even called a famous portrait painter, and the whole family sat down and posed for hours.

However, his wife hated her sick appearance in the painting and was very depressed, saying that the family painting did not look happy because of her.

She also asked to call another painter and change her appearance to look like she was not sick, but every time, his wife was stressed, saying that the appearance in the painting did not look like her.

In fact, even Earl Hughes, who did not know much about painting, or other family members, could clearly see that the Countess, who was drawn healthily, was definitely not her old self.

“Isn’t that natural? The painter had no way of knowing what his wife looked like when she was healthy, so how could he recreate it exactly as it was then? It’s just a sick wife’s stubbornness.”

In the end, all the paintings that were drawn were not hung and remained in an empty spot.

“I really regret it. Three years ago, before she got sick, I could have drawn a family picture with the children who had grown up to some extent and my wife who was healthy at the time, but I regret that I missed the opportunity because I said let’s draw it when I get a little better.”

The Earl had worked hard for his sick wife, but all his efforts were in vain, and now he seemed to have given up on the family picture.

After hearing the story, Tae-oh felt that the empty space felt even more empty.

“I really wanted to give my wife, who loved paintings so much, a picture of a happy family. How happy would my wife be if we could capture the happiest moment when the whole family gathered together in a painting?”

“……..”

*

Clatter. Clatter.

As he left the Earl, who had escorted him to the carriage, and returned to the company, the face of one person suddenly came to Tae-oh’s mind.

‘Maybe Charlie….’

The image of him excellently drawing his father’s healthy miner days with emotion flashed through his mind.

However, from what he heard, the Countess was deeply knowledgeable about painting and disliked even paintings drawn by famous painters because she said she couldn’t feel any emotion.

Even to someone who doesn’t know much about painting, the paintings hanging in Earl Hughes’ house were all of a very high standard.

In addition, Charlie was still lacking in skill and experience to draw a large family picture.

Just as the experts at the Royal Academy of Arts had turned away from Charlie, the Countess could have the same eye as those experts.

Still, Tae-oh could not forget the sadness and happiness he felt when he first saw the miner’s portrait.

If it was the Countess who was looking for happiness and joy while looking at the painting, perhaps she might feel those emotions in Charlie’s painting.

‘Yes. It may be difficult to draw a picture of the whole family, but I should tell him to draw the Countess’s old appearance. Maybe the emotion that the Countess is looking for is in Charlie’s imagination….’

End of Episode 112 Empty Painting