I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 148

Became a Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire Episode 148

My Canada

The birth of the British Empire’s Queen’s offspring in a colony—something unprecedented and unlikely to ever happen again—naturally garnered tremendous attention from the Canadian people.

And not just one child, but twins!

Moreover, if they grew up healthy, the heir with the highest chance of becoming the next King of the British Empire was born on this very land.

The bells announcing the birth of the eldest son, who would inherit the throne, rang throughout the country, and everyone wished the Queen and her children health and sent blessings.

Although a large-scale celebration was planned, Victoria still needed to rest, and the children’s health needed to be closely monitored, so she spent most of her time recovering.

Kilian was there with her, but he still had a lot of work to do, leaving her to spend many days alone, feeling bored.

A two-week long voyage is too dangerous for infants, so she would be staying in Canada for quite a while, and she couldn’t help but feel restless.

Most of the delicate work of caring for the young babies was handled by the royal nannies, so there wasn’t much for Victoria to do.

While recovering day by day and living a comfortable but somewhat monotonous life, a face she missed dearly arrived for a visit.

“I’m glad you look well.”

“Oh my goodness, you really came! I thought you were just saying that.”

“…My daughter had her first children, so what would I be doing alone in London? I was originally going to come closer to the due date, but everyone around me was making such a fuss about preparing so thoroughly. It’s just a two-week voyage, after all.”

A smile that she couldn’t hide spread across Victoria’s face as she saw her mother, the Duchess of Kent, with whom she had been gradually getting along better recently.

*She says that*, but it couldn’t have been easy for a noblewoman who had grown up so delicately to cross the Atlantic, not just the English Channel.

Victoria herself had experienced it, so she could imagine how much her mother had endured to get here.

The atmosphere was still a bit stiff, but that was just her mother’s personality, and now the two of them were becoming an ordinary mother and daughter, like any other.

“But where is your husband? He’s nowhere to be seen when his wife is recovering after giving birth.”

“He was with me until this morning. He’s out for a while now because of the event preparations. Edward and Adelaide’s birthday celebration is scheduled to be held in two weeks. People are expected to flock from all over Canada, so there must be a lot to prepare.”

“How grand. Well, it’s rare for the next King of the British Empire to be born in a colony. Still, it must have been difficult to give birth to twins, so I’m glad you look healthy.”

“I didn’t think you would really come. Thank you so much.”

“…You don’t have to thank me. It’s nothing.”

The Duchess, slightly embarrassed by the sincere gratitude, turned her head slightly and began to find fault with the interior furniture.

“Honestly, this is where the Queen of this country rests, but what is this level of furniture? It’s not even as good as your room in Kensington Palace when you were a child.”

“It can’t be helped. This is only a temporary residence. A city to become the new capital hasn’t been decided yet, so we can’t waste money.”

“The capital hasn’t been decided yet? It sounds like a place that has just been created. Well, that’s why the title was newly created and there’s so much noise about pioneering. It’s a mess in the home country too. The first title was created in a colony in the British Empire. Duke of Canada, was it?”

“Yes. Don’t you think it’s a perfect title for Kilian?”

“…It’s better than Duke of Kent. I was honestly a bit conflicted when they said they would pass on the title your father used to him at first.”

“Were you uncomfortable?”

Even though she looked a little conflicted, the Duchess slowly shook her head.

In the past, she hadn’t liked Kilian because she thought she had been deceived, but after learning that he had continued to help her daughter reconcile with her, she decided that there was no reason to dislike him.

“Still, he is more often called by the title of Prince Consort, and here he will be called the Duke of Canada, so why would I be uncomfortable? It’s most important that you live happily. By the way, shall we take a look at our lovely grandchildren’s faces?”

Even if they are a little distant from their children, grandparents are weak to their grandchildren’s cuteness.

The Duchess’s lips trembled as she looked at the twin brother and sister sleeping soundly in a small baby bed.

“The children look just like their father.”

“…Shouldn’t you say they look like me?”

“Are you going to throw away your conscience just because you became Queen? You have to say what you have to say.”

“Why are you doing this? I hear a lot that I’m a beautiful Queen wherever I go.”

“Certainly, you’ve become much more presentable since you lost weight with your bloody efforts. When I think about it, I should have been suspicious from the moment you, who likes to eat so much, skipped dessert. Still, if you have a conscience, you should hope that the children resemble your husband.”

She was secretly happy that the children seemed to resemble their father, but *is it okay to say that much?*

“That’s enough. Anyway, looks are only temporary. Rather than that, we should see how much smarter and wiser they are.”

“Then shouldn’t you hope that they inherit your husband’s talents?”

“…Is the person in front of me really my mother? I wonder if she switched with the Duchess of Inverness.”

In fact, I didn’t say everything because it was in front of my mother, but what I was worried about when I first gave birth to these children was not appearance or intelligence.

To be exact, there were so many things to consider that I didn’t have the capacity to think that far.

For example, there was a brief argument over which dynasty the child to be born would be the king of.

Victoria was the last Queen of the Hanover dynasty, but since the Queen has a new husband, the next King will inevitably be crowned as the King of a new dynasty.

Originally, in England, even if the Queen married into another royal family, it was considered that she had established a new royal family.

If Kilian was just a humble nobleman, the story would be different, but officially, he is also a member of the Asian royal family.

But that doesn’t mean that the King of the British Empire can be called the King of the Lee Tokugawa dynasty.

People would not be able to accept it emotionally, and above all, Kilian drew a firm line, saying that it was absolutely impossible, so in the end, only the name Gore remained, not Lee or Tokugawa.

“Since you’re in Canada, you’ll be resting here for a while, right? When Kilian comes back later, let’s have dinner together and talk.”

“Yes. For now, I’ll rest here and watch my cute grandchildren’s antics. By the way, you’re already the mother of two children… It feels like just yesterday when I first brought Kilian to Kensington, and so much time has already passed.”

“At that time, you told me not to give him too much affection because he was a good child to use as a subordinate.”

“Ha! That’s because I didn’t know his original identity. If I had known that he was an Asian royal, I would have responded differently.”

“Really? I had my eye on Kilian even before I knew that fact.”

The Duchess shook her head with a smirk as she looked at her daughter, who proudly puffed out her chest and boasted.

“Yes. I’m glad you seem to have a better eye for men than I do.”

“Of course. I’m really confident in that, even if I don’t know anything else.”

Victoria also gave a bright smile to her mother, who was laughing as if she was dumbfounded.

It felt like the wound that had been torn apart since childhood and thought to never be healed was now disappearing so cleanly that even a scar could not be found.

* * *

The celebration to celebrate the birth of Edward and Adelaide was held on a larger scale in Canada than in England.

This is because the children were currently staying in Canada, and Kilian deliberately created the situation to make these children the center of attention in Canada.

Thanks to this, the large-scale celebration, which was unprecedented, was completed without any major incidents.

Thanks to the sufficient preparation period, which allowed people from all over the country to attend, the composition of the attendees was also very diverse.

French immigrants from Quebec, who originally took root and lived in Canada, and descendants of royalist immigrants from England.

And newly arrived Irish and Black people.

A very diverse group of people gathered in one place, and those who entered the banquet hall were people who held some power in each region, so they were creating a friendly atmosphere.

However, how long could this atmosphere last?

It is a foregone conclusion that conflicts will arise if immigrants with different cultures live together, and this is, in a way, a predicted future.

Looking at it, the reason why the problem isn’t highlighted now is because Canada’s territory is much larger than its population.

French people live with French people, and English people live with English people.

And the Irish and Black people, who mix well, can live without any problems even if they spread out and live among themselves.

However, the fact is that places like Toronto and Montreal are increasingly accelerating industrialization, so there are signs that various conflicts are starting to arise.

Even if you look at this place right now, you can see that they are subtly divided among themselves and are not properly mixing.

In order for Canada to truly become a multi-ethnic immigrant country, surpassing the United States of the original timeline, the foundation must be laid securely.

If you trace the root of the racial conflict problem in the modern United States, the prevailing opinion is that it is the result of the United States’ karma, which has consistently ignored this problem from the 19th to the 20th century.

In a way, this may be a more important issue than immediate industrialization.

“Your Highness, the preparations are all finished.”

“Thank you. Thanks to the Governor-General’s hard work, it will end well.”

“Not at all. I was able to finish the preparations very easily thanks to Your Highness.”

I appropriately praised the Governor-General’s efforts and walked up to the stage of the banquet hall.

The people who had been laughing and talking until just now changed their posture as soon as I appeared and cheered enthusiastically with applause.

I made eye contact with them one by one, waved my hand, and took a moment to catch my breath.

I was trying to see how influential the people who were there were, but they would probably think that I was walking around making eye contact with them one by one, right?

Still, as expected, it was immediately apparent that people who were treated as influential figures in each region attended without exception.

It’s hard to say that they are influential figures *yet*, but since the Irish and Black people have sent those who can be said to be representatives from their villages, their influence will not be small.

I deliberately paused for a moment, and then, just as everyone was waiting for my lips to move, I slowly began to speak.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who have come all the way to this place. Everyone knows who I am, so I’ll skip my introduction roughly… Or should I do it?”

“No!”

“We are honored to be able to see Prince Consort in person!”

After appropriately lightening the atmosphere that was about to become slightly tense, I picked up the wine glass next to me and brought it to my mouth.

It was just sweet enough to quench my thirst.

“As everyone knows, there has been a very joyous event in our British Empire recently. It is the birth of an heir who will bring stability to the royal family. Moreover, since it was born here, not in the home country, I think it has a more special meaning for all of us.

I think the reason why you are all cheering and sending blessings more than anyone else is not much different. In fact, as everyone knows, British Canada is a very unique place.”

When I stopped talking for a moment and looked around, everyone in the hall nodded in agreement.

“Strictly speaking, British Canada has not yet reached its full potential. More and more people and immigrants from more diverse backgrounds will come in the future, and sometimes conflicts may arise. But that’s why I want to make it clear to everyone here: please take pride in this. This place where you live will be a country unlike any that has existed before and will never exist again.

Currently, the British Empire is expanding across the globe and has territories in many regions. However, there is no country like Canada where people from various countries take root and live in harmony with each other. There may be various problems in the future, but I am confident that this country, where various cultures are mixed, has infinite possibilities that cannot be compared to any other place.”

When I delivered that bit of lip service, it was clear that a significant number of people in the audience were impressed, but this wasn’t enough yet.

What I wanted was not just this level of reaction, but a scene where they were intoxicated with *ppong* [a Korean slang term for being high on something] to a lethal dose and shout that a multi-ethnic, multi-racial country is the future of the world empire.

The children will stay here for a while, but I have to return to the mainland in a few months at the longest to prepare for the upcoming disputes.

There are at least two neighbors in Europe who are definitely sick of seeing the expansion of the British Empire.

So I have to nail it down here and move on.

Until now, and in the future.

There is no need for division in my British Canada.