He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 192

< Disappointing Results - 192 >

As the reception room door opened, an aide-de-camp from the King of Sardinia sought out the princesses.

“The princesses may enter.”

The princesses, who had been speaking ill of Prince Pietro, entered the reception room with demure expressions, as if they had never done such a thing.

A moment later, the sound of refined and melodious voices politely introducing themselves reached Tae-oh and the prince.

-Greetings. I am the first princess, ‘Flavia.’ It is a great honor to meet you, Count.

-Hello, I am the second, ‘Isabella’…

*

Unlike Minister Grimaldi, who was receiving state guest treatment, Prince Pietro was annoyed by the unwarranted humiliation from the princesses.

“To think that women so different on the inside and out are flaunting themselves as royalty, ugh!”

“What did you hear to make you say that?”

“It’s not about what I heard… Never mind. It’s not even worth mentioning. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything left to do here, so let’s leave?”

“The weather is quite chilly today. It’s better to wait inside if possible…”

“I apologize. Then I’ll go out first. My head feels a bit stuffy.”

While the prince was pacing outside, Minister Grimaldi, having finished selecting the candidates, came out of the reception room.

The king, queen, and princesses followed behind him, giving him a grand send-off.

“I don’t know how to thank you enough for choosing our kingdom as your first visit.”

“Not at all. I am even more grateful for such a warm welcome.”

The Queen of Sardinia looked back at her daughters and said proudly.

“Our princesses are truly innocent and pure. However, we also pay great attention to their refinement, so they are skilled in art, music, and even Latin.

The Neapolitan royal family will be very satisfied no matter which princess they marry. Please convey good words to His Majesty the King.”

“Of course. I could tell at a glance that they are truly wonderful princesses. Don’t worry. I will make sure to convey that well.”

The King of Sardinia scolded the queen.

“You’ll be here until the day after tomorrow, why are you already making such requests? Anyway, Count, let’s have lunch together tomorrow and talk more.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s do that, Your Majesty. Then please don’t bother coming out. I’ll be on my way.”

Minister Grimaldi, escorted to the entrance, exchanged greetings with the royal family and left the palace with Tae-oh.

Then, he hurried to where the prince was waiting.

“Prince, you’ve been waiting long.”

“Not at all. Let’s go.”

They got into the carriage and headed to the accommodation provided by the King of Sardinia.

Minister Grimaldi, who had been eagerly recounting his conversation with the king in the carriage, asked the prince.

“Ah, Prince? Then you must have seen the princesses in front of the reception room. What do you think? Was there any princess who particularly caught your eye? I think it’s the first princess, Flavia…”

Before Minister Grimaldi could finish speaking, the prince waved his hand.

“Ah— Enough, enough! Catch my eye? They all look like donkeys that haven’t even eaten duckweed.”

“Pardon? Donkeys…?”

The prince continued, as if annoyed.

“Count Grimaldi, you have completed all the tasks His Majesty gave you, right?”

“Ah… Yes. I have delivered the letter His Majesty asked me to convey, and I have also written down suitable candidates for the prince’s bride, so I have finished the important tasks.”

“Then, let’s depart for the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza today?”

“Today, immediately? We haven’t even been in the kingdom for a day yet? We have a formal dinner meeting scheduled at the palace tomorrow afternoon. And we have already informed the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza that we will be going there in three days.”

“Either way, wouldn’t it be better for you to finish this quickly and return to the Kingdom of Naples? Can’t we just say something came up and leave quickly?”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

At the prince’s urging, Minister Grimaldi looked at Tae-oh as if wondering what was going on.

Tae-oh said to the prince in a soothing tone.

“Prince Pietro, the purpose of our visit here is not only to see potential spouses, but also to check the current state of each kingdom or duchy, isn’t it?

So, shouldn’t we examine the economic situation and defense posture of the Kingdom of Sardinia, even if only until tomorrow?”

At Tae-oh’s words, the prince reluctantly nodded with an uncomfortable expression.

“Yes. Well… that’s true.”

Minister Grimaldi, who had no idea what was going on, breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could at least rest comfortably until tomorrow.

*

The next day, Tae-oh toured various parts of the Kingdom of Sardinia with Prince Pietro, examining the market and the port.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had territories including the Piedmont region and the island of Sardinia, and it was clear that the vitality of the city center was significantly lower compared to the Kingdom of Naples, and the overall economic scale was not large.

However, the occasional movements of soldiers, military equipment, and warships floating on the sea seemed more thorough than expected.

If they formed an alliance through marriage, they could see a clear advantage in terms of military reinforcement.

After touring the Kingdom of Sardinia, Tae-oh and the prince’s party arrived at their next destination, the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, two days later and spent three days there. Afterward, they visited the third, fourth, and fifth kingdoms that had been predetermined in order.

However, the prince had to be satisfied with grasping the culture, military status, and economic situation of each country, without finding a princess or duchess he liked even in the fifth kingdom.

From Tae-oh’s point of view, who had boasted that he would find a bride who would support the prince’s values and make him feel happy, it was a disheartening situation.

However, in the sixth kingdom, which was the last destination, a princess finally appeared who captivated Prince Pietro’s heart.

*

“She’s the first woman who makes my heart race.”

The princess standing in front of the reception room had an enchanting appearance that Prince Pietro could fall for.

The prince, wanting to see the princess from a closer distance, volunteered to serve as Minister Grimaldi’s aide and diligently observed her.

The princess was consistently elegant, refined, and polite, and she was neither talkative nor frivolous.

The prince, liking everything about her, showed an excited appearance for the first time.

“Count! She seems to be a princess who lacks nothing. Her appearance is beautiful, and her personality, refinement, and manners are all perfect.”

However, Tae-oh’s thoughts were different. He saw several problems with the princess.

Unlike her outward calmness, her emotional state was very unstable, and she frequently made habitual lies in response to Minister Grimaldi’s questions.

Above all, she was overly sensitive to the gazes of others, constantly being conscious of Tae-oh’s gaze as he silently watched.

The prince, who came out of the reception room, whispered excitedly.

“Count, it was worth waiting until the end. She’s a lady I really like. Tomorrow, I will reveal my identity as a prince and meet her in person to talk.”

Tae-oh shook his head.

“Well, I think we should watch a little longer.”

“Pardon? Don’t you like the princess, Count? Why? Why don’t you like her? I was so happy that I seemed to have met a proper match in the last kingdom…”

Prince Pietro seemed very disappointed by Tae-oh’s reaction.

“She is not compatible with the prince in terms of personality, and above all, she is lying too much. She is accustomed to a packaged life and is watching people’s reactions because she is hiding something big.

If she shows such unstable emotions without even having a conversation, there is a high probability that there is a problem.”

“Aren’t all the people living in the royal family like that? I, too, treat people with a kind of mask because I am a prince. Living a pretentious life and inevitably lying a lot is the life of a royal family. It won’t be a big problem.”

“The prince is just momentarily infatuated with the princess’s appearance. You didn’t come all the way here just to meet a pretty woman, did you? I am against it.”

“……”

*

Tae-oh took the prince, who had a sullen expression, and toured the kingdom’s market.

The market was crowded with many shops, merchants, and customers, with no room to set foot.

“Look at this. The economy is also doing very well, and I even like the princess… It’s so frustrating that you keep saying no, Count.”

“If you marry that princess, something you will definitely regret will happen. I’m not doing this because I’m not an outsider to the prince, why would I stop you like this?”

Tae-oh tried his best to change the prince’s mind.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about the princess now, and take a good look at these things. There are many products from our Kingdom of Naples, so we need to compare their competitiveness with other countries.”

“…”

The prince, answering in a disgruntled voice, reluctantly looked at the goods.

Perhaps because the market was filled with products from the Kingdom of Naples, there were quite a few merchants who spoke Neapolitan. Thanks to this, he was able to roughly hear about the situation.

However, Prince Pietro’s expression suddenly darkened as he toured the market and compared the goods.

It was right after he overheard the words of about ten merchants gathered in a store.

“What did you hear to make you look so bad?”

Tae-oh asked the prince, who had been walking silently with his mouth shut after leaving the store.

The prince, who had been rummaging through things silently for a long time, opened his mouth.

“Honestly, it was hard to believe… Really, it seems like you do have that ability.”

“Ability?”

“That ability to read and understand people’s emotions.”

“?”

“A little while ago, the merchants were gathered and whispering. They said the princess gave birth to her second child a while ago.”

Tae-oh asked in surprise.

“Pardon? Her second child?”

“They say the princess had a child with the captain of the guard when she was 16 years old, and this time she had a child with a noble young man. The royal family is keeping it a secret, but it seems that the rumors have already spread among the merchants who supply goods to the royal family.

But the kingdom is trying to marry that princess to the Kingdom of Naples, and these merchants are teasing the Neapolitan merchants, saying that the Kingdom of Naples, which came to see that princess as a bride, are fools.”

“……!”

In the end, Prince Pietro could not find his match even in the last kingdom.

Just as they were about to give up on finding a bride who was a perfect match for the prince and return to the Kingdom of Naples,
they decided to stop by the Republic of Venice, which had once been a major center of culture, art, and a trading port, to refresh their mood.

◈ Early March 1797, Republic of Venice.

“It used to be a wonderful place…”

As they approached the port of Venice, Minister Grimaldi said with a nostalgic look.

The Venice of the late 18th century, as seen by Tae-oh, was a very different landscape from the static tourist destination he had seen in modern times.

Many domes and spires rose above the sparkling water, and various boats, including gondolas [traditional Venetian rowing boats], and people of various races were mixed on the inland waterways and canals, busy loading and unloading goods.

“But it seems like the city is still alive and moving? It must have been even more amazing before?”

“Yes. It is not comparable to the Venice I saw in my youth. The economy is really dead now.”

The Republic of Venice, which had prospered by making a lot of money through Mediterranean trade, glass industry, and tourism, began to decline in national power in the mid-1600s when the island of Crete was handed over to the Ottoman Empire.

In addition, as the Mediterranean-centered trade route shifted to the Atlantic-centered route, it lost its leadership in trade, and naturally, the glory of the past seemed to be gone forever.

The group, who got off at the port, moved again by a small boat floating on the canal, and then headed to the accommodation after loading their luggage on a small cart pulled by a porter.

The roads of the Republic of Venice were narrow, winding, and lacking in roads, so carriages could not be used, and they had to travel mainly by water transport.

While crossing the bridge connected to the canal, Minister Grimaldi spoke.

“In fact, I have been friends with the Doge [the chief magistrate and leader of Venice], the head of state of Venice, for a long time.”

“The Doge?”

The Republic of Venice was not a country ruled by a king. Instead, the ‘Doge,’ the head of state, served as the king for life, and six aides with six-month terms and ten committee members handled the main national affairs.

In addition, a council of 40 and 900 to 1,500 members of parliament took care of the republic’s politics.

However, they were all from aristocratic families, but with the exception of the Doge, the head of state, they were all working without pay, which was a unique structure.

“Yes. This is not a place ruled by a king or duke, but a country ruled by the Doge. For that reason, I excluded it from the initial candidates, but… Considering the commercial aspects of the Republic of Venice, a marriage with the Kingdom of Naples would not be bad. If we provide a little support, we may be able to regain the appearance of the former Mediterranean trade powerhouse.

And, as I said before, I have been friends with the Doge here for a long time. As I recall, his eldest daughter was a very smart and pretty child. I think she’s probably old enough to marry now, so what do you think about meeting her?”

Tae-oh was also pleased with Minister Grimaldi’s words.

“I think that would be good. Shall we meet her?”

However, Prince Pietro did not seem very interested, perhaps because he had been disappointed a lot.

“No, I will not go with you. After all, Venice was not a scheduled destination.”

Minister Grimaldi looked at Tae-oh as if he couldn’t help it and said.

“Yes, I understand. Then, let’s rest nearby today, and tomorrow, Sanderson Baekjak-nim [Count Sanderson] and I will go to the Doge’s Palace.”

According to his opinion, Tae-oh and his party unpacked their luggage at an accommodation called ‘Contessa,’ where nobles mainly stayed near the port.

Then, leaving Minister Grimaldi, who said he wanted to rest, Prince Pietro and Tae-oh went out of the accommodation to examine the economic situation of the Republic of Venice.

< Disappointing Results - 192 > End