He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 215

215. A Happy Reunion (1)

◈ Early October 1799, Kingdom of Naples.

Theo visited the Kingdom of Naples with Princess Maria.

It was to attend Prince Pietro’s wedding.

As soon as Theo arrived in the Kingdom of Naples, Crown Prince Carlo de Bourbon, anticipating his arrival, came to the port to greet him in person.

“Ah! Duke! Maria!”

“Haha—Your Highness! It’s so good to see you!”

“Brother!”

Theo and his wife rode in a splendid royal carriage, heading to the palace under the strict escort of about a hundred guards and cavalry.

-Wow! It’s Duke Sanderson!

-Long live Duke Sanderson! Long live!

-Long live Princess Maria!

Upon hearing the news of Theo’s arrival, countless citizens of the Kingdom of Naples came out to the streets to welcome him enthusiastically.

Princess Maria whispered to Theo, her eyes glistening.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the people of the kingdom cheering and rejoicing like this. Our royal family has always presented a poor image to foreign powers and failed to protect them properly, but I think they have developed a sense of solidarity and hope because you fought against the French army.”

Theo nodded and said.

“The Neapolitan royal family must have been encouraged by showing their willingness to fight to the end.”

Upon arriving at the palace, the King and Queen came out to the entrance to greet Theo and Princess Maria.

Prince Pietro, whose wedding was tomorrow, also ran out to embrace Theo and share the joy of reunion.

***

A few days later, a grand wedding was held in the luxurious hall of the Palace of the Kingdom of Naples.

The Doge [Chief Magistrate] and Stepmother from the Republic of Venice, high-ranking officials, and nobles of high status from various countries attended to bless the marriage of the two.

Caterina entered the wedding hall gracefully, wearing a pure white dress with elaborate lace and a beautiful wedding veil gifted by Princess Maria.

Pietro, dressed in a splendid formal suit decorated with navy blue and gold, perfectly displayed his dignity as a prince of the Kingdom of Naples.

In the solemn and splendid wedding atmosphere, the moment the two were declared husband and wife, the huge hall was filled with thunderous applause and cheers.

Just as bright as the radiant appearance of the two holding hands and walking down the aisle, the future of the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice was shining brightly.

***

In a corner of the banquet hall, a delegation from the Grand Duchy of Florence was quietly chatting, exchanging glasses of wine.

But then,

“Is Count Olivino here, by any chance?”

The delegation from the Grand Duchy of Florence turned around in surprise at the voice coming from behind.

Duke Theo Sanderson was standing behind them with a smile.

The delegation had never expected Theo to speak to them first.

A middle-aged man with a long beard stood up from his seat.

“Duke Sanderson! I am Count Olivino.”

Theo stepped forward and offered him a sincere apology.

“The painting by Leonardo da Vinci that you sent me was truly impressive. But, unintentionally, it ended up being submerged in the sea… I don’t know how to express my apologies.”

Theo was going around the banquet hall, expressing his gratitude and apologies to the nobles from the Italian region who had given him gifts.

Count Olivino waved his hands grandly.

“Oh, please don’t mention it so sadly. It’s certainly a great work of art, but it doesn’t matter if I lose a few of those paintings. It is more important that Duke Sanderson is safe like this. Haha-”

“Because it was such a wonderful work of art, we sealed it tightly in a lead box and stored it safely before departure. Although it is sunk deep in the sea, when time passes and technology develops, the work will be revealed to the world, and the artwork will shine even more in later generations. And the day will surely come when your painting will be displayed and praised before people.”

“Yes? Ah… Yes, yes! That’s right! I’m sure it will! Hahaha.”

The faces of Count Olivino and the delegation from the Grand Duchy of Florence lit up.

For them, who had been agonizing over making contact with Theo Sanderson, the Duke leading the most powerful country in Europe, and seeking a channel for dialogue with him, this was an unexpected great opportunity.

◈ The next day, the conference hall of the Kingdom of Naples.

In the conference hall, King Ferdinando and Theo were at the center, along with Crown Prince Carlo, Francesco di Savoia, the Army General, General Benedetto Ricci, and other key military commanders of the Kingdom of Naples, holding a military conference.

Army General Francesco opened the conversation.

“Even after suffering so much at our hands, Napoleon Bonaparte’s ambition doesn’t seem to be extinguished. As soon as the rumor spread that the Duke was missing at sea and had died, he declared war on our Kingdom of Naples and tried to start a war.”

General Benedetto Ricci added.

“According to intelligence we received recently, the French army’s tactics have changed a lot. Even in small battles, camouflage is basic, and they combine cavalry warfare and ambush tactics to relentlessly drive their opponents. It seems they are applying Duke Sanderson’s tactics to the battle.”

After suffering a great defeat in the battle with Theo, Napoleon thoroughly analyzed the causes of the defeat and greatly increased his combat power through concealment tactics, training of snipers, and improvement of cannons.

Crown Prince Carlo asked Theo with worried eyes.

“Duke Sanderson? Rumor has it that the French army has become faster and stronger than before. How should we deal with it to effectively stop General Bonaparte’s French army?”

Theo, who had been listening to the situation quietly, opened his mouth.

“We cannot win by simply confronting the French army with camouflage and ambush tactics like last time.

Because Napoleon Bonaparte, a genius of tactics, will remember and review everything he suffered from us, and will actively make our tactics his own.”

“Then should we develop more innovative tactics to fight?”

Theo shook his head.

“Napoleon is a man with a truly genius talent in tactics. To defeat such a person, we need something of a different dimension that goes beyond those tactics.”

Everyone tilted their heads at Theo’s words.

“Something of a different dimension that goes beyond tactics? Is there such a thing?”

According to the history seen in the future, after the humiliating defeat in the battle with Theo, Napoleon gritted his teeth and made his own preparations.

However, Theo also had enough time in the 21st century to understand the appearance of the awakened Napoleon.

In particular, he also obtained important tips from war history experts at Theo University on how to win the war against Napoleon.

And if he were to go back to the 18th century and fight Napoleon again, he concluded that he had a chance of winning by targeting the parts that would be difficult for him to achieve even if he tried.

“Against Napoleon, who is trying to confront us with elusive tactics, we must overwhelm him with a completely different dimension of methods, not tactics. No matter how excellent the tactics are, their limitations are clear.”

“A different dimension other than tactics… What on earth is that?”

Theo slowly looked around the commanders and opened his mouth.

“What can completely destroy tactics is weapons.”

The commanders stirred.

“The muzzle-loading rifles we are currently using require us to put gunpowder in through the front of the barrel, so we inevitably have to stand and erect the gun to load the gunpowder, which is a complicated process. This takes too much time to fire one shot, and it is also vulnerable to concealment.

On the other hand, if you use a breech-loading rifle that puts gunpowder in through the back of the barrel, you don’t have to erect the gun and you can load gunpowder while lying down, so it’s easy to hide, and its firing speed is much faster.

Furthermore, if you apply the breech-loading rifle well, you can arm yourself with a special gun that fires more than 300 rounds per minute.”

The generals were surprised at Theo’s words.

“Breech-loading rifles are amazing, but a gun that fires more than 300 rounds per minute? No, is such a weapon really possible?”

“Yes, it is possible. In fact, development and test firing have already been successful in England. It’s called a machine gun. If we use such new weapons, we can easily destroy Napoleon’s army, which still operates within the framework of line infantry [military tactic where infantry units form long lines to deliver volley fire].

In front of such new weapons, the current tactics themselves will become meaningless.”

Immediately after returning to the 18th century, Theo recruited British munitions factories with high technical skills and talented people who excelled in firearms development, and had them mass-produce breech-loading rifles.

“In fact, this new rifle is a further development of the breech-loading rifle developed by Patrick Ferguson, a British officer in 1772.

In addition, we have succeeded in making cannons with breech closures and the manual machine guns I mentioned earlier.”

In actual war history, with the emergence of weapons of mass destruction such as the Gatling gun in the Civil War, the tactics of line infantry disappeared from history.

Theo promised the commanders of the Kingdom of Naples, who were amazed by the story of the new weapons.

“As soon as I arrive in England, I will send new breech-loading rifles and machine guns. If you train with those weapons and fight the French army, they won’t even be able to come near the Kingdom of Naples for the time being.”

***

After completing all the schedules in the Kingdom of Naples, Theo and his wife boarded a ship bound for Jamaica, receiving a warm send-off from the royal family and the people.

Crown Prince Carlo and Prince Pietro, who came to the port to see them off, asked with regret.

“Are you stopping by Jamaica before returning to England?”

“Yes, I plan to visit the coffee plantation in Jamaica.”

“Will we be able to see you again soon?”

“Of course. I will stop by again after the new weapons arrive.”

◈ Jamaica, Kingston Harbor.

The ship that departed from the Kingdom of Naples was able to arrive in Jamaica in just over a month.

“Duke? You said that the people on the farm also know that we are coming, right?”

“That’s right. I sent a letter to the farm two months ago, so they already know we’re coming and are in full preparation.”

Princess Maria, who got off the ship, looked around the harbor and was very fascinated by the exotic scenery.

“Wow- it feels like people from all over the world are gathered here!”

In the late 18th century, Kingston Harbor in Jamaica was attracting attention as a bustling center of maritime exchange, creating a unique atmosphere.

Various large and small merchant ships of various nationalities were leaving or entering the port with goods full of goods, and dock workers were busy running around moving cargo.

Kingston Harbor was bustling with sailors, merchants, soldiers, laborers, and black slaves from all over the world.

But then someone called Theo’s name from behind.

“Count Sanderson! No, no, isn’t that Duke Sanderson?”

Surprised by the sound of someone calling his name, he turned around and saw Sebastian Martin, the farm manager of Baron Hazel Palmer.

Theo, who was surprised, replied with a happy face.

“Oh- Mr. Martin! How have you been?”

“I heard the news that you were coming a month ago, and you really came. Did you just arrive?”

“Yes, that’s right. I came with my wife.”

Sebastian, who saw Maria, took off his hat and bowed politely.

“Nice to meet you. Duchess.”

“Yes, hello.”

“It’s my first time meeting you, but the Duchess doesn’t seem unfamiliar. Hehe.”

“Duke Sanderson has been so famous here for a long time, so most people here know that you are a princess of the Kingdom of Naples through newspapers and magazines when you got married, hehehe~”

Princess Maria nodded and replied to Sebastian’s words.

“Ah, I see. Thank you so much for your interest.”

As Princess Maria answered with a bright smile, Sebastian also laughed loudly with pleasure. Then he asked Theo where he was going to stay.

It was an era when the arrival date of ships could not be confirmed, so there was no one to pick them up.

“First of all, since they probably don’t know I’ve arrived yet, I’m going to look for an inn nearby today. And I’m going to go to Mr. Spencer’s house tomorrow.”

Then Sebastian was surprised and waved his hand.

“Oh, what are you talking about? Mrs. Butler has already prepared a room, saying that she must prepare a place to stay even for a short time, after hearing that the Duke was coming a month ago.”

“Mrs. Butler?”

Mrs. Butler was the wife of Joseph Butler, who ran a large farm in Jamaica, and had the connection to introduce Mr. Spencer to Theo in the first place.

At the time, Theo was treating Lord Butler’s daughter, Elisa Butler, who was suffering from a mental illness. After many twists and turns, he even connected her to marriage with Leonard Evans.

“Are you going to rest for a few days and then go up to the coffee farm?”

“Yes, I think I’ll have to do that.”

“Then take this carriage and go straight to Lord Butler’s house together?”

Theo and Maria gladly accepted Sebastian’s offer.

***

It was a sudden visit, but Lord Joseph Butler, who had been preparing for a month, greatly welcomed Theo and his wife.

Jonathan Butler, who had gotten married, already had three children, and there were also many grown-up children between Elisa and Leonard Evans, who had a fateful love like Romeo and Juliet.

And, as soon as he heard that Theo had arrived, Baron Jacob Evans ran over.

Baron Jacob Evans, Leonard’s brother, who had a disability in one leg and had a rough personality, had changed a lot as he built a good family.

Baron Jacob Evans was so happy to see Theo, who was his life saver, that he even shed tears, and belatedly gave Princess Maria a specially prepared wedding gift.

The old conflicts had now become good memories, and laughter did not disappear until late at night.

◈ A few days later. Jamaica Blue Mountains, Theo Coffee Farm.

After completely relieving the fatigue caused by the long voyage at Lord Butler’s house, Theo and Maria headed to the coffee farm with lighter bodies.

She was a woman and it was her first time on the road, so I thought she would have a hard time, but perhaps because she was excited about going to see the Jamaican farm that Theo often talked about, Maria didn’t seem to find it very difficult.

Finally, when the sign of Theo Coffee Farm was visible in the distance, Theo’s heart was pounding as much as Maria’s, who was excited.

When I went to the 21st century, which was more than 200 years later, my heart was touched, but now I was endlessly excited at the thought of returning and meeting the living farm family.

“Wow- you can feel the atmosphere of the coffee farm from the entrance!”

When I looked at the entrance after hearing Princess Maria’s story, there was a wonderful fence that I hadn’t seen before and a large sign in the shape of coffee beans.

Looking at the elaborate craftsmanship, I could feel Samson’s touch and smiled slightly.

After going to London, I had been doing business and experiencing wars, and more than ten years had passed, and many things had changed in the meantime, as I had not been able to come directly except for letters.

Creak-

I opened the door that was set up like a fence, but I could hardly see anyone.

Then, a young black woman was walking out of the farm’s communal kitchen with a basket and ran into Theo and his wife.

“Who… who are you?”

The young woman asked Theo who he was, with a somewhat frightened expression.