He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 51

51. King George’s Gift

The surrounding nobles and high-ranking officials bowed their heads and stepped aside.

Step. Step.

Clack. Clack.

King George and Queen Charlotte strode in with vigor.

‘…!’

However, a look of surprise spread across Tae-oh’s face as he glanced at King George.

‘No, he’s much better than I expected?’

King George’s expression and the aura emanating from him were distinctly different from last time.

To ordinary people, it might just seem like his complexion had improved, but to Tae-oh, it felt like he had become a different person.

“Oh, Lord Darwin!”

King George, who was walking in, spotted Erasmus Darwin and greeted him with a bright face.

“Your Majesty.”

Erasmus Darwin, who politely paid his respects, also looked surprised.

“But, Your Majesty? How did your complexion improve so much in just a few months?”

“Hahaha, do you think so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your complexion is completely different from when I saw you a few months ago.”

Erasmus Darwin was a doctor. That’s why George III’s transformation seemed even more remarkable to him.

“I hear Lord Darwin is still dedicated to treating alcoholics?”

“I am doing my best, thinking it would be fortunate if my efforts could be of even a small help.”

“Lord Darwin is truly a remarkable man. So, I suppose you still won’t grant my request to become my personal physician?”

“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

‘So, the two of them know each other well.’

Tae-oh knew that Lord Darwin was a doctor, but he didn’t know that he was acquainted with George III.

“Sanderson! Is Theo Sanderson here?”

King George, who had been exchanging friendly greetings with Lord Darwin, suddenly looked around and called out Tae-oh’s name.

Tae-oh hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his head.

“Your Majesty, did you call for me?”

“Hahaha, yes, you’re here, you’re here. Very good, very good. I was looking for you just in case. If you hadn’t come, I would have ordered them to bring you here immediately. Hahaha.”

King George, with a pleased expression, turned his head and asked the aide-de-camp.

“Is the luncheon ready?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Good, then let’s go in.”

The nobles and high-ranking officials who had been waiting in the reception room followed King George and Queen Charlotte to the room where the luncheon was prepared.

Tae-oh also followed them slowly, and Lord Erasmus Darwin quietly approached him and asked.

“Mr. Sanderson, you are acquainted with His Majesty as well?”

“Yes. I was actually invited last time and met him for the first time.”

“Ah, I see. But being invited again after just one meeting, and the way His Majesty looked at Mr. Sanderson earlier was quite extraordinary. It seems there’s a special story I don’t know about. Perhaps you displayed your insightful wisdom in front of His Majesty? Hahaha.”

“Well, it wasn’t that big of a deal…”

“Hahaha, yes. Anyway, let’s go in.”

Erasmus Darwin, who was still unaware of Tae-oh’s psychological treatment, wore an expression of sheer wonder at King George’s attitude.

*

‘Wow… what is this?’

The room that Tae-oh entered, following King George and Queen Charlotte, had an unbelievable amount of food piled up on the table.

‘British nobles are as serious about eating as the Romans… It’s no wonder they say they lived to eat.’

Since the Middle Ages, the British royal family and high-ranking nobles had put a lot of effort into preparing dishes using various meats for banquets.

This was to show their status and power to others through the banquet, and the most important thing at this time was, of course, a large quantity of meat.

The 30 or so nobles and high-ranking officials seemed accustomed to it, taking their seats according to their respective positions and status.

Tae-oh discreetly headed to a corner seat.

But then,

“Sanderson, Theo Sanderson!”

King George called out Tae-oh’s name loudly again.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

King George gestured with a smile on his face.

“Why do you keep trying to avoid us? Come closer, over here.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Your Majesty.”

Tae-oh paid his respects and carefully approached King George.

“Hahaha. Come, sit here quickly. Here.”

King George pointed to the seat next to him.

There was a small murmur among the nobles and high-ranking officials.

In a formal dinner setting, it was customary for a member of the royal family or the highest-ranking official to sit next to the King.

But today, he was trying to seat Tae-oh right next to the King.

Tae-oh was taken aback.

“No, Your Majesty. How could I dare…”

“Enough dawdling, sit down quickly. The food will lose its taste.”

“…Your Majesty.”

He couldn’t create a more awkward atmosphere.

Tae-oh reluctantly paid his respects and quietly sat next to King George.

Once everyone had taken their seats, King George opened his mouth with a smile.

“Looking at your faces, I see several people who were with me at the gathering two weeks ago. So, you must remember the promise I made with Sanderson then, right?”

Erasmus Darwin looked bewildered, wondering what was going on.

However, most people seemed to already know what King George was talking about.

It seemed that the story had already spread by word of mouth among the nobles and officials who had attended that day.

“Well, even if I don’t have to say it myself, you can tell that what Sanderson promised that day has come true by looking at me today.”

Tak-

King George took a sip of tea and continued.

“Besides, I heard some very good news a few days ago.”

Everyone fell silent and listened attentively.

“I heard that Sanderson treated the Earl of Maxwell’s son, who was suffering from a severe mental illness, and helped him successfully hold his wedding ceremony, hahaha. I felt so bad after the Earl of Maxwell’s eldest son passed away, but I felt so good when I heard that story. Hahaha.”

The story that the wedding ceremony was successfully completed thanks to Tae-oh’s treatment, even though the wedding was uncertain due to severe anxiety just before the wedding, greatly pleased King George.

Whispers went back and forth among the nobles at the mention of the Earl of Maxwell.

-Isn’t that the Earl of Maxwell’s son, the one rumored to be locked up in Bedlam Hospital [a notorious mental asylum in London] because of his strange madness?

-Shh, be quiet. Others will hear you.

-What’s the big deal about hearing? It’s been an open secret for a year, so everyone who needs to know knows.

-Huh, that’s amazing. How did he treat such a madman?

George III thought that the Earl of Maxwell’s son was just suffering from a slightly more severe anxiety disorder than himself.

However, among the nobles, there were rumors that the Earl’s second son would soon be sent to the mental hospital in Bedlam.

In the late 18th century, social perceptions of the mentally ill were at their worst.

Mental illness was considered to be caused by demonic possession or that the person could no longer function as a proper human being and had to be discarded.

So, if the symptoms worsened, they were confined to Bedlam Hospital in London, and from then on, they were no longer treated as human beings.

London’s Bedlam Hospital was a collection of the mentally ill, but it was more like a ‘human zoo’ than a mental hospital for treatment.

On weekends, people would buy tickets and come to see the patients inside the bars, just like watching animals in a zoo.

There was even a popular betting sport where they would throw small spears at the bound patients.

As a result, it had long been more frightening to get a mental illness and be confined to a hospital than to get a serious physical illness.

So, for the nobles of this era, the fact that the Earl’s son’s madness had been cured was nothing short of amazing news.

“Anyway, Sanderson?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“As promised, I have prepared a reward and a special gift for you for improving my condition.”

“Your Majesty, a gift? I haven’t done anything significant, it’s not appropriate.”

When King George gestured to the aide-de-camp, a maid approached Tae-oh with a wooden box in her hand.

“Open the lid.”

At the King’s command, the maid opened the lid.

Inside were several roots of a plant, quite large, with a bizarre shape like a human body.

The nobles and officials who saw the contents of the box murmured.

-Oh, what is that?

-It looks like a wild plant root brought in from North America…

-That’s true, but isn’t the shape a bit different from the wild ‘ginseng’ brought in from the colonies?

Various comments were made here and there about the identity of the gift bestowed by King George.

But Tae-oh recognized it at once.

‘No, is that ginseng?’

That’s right. The gift that George III proudly brought to Tae-oh was ‘ginseng.’

It is known that Eastern ginseng was introduced to Europe in the early 17th century through the East India Company [a British trading company that played a major role in the colonization of Asia].

At the time, as interest in medicines to treat weakened bodies due to various epidemics and wars increased, the mysterious ginseng of the East also received great attention.

And as the amazing effects after actually boiling and eating it spread by word of mouth, ginseng’s popularity soared.

However, it was so difficult to obtain that its price was as high as gold, and it was a very precious medicine that only the royal family and a few privileged people could access.

In 1740, British scholars tried to grow ginseng and make it into medicine, but failed repeatedly.

Then, wild ginseng was discovered in North America, which was a British colony, and a ‘ginseng hunt’ frenzy similar to the gold rush in the West broke out, and North American ginseng was mass-produced in the European medicinal market.

However, ginseng from North America was not as well-regarded as ginseng from Asia. Its medicinal effects were considered to be lower, and its recognition as a medicine was not very good.

“Sanderson, do you know what this is?”

Tae-oh hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and said.

“Isn’t this ‘ginseng,’ which is boiled and eaten as medicine in the East?”

There was a small murmur at the mention of Eastern ginseng.

“Hahaha, you know it well. That’s right. It’s Eastern ginseng. But it’s not from Qing China [referring to China under the Qing Dynasty]. It’s ‘Korean ginseng’ from a place called Joseon [an old kingdom of Korea]. It’s a very precious medicine.”

“Yes? Joseon’s… Korean… ginseng?”

The surroundings became noisy at the word ‘Korean ginseng.’

‘Ginseng,’ which was very expensive and difficult to see even a few decades ago, was now not difficult to see and relatively inexpensive as it was discovered in large quantities in the North American colonies.

However, very few people had directly seen the mysterious and very expensive medicine called Eastern ginseng, especially ‘Korean ginseng.’

‘Wow… to come to my past life and see Korean ginseng.’

As Tae-oh, who was reincarnated in 18th century England, heard the words ‘Joseon’ and ‘Korean ginseng’ from King George’s mouth, he felt a strange feeling that he couldn’t describe.

King George looked pleased as he saw Tae-oh’s surprised expression and continued.

“This Korean ginseng was not bought from the cunning Qing Chinese. Lord Philip of the Royal Society [a learned society for science], who visited a place called Manchuria [a region in Northeast Asia], had a hard time purchasing it from honest merchants in a place called Joseon and brought it to me. It’s genuine Korean ginseng.”

At this time, there was a widespread belief that when purchasing ginseng from China, the roots had to be cut one by one.

Chinese merchants used the fact that ginseng prices were based on weight to cleverly insert pieces of lead into the ginseng to increase its weight.

In addition, they would fill the holes in worm-eaten ginseng with yellow powder to deceive people into thinking it was a normal product and sell it at a high price.

However, the Korean ginseng from Joseon merchants in the Manchuria region did not engage in such despicable acts. Joseon merchants were always selling high-quality ginseng, earning them very good reviews from importers.

“Sanderson. This is my cherished Korean ginseng, but I am bestowing it upon you as a small reward for your concern for my health.”

The Korean ginseng that Tae-oh received now was valuable enough to buy several top-of-the-line carriages at the time.

“…Your Majesty. How can I ever repay this kindness…”

King George, looking at Tae-oh with a touched expression, asked Erasmus Darwin.

“Lord Darwin. As a doctor, what do you think? About Sanderson’s treatment skills that have made me so healthy.”

Lord Darwin, who had heard a rough account of what had happened from the high-ranking official sitting next to him, was very surprised.

“Your Majesty, it’s truly amazing. I also believe that stabilizing the mind is more important than anything else when treating patients, but to have noticeably treated the mental illnesses of His Majesty and the Earl of Maxwell’s son in just a few days, I can hardly believe it.”

Lord Darwin looked at Tae-oh and continued.

“But, if Theo Sanderson did it, strangely, I nod my head in agreement. I still don’t know what kind of treatment he used, but I definitely want to hear it directly.”

“Hahaha. Lord Darwin already knew about Sanderson’s amazing abilities.”

“That is so, Your Majesty.”

In this era, the perception of doctors was vastly different from modern times.

It was an era when a tailor who couldn’t read was appointed as the Queen’s ophthalmologist because of his good treatment skills.

In particular, in internal medicine or psychiatric treatment, the achievements of existing university-educated doctors were so insignificant that people even preferred experienced quacks over doctors if they had good skills.

“Sanderson, I have a request for you, can you grant it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do anything I can.”

King George glanced at Erasmus Darwin and said.

“I made the same request to Lord Darwin before, but I was nicely rejected. I’ll have to see how you turn out.”

“…?”

“Sanderson. Would you like to be my personal physician in the palace?”

“Your… Your Majesty…”

The King’s personal physician… It was something he had never dreamed of.

But for Tae-oh, being George’s personal physician was honestly not a welcome prospect.

He was much happier and more fulfilled in meeting various clients and finding them lifelong partners than in the monotonous task of taking care of the King’s health.

However, it was difficult to refuse outright in a situation where the King was earnestly asking.

‘…’

As Tae-oh hesitated, looking around, King George nodded with a bitter smile.

“You’re thinking of refusing like Lord Darwin. Yes, yes. Well, there’s nothing more frustrating than a talented person being stuck in the palace.”

Tae-oh thought that a stern order would be issued if he refused the request, but surprisingly, King George’s expression was gentle.

“Your Majesty… I’m sorry.”

King George smiled and said.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Instead, you must never leave London. You must live near me and come to see me more often than Lord Darwin. As you said, mental illnesses often occur, so you must take good care of me and heal me, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. If I can be of help, I will put everything else aside and come running.”

King George smiled and nodded.

“Yes, yes. That’s enough…”

***

Clatter. Clatter.

Inside the carriage heading home after the slightly burdensome luncheon.

Tae-oh, holding the box of Korean ginseng bestowed by King George tightly in his hand, felt strange.

Two years of life spent in a daze after falling into his past life.

While desperately trying to survive here and meeting many people, he had unknowingly become deeply assimilated into life as an 18th-century Englishman.

But today, after receiving Korean ginseng, which contained the sweat of his ancestors, as a gift from the 18th-century English King, his existence as someone who lived in 21st-century Korea came to him again in a confusing way.

‘I went back in history and even met King George. So, am I… changing history now?’

Looking at George III, who had improved a lot, Tae-oh felt relieved, but on the other hand, he thought deeply about the changes in history.

‘As far as I remember, George IV ruled as regent for 10 years in place of George III, whose mental illness had worsened, and then passed away around 1820… But if he doesn’t have mental problems or if they are minimized, will George III continue to reign?’

In the history books, George III was remembered as having reigned for a considerable period of time, and then his son George IV ruled as regent for about 10 years in his later years when his mental illness worsened.

‘I used to wonder how history would have changed if George III hadn’t had mental illness, but will history really change because of George III, who has been healed by my treatment?’

According to later records, George III suffered from porphyria [a genetic disorder affecting the nervous system and skin] due to royal intermarriage in Europe, which may have caused his mental illness.

However, George III, whom he met directly, showed almost none of the characteristics of porphyria.

However, his psychological anxiety was quite severe, and healing it seemed urgent.

In the future, as George III requested, he was planning to visit and check on him often when he had time.

‘The fact that I came to the 18th century itself is probably the beginning of a change in history… I wonder how history will change if King George’s mind is clear.’

Tae-oh’s thoughts deepened in the darkened carriage.