He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 55

55. Between Superiority and Inferiority

When there was no answer to his question about travel, Alec Parker pressed him with a sneer.

“Mr. Sanderson, didn’t you hear me? What is it… could it be you’ve never even been on a merchant ship?”

Just then, a light chuckle was heard, and then a string of city names poured from Theo’s mouth.

“Starting with the Dover Strait, cities in the Touraine region of France, Paris, Savoy, Mont Cenis, the Swiss Alps, Genoa, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Dijon, Strasbourg in Italy…”

“…?”

“I’ve traveled through Europe roughly like that.”

“!”

Theo, who already knew the detailed circumstances of the 18th-century Grand Tour [a traditional trip of Europe undertaken by upper-class European young men of sufficient means and rank] through related history books, rattled off the travel route that the wealthiest British aristocrats would take at the time.

Alec Parker’s face stiffened instantly.

However, he tried to brush it off with a relaxed demeanor.

“Well, Mr. Sanderson, you say you’re a businessman, but you seem to have so much time and money to travel around without working…?”

“Well, I think I can afford to take a break and travel the world.”

“……”

In fact, Alec Parker had never crossed even the British coast, let alone gone on a Grand Tour.

He was just repeating what he had heard from friends who had traveled.

It was true that he had once been from a prominent count’s family, but his family had been declining for a long time due to his father’s gambling and debauchery.

Alec Parker, thoroughly enraged, did not back down and sneered.

“But well… if you just list city names like that, does that count as traveling? If that’s the case, then I’ve traveled all over the world, haven’t I? Hahaha.”

However, he soon had no choice but to shut his mouth at the stories coming from Theo’s mouth.

“Good inns were well-prepared with pillows and blankets full of feathers, but in Italy and other poor accommodations, they offered bedding filled with straw. It was so damp and full of bugs like bedbugs that bite and suck blood, it was so hard.”

“……”

“Since you can’t know who slept in that bed before, it was really unpleasant. So, I had to lay several bed sheets that I had prepared, and put a thick mat made of animal skin on top of it to barely get some sleep. I’m sure Lord Parker did the same, right?”

Specific stories that could only be known through experience, rather than just hearing about them, continued to pour from Theo’s mouth.

Alec Parker, who suddenly remembered his friend’s story of moving to another expensive inn because of the bedbugs in the poor accommodations, could only hear Theo’s method as a story that really came from experience.

“Ah… haha. Th-that’s right. I just remembered now. Italy is really amazing just to look at the buildings, but the bedbugs were so bad that I slept with several mats like that. Ahahaha…”

Catherine tilted her head.

“But didn’t Lord Parker say earlier that the accommodations in the travel destinations are managed by the country due to infectious disease issues, so they are very clean, when I said the inns might be dirty?”

“Ah… yes. That’s… um… I was talking about luxury accommodations. Humble accommodations have a lot of bedbugs, and it’s very difficult. You definitely need a mat. Ahem.”

Alec Parker, sweating as he made excuses, was very twisted inside.

Catherine, unaware of these circumstances, clapped her hands and said.

“Anyway, there’s a way to sleep like that. Hoho. It’s amazing. Do you really have to pack so many things to travel?”

“Yes. I really had to carry a lot of things. In fact, in some cities in Italy, you even have to carry a health certificate.”

“Really?”

Alec Parker jumped back into the conversation.

“No! That’s not true. When I traveled to Italy, no city required any health certificates or anything like that.”

Alec Parker was restless as the attention that had been focused on him when he brought up the topic of overseas travel shifted to Theo.

Then, when the content he had heard from his friend came up, he pretended to know it again and was picking a fight.

He wanted to somehow frame Theo’s story as wrong.

However, a specific rebuttal from Theo soon followed.

“You were very lucky. Some people had to be imprisoned for about two months in the Papal States [territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope] because they didn’t have travel-related documents, including health certificates. Moreover, many of the belongings they had left at the inn while they were imprisoned were all stolen.”

“……”

Theo was just saying something impressive that he had read in a book. But for Alec Parker, who had never heard such a story even from friends who had been on the Grand Tour, he had no choice but to believe that Theo had really traveled.

Moreover, Theo had actually traveled not only in Europe but all over the world, and in his previous life, he had a good understanding of the topography of Europe in this era through the 18th-century map.

So, from the basic understanding of European geography, he was incomparable to Alec Parker, who had heard about the Grand Tour secondhand.

Theo interestingly unraveled stories about the natural landscapes and famous historical relics throughout Europe with his unique eloquence.

Theo’s travel stories were so interesting that not only Catherine but also Mr. Osborne listened with rapt attention.

‘What is it… what the hell is this guy’s identity…?’

Alec Parker was seething inside.

He was embarrassed because it seemed like that strange guy was getting on top of his head and looking down on him, even if he tried to pretend to know a little bit.

However, he became cautious about even speaking from a certain point on, fearing that he would be embarrassed again if he spouted knowledge that he barely knew.

The story of overseas travel, which he had brought up to show off his superiority, only made Theo stand out more.

Those with severe superiority complexes not only look at others with an extreme sense of hierarchy but also think that it is okay to completely ignore those they consider to be lower in the hierarchy than themselves.

So, they only insist on their own opinions and hardly accept the opinions of those who are lower in the hierarchy.

They mistakenly believe that superior beings and inferior beings are born that way, and they are pitiful humans who live with that value system.

However, the moment this thought is broken, they face severe inferiority and fall into extreme confusion.

If someone who was considered to be below them shows a good side, they feel very uncomfortable and writhe in unbearable humiliation.

The sight of Alec Parker falling into such internal conflict was fully visible to Theo.

Theo internally scored Alec Parker.

‘He’s the worst marriage candidate without even having to evaluate him.’

Healthy inferiority develops the person.

Instead of comparing oneself with others and ranking them, encouraging and striving by comparing oneself with the past self becomes a good inferiority that develops the person.

However, a person like Alec Parker, who constantly compares himself without respect for the other person and tries to feel superior, would be a style that would make his spouse endlessly tired, even if it is the 18th century now.

Moreover, as the French Revolution breaks out soon and the 19th century approaches, the view of the aristocracy will change greatly due to industrial capitalism.

In just a little more time, a world will unfold where wealthy and capable emerging capitalists stand above the aristocracy.

Alec Parker, a hereditary aristocrat who has no money, no ability to live alone, and is simply intoxicated with the superiority of his noble status, will no longer have a place to stand.

Just as Theo’s judgment of him was completely over, Lord Alec Parker rose from his seat.

“Miss Osborne, it was a really enjoyable time today. I hope to see you again next time.”

“Yes, Lord Parker.”

He kissed Catherine’s hand with affectionate eyes and turned away, promising the next time.

*

“What did you think of Lord Parker, Mr. Osborne?”

Theo asked Paul Osborne, who was coming in after seeing him off, about his impressions of Alec Parker.

“He’s very manly and uninhibited. He doesn’t seem to have any rough edges, and I don’t think he’s bad.”

The answer was as expected.

If it were modern times, Alec Parker’s lack of character would have been evident soon.

And it was highly likely that his father, Paul Osborne, would have noticed it before anyone else and opposed the marriage.

However, Mr. Osborne had lived his entire life in 18th-century England, being ignored as a lowly commoner.

To him, Alec Parker’s pretentious and boastful behavior seemed to be the dignified and noble character of an aristocrat as the son of an earl’s family.

This was not only Mr. Osborne’s opinion but also a distorted fantasy about the aristocracy that was prevalent throughout society.

“What did you think, Miss Osborne?”

“Well… I don’t know yet. I need to see other people to know.”

Fortunately, Catherine’s expression was not very good.

The man who came to her saying he wanted to marry her was just telling strange stories and boasting about himself, so it couldn’t have looked good to her.

Moreover, as the world changes rapidly, the perception of marriage based on love is gradually taking root among young people.

Lord Parker had nothing that Catherine liked, from his appearance to his personality.

This time, Osborne asked Theo for his opinion.

“What did you think, Mr. Sanderson?”

“It’s difficult to answer right away. I’ll see all the other candidates and give you my opinion.”

“That’s right. There are two more people left.”

Paul Osborne nodded, but he seemed to have a great attachment to Alec Parker.

The remaining two candidates were not the eldest sons, and their families were barons.

It was frustrating, but Mr. Osborne, who had a strong desire for class, seemed to want to send his daughter to the eldest son of an earl’s family, even if his family had declined a lot.

**

Lord John Lauder, the son of Baron Eric Lauder, who visited at 3 p.m., looked very depressed and incompetent.

It was clear that he had reluctantly come because he couldn’t overcome his parents’ pressure.

His emotions were full of pessimism and depression, and that feeling was conveyed directly to Mr. Osborne and Miss Catherine.

If he had a desire for money like Alec Parker did, he would have given a lively feeling.

His appearance, sitting gloomily without any goals or ambitions, made even the people who saw him feel drained.

He was a young man who wouldn’t be surprised to hear the news that he had hanged himself tomorrow.

He hardly spoke throughout the conversation and only gave defensive answers with a consistently gloomy face before rising from his seat.

Theo’s judgment was not necessary for Lord Lauder.

This is because both Mr. Osborne and Miss Catherine did not like him very much.

Theo was dumbfounded.

‘The people who were carefully selected by mobilizing numerous matchmakers and connections are only in this shape…’

Even the matchmakers in London carefully consider whether the family is a new noble or a traditional hereditary noble of over 200 years, whether they have gambling debts, whether they have a mistress, whether they have received a good education, and whether they are good at hunting, but that appearance was not visible at all.

However, he understood to some extent.

Now, information is literally transmitted through the mouth in an absolute society, and it is still the 18th century when arranged marriages are the trend.

As such, the influence of the parents was greater than the actual appearance of the unemployed noble son.

Moreover, the Manchester area was an area where nobles and capitalists from all over the country had gathered as industrialization progressed rapidly.

If there were many noble families who had taken root in the area and stayed for a long time, it would be easier for matchmakers to make judgments because there was information that had been accumulated in the meantime, but it was difficult to do so here.

Also, matchmakers generally make decisions based on their parents rather than judging the person involved.

Perhaps Lord John Lauder’s father, Baron Eric Lauder’s power was working to some extent in Manchester, and that made his son a finalist.

‘Now there’s only one person left… hmm, if the person who comes tomorrow is not good either, I’ll have to take some time to find out, but it won’t be easy.’

The nobles in the Manchester area were unfamiliar to Theo as well.

It would take at least a few months to build friendships with them and collect data.

It was much easier for Theo to connect with nobles living in central London than here.

However, Paul Osborne, who is old, and Catherine, who is worried about such a father, are psychologically reluctant to live far away, so it was difficult to connect with nobles in central London.

‘Please, I hope a decent person comes out tomorrow…’