I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 100

Ireland (3)

Victoria, having ascended to the second floor, confidently opened the door to the private room and stepped inside.

She sank onto the sofa in the center of the spacious, empty room and let out a sigh of relief.

“Haa… Finally, I can catch my breath. All the official events in Ireland are done, so I can rest here for a bit and head down when it’s almost over.”

“You’ve worked hard. If it weren’t for Your Majesty’s efforts, we wouldn’t have been able to conclude the schedule so successfully.”

“And who might be the person laughing and chatting about beer downstairs, leaving me to toil away?”

“I apologize. I realized I had overlooked something in the immigration plan, and I was trying to address it all at once, so I lost track of time.”

I had been told in advance that after completing the necessary formalities at the banquet, she would stay with me. Still, I didn’t expect her to finish her work so quickly.

“No matter how long I waited, the Minister didn’t come up, so I went down, worried, and what do I see? You were drinking beer and chatting happily with someone else. Was drinking beer what you overlooked in the immigration plan?”

“I should have finished sooner and come up. I’m sorry. But it’s not a lie. I was discussing building that brewery in Canada so that Irish immigrants could settle more easily.”

Worrying that she might actually be sulking, I cautiously glanced at Victoria, but thankfully, she didn’t seem that angry.

“That beer, though bitter, was quite good. Since I praised it so much, it will give more momentum to what the Minister is trying to do, right?”

“Of course. People will say, ‘Is this the beer that Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire praised?’ and they will rush to taste the beer. It will be even more so in places far from the home country like Canada.”

If all goes well, we might be able to use the slogan ‘The Queen’s Beer’ and achieve great success in the United States as well.

Although relations between Britain and the United States weren’t particularly good, the United States has always harbored a mix of affection and longing for the British royal family.

And if the noble Queen herself said it was a decent beer, wouldn’t people be curious about what it tastes like?

“Then, Killian, you owe me another one, right?”

“Hahaha… I always live with a sense of indebtedness to Your Majesty.”

“Don’t try to get away with that. I think I deserve to be compensated this time. Do you have any objections? I’m willing to listen.”

How could I possibly raise any objections?

Before her smiling face, I could only offer an awkward smile in response.

“You wanted to get rid of the Conservative elders involved with opium merchants, so you asked me to draw attention with opium. You wanted to prevent the Irish famine, so you accompanied me to Ireland to soothe public sentiment. You wanted to promote crops to replace potatoes, so you showed yourself eating rutabaga [a root vegetable], The first two weren’t difficult, but the last one was honestly a bit tough, you know?”

“No… I clearly told you to cook it or put sauce on it because it wouldn’t taste good…”

“But my method was the most effective, right? Thanks to that, things went much smoother, didn’t they?”

“……”

“Answer.”

“Yes, Your Majesty is right.”

Listening to it all, it’s true that I’ve been worked hard under the guise of affection.

It’s fair to call this affection pay.

“And that emotional support business that Killian had forgotten about also went much smoother thanks to my brilliant wit. I think anyone would naturally express gratitude for that, don’t you think?”

“Your Majesty is always right.”

Well, as long as it’s not a demand to announce our marriage right away, I was willing to fulfill any unreasonable request from the start.

In fact, since Victoria had been so good to me, I was willing to return the favor, so I didn’t feel particularly burdened.

She’s a wise person, so she wouldn’t make a request that I could never fulfill.

“Then, Killian, you owe me four things now, so let’s offset this debt by granting me four favors.”

“……That sounds fair. So, what can I do for you…”

“I haven’t thought about the specifics yet, but I’ll start thinking about it now. Oh, but the first one is already decided. It’s something you can do right here and now. Easy, right?”

“The way you say that makes me feel like it won’t be easy…”

“It’s simple. I’m going to ask you a few questions, and you just have to answer them honestly.”

Is she suggesting a truth game?

I could feel the youthful charm of a woman her age, and I knew what Victoria would ask, so I nodded without much hesitation.

“I have never lied to Your Majesty’s questions, but if you want to take this format, then so be it. I will answer anything.”

“Good. Then… um, by any chance, are there any families proposing marriage or flirting with you?”

“There have been a few times, but I have refused them all, saying I have no intention at the moment.”

“Then, have you ever been in a relationship with a woman?”

“Not really. I haven’t had the time.”

If I include my past life, I have, but honestly, even if I don’t count that, it wouldn’t be a lie, right?

“Hmm… Then, let’s change the question a bit. There are quite a few women who like Killian, right?”

“There weren’t many before, but it seems to have increased recently. I guess it’s because my status has risen, and they are attracted to that?”

“It’s not that. It’s because your status was a concern before, but now that that insecurity has been resolved, everyone is rushing in. Tsk, those upper-class women are so worldly. For the record, I recognized that you were an extraordinary talent from the moment I first met you. You are fundamentally different from those shallow women.”

That’s because I intentionally showed an extraordinary side, but for now, I decided to just nod without saying anything.

After rambling on with trivial questions for a while, she took a deep breath and met my eyes as if she was about to say what she really wanted to say.

“So, if we summarize all the conversations we’ve had so far, the conclusion is that Killian has never paid a fair price for my dedication, right? So, I think I should receive at least a minimal fee, and perhaps… well…”

She was doing well, but suddenly her voice trailed off, her face flushed, and she fidgeted with her fingers, avoiding my gaze.

“So… what would be an appropriate expression of affection as fair compensation… I would like to hear Killian’s thoughts…”

“Touching Your Majesty’s body without permission is an unforgivable act of sacrilege, even for a nobleman. I don’t think I’m in a position to say what’s good or bad.”

“No, since it’s just the two of us here, who’s going to say anything about sacrilege… ahem, so, since we’re not officially dating yet, and certainly not married, we shouldn’t do anything improper, right? But still, I’ve worked really hard this time, so at least…”

If I leave it like this, it will never end.

I approached her, knelt on one knee, and met her gaze.

“Your Majesty, I will be rude for a moment.”

“……?”

As I slowly took Victoria’s hand and brought my lips to her forehead, I felt a tremor run through her body.

I thought about kissing her on the lips, but this is a conservative era, and Victoria is also on the conservative side, so even this was a very high level of affection.

In fact, her face was flushed red, and her reaction proved that my choice was correct.

“T-this, well…”

“If you were uncomfortable…”

“No, no, not at all. It’s not that, but I also think this is too fast since we haven’t officially promised to marry yet… but it’s not like I dislike it.”

Victoria, whose face was flushed pink down to her neck, turned her head away from me.

“Anyway, let’s consider the first debt settled with this… I’m going to take a moment to compose myself.”

“Shall I leave, then?”

“I’m sorry. If the Minister is next to me, I feel like my heart will really burst.”

I didn’t expect her to react this way to a kiss on the forehead, but perhaps this is the inevitable difference between the Victorian era and modern sensibilities.

I greeted Victoria, who still couldn’t meet my eyes, and got up.

Before leaving, I glanced back and saw her peeking at me, startled, and quickly turning her gaze away again.

Is this really the same dignified Queen from earlier?

Hmm. Honestly, she looks a little, no, very cute. I quickly opened the door and went outside, fearing that I might laugh.

* * *

Having returned to the first floor, I went straight through the crowd and brought the person I had planned to talk to last back up to the second floor.

Thanks to the colorful clothes he was wearing, which stood out the most in this banquet hall, I didn’t waste any time finding him.

“Oh? Minister, I thought you were talking to Her Majesty. Are you finished already?”

“Yes. Her Majesty is resting now. So, shall we get down to business?”

“Business, you say…”

“Unlike the first floor, there’s no one here who can eavesdrop, so let’s just talk comfortably. Why did you suddenly come all the way from London to Ireland?”

Disraeli, who had been laughing and chattering like a party animal until just now, instantly turned serious and looked around.

“I see you know right away. I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you.”

“No matter how I think about it, if there was something to help with, you could have just sent someone. There was no reason for Congressman Disraeli to come himself. There must have been a reason to come all the way from London, so what is it?”

“I don’t know whether to say that the thing I was worried about has happened or the thing I was planning has happened, but to put it simply, what you mentioned last time is slowly becoming a reality.”

“I’ve said so many things…”

“Ah, that’s true. Not long after you left, the Prime Minister and Wellesley clashed greatly in Parliament. It seems that if we continue to leave it as it is, there may be a serious division within the Conservative Party, so I came here myself to hear your opinion.”

Could it be that many of the Conservative elders who tried to keep me in check have been swept away due to their involvement with opium merchants, and other senior members are feeling a sense of crisis?

Or have the young congressmen, emboldened by the arrival of our era, begun to raise their voices, telling the old men to step aside?

Whatever the reason, it’s certain that it was something that was bound to happen sooner or later.

“What was the topic that caused the conflict?”

“It’s a difference of opinion over the Canadian Immigration Act. The Prime Minister is skeptical about sending immigrants to the west…”

“I suppose he judged that there was room for conflict with the United States.”

Since they are clearly chanting about Manifest Destiny [the belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America], they will naturally freak out if Canada expands its territory to the west, but we have already thought about everything, so their worries are excessive.

“What are you going to do? Shall I tell Wellesley to compromise appropriately?”

“No. The timing is perfect. Not long ago, Congressman O’Connell said that he would dissolve the Repeal Association [an organization advocating for the repeal of the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland] in the next election and join the Conservative Party entirely, agreeing with us wholeheartedly.”

“Really? In that case…”

If we add the power of the Wellesley faction to the seats of the Repeal Association that will follow me, our power within the Conservative Party will be greater, if not smaller.

“Yes, now that it’s come to this, let’s just take it. The party leadership of the Conservative Party.”

If they are still under the illusion that they have some choice, we just need to make them realize it.

The era of the old men has already ended.