I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 147

Now that the creation of a new title with a colonial name has been officially approved in Parliament, there are no more obstacles.

Victoria created the title of Duke of Canada in Canada and heavily promoted the ceremony of awarding me this title.

The position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary [an ambassador with full power to represent their government] to Canada was also legally clarified in terms of authority and responsibility and incorporated under my Dukedom of Canada.

It was more of a position to oversee the entire colony, similar to a constitutional monarch above the Governor-General, rather than a position to wield power directly, but that was just a smokescreen.

The Governor-General of Canada?

Intermediaries appointed locally on the recommendation of the ruling and opposition parties?

How could they handle matters in mainland Canada as they please without my permission or support?

Since I am the one who implemented the large-scale immigration policy, the one who purchased the western frontier, the northern and southern territories, and the one who became a symbol encompassing all immigrants, I am now Canada, and Canada is me.

Of course, I had no intention of setting them aside and handling trivial tasks or interfering in administration one by one.

After all, I, too, would have to return to the mainland once Victoria’s child was born and I was sure that long-distance voyages were safe.

However, this land must be more strongly influenced by me than by the British Empire, and work for that is steadily progressing.

Currently, the most urgent thing is to supply Canada’s own population, and thanks to this US-Mexico war, the number of Black people pouring in from the south is very welcome.

I will repay the kindness of the United States, who generously give not only land but also population, with the development of Canada.

Now that I have California and Oregon in my hands, I am currently considering how to receive a large number of Asian immigrants to this area.

The best thing to do is to attract immigrants from Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom], Japan, and Qing China, but of course, the locals will not allow this.

What country would willingly hand over its people at our request?

However, since the seeds have already been sown, there may be room to dig in if we do well.

It depends on what Russia or France does, but even though they are weaker than the British Empire, aren’t they the countries that compete for 2nd and 3rd place in the world in terms of military power in this era?

Even though there are some untrustworthy aspects, I have no choice but to trust them since they are the type to do what they say.

For now, I have to prepare for Asia, which is full of variables, and gather as many Black people as possible before the United States stabilizes.

Even if Black slaves escape to the North, the moment they are discovered by slave hunters, they are immediately dragged back to the South in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act [law that allowed the capture and return of runaway slaves].

However, Black slaves who entered Canada under the Kingston Treaty became Canadians, so slave hunters could not touch them.

If they are caught, slave hunters become human traffickers rather than returning slaves and become criminals even within the United States.

As these facts became known to the organization members in the South and North, the number of Black people crossing the border began to explode.

“Unexpectedly, a huge number of Black people are coming in not only from the South but also from the North.”

“Even if it’s the North, they only abolished slavery, but they don’t treat Black people as equals.”

“Not only that, but it seems that there were quite a few slaves from the South who were hiding in the North. They say that if they come to Canada, they don’t have to live in such anxiety anymore, so everyone is crossing over without exception.”

“Isn’t the South protesting?”

“They are protesting to the North to thoroughly control the border. The North is formally blocking the path to Ontario, but recently, a long border has been created in the West, right? Moreover, this side has the Rocky Mountains, and they are saying that it is unreasonable to block all of these mountains, and they are showing a passive response.”

Although it is a proxy, the Black Liberation Alliance (BLA), led by the fake James, has already prepared several secret escape routes from the North to Canada.

Black people continued to cross into Utah and Idaho through here, and the reality was that the United States had no way to stop this.

As the North said, they can’t block the Rocky Mountains, so what are they going to do?

“I wish I could just bring all the Black people from the South, but realistically, that’s absolutely impossible. I hope that no more and no less than 1 million people from the North and South will come.”

“The South is cracking down more and more with their eyes on fire, so it is becoming more difficult to escape. It seems that the riot incident last time was decisive.”

Currently, Black slaves account for a large proportion of the South’s population, with nearly 40 percent of the total population being Black.

In places with a high proportion of slaves, such as South Carolina and Mississippi, more than half were Black slaves, so the number of Black people was large.

That meant that there were many people who could be incorporated into this population, but there would still be limits.

“How much has the Southern riot been suppressed? It won’t be easy to hold out any longer since the soldiers who were dispatched to the war with Mexico have returned.”

“Even before the war ended, most of the Black people entered Canada along the promised route. However, there were quite a few who resisted to the end and wanted to encourage the resistance of other slaves who did not know this news.”

“Most of them will be caught and killed, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, there was that… Stuart, who was reported on before, do you remember?”

“Stuart? Was he an agent sent from the southern frontier town of Ontario to the United States?”

I remember hearing a report that he was sent from Boston to bring Black people who were discriminated against to Canada, but he went down to the South because he wanted to save more compatriots.

James nodded with a bitter smile.

“Yes. That’s the person. This time, he made a great contribution to escaping a considerable number of slaves and bringing them to Canada… He said that he would ring the alarm in American society, remained until the end, continued to fight, went up to the North, confessed himself, and stood in court.”

“…That’s a pity. If he had such faith, he could have done more here.”

“Still, Stuart’s last plea seems to have caused quite a stir in the North. Of course, this was possible because our organization widely publicized this fact.”

James opened a newspaper he had brought from the United States and showed it to me.

[A freed slave Stuart’s plea. ‘If we are beasts, not humans, are you who use the same language as us using the language of beasts? I know that there is a member of parliament who said that he would treat Black people who can speak Greek as human beings. After escaping from slavery, I studied and became able to do basic Greek and geometry. I’m only at the level of understanding Descartes’ coordinate system [a system that uses coordinates to determine the position of a point in space], but anyway, I’ve taken my first steps. So what am I? Is it something other than a human, now evolved into a quasi-human that can be seen as a human?’

Senator Calhoun of South Carolina refused to answer this slave’s final statement, which seemed certain to have sniped Calhoun.]

Originally, people who are nervous become speechless.

The more incidents like this happen, the more difficult it becomes to gloss over the conflicts within the United States.

I wish they would split into the North and South forever, but slavery cannot be maintained for thousands of years, so that would be impossible.

Even so, I have more than enough time to stabilize the newly acquired territory.

As I diligently spent the remaining time laying the foundation for this country, time passed quickly like a bullet fired from a gun.

But after a few more months, I could truly understand what it felt like to not be able to concentrate on work.

This was because I had to stay by Victoria’s side and help her so that she could move around more comfortably before her due date.

And finally.

As the Queen’s labor pains began, doctors and royal attendants all entered a state of emergency and hurriedly completed preparations, and the entire residence where she was staying trembled with tension and anticipation.

It was said that it was not customary for a man to be by his wife’s side before childbirth in this era, but what do I care about that?

I thought that her husband should be with her at this time, as she would have a harder time giving birth to twins, so I stayed by her side throughout the delivery process.

My heart sank every time she grabbed my hand and continued to groan in pain, as if the pain was considerable, but I tried not to show it as much as possible and continued to whisper that she would be okay.

I never dreamed that the characteristic of not losing my poker face would be helpful in times like this, but I should say it’s fortunate.

How much longer did I endure this long and arduous time?

Just as the left hand that Victoria was holding tightly was so sore that it almost lost its sensation.

“It’s out! Your Majesty, Your Highness! It’s a healthy prince!”

The first child’s loud cry pierced through the quiet hospital room, and the attendants filled with joy checked the child’s gender and breathed a sigh of relief.

And then the second child came out immediately, and the obstetrician who checked the child’s gender exclaimed.

“It’s a princess! They are fraternal twins!”

The children I saw for the first time in my life were hard to call cute even with euphemisms, but they brought such overwhelming emotions that none of that mattered.

How can there be such lovely creatures?

Not just one, but two.

I don’t know how to express this feeling that I had never felt before in my life, but I carefully placed my hand on Victoria’s back, who was holding the child wrapped in a blanket.

“You worked hard.”

I wanted to say something more, but relief, joy, and emotion kept rising up my throat, making it difficult to continue speaking.

Victoria, who had become very emaciated in just one day, smiled faintly and handed the child in her arms to me.

“It’s our child. How about you call his name for the first time?”

“Not you?”

“Of course. You were with me from the beginning to the end when the child was trying to come into the world. At least for our first son, I want you to call his name for the first time.”

“…Shall we do that then?”

When I saw the face of the first child I received from Victoria, I forgot what to say for a moment due to a different kind of emotion than before.

Goodness, it’s so cute just after being washed for a while.

But he looks so small and weak, am I holding him too tightly?

I was restless, wondering what to do if the child got hurt, and then my eyes met the child’s eyes, which had gently opened.

“Killian Edward.”

Was it because he understood that it was the name calling him?

Logically, that couldn’t be the case, but for some reason, I felt like the child smiled shyly.

The eldest son’s name is Killian Edward, and the eldest daughter’s name is Victoria Adelaide.

It was promised that the eldest son and eldest daughter would be named after me and Victoria, so everyone already knew the names of the two children.

The eldest son of this family, who is destined to become the first king of the Gore Hanover Dynasty and inherit everything I have built.

You know what? On the day you were born, all of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, whispered your name beyond Canada.