I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 166

Hidden Power (2)

Hearing that the parliament was preparing to stab me in the back after the welcoming ceremony, I lost all interest in enjoying the event.

I mean, I may not be a national hero like Scipio who crushed Hannibal, but how much effort did I put in for the interests of the British Empire?

Yet, hearing that they plan to pass a bill saying I shouldn’t even dream of interfering in domestic politics as soon as I return, how do you think I feel?

I understand.

I knew this would happen.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not upset.

I already have a plan on how to respond, so it’s obviously impossible to immediately go and slaughter those ungrateful bastards so they can’t even open their mouths.

Because the place I need to rush to as soon as the event ends was already decided before my Asia trip.

“…I’m here.”

“Is the event already over? I thought it would take longer.”

I already felt sorry for making her go on a business trip to Canada and a long-distance childbirth right after the wedding, and then when I returned to London with the children who were over a year old, my husband had gone to Asia.

Even though she didn’t express it outwardly, I could understand how she felt very well.

Yes. There’s only one thing to do in this situation.

“I have nothing to say even if I had ten mouths. I’m really sorry!”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you wanted to go.”

“Still, it’s true that I left you alone for almost a year…”

“It’s okay. I’m the Queen of this country. It would be a lie to say I’m not upset, but wouldn’t it be more of a problem if I couldn’t understand this?”

She says she understands, but isn’t it human nature to understand but not forgive?

Of course, the parliament will take her anger instead of me, but I can’t help but feel nervous.

“First of all, that Prime Minister…”

“Let’s talk about other things later and come here first. You have to see our children.”

“Are they awake?”

“It’s night now, would they be awake? They’re sleeping, so come quietly so you don’t wake them up.”

About a year since I left Canada.

I slowly followed Victoria towards the small bed.

“Hoo.”

I almost made a loud noise.

On the bed, two small creatures were wriggling, breathing softly with their eyes tightly closed.

They’ve grown so much in a year.

They were already angels cute enough that there was nothing to compare them to, but they’ve become even more lovely in that short amount of time.

“They must be about a year old now, but they’ve grown so much already…”

“They say children grow differently every day. Come to think of it, you didn’t even see our children babbling.”

Ah, that stings a bit.

I missed the moment when these children spoke their first, albeit inaccurate, words.

Is this the price I have to pay for leaving the young children to their mother and going all the way to Asia?

Victoria, seeing my unfairly upset reaction, chuckled and turned her gaze to the lying children.

“They’re so lovely that I don’t even notice the time passing these days just by looking at them.”

“I can see why.”

Just looking at them makes the corners of my mouth twitch and a silly smile spread across my face.

How can I not smile when these children are mine?

As I was looking at the children for a while, the things that had happened earlier felt like a lie, as if they didn’t matter at all.

Is this the feeling of a father whose fatigue from the day is completely relieved when he comes home from work and sees his children acting cute?

“Woong… Waaah.”

Seeing the children wriggling and moving their small hands this way and that, as if they were dreaming, the power struggles felt so futile.

They’ll grow up to be the most beloved prince and princess of this country just by growing up healthy like this, so would they really want to inherit even more wealth?

In a way, isn’t that just a parent’s desire to pass on only good things?

“You look much better. You looked a bit gloomy earlier, like something had happened.”

“Hmm? Was it that obvious?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever read your emotions through your facial expressions while living together, so I guess that’s why they say couples are in sync.”

I’ve never had anyone read my emotions through my facial expressions in my life, so this was quite surprising.

It must be proof that I feel that comfortable around Victoria.

I, who had been lost in thought for a moment, regained my composure and moved away from the children’s bed.

I almost let my heart melt away, but in the end, I am who I am.

I have no intention of letting go of power or influence.

Giving up because the children might not want it?

This is just rationalizing a momentarily weakened heart by using the children as an excuse.

I’ll have everything I can have and pass on as much as I can.

What if the children don’t want it?

I’m not just going to have one or two children, so if there’s a child who wants it, I’ll just give it to that child.

And even though they’re exuding such an angelic atmosphere like baby Jesus right now, those children will also experience the ups and downs of society as they grow up and gradually become more worldly.

This isn’t making negative predictions.

That’s just how people are, and that’s how they should be.

Is it really good for a child to live their whole life only seeing good things and having a head full of flowers?

I don’t think so.

There might be differences of opinion with Victoria on this point, but if you look at it coldly, the children need to be more alert than I do.

This is because the absolute monarchies of Europe will gradually disappear over time, and the era of democracy will inevitably open.

It’s okay when Victoria and I are in power, but will these children be able to protect my position when they inherit it?

Indeed, the answer is to educate them thoroughly from a young age and completely remove any environment that could harm them.

“Victoria, actually, I heard some information from Prime Minister Wellesley at the event earlier…”

The look on her face hardened as she heard the story that the parliament was preparing to stab me in the back.

“No, those people are really going too far. They begged us to send you overseas, and then they betray you like that when you come back?”

“They’ve been using me because it was efficient until now, but they must have realized that I’ve become too big.”

“Even so, there’s a moral obligation as a person before being a politician. Just deal with it head-on as Prime Minister Wellesley said? I’ll lend you my strength if you need it.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…”

“It’s outrageous. Even if you just let it go, I can’t just let it go. No, I haven’t seen my beloved husband for almost a year because of those people, but they treat you like that as soon as you come back instead of praising you for doing a good job?”

I’m the one who was wronged, but she’s angrier, so I’ve ended up being the one trying to stop her.

Actually, when I think about it, she’s justified in feeling that way.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she felt like she wanted to have a fight with the parliament anyway, and this was a good opportunity.

As Wellesley said, if you combine the Prime Minister’s authority, my influence, and Victoria, it wouldn’t be difficult to send the parliament to hell.

For a moment, I had the urge to really do that, but showing the royal family and the parliament fighting is not a good choice.

I can beat them up and suppress them for now, but in the end, resentment will arise, and they will try to attack us whenever they have the chance.

But that doesn’t mean we should just cover everything up and pretend everything is fine.

Since Victoria is angrier than I am, it will be much easier if I can get her help.

If they started a fight, they have to pay the price.

But before that.

“Let’s talk about the complicated stuff tomorrow. Shall we go to the bedroom for now?”

I have to relieve the pent-up feelings of the past year first.

* * *

Wellesley, having finished talking with Killian, returned home with a slightly lighter heart.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to do, but Killian said he had a plan, so I decided to just trust him and wait.

No matter how I think about it, the royal family and the parliament have to clash in order to block the parliament’s scheme, but what kind of plan can he come up with here?

When I think about it, there’s no way but to suppress the parliament.

But wasn’t Killian the one who had been calmly doing things I couldn’t have imagined until now?

So, he will definitely overcome this difficulty with an unexpected move this time as well.

Wellesley decided to trust Killian’s words and waited and waited.

But what’s this?

Killian, who said he had a plan, didn’t show any movement after that, and eventually the day to submit the bill defining the authority of the King Consort was just around the corner.

“Everyone, it seems like it’s time to start discussing the bill. In order to praise His Highness’s achievements in Asia, we must pass the law as quickly as possible.”

As Gladstone opened his mouth triumphantly, all the Whig Party members nodded their heads at the same time as if they had planned it in advance.

Regardless of the real scheme, the purpose of this bill is to commemorate the achievements of Killian Gore.

It’s not a power struggle, but a scheme to naturally put a shackle around his neck while pretending to be helping the royal family.

That’s why they can pass the bill so confidently without any burden.

“Until now, whenever the parliament needed the help of the King Consort, we have been responding by temporarily creating positions and granting authority. But how long do we have to repeat this kind of work? If these exceptional things continue to be repeated, the authority of the parliament will eventually be undermined. Besides, the royal family won’t like it either. It’s not good to have a patchwork of positions piled up.”

“That’s right. Besides, the Dukedom of Canada will be inherited by the successor in the future, won’t it? Since it’s such a powerful position, we should prepare for any disputes in the future by properly organizing the scope by law.”

“If we confirm the authority in advance like this, wouldn’t it be easier for the King Consort to work in the future? There will be no need to argue over customs and turn red in the face.”

What a great excuse.

Wellesley internally cursed as he watched the Whig Party members grooming each other and rationalizing.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with their words on the surface, so the ruling party couldn’t refute it.

Besides, there were many people in the ruling party who thought the Whig Party was right this time.

They wanted to respect Killian and maintain a close relationship with him, but the belief that the royal family should not interfere too much in politics was so firmly rooted.

“What do you think, Prime Minister?”

“I think the opposition party’s opinion is valid. The important thing is how to set that authority now, isn’t it? If it’s too much, people will say it’s too much, and if you tighten it too much, there will be another story.”

“That’s right. That’s why we don’t think it should be in the form of taking away the authority that the King Consort already has.”

Gladstone, who repeated the same words he had said at the town house before, submitted the draft they had completed to the chairman so that everyone could see it.

“The main contents are as follows. The King Consort of the British Empire cannot hold public office in the government and parliament of the British Empire, but this is irrelevant to the management of the colonies. He is free to act outside the country, and there are no restrictions on holding any position. Inheritable positions and authorities can also be inherited by the successor without any problems…”

The contents continued grandly in the back, but in the end, what they wanted was the content in the front.

The King Consort of the British Empire cannot hold any official position in the government and parliament within the British Empire.

No matter how much influence you gain in the colonies and how much you achieve outside, there are clear limits.

After all, the center was the England region, and no matter how much popularity you gain, you will be tied up and unable to exert any power here.

Are you telling me to just leave it alone?

Wellesley pretended to unconditionally support the Whig Party’s words as he was told, without showing any negative reaction.

“Then let’s pass this in the House of Commons.”

“It will take effect when the House of Lords approves it.”

“Good! The King Consort will also be satisfied. Unlike Canada, which has a relatively well-established system, the authority system in Asia is still unclear. Hahaha!”

“Haha… Hahaha. You’re right. This is great.”

Wellesley smiled bitterly as he watched the bill being passed in an instant without any chance to do anything.

Is this… is this the right thing to do?

Does he really have a plan?