I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 19

Becoming a Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire 19

Laying the Foundation

To put it bluntly, the British royal family’s lineage in the 1830s was a complete mess.

George III, the current king’s father and the previous king’s predecessor, had nine sons and six daughters, but George IV, the eldest son and the previous king, had no heir.

Strictly speaking, he had a daughter named Princess Charlotte, but she died while giving birth to an heir, causing an emergency in the royal family.

This was because George IV could no longer have a legitimate heir.

Then, were the other siblings in a better situation? Of course not.

William IV, George IV’s brother who succeeded him as king, had children who were all illegitimate and had no right to succession.

In addition, most of the children of the other siblings were also illegitimate, and the legitimate children they managed to have all died in infancy.

The Duke of Sussex, who married Aunt Cecilia, was also the sixth son of George III, but of course, both of his marriages were illegal, so it was impossible for him to have an heir.

There was only one person.

Victoria, the only daughter of the fourth son Edward, was the only one in the royal family who could receive the right of succession, and as of 1831, she was the leading candidate for the next throne.

As far as I knew, Victoria would ascend to the throne before the Opium War, at the latest.

Since the Opium War broke out around 1840, Victoria’s ascension to the throne would have to be in the late 1830s at the latest.

And I roughly knew from books how stifling and suffocating her childhood was.

If I took advantage of this opportunity, my aunt could build a very close friendship with Princess Victoria.

“Killian, as you said, being close to Princess Victoria would definitely be a great help later on. But as far as I know, His Majesty King William IV is not completely unable to have children yet. The Queen is still just under 40, so it’s not impossible for her to have a child.”

Ah, the Queen isn’t even 40 yet?

Then, the nobles of this era might not necessarily think that Victoria will definitely become queen.

I know the history, so I think the succession structure is fixed, but anyway, Princess Victoria is now just a person with a very, very high chance of becoming the next king.

Even if it’s 99, which is infinitely close to 100, there may still be unexpected variables.

If so, that’s even better.

Originally, the rule is that the person who gets in line the fastest gets to enter first.

Whether it’s a ride or a line in front of power, it’s all the same.

The problem is how to say this persuasively, but since it’s a benevolent lie, I can mix in a little bit of exaggeration, right?

“Aunt, do you know which party the current Queen is close to?”

“I know she’s on the Tory side.”

That’s perfect. I can dig into this.

“That’s why I’m telling you this. Oh, this is a real, real secret, so you must never tell anyone? Otherwise, I might be in big trouble.”

“Huh? Is it that big of a secret? Okay. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Yes, I’m only whispering this to you, Aunt, even though I haven’t told my father. You’ve heard that I’m close to the Duke’s second son, right? He heard from the Duke that the current Queen has no intention of having an heir.”

“…What? Really?”

I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s certain that it will turn out that way.

If it’s a fact heard from the leader of the Tory party [a British political party, historically conservative], then its reliability is as good as verified.

Cecilia poured warm tea into an empty cup and handed it to me, as if she was ready to talk in earnest.

“So, the Duke of Wellington’s side is not just expecting Princess Victoria to become the next queen, but is completely convinced of it?”

“Yes, but this is a really sensitive issue, so he told me not to tell anyone.”

“Then you shouldn’t have heard this story in the first place, right?”

“Actually, Charles Wellesley was in a very good mood and had too much to drink. I was the only one next to him, so he accidentally let it slip. And he was startled and told me to keep it a secret.”

Originally, most of the mistakes people make are immediately understood when combined with the excuse of alcohol.

No matter how thorough a person is, their reason weakens when they are drunk.

Besides, if the target of the secret is me, who is just over ten years old, it would be understandable to be careless.

The proof is that Cecilia’s eyes, which had been dubious until just now, have clearly changed.

“If the information you gave me is true, it seems like it will be a great help, but… Unfortunately, it seems a little difficult to put it into practice. I heard that Princess Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, is so overbearing that she never allows her to contact other people.”

“I’ve heard that too. But if you really want to, Aunt, I’ll find a way somehow. Our butler, James, is a really smart person, and if necessary, I can ask Wellesley indirectly.”

“Oh my, to care so much for me. I’m really touched. But if you’re going to give me such a big help, you must have something you want from me, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

Everything in the world is give and take, and even family is no exception.

If I say there’s nothing like that here, Cecilia will have unnecessary doubts, so it’s better to admit it cleanly.

“Really? Of course, you would? Tell me anything you want.”

“Well… when I enter Eton [a prestigious boarding school in England], there will be several events where I invite my parents. But my mother can’t come because of her circumstances. And my father will be going to Ireland soon.”

“…Ah.”

I heard that Mary, Earl Aaron’s wife and my non-blood-related mother, is too old and in poor health to move from her hometown.

Thanks to that, I haven’t been able to see her even after coming to England, and the Earl is planning to return to Ireland as soon as I enter school for his critically ill wife.

So, in London, there will be virtually no one left who can play the role of my parents.

Frankly, I didn’t care, but isn’t it a natural truth in the world that children need guardians?

“If you have time, I hope you’ll stay close to me after next year…”

If craving family affection is a natural background and environment, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it as much as possible.

Cecilia covered her mouth with her hand, as if she had never expected such a request.

Soon, with tears in her eyes, she hugged me tightly and patted my back.

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll be living with my husband in Kensington Palace from now on. When you have time, I’ll ask my husband to invite you to the palace so we can have tea and spend time together. Of course, I’ll participate in Eton’s events too.”

“Yes, thank you, Aunt!”

I wanted to ask her to be my godmother, but that’s a request I should make after developing the relationship a little further.

Since Cecilia doesn’t have children anyway, if I get closer to her like this, I’ll definitely be able to develop into a relationship like a real mother and child in the near future.

When that happens, the adults will naturally talk among themselves.

If I can make Cecilia close to Princess Victoria, I can benefit from it too, so what could be better than this win-win situation?

Have a beautiful love, Aunt. I’m cheering you on enthusiastically.

* * *

Not only did I discover a talent who could become my godmother, but the progress of new projects was also going smoothly.

I felt like I was flying and had time to meet James and Wellesley every week to check on the progress of the business.

The gambling house was transformed into a modern casino and continued to generate high income, and it acquired several nearby gambling houses to further expand its size.

If I smoothly increase its size like this and sell it off before 1840, I will be able to make astronomical profits.

The assets invested in the United States were also soaring in price every time news arrived, and Wellesley’s lips never seemed to go down.

“What about creating that information organization? How’s it going?”

“James said he’ll be reporting soon. James, is it possible now?”

“Yes, first of all, we’ve secured a place to use as a base, and we’ve succeeded in attracting people who used to be involved in Sief Takers [thieves] and Bow Street Runners [early form of British police] who were famous. As the young master requested, we first gathered information and filled it with people specializing in investigation.”

“Good. I can operate it in earnest by next year.”

Certainly, James’s judgment to gather people from those two groups seems to have been accurate.

After the Metropolitan Police Service was established in London, their jobs and positions quickly decreased, and people who were dissatisfied with it easily accepted our scout offers.

But anyway, with the current size of the London police, they can never cover the city alone.

Inevitably, they have no choice but to link with external organizations, and if you dig into that gap, money will fall like crazy.

“But Killian, why are you so eager to collect information? Are you going to identify criminals and sell them to the police?”

“That’s okay, but it won’t be very profitable. We have to use that information ourselves. What I’m trying to collect is not information about criminals with bounties. It’s information about the trash that’s making a fortune by stealing other people’s money.”

“Like that Jack last time? Ah, I see! You’re trying to do something similar to taking away the gambling house like before.”

Wellesley snapped his fingers and shouted.

“If we acquire all the gambling houses of the scammers in London, we’ll be fine!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

“Why? It’s a great idea.”

“One or two is possible, but rumors spread quickly in this industry. You can call it a coincidence a few times, but if that happens repeatedly, everyone will notice our existence and be wary.”

“Well, they have their own network, so they’ll be careful if they hear rumors.”

Anyway, a swindler is enough for the first one or two times. The money you can get with that is just a seed to prepare for the business.

“I’m going to get information in other fields, not gambling. For example, stocks or bonds. Originally, big money gathers in the stock market, and then pests who try to steal other people’s money naturally gather.”

“That’s true, but… how are you going to steal their money?”

“There’s a way, so just watch.”

“Huh, I’ll believe you and wait for now. But where did you learn all that?”

“I told you. The place I was in was full of guys who rushed in like hyenas when they smelled money. It was a place full of really ingenious ideas, and I learned from it, so I can do this. Even if I’m a genius, how can I come up with new methods that don’t even exist?”

Of course, modern capitalist society was a demonic realm full of really bizarre scams, so this is definitely not a lie.

Of course, Wellesley would have no way of knowing the inside story of my words.

He looked at me with a dumbfounded look, then turned his head to James.

“Hey, you said you went to a country called Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] to find that kid? What was it really like there? What kind of country is it that makes a kid grow up like that?”

“Uh… I don’t know much because I just met the young master and came back. I didn’t know it would be such a scary place…”

While Joseon, which was engraved in the heads of the two, was developing into a den of all kinds of demons, I stared intently at the documents James had brought.

As I heard earlier, most of the members had been working in the information industry for a short period of 5 years and a long period of 10 years.

Not only passing on information about criminals, but also lost items, missing people, and background checks on someone.

There were traces of experience in a wide variety of fields.

Sief Takers were those on the border between legal and illegal, and Bow Street Runners were those who were close to the police, so the work was clearly divided, but that’s even better.

It meant that I could allocate personnel to the right place for the right purpose.

While narrowing down the fields to be investigated first until the organization was completed, the process of being recognized as my father’s heir was almost over, and the new year of 1832 dawned.

Two years, which was long if it was long and short if it was short.

I am convinced that I have laid the foundation to be at least satisfactory, even if it is not perfect.

And finally, the time has come to leave the mansion I’ve grown fond of and go to Eton.