I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 34

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 34

Be Anxious

“Killian is here!”

“Hey, hey! What did the Princess say?”

“What’s it like seeing her up close?”

“Tell me! Quickly, quickly!”

As I returned to the dormitory, a pack of jackals, including Robert, swarmed me, clamoring for their daily sustenance.

I even saw students from other dormitories.

“The Duchess is so strict that only a handful of people can actually talk to the Princess.”

“It’s not just a handful. Even His Majesty the King can’t meet the Princess whenever he wants!”

“So, what exactly did Her Highness say?”

Even those who usually kept a subtle distance from those of Irish descent were now straining their ears in the corner.

Even though the King’s power has diminished, I could feel how significant the King still was in this country.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to talk much with the Princess either. I just showed her some card tricks and said that we were all praying for her future with one heart.”

“Did the Princess say anything else about us?”

“She said everyone looked very impressive as they worked hard in the game.”

“Yes! I’m glad I ran with all my might!”

“The Princess saw me pass the ball far away, right? Ugh! I have to brag to my father.”

Seeing them so happy, I’m glad I didn’t tell them the real truth.

I left the students arguing about who did better and who didn’t, and went outside the dormitory.

Robert, who had followed me, tapped me on the shoulder.

“Good job. Everyone will be happy that a student from our dormitory, of all places, has received such an honor. Even the seniors who didn’t really acknowledge you might change their attitude.”

“I haven’t really felt discriminated against so far.”

“I was there, so they couldn’t be too obvious. But you can’t help what they think in their hearts, right?”

“I don’t really care what they think as long as they don’t show it.”

The whole school seemed to be buzzing with the fact that the future Queen had visited, but my mind was cooling down in inverse proportion.

It was true that I had taken the first step of the plan smoothly, but the more it was, the more I needed to be cold-headed.

Excitement narrows the field of vision, and intoxication only leads to recklessness.

I must never forget that I am now in a position where even a single misstep can lead to a fall off a cliff.

“Senior, actually, there’s something I didn’t say because I was worried it would cause a stir upstairs.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“The Duchess invited me to Kensington Palace this weekend because she wanted to talk to me more.”

“Really? The Duchess of Kent invited you?”

Robert’s eyes widened; even he seemed to know the rumors about the Duchess.

“What’s the reason? Maybe to be a conversation partner for Princess Victoria…”

“That’s obviously not it. I think she’s curious about what kind of education Eton [a prestigious British boarding school] students receive. The Duchess is also in charge of the Princess’s education, so she must be concerned. She also said she’s close to my aunt, so she’ll be more comfortable dealing with me than other students.”

“I see. Still, if you make a good impression on the Duchess at this opportunity, it could be a big opportunity for you. Who knows? If you get the right connection, you might even be able to have a private audience with the Princess later.”

“I don’t even dream of such presumptuous things from the beginning because excessive greed leads to bloodshed.”

*He wants to prove his ability, but he knows his place and keeps the line, a practical type.*

Robert, who knew the kind of talent I wanted to show them, whistled silently and slowly walked around the campus with me.

Now that I’ve let this story out, the fact that I’ve been invited to Kensington Palace will be heard by the heavyweights of the Tory party [a British political party, historically conservative].

There is also a way to let Wellesley know, but Wellesley is someone who will grow into one of the leaders of the Tory party in the future.

There’s no need to cut himself off by playing the role of a cuckoo [someone who disrupts or takes advantage of a situation].

Anyway, even if I just slip information to Robert, it will be automatically delivered to the party.

So, please watch carefully and judge.

How easy and defenseless a person Killian Gore is.

* * *

Even while preparing to meet the Duchess, I never neglected my main job.

I’m not talking about school classes.

For such classes, you just have to listen and memorize, so you won’t be pushed out of the top spot; you just have to hold on to your focus.

What I needed to pay attention to was the current flow of the British Empire’s political scene and my business, which was sucking up London’s money like a sponge.

Fortunately, both sides were now on track, so I was able to maintain a stable state without forcibly intervening.

On the business side, it continues to grow, expanding its field based on the huge cash flow from the casino.

The funds extorted from the railway scammers also became a very good fertilizer.

At this rate, it will be able to take root as a unique information organization in London within a few years.

“Let’s see. Now, with this much money…”

Even at this moment, if I recover the growing casino, the detective agency, and the investment tied up in the United States, the asset size already easily exceeds several million pounds.

Even if I only consider the available cash, I will soon be able to pour tens of thousands of pounds at once, so there is no need to worry about liquidity problems.

Assets are still insufficient, but in terms of cash mobilization, only a very few nobles or capitalists in the British Empire are above me.

At this point, it seems okay to create a department dedicated to force and walk a fine line between legal and illegal.

Of course, all businesses must be separated into separate departments to prevent the tail from being caught, and employees must not know who their leader is.

Here, the political side is also doing better than expected.

It was hard to hide the laughter that leaked out while reading the newspapers and reports that James brought in the carriage heading to the palace.

“As Young Master predicted, the Factory Act seems to be passing smoothly.”

“That’s right. The Tory party is not only divided in opinion but rather leaning towards approval.”

“There is considerable attention to Wellesley. Just looking at these newspapers, they are all full of stories about Wellesley.”

All four newspapers that James had chosen focused on Wellesley’s speech in Parliament.

Currently, London’s newspapers were so biased towards certain political parties that it was no exaggeration to say that they were their mouthpieces.

The Morning Post and The Standard, which were famous for supporting the Tory party, were naturally enthusiastically praising Wellesley.

-A young hope that appeared in the conservative political world

-This is what true patriotism is

-Charles Wellesley’s speech provided an opportunity for everyone to look back on where the true values of conservatism lie

-If anyone asks about the future of conservatism, raise your head and look at Wellesley, Gladstone, and Disraeli

“Wellesley must be grinning from ear to ear.”

“In fact, it could have been dismissed as nonsense from a young man who doesn’t know anything, but it seems that the Tory party leaders made a good judgment.”

“It wouldn’t have been easy to rebuke the son of the Duke of Wellington, of all people, right? Besides, it’s not just him, but young people like Gladstone and Disraeli are all speaking with one voice, so they have no choice but to be aware of it. In fact, it would have been better if they had tried to suppress it here without any sense, but it’s a pity that the heads of the conservative heavyweights are not that hardened yet.”

If they had come out so stupidly, they could have ridden the public opinion and done a little faster replacement, but it seems that the heads of the conservative heavyweights are not that hardened yet.

“The Whig party [a British political party, historically liberal] must be dumbfounded. They are the ones who proposed to form a committee, and they are the ones who are trying to propose a bill, but we are getting the attention.”

“The newspapers that support the Whig party are also pointing that out. The Morning Chronicle welcomes the emergence of young conservative politicians like Wellesley but almost pleads that we should not forget that the leader of this reform is the Whig party?”

“Isn’t it true that they are now tinkering with the abolition of slavery law following the Factory Act? In particular, the abolition of slavery law will have a huge ripple effect that can affect not only the UK but also Europe and the United States, so if they lose the image of a young reformer here, they will have nothing to gain.”

Following the Factory Act, which sets limits on children’s working hours, the complete abolition of slavery.

Even if it is the result of a proper calculation of interests, it is certainly worth acknowledging that they are showing such a reformative move.

“James, what do you think? Will the abolition of slavery bill pass this year?”

“The slave trade itself has already been abolished, but there are still many people who benefit from slavery. As far as I know, the prevailing opinion is to gradually abolish it with a grace period rather than a radical abolition. If it is in the direction of abolition, it will probably pass in that way, right?”

“Really? That’s the prevailing opinion.”

In fact, even this Factory Act alone had more-than-expected profits from investments in a short period of time.

The Tory party, which was expected to oppose fiercely, has leaned towards approval, so the passage of the Factory Act is virtually certain.

Now that child labor can no longer be used indefinitely at a low price, many factories and machine manufacturers will inevitably be affected.

“Young Master, then can we expect similar profits from the abolition of slavery this time?”

“There’s no reason why we can’t. If slavery is abolished, several farms that are still running on slave labor will inevitably experience a chain crash. Among them, there will be people who decide to sell off quickly, swept away by the atmosphere, even though they can fully convert to less labor-intensive cash crops, right? If you aim for such a thing and pick it up, you can sell it later with a pretty big difference.”

“It seems like we need to go through a pretty meticulous classification.”

“That’s why we’re paying a lot of money to keep informants. You take care of that.”

While talking about newspapers and reports, the carriage that had already reached the vicinity of Kensington Palace began to slow down.

In fact, I didn’t even tell James this, but the abolition of slavery issue was a source of good gossip for me rather than income.

I needed a bundle of stories to tell in front of the curious princess who was completely alienated from social issues because of her fussy mother.

Victoria, who was interested in various political and social issues during her reign, would definitely be starved for this kind of information, so how interesting would it be?

But in order to tell her this story, I must first pass the biggest gateway of getting permission for a private audience.

“James, you go and say hello to my aunt first. I’ll see the Duchess and go back.”

“Understood.”

I took a deep breath inside the completely stopped carriage and got off.

It’s right to be careful, but a human who can’t seize an opportunity when it comes has no right to succeed.

At first, I thought about a month, but since they called me like this, there’s no need to be too careful.

Today, let’s get a free pass to meet the princess in the cage.

* * *

A bright palace garden.

As if they were waiting for me to come, the seat was already prepared.

“Come here and sit comfortably.”

“Yes.”

Of course, Victoria was not to be seen, and even the people who were serving were far away, so no one could hear our story.

I already knew what kind of story she wanted to talk about, but the arrangement was even more blatant than expected.

“It’s not that close from Eton to here, but thank you for visiting so willingly.”

“No. I should have come with a happy heart because you called me. I didn’t have a hard time because I came by carriage anyway.”

“Really? Then come and visit often in the future. Cecilia will probably like it very much too. She wants to see you too, but she can’t freely call outsiders because of her position, right? But I don’t need to be aware of such things, so you can come and visit anytime.”

“Thank you so much for your consideration. It’s not enough to say it’s a reward, but instead, I will answer anything you ask with all my heart.”

When I gave the answer she wanted most first, the Duchess’s lips drew a thin line.

“The reason I called you is, as I said before, because I wanted to know more about Eton’s education policy.”

“In that case, wouldn’t Eton’s teachers know better than me?”

“No. They are in the position of teaching, right? What I want to know is the perspective and feelings of the students who are being educated. In particular, Killian, you seem to deeply sympathize with Eton’s education policy, so I wanted to hear your thoughts even more.”

“I will answer anything I can answer.”

The Duchess, who nodded satisfactorily, poured black tea into my glass herself and asked.

“You said that Eton values obedience and that the upper class of society should receive such education from an early age. Then, in your opinion, what do you think is the biggest obstacle to having such an obedient mind?”

“To be honest, it wasn’t very difficult for me to have such a mind. But…”

I glanced around and pretended to look around, then added in a small voice.

“I think it will be much harder for the Princess. Especially if it goes on like this, it’s very dangerous.”

“Dangerous…?”

Whether she was annoyed by the fact that her true feelings were suddenly sniped, the sound of putting down the teacup was louder than before.

If she had been able to hide her emotions thoroughly at this point, I would have judged that she was more thorough than I thought, but it seems that she was not that capable.

Before she could say anything more, I took the lead.

“I apologize if I unintentionally offended you. But as much as you trust me, I thought it was necessary to point out not only good things but also the potential risks at this point.”

“Potential risks… That’s a word I can’t take lightly. But there must be a reason for saying that, so tell me.”

She is pretending to have a relaxed voice again, but it still shows.

To the Duchess, I am just a child who is going to be thirteen years old this year, no matter how smart I am.

Since my status and position cannot be compared, I am only a piece that can be used usefully on the chessboard.

So, I’m going to stab that very obvious psychological gap.

Free pass or entrance cut.

It’s time to roll the dice to determine fate.