I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 382

< The End of the Old Era (6) >

Spring of 1867.

A dreary spring rain was falling in London.

If it were a rain heralding the start of spring, one might think of a refreshing and moist feeling, but no, not at all.

The spring rain in mid-19th century London is like a devil’s barrage that soaks you to the bone the moment you step outside.

Hats and umbrellas are absolutely essential.

This is an era where you absolutely cannot show off the boldness of walking through a shower like the macho men of modern Europe.

I stayed hidden in the palace, making sure not a single drop of rain touched my precious hair.

“Daddy, take a look at this. I’m going to show off these shoes and dress at the next big banquet. Do they look pretty?”

“Yes. The prettiest in the world.”

“As expected of my dad! You can tell it’s the prettiest in the world without even seeing it directly.”

“Of course. Your dad can see everything with his mind’s eye.”

Glancing back, I could see Adelaide looking down at me with an amused expression.

In the old days, just saying this would have made her say, ‘Wow, Dad is amazing,’ but she’s not that age anymore.

Ah, I don’t want to get old.

“You probably know that area better than I do now, so there’s no reason to get confirmation from me, right? What’s the point of adding an old man’s sensibilities?”

“That’s not true. According to a *Times* survey, the opinion of the King of Canada, who achieved an overwhelming first place in the ranking of men most women in the British Empire want to embrace, would have a great promotional effect.”

“Is the *Times* hard up these days? What kind of ridiculous survey is that?”

“Not only the *Times*, but your stories are still the most talked about during tea time among noble ladies. You’re every noble lady’s romance. But they only talk about wholesome things so it doesn’t reach Mom’s ears.”

I think I’m maintaining a charm that’s not inferior to when I was younger because I block UV rays with a parasol, consistently manage my diet, and exercise to take care of myself.

To be precise, it’s a different kind of charm, but the fact that I’m getting older is inevitable.

Now, when I hear things like that, I wonder who they’re teasing. Time is so merciless.

“The launch in France last time was a great success, and now noble ladies in Prussia are eager to buy my products. And since we’re about to enter the Russian market, I’m thinking of launching another new brand to make rich men our customers as well. How about using Dad as a promotional model here?”

“I wondered why you were so eager to have dinner together after so long. You wanted something.”

“Hey, that’s not it. Having dinner together is an expression of affection, and this is a request. You said it before, didn’t you? That an era will come when men are enthusiastic about stylish wristwatches.”

I just said it casually a few years ago, but for her to remember that and think about applying it to her business, she definitely takes after me.

In fact, wristwatches have been around for a long time, but strictly speaking, it was just a watch attached to a bracelet.

Most were the exclusive property of aristocratic women, and were exclusive to women.

For most gentlemen, wristwatches had an image similar to skirts, and there was a firm belief that men should use pocket watches.

Considering the modern romance of men towards luxury watches, it’s inevitable that I feel a bit strange.

“But if a man wears a wristwatch, he’ll be pointed at no matter what. What should we do about that?”

Actually, I knew the answer to some extent, so I was testing her, but unexpectedly, Adelaide came up with an answer without any hesitation.

“War. You can’t check the time in war, but isn’t it too inefficient to take out a pocket watch every time? I don’t know well, but when I asked the officers around me who had experience in the war, they all said that. The important thing is to create something that guarantees accuracy and durability that can be used even in war, which will be quite expensive, but I think I can somehow make it now.”

“You have more insight than I thought.”

“Of course. Whose daughter am I?”

Adelaide boasted and took out a prototype from her bag and put it on my wrist.

“It’s something made by gathering technicians from all over the world with a huge amount of money. It’s corny to promote it too obviously, so very naturally… Later, when it’s inconvenient to check the time with a pocket watch at a military training or something, wouldn’t it be nice to take it out naturally?”

“Certainly, obvious advertising rather evokes disgust. You know the essence of advertising.”

It’s a business that I just threw at her thinking a few would fail because she kept singing about wanting to do it, but to think she’d grow it this big.

Moreover, judging from what she’s saying, it seems like it will grow much bigger in the future.

Considering that the number one company in the Euro stock market today is a famous luxury goods manufacturer, it’s certain that this is also a field that sweeps money.

Most of what James touched were practical fields, so he didn’t pay much attention to the rapidly growing luxury goods business.

He laid the basic framework, such as making high heels, but that was all.

After all, the units of money that go back and forth are different, and I had no choice but to deal with the side that would directly affect the British Empire’s practical competitiveness and the future imperial family’s influence first.

From that point of view, I’m starting to think it’s time to grow this field as well.

When you think about it, Victoria and I are the most influential celebrities in the world, so there’s no reason not to use this.

It might not look good if I do it myself, but if Adelaide hides behind and grows the company, it’ll be a very plausible picture.

“Okay. In the future, if there’s anything you want, I’ll support you with as much money as you want, so keep doing what you want to do.”

“Thank you! You’re the best, Dad.”

I know she only hugs me and acts cute at times like this, but what can I do?

I can’t help but laugh because I love her so much.

I hope the young children don’t resemble that cunning aspect.

“Oh, and Dad. Have you talked to Edward about it?”

“Edward? Of course, I talk to him often.”

“He’s been worried about a lot of things since a long time ago, but fortunately, he seems to have found some direction recently? If you have time, wouldn’t it be good to talk to him?”

“Okay, thank you for telling me.”

Even though they fight to the death every day, are twins the ones who know each other best?

There are things you can’t say to your parents, but you can say to your siblings.

Siblings are a little different, but those children are twins, so they’ve been together since they were young, and there’s quite a big age gap with their younger siblings, so their bond must be special.

I should take a chance and talk to him sometime.

And fortunately or unfortunately.

The opportunity to have a serious conversation with my son came much faster than I thought.

* * *

“What are these guys thinking? I want to open their heads and see, but I can’t because they’ll die.”

Anyway, there are always guys who cause accidents as if they can’t stand still.

No, this is not just fidgeting, but a level where the happiness circuit is running to the extreme and burning to the point of causing nuclear fission.

If they had any sense, shouldn’t they be grateful that the British Empire is just standing still?

But they took standing still as support for them and went beyond the second and third rounds to the point of blowing their brains out.

I seriously doubt whether they want their necks cut off before the lightning is cut off.

“What are you going to do? It’s a request that came officially through the embassy.”

“Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] and Japan are forming a blood alliance, and I, who have a deep relationship with both countries, am asked to give a congratulatory speech… Hmm, well, that’s possible. I can think about that.”

In fact, if this were a really peaceful time, it wouldn’t be an unreasonable request.

Joseon and Japan were both countries where I had a deep foot in, so it was natural for them to want to receive congratulations from me.

Here, if the British Empire’s imperial family directly blesses them, how much more will the spirits of the Joseon and Japanese imperial families live?

If this were the result of pure love with no vested interests, I would write and send a congratulatory letter without anyone telling me to, but the situation is different now.

No one thinks that the imperial marriage of those two countries is for a truly pure alliance now.

Of course, it’s a work to strengthen the bond in order to solidify cooperation in the war with the Qing Dynasty [historical Chinese dynasty], but here, I support them?

Of course, it can only be interpreted that the British Empire supports the Joil alliance attacking the Qing Dynasty.

I don’t know if they want that or if they don’t know, but either way, it’s a problem.

If it’s the former, they’re really swollen-headed, and if it’s the latter, it means they’re not normal enough to even consider such basic facts.

Whatever it is, it’s safe to say that Kim Jwa-geun [influential Korean official] and Okubo [likely refers to Okubo Toshimichi, a prominent Japanese statesman] have already lost control.

“What did you feel when you saw this, Prime Minister?”

“I didn’t feel anything. I was so dumbfounded.”

“Ah. That could be.”

As I was about to rack my brains on how to deal with this, Edward poked his head in as if he had been waiting.

“Father, has the policy on what to do not been decided yet?”

“Yes. I just got the call, so I’m going to think about it.”

“Then, can you leave it to me? As I said before, I wanted to deal with matters related to Joseon or Japan at least once.”

“You? Do you have any ideas on what to do?”

I was going to take a day off and talk to him because I heard the story from Adelaide, but I didn’t know he would come on his own.

To be honest, the Hong Kong-Shanghai tour that Wellesley suggested was a bit much even when I saw it.

“Isn’t the marriage of the imperial families of Joseon and Japan itself not bad for our British Empire at all? The problem is the timing and method.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Aren’t those two countries the axis of the British Empire’s Pacific strategy that Father is planning? So I think the better the relationship between the two countries, the better it is for us.”

Hmm, that’s right. It’s not for nothing that the United States in the original history tried so hard to improve the relationship between Korea and Japan.

From the US’s point of view, there was no more desirable situation than Korea and Japan being on good terms.

The problem was that the past was too fatal, so it wasn’t easy to do that, but there’s no need to worry about that now.

If the two countries succeed in modernization smoothly and take their place as the strongest countries in Asia, they will remain as close as modern Britain and France.

What more can I say if the imperial families even marry each other?

“You’re right. Support for marriage, war is separate from us. Going with this position will be the best.”

“Yes. And it is most beneficial for us to keep their imperial family alive as much as possible. Rather, we should encourage them to unite their imperial families into one. Then, if one of my children or grandchildren marries their direct line, wouldn’t it be very easy to grasp the public sentiment of those two countries?”

Considering that you can grasp a market that will be worth a total of 200 million later, it is certain that Edward’s proposal is the best option.

But considering their current situation, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

“As you know, there is territory that we need to take from the Qing Dynasty after this war is over. In other words, we must not create a picture of us persecuting the Qing Dynasty too much, do you understand this point?”

“Of course.”

“Okay… I know what you want to say. Are you wanting to go to Asia yourself, beyond just handling this wedding?”

Even if the prince of the British Empire goes, it will be a mess, but if the crown prince moves directly, this will be a huge event.

In some ways, it could cause an even bigger ripple than when I went to Asia myself before.

But Edward nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Yes, I want to go myself. Please leave it to me. I will do my best to make their rampage beneficial to the home country.”

After confirming Edward’s expression, which was more solid than when I saw him recently, I slowly nodded.

“Then, go ahead and do what you want. Prime Minister, is that okay?”

“Yes. If that’s what His Majesty wants.”

Whether he takes this opportunity to gain confidence or his heart is broken, that is his share to bear.

Unlike just running on the rails that have been laid so far, a true test without any instructions has been imposed on the Crown Prince of the British Empire.