I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 401

< Finale (6) >

In monarchical countries, establishing a succession plan has always been the most important priority, regardless of time or place.

In the East, the Crown Prince was considered the foundation of the nation for good reason.

Although Europe had moved past the era of absolute monarchy and the power of the royal family had weakened, the presence or absence of an heir to the throne still held great significance.

The stability of the royal family differed greatly depending on whether the Crown Prince was a strong presence or not.

In that regard, the British Imperial Family had no problems until a few years ago.

The Crown Prince was a strong presence, and his children were all grown up and well-established.

The British Empire was a country where women could inherit the throne if necessary, so there were no issues with the succession.

Even in an era with high infant mortality rates, none of the royal family’s five children suffered any major illnesses and safely passed their childhoods.

This was all thanks to Killian’s excessive fussiness and attention to hygiene.

The Crown Prince’s abilities were now so outstanding that no one could argue with them, and the second son was also considered to be just as intelligent as the eldest.

In addition, rumors were spreading that the troublesome eldest daughter, known for vexing the Emperor, was now flawless in terms of ability.

Looking at it this way, there seemed to be no need to worry.

However, as time passed, some people began to worry.

This was because the Crown Prince, who was already of marriageable age, had not yet married.

There were countless women who wanted to become the Crown Prince’s bride, enough to line up several times around the Buckingham Palace gardens, but the problem was that the Crown Prince himself had no interest in marriage.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince had gone to Asia on official business, so it was almost certain that he would not marry until at least next year.

Not showing interest in women at an age when even a fleeting touch with a beautiful woman should set every nerve on edge?

This was bound to be met with worried glances.

From the impious rumor that he might be interested in men to concerns that he might have problems as a man.

It would have been strange if scandals hadn’t surrounded the Crown Prince, but after the Crown Prince had an argument with twin siblings at a party, this arrow began to fly in the wrong direction.

“My scatterbrained younger sister should get married before me. I’m fine, but I’m afraid my precious sister won’t meet a good man if she keeps acting like this. I can’t find a bride with peace of mind unless she gets married first, can I?”

Adelaide jumped up and down, telling him not to talk nonsense, but when the Crown Prince let these words slip, the strange rumors about the Crown Prince that had been circulating disappeared in an instant, and other rumors began to circulate instead.

-His Royal Highness cherishes his sister so much that he can’t get married.

-He’s been searching high and low for a good man to prevent his sister from becoming an old maid, so he hasn’t been able to think about marriage yet.

-His Royal Highness can only get married after the Princess gets married first.

At first, it was just a casual remark to deflect annoying questions about when he would get married, but as the rumors grew, everyone in the British Empire ended up supporting Adelaide in finding a good husband.

It must have been maddening for her, but what could she do?

The person who caused the trouble had already fled to Asia.

And Victoria, with the support of the entire nation, seized this opportunity and once again launched the Adelaide marriage project, which had repeatedly failed until now.

“Honey, you need to speak up strongly this time. If not this time, when will that hopeless child ever get married?”

“Still, marriage is something they should want to do themselves, so isn’t it a bit much to force them too much…?”

“Are you going to take responsibility if our child lives and dies as an old maid? No, how can a princess of a nation be making money by running a company when she was born so beautiful? This is your responsibility, so you go and persuade her.”

“…Yes, yes. I understand.”

Victoria still resented the fact that I had taken the company away from Adelaide and passed it on to her.

In fact, I could fully understand her feelings.

I was inevitably accustomed to 21st-century thinking in this area, but this was still the 19th century.

It was natural for both men and women to marry and have children when they reached a certain age, and this was almost considered an obligation, especially for members of the royal family.

It wasn’t as strict as it used to be, but princesses’ marriages were still considered diplomatically useful cards.

Of course, I didn’t want to arrange political marriages for my children, but Victoria was in favor of it if necessary.

However, in the current situation of the British Empire, there was no need to arrange political marriages, so I was respecting my children’s wishes as much as possible.

“Victoria, Adelaide is really good at business, you know? How much more can that child increase the royal family’s wealth? Is there really a need to tell her to get married? Other children will take care of marriage.”

“She can do business after she gets married, can’t she?”

“That’s true, but the candidates you’ve selected are all crown princes or grand dukes of other countries. Then Adelaide would have to go to that country…”

“I can’t choose someone mediocre when I’m looking for a groom for our child.”

I agree with that too. Even if he’s not as handsome and capable as me, at least Adelaide’s marriage shouldn’t be a waste. Of course.

But the problem is that the only possible candidates left are the Crown Prince of Russia or the Grand Duke of Prussia.

“Or, instead of looking outside, shouldn’t we look within the country?”

“We’ll have to do that if we have no other choice. But that child is the eldest daughter of the royal family, so she needs to be aware that everyone’s eyes are on her. Especially since Edward made strange remarks, which made the commotion even bigger.”

“He’ll probably be beaten to death by Adelaide when he returns from Asia. We need to keep them from meeting for the time being.”

“Then you can add that to the story and try to persuade her more diligently. That child doesn’t listen to me at all, but she listens to her loving father, right? So please talk to her one more time.”

It is an inevitable wish of mothers in this era for their daughters to meet good husbands and live a life full of love.

And I couldn’t openly refuse when Victoria came out like this.

I would rather get angry and ignore her, but what man could say no to his beloved wife when she pleaded so earnestly?

However, just as I couldn’t reject my beloved wife’s plea, I had no choice but to respect the wishes of my eldest daughter, whom I loved just as much.

Fortunately, someone appeared who could give me a third option in this dilemma from hell.

It was the Crown Prince of Prussia, who was digging into my past because he wanted to mess with me.

* * *

Although I had been glossing over it and trying to smooth things over, it wasn’t a good look for the eldest daughter of the royal family to be fighting with her mother every day because she didn’t want to get married.

Besides, I was fine with it because she was faithfully growing my business, but other people didn’t know that, did they?

If the princess didn’t show her face and only showed up at parties to flaunt luxurious brands, bad rumors might spread.

It might seem like Victoria was making a fuss, but considering the current situation, her reaction was actually quite normal, and I and Adelaide were closer to being abnormal, weren’t we?

Of course, that was just the result of my contemplation to judge everything rationally, and the person involved couldn’t just accept it so coolly.

“Ah! Did Mom send you again? I’m so annoyed.”

“Mom is just worried about you.”

“If she’s really worried about me, she should clean up the mess from the nonsense Edward said. No, why does he bring others down when he’s not getting married? He should just man up and say he’s not interested in women!”

“…Um? Adelaide, did Edward really say he’s not interested in women?”

“No, no. That’s not it. I’m just saying it would have been better if he had said that instead of dragging me into it. Don’t worry, he doesn’t like men.”

Right, right? You scared me for a second there with that strange remark.

“Still, the fact is that people don’t know that you inherited part of my business, so they can’t help but think strangely. If someone who doesn’t seem to be doing anything is just fighting with their mother who is worried about them, the eyes on you will gradually turn cold, won’t they?”

“That’s true.”

“So I have a proposal for all of us. Will you listen to it? If we do this, no one, including Victoria, will nag you to get married for the time being.”

“Really? What is it? As expected, Dad! I knew I could count on you!”

The daughter’s face lit up at the thought of being free from her mother’s nagging.

“It’s about promoting a marriage with the Crown Prince of Prussia.”

“…?”

“First, I’ll talk to Chancellor Bismarck and the King of Prussia, and then you can go to Berlin or the Crown Prince can come to London and talk a few times.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea. If you don’t want to hear nagging about getting married, promote a marriage. That’s a really great solution. It’s like saying you can win at chess by checkmating. It’s a perfect solution.”

The daughter’s voice instantly turned cold as she heard a solution on the level of quenching thirst by drinking water [meaning, a solution that doesn’t actually solve the problem].

“It might sound strange, but this is the best solution. Oh, but don’t worry. I’m not saying you should really get married. This marriage will fall through anyway.”

“You’re saying we should just pretend and then call it off in the middle? Isn’t that counterproductive? Then people will say we were just testing the waters without any intention of getting married from the beginning. People will say that the princess of the British Empire called off the wedding because she didn’t want to get married. It’s counterproductive no matter how you look at it.”

“That’s the story when the marriage falls through due to our fault.”

What would the reaction be if we really wanted to make the marriage happen, and the marriage of the princess, which was the wish of the entire nation, was about to be realized, but the marriage was derailed due to the other party’s problem?

Adelaide would instantly gain sympathy, and no one, including Victoria, would be able to nag her to get married for the time being.

Prussia, who caused this situation, would naturally owe us a huge debt.

Of course, this inevitably presupposes that the marriage will be called off, so Adelaide is likely to have an unpleasant experience.

Therefore, if she says she doesn’t want to, I will naturally abandon this plan and change course.

“Hmm, so even if the story goes well, there’s no chance of actually getting married?”

“Yes. That’s for sure.”

“I’ll get sympathy as a tragic princess, so no one will say, ‘Why aren’t you getting married?’ for the time being… Not bad. But even so, I’m a woman, so I’m a little uncomfortable using marriage like this.”

Well, Adelaide is a girl, so she wouldn’t like plotting a scheme using marriage, would she?

Before I could finish saying to just forget about it, an indescribable smile appeared on her face.

“Yes, yes, I fully understand. If you don’t like it, of course…”

“So give me a few more businesses. I was thinking of creating a new brand by combining watches and jewelry recently, and if Dad provides all the capital, I’ll think about it positively.”

Wow, my daughter is good at business.

It seems I’ve done a good job raising my children.