I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 476

< The Danish Dispute (5) >

Diplomacy between nations is like a complex and sharp game of chess.

Each side has clear goals, and if you want to gain something, you often have to give something in return.

Trying to win without giving anything will eventually lead to greater losses and checkmate.

If I have a turn, the opponent also has a turn, and any tactic I can use, the opponent can use as well.

Moreover, no matter how great the difference in national power, diplomacy involves the interests of other countries, so a superpower cannot simply force its own interests.

Therefore, it was customary for even the most powerful empire like Great Britain to grant some concessions when negotiating diplomatically with weaker nations.

However, that’s the story in official settings, and the situation changes a lot when it enters the private sphere.

Especially since the other party has given even the slightest leeway, the game now turns into a fight rather than chess.

The strong unilaterally beat the weak, and even if they shout, “What can you do about it?”, the weak cannot resist.

“Understood? Just tell him exactly that when the ambassador comes next time.”

Listening to Edward’s words, Gisela was inwardly gloomy, thinking everything was over.

Wasn’t the Habsburg family, to which she belonged, second to none in pride?

Given the personalities of her mother and other committee members, they would never let the Crown Prince’s provocative words pass, and they would surely start pouring out harsh words.

The British imperial family would never tolerate that, so naturally, feelings would be hurt, and public opinion would turn cold.

In that situation, the engagement would not proceed, and the happy times would end here.

‘I can’t help it. It’s my fault for not firmly cutting off my mother’s words from the beginning.’

Gisela sincerely thanked Crown Prince Edward in her heart for being good to her so far and summoned the Austrian ambassador.

When she conveyed the Crown Prince’s words, the ambassador’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly returned to the embassy.

Look at that. How angry must he be to leave without a word?

In today’s world where information travels fast, what happened today will be telegraphed to the Imperial Palace within a day, so wouldn’t Austria confront the Crown Prince tomorrow?

Gisela, feeling gloomy, lay down on the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and silently sobbed, wiping away tears.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have said a proper farewell to His Highness.’

Still, there will be a situation where I can see his face at least once before the engagement is broken.

When that time comes, I must personally thank him for everything.

While Gisela, who had become the heroine of a tragic love story, spent the night sleeplessly, the Hofburg Palace [the Habsburgs’ principal winter residence in Vienna] in Austria was turned upside down in chaos.

“Did the Crown Prince really say that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Princess said she conveyed the Crown Prince’s words exactly, without missing a word.”

“To say that he will make pro-Prussian remarks every time the ambassador meets him, isn’t that outright blackmail?”

To say such a blatant threat was close to an unprecedented outrage in diplomatic terms.

However, Franz Joseph could not simply get angry at Edward for being rude.

In any case, the reason they came out like that was because we had provided some cause.

He rebuked his wife, Empress Elisabeth, who had come to the meeting after a long absence, in a dissatisfied tone.

“If only you had just traveled as usual, why did you have to interfere again…?”

“Are you saying it’s my fault? Isn’t everyone here agreed to use Gisela to gauge Great Britain’s intentions? How can you blame me for that now? That’s too much.”

“Of course, we agreed, but we should have done it in a softer way. Isn’t it because you put pressure on us without thinking that things have come to this? Sigh… I should have asked my mother.”

“The person who doesn’t even come out of her room would have listened to you well. You should have told Gisela more clearly when you sent her to London in the first place. And no matter what, isn’t it crossing the line for them to openly embarrass us like this?”

The Empress, who usually had no interest in politics, was even more upset that her first attempt to step forward with great determination had gone wrong like this.

It would have been understandable if the target of the criticism was Queen Victoria, but the opponent was the Crown Prince, who had not yet become Emperor.

Yet, instead of getting angry at this treatment, she was even more annoyed by the situation where she was being blamed.

Of course, that was the Empress’s position, and as an Emperor with a fire under his feet, he had no time to accept his wife’s grumbling.

“So, are you saying we should argue with the Crown Prince of Great Britain now? It’s true that we tried to gauge their intentions through Gisela, but is it necessary to say such harsh things? Should we send a reply?”

“Isn’t that saying that the Emperor of Habsburg will be at the beck and call of the Crown Prince of Great Britain? Have you ever imagined how much face we will lose if this news becomes widely known?”

“You should say it right. It’s not my face that’s being tarnished, but yours that’s becoming a laughing stock, isn’t it? Can’t you just stay still and do nothing as you have been doing until now, please?”

“…What did you say?”

“Honestly, don’t you feel sorry for Gisela? You treated her so coldly, and now that the possibility of her becoming the Crown Princess has increased, you’re asking her to gather information.”

He himself had agreed, but now he was blaming others.

He had always been like that.

Whenever he had a difficult decision to make, he always pushed the work to those around him, and because of that, the Empress had no choice but to live a life on the fringes of the palace.

Even this time, he was openly embarrassed by the Crown Prince of Great Britain, but he was trying to maintain his own face by blaming it all on this side.

He can’t openly say anything to Great Britain, so he’s turning the gun at the easy internal target, but anyone who knows will know.

With Prussia, an opponent that cannot be handled, above them, Austria absolutely needs the support of Great Britain.

Faced with this reality, the lofty pride of the Habsburgs was nothing more than useless baggage.

In the end, Emperor Franz Joseph, through the ambassador, very politely sent the following message:

-This incident was an accident caused by the Empress acting alone. I offer my sincere apologies for the unpleasantness and promise that this will never happen again.

By submitting a low-profile apology at the level of ‘I was wrong, so please forgive me once,’ the hierarchy issue between the imperial families of Great Britain and Austria was definitively settled for the time being.

* * *

“…So, there’s no need to worry about anything.”

“Yes? Did my mother really send a letter of apology?”

“It seems that Emperor Franz Joseph forced her to do it, but yes.”

Gisela, having heard all the details of the incident, froze in place with her eyes wide open, as if she couldn’t understand.

Was it that shocking?

“The people in our imperial family in my memory were not so willing to bend over…”

“That’s how urgent they are. Anyway, there will be no more annoying people, so don’t worry about anything and continue to stay in London. There will be a performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra next week. Would you like to go together? It may be a little inferior compared to what you heard in Vienna, but the London Philharmonic Orchestra has improved a lot recently, so it won’t be boring.”

“Really? Of course, I’d love to… Ah, no… Well, I think I’ll have time. Thank you.”

She was about to jump for joy, but hurriedly tried to pretend to be calm and nodded, but her joyful feelings overflowed through her eyes.

It’s amazing and healing to see someone so honest with their emotions for the first time.

Unlike her siblings, who always try to get something in return for giving something, she feels a sense of untouched purity.

It was that kind of feeling that makes you want to show her good things and feed her delicious things.

“By the way, did you eat the chocolate you took last time?”

“Yes! It was so delicious. It melted in my mouth, and I felt a lot of sweetness, and when I thought that Your Highness had personally chosen it, it felt several times more delicious. Next time, I’ll get you a famous dessert from Vienna.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Then that…”

“Oh my, oh my, our Crown Prince’s lips are hooked to his ears. Are you that happy?”

Just as he was about to make an appointment for the performance, Edward reflexively frowned at the frivolous voice coming from behind.

The twin sister, who shines in the ranking of the most unwanted encounters in this situation of Crown Prince selection, was approaching with a bright smile.

Look at that aura of happiness emanating from her. Isn’t that the typical 모습 [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘figure’] of a vicious younger sister who is more excited than anyone else in the world to seize the opportunity to tease her brother?

“I’ve never seen you smile so happily. Are you that happy?”

“Of course, I can’t help but be happy. It seems that spring has finally come to the life of our beloved brother, so how can I not be happy as a younger sister? Tomorrow’s newspaper headline is already decided. How about Spring in London?”

“Why are you suddenly using honorifics that don’t suit you…?”

“Princess Gisela~ Was this the second time we’ve met? It must be hard to stay in a foreign country for a long time, but don’t worry too much. I’ll do my best to help you. If you’re okay with it, would you like to spend time with me as well as our Crown Prince? I have a lot of beautiful dresses and jewelry, and I think they would suit our Princess very well, so I’d like to give you some gifts.”

Gisela smiled innocently, her eyes shining, at Adelaide’s selfish remarks, which Edward lightly ignored.

“Of course. I think there would be nothing happier than spending time with the admired Adelaide. I’m not good enough, but please take care of me.”

“Oh my gosh, how can you be so cute? Our Crown Prince is very blessed.”

“Cu…Cute? Adelaide is much more beautiful, I’m just…”

“Oh, this is a big deal. She’s so innocent and cute?”

Adelaide muttered in a small voice that only Edward could hear, and poked him in the waist with her elbow.

“Are you okay? She’s too much of a blank canvas, so I don’t think she’s a good match for you.”

“What are you looking at me for to say such a thing?”

“Isn’t the current structure a puppy sheep innocently eating grass in front of a wolf without knowing it’s dangerous?”

“It’s true that she looks like a small Spitz wagging its tail innocently in front of a vixen who is trying to use her for business.”

How much synergy would it have if Adelaide’s luxury goods business, which is rapidly growing, could use the Habsburg princess as a signboard?

He thought she had just come to tease him, but seeing his sister trying to use this to make money, he realized that they were siblings with the same blood flowing through them.

Even if they are not as good as themselves, the younger siblings have recently been showing that they are indeed the children who inherited Killian’s blood, so will Gisela be able to adapt well?

No. Maybe it’s because of this kind of family that there should be one person like her who heals.

“Adelaide! Then when would you be available?”

“Hmm… Would it be okay in two days?”

“Of course! I’m so happy to be able to spend time with Adelaide as well as the Crown Prince.”

“…Yes? Oh… um, thank you.”

Adelaide, on the contrary, stroked her hair and smiled awkwardly at Gisela’s 100 percent pure favor, who smiled brightly without any calculation.

Edward smiled and held back the laughter that was about to burst out when he saw that 모습 [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘figure’].

She ran over excitedly because she had a chance to tease him, but she’s the one who’s embarrassed and going back.

Even if Gisela comes to the British imperial family, I don’t think I have to worry about her not adapting at all.

Then what kind of reaction will my father show when he meets that child?

Edward was genuinely curious about how Killian would treat that innocent child.