I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 60

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 60 (60/537)

Fair and Square (2)

London, Mayfair.

This affluent neighborhood, densely populated by the upper class even within the heart of the British Empire, is lined with classic townhouses.

The leader of the Whig Party, Earl of Melbourne, also favored these upscale townhouses when staying in London.

The interior of the magnificent building, constructed in the currently fashionable Georgian style, was decorated with the finest furniture and artwork, reflecting the Earl’s wealth and status.

In the drawing room of this splendid mansion, the Earl of Melbourne was holding meetings almost daily to prepare for the upcoming election.

What was unusual was that, despite these almost daily meetings, the Earl of Melbourne was only ever talking to one person.

To be more precise, several members of parliament did visit, but the last one to leave was always the same person.

John Russell, the third son of the Duke of Bedford and a rising star of the Whig Party who entered the House of Commons at the age of 20, was that person.

“It’s a great relief to hear that preparations are going well.”

“Earl, was the Conservative Party’s reaction the same as before?”

“They showed no signs of suspecting our proposal. They did ask roughly how we planned to ‘detonate’ the situation, but that was out of concern that other members, unaware of the details, might act rashly. So, I just gave them a vague idea.”

“You did well. If we keep it too secret, they might become suspicious, so it’s better to leak just enough.”

At first, he wondered if they really needed to go this far, but now the Earl of Melbourne had made up his mind.

Whether it was unsavory or not, if you’re going to be in politics, you have to win first.

As the leader of the party, being a leader who waded through the mud and won the election was far better than being a leader who pretended to be clean and lost.

“Since we’ve decided to ‘detonate’ it on the day of Parliament’s dissolution, you know there’s no turning back, right? How about we check one last time just to be sure?”

“I’ll keep checking until the day before the plan is executed, but you don’t need to worry too much. The scapegoating is solid, and we’ve set up multiple layers of camouflage. Above all, the Conservative Party will be taking all the flak, so we have nothing to lose.”

Looking back on it, it really was a brilliant strategy.

On the surface, it seemed to target the troublesome Daniel O’Connell, but the real targets were none other than the Conservative Party and the vacant seats in the south-central region of Ireland.

If they achieved proper results here, the Whig Party would have at least an 80% chance of securing a majority in the next election.

The Earl of Melbourne glanced at the innocent face of the strategist who had conceived this perfect plan.

Where in the depths of such a passionate reformer’s heart did such a chilling scheme spring from?

But on second thought, that was precisely the proof that John Russell was the right man to succeed him and lead the Whig Party.

No matter how lofty your ideals, if a politician can’t win elections, they’re just a loud-mouthed daydreamer.

“So, is there anything else I can do for you?”

“The later the Conservative Party notices this plan, the greater the effect will be. Please keep an eye on them to see if they show any strange movements.”

“That’s not difficult. I’ve already received the Prime Minister’s promise not to do anything, so any slight movement from them will be immediately obvious.”

To achieve reform, they needed seats, and to gain seats, they were willing to do anything, even if it seemed a bit underhanded.

Having accepted Russell’s ideas, it was far too late to stop.

The upcoming election. This time, it was the Whig Party’s turn to return to power.

* * *

“Is this certain? I had a nagging feeling about it.”

*If you’re suspicious, you’re probably right.* When it comes to these shady schemes, my instincts have never been wrong.

“It cost a considerable amount of money to dig this up. In fact, if we hadn’t specifically targeted the Earl of Melbourne’s townhouse from the start, as you suggested, Young Master, it might have been impossible to extract this much information.”

“Money? How much did you spend?”

“You can assume that we used all the fees we received from the Conservative Party. The guys in charge of executing the plan had incredibly tight lips, so we had no choice but to use everything to win them over.”

“You did well. It’s not our money anyway, so it’s fine as long as we found out.”

Even if it cost a bit more than expected, they ultimately achieved their goal without spending a single penny, right?

I was right to extract a hefty sum under the guise of consulting fees.

“But you managed to get the Prime Minister’s approval. I never expected the proud Conservative Party to commission a detective agency.”

“We couldn’t show that the Conservative Party suspected something was wrong. In reality, there are fewer than five people within the Conservative Party who know how this is progressing. The rest probably think we’re genuinely cooperating with the Whig Party.”

“Still, thanks to this, our company has proven that it’s fully capable of delving into political cases. It’s also reaffirmed that it’s better to use the British Detective Agency than James Detective Agency for this kind of work.”

“Since James Detective Agency is known to be run by you, it’s best not to do anything that could be held against us, even in the slightest.”

*James* is a common name in England, but if someone really set their mind to it, they could find out that he’s related to the Earl of Aaron.

Even though I plan to completely sever ties on the surface next year, it means they could still find a connection to me.

Of course, it was an intentional trail, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to be careful.

From the start, it’s right to have the British Detective Agency handle anything that’s slightly risky or could get dirty.

That’s why I split the intelligence organization into two in the first place.

“By the way, Young Master, this country’s political scene is truly a den of vipers, just as you said. I never imagined they’d be pulling off such elaborate schemes.”

“It’s great. Thanks to it, we have work, and I feel like it was worth creating the company.”

As I scanned the pile of reports in front of me, I felt strangely proud.

Even though I only designated the target to be monitored, they managed to gather this much evidence in such a short time.

“Shall we take a closer look? The primary target is the Earl of Melbourne. We confirmed that he’s been consistently holding meetings with Whig Party members at his townhouse. There were no other changes, but we confirmed that John Russell is always the last to leave the townhouse after each meeting, so we assigned detectives to him as well.

If the Whig Party wants to attack O’Connell, the best way is to use the media, so we focused on monitoring whether John Russell or someone from the Earl of Melbourne’s side was contacting newspapers and weekly magazines close to the Whig Party.

We confirmed that John Russell’s secretary contacted reporters from the *Morning Chronicle*, *The Spectator*, and *The Examiner*. We bribed a reporter from *The Spectator* to confirm the full story… It’s unfolding more simply and neatly than I thought.”

“They were only paying attention to the Conservative Party, so they probably never imagined we’d be tailing them. We’ve also cross-checked the information we got from the bribed reporter, so we can assume that the Whig Party’s goals are somewhat clear.”

“Daniel O’Connell once killed someone, and they’re going to make an issue of it… I remember hearing about this before. But as far as I know, it was a fair duel, wasn’t it?”

“Strictly speaking, this country’s laws don’t recognize duels, so there’s no such thing as a ‘fair’ duel.”

As James said, the laws of the British Empire outlaw duels between individuals.

Since there’s no statute of limitations on murder charges, they could technically indict Daniel O’Connell as a murderer if they wanted to.

But considering the public sentiment at the time, indicting someone for killing in a duel would only backfire and cause backlash.

They must have judged that way back then, so it was quietly dropped. Are they really going to reignite that case now?

“If the Whig Party is trying to attack O’Connell in Ireland with just this, they don’t deserve to be in politics. Or are they trying to forcibly imprison O’Connell to incite riots in Ireland?”

“Of course, it’s neither. There’s a bit more explanation later on.”

“Ah, I see. I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t see the last part. So… the person who died in the duel with Daniel O’Connell was John D’Esterre, a former soldier. He served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and O’Connell has been providing financial support to D’Esterre’s widow out of guilt for killing him.

But it’s not just simple financial support; there’s some kind of relationship, and O’Connell is having an ongoing affair with the remarried widow… What is this third-rate pulp fiction? Are they really going to use this? Seriously?”

“Isn’t the easiest way to tarnish a morally clean politician to accuse them of bribery or adultery? It seems the Whig Party is trying to make an issue of O’Connell’s relationships with women.”

Of course, when you’re trying to incite, the standard is to add a bit of distortion to an event based on truth.

The fact that Daniel O’Connell killed John D’Esterre in a duel 20 years ago is an objective fact.

It’s also true that he promised to provide lifelong financial support to his widow, so I understand the intention to write a story based on this.

“But the quality itself is too poor. Isn’t there something more behind it?”

“I don’t know. They might have secured some plausible circumstantial evidence of the affair. If they present undeniable evidence, there’s bound to be confusion.”

“No… you’re not saying that O’Connell is really having an affair with the wife of the man he killed, are you? If the woman is in her right mind, she wouldn’t have good feelings for the person who killed her husband in a duel, would she?”

“You could ask O’Connell about this. Even though it seems absurd, the Whig Party must have something they believe in if they’re preparing to ‘detonate’ this.”

Well, the Earl of Melbourne and John Russell wouldn’t just release such a shoddy sensational article without thinking.

But still… even if it were true, could they really remove O’Connell from Ireland with just this?

It would certainly damage O’Connell’s morality and clean image, but isn’t the case too flimsy?

At least if O’Connell was having affairs with 10 women simultaneously, or if he forcibly took advantage of other women using his position, maybe.

Ousting O’Connell with just this is impossible, no matter how you look at it.

“The means of attack itself isn’t bad, but it’s still too crude, no matter how I think about it. Do you have the records of who John Russell and the Earl of Melbourne’s associates met? Bring them all.”

“Yes. We’ve recorded everything. I’ll bring them right away.”

James immediately left the room and returned about five minutes later with dozens of documents filled with dense writing.

“This is a record of all the people John Russell, the Earl of Melbourne, and his aides have met in the past few days, along with their brief identities.”

Without a word, I flipped through the documents one by one, setting aside the names of people who caught my eye.

Perhaps I missed something because I investigated under the assumption that they would attack O’Connell using the media.

If so, the real aim might be…

“William Smith O’Brien? A former Whig Party member and current member of the Irish Repeal Association [an organization advocating for the repeal of the Act of Union, which unified Great Britain and Ireland]. Why did John Russell’s secretary meet this person?”

“The Whig Party is reportedly meeting with members of the Irish Repeal Association who were previously affiliated with the Whig Party to try to persuade them. Of course, no one has agreed to it.”

“Yeah. That’s true, but the other members were only met once or twice, but this person was met five times, right?”

“He was met a bit more often. But O’Brien has nothing to do with the media or the duel 20 years ago, so his investigation priority was pushed back a bit.”

It was natural to investigate people related to newspapers first, and there were actually results, so there’s nothing to criticize.

In reality, the Whig Party’s political maneuvering might have been only at that level.

However, if it’s not just the Earl of Melbourne alone, but also John Russell, who is a strong candidate to succeed him, there must be something more.

It might be an overreaction, but in this kind of backstabbing game, the thought that this is enough is a direct ticket to hell.

“The information is still insufficient with just this. I’ll have to meet O’Connell directly.”

Victoria is scheduled to dissolve Parliament after William IV’s funeral, so there’s still some time left.

It’s okay to draw conclusions after the outline of the puzzle is fully visible.

* * *

When engaging in a battle of wits with the opponent, the most important thing to be wary of is thinking that the opponent is more foolish than you.

You must always keep in mind that if I’m wary of them, they can also be wary of me, and if I’m plotting, they can also be plotting.

This isn’t a turn-based game where only one side can act unilaterally in their turn, but a real-time battle.

Of course, you must not forget the possibility that they can also monitor me as much as I’m monitoring them.

So, I didn’t do anything thoughtless like openly going to meet O’Connell.

Considering that the mansion might be under surveillance, I disguised myself in the late hours of the night, used a secret passage that I had secretly created, and then aimlessly wandered around London in a carriage that I had prepared far away.

If I still get caught after doing this much, then I’ll have no choice but to admit that they were one step ahead.

“So, you kept wandering around from Mayfair to Lambeth without stopping? Aren’t you tired?”

“I took a nap in the carriage, so I’m fine.”

“Hmm… being careful is never a bad thing, but don’t you think you’re going too far?”

“It only takes a moment to get caught off guard. O’Connell shouldn’t be in a situation where he can let his guard down either. Do you know what’s happening beneath the surface right now?”

As I sipped my coffee and asked casually, O’Connell also nodded lightly.

“Of course, I know. The Whig Party has been approaching our members, asking if they’re willing to switch sides. Of course, no one has switched.”

Perhaps contacting other members besides O’Brien was to create a smokescreen like this.

If that’s really the case, then John Russell, who is presumed to be in charge of this plan, might be a more intelligent person than I expected.

“It’s not just that. They seem to be sharpening their knives, determined to crush O’Connell this time.”

The light of annoyance naturally appeared on O’Connell’s face as he listened to the story.

Considering that he’s been endlessly harassed by British politicians and journalists in recent years, I honestly felt a bit sorry for him.

For me, all those things were accumulated as valuable data, but from his perspective, it must have been nothing more than a cause of anger.

“If you’re going to come to me in secret like this to tell me, it must be a much bigger case than before. I’ll gratefully listen if you tell me.”

“There’s something I’m concerned about this time, so I need O’Connell to confirm some facts. Would that be possible?”

“You’re trying to help me by bringing valuable intelligence, so of course, I have to answer. I can tell you anything, so ask away.”

Then, since we’re all busy people, I won’t refuse and will step on the accelerator fully.

“The Whig Party is reportedly trying to make an issue of O’Connell’s relationships with women. Have you ever met a woman who has a husband, even once?”

“What? What are you talking about…? Surely the Whig Party, those crazy people, aren’t thinking of portraying me as such a shameless criminal?”

100% pure anger and bewilderment with no hint of embarrassment. It seems this isn’t the case.

“Then, was there any problem with William Smith O’Brien, who is in the same party? When I looked into it, there were stories about a *Young Ireland* faction within the party [a group advocating for more radical and nationalistic policies].”

“No… why is the topic suddenly going there? That’s just an internal matter.”

Unlike before, O’Connell’s face contorted with embarrassment.

Bingo. So, the women issue was bait to divert attention, and the real thing was this.

It seems my uneasy premonition has come true.

Even though I’ve come a long way, I felt a small sense of admiration rather than annoyance at the fact that the Whig Party had set up such a triple layer of protection.

Unlike before, it was because of the anticipation that I could have a thrilling battle of wits this time.

Then, now that I’ve roughly grasped the attack route of which side they’ll be coming from.

Let’s compete fairly from now on to see who is closer to the true image of a politician in this Great British Empire.