I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 7

The Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire 7

London in the 19th Century

The 3rd Earl of Aaron, Arthur Gore, never imagined he would feel such great happiness in his later years.

To have a son so late in life, when he was nearly 70 years old, felt a bit audacious, to be honest.

Of course, it wasn’t that the boy was just born, but about 10 years ago. Still, wasn’t he already nearing 60 then?

If others knew, they might tease him, saying he still had plenty of vigor.

Frankly, until he saw the child in person, he had been agonizing over the decision.

Having no children even past the age of 60, the title was already half-decided to be passed on to his nephew.

Bringing in a young child as an illegitimate son and acknowledging him would undoubtedly cause a scandal.

Wasn’t he, an old man just waiting for his days in the coffin, stirring up too much trouble now?

Wouldn’t it be better to just pass the title to his nephew and leave his son with enough wealth to live comfortably in this country?

He had considered various options, but such trivial thoughts vanished like snow melting the moment he saw his young son.

“I want to study hard and become a great nobleman like my father!”

How much must the child, who had never heard English in his life, have practiced to say that?

He even said he studied English to greet his father himself, which was more admirable than anything.

He wanted to pass on everything he had to this child.

No, that wasn’t enough.

He wanted to live longer and increase the family’s power and wealth until Killian could be completely independent.

That way, his son could live a little more comfortably.

He used to find it strange when his friends would lose their composure when bragging about their children, but now he realized it was not strange at all.

Was it because he had a late-in-life son who was the age of a grandson?

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he wouldn’t feel any pain even if he put him in his eyes [meaning he cherished him deeply].

“James, I don’t think I can make an objective judgment right now, so I want you to evaluate him for me instead. You’ve seen the child longer than I have anyway. What happened on the way here?”

First, he sent his son inside to rest, as he must have been tired from the long journey.

The Earl sat in the garden, drinking wine and listening to James’s story.

“Lord, you know I’m not one to make up stories to please you. So, I’ll say without any exaggeration that the young master is at least a prodigy, perhaps even a genius.”

“Huh. Hehehe. Hahaha. Is that so? Even though he’s my son, I felt something extraordinary about him just from talking to him briefly. He hadn’t learned much, but he still greeted me in our language, albeit awkwardly.”

“It’s not just English. The young master said he is fluent in Qing Chinese [referring to the Chinese language during the Qing Dynasty], as well as the language of a country called Wa, located south of Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom]. He said he picked it up by watching and listening, not through formal education, yet he’s at that level.”

“A 10-year-old fluent in three languages? Come on, even if he’s my son, that’s an exaggeration.”

“I thought so too, but the young master is actually very fluent in Qing Chinese. When I spoke with him, I felt he was at a similar level to me, or perhaps even better.”

The Earl’s mouth dropped open.

He thought his son couldn’t be stupid, but this was far beyond his imagination.

To speak two foreign languages fluently, let alone one, required a lot of education from a young age.

If he had done it all on his own, it would be no exaggeration to say he had a genius-level language talent.

“Three languages… no. He’ll learn English too, so he’ll be a 10-year-old fluent in four languages. I never even thought about it, but should I raise him to be a diplomat?”

“Certainly, considering the future, a diplomat fluent in Asian languages would have tremendous competitiveness. There might be nobles who can speak Qing Chinese, but most people don’t even know about the other two countries.”

“You think so too? Then, while we’re on the subject, please find some tutors for him starting tomorrow. If Killian is truly an outstanding prodigy, I, as his father, must create a suitable educational environment for him, right? After he builds some basic skills, I need to lay the groundwork for him to enter the best schools.”

“The best schools? Lord, are you planning to send the young master to a public school?”

It’s easy to misunderstand because of the name, but in England, public schools are a general term for the best private schools.

The reason they are called public schools instead of private schools is that they were places where the sons of upper-class families gathered to take classes together.

In the early days, some were just mediocre, but now most of the leading public schools in the British Empire were unparalleled prestigious schools.

Not only were they attended by the sons of simple upper-class families, but also by the sons of the most prominent nobles.

“Yes. Eton, Harrow, or Winchester, it doesn’t matter. But if I had to choose, I’m a bit drawn to Eton.”

“I’m sure you know how many freshmen Eton College accepts each year… Even if the young master starts studying now, do you think he’ll be able to get in? Frankly, I’m worried that it might just put unnecessary pressure on him.”

“Of course, we’ll hire tutors and listen to their opinions, so don’t worry too much. If they say Killian is not ready to keep up with that level yet, we can always look elsewhere.”

It hadn’t even been a full day since the child arrived in London.

The Earl knew it was too much to be talking about Eton or Harrow already, but he couldn’t help it.

Of course, he wouldn’t show it, as it might put unnecessary pressure on the child, as he just said.

But if that child could really enter Eton or Harrow School and graduate with excellent grades…

No matter how much the surroundings protested, wouldn’t it be easier to pass on the title here?

The old Earl, nearing 70, prayed and prayed that James’s assessment of his son was correct.

For some reason, the wine tasted particularly sweet that day.

In the end, the Earl finished the entire bottle of wine and went to bed feeling the happiest he had ever been in his life.

* * *

After spending a few days in London, I was starting to get a sense of what England was like in this era.

The era of the Industrial Revolution, the full-fledged opening of capitalism—I had heard these phrases countless times, but being on the ground in that history was no joke.

To exaggerate slightly, everything was changing so quickly that yesterday’s street scene was different from today’s.

Population was flooding into the city like crazy, constantly expanding roads, organizing infrastructure, and in proportion, new jobs kept springing up.

New factories appeared as soon as you opened your eyes, and workers overflowed everywhere in the city.

No matter how clear my memories from modern times were, the London of today looked almost like another world to my eyes, which had been rolling around in Joseon for years.

“Young Master, this is Soho. It used to be where nobles lived, but now most have moved to areas like Mayfair, and it has become a commoner’s district. It’s probably the most densely populated area in London right now.”

“It’s really bustling.”

“There are many people of poor character, so please stay close to us. Originally, we should only go to clean places by carriage, but you wanted to see every corner of the city so much…”

“I’m going to live here from now on, so I need to see with my own eyes how the city is laid out. And I’ve seen much worse streets than this when I was in Joseon, so don’t worry.”

I could see prostitutes wandering behind the music halls and theaters scattered everywhere, but James subtly shielded me from seeing them.

From the beginning, I had to be faithful to the role of a 10-year-old child, so I didn’t even glance in that direction, but he’s overdoing it.

I only peeked very slightly.

“By the way, James, do you know about how many people live in London right now?”

“The population is increasing so fast that I don’t know the exact number. I saw an article saying it had surpassed 1 million a while ago, so maybe it’s around 1.5 million now?”

“Wow. No wonder there are so many people.”

I think I heard that the population of Hanseong, Joseon, was less than 200,000 when I was there, so this is a huge difference.

Considering how quickly London’s capital and industrial market are maturing, it’s only natural that the population is flocking here.

However, such explosive growth inevitably brings many side effects.

This was no exception in London.

“Young Master, how about we take the carriage and go somewhere else? If we go that way, there’s a much more beautiful street called Chelsea. Let’s take a look there too.”

“Okay. Let’s just look around up to there and then move on.”

Since the city’s infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the rapidly increasing population, pollution, disease, and poverty were rampant in various places.

This, coupled with the hopeless systems of the early industrial era, further exacerbated the gap between the rich and the poor.

In addition, because technology and the market were growing too quickly, problems often arose where the country’s laws couldn’t keep up with the trend.

It was truly a jungle of early capitalism where the law of the jungle was applied as it was.

This was the kind of place I wanted to see, hear, and experience.

How much the common people were enjoying the benefits of civilization, and how deeply the capital market and developed technologies had penetrated their lives.

Knowing which classes could use financial services of this era without difficulty would make it easier to plan for the future.

Walking around Chelsea all day would only show me how many rich people there are in London and how wealthy their lives are.

One of the principles I had always followed while living in modern times was not to take money from innocent people, even if I was scamming.

It didn’t matter whether they were poor or rich.

It wasn’t like the poor were good and the rich were evil.

The important thing was whether they had taken other people’s money through dishonest means or not.

There was less risk of being pursued by the police or the judicial system if I took the money of such people in reverse, and I could comfortably suck them dry to the bone, so it was a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to make use of my talents in Joseon.

So, what about London in the 19th century?

I had only been looking around for a few days, but fortunately, I was able to find the answer without much difficulty.

“Someone! Someone, please help! This bastard stole my money!”

“What do you mean stole? You brought it and offered it yourself. If you feel wronged, report it to the police. Don’t interfere with business here.”

“You tricked me into taking it! That money is what I saved by working 15 hours a day for a year!”

“Hey! What do you mean tricked you! You’re spreading rumors that could cause a big misunderstanding! This guy isn’t a customer, he’s a real troublemaker! Okay, guys! Our customer doesn’t seem to understand, so take him away and kindly explain it to him. The police said there’s no legal problem, but there are still guys who don’t understand like this.”

“Ugh! You bastards, let me go! My money, give me back my money!”

The man, held by several burly men, screamed desperately, but no one offered a helping hand.

It’s a sight that’s not very common, but subtly noticeable when walking around streets where people are so close together.

This was already the third time in the last three days, so I had seen it about once a day.

James quickly took me to the carriage, worried that I might see more of such scenes.

It’s unfortunate, but it’s a harsh reality.

In a society where capital is accumulated and finance is developed, the crime of fraud cannot be nonexistent.

And that means that there are preys to be ripped off all around me.

At the same time, the doubts that had been lingering turned into certainty.

What do they call this situation? Half water, half fish [an idiom meaning the situation is ripe for exploitation]?

This is really making my mouth water.