Chapter 122
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: I Will Marry You
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I will marry you.
Marrying Victoria was not simply a matter of vowing to spend my life with one woman.
It meant becoming the husband of the Queen of the British Empire.
Living as this nation's Prince Consort meant that my every move could become a matter of national interest.
Especially now, with the royal family’s popularity soaring and being so beloved by the citizens, I would have to be cautious about every little action.
But thinking about it, that was true for me before as well.
How carefully had I conducted myself until now to survive in the deeply conservative upper echelons of the British Empire?
From birth, I was the kind of person who was bound to hear whispers about my Irish blood if I stepped even slightly out of line.
Wasn't my background the very reason I'd hidden behind Wellesley since I was young, taking only the practical benefits for myself while yielding all outward honor to him?
So, even if I married Victoria, would things really change that much?
I would make her the most beloved queen in the history of the British Empire, and I would remain her respected husband.
Of course, it might be a little more inconvenient than it is now.
“If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up. What do I do? I feel like I could die from happiness.”
“That’s a bit dangerous to say so soon. You’re going to be even happier from now on.”
“To be honest, I knew you wouldn’t refuse… but still, I kept worrying. What if you did? What if you told me you liked me, but not enough to marry me? I had so much more I wanted to say, but I couldn’t even say it properly…”
She must have known it was impossible, but frankly, even I would have been too nervous to deliver some grand, eloquent speech.
Still, what truly matters is our feelings for each other.
Just seeing that smile, blooming with happiness, made me feel that I could easily overlook any minor inconveniences in the future.
“It’s strange. A moment ago, my heart was pounding with nervousness and worry, but now it’s racing with a completely different emotion. You’ll think I’m being overly dramatic, but I feel as if we were born for each other from the very beginning.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever received such immense affection from someone, so honestly, my heart is fluttering as well.”
“Th-Then.”
Victoria timidly closed the distance, then raised her arms like a wooden doll.
Her stiff movements made me chuckle for a moment, but I instinctively knew what she wanted.
As I gently embraced her, her body trembled for an instant in my arms.
“...This is the first time I’ve ever been in such close physical contact with a man.”
“Speaking of which, have you told anyone else that you’re going to marry me?”
“No. Of course, you’re the first one I’ve told. I’m going back to tell them now. I have to tell Lehzen, Cecilia, and… my mother, won’t I?”
“Of course. I’m sure your mother will congratulate you warmly.”
“Yes. We’ve been talking more often lately. You were right; once that man Conroy was gone, my mother improved a lot. But I am a little curious how she’ll react when I tell her I’m marrying you.”
I was a bit curious about that myself.
A few years ago, she'd taken in what she thought was a useful little Irish half-breed, only to be blindsided. And now, it turned out that boy was Asian royalty.
On top of that, he was going to marry her daughter, the Queen of this nation. It was a situation that would leave anyone dumbfounded.
“Do you think your mother might oppose the marriage?”
“She won’t. She’s well aware that she wronged me and wants to make it up to me somehow. She’ll probably support the marriage enthusiastically to relieve some of her guilt. What I’m more concerned about is how to tell my uncle and Cecilia.”
Though it wasn’t at all strange for cousins to marry in this era, it was bound to be a little awkward if they were already very close.
Especially since Aunt Cecilia—no, Mother—was also Victoria's lady-in-waiting.
Telling her, “I’m going to marry your son,” would be… well, it would certainly be a little awkward.
“I think my aunt will be overjoyed. You can probably just tell her plainly, don’t you think?”
“Of course, she will. I’m sure she’ll be incredibly proud. Still, Killian is legally Cecilia’s son, so… hmm. No, it’s fine. I have to tell them eventually, so I might as well get it all over with today.”
“If you find it too awkward to bring up, shall I go with you?”
“No. That would only make it more embarrassing. I’ll tell everyone first. Besides, it’s customary for the one who proposed to announce it first, so you should head back for now, Killian. You have people you need to tell as well, don’t you?”
Indeed, I needed to inform Wellesley, who must be anxiously waiting to hear how things turned out, that the marriage was confirmed.
“Understood. Then I will inform the Prime Minister that I am to marry Your Majesty, and we will proceed with having Parliament recommend me as swiftly as possible.”
“Yes. Then…”
As I bowed and turned to leave, she hesitated for a moment, then shyly waved her hand.
“I look forward to our future together, my Killian.”
“Yes, Your Ma—”
I caught myself, about to respond as I usually did out of habit. Clearing my throat, I kissed the back of her hand instead.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, my Victoria.”
“What? Wh-What did you just…”
“Ah, my apologies. The mood was so nice, I got carried away.”
Come to think of it, was this the first time I had called her by her name without any title?
Even if we were in private, perhaps calling her by name on the very first day was too forward by her conservative standards.
Still, we were to be married. Would it not be a bit strange to keep calling her ‘Your Majesty’ in private?
“No, no. Don’t you dare apologize! From now on, whenever we’re alone, I want you to always call me that. No, before you leave, call me that ten more times.”
Ah, so it wasn’t that I was being too forward, but the opposite.
In the end, I had to spend several more minutes peppering her name into expressions of affection before I was finally able to leave Kensington Palace.
It seemed the Queen's restraints had well and truly come off. I would need to pay a little more attention to my physical conditioning from now on.
Still, I supposed I could manage for the time being.
After all, I was in my vigorous early twenties.
* * *
“Hah… So it’s really been decided, then? Her Majesty proposed to you herself?”
“Yes. And I accepted.”
“I said it as a joke back then, but to think it would actually come to this…”
Thanks to my warning yesterday to be prepared, Wellesley took the news relatively calmly, but he still shook his head back and forth as if he found it all absurd.
“This was Gladstone’s idea? They must be out of their minds. What kind of person thinks of recommending a political rival as Prince Consort just to reduce their influence?”
“I’ve told you before, he’s a capable man.”
“Then was it a mistake to send him over to the Whigs? If we had kept a tight grip on him in our party, this never would have happened.”
“Even so, he and Mr. Disraeli would have eventually had a massive falling out, and one of them would have left the party. It was always going to be difficult to keep both of them. And as I’ve said before, we should be grateful to have such a competent rival. Thanks to him, the slack atmosphere within our party has regained its tension, has it not?”
“Isn’t it more like a sense of crisis than tension? At this rate, you’re about to be forced out of your minister position.”
From Wellesley’s perspective, this was indeed a solid counterpunch from the Whig Party.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was a shock severe enough to cause a knockdown, not just lose a few points.
“However, as the Whigs proposed, this is clearly for the good of the nation. As I’ve said before, a politician’s job is to advance matters in a way that the nation’s interests become their own. From that perspective, you would do well to observe and learn from the Whigs’ latest strategy, Prime Minister.”
“That much… I admit, I was impressed. To think they could attack in such a bizarre way, and yet I couldn't find any grounds to oppose it. But the problem is, we can’t just stand by and take this beating, even if it does benefit the nation, can we?”
“You have a point. Do you think I want to be dragged from my ministerial post, forced to proclaim political neutrality? I’m the one who detests the idea the most.”
“Right? But you said before that there was a very slim chance Her Majesty might propose. You also mentioned you had some ideas in mind.”
The only reason Wellesley was managing to maintain his composure, however forced, was because of what I had told him before.
Of course, I hadn’t been lying. I did have some things planned.
But strictly speaking, my plan was for my own benefit, not for the Conservative Party.
Still, if I did well, Wellesley would do well, and if Wellesley did well, the Conservative Party would do well. So, in a roundabout way, wasn’t it all the same?
I could ask for his full support without a pang of conscience, right?
“First, there’s no benefit in dragging this out, so you should bring up the Whigs’ opinion in Parliament as soon as possible. Ask them if it’s true that they intend to recommend a Prince Consort, as you’ve heard from Her Majesty.”
“They’ll naturally seek our party’s cooperation then. Should I agree? Ah, wait. What if we agree but draw out the engagement period? You’d still be engaged, so you wouldn’t have to step down from your ministerial post, would you?”
It was common for nobles of this era to have an engagement period after announcing their marriage.
But this was no ordinary noble marriage.
“It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not a good one either. Above all, it gives the Whigs too much to attack. They could argue that the royal family needs an heir as soon as possible, and if the marriage is delayed, how will we address that? We would have no counterargument. And more importantly, if we are seen to be blatantly stalling, both the Conservative Party and I will suffer a blow to our image.”
“Hmph… I see. The public will certainly want Her Majesty to have an heir sooner rather than later, before she gets any older. To prevent public opinion from siding with the Whigs, we can’t appear to be dragging our feet.”
“Exactly. So, let the proposal come from the Whigs, but show everyone that the Conservative Party is taking the lead in pushing it forward. The Whigs will think they’ve landed a blow on us, so the faster we move, the more we’ll catch them off guard.”
It may have been a fluke on their part, but I had already prepared all sorts of justifications for a marriage with Victoria.
No matter how brilliant Gladstone or Palmerston were, they could never predict my actions without knowing about my relationship with Victoria.
So if we moved first and established the narrative, they would have no choice but to be swept along while they were still stammering in confusion.
“It is a long-standing tradition that the Prince Consort must maintain political neutrality, and it is a tradition that must be followed. If the monarch or the consort begins to openly intervene in politics, how can a healthy parliamentary system function?”
“...That’s true, but it’s a shame. I know your abilities far surpass those of the good-for-nothing freeloaders rolling around Parliament, yet you have to step down like this.”
“That very thought—that I have to step down—is the blind spot.”
Why would I step down? I could simply maintain a facade of strict political neutrality while operating in the shadows.
And besides working as a hidden power, it wasn’t as if there were no ways for me to engage in public activities on the surface.
I would now tell Wellesley about that method…
“Ah, this is unrelated, but have you proposed to Her Majesty?”
“Pardon? I told you, Her Majesty was the one who proposed.”
In this era, marriage was perceived as the man taking responsibility for the woman, and the woman belonging to the man, so it was considered natural for the man to propose.
But since Victoria was the Queen of the nation, she had to be the one to propose, as a symbol of her sovereignty.
Everyone knew this, so I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly asking such an odd question.
“Oh, dear. It seems your lack of marital experience is showing. Her Majesty is the Queen of this nation, but she is a woman first and foremost. She may have proposed first due to practical constraints, but it’s only natural for her to feel disappointed about not being able to experience the kind of event every woman goes through. That’s what I mean.”
“Ah… now that you mention it, you’re right.”
He had a point. A very good one.
“So, if you want to be an even more beloved husband in the future, you need to put some real effort into it now and prepare something proper.”
“Yes. I should do that. I was so preoccupied with other things that it never even crossed my mind.”
“Hahaha, you owe me one for this. Once you experience how much this will help your married life down the road, you’ll be thanking me for years to come.”
Is this why companies prefer experienced hires?
No matter how smart I was, this was the best piece of advice I could have received, something I never would have known without having been married myself.
To think I would receive Wellesley’s help in a matter like this.
I nearly made a huge mistake.