Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Crown Prince's Wedding (1)
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"Phew... I'll withdraw the lawsuit."
"You've made the right decision, Mr. Marconi."
Marconi ultimately held back his tears and dropped the suit.
The British government had been pressuring his company, giving him the hint to call it quits here. For him, pushing forward with the lawsuit against DRR and radio any longer would have been impossible.
But that didn't mean Marconi was walking away empty-handed.
"Since things have turned out this way, why don't we collaborate on technology?"
"...Mr. Marconi. Isn't that a bit too shameless?"
He'd been nitpicking over patent infringements not long ago, and now, the moment the legal battle ended, he was talking about a technology partnership between Marconi Wireless and DRR. Even I, who heard the news from J.P. Morgan and Morgan, couldn't help but admire his brazenness.
But regardless of our opinions, Marconi—wearing his ironclad face—stood firm.
"As long as you don't encroach on Marconi Wireless's domain of wireless telegraphy, we won't interfere with radio in the future either. Respecting each other's territories and growing through cooperation and mutual benefit—that's the proper way for companies, isn't it?"
Setting aside Marconi's nonsense, it wasn't a bad proposal.
J.P. Morgan had also sent word that it didn't seem like Marconi was up to any tricks, so after a brief moment of thought, I decided to accept the offer of collaboration with Marconi Wireless.
I had no intention of stretching into wireless telegraphy and picking a fight with Marconi, who dominated the world market.
With the radio issue resolved, my attention turned to the biggest topic in the German Empire right now: Crown Prince Wilhelm's wedding.
"Haah... There's less than a week until the wedding."
But the groom-to-be, Crown Prince Wilhelm, seemed anxious now that the day was drawing near.
"Hoo... Hans, don't ever get married."
"Your Highness, are you trying to block my path to marriage just because you don't want to?"
"It's not that I hate the idea of marriage. I have no intention of shirking my duties as Crown Prince. I just feel like the wedding is coming too soon."
"Well, it has been less than a year since the engagement."
The engagement itself had happened just three months after Crown Prince Wilhelm first met his bride.
Times were what they were, but even I thought it was a bit rushed.
"But regretting it now won't change anything. Besides, you two met because you like each other, right?"
"Of course I love Cecilie. But I'm not ready. Not ready!"
"That's not something the groom should say right before the wedding."
I shook my head at Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was clinging to me even though the ceremony hadn't started yet, refusing to let go.
Why was a single guy like me, who wasn't even dating anyone, giving wedding advice to the Crown Prince?
"Oh my, Wilhelm. So here you are."
"Cecilie?"
Just as I started feeling sympathy for Crown Prince Wilhelm's bride, she appeared right on cue, like a tiger summoned by its mention.
Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
The second daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and sister to Queen Alexandrine, wife of King Christian X of Denmark. She was the woman who would become the last Crown Princess of the German Empire.
"Good day, Duchess Cecilie."
"Hello, Baron Choi."
I greeted the future Crown Princess politely, and she returned it with a bright smile.
Duchess Cecilie was not only beautiful enough to make Crown Prince Wilhelm fall head over heels at first sight but also tall enough—nearly matching his 180 cm frame—to remind one of 21st-century models. She was a striking tall beauty.
'And her fashion sense is impeccable, with a great figure to boot.'
In fact, after becoming Crown Princess, Duchess Cecilie had risen as an icon in Germany's fashion world, leading the empire's trends.
Her popularity was so immense that women across Germany were obsessed with copying her style.
Moreover, with her noble lineage, she was deeply interested in women's rights and charity work, and her personality was impeccable—a true perfect daughter.
Honestly, she was too good for the playboy Crown Prince Wilhelm.
Of course, on the surface, they made a picture-perfect couple.
"It seems I've interrupted your conversation with Wilhelm."
"No, no. It was just idle chit-chat."
Crown Prince Wilhelm, who had been fretting about the wedding being too soon just moments ago, now gazed at her with honey-sweet eyes and took Cecilie's hand.
Before disbelief, his voice was so sappy it turned my stomach.
I wished he'd save the lovey-dovey stuff for somewhere else.
"Oh, then may I borrow Wilhelm? I want to do a final check on the wedding dress for the big day."
"Of course. I was just having some utterly. pointless. idle. chit-chat with His Highness, after all."
"Ahem. L-Let's go, Cecilie."
As I shot him a sour look and said that, the embarrassed Crown Prince Wilhelm cleared his throat, took the tilting-headed Duchess Cecilie by the arm, and hurried away.
He knew when he had nothing left to say.
"I should head to the broadcast station and double-check the radio coverage schedule."
Left alone pathetically after the Crown Prince couple departed, I muttered that and stood up.
Of course, the live coverage would only be for the main ceremony itself; the rest of the events would be handled in the studio with scripts and staging.
Even that was groundbreaking for this era.
In any case, having the imperial family approach the public this way, bit by bit, would greatly boost their approval ratings.
In the 21st century, people still went wild for British royal weddings—what would be different in the 20th?
Preparations for the wedding between Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Crown Prince Wilhelm were proceeding smoothly.
With the entire royal family busy preparing for the ceremony and welcoming visiting royalty from abroad, Princess Viktoria Luise couldn't help but gasp in admiration at the sight of her soon-to-be sister-in-law in her wedding dress.
"It's so beautiful!"
"Hee hee, thank you, Princess."
Cecilie smiled beautifully, making Luise blush shyly.
She'd thought so before, but Cecilie's tall stature—taller even than her big brother Wilhelm—made every outfit look perfect on her.
'I wish I could grow that tall too.'
Viktoria Luise muttered to herself, sighing at her reflection in the mirror and her own not-so-tall height.
Of course, at just 12 years old (14 by reckoning age), she still had plenty of growing to do, so it was a needless worry.
In fact, the future Viktoria Luise would grow taller than the average German woman of the time, if not quite matching her statuesque sister-in-law.
"Will I ever get to wear a wedding dress like Sister's one day?"
"Hmm? Princess Luise, do you have someone you like?"
Cecilie's teasing remark made Viktoria Luise's cheeks flush red without her realizing.
That was when it happened.
"Luise likes Hans."
"#[email protected]!%?!"
Thwack!
Her oblivious big brother, Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was standing beside her, blurted it out carelessly. Luise let out a strange screech and kicked his shin hard.
"Ow! Why? I'm not wrong. Honestly, everyone in the family knows except Father."
Grabbing his leg in injustice after the kick from his sister, Crown Prince Wilhelm protested.
Luise kicked him again.
"Oh my, really?"
"W-Well..."
Cecilie, watching the siblings' cute(?) antics, showed keen interest in the young princess's crush, leaving Luise squirming to hide her embarrassment.
Crown Prince Wilhelm, kicked twice by Luise for his lack of tact, just stared in bewilderment at his sister's quick shift.
"Hee hee, no need to be shy. It's perfectly natural for a girl your age to fall in love."
"I-Is it?"
"Of course! And Baron Hans von Choi, no less. You have good taste, Princess. He's certainly a promising young man."
Cecilie smiled at Luise as she said this.
She didn't mention how that love would be a thorny path due to race and status.
A girl's pure heart must be protected.
'Hans...'
Meanwhile, Luise—her face red as a ripe tomato—recalled her first meeting with Hans.
Back then, she'd seen him as just a fun boy her father had brought home.
But the fun boy soon became an amazing one.
Hans constantly surprised the adults and achieved one thing after another.
Like someone relentlessly chasing an unattainable goal.
Luise admired such a Hans.
And when the girl reached the age to awaken to love, admiration had turned to affection. Before she knew it, the Eastern boy who had suddenly appeared and become her friend as a child had claimed a corner of her heart.
"But Hans probably has no interest in me."
Yet Luise soon remembered that Hans saw her only as a friend, her expression darkening.
To be precise, he did show interest but deliberately kept his distance.
No matter how dense Hans was about romance from his past life, he wasn't so oblivious as to miss Luise's feelings.
'Is it the race or status that's holding him back?'
Cecilie mused inwardly.
The baron probably did have feelings for this adorable sister-in-law.
They were just agonizing over it due to the emperor's daughter's status as a Prussian princess.
"If you don't make a move, some other girl will snatch him up. Hans has a handsome face, after all."
"!"
But Cecilie's follow-up made Viktoria Luise's expression freeze cold in an instant.
For Luise, the idea of Hans with another woman was something she'd never even imagined.
She'd always assumed that whenever it happened—late or soon—it would be with her.
Viktoria Luise had inherited intellect from her grandmother Victoria Adelaide, dignity and poise from her mother Empress Augusta, but arrogance and stubbornness from her father, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
'Looks like I need to give those two a little push.'
Even Luise's prickly side seemed endearing to Cecilie, who decided to step in and help her young sister-in-law's love.
Weddings were days when love bore fruit, but surprisingly, they also sparked new romances.
And Cecilie knew that better than anyone.
A few days later, June 6, 1905.
The anchors' voices, brimming with joy, echoed from radios across Germany.
Today marked the first special broadcast since DRR's launch—a joyous day for the German Empire.
Cheers erupted across Berlin, backed by the radio broadcast.
Crown Prince Wilhelm's wedding had begun.