Chapter 113
Chapter 113
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Aide (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Congratulations, Hans. Now that you've officially become an imperial bureaucrat, redouble your efforts for me and the German Empire."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will surely repay the trust you've placed in me."
Wilhelm II smiled contentedly at Hans's response and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
When the newly appointed Foreign Minister Heinrich von Tschirschky first said he wanted Hans as his aide, Wilhelm II had hesitated a bit. But when Chancellor von Bülow added that it was about time Hans gained some experience as a bureaucrat, the Kaiser made a bold decision.
'Hans might become my Bismarck someday.'
Of course, Hans might lack the experience and gravitas of the late Bismarck for now, but to Wilhelm II, he was still better than that stubborn old man.
Unlike Bismarck, Hans never talked back sharply or acted on his own whims.
That was the most important thing to the Kaiser.
'If I redouble my efforts any more here, I might be the one who burns out...'
Of course, Hans grumbled inwardly like that.
He was already running around in all directions to save the German Empire.
It was a joke, but if he pushed any harder, he really might die from overwork.
"Hans, come here. We've prepared a gift for you!"
"A gift?"
"Yes. I wanted to pop some champagne too, but Mother said it's still too early for us."
While Hans was staunchly rejecting the overwork death ending, Luise, Prince Joachim, and Wilhelm II's other children celebrated his new job by handing him a gift.
Wilhelm II and the Augusta Empress watched Hans open it with shy smiles, looking pleased.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Wilhelm II felt a strange sense of unease.
"Dona."
"Yes?"
"Doesn't Hans and Luise seem unusually close today?"
"To me, they look the same as always. Besides, they've been close since they were kids."
"Hmm..."
Wilhelm II tilted his head at the Augusta Empress's nonchalant reply, thinking, 'Is that so?'
In truth, the Augusta Empress had long since noticed the relationship between Hans and Luise, but she hadn't told her husband yet.
She was worried about how Wilhelm II might react, and above all, Hans and Luise were keeping their dating a secret.
Of course, it was a "secret" that everyone except the Kaiser knew about.
Still, as a mother, it was only right to protect her daughter's little secret.
'But helping from behind the scenes should be fine, right?'
The Empress smiled faintly at that thought and turned to her anxious, mumbling husband.
"Still, the kids are grown now, so shouldn't we make them keep some distance? Others might get the wrong idea."
The Kaiser whispered to the Augusta Empress, feeling an odd itch to grab his lumberjack axe as he watched Luise clinging to Hans more than usual today. Suddenly, Hans—who had seemed like such a hindrance moments ago—started looking like a sneaky thief.
"Wrong idea? What kind of wrong idea?"
"Well... that they might be in a deep relationship. Of course, Hans wouldn't dare have any impure thoughts about my sweet Luise, but others might think differently."
"Hmm, wouldn't Hans make a fine husband for Luise? I'd actually be thrilled if they got together."
"Pfft?! W-What, what did you say? H-Husband?!"
Wilhelm II gaped like he'd been struck on the head, staring at Hans and Luise in utter disbelief.
'Hans as Luise's husband? So he'd become my son-in-law? Hans would be fine... No, no!'
Wilhelm II had unconsciously thought Hans, like a son to him, would make a good son-in-law, but he quickly shook his head vigorously.
No, that wouldn't do. Luise was still his darling angel who loved Daddy's mustache.
Marriage for Luise? Even if it was Hans, he couldn't accept it.
Sweating, Wilhelm II said to the Augusta Empress,
"Dona, it's still too early to talk about Luise's marriage."
"Your Majesty, as you know, royal women marry young. Luise will be of marriageable age in five or six years, so we should start thinking about it now."
"Ugh... T-That's true, but..."
The Kaiser's heart felt like it was tearing at the thought of his daughter leaving him soon, but he couldn't argue with the Augusta Empress.
In this era, royal and noble women typically married between turning 18 and their early twenties at the latest.
His own sisters had done the same, and Luise couldn't escape that tradition.
Of course, some princesses refused to leave their parents and never married, but Wilhelm II didn't want Luise to end up a lonely spinster forever.
"Besides, wouldn't Hans make a perfectly fine son-in-law? We both know he's smart and polite, and he's contributed so much to the Empire. Plus, if he marries Luise, he'd truly become family."
"That's true, but..."
"And most importantly, if Hans and Luise marry, we won't have to send her far away."
That was another reason the Augusta Empress supported Hans and Luise.
It was a worry every queen with daughters shared.
Princesses in European royals married foreign royals or high nobles befitting their status, which meant permanent separation from their parents.
Her late mother-in-law, Victoria Adelaide, had been heartbroken sending her daughters away, and in the original history, the Augusta Empress had cried daily when her only daughter Viktoria Luise married Duke Ernst August III of Brunswick.
But if Hans and Luise married, she'd still see Luise often even after the wedding.
Wilhelm II agreed but still looked uneasy.
"But if Hans and Luise marry, that would be a morganatic marriage."
Indeed.
Viktoria Luise and Hans's statuses were too far apart.
Especially in the German Empire, the home of strict class distinctions, the Kaiser's concern was valid.
But the Augusta Empress didn't care at all.
"So what? If we had few children, maybe, but we have so many sons—one daughter's morganatic marriage isn't a big deal."
The issue with morganatic marriages was loss of succession rights, but with six sons, Luise's marriage wouldn't dilute the royal bloodline.
The Crown Prince, heir to the throne, was already married to a suitable woman and had children.
Besides, morganatic marriages happened in other European courts too—if Wilhelm II approved, it wouldn't be a huge problem.
In the future, one of Luise's brothers, Prince Oscar, had a passionate romance with her mother's maid, Ina Marie von Bassewitz, leading to a morganatic marriage, yet Wilhelm II neither struck him from the registry nor punished him severely.
The Kaiser had only raged over morganatic marriages with Prince Wilhelm, the Kaiser's eldest grandson, because he was the heir apparent and refused restoration even after exile in the Netherlands.
"S-Still, Luise's feelings matter most in this. Let's talk about it later."
Overwhelmed by the Augusta Empress's unusually assertive push, Wilhelm II ended the conversation awkwardly.
Then he glared at Hans.
Yes, Hans might become his son-in-law someday.
But that was far in the future.
If Hans laid a hand on Luise now, Wilhelm II would swing his iron axe personally.
Shiver—
"Hans, what's wrong?"
"I suddenly felt a chill."
"Did a draft come in? I should tell them to add more wood to the stove."
Hans nodded at Luise's words.
Oblivious to the Kaiser watching him like a hawk.
February 1906.
The German Empire officially announced my appointment as aide to Foreign Minister Heinrich von Tschirschky, successor to Foreign Minister Richthofen.
'Public opinion isn't as bad as I thought.'
My achievements played a role, but so did my efforts to maintain a good reputation.
Plus, young as I was, an aide position—not minister—wasn't that controversial.
Most Germans grudgingly accepted it...
"That yellow kid's finally wormed his way into the imperial government!"
"Hasn't that been the case for a while? It's been ages—maybe it's time to accept it."
"Ridiculous! You siding with him now?!"
But the Junkers were still Junkers.
More were willing to acknowledge what deserved it, but many still resented my existence.
As I climbed higher, dealing with their annoyance was inevitable.
So I had to move in earnest to secure my position.
"I need to build political power. Enough so the Junkers can't touch me lightly."
To build political power, I needed more allies.
Wealth and authority mattered, but connections were even more precious now.
"The cabinet should be fine maintaining current relations."
Chancellor von Bülow went without saying; Vice-Chancellor Posadowsky, who backed me during the Russo-Japanese War discussions, and Tschirschky, who chose me as his aide, were clear allies. Relations with other ministers weren't bad either.
Except for Prussian War Minister Karl von Einem.
He was a typical Junker who looked at me coldly.
Still, Einem had driven army innovations like the MG08 and modern heavy guns in the original history, and he was close to the Kaiser, so he wouldn't actively harass me.
"Next is the military..."
My image in the navy was good thanks to Friedrich der Große.
Especially since Navy Minister Tirpitz and I got along.
But the army was the problem.
My connections there were just Schlieffen, Ludendorff, and Lettow-Vorbeck.
Count Schlieffen had retired, and Ludendorff and Lettow-Vorbeck were mere lieutenant colonel and major.
With that, pushing airplanes or tanks would be tough—I needed to expand army allies quickly.
"I should build networks in politics and business too..."
For business, my ties to famed banker J.P. Morgan could help forge connections.
But politics... Hmm, who in this era could be a capable ally likely to side with me?
"...Konrad Adenauer?"
The name slipped out.
West Germany's first chancellor, who worked the "Rhine Miracle" from World War ruins—his abilities were proven by history. He despised Prussian militarism and loathed Junkers.
In other words, our temperaments matched.
Both anti-Junker, maybe I could recruit him?
"But it's still too early."
Adenauer had just entered politics, elected to the Cologne city council this year—a total newbie.
Regrettable, but I'd aim for later with Adenauer.
"Politics is an issue, but first, I should meet Moltke."
Schlieffen had promised to introduce me to him at the party celebrating Moltke's Chief of Staff appointment.
Honestly, given his incompetence in World War I, I wasn't expecting much. But as Chief of Staff, it was worth trying to win his favor.
"Oh, the energies of the universe welcome you."
"...Pardon?"
But the German Empire's new Chief of Staff, Helmuth von Moltke, was nothing like I'd expected.
"Baron, I sense your soul shining brightly. May this meeting bring good karma to us both."
"???"
He was weird in a strange way.