Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Mother and Son (1)
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Next morning.
"Mother. Good morning... What? Where did she go?"
Prince Heinrich, who had come to pay his morning respects to his mother, the Victoria Dowager Empress, looked puzzled upon finding her bed empty.
"Margarete. Have you seen Mother?"
Prince Heinrich asked Princess Margarete, who happened to be passing by the Dowager Empress's bedroom.
"If you're looking for Mother, she took Hans to the study."
"This early in the morning?"
"It's already 11 o'clock, Brother. Isn't that a bit late to call it morning?"
"I guess even I overslept."
No wonder his body felt so sluggish.
He had stayed up late drinking with Margarete's husband, Friedrich Karl of Hesse-Kassel, and it seemed that was why he had only just woken up.
"Mother must really like Hans."
"Yeah. It's been ages since I last saw her that happy."
"I've never received that much affection from her myself."
Heinrich's face turned bitter as he recalled the old days.
Unlike their younger sisters, his brother Wilhelm, sister Charlotte, and Heinrich himself had been raised by their grandmother Augusta, not their mother, Victoria Adelaide.
And because of that, Heinrich hadn't felt much of his mother's love.
'No, if anything, she was more disappointed in me.'
The Victoria Dowager Empress wanted her children to have the same high scholarship and intellect as she did.
But young Heinrich was less a model student and more... a lazy troublemaker who loved playing around.
His childhood interests had been not studies, but the navy and thrilling sports like yachting.
And naturally, his mother hadn't approved.
"I get why Mother likes Hans."
"What do you mean?"
"He's smart. Smart enough to make her like him that much."
Being in the navy himself, Heinrich was acquainted with Tirpitz.
So he knew well whose idea the Dreadnought was that the German Imperial Navy was pouring all its efforts into.
Of course, he still had doubts about whether that Dreadnought would truly overwhelm existing battleships with the performance Hans had described.
'The core concept of the Dreadnought is long-range gunnery at distances that vastly exceed existing battleships.'
Attacking one-sidedly from afar was, as countless wars in human history had shown, simple yet extremely threatening.
The problem was achieving a satisfactory hit rate at such extreme ranges.
That was why, despite the theories behind the Dreadnought having been discussed before, they remained a minority opinion.
The reason lay in the very utility of long-range gunnery.
At that time, battleship long-range gunnery accuracy was so low that one had to pray for a miracle from God.
Thus, most European naval powers, including Britain, had abandoned long-range fire—which rarely hit—and focused on medium- to close-range engagements.
But the Dreadnought directly challenged this mainstream naval doctrine.
'It's definitely a gamble.'
Going against the mainstream in the navy, which required massive budgets and manpower, meant exactly that.
If it failed, Germany catching up to the British Navy would become even more distant.
But if it succeeded, it would completely change the naval paradigm.
Existing battleships, with their poor long-range accuracy and slow speed, wouldn't stand a chance against a Dreadnought firing relentlessly from beyond their reach.
'But that kid spoke with such conviction, like he'd seen the future himself.'
The Dreadnought would succeed.
And Hans's confident attitude had ultimately swayed his brother the Kaiser and Admiral Tirpitz.
Well, considering those two's tendency to charge ahead without looking back in pursuit of surpassing the Royal Navy, it wasn't all that surprising.
'He's a smart kid.'
And one with guts.
Exactly Mother's type.
But, as Mother had said yesterday, not the type his brother Wilhelm would like.
'If it were the usual Brother, he'd have kicked him out long ago. It's amazing the kid's still hanging around the palace unscathed.'
"I like the kid too. Especially how well he treats Mother. Unlike some people."
"Don't say that in front of Willy. I'm scared of the aftermath."
"Oh, Brother. You're up?"
As Heinrich and Margarete talked, Sophie came over to greet him.
"Good morning, Sophie. Or should I say good afternoon?"
"Hee-hee. Either works, don't you think? Are you hungry?"
Shall I have something prepared?
Sophie offered, but Heinrich shook his head.
"I'll eat later on my own, so you go rest. What if something happens to the baby because you're pushing yourself in that condition?"
His sister Sophie wasn't alone anymore.
Heinrich had worried that Sophie, already weakened by her pregnancy, would be shocked by their mother's death and suggested she stay in Greece, but Sophie had insisted on being there for Mother's final moments.
'Brother's too harsh. To such a sweet girl.'
The conversion issue was serious, but Heinrich personally thought his brother Wilhelm didn't need to be so harsh with Sophie.
Of course, that was partly because Heinrich had a much more open personality than his brother.
"By the way, any word from Charlotte yet?"
"Who knows. The new sister-in-law said she told Big Brother, but no reply yet."
Wonder what she's doing and where.
Honestly, Heinrich wouldn't be surprised if his sister showed up at Friedrichshof drunk in a dress, dragged there by someone.
Most of her life had been filled with lavish, glamorous parties, after all.
"Mother called Charlotte 'the strangest child among my children.'"
"Wow. Mother and I agree on something for once."
No wonder their father and mother had rushed to marry her off when she got engaged.
In Heinrich's opinion, there hadn't been a single day without trouble when Charlotte was at the palace.
'Even that kind sister-in-law ends up hating her.'
Especially after that 'letter scandal.'
The letter scandal began in early 1881 when letters containing salacious gossip and slander about German nobles—too vile to speak aloud—circulated among prominent court figures, including Kaiser Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta.
The writer was never identified, but people suspected Princess Charlotte, who had a habit of badmouthing others.
'And of all times, when she lost her notebook then.'
Charlotte's notebook wasn't just any notebook; it was a bombshell filled with gossip and backbiting about German high society figures, just like her loose tongue.
It even contained royal secrets and slander, causing serious conflict between the Wilhelm II couple and Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, who sided blindly with his wife.
'That was really scary.'
Fortunately, it had been resolved now, but it wouldn't have happened if Charlotte had just behaved properly.
The outside of the mansion suddenly grew noisy.
"Hm?"
Heinrich looked out the window to see what was going on.
"Ah, he's finally here."
The eldest son of the family.
Kaiser Wilhelm II had arrived at Schloss Friedrichshof.
"Nothing's changed here since before."
Wilhelm II muttered as he stepped down from the carriage.
From inside the mansion, he could see his family, led by Empress Augusta, coming out to greet him now that they knew he had arrived.
"Welcome, Your Majesty."
"Brother."
"Big Brother."
"Yes. It's been a while, everyone."
Wilhelm II accepted his siblings' greetings with a stern face.
As he was about to enter the mansion under their guidance, he suddenly realized the children weren't there.
"Come to think of it, I don't see the children. Where are they?"
"Joachim and Luise went on a picnic nearby with Viktoria."
"And Hans?"
"...Hans is with Grandmother."
Wilhelm II frowned involuntarily at Empress Augusta's cautious reply.
That Hans kid is with that woman?
"Dona." (Augusta's nickname) "What do you mean by that?"
"Grandmother seems to have taken a liking to Hans. She took him to show him the study today."
"Hah. That mother of mine?"
Wilhelm II was slightly taken aback by the news that the Victoria Dowager Empress and Hans were getting close.
'What is she thinking?'
Hans was one to be friendly and approachable with everyone, so that was fine. But that woman was different.
She might exert impure, reactionary 'British' influences on Hans.
'I don't like it.'
"Margarete. You said Hans and Mother are in the study now?"
"Yes? Yes, Big Brother."
"Lead the way. I need to see for myself."
Margarete worried that her big brother might fight with their mother again, but she nodded at the glances from Augusta and Heinrich, who offered to come along just in case.
Wilhelm II followed his sister slowly to the Victoria Dowager Empress's study with uneasy steps.
"Come here, Hans. I have something to show you."
In the Victoria Dowager Empress's study.
I had come here this morning with the Dowager Empress and an unnamed maid pushing her wheelchair, and we were admiring her personally collected rare books and artworks.
"These paintings are by Norbert Schrödl. I'm close to him; he even painted my portrait last year."
"I see. Excellent works."
I nodded as I said so.
Honestly, I'd never heard of the painter Norbert Schrödl in my past or current life.
"You seem to like paintings a lot."
"Yes. And that's why I settled in Kronberg. It's a village of artists, you see."
I'd heard there was an artists' colony there.
The Victoria Dowager Empress used to visit often before her mobility issues worsened.
"In the old days, I used to paint the local scenery quite often."
Now that her health had declined, she enjoyed walks and reading more.
The Victoria Dowager Empress added nostalgically.
"Ah! That's it. I had a good idea. Elizabeth?"
"Yes, Your Highness Dowager Empress."
"Bring my old painting supplies."
"Right away."
The maid replied and left the study for somewhere.
Painting supplies? Surely the Dowager Empress wasn't planning to paint now. What was she thinking?
"You look confused."
The Victoria Dowager Empress smiled faintly.
"Will you tell me the answer?"
"It's nothing much. I just wanted to see your painting."
It was a big deal.
"But I don't know how to paint..."
"It's fine. Even if the technique is lacking, as long as it has heart and passion, it's enough."
Similar to what my high school art teacher used to say.
What had the art teacher said about my drawing back then?
'Hansu, you're a creature not meant to draw.'
Suddenly, I lost confidence.
"Here they are, Your Highness. Shall I set up the easel and canvas too?"
"Yes, please do."
Ignoring my mood, the strangely excited maid hurriedly prepared the old easel from the corner of the study and a canvas for painting.
Wasn't this getting too serious?
"Well then, why don't you express your thoughts on canvas."
I gripped the brush—unfamiliar after so long—and nodded.
Sigh, whatever. Let it be what it will.
Maybe, unlike my past life, I had a drop of artistic talent in this one?
And a moment later.
"This is... quite unique."
The Victoria Dowager Empress said, sweating profusely as she looked at my painting.
Impressive that she changed the subject instead of praising it.
No hope, unfortunately.
My artistic talent was disastrously catastrophic, just like in my past life.
"It's okay. If a person excels at one thing, they may lack in another."
"...Yes, Your Highness Dowager Empress."
Knock knock!
As I replied listlessly, someone timely knocked on the study door.
The Victoria Dowager Empress asked.
"What is it?"
"Your Highness Dowager Empress. His Majesty the Kaiser has arrived."
Her face stiffened at the words "the Kaiser" from outside.
It seemed the Kaiser had finally come to Friedrichshof Castle.
"...Let him in."
The Victoria Dowager Empress sighed in response.
Then the door opened, and Wilhelm II, whom I hadn't seen in a while, entered the study.
Behind him followed Empress Augusta, Princess Margarete, and Prince Heinrich.
Lucky for me.
Even so, being stuck alone between this uncomfortable mother-son pair would have been awkward.
"Welcome, Your Majesty the Kaiser."
"Hans. You must be tired tending to the old lady."
Wilhelm II replied curtly to my greeting right off the bat.
Starting like this the moment he arrives?
"...Mother."
"It's been a while, Willy."
"How is your health?"
"Don't worry. It won't suddenly improve as you fear."
"Yes. That's fortunate."
As if proving their mutual dislike, sharp, thorny words flew between Wilhelm II and the Victoria Dowager Empress.
Was it my imagination, or did I hear sighs from the family behind them?
"Hm? What is this? A painting done by a devil from hell with its toes?"
I know it's bad, but what a description!
"Hans painted it."
"Oh......"
Sighs came from a different direction this time.
"Hans. At least now we know you shouldn't be a painter."
"...I never planned to, Your Majesty."
"Mother. Big Brother. You must be hungry by now. Shall we go to lunch? It's almost lunchtime."
As the heavy atmosphere lightened a bit, Princess Margarete spoke up as if waiting.
Wilhelm II and the Victoria Dowager Empress nodded reluctantly.
But discomfort was still evident on their faces.
The rift caused by the mother-son conflict ran that deep.
Illustration
Norbert Schrödl's portrait of the Victoria Dowager Empress in her later years.
Author's Note
By the way, it's said that Princess Charlotte's problematic personality and behavior were greatly influenced by porphyria inherited from the British royal family.