Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Peacemaker Edward
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“Tum-Tum Edward has arrived.”
“Crown Prince?”
As Edward VII appeared in the funeral hall, Crown Prince Wilhelm muttered under his breath.
“Oh, of course, I don’t think that myself—it’s just that Father used to say it back in the day.”
When I gave him a strange look, Crown Prince Wilhelm explained as if making excuses.
Come to think of it, Wilhelm II apparently despised Edward VII in a different way from his mother, the Victoria Dowager Empress.
He even went so far as to call his own uncle Satan behind his back in the original history.
‘But even that Wilhelm II only grumbled behind his back—he couldn’t utter a peep in front of Edward VII.’
Edward VII’s influence and stature among the European royalty were that immense.
Moreover, while Edward VII didn’t meddle in politics as aggressively as his mother Queen Victoria had, he was an excellent leader who used his outstanding diplomatic skills and affability to ensure Britain could make its voice heard on the international stage.
Unlike a certain someone.
The Anglo-French Entente that shaped the lineup for World War I was made possible thanks to Edward VII’s efforts in winning over the French.
Peacemaker Edward.
As the glory of the Victorian era faded and twilight began to fall on the British Empire, the British affectionately called their king—who kept Britain speaking loudly in international affairs—the Peacemaker.
Of course, the Kaiser and the Germans, who were constantly checked by Edward VII, hated him fiercely, blaming him for opposing Germany at every turn.
“Ah, Hans. There you are.”
“...Crown Princess Sophie?”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Crown Princess Sophie approached me with a smile.
We hadn’t talked much, but thanks to the matter with the Victoria Dowager Empress, she was quite friendly toward me.
“What brings you here?”
“My husband wants to meet you.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Crown Princess Sophie’s husband was none other than Crown Prince Constantine I of Greece.
What on earth could he want with me?
I nodded obediently and followed Crown Princess Sophie.
“Oh, so you’re the boy that Sophie’s been raving about.”
Crown Prince Constantine greeted me warmly, showing off his fluent German.
Come to think of it, the Crown Prince had received military training in the German Empire and even served in the guards.
No wonder his German was so good.
“It’s an honor to meet the Diadochos of the Kingdom of Greece.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. They say thanks to you, my mother-in-law was able to pass peacefully with a smile on her face?”
“I did nothing more than push from behind Their Majesties the Kaiser and the Dowager Empress.”
“Haha, such a humble lad. Ah, but that’s not why I wanted to see you.”
“Pardon?”
As I made a puzzled face, the Crown Prince pulled something from his pocket.
It was a book.
A book with a very familiar title.
[Immortal Admiral Yi]
‘Why is this showing up here?’
And it wasn’t even a Greek translation—it was the genuine original German version.
There weren’t really any foreign editions beyond the English one anyway.
“A bookseller imported it privately, and by chance it fell into my hands. I got so absorbed reading it that I didn’t notice the sun rising. Hahaha!”
Booksellers, huh.
That explained why fan letters kept coming from overseas—it was those guys.
“Could you sign it for me?”
“Of, of course.”
I nodded readily and took the volume from the Crown Prince.
I couldn’t refuse a direct request from him.
“Ah, but...”
I don’t have a pen.
Should’ve carried a pencil or fountain pen just in case.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, thank you?”
Spotting my predicament, one of Crown Prince Constantine’s entourage handed me a pen.
Why does this guy have my book too?
“I’m a fan.”
The man who lent me the pen grinned so widely it was almost embarrassing.
Looking behind him, I saw five or six people who had somehow produced identical copies and were lining up.
How far has my book spread?
At this rate, I’ll end up as the star of some conspiracy theory.
‘Immortal Admiral Yi is proof of a secret connection among European royalty!’ or something.
“...Here you go.”
“Oh, thanks!”
Suddenly, I was holding a signing session in the funeral hall.
And the line seemed to be growing—was that my imagination? God, I hope so.
“Ho ho, looks like something fun is happening.”
“?!”
In the midst of mindlessly signing books, an unfamiliar voice came from behind.
At the same time, Crown Prince Constantine—who was beaming with his signed copy—and Crown Princess Sophie—who was eyeing her husband oddly—both startled and bowed their heads immediately.
“Your Majesty Edward VII.”
“Uncle.”
“Constantine, Sophie. Long time no see. How have you all been?”
“Yes. Thanks to you...”
“That’s splendid! Then, I’ll borrow this fellow for a bit.”
“Pardon?”
The King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII, placed a hand on my shoulder with a mischievous smile.
Then he dragged me off somewhere, leaving me wearing a dumbstruck expression as I failed to comprehend what was happening.
What the hell is going on?
“Nice to meet you, Hans Choi! Do you know who I am?”
“...I believe you are His Majesty Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom.”
“Haha! Yes, yes. Though honestly, I prefer just being called Edward over those grand titles. You speak excellent English, by the way?”
“I had the chance to learn it as a child.”
But why has this casual Edward brought me to such a quiet spot?
No matter how I thought about it, only ominous ideas came to mind.
It was scientifically proven fact that Britain was an untrustworthy island nation.
And Edward VII was that nation’s king.
If I wasn’t careful, I’d get eaten alive.
“I’ve heard a lot from my private secretary Frederick. They say you did a great thing for my sister? As family, I’m grateful.”
“N-no, not at all. Frederick, you say?”
“Ponsonby.”
‘Sir Frederick Ponsonby is Edward VII’s private secretary?’
I had no idea.
I knew he was a British noble, but I never imagined he served the royal family.
‘No wonder he was watching me like he was sizing me up.’
He’d probably come to Friedrichshof to watch over his aunt the Dowager Empress’s final moments and, while at it, keep an eye on any suspicious moves by the German imperial family.
Edward VII would already know that his capricious nephew’s Germany posed a major threat to Britain.
“Did Sir Ponsonby say anything bad about me?”
“He told me to watch out for you. Couldn’t tell if you’d be a threat or a boon to Britain, he added.”
How straightforward.
Sounded like Sir Ponsonby had eavesdropped on the conversation with the Victoria Dowager Empress from afar.
I had gotten a bit carried away chattering about this and that.
“You’re overestimating me.”
“Who knows?”
With that, Edward VII flashed a cheerful smile and looked me straight in the eye.
But his gaze was serious, unlike the curve of his smiling lips.
“So, which side are you on?”
Britain’s enemy? Or ally?
To Edward VII’s ‘Mommy or Daddy?’ question, I deliberately sighed as if troubled and slowly opened my mouth.
“That depends on the will of Your Majesty the King and His Majesty the Kaiser, doesn’t it?”
“Hahaha! Nicely dodged. So it all comes down to the diplomatic relations between our two empires?”
“If Britain doesn’t make an enemy of Germany, I’ve no reason to become Britain’s enemy.”
“But isn’t the German Empire making itself our enemy right now?”
“...His Majesty the Kaiser’s diplomatic judgments are a bit hasty, to be sure.”
Our Kaiser was the type to make enemies out of thin air.
Sadly.
“But isn’t it better to have more enemies when you have enemies, and more friends when you have friends?”
“Heh, never thought I’d hear that from the German Empire.”
“Besides, Britain has no immediate reason to antagonize Germany. Not with that massive bear in the frozen east, at least.”
The Great Game.
The Anglo-Russian rivalry spanning Eurasia—what could be called the original Cold War—had continued from the 19th century right up to the present.
Edward VII burst out laughing as if I’d hit a nerve.
“Pfft! That stings. True, for us, it’s still hard to turn Germany into an enemy because of Russia. If Germany and Russia ever joined hands, it’d be a disaster.”
For that to happen, Germany and Russia would have to carve up the Austro-Hungarian Empire at least.
It was a highly unrealistic scenario.
‘But Britain still overestimates Russia.’
The fact that the Russian Empire only looked strong but was actually a land-rich fool wouldn’t be revealed until 1904, with the Russo-Japanese War.
‘That’s why the Anglo-French Entente was born that year.’
France panicked when its sole ally got thrashed by some upstart like Japan and scrambled for a new one, while Britain figured it no longer needed to worry about Russia and reached out to its ally France.
That led later to the Anglo-Russian Entente and the Triple Entente.
For me, aiming for the survival of the German Empire, it was a thoroughly troubling development.
‘Maybe I should poke at it.’
It might turn into a good opportunity.
With a straight face masking my intentions, I continued worriedly.
“Yes. And Russia’s expansion in the Far East shows no signs of stopping. That must worry Britain greatly.”
“Once the treaty to wrap up the Boxer Rebellion in China is signed, the Russians will have to pull back. Their pretext for sending massive troops to Manchuria was suppressing the rebellion, after all.”
“Your Majesty. You don’t seriously believe that, do you?”
“Ho ho.”
As if I’d said something amusing, Edward VII looked at me with a face full of mirth.
“So, Hans, you think differently?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. As you know, the Russian Empire’s territorial greed is beyond imagination. They’ll never stop expanding in China. And Your Majesty and the British government know that full well.”
“Even so, we’ve no intention of going to war with Russia.”
“But you’ll check the Russian Empire indirectly, as always.”
I met Edward VII’s eyes squarely and continued.
“Britain will probably seek a champion to oppose Russia in its stead. This time, it’ll be Japan, I suppose.”
“!”
A flicker of agitation crossed Edward VII’s slyly smiling face for the first time.
Of course, I could speak so confidently because I knew the Anglo-Japanese Alliance would be signed next year—but really, Japan was Britain’s only option anyway.
Hostile to the Russian Empire in East Asia, reasonably strong, and above all, not a threat to Britain.
‘For now, at least.’
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so?”
Well, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance shocked even the British.
The government would want to keep it secret until the announcement.
“But if I may offer one piece of advice in memory of the Victoria Dowager Empress: even if you ally with Japan, don’t trust them completely.”
“Don’t trust Japan?”
“If Britain ‘hypothetically’ allies with Japan, it’ll only be to ‘check’ Russia in the Far East.”
But would Japan be satisfied with that?
That Japan?
“Japan will go to war with Russia.”
“...What?”
To a rational man like Edward VII, it was incomprehensible.
He’d never imagine a mere regional power like Japan seriously warring with the Russian Empire.
‘Even when the Russo-Japanese War actually broke out, Britain thought Japan would lose to Russia in the end.’
But you couldn’t expect common sense from this era’s Empire of Japan.
Whether that was good or bad.
“Does that even make sense? Japan actually going to war with Russia?”
“Japan has long dreamed of advancing onto the continent and is desperate to swallow my homeland, Korea. But the Russian Empire blocks their ambitions.”
“Hmm.”
“Your Majesty, the Japanese are an impulsive race that doesn’t act on reason or common sense.
Just recall the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. The current situation is no different from then.”
Japan will go to war with Russia.
Just like it did with the Qing Dynasty to seize Korea.
“And Your Majesty knows full well what the outcome will be.”