Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Dowager Empress's Gift
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"What an entertaining boy."
Edward VII recalled his conversation with Hans, a smile lighting up his face as if he had not enjoyed himself like this in ages.
At first, half for amusement and half out of curiosity, he had tossed out deliberately tricky questions like a mischievous old man testing the boy. But Hans Choi proved far more entertaining and intriguing than he had anticipated.
"Was he that impressive, Your Majesty?"
"It reminded me of the time I met Bismarck."
Bismarck.
The Marquess of Salisbury winced at the name he had not heard in so long.
As a contemporary, the marquess knew all too well what kind of man Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor of the German Empire, truly was.
And the weight that name carried.
'A diplomatic genius one fears yet cannot help but respect.'
The marquess had dealt with him often during his days as Foreign Secretary under Prime Minister Disraeli, whom he admired, and he was always left in awe of Bismarck's cunning.
That was why he found it hard to take Edward VII's words at face value.
"Ahem, comparing him to Bismarck is a bit much, surely. He's just a yellow-skinned boy, after all."
"Robert, skin color doesn't determine a man's intellect."
Edward VII, remarkably progressive for his time and opposed to racial prejudice, continued.
"Of course, he's still leagues behind Bismarck. But his insight into world affairs and his conviction in his own views even surprised me. Frankly, it was uncanny."
"What on earth did you discuss with that boy..."
"He brought up the Anglo-Japanese Alliance."
"!"
The Marquess of Salisbury's eyes widened at the words.
It was surely a matter being handled in utmost secrecy even within the British government.
'How did that come out of Hans Choi's mouth of all people?!'
"Has there been a leak?"
"No, I doubt it. It seemed like a conclusion he reached entirely on his own."
"Heh."
"But a child is still a child. It was so obvious he was trying to make us wary of Russia—it was almost endearing."
Edward VII chuckled. He was a monarch with diplomatic prowess rivaling the best in Europe, to the point where comparing him to Wilhelm II felt unfair.
The boy was clever, but he lacked experience dealing with diplomats of his own caliber.
His age meant there was plenty of room to grow, of course.
"He knows it, too. That as long as Russia and Britain keep clashing, it's to Germany's advantage."
"Even a nine-year-old gets it, but the Kaiser doesn't."
"Hahaha, Willy is my dear nephew, but even I have little to say in his defense on that front. Still, we can't just dismiss that boy's words as childish fantasy."
True to his reputation as a notorious smoker, Edward VII lit a cigar and went on.
"He said that if Japan allies with Britain, they'll strike Russia first."
"War, you mean?"
The marquess pondered for a moment before speaking.
"It's entirely possible. More than that—they'd absolutely do it, given the current Japanese government."
As Hans had pointed out, Japan had already launched a surprise war on Qing China, a far larger power, without even a declaration.
Considering the belligerent nature of Japan's leadership, war with Russia—blocking their continental ambitions—was highly likely.
"Exactly. That's why I praised his insight on that point."
"Are you concerned that a Japanese defeat would strengthen Russia's influence in the Far East?"
"Yes. Japan has virtually no chance of winning against Russia."
The marquess nodded in agreement.
In the original history, the opposite had happened, but of course.
But men like Salisbury and Edward VII, steeped in an era of Western imperialism dominating the East, could only see it that way.
To them, Russia was one of the world's great powers; Japan was a mere upstart nation just getting its act together.
Japan might have the edge at first, sure.
The Far East battlefield was Japan's backyard, and Russia's elite troops were all tied up in Europe.
Even so, both men believed Russia would ultimately prevail in any war.
Russia's national strength still overwhelmingly dwarfed Japan's, and even British support wouldn't bridge that gap easily.
"Russia and Japan fighting? Fine by me. Better yet, if they wear Russia down, that's a win for us. But if Japan loses? Russia marches into the Pacific."
"Hmm..."
Salisbury let out a grave hum.
Britain had spent the past century thwarting the Russian Empire's ocean ambitions by every means possible.
They couldn't let it all go to waste.
"Ahem! Knowing it's coming and still getting hit—it sours the mood."
Of course, they wouldn't just watch Japan fall.
But now alerted to the possibility of a Russo-Japanese war, Britain had to keep Russia in check somehow.
And that left a bitter taste for Salisbury.
"Do you think that boy calculated all this?"
"Maybe. He's already got that flashy track record with France."
"Ah!"
Salisbury's jaw dropped as it finally clicked.
The sudden reignition of the Dreyfus Affair in France and the ensuing political chaos.
It had all started with a French interview article—and the interviewer was none other than...
'Hans Choi!'
"At first, I thought Willy was behind it. But now I see—it was all that rascal Hans."
"Devious."
"Exactly. Just our style."
"Body of an Easterner, mind of a German, tongue of a Briton. A chimera if ever there was one."
Salisbury quipped without a hint of malice, the sort of remark that would have soured Hans's mood.
Edward VII burst into laughter at the joke, but a vague unease began to stir within him.
'Come to think of it, why would that boy bring up a potential Japan-Russia war to me specifically? There's no reason for it.'
It couldn't be pure goodwill.
After what he pulled in France, Hans Choi was no innocent angel.
If anything, he was a little devil.
When a devil like that shows his hand, there's almost always an ulterior motive.
Or it was just a bluff.
'Hmm, no idea. What does he stand to gain by saying that?'
Using Britain to check Russia? Possible for the German Empire.
But Hans Choi? Who knows...
"For now, let's watch and wait, Robert."
"Your Majesty?"
"He's a useful and entertaining card. Waiting patiently to see what happens next is an old man's privilege, isn't it?"
Of course, whether they played the card or got played by it remained to be seen.
August 13, 1901.
The final day of the funeral had arrived.
The Victoria Dowager Empress's coffin was draped, per her will, in both the British Union Jack and the black-and-white flag of the German Empire.
In the original history, she had requested only the Union Jack with no mention of the German flag. But with her relationship to Wilhelm II mended, her final wishes had changed.
"Prepare! Aim! Fire!"
Tat-tat-tang!
As citizens solemnly watched the coffin being carried on the hearse toward the mausoleum of Friedrich III at the Friedenskirche in Potsdam, the honor guard fired the salute.
I walked behind the carriage alongside Wilhelm II and the rest of the Victoria Dowager Empress's family, under the gaze of the crowd, slowly making our way to the Friedenskirche.
Once the hearse reached the church, her sons—Wilhelm II and Prince Heinrich—along with her brother Edward VII and other siblings lifted the coffin and carried it to the mausoleum beside the church.
"We now offer the final prayer for the deceased."
Following Lutheran rites of the German imperial family, the last prayer for the Victoria Dowager Empress was held. Then, with her family watching, the burial began.
"We commit the soul of this our brother to Almighty God, and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
Edward VII, who had been silent, suddenly murmured something.
The famous line from the Book of Common Prayer: "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
"......"
Wilhelm II startled at the sound but soon turned to gaze at his mother's coffin, listening quietly to Edward VII's prayer.
"We believe that through Jesus Christ, he has the hope of eternal salvation. When the Lord comes to judge the world in glory, the earth and sea shall give up their dead.
The Lord shall place all things under his feet and perform wonders. Even the corrupt body of this one sleeping in the Lord's bosom shall be transformed into the Lord's glorious form. As from the side you formed Adam from dust and Eve from Adam's rib, so death is a holy rite of return to that side.
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes."
As Edward VII finished, soil was cast upon the Victoria Dowager Empress Adelaide's coffin.
She would now rest eternally here with her beloved husband, Friedrich III, and the young sons buried in her heart.
"Everyone, please stay a moment longer if you would."
As the funeral ended and the imperial family and mourners began to disperse from the Friedenskirche, Princess Margarete addressed them all.
"Per a request she left me in life, I will now reveal our mother Victoria Adelaide's final will."
"Margarete?"
The crowd murmured.
Her sudden announcement surprised me, Wilhelm II, and everyone present.
The Dowager Empress's final will? What was this about?
"I ask all of you here to bear witness to this will."
"If it was Mother's dying wish, how can we refuse?"
Edward VII nodded readily, and Princess Margarete carefully produced the Victoria Dowager Empress's will.
"To my beloved family."
She began reading the preamble.
"By the time this will is read, my funeral will have concluded. But I have no regrets. My life was filled with trials and misfortune, yet I can proudly say I ended it happily."
"Mother..."
Crown Princess Sophie murmured, her eyes reddening.
Princess Margarete struggled to keep a composed face as she continued.
"But I did not achieve this alone. It was thanks to a little friend who came to my side one day."
"Huh?"
"Hans Choi."
Wait—my name, out of nowhere?
"My dear friend and beloved child. Without your kind help, I could not have closed my eyes so peacefully."
"......"
"As recompense, I bequeath to you Schloss Friedrichshof and all my properties."
"Pardon?"
I blurted out in shock.
What had I just heard?
"I hope my modest gift pleases you. Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, Dowager Empress of Germany and Princess Royal of England."
As Princess Margarete finished, every eye in the room turned to me.
It was anything but modest.