Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Banquet
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It's already been a week since I entered Wilhelm II's palace.
Far from savoring royal family life and enjoying my second chance at life, I was getting a real-time taste of what it felt like to be an orangutan trapped in a zoo enclosure.
"Look over there. That's the boy."
"What on earth was His Majesty thinking, bringing an Asian into the palace..."
"......"
The whispers of the servants coming from behind me.
If they're going to gossip, I wish they'd at least keep their voices down.
Do they think I can't understand German or something?
At first, I brushed it off and ignored it, but after a few days of this, the stress was no joke.
It'd be better if they just spat "fucking yellow monkey" right in my face.
"And I've already got a headache figuring out how to move forward."
The First World War is 13 years and 4 months away.
Even if I hustle to prepare for war right now, it'd be a tight squeeze, but here I am, held back by this damn kid's body.
'No one takes a child's words seriously, after all.'
In my past life, I wished I were just ten years younger. Now, I'm begging to be ten years older.
This is truly a bind.
'Should I just pretend to be crazy and cosplay Rasputin?'
I considered it for a moment but quickly shook my head.
Wilhelm II isn't some nice-but-dim guy like his cousin Nicholas II.
Besides, a mysterious Eastern prophet pulling the strings in Germany? All I can see is getting shot by the Junkers.
"Hey, Hans!"
Just as I was feeling suffocated by this endless dark future, like the remaining days of a private's service, a familiar voice called out from behind.
It was Prince Joachim, Wilhelm II's sixth son.
And trailing behind him was Princess Viktoria Luise, the only daughter among Wilhelm II's children and the youngest of the seven siblings.
"Prince Joachim. Princess Luise."
The moment I saw Joachim and Luise, I dipped my head slightly in greeting.
These two siblings, along with the kind-hearted Augusta Empress, were among the few people friendly to me.
Unlike their big-headed older brothers who treated me like dirt and ignored me, these two were around my age.
Apparently, their curiosity about a peer outweighed any wariness toward a stranger.
'Works in my favor.'
Friendship with the imperial family is crucial, especially while they're still kids.
In my current situation, Wilhelm II and his family were my only support.
"Look at this. You're in the newspaper, Hans!"
"Me?"
Joachim unfolded a newspaper as big as he was and showed it to me. He'd brought it from somewhere.
I've told them my name is 'Hansu' so many times, but why does everyone keep calling me 'Hans'?
I'm starting to forget my own name.
"See here? 'The mysterious Eastern boy who saved the Kaiser from an anarchist’s bullet. Who is he?'"
"Wow, it's real."
It showed me collapsed after taking the bullet, but there was even a photo of me.
With the chaos from the assassination attempt dying down, it looked like media restrictions were easing up.
"There are other articles too."
Luise flipped to the next page.
A quick scan showed mostly speculation about my connection to the Kaiser and why he'd brought me to the palace.
Of course, there were trash pieces like 'Wilhelm II brings yellow race into the palace. The Kaiser's new pet?'
Can I sue for this?
"Whoa, you're a total celebrity now."
"The incident I got tangled in was a big deal."
Plus, my race played a part.
It'd be like a black kid saving the president's life back home. Weird if it didn't stir up talk.
I skimmed for interesting stories beyond mine, but nothing caught my eye.
Just the death of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd, and the failed peace talks between the Boers and British forces.
Luise, bored with the paper, made a sullen face.
"Brother, wanna go outside and play catch?"
"No way. You forgot about dinner tonight? Mom'll get mad if we get dirty."
"Wait, dinner?"
Tonight?
First I'd heard of it.
"You didn't know?"
"No one told me."
"Makes sense. I just heard too. Mom said the Chancellor, Army Chief of Staff, and... I forget who else, but some big Navy guy is coming to the palace. That's why the banquet."
The Chancellor was Bernhard von Bülow, whom I'd seen on my first day in Potsdam. Army Chief of Staff this era would be Schlieffen.
The Alfred von Schlieffen who devised the Schlieffen Plan for invading France.
And Navy... probably...
"Your Highness, is the Navy bigwig perhaps State Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Tirpitz?"
"Yeah, that sounds right!"
No one else in the German Navy at this time had the Kaiser's trust enough for a banquet invite.
Do I have to attend this banquet too?
'Meals are awkward enough with the princes glaring, and now add Bülow, Schlieffen, and Tirpitz?'
...I don't want to go at all.
Starving might hurt less than this.
"Hm. So this young lad is the talk-of-the-town Eastern boy who saved His Majesty's life."
Why do my ominous thoughts always come true?
Tearing up inside, I shook hands with the grizzled old soldier before me.
"Pleased to meet you. Count Alfred von Schlieffen. An old man holding the overly grand post of Army Chief of Staff."
"An honor, sir. Hans Choi."
"And this is Admiral Tirpitz. A grumpy old sea lion, as you can see."
"Quiet, Schlieffen."
Admiral Tirpitz, who looked like a dwarf from a fantasy tale, gripped my hand with the callused strength of a sailor.
"State Secretary of the Imperial Navy, Alfred von Tirpitz."
"I've heard the tales, Admiral."
"You're too skinny. Or are all Asians like you?"
Hahaha!
Tirpitz slapped my back heartily, laughing booming.
Damn, what's with this old guy's strength?
After greeting Chancellor von Bülow, I headed straight to the banquet hall.
Zing!
The princes' piercing stares hit me the moment I sat: 'Why are you here?'
Felt like a mouse dropped into a pack of cats.
Though these folks were more lions in rank than cats.
'I didn't want to come either.'
But I was here now, no choice.
It was awkward, but since I was stuck, I'd try leaving a good impression on Chancellor von Bülow, Count von Schlieffen, and Admiral Tirpitz.
These three topped the German government, army, and navy, after all.
No harm in building ties.
"Well then, let's eat."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After a brief prayer, Wilhelm II signaled the banquet's start.
I cautiously spooned the soup before me.
My noble etiquette, clumsy at first, now flowed naturally, drawing an unwitting smirk.
'This is good?'
No joke, it really was.
Especially the meat in the soup. A delicacy.
What meat is this? Tastes kinda like beef or chicken...
"Oh! Sea turtle after so long."
"Pfft?!"
What the fuck?
S-sea turtle?
This is sea turtle meat?!
"Hans, what's wrong?"
The Augusta Empress asked worriedly.
I quickly straightened up and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Ahem. Nothing, Your Majesty. The soup is just exquisite."
"Ah, right. First time with turtle soup for you."
The Empress nodded understandingly.
Come to think of it, I recalled a comic mentioning sea turtle soup's huge popularity in Britain-era.
Definitely tasty enough.
"Reminds me of my youth."
von Bülow said.
"Back then, even commoners had turtle dishes now and then."
"Indeed. These days, getting a sea turtle is like plucking stars from the sky."
That's 'cause people ate 'em all, right?
Sorry, turtle. Humans suck.
"By the way, Tirpitz. How's the Braunschweig-class construction?"
"Progressing smoothly, Your Majesty."
Wilhelm II asked Tirpitz mid-wine sip, as if it just hit him.
The admiral replied confidently.
Braunschweig-class battleships.
Germany's pre-Dreadnoughts, the first planned under last year's Naval Law.
But obsolete just two years after commissioning when Dreadnoughts dropped.
"We'll start on number two, Elsass, at Schichau-Werke in May, and number one, Braunschweig, at Germaniawerft in October once their slipway frees up."
"Mm. But don't settle, Admiral Tirpitz. The Braunschweig-class is just the beginning."
Wilhelm II eyed Tirpitz.
The Kaiser's eyes burned with ambition and obsession.
"Of course, Your Majesty. Our Kaiserliche Marine's ultimate goal is the world's strongest navy, surpassing even Britain's Royal Navy. Tirpitz has never forgotten it for a moment!"
"Hahaha! Surpass the Royal Navy. Ha, splendid. Splendid!"
"Hahahaha!!"
The Kaiser's and Tirpitz's ambition-filled laughter echoed through the hall.
But I couldn't laugh.
The Imperial Navy surpassing the Royal Navy?
'That never happens, Billy!'
In real history, the Kaiserliche Marine never caught, let alone surpassed, the Royal Navy.
The Kaiser's and Tirpitz's blind naval buildup poisoned Germany, no gain.
'Plus, the High Seas Fleet barely shone in the Great War.'
Wilhelm II poured national funds into the navy, but it got thrashed by Britain except Jutland's flash, then scuttled at Scapa Flow post-war.
"What do you think, Hans?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you think our German navy can surpass Britain's?"
What does this guy take me for, asking a kid this?
'Tricky...'
Safe answer: "Of course!" Kaiser happy, everyone content.
But my Save-the-German-Empire project gets farther.
His blind fleet expansion hurt the future.
'Should I go for it here?'
An idea sparked.
Success skyrockets my stock.
Definite gain for the Empire.
But a massive gamble. Fail, and I'm done.
"Your Majesty."
I calmed myself, weighed risks vs. rewards carefully.
And decided.
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."