Protection
The Crown Prince's death did not immediately transform the world.
Germany's Kaiser remained Wilhelm I, and Bismarck still held the chancellorship. On the surface, the great ship that was Germany appeared to sail on in the same direction, unchanged.
But within Germany, a sharp wind of conservatism was gathering force. The liberal faction, having lost the Crown Prince who had been both their future and their leader, no longer had the strength to stand against the conservative camp. Even Bavaria, which had intended to join hands with the Crown Prince's faction through Sophie's marriage, let go of the liberals. Where the liberal tide receded, conservative voices echoed in its place, as they always did.
Waldemar easily sensed this atmosphere in Berlin's social circles. The liberal gatherings that had once appeared here and there, however sparsely, vanished without a trace after the state funeral. They had not necessarily abandoned meeting altogether, but they were certainly no longer doing so where society figures might notice. As the tide turned, some of those who had once styled themselves liberals defected to the conservative side. Given the nature of opportunists who chase power, it was hardly surprising.
This is no time for that.
Waldemar went to see his mother, who was lost in grief.
"Waldi."
Crown Princess Victoria greeted her son in a melancholy voice.
"Yes. It's me."
"I was thinking of your father again today."
The Crown Princess, her face stained with tears, prepared to pour out her feelings. But Waldemar had not come to comfort her.
"Mother. This is not the time for that conversation."
At Waldemar's grave expression, the Crown Princess wiped away her tears.
"What on earth has happened that you would speak with such a serious face?"
"Because it's a conversation that warrants it."
At Waldemar's firm assertion, the Crown Princess folded her handkerchief.
"Go on, then."
Waldemar delivered the heavy words.
"From now on, Mother, you must go back over every little thing you've done — every single action — and eliminate any weaknesses."
The Crown Princess answered with genuine seriousness.
"I know that much."
She was not unaware that her husband's death had completely changed her circumstances. But Waldemar still believed she was not facing reality.
"No, Mother. You have no idea what I'm trying to say!"
He had no choice but to speak harshly if he was going to protect her.
"Waldi."
The Crown Princess looked startled by her son's forceful tone.
"Right now, burn every letter you've exchanged with the British royal family. Anything that could be considered sensitive must all be burned."
The status of a British princess, of Prussia's Crown Princess, could not protect her. The only thing that could protect her now was the name of the Crown Prince's widow.
"What? Waldi, that's absurd."
The Crown Princess recoiled at the order to burn the letters. They were precious treasures, filled with memories of her family. But Waldemar believed that no memory, however precious, could be weighed against the Crown Princess's safety.
"No. You must do as I say. Otherwise, Mother, you will find yourself in grave trouble."
"If I really must get rid of things, I'll ask your uncle. If I move my belongings to England, no one will be able to touch them."
Waldemar sighed at his mother's naive words.
"Every single act of receiving help from the British royal family will become a pretext for Billy to attack you."
"Receiving help from my own family would be grounds to attack me?"
"You know what kind of person my eldest brother is, Mother."
Waldemar did not know of the promise Wilhelm had made to the Crown Prince, and so he was certain that Wilhelm would, like a vengeful spirit, try to charge the Crown Princess with treason. To prevent that, they had no choice but to destroy every scrap of circumstantial evidence that could be twisted into grounds for such a charge.
The Crown Princess bit her lip for a long time after hearing her son's assertion.
"Mother. Once Brother takes the throne, it will be too late. We have to finish this while no one is paying attention to your existence. Right now. In a period like this."
Under Waldemar's repeated persuasion, the Crown Princess finally managed to nod.
"All right, Waldi. My beloved child. If I don't trust your word, whose would I trust?"
The Crown Princess quietly began disposing of the correspondence she had exchanged with the British royal family, along with other sensitive records. The work was carried out in the utmost secrecy by the Crown Princess's British confidants. While the burning proceeded, she watched the letters go up in flames with a hollow expression.
"It feels as though my memories are burning."
"I'm sorry, Mother."
The Crown Princess watched the scene with a melancholy face, then rose from her seat.
After overseeing the destruction of the letters, Waldemar also wrote to the British royal family, requesting that they take care to ensure the contents of her correspondence did not leak.
Dear Waldi,
Don't worry. There is not the slightest chance of those letters finding their way out. You have my word on it.
— Uncle Edward
"I'll take you at your word, Uncle."
Waldemar considered this a roughly adequate response to the matter of treason. But this alone would not be enough to fully protect the Crown Princess. He judged that further measures were needed.
First of all, she must not remain in Berlin.
The bad reputation surrounding the Crown Princess ultimately stemmed from her very presence. If she left Berlin after the state funeral, people might at least recall her devoted love for the Crown Prince and look more charitably upon her.
If she says she is going to live a life of prayer and contemplation at the church for the Crown Prince, even Billy won't dare to touch her.
Waldemar shared his thoughts with his mother. Upon hearing them, Crown Princess Victoria naturally recoiled.
"Does that even make sense? That I should seclude myself in the church where my husband is buried?"
It was true that the Crown Princess had loved the Crown Prince — but not to the extent of withdrawing from the world for him.
"Of course, I'm not saying forever. Only for as long as it takes to change the image people have of you, Mother."
"Change my image?"
The Crown Princess was well aware of how the Germans thought of her.
"Yes. A widow lost in grief over her husband. That widow, longing for him, secludes herself in a church. Even the people who used to dislike you will see that and remember the love between the two of you, and they'll revise their memories to think, 'Well, she really was a woman who treated her husband well.'"
"And what meaning is there in that?"
"A mother who was at least faithful to Father. Once you have that image, would Billy be able to lay a hand on you? Would people look kindly on that?"
Considering this, the Crown Princess found her son's words rather plausible. But she still had attachments to the glittering life of a British princess and Prussian Crown Princess, and could not readily leave for a church.
"Then how long would I have to stay?"
"Two years."
"Two years?"
But to blur people's memories, that much time had to be invested.
"It will be a bit hard on you, but I'll see to it that you want for nothing in your daily life."
The Crown Princess did not know what to say.
"Mother. That time really is just a moment."
"Waldi."
"Once it's over, you'll think it was a truly excellent decision."
Waldemar promised that he and his sisters would visit the church often enough that she would not feel neglected.
"And if it's still inconvenient, you're welcome to take a few of the English staff with you."
After a long internal struggle, the Crown Princess accepted her son's proposal. Having lost her husband and the person she had relied upon, the only one she could truly trust was her beloved youngest son. If she did not trust Waldemar, whom could she trust?
Not long after, the Crown Princess declared that she would withdraw to the Friedenskirche, where her husband was buried.
Her Imperial and Royal Highness the Crown Princess shall withdraw to the Friedenskirche — the Church of Peace — there to pray for the repose of her late husband's soul, and to settle her heart for a time.
Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia
Friedenskirche meant "Church of Peace" in German. The Crown Princess said she would, for a time, compose herself at this Church of Peace while praying for her husband's soul.
The declaration came as a surprise not only to those members of the royal family who harbored resentment toward the Crown Princess, but also to the high-society figures hostile to her.
"The Crown Princess is really leaving Berlin?"
"We used to mock her for being a hen who ruled the rooster — but it seems it was a devoted love after all."
People began to look a little more charitably upon the improprieties and missteps the Crown Princess had committed at court in years past. They now regarded the things she had done as the childish mistakes of a British princess so in love she could see nothing else.
Of course, not everyone thought that way. Wilhelm, the greatest victim of the Crown Princess's cruelty, snorted at her behavior.
"Is it really such a fine thing that an Englishwoman is looking after Father?"
Even so, the hostility toward her had eased a little compared to usual.
Amid people's complicated gazes, the Crown Princess unpacked her things at the Church of Peace. Waldemar, so that she might enjoy a dignified seclusion, quietly and discreetly arranged for her comfort in that small place. First, he quietly purchased a considerable number of the houses around the church, so that the neighbors could not pry into her life. He also quietly stationed bodyguards to guarantee her safety and peace. Finally, he supplied her with luxurious goods that would not catch the public eye, yet that only the uppermost class could afford, so that the Crown Princess could maintain at least a minimum of dignity.
Watching Waldemar prepare the area around the church and arrange her life, the Crown Princess thought anew that this son was the only person she could trust.
"When will you come again, once you leave this time?"
"I won't be able to come often. Instead, I'll send Alix from time to time to bring you news."
The Crown Princess nodded at Waldemar's answer.
"I'd rather see pretty Alix than a wicked son like you anyway. Just send Alix."
She said that, but Waldemar knew better than anyone that her heart was otherwise.
"Then take care of yourself until we meet again."
"You too. Be well."
Waldemar exchanged his final farewell with his mother. Though the Crown Princess had not been a good woman as a mother of the nation, to him she was warmer than anyone. He boarded the carriage, leaving behind the Crown Princess who gazed after him endlessly from the church threshold.