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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Laying the Foundation
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To put it bluntly, the British royal line of succession in the 1830s was on the brink of chaos.
The current king's father, George III, had nine sons and six daughters, but his eldest son and predecessor, George IV, had no heir.
Strictly speaking, he had a daughter named Princess Charlotte, but she died while giving birth to her own heir, plunging the royal family into a crisis.
George IV was in no state to produce another legitimate heir.
Were his other brothers in a better situation? Of course not.
All the children of William IV, George IV's younger brother who succeeded him, were illegitimate and thus had no right of succession.
Furthermore, most of his other brothers' children were also illegitimate, and the few legitimate heirs they managed to have all died in infancy.
The Duke of Sussex, who was to marry my aunt Cecilia, was the sixth son of George III, but both of his marriages were deemed illegal, making it impossible for him to produce an heir.
There was just one exception.
The only daughter of the fourth son, Edward, was a girl named Victoria, the sole person in the royal family with a legitimate claim to the throne. As of 1831, she was the leading candidate, first in line for the succession.
From what I knew, Victoria would ascend to the throne sometime before the Opium War.
Since the Opium War broke out around 1840, Victoria's coronation had to be in the late 1830s at the latest.
I had a rough idea from the books I'd read about how stifling and suffocating her childhood had been.
If we seized this opportunity, couldn't my aunt build a very strong friendship with Princess Victoria?
"Killian, you're right that befriending Princess Victoria would be a great help later on. But from what I know, His Majesty King William IV is not entirely incapable of having children. The Queen is still just shy of forty. At that age, it's not impossible for her to bear a child."
Ah, the queen wasn't even forty yet?
Then the nobles of this era might not be entirely convinced that Victoria will become queen.
I knew the history, so I considered the line of succession set in stone, but for now, Princess Victoria was merely someone with a very, very high chance of becoming the next monarch.
Even if the probability was 99, infinitesimally close to 100, people would still be aware of that tiny chance of an unforeseen variable.
If so, that was even better.
The rule of any line is that those who get in it first get in first.
It's the same whether you're waiting for an amusement park ride or a place in the halls of power.
The problem was how to say this persuasively. It was a white lie, so a little embellishment wouldn't hurt, right?
"Aunt, do you happen to know which party the current queen favors?"
"The Tory Party, I believe?"
Perfect. I could work with that.
"That's why I brought this up. Oh, and this is a huge, huge secret, so you must never tell anyone, alright? I could get into serious trouble if you do."
"Oh? Is it that big of a secret? I understand. I won't tell a soul."
"Yes, I'm only telling you this, Aunt; I haven't even told my father. You've heard that I'm close with the Duke's second son, right? He told me something he heard from His Grace—the current queen has no intention of bearing an heir."
"...What? Truly?"
Whether it was true or not, I didn't know, but I was certain that would be the outcome.
And if this information came from none other than the leader of the Tory Party, its credibility was as good as verified.
Cecilia, now fully engaged, poured warm black tea into an empty cup and handed it to me.
"So you're saying the Duke of Wellington's circle has moved beyond mere prediction and is now certain that Princess Victoria will be the next queen?"
"Yes, but this is an extremely sensitive matter, so he was told to keep it under wraps."
"Then shouldn't you have been kept in the dark as well?"
"Actually, Mr. Charles Wellesley was celebrating something wonderful and had a bit too much to drink. Since I was the only one there, just a young boy, he let it slip by mistake. He was startled afterward and made me swear to secrecy."
Most mistakes people make become instantly understandable when you add alcohol to the equation.
No matter how meticulous a person is, their reason weakens when they're drunk.
Besides, if the person you let a secret slip to is just a boy barely over ten, it's plausible you might let your guard down.
The proof was in the clear shift in Cecilia's eyes, which had been wavering between belief and doubt just moments before.
"If your information is true, it would be a tremendous help... but unfortunately, putting it into practice seems a bit difficult. I've heard Princess Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, is so overbearing that she doesn't let anyone near her daughter."
"I've heard that too. But if you truly wish it, Aunt, I'll find a way. My butler, James, is a very clever man, and if need be, I can ask Mr. Wellesley in a roundabout way."
"My goodness, to go to such lengths for me. I'm truly touched. But if you're offering such significant help, you must want something from me in return, right?"
"Yes. I do."
Everything in the world is about give and take, and family is no exception.
If I were to deny it, Cecilia would only grow suspicious, so admitting it outright was more advantageous.
"Is that so? Of course, you would. Tell me what you want, anything at all."
"Well... when I enter Eton, there will be a few events where parents are invited. As you know, my mother is unable to come. And my father will be leaving for Ireland soon."
"...Ah."
I had been told that the Earl of Aaron's wife, my mother by marriage but not by blood, was too old and in poor health to travel from her home.
Because of that, I hadn't seen her once since coming to England, and the Earl planned to return to Ireland to be with his ailing wife as soon as I started school.
That meant I would effectively have no one to act as my parent in London.
Honestly, it didn't matter to me, but isn't it a universally accepted truth that a child needs a guardian?
"If you have the time, I was hoping you could stay close to me, even after next year..."
If my background and circumstances made it natural for me to crave familial affection, it would be foolish not to use that to my advantage.
Cecilia, who clearly hadn't expected such a request, instinctively covered her mouth with her hand.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she pulled me into a tight hug, patting my back.
"Of course, of course. Don't you worry. From now on, my husband and I will be living together at Kensington Palace. Whenever I have time, I'll ask him to invite you to the palace, and we can have tea and spend time together. And I will certainly attend your events at Eton."
"Yes, thank you, Aunt!"
If I had my way, I would have asked her to be my godmother, but that was a request for after our relationship had deepened a bit more.
Since Cecilia had no children of her own, if we grew closer step by step like this, we could surely develop a mother-son-like bond in the near future.
When that time came, the adults would naturally sort things out among themselves.
If I could get Cecilia close to Princess Victoria, I would also benefit from it. What better mutually beneficial relationship could there be?
*Have a beautiful love, Aunt. I'm cheering for you wholeheartedly.*
* * *
Not only had I unexpectedly found a potential godmother, but my new business ventures were also progressing smoothly without a hitch.
Feeling like I could fly, I met with James and Wellesley every week to check on the business's progress.
After being converted into a modern-style casino, the gambling den's revenue continued to climb, and we expanded by acquiring several nearby gambling dens.
If we continued to grow steadily like this and sold it off before 1840, we could reap an astronomical profit.
The assets I had invested in the United States also rose in value with every report that arrived, and Wellesley's grin never left his face.
"That information organization you mentioned. How's that coming along?"
"James was just about to report on that. James, are you able to now?"
"Yes, we have secured a location to use as a base and have successfully recruited people who made a name for themselves as Thief-Takers and from the Bow Street Runners. As you requested, Young Master, we have filled the ranks primarily with people who specialize in gathering information and investigation."
"Good. It should be fully operational by next year."
James's judgment in recruiting from those two groups seemed to have been spot on.
After the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police, their jobs and standing quickly diminished, and those who were disgruntled by this were easily swayed by our scouting offers.
But the current London police force was by no means large enough to cover the entire city on its own.
They would inevitably have to work with outside organizations, and by exploiting that gap, money would surely fall into our laps.
"But Killian, why are you so intent on gathering information? Are you planning to identify criminals and sell their identities to the police?"
"That's an option, but the income from that wouldn't be very lucrative. We need to use that information ourselves. I'm not trying to collect information on wanted criminals. I'm after information on the scum who are amassing vast fortunes by swindling others."
"Like that Jack fellow from before? Ah, I get it! You're planning to do something similar to how we took over the gambling den."
Wellesley snapped his fingers and exclaimed.
"We can just take over all the gambling dens in London run by cheating swindlers!"
"I'm sorry, but that won't work."
"Why not? It sounds like a brilliant idea."
"One or two might be possible, but word travels fast in this business. A few times might be chalked up to coincidence, but if it keeps happening, everyone will become aware of our presence and be on their guard."
"True. They'll have their own networks, so they'll lay low once they hear the rumors."
Besides, playing the card sharp was only necessary for the first one or two times. The money gained from that was just seed money to start the business.
"We'll be gathering information for a different field, not gambling. For instance, stocks or bonds. Big money always congregates in the stock market, which naturally attracts pests looking to cheat people out of their money."
"That's true, but... how do you plan on taking their money?"
"I have my ways. Just watch."
"Hah, since it's you saying it, I'll trust you and wait. But where on earth did you learn all this?"
"I told you. The place I came from was crawling with guys who would pounce like hyenas at the slightest scent of money. It was a place overflowing with all sorts of ingenious ideas, and I was able to do this because of what I saw and learned there. Even if I were a genius, how could I just conjure up non-existent methods out of thin air?"
The modern capitalist society was indeed a den of demons overflowing with unimaginable scams, so that was no lie.
Of course, Wellesley had no way of knowing the true meaning behind my words.
He looked at me with an expression of bewilderment before turning his head toward James.
"Hey, you said you went to a country called Joseon to find this boy, right? What kind of place was it, really? What kind of country raises a kid like this?"
"Um... I don't know much, as I just met the Young Master and came straight back. I had no idea it was such a fearsome place..."
While the image of Joseon in their minds evolved into a den of demons teeming with all sorts of fiends, I stared intently at the documents James had brought.
As I had heard earlier, most of the members had worked in the information business for five to ten years.
They didn't just pass on information about criminals; they had experience in a wide variety of fields, from finding lost items and missing persons to conducting background checks.
The Thief-Takers operated in the gray area between legal and illegal, while the Bow Street Runners were something of a precursor to the police. Their duties were distinctly different, but that made them even better.
It meant I could assign personnel to roles that perfectly suited their skills.
As I sorted through the areas to prioritize for investigation before the organization was fully formed, the procedures to recognize me as my father's heir were nearly complete, and the new year of 1832 dawned.
Two years—a long time, yet short.
I felt confident that I had laid a satisfactory, if not perfect, foundation.
And finally, the time came to leave the mansion I had grown fond of and head to Eton.