The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 130



< Royal Dutch (3) >

I usually roll out of bed in the morning and take a walk around the neighborhood to completely shake off the last bit of sleep from the night before.

But after the attack he changed the way he wakes up in the morning for safety reasons.

Rather than going for a dangerous walk I relieved my fatigue by drinking coffee on the outdoor terrace in the yard.

‘It’s delicious.’

Here in The Hague every morning we would prepare for the day by drinking coffee in the guest room dedicated to guests.

“huh?”

however.

As I looked around I felt something strange.

Dutch servants from the Hague Palace await us.

For some reason.

It seems like the number of people has increased overnight.

“Who’s there?”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

I found someone in Korean.

Then Woo Hyun-sik and Choi Hyun-woo quickly jumped out from between the tall Dutch people.

I whispered to them in a small voice.

“Can you feel it too?”

“yes?”

“The protocol seems to have changed strangely.”

Woo Hyun-sik who was extremely clueless made a face as if he didn’t know what to do.

yes.

I was an idiot to expect anything from him other than numbers.

“What do you think?”

“Oh yes.”

Choi Hyun-woo rolled his eyes and quietly gave me his own guess on behalf of Woo Hyun-sik.

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“It seems like the Dutch response has changed a bit. Fortunately it seems to have changed for the better not for the worse.”

“yes?”

“yes.”

Woo Hyun-sik still had an expression on his face like he didn’t know what to do.

Leaving Woo Hyun-sik alone I secretly instructed Choi Hyun-woo to find out the latest news at The Hague Palace.

“Let’s loosen up the person a bit and find out the reason. He won’t say it out loud but there must have been some change.”

“yes.”

Choi Hyun-woo returned to me two hours later.

Fortunately I didn’t come back empty-handed and I was asked for some useful information.

“Queen Wilhelmina gave special instructions to the staff at The Hague Palace this morning.”

“Special instructions?”

“Yes. His Majesty and the Queen Mother have given strict orders to take special care of you while you are staying here in The Hague.”

“okay?”

It’s not even the first day.

Why did they give such special instructions only now?

It seemed like they had been treating us at the lowest level of royal protocol.

‘The level of courtesy I received was probably that of a member of a fallen European royal family.’

what.

The Korean Empire is on the verge of being annexed by the Japanese so my situation is similar to that of other fallen royal families in Europe.

‘Hendrik and I were close friends but we were not close to the Queen or the Dutch government.’

However now it feels like the level of protocol has been slightly raised to the point where it is welcoming small European countries like Greece and Montenegro.

In one day.

How can things change like this?

Something must have happened last night.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast with Ethel I headed to the main gate of The Hague Palace as I had a golfing appointment with Hendrik.

While moving I saw Taegeukgi flags installed here and there in the palace.

It’s a flag that I hadn’t seen until yesterday.

‘There’s also a pear blossom pattern.’

My custom-made pear-shaped family crest which I used when writing personal letters to Hendrik is also hung in various places.

Seeing the changes in even these small details it seems like Wilhelmina has really been paying more attention to things starting today.

“Friend.”

“Hendrick.”

Hmm?

This is not the only thing that has changed.

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Hendrick’s golf attire has also changed subtly.

‘Neither at the welcoming ceremony nor at the civil service ceremony nor when I went to play golf yesterday. I didn’t put much effort into the doubles.’

Today was a little different.

Because he was wearing a pure white golf shirt with a Taegeuk pattern pendant.

It’s as if these clothes were made just for me.

Such a blatant change of outfit.

It’s amazing.

‘Hendrick doesn’t really care about fashion. So the fact that he’s wearing this… means that his wardrobe director must have recommended it.’

Hendrik’s costumer is paid a salary by the Dutch government.

Isn’t the current supreme ruler of the Netherlands the Queen?

It feels like everything is being pictured in my head.

‘Well things have changed for the better. Shall we enjoy it?’

We’ll find out the reason for the change little by little through today’s conversation.

I squinted my eyes and looked at Hendrick.

He seemed to be preoccupied with the golf bet he was making with me today as he was busily checking out his golf equipment.

“It looks like you finished preparing earlier than I thought.”

“then.”

Hendrick clenched his fists and showed his enthusiasm.

“I couldn’t sleep because of my defeat yesterday. I’ll get my revenge today.”

“Whew- this is scary.”

As I responded with a slightly playful expression Hendrick put both his hands on my waist and began to speak in a slightly serious tone.

“Seriously. I’m really going to have to be nervous today. I’m in really really good shape. I can say it’s the best I’ve been in the last ten years.”

I nodded in agreement.

Really.

Because something happened during the night his face was shining.

“That’s right. Even with the naked eye your face looks very bright. Where is the gloomy Hendrick I saw at the golf course yesterday?”

“I burned to death last night. And I was resurrected into the present me.”

Huh?

He’s so confident that it’s overflowing.

I felt good looking at Hendrick like that.

As a friend and as a business associate.

Because his current appearance is better than yesterday.

“By the way…..”

He took a half step closer and patted Hendrick’s side.

“This is the red ginseng I gave you. How is it? Did it have any effect last night?”

hereto

Hendrick gave me a sinister smile.

“It was better than I expected. I had a very very hot night.”

“oh.”

As the two of us whispered something the staff members of the Hague Palace nearby began to watch me and Hendrik with eagle eyes.

At this I frowned.

Because feeling watched is really uncomfortable anytime anywhere.

“It was like that in my home country and it’s the same here. There are a lot of ears in the palace.”

“Yeah that’s true.”

“Let’s finish the rest of the story when we get to the golf course.”

“Okay let’s do that. Okay let’s go this way. This is the direction of the parking lot.”

* * *

“Why is the score always tied today? It’s making me nervous.”

Yesterday he played golf perfectly with Hendrick by 10 strokes.

But today it was a tight game with back and forth.

‘You really seem to be in good condition.’

Even though he wasn’t hitting Hendrick’s condition definitely looked good today seeing him follow along so well.

I continued to observe Hendrick’s gestures and expressions while occasionally swinging my golf club.

“nice!”

yes.

Hendrick’s eyes widened as I made a 10-yard putt.

“Whoa- You’re hitting birdie here?”

“Why? Didn’t you hit the eagle earlier? You both seem to be having a really good time today.”

“That’s true.”

Hendrick agreed fiddling with his golf ball.

“Oh right. You’re staying here for another week and then going to London?”

“Well I can’t stay in The Hague forever.”

“So you’re saying we have to finish it within a week?”

“yes.”

About halfway through the course business talk began again.

Perhaps because they were talking seriously the playfulness disappeared from both of their faces.

“During this visit I would like to explore the possibility of establishing a second factory for Lee & Light.”

“That’s true. Factory 1 was just a small factory that made demonstration products. It does need to be expanded.”

“That’s right. Moreover a large-scale contract with Germany will be concluded soon.”

“yes.”

“In order to deliver new aircraft as soon as possible factory expansion is absolutely necessary.”

Hendrick paused for a moment to pick a driver shot.

He took out his 3-wood and came back to me.

“And you want to meet the president of Royal Dutch Shell?”

“okay.”

The highlight of this visit to the Netherlands is black gold.

Also to strengthen my friendship with Hendrick.

Building trust with the Queen too.

Also establishing connections with the Dutch government.

Building a second factory for Lee & Light is also important.

Because there is no business as profitable as mining black gold.

To do this I absolutely had to establish a connection with Royal Dutch Shell so I asked Hendrick with sparkling eyes.

“I heard that Royal Dutch Shell is pushing for a capital increase recently.”

“yes.”

“I’d like to have a hand in that.”

Amid the emergence of giant oil companies centered around Rockefeller’s Standard Oil.

European oil companies were also joining forces to avoid being left behind.

Among them.

‘Royal Dutch’ and ‘Sell’ which grew with the support of the Dutch royal family have now become one family.

As a company with a foot in both the Netherlands and the UK it is one of the few oil companies over which Hendrick can exert influence.

“That’s not all is it?”

“of course.”

During this period the Netherlands also showed imperialistic tendencies.

Dutch East India Company.

That is they had Indonesia as a colony.

There is a significant amount of crude oil buried underground here.

I have established a separate crude oil exploration and mining company.

Through this the company planned to enter into crude oil exploration and development in Indonesia through a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell.

“hmm….”

Hendrick pauses for a moment.

He answered my request with a serious expression.

“I can help you a lot with the former. Our government officials and military are also very interested in your company’s aircraft.”

“okay?”

“Would I lie? Everyone is showing interest and ready to give me all sorts of benefits. So you can play golf with me and then leave the palace.”

Corporate tax exemption.

Exemption from various regulations and licensing processes.

Factory land free lease for 99 years.

Low-interest loans for investment costs in factory expansion.

Hendrick boasted that all sorts of benefits would follow.

okay.

This is a project being promoted by a member of the royal family.

There should be this level of benefit.

‘That’s why in this era royal figures would get involved in military affairs.’

Hendrick glanced at the caddy next to us and ordered him to stay away for a moment.

A confidential conversation took place in a situation where only the two of us were present.

“We have kept quiet so far to negotiate the purchase price but after this demonstration in Germany our military personnel will approach you.”

ah…

The Dutch military also appears to be interested in the new aircraft.

“So don’t worry too much about expanding the factory.”

“Oh! I see.”

by the way.

What about the Royal Dutch Shell?

When I asked Hendrick with a silent look asking if he had anything more to say he scratched his head and showed a slightly uncertain look for the first time today.

“I’ll go back and talk to the Royal Dutch president today. You know you….”

“Your wife has a firm grip on this field.”

“Yeah but I’ll try my best.”

“okay.”

The caddy assisting us two is still far away.

Hendrick still hadn’t given them the signal to come back.

He looked at me and whispered very softly to me.

“By the way… that elixir you gave me yesterday. What was its name exactly?”

“Oh that. It’s red ginseng.”

“Hongsem?”

“Yes. Red ginseng. In English it is known as red ginseng.”

“Oh really? I think I’ve heard of it before but I don’t think I’ve. It’s confusing.”

Hendrick continued to act hesitantly.

I should have asked for more but then it would have been like confessing my illness to me.

He continued to take his time.

“Do you need more?”

“No. I don’t really need it since I’m already so energetic… but just in case.”

The playfulness kicked in.

I tilted my head and looked at Hendrick.

“I gave you quite a few yesterday but you used them all already?”

“No. There’s still a lot left.”

“Okay.”

“….”

“….”

Hendrick groaned as if he needed to go to the bathroom and made some lame excuse.

“No give me some more. Wouldn’t it be a bit much for me to use this good thing all by myself?”

“So? You want to share it with others?”

“Okay. I guarantee you it’ll be our best-selling item in a few months.”

I called out to Choi Hyun-woo who was standing far away.

I knew this would happen so I brought more red ginseng herbs.

He told me to bring them with my golf clubs.

“Is this the real red ginseng?”

“okay.”

“You look like a twisted person. Just like in a legend.”

Hendrick looked slightly impressed when he saw the raw red ginseng medicine.

“You make these elixirs using these herbs?”

“okay.”

I nodded and asked Hendrick a few questions I had been wondering about since this morning.

“Even if you had a bad night’s sleep last night I guess you and your wife got along well.”

“I can’t tell you the details but I was able to untangle the tangled thread of misunderstandings that had been going on for the past six months. Well I guess it’s all thanks to you.”

ah….

Could that be why the Queen started treating me differently?

Hendrick told me a story that happened the other day.

“The misunderstandings between us have piled up and piled up and we have come to ignore each other as if we were strangers. As you know weren’t we having some conflicts over the issue of producing a successor?”

“yes.”

The two chatted on the field for too long.

The caddy looks at the two of us and whispers something.

“Should we start betting again soon?”

“okay.”

The game started again.

Hendrick made a series of mistakes as he seemed to have let his guard down at the last minute.

“Okay. At this point Miss Rani. It’s a tie.”

“Eww the ball fell like this here?”

In the first half we competed to see how well we could hit each other.

In the second half it seems like they’re competing to see how badly they can hit each other.

This time the game went that way because I was determined to lose.

“I won today.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I looked at the proud Hendrick and made another appointment.

“Let’s go hunting together in two days.”

“I’m fine. You’re always welcome.”

After finishing my golf bet with Hendrik I headed back to my quarters at The Hague Palace.

That was when.

“This prince?”

“You…..”

A government official sent by the Queen came to see me.

“Oh so. Your queen wants to have a private conversation with me tomorrow night?”

“Yes that’s right.”

Why the queen?

I opened my eyes half-heartedly and analyzed it.

Because I had to imagine what she might want to talk about with me.

< Royal Dutch (3) > End