The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 135



< The country where the sun never sets (1) >

I leave the Netherlands about a month after arriving in The Hague.

Queen Wilhelmina and Hendrik escorted Ethel and me all the way to the palace gates.

“Your Majesty please proceed well with the rest of your schedule. Take care of yourself.”

“Your Majesty please take care of yourself too.”

Hendrik who was next to Wilhelmina took a step toward me and said goodbye with a regretful expression.

“I promised to accompany you on your next trip. But something came up and I won’t be able to visit Germany with you. I’m sorry. I hope you understand.”

Hendrick is no longer a major shareholder of Lee & Wright.

Moreover since the Netherlands is currently in a situation where it is very concerned about the British I decided to respect Hendrik’s decision.

“What are your plans? They can change at any time. I’m fine. I’m not a child and I can visit Germany alone.”

“As expected you are the only one who understands my heart. Ah! Before you leave for America after your European tour stop by here again. I will treat you and your wife very well then.”

“Okay I’ll contact you soon.”

“okay.”

The couple’s faces were very bright.

Wilhelmina’s expression in particular changed even more dramatically than Hendrik’s.

A month ago it was like an ice witch or a weird AI robot.

It is a time of great change.

“The Queen looks very happy.”

I looked at Ethel and whispered to her after getting into the royal car lent to me by Wilhelmina and Hendrik.

Ethel asked to see if she could know the Queen’s feelings.

“There is a reason for everything.”

Ethel smiled and gave a strange answer to my question.

During this time Ethel stayed at the Hague Palace and often spoke with members of Dutch society as well as the Queen.

I don’t know what the women were talking about but she seemed to know more about the queen than I did so I asked her again with a slightly expectant look on her face.

“For what reason?”

“that is….”

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There are only the two of us in the backseat of the car right now.

But the car I was in was driven by a chauffeur belonging to the Dutch royal family.

Ethel came closer to me blushed slightly and said the following.

“I still haven’t heard any news about the things I had to do this month.”

“The moon? Ah…..”

I guess that means the magic that women do once a month didn’t happen.

Missing a period could be a simple medical condition like irregular menstruation but it could also mean that the queen is actually pregnant with her successor.

That’s why the couple was smiling so happily.

‘Those two were having quite a fight over the successor issue. That’s good.’

Come to think of it that’s why that Hendrick guy kept linking arms with the Queen with that mischievous expression on his face.

“Are you sure ma’am?”

“Yes I am sure. I did not hear it directly from Queen Wilhelmina but I heard it from her confidants so you can believe me.”

Ethel whispered softly her eyes straining.

“It could simply be irregular menstruation but… based on past precedent the queen is said to have missed her period only three times since becoming an adult.”

Two miscarriages.

And one stillbirth.

Except for these three instances Wilhelmina is said to have been enchanted every month.

Because of his stiff personality he seemed more like a robot than a human.

Her biological rhythm also resembles her personality so much that she doesn’t seem to deviate from her basic routine.

“furthermore….”

“furthermore?”

“The Queen had a dream recently.”

“dream?”

“Yes. The symbol of the Netherlands is the tulip.”

“yes.”

Ethel twisted her body slightly and made an embarrassed expression.

“They say that in her dream her husband Hendrik gave the queen a red tulip. At that moment the whole world brightened up… Could this be a dream of prenatal care? Just like the dream the prince had.”

Westerners do not have the concept of prenatal dreams.

A superstition unique to Korea.

Ethel has been acquiring a lot of knowledge recently while coming into contact with Korean culture.

It seems that these superstitions have also been accepted by the ancients.

‘Well that’s understandable because I had a dream about fruit and then Ethel got pregnant. I don’t know about other strange superstitions but you just have to believe in the things you’ve experienced.’

anyway….

Ethel seems to have interpreted the queen’s dream as a prenatal dream.

It seems that he let slip a little something to Wilhelmina’s entourage.

The aide is nagging the queen again and it seems like the queen is currently feeling uneasy.

“So that’s why you sent me off so grandly.”

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“I guess so. The Queen never forgets her benefactors or enemies. She resembles her late father just like that.”

“okay?”

“yes.”

I chuckled and held Ethel’s hand tightly.

Then I brought my hand along with hers to her stomach.

“It seems I have become an unintentional benefactor. That is if the Queen really becomes pregnant.”

“Yes.”

Although Hendrik was treated with great hospitality Ethel also seemed to have done her part in the Hague Palace.

I looked at Ethel’s face praising her hidden support.

“Oh Madam it seems you’ve become quite friendly with the other ladies… Are there any other interesting stories you can share?”

“Well there are a few things. Most of them end up bragging about money husband and children…”

Ethel shrugged and continued.

“Isn’t everyone’s life the same? Bragging or talking badly. Oh Prince. I kept my mouth shut. I kept thinking about your advice.”

“Good job.”

Ethel closed her eyes for a moment then opened them wide again as if something had come to mind and looked at me.

“Oh by the way I heard some interesting news while I was having tea time with the ladies.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that other royal families from Europe are visiting Britain right now apart from us?”

Any other royal figures?

Which country?

“I heard the King of Belgium is here?”

“Belgium?”

“Yes. I heard that Leopold II is on a state visit to England.”

Ethel acted as if she was recalling information she had heard from the Dutch ladies.

“Next year the World Expo will be held in Brussels the capital of Belgium.”

“yes.”

“Could it be that the visit was intended to promote it and to obtain cooperation from the neighboring country Britain?”

well.

We’ll have to find out later.

There is a good chance that he visited for other reasons.

“By the way… I heard that the King of Belgium has a very different personality. Is that okay?”

Ethel must have heard of Leopold II’s notoriety from the Dutch ladies.

The fact that he looks at me with disgust whenever I mention his name seems to prove this.

“Surely we’ll run into each other? Even if we do we haven’t done anything wrong to them so we can talk to them confidently.”

“yes.”

At those words the car stopped.

“You have arrived Your Highness.”

“okay.”

We got out of the car and headed to the cruise ship docked in The Hague.

As dozens of bodyguards escorted our group a familiar face suddenly came into view.

“Hello Your Highness.”

“Walter.”

I quickly extended my hand and asked for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you.”

Walter the Baron’s adopted son began to gape as he guided me towards the ship anchored in the Hague.

“Please come inside. My family and I have prepared some amenities for this prince.”

* * *

“That’s great.”

It’s a first-class cabin that’s already flashy.

It seems like Walter Rothschild has done some magic to make it even more extravagant.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the luxurious decorations everywhere and I said something to Walter.

“It doesn’t take that long to get to London… Is there really a need to prepare so excessively?”

The distance from The Hague the capital of the Netherlands to London the capital of the United Kingdom is about 300 km.

It’s not really that far away.

This is why the Netherlands cares as much about the UK as it does about its neighboring country Germany.

anyway.

Walter responded to my reaction like this.

“Isn’t this princess pregnant? I thought that doing this would have a positive effect on the fetus in her womb so I prepared it.”

Mentioning the kid who is a cheat key.

okay.

I think it would be better to just let it go at this point since we are welcoming each other like this.

“This cruise ship we’re on. It’s truly magnificent.”

“The price is also quite high.”

“okay?”

“yes.”

“Maintenance costs such as fuel and insurance will also be quite high.”

As a prince you have prestige so it is right to avoid talking about money.

But I was also one of the top five richest men in America.

Moreover we are not talking to a member of the British royal family right now.

Since I was talking to Walter whom I knew well we talked a bit about money.

“Your family has a firm grip on British finances so this ship’s insurance will also be managed by an insurance company owned by your family.”

“ah….”

Walter waved his hand and corrected me.

“My family isn’t really interested in marine insurance.”

“Why?”

“Once an accident occurs the loss is enormous.”

I could realize one thing from Walter’s words.

The Baron….

“You seem like a safety conscious person.”

“Yes that’s right. My father is very careful about everything.”

Walter looks uneasy about something.

I could immediately see that his expression had darkened slightly.

“What do you think? Are your thoughts the same as those of your family the Baron?”

“well.”

Walter looked around for a moment.

Since there were only Ethel Walter and me in the room we were staying in he confided in me a little.

“I think it’s okay to be a little more daring.”

“Oh. That’s a slightly different perspective from the Baron. Well Vice President Morgan was similar. He showed a slightly different investment style from my father.”

Walter looks puzzled when Morgan is mentioned.

Walter seemed to regard Morgan Jr. as a slightly friendly rival.

“Anyway… do you think it’s okay to be a little more daring?”

“Yes. But as long as my father lives I will respect his judgment.”

I nodded and looked at Ethel who was sipping tea next to me for a moment.

“ma’am.”

“yes.”

“You must be tired from sitting for so long. Why don’t you go up and rest first?”

At this Ethel jumped up from the table.

“Then have fun sharing your stories. But don’t leave me alone for too long.”

“Okay.”

Ethel leaves the first-class reception room.

In a situation where only the two of us are left.

I looked at Walter interlocking my fingers.

“Yes. It seems like you have a lot to say. If you’re willing to come all the way to The Hague to wait for me then.”

I slyly mentioned Walter’s father the Baron.

“I see that the Baron has many questions for me. To the extent that he would send his only son here.”

“Rather than just wondering… aren’t there a lot of businesses that you do together?”

Although not as wealthy as Morgan Jr. Walter is the next heir to the British Rothschild family.

He continued speaking skillfully smoothly accepting my slightly curt response.

“As a business partner my father sent me here to better understand the prince’s intentions didn’t he?”

“As partners…..”

Another thing could be inferred from Walter’s words.

If you come here as the successor to your business partner it means you want to talk about doing business together.

“One of the two problems is too big a business to discuss with you.”

The Federal Reserve System is a matter for discussion with the Baron himself.

As I mentioned this and let it slide Walter looked slightly impatient and blurted out the following.

“Then please discuss at least one other thing with me in advance.”

“Well I will be the head of the family in the future. I can discuss the South Manchuria Railway with you.”

Walter brought out the words he had been keeping in his mind.

“The situation in Qing has been unusual recently. I am sure Your Majesty is aware of this.”

I think he knows a little bit that I have planted someone in China.

I nodded at Walter’s suggestion.

“I also often hear news about the Qing Dynasty. Yes. People are rising up in revolt everywhere.”

“yes.”

Walter frowned slightly.

“My father is slightly concerned about this.”

“apprehension?”

“You are afraid that the mob will interfere with the parallel construction project of the South Manchuria Railway.”

I chuckled and made a face like it was nothing.

“You might be worried. The situation in Central Plains is a mess. But I’ll tell you not to worry too much. I mean the South Manchuria Railway. Who’s managing that right now?”

I explained the situation in the Central Plains which was gradually becoming more divided even snapping my fingers.

< The Land Where the Sun Never Sets (1) > End