Morning sunlight filled Buckingham Palace, as bright and elegant as ever.
Victoria opened her eyes slowly on the bed, feeling an unfamiliar dizziness.
"…What?"
For several seconds she simply blinked, staring blankly around the room as she tried to understand where she was.
Where had the familiar bedroom at Kensington Palace gone?
And why on earth was she sleeping here?
"…Ah. Right. I slipped out of the ball with Killian."
Up to that point, her memory was clear.
She had finally managed to create a rare opportunity to be alone with him. She had prepared everything carefully, determined to hear the answer she wanted.
But as always, her own personality had betrayed her.
Even though she had known it in advance, the moment she saw the Marchioness subtly introducing her daughter to Killian, her self-control completely collapsed.
And then—
Talking alone with him over wine had simply been too enjoyable.
She had emptied the bottle far faster than she had intended.
"Ha… such a precious opportunity, and I wasted it like an idiot."
If she had wanted to outdrink him, she should have forced Killian to drink twice as much for every glass she took.
Instead, she had drunk most of the wine herself.
Of course she ended up drunk.
"But that aside… why am I sleeping here?"
Holding her throbbing head, she instinctively drank some cold water and tried to piece together the previous night.
The memories refused to return clearly.
She vaguely remembered probing Killian while drinking wine, trying to get him to reveal his true feelings.
When he kept refusing to give a clear answer, she had grown increasingly frustrated—and drunk even faster.
Then suddenly—
A voice surfaced in her memory.
—Your Majesty, you've had too much to drink. You should rest in your bedroom.
—N-no! I'm not drunk! I'm perfectly fine! But if you answer my question, I'll go to bed! No, you take me there!
"…"
Victoria froze.
As the memory surfaced, she clenched her fist.
The sensation was unbearable.
Her entire body curled inward as a wave of mortification crawled up her spine.
She had never felt anything like it in her entire life.
"…I want to die."
She meant it sincerely.
—No one will know if we keep it secret! Are you refusing a royal command? That's treason! No—wait, that's too much—
"AAAAAH! You insane woman! What on earth did you do?!"
She shouted at the foolish girl in the mirror.
But of course nothing changed.
"No. No. No. I would never do something that crazy. This must be a dream. Yes, a dream! Just an incredibly realistic dream. Ha… haha…"
She shook her head desperately, trying to deny reality.
But the more time passed, the clearer the memories became.
Stop remembering!
Please stop!
It would be better to remember nothing at all.
But reality could not be undone.
The drunken woman babbling nonsense with slurred words—
Was none other than Queen Victoria of the British Empire.
Herself.
For a reigning queen to get drunk while alone with a man and fall asleep on the spot…
It was utterly unthinkable.
Normally she would have been worried about the dignity of the Crown.
But right now?
She couldn't care less about that.
"…If I knew it would turn out like this, I should've just asked him honestly while sober."
Killian must have been dumbfounded seeing her like that.
…Or maybe not.
Thinking back carefully, she didn't recall seeing any real disgust in his eyes.
And just before her memory faded completely, hadn't Killian said they would talk properly once she sobered up?
Or had she imagined that?
"…Wait."
What if—
After seeing her disgraceful behavior, he decided he had lost interest and chose to marry another woman?
There were already countless women chasing after him.
What if he decided he preferred a more elegant and refined lady instead of a queen who got drunk and babbled nonsense?
If that happened…
"Life really is exhausting."
Victoria collapsed back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
If only there were a way to rewind time to last night.
"…Damn being the Queen."
If she had simply been a princess instead of the monarch, she could have married whoever she wanted—like Uncle Frederick—and ignored everyone's objections.
But Victoria was not a fool.
She might still be inexperienced in personal relationships and prone to misunderstandings, but she was naturally intelligent.
And that intelligence allowed her to understand the core of the problem.
She knew exactly why Killian never crossed a certain line.
No matter how much she pushed.
She knew the reason.
She understood it perfectly.
But understanding something did not make it easier.
That was the nature of human emotion.
Even the Queen of the most powerful nation in the world could not escape it.
As she lay there reflecting miserably on her life, a voice came from outside the door.
"Your Majesty, may I come in?"
It was Cecilia, the head lady-in-waiting.
"Yes. I'm awake. You may come in."
"Then excuse me."
Cecilia entered cautiously and smiled faintly at the sight of Victoria still sprawled on the bed.
"Do you have a headache? Or perhaps an upset stomach?"
"No. Honestly, I wish I did. Unfortunately my body feels perfectly fine now. But… who brought me to this room last night?"
"Killian summoned me," Cecilia replied. "He said Your Majesty had enjoyed the evening a little too much and asked that you be escorted here discreetly so no one else would see."
Victoria sighed.
"So I caused trouble until the very end…"
Letting outsiders see the young Queen completely drunk would have been a serious problem.
Killian's judgment had been flawless.
Even at the very end, he had acted entirely for the Queen's sake.
For some reason, hearing that made Victoria's chest swell warmly.
"Did Killian say anything else?"
"That child rarely reveals his true thoughts," Cecilia said gently. "But he did say he would come to see how you were feeling today. He mentioned that if Your Majesty remembered what happened last night, you would understand."
"Today? That means he'll be here soon!"
"Yes. He said he had a meeting with the Conservative members first, so perhaps in three hours. If you're not feeling up to it, I could send word for him to come another day."
"No, absolutely not. Prepare to receive a guest immediately. Three hours is enough time for a bath, makeup, and a dress. Let's just see him today."
After all, there was a saying:
If you must step onto the stage, it's best to do it immediately.
If this was inevitable, she might as well face it now.
With the help of her maids, Victoria bathed and prepared herself.
As she examined herself in the mirror, Killian's tall figure suddenly came to mind.
She had slimmed down enough that people frequently called her beautiful.
But her height…
That could not be helped.
"If I could grow just one handspan taller…"
When they first met, their height difference had not been so large.
But while she had stopped growing, Killian had continued to grow until she had to look up at him.
"Now that I think about it, he seems even taller after returning from Asia…"
Victoria glanced down at her shoes.
They were beautifully made by the finest craftsmen.
Still—
Wouldn't it be better if she had shoes with thinner but higher heels?
She straightened her posture in front of the mirror, rising slightly onto her toes.
Why did it suddenly feel like all her dresses and shoes were inadequate?
Victoria examined outfit after outfit, searching for an answer she could not quite define.
Later That Day
After the ball ended, I had barely any time to rest.
The Conservative elders summoned me under the pretext of an invitation and spent hours showering me with flattering words.
Only after finishing that meeting did I turn my carriage toward Buckingham Palace to see Victoria.
I half expected a message asking to postpone the meeting.
After all, the aftermath of last night might have made her reluctant to face me.
But surprisingly, no such message came.
Apparently the wine had not left her with a hangover.
Still, when I finally entered her private chamber, Victoria sat silently for a long time.
Perhaps she was embarrassed by what had happened.
Or perhaps she was forcing herself to endure it.
"You know," I said lightly, "it feels a little awkward being alone in such a large room today."
"I dismissed the attendants," she replied. "We're likely to discuss things they shouldn't hear."
"I see. Your Majesty, are you feeling well today? Last night, you—"
"Oh? Last night?" she said quickly. "I wonder what I said. I can't remember a thing. Did something happen?"
Ah.
So she planned to pretend she remembered nothing.
I could understand the instinct.
If our positions were reversed, I would probably have spent thirty minutes kicking the blankets in embarrassment as well.
Still—
I wasn't going to let her escape so easily.
"I see. Then since you don't remember what I said yesterday, perhaps we should discuss it another time—"
"No, wait! I remember!" she blurted out. "Haha… I must apologize. I was simply too happy to see you after such a long time."
"I understand," I said calmly. "But Your Majesty is the Queen of this nation. You should be more careful next time."
"I know that! And besides, the reason I— …Never mind."
Victoria sighed deeply, still unable to look at me.
"I know it wasn't appropriate to try and get you drunk to hear your feelings. But since we both remember what happened, there's no point pretending otherwise."
"I've thought about it a great deal as well. I did promise you an answer yesterday. I cannot decide everything today, but we should at least reach some kind of conclusion."
"…W-what? Really?"
"Have I ever lied to you, Your Majesty?"
She bit her lip and lowered her gaze.
Even for me, this conversation was awkward.
In my previous life, relationships had been based purely on necessity and benefit.
That hadn't changed much.
I had spent the entire night thinking after leaving her with Cecilia.
I did feel affection for Victoria.
She was amusing. Admirable. Likable.
Was it love?
I couldn't say.
But I also knew something else.
Her feelings were far stronger than mine.
Yet the reason I had never given her certainty until now was simple.
The political risks were enormous.
And the reason I had never rejected her outright was equally simple.
The potential benefits were just as enormous.
"Your Majesty," I began carefully, "as you know, the Queen of the British Empire cannot simply choose anyone."
"I know that. But you're not just anyone, Killian. You're a nobleman of England and Ireland. And you're a national hero."
"Yes… but a king consort is another matter entirely."
If the future heir to the British throne carried Irish blood, many would already object.
If that blood were Asian as well?
The praise surrounding me would disappear overnight.
"Well," Victoria said hesitantly, "there have been rumors that you're descended from Eastern royalty… from Japan."
Ah.
So she had been hoping that rumor might save us.
I considered dismissing it immediately.
But perhaps it might prove useful someday.
"I cannot confirm such a thing," I said carefully. "And the likelihood is low. But there is another serious problem."
"You mean… that if you became king consort, you would have to resign as minister?"
Exactly.
Even though there was no formal law preventing it, tradition dictated that the Queen's husband could not hold political office.
Violating that tradition would provoke enormous backlash.
And with my background already controversial, that risk would be disastrous.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, I have no intention of abandoning my current position."
"I know," Victoria whispered. "You're rising higher than anyone right now. Sometimes I wonder if insisting on this makes me selfish."
She lowered her head.
"If you reject me… I will accept it."
Her eyes were shimmering with tears.
If I rejected her now, she might burst into tears immediately.
"I'm not rejecting you," I said quietly. "But until now, I have been thinking only of my own circumstances and not of yours."
She looked up slightly.
"Yes… I suppose I have been frustrated."
"But even if I wished it, my foundation is still too weak. I cannot yet defeat the opposition that would rise against us."
"So you're asking me to wait a few years?"
"If Your Majesty wishes to silence the marriage pressure around you, that is entirely within your power. But what I need is time."
She studied me carefully.
"But how can things possibly improve within a few years? I thought public support after this war was the best opportunity."
She wasn't wrong.
But I had no intention of stopping here.
"The success of this plan requires winning the hearts of the people," I said. "And for that… I will need Your Majesty's help."
"Of course I'll help. What is it?"
"It may sound strange, but it will become reality soon. We already have proof."
I pulled a report from inside my coat and placed it on the table.
It was James's report.
The one that began with the words:
"We found it."
"Within the next few years," I said quietly, "Ireland will face the greatest disaster it has ever known."
Victoria's eyes widened.
"A disaster? An epidemic?"
"Yes. A disease."
"A human disease?"
"No."
"…Then what?"
She began reading the report.
Her expression slowly turned to confusion.
"Potatoes… are getting sick?"
"Yes."
"You mean… those potatoes?"
"Exactly."
She stared at the paper.
Then suddenly looked up.
"The Irish… depend on potatoes as their main food source, don't they?"
"Yes. Most poor families survive on potatoes and milk."
"And if the potatoes fail…"
"More than a million people will starve," I said calmly. "Or abandon their homes and flee."
Victoria's eyes trembled.
The Irish Potato Blight—the disaster that would permanently scar Ireland's population.
James had already confirmed the pathogen across the Atlantic.
No one else realized it yet.
But I did.
And when the famine arrived—
It would also signal the moment to reclaim the political power in Ireland that I had temporarily entrusted to Daniel O'Connell.
The preparations had already been completed before I left for China.
Before becoming the hidden power behind the British Empire—
First, it was time to become the savior of Ireland.