The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1397: Chapter 207: Double Blessings

Arthur gave Agares a fierce glare, but before he could flip the Red Devil the finger, he heard a half-smiling cough by his ear.

Blackwell evidently knew Arthur’s dark past; the first time he heard that the Sir had crawled out of a coffin, he laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten his back.

What Arthur didn’t know was that among the embassy’s staff, some British-style jokes about his reanimation were circulating in private.

Such as:

The heart pierced, the person not; public resentment, fate dismal. Sir Arthur crawled out of the coffin, saying there were more people to manage.

What does Sir Arthur Hastings’ tale of reanimation tell us? It tells us even God must give a diligent civil servant three days off!

The trendiest sign at London Coffin Shop this year—Sir Arthur Hastings used our coffins, and though he left it after three days, he said it was the most comfortable he’d ever laid in!

Of course, Blackwell would never inform Arthur of these jokes.

As for Agares, although he knew the jokes, he wasn’t the type of Devil who meddled in trifles.

The Red Devil had always loved talent, and his hobby was collecting jokes, not the people who told them.

Blackwell struggled to recall his deceased grandmother’s kind smile, trying his best to suppress his rising smile: “Well then, do you think the reason behind Tsar’s troop withdrawal is?”

“That’s something I don’t know, this question isn’t a matter of common sense.”

With his head full of Arthur jokes, Blackwell’s innate British tendency to probe the edge of danger compelled him: “Then it might as well be an Arthur moment.”

“Arthur moment?” Arthur frowned at hearing the new term: “Is it some trendy new word?”

“No, it’s my personal invention.”

“What does it mean?”

Blackwell earnestly replied: “It mainly describes a situation that seems over but actually returns in a stronger form. It sounds like your life’s ups and downs; when you exited Scotland Yard, everyone thought you were done, but now you’ve transformed into our cultural envoy.”

Arthur waved his hand and said: “Henry, don’t flatter me, I don’t like these kinds of remarks.”

“I assure you, I haven’t, Sir.”

Arthur pondered the ‘Arthur moment’ from Blackwell’s mouth, focusing entirely on guessing the Tsar’s intentions, so much so he didn’t notice his subordinate’s unnatural twitching lips.

“However, what you said does make sense; the Tsar is not one to easily compromise. If he retreats here, he will definitely seek major concessions elsewhere. I can even speculate that the Tsar was originally considering withdrawing troops from Moldavia and Wallachia. After all, besides Britain, Austria is also dissatisfied. But if he voluntarily retreats, then he can’t use troop withdrawal as a bargaining chip… maybe he’s been waiting for us to lodge an official protest to the Winter Palace, so that withdrawing from the Danube region seems like he’s respecting Britain’s opinion.”

Upon hearing this, Blackwell suddenly remembered something, he took out another document and placed it before Arthur: “This… could indeed be possible. The Tsar’s actions appear to be signaling goodwill towards us, Austrians, and Ottomans. This morning, along with announcing the withdrawal of troops, the Winter Palace also declared to abandon the previous Ottoman Empire compensation to Russia stipulated in the ‘Adriatic Treaty.’ Also, the Tsar just summoned the Austrian envoy, reaffirming Russia’s willingness to jointly maintain the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire with Austria.”

Arthur felt slightly relieved upon hearing this, but as soon as he sat down, he stood up again: “What about the secret treaty Russia and Ottoman concluded? Did the Tsar abandon the wartime right to request Ottoman seal the Dardanelles Strait and Bosporus Strait?”

Blackwell flipped through the document, regrettably shaking his head: “It seems your suspicion is justified. Tsar’s concessions are likely to retain this most intolerable power for us. However, compared to being unyielding, at least the Russians gave Britain something to work with. Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmeston might not return empty-handed to His Majesty the King and Fleet Street, and for our Russian embassy, it’s considered an achievement. Making the Russians loosen the strait blockade right isn’t likely to be resolved anytime soon.”

Arthur held his forehead, sitting back and pouring a cup of tea: “As expected… it looks like I struck lucky; troop withdrawal was something Tsar planned all along, I just happened to hit his schedule…”

Agares sneered upon hearing this: “Really? Then you sure have good fortune, my dear Arthur.”

Arthur’s hand paused slightly in the middle of pouring tea upon hearing the Red Devil’s sarcastic tone.

For some reason, Talleyrand’s words once spoken to him suddenly echoed in his ears—I refrain from claiming I’m an able statesman, but neither do I overly gauge my significance. No matter what, a weathervane shouldn’t be mistaken for a compass, nor a compass for a revolving door. Everyone is useful, but no one is indispensable. If I seem indispensable, it’s not because I facilitated something, but because people like me. So, if credit must be given, everyone prefers to give it to me.