The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1651: Chapter 43: British Literature Totals 1 Shi, Sir Arthur Claims 8 Dou

The Red Devil, who had been silent, saw the topic drifting into his realm of knowledge and mockingly recited in Arthur’s ear, ”Come, but don’t choose the morning light blazing like fire, pick a rainy afternoon, your form in death, not too unsightly, yet like mud-stained boots, dull and dim. Once dreamt of knighthood, yet ultimately fell at the stairs, the newspaper words too lazy to exaggerate. ’Brave? Perhaps.’ Others scoff, ’Not even the Devil thinks it deserves applause.’”

Upon hearing this, Arthur glared at the gleeful Agares with murderous intent, his mouth moved silently, but his lip movement clearly meant, ”You’re so talented, why can’t you squeeze out the next volume of the ’Hastings Case Files’?”

Originally morose due to pre-dinner unpleasantness, Victoria couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration upon hearing the beautiful verses, ”How enchanting! Mama, can I read Mr. Tennyson’s poetry collection in the future?”

The Duchess of Kent, seeing her daughter finally display her proper ladylike demeanor, nodded slightly and replied, ”Of course, especially since Mr. Tennyson is a gentleman praised by Sir Arthur, reading more of his poetry can only benefit you.”

With Eld Carter’s fantastic voyages behind, Alfred Tennyson’s prayers for the departed ahead, coupled with Agares’s psychological attacks, Arthur, seeing things slide towards an uncontrollable direction, could not sit still any longer.

He clumsily interrupted their pursuit of poetic sentiments, ”I think...”

Before Arthur could finish, the Duchess of Kent raised her hand gracefully, ”I recall, you once published a set of ’Hastings Case Files.’ It was highly lauded at the Almack’s Club tea party, praised as ’not only exciting but even more realistic than the Home Office’s files.’”

Arthur coughed slightly, now not daring to respond rashly, he awkwardly waved his hand, ”Your Highness overly praises me, that’s just my leisure scribbles, not worth any literary merit, certainly far inferior to Mr. Tennyson.”

”No need to be modest.” The Duchess fixed her gaze on him, ”Since you have such literary talent, I think it’d be best for you to teach Victoria poetry and rhetoric.”

”Me?” Arthur hesitated for a moment, but to swiftly conclude this topic, he could only chuckle it off, ”If Princess is willing to hear my inadequate opinions, then I am duty-bound.”

”That’s wonderful!” Upon hearing her mother appoint this Sir she had a good first impression of to teach literature, Victoria nodded in agreement, ”I want to write poetry, long ones, like ’Dawn kisses the lonely forest path’ sentences.”

Agares snickered quietly, ”Sounds more like ’Dawn kisses the forest hunter, then my dear Arthur found a footprint.’”

Arthur glared at him fiercely, then turned to the Duchess of Kent, only to find her glaring at him with burning intensity.

The Duchess of Kent spoke, ”However, Sir Arthur, speaking of poetry reminds me of something.”

She set down the wine glass, and after a sip, her tone became noticeably lighter, ”I recall not long ago Tennyson gave an interview, in which he stated his most memorable failure was at Cambridge University’s poetry competition, where he was defeated by a young man named ’Arthur Sigma.’”

The dinner table fell into silence.

Gabrielle, the eldest daughter of the von Bloh family, lifted her head and mused, ”Yes, I recall that segment. He said that although the person later changed careers, he had outstanding talent in poetry, and the piece ’Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again’ astonished everyone at the Cambridge University poetry competition.”

Adelaide, with a flushed face, also cast her eyes towards Arthur, ”Sir, I remember your pen name is Arthur Sigma, right? Could you be that...”

Arthur’s eye twitched slightly, he took a deep breath, finding no escape, he accepted this old history with resolve, ”’Sigma’ is indeed my pen name, at that time, I happened to... pass through Cambridge on business, casually submitted an entry, not expecting them to take it seriously.”

”So...” The Duchess of Kent’s expression shifted from initial surprise to expectation, ”You are that ’Anonymous’ who defeated Tennyson?”

”I wouldn’t call that a defeat.” Arthur smiled wryly.

He now hates that he couldn’t cross the Pacific Ocean to strangle Eld, if not for Eld, he wouldn’t have fallen into this conversational pitfall, even if he did, if Eld hadn’t egged him on to submit to the Cambridge poetry competition back then, he wouldn’t have concocted the nonsense ’Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again.’

Arthur racked his brain, thinking of how to weave a lie, ”Tennyson later wrote ’In Memoriam’, ’Ulysses’, and I, I wrote some reports on London’s public safety. In terms of word count, I might have won, but in literature, I probably lost a century.”

”You’re being too modest.” The Duchess has now completely immersed in the joy of discovering a treasure, ”Tonight, since we are fortunate to meet the poet who defeated Tennyson, why not have you recite a representative piece live, how about that?”

”Yes, yes!” Little Caroline urged with her usual enthusiasm, ”Please recite your favorite piece! I want to memorize it and bring it back to Berlin to recite for Grandpa and Uncle.”

Arthur originally intended to decline, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Agares mimicking his previous expression with a gloating look, mouthing silently, ”If all else fails, recite your ’Goose, Goose, Goose,’ which is perfect for the dinner atmosphere.”