The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1785: Chapter 96: Even a Fair Judge Cannot Decide Family Affairs

”Damn it!”

Arthur repeated Flora’s words, pondering over this rather Royal Navy-style profanity.

But ultimately, he still found it hard to imagine the King saying such things in public, especially about another country’s king.

He couldn’t help but laugh, ”Fleet Street will be delighted, I reckon it won’t take long before this news spreads all over London City.”

Flora rubbed her temples with her fingers, somewhat resentfully, ”You can still laugh? Last night, the Duchess didn’t sleep a wink, called for me early in the morning, saying His Majesty the King is an old fool, lacking any kingly demeanor, and blamed Sir John Conroy and me for not stopping the topic in Windsor yesterday. Alas... she should think, even Queen Adelaide can’t stop His Majesty the King, what could I possibly do?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, he was about to speak when he suddenly heard a familiar female voice from afar.

He immediately gestured for silence, Flora stopped talking, and followed him in listening closely.

The direction of the voice seemed to be coming from the corridor opposite Rose Hall garden.

A male and female voice were alternating back and forth, initially somewhat suppressed, but soon became unrestrained.

It was the Duchess of Kent and her brother Leopold I, the King of Belgium, visiting Kensington Palace.

”I can hardly believe he could speak to me like that at the banquet!” Leopold’s choice of words was quite restrained, but his nearly trembling voice still revealed some hard-to-conceal anger: ”This is more than just a family squabble; it is disrespect to an ally! I am His Majesty’s relative, yes, but I am also the King of Belgium!”

”I understand, of course I do, Leo.” The Duchess of Kent replied almost immediately: ”His manner... huh, I have said before, he’s just a naval officer all his life; his hasty accession was nothing more than a twist of fate. Do you think he really understands royal decorum? He only knows how to shout and curse, just like he does with his subordinates in the Royal Navy.”

”He called me ’you people’!” Leopold almost gritted his teeth and said: ”He married a daughter of the last prince of the Holy Roman Empire, yet always acts like a dock worker! What kind of king throws a cup at his relative’s feet?!”

”He’s gone mad, perhaps because he knows he doesn’t have many years left to live; he’s becoming more and more insane in recent years.” The Duchess of Kent said coldly: ”If you stayed at Windsor a few more days, you would know yesterday wasn’t his most insane moment. Last year he even called our family’s trip a coup prophecy. Leo, do you know? I was just taking Delina out to see the beautiful landscape of Britain, and he reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.”

The Duchess of Kent initially thought her brother would surely agree with her, but unexpectedly Leopold, after hearing these words, suddenly changed his tone with anger: ”Sister! He truly is mad, but in some aspects, you’ve definitely gone too far! I must admit, even though I was publicly humiliated by him yesterday, there was indeed a considerable amount of that, which you yourself provided for him to criticize.”

As soon as Leopold finished speaking, the atmosphere immediately turned silent.

Even though their appearances weren’t visible at the moment, Arthur and Flora couldn’t help but hold their breath.

Finally, the Duchess of Kent spoke, her tone was fairly steady, but it was evident she was suppressing anger: ”Are you saying I shouldn’t strive for my daughter’s rightful position?”

”That’s not what I meant.” Leopold’s voice softened, but remained resolute: ”But you can’t beat the drum at her every visit, you can’t let Conroy act like a Prime Minister and dictate national affairs. You also can’t circumvent the King and Queen, Parliament, and White Hall. You must understand, those are not places you can easily challenge. Or at least, you can’t make decisions without consulting me first.”

The Duchess of Kent was silent for a moment, seemingly trying hard to control something.

A gentle breeze blew through the garden, causing the curtains of Rose Hall to gently sway.

”I understand.” Her voice finally sounded, but it was hoarse and barely audible: ”You mean... you, like them, think I’m a hindrance, right?”

”Sister, that’s not what I mean...”

”Then what do you mean?” She suddenly raised her voice, letting out a bit of long-held tremor: ”You say I can’t do this, can’t do that, then tell me, what can I do? I have a daughter, a daughter without a father, without brothers, without anyone’s support. The King never truly acknowledges her status, her royal relatives constantly want to poison her, the people in the palace only act to please Adelaide. She asks to renovate Buckingham Palace, and Parliament agrees without batting an eye. But what about me? I only want to refurbish the kitchen at Kensington, and Parliament takes three months to review; no one here ever cares about how I feel. What can I do, Leo, what can I do?”

”Sister...” Leopold’s voice faltered, as if he wanted to interject, but he hadn’t opened his mouth before being overwhelmed by the Duchess’s torrent of lament.

”Of course you don’t understand!” She said with a few sobs: ”You’re a man, you have rank, you have property, you have a crown, you have the support of the Belgian people, you are Belgium’s monarch with real power, you have the right to speak. And what about me? I have nothing! If I do not pave the way for Delina, who else will? If I don’t stand up for her, she’ll only be seen as another Sophia, locked away in some remote manor as a disgrace to the Royal Family forever!”