The Shadow of Great Britain

Arthur slightly bowed, stood up to greet, and politely said, ”Madam, indeed it has been some time since we last met.”

He didn’t say ”since returning from Ramsgate” because that sentence carried too much weight and might lead to unnecessary awkwardness.

The Duchess of Kent simply nodded upon hearing this, seemingly trying to assess some stance, but before she could speak, a heavier set of footsteps sounded outside the door.

The person unwelcome anywhere outside Kensington Palace made his appearance.

His coat was as meticulously worn as ever, eyes slightly raised, walking straight into the room as if Lord Chamberlain was nothing more than an insignificant old bureaucrat.

But Chamberlain clearly anticipated Conroy’s attitude; it wasn’t his first time at Kensington Palace delivering messages, nor was he blind to the stories of how Conroy refused to yield to King William IV on the cannon salute issue.

This guy, if he’s like that in front of the King, what’s left to say about his attitude towards Chamberlain and the Chief Royal Dresser?

”Sir Arthur, Your Lordship.” He nodded in greeting, and immediately cut to the chase: ”I wonder what official business brings you here today?”

Chamberlain evidently didn’t wish to entangle himself with him either, and directly took out the letter sealed with the royal seal from his pocket, straightforwardly stating: ”By command of His Majesty the King, this letter must be personally handed by Sir Arthur and me to Her Majesty Victoria.”

Conroy remained emotionless, smiling with just the right degree, ”Her Majesty the Princess is currently attending a lesson, perhaps the Duchess can receive it on her behalf?”

”I’m afraid that’s improper.” After the Albion Villa incident, Arthur clearly was in no mood to spare him any dignity: ”Because His Majesty the King personally instructed that we must ensure Her Majesty the Princess herself receives this letter and responds out of her own will.”

As he said this, his eyes were not on Conroy but rather looked past his shoulder toward the half-open door.

Opposite the hallway outside was the Rose Hall where Victoria usually attended classes, which was also the place Arthur frequented most while teaching at Kensington Palace.

Ever since the Albion Villa incident occurred, the Kensington Palace tutor team has undergone an unprecedented cleanse.

Conroy first dismissed Mr. Griffiths, the Latin and French instructor, citing ”restoring academic integrity” and ”eliminating sentimentality” as reasons.

Following that, he replaced the painting teacher Richard Westall with Edwin Landseer, a rising star from the Royal Academy of Arts, and even the dance teacher Miss Taglioni was dismissed, with Conroy claiming classroom discipline as the issue. In reality, he suspected these tutors might have grown too close to Lady Leisen or Arthur in private.

And the gentleman standing at the podium in Rose Hall, replacing Arthur’s classical literature and rhetoric instructor position, was the new German lecturer Mr. Barres.

As for why Barres was chosen, it was simply because Barres was a foreigner with no roots, making it less likely he would incite Victoria to resist the Kensington System ideologically.

Indeed, even to this day, Conroy and the Duchess of Kent still believe that Victoria didn’t obediently sign the Regency Agreement because she was influenced by Lady Leisen and these tutors.

To restore Victoria’s former gentle and compliant temperament, adopting a German-style education was deemed necessary, rather than allowing Britain’s shameless liberalism to run amok within Kensington Palace.

Although most people couldn’t understand how the Secretary-General of the Police Commissioner Committee could be a liberal.

If the bullet lodged under the Tower of London knew of this affair, it might feel secretly ashamed, thinking perhaps it hit the wrong target — wasn’t it supposed to target a Royalist praised by Wellington?

But regardless, this was what Conroy thought.

In Arthur’s view, Conroy’s stubbornness was in some aspects actually beneficial.

Should this Irishman one day remember to play the emotional card, Arthur really wouldn’t know how to break through the tortoise shell Conroy had established in Kensington Palace.

Arthur and Victoria had only interacted for a year, but thanks to his knack for reading people honed from interrogating suspects at Scotland Yard, he clearly understood Victoria was the type who resisted force but responded to softness, especially now as she hit puberty, so the harder Conroy pushed, the more Victoria disliked him.

During the stay in Ramsgate, Victoria was bedridden for five whole weeks due to illness.

According to Victoria, during those weeks, Conroy would come to her bedside nearly every day, imploring her to sign the agreement and consent to appointing him as Queen’s Private Secretary after the coronation.

Back then, Arthur even quietly suggested to Victoria that if she couldn’t hold out, she could sign the agreement first, then change her mind post-coronation.

However, to Arthur’s surprise, Victoria was unwilling to even consider reneging later.

No matter how many times Conroy came, she had but one response — no!

And after a prolonged tug-of-war between the two, surprisingly, it was Conroy who collapsed first.

This middle-aged man in his forties couldn’t hold himself back and burst into the room, shouting and yelling at Victoria, calling her a foolish, selfish, unreasonable idiot.