The Shadow of Great Britain

After all, for the past few years, he knew that his father, uncle, and aunt had tacitly agreed in their hearts that he would become his cousin Victoria’s husband in the future.

Albert did not particularly resist the family’s arrangements.

Firstly, because unlike his brother Ernest, who needed to inherit the Duke of Coburg title from the family, as the youngest son, he would eventually be sent out as a representative of the Saxon-Coburg-Gotha family to marry into other European royal families.

Since he could not decide his marriage by birth, what difference did it make whom he married?

At least he was relatively familiar with his cousin Victoria, so marrying her was far better than marrying those princesses he had never met and had no feelings for.

Secondly, as the second son, he basically couldn’t inherit anything substantial from his father.

Therefore, the woman he married would largely determine his future living standards and social status.

His cousin was the Queen of Britain, with the bright British Crown on her head. Even when looking worldwide, there was probably no other girl more capable of securing his future than Victoria.

Moreover, Albert was not adept at dealing with women and didn’t know how to flirt. If the family let him find someone himself, he would be at a loss.

For these reasons, Albert currently regarded marrying his cousin as his primary goal.

Even if Arthur did not explicitly express support for him at this moment, just giving a hint of goodwill was enough to make Albert warm up to him.

Blushing, Albert spoke, ”If you wish, when I go to Britain at the end of the month to vacation with my uncle, I’ll bring it up with my cousin.”

Arthur burst into laughter upon hearing Albert say, ”I’ll bring it up with my cousin.”

He waved his hand and said teasingly, ”Your Highness, I just said it casually; you don’t have to take it seriously. Don’t be too restrained, it’s not as if we’re in a Cabinet meeting between us.”

He looked up at Albert’s still somewhat immature face, speaking more gently, ”I know you’re shouldering many people’s expectations, needing to be a competent prince while also acting like a future responsible husband. But you’re still young, just eighteen; you can afford to be more at ease. Especially in front of the girls, being as reserved as a new priest in a monastery might not necessarily be a bonus.”

Albert paused for a moment, then lowered his head and chuckled lightly with some embarrassment, ”I’m indeed not very good at interacting with girls. Their topics are always light and animated, and I often can’t join in.”

”That’s because you’re too concerned with being proper,” Arthur slowly paced and sat on a lounge chair in front of Albert, leaning his cane against the chair back. ”But girls aren’t evaluating whether you can recite Rousseau’s ’Social Contract Theory’; they don’t care about these things. If you think they’re complicated, then they are; if you think they’re simple, then they are. For instance, when they say they dreamed of a carriage running into a garden yesterday, you should jokingly add, ’Then I’d better check if the garden fence is still sturdy.’

Albert was taken aback, not expecting this reputedly serious law enforcement figure to utter such ’love guru’ phrases.

He thought for a moment, then awkwardly repeated, ”Dreamed of a carriage running into the garden... say I’d better check the fence... this doesn’t quite sound like my style.”

”Then change it to suit your style,” Arthur shrugged. ”Sincerity never goes out of fashion. If you’re genuinely interested in the other person, even just sitting quietly and listening to her will touch her more than a thousand clever words.”

He added with a shift in tone, ”Of course, if the girl says she loves dogs, don’t instinctively tell her that dogs can spread rabies. I have a friend who loves doing that, and as a result, the girl he fancied ended up as someone else’s wife.”

Upon hearing this, Albert thought for a moment, then shook his head, ”I’ll remember your advice, Sir Arthur. Although... I might still need more practice.”

Arthur half-jokingly replied, ”Practice isn’t hard; this is easier than a law school’s final exams. When you come to London in the middle of the month, I can teach you slowly.”