The Shadow of Great Britain

”Tsar?” Earl of Dalmo nodded with a smile: ”You describe it well, Mr. Carter, I want to be a tsar. Because if you want to restore order in a place torn apart by factional greed, bureaucratic obstruction, and a failing administrative system, then yes, it indeed needs a tsar, a great dictator! However, if a tsar can rescue Canada from family politics and let the people feel for the first time that their government exists for them, then this tsar is far more liberal than those self-deceiving pseudo-liberals in White Hall!”

The Earl of Dalmo’s words fell, and the study instantly became heavy, as if the air had solidified.

Arthur looked at him quietly, then, as if resigning himself to fate, slowly reached into his coat and pulled out a document.

The paper was thick, the cover made of the embossed paper specially used by Buckingham Palace, with the gilded royal emblem glinting coldly in the candlelight.

He pushed the document forward without any unnecessary movements or expressions of opinion, simply placing it lightly in front of the Earl of Dalmo.

The document landed on the table with a crisp and steady sound.

As if a door that had been closed for years was suddenly pushed open.

The Earl of Dalmo stared at the document, his voice lowered, making it seem even more dangerous: ”What’s this?”

”The powers you just enumerated...authority to move the troops, make administrative decisions, appoint and remove personnel, allocate finances, and a comprehensive overhaul of the colonial bureaucratic system.”

Arthur patted the cover of the appointment letter: ”It’s all here.”

The Earl of Dalmo’s eyelids finally twitched visibly, as if he suspected his hearing was failing.

But Arthur did not stop: ”Her Majesty the Queen has already agreed to appoint you as the Governor and High Commissioner of British North America, granting you nearly dictatorial temporary powers to investigate and resolve the current turmoil in Canada. As long as you are willing to accept the appointment, this document will take effect immediately. From the moment you set foot in North America, all administrative and military departments of British North America must obey your commands.”

The Earl of Dalmo stared at the appointment letter but did not immediately reach out to take it.

His Adam’s apple moved, but his shoulder and back tensed slightly.

Clearly, this was what he had long desired and yearned for. Yet, when the appointment letter was truly placed before him, his mouth, accustomed to fierce rhetoric, seemed as if it was sewn shut with coarse string.

Arthur could tell that the Earl of Dalmo was indeed tempted, but the bold declarations he had made before now became the rope tethering him.

He certainly couldn’t agree right away.

Because once he nodded immediately, then what could be made of his righteous condemnation of the Cabinet just now?

However, at that critical moment, Arthur subtly stepped on Eld’s foot.

”Your Excellency, I am a blunt person, but...” Eld took a deep breath: ”But I want to speak from the heart.”

The Earl of Dalmo raised his eyelids slightly, as if unsure of what this young man would say.

Eld continued: ”You have grievances against the Cabinet? I guess you do. Because if I were to be treated as a scapegoat like that, I would certainly curse worse than you. But some things...”

He pointed at the appointment letter: ”This is not for working for them, this is for working for the Canadians.”

The Earl of Dalmo’s brow twitched slightly.

Eld seemed to have opened a floodgate: ”Your Excellency, among us students, there are many who, without the University of London you founded, might now be workers loading sacks on the docks. What you created at the University of London is an opportunity, an opportunity for those without background, wealth, or names to rise through talent, of which I am one of the beneficiaries. And what Canada needs now is precisely this kind of opportunity. An opportunity that prevents the colonies from being controlled by a few families, allowing ordinary people to see a future.”

The Earl of Dalmo couldn’t help but press his lips upon hearing this.

Eld pressed forward another step, like a young sailor bravely standing at the bow of a ship: ”Your Excellency, if in anger you refuse this appointment now, of course, you have that right! However, those colonial bureaucrats might laugh louder than anyone else. Because they know that no one understands Canada better than you, and no one dares more to challenge their rotten bureaucratic system than you do. They wish for nothing more than for you to say no so they can continue performing that unchanging decades-old aristocratic farce in Quebec and Toronto. Your Excellency, if you refuse, the ones who suffer will not be Melbourne, nor the Department of Colonial Affairs, and certainly not those lazy fools in White Hall. The ones who will suffer are the people of Canada!”

The Earl of Dalmo’s breath noticeably paused for a moment.

At this point, Eld’s eyes glistened with tears: ”Your Excellency, you changed the destinies of two students at the University of London, but now, are you going to abandon the opportunity to change the fate of an entire continent?!”