The next morning.
"Good morning, Mother... Hmm, where has she gone?"
Prince Heinrich came to pay his respects to his mother, Empress Dowager Victoria Adelaide, but found the bed empty and couldn't help but wear a puzzled expression.
"Margaret, haven't you seen Mother?"
Prince Heinrich happened to meet Princess Margaret, who was passing by the door of the Empress Dowager's bedroom, and asked.
"Mother has taken Hans to the study."
"Going there so early in the morning?"
"It's already eleven o'clock, brother. Isn't it a bit late to call it morning?"
"It seems I really slept in too long."
No wonder he felt sore all over.
Yesterday, he had been drinking with Margaret's husband, Frederick Karl, until late at night, and as a result, he had slept until now.
"However, Mother seems to like Hans very much."
"Indeed, it's been a long time since I've seen Mother this happy."
"I've never even seen Mother look at me with such affection."
Remembering the past, a trace of bitterness appeared on Heinrich's face.
His eldest brother, Wilhelm, his sister, Charlotte, and he himself, unlike their younger sisters, were not raised by their mother, Victoria Adelaide, but were taken care of by their grandmother, Augusta.
Therefore, he rarely felt the love from his mother.
"Or rather, Mother is probably disappointed in me."
Empress Dowager Victoria hoped that her children could be as knowledgeable and intelligent as she was.
However, Heinrich in his childhood was not a model student. Instead, he was more like a lazy and playful little troublemaker.
His childhood interests were not in studying but in exciting sports such as the navy and sailing.
Obviously, this did not satisfy his mother.
"I understand why Mother likes Hans."
"What do you mean?"
"He is so smart that Mother admires him greatly."
As a naval officer, Heinrich was also acquainted with Tirpitz.
Therefore, he knew that the dreadnought that the current German Imperial Navy was devoting all its efforts to building was exactly the idea put forward by Hans.
As for whether the dreadnought could truly surpass the existing warships in terms of performance as Hans claimed, Heinrich still had his doubts.
"The core concept of the dreadnought is to suppress the existing warships with long-range firepower."
Indeed, the history of war had proven that attacking the enemy from a long distance, though simple, was extremely threatening.
The problem was whether a satisfactory hit rate could be achieved at long distances.
This was also one of the reasons why the theory of the dreadnought, although it had long been proposed, had not been accepted by the mainstream.
The root cause lay in the effectiveness of long-range firepower.
The long-range firepower hit rate of warships during this period was desperately low, almost like expecting a miracle.
Therefore, the navies of most European powers, including the United Kingdom, had abandoned long-range attacks and instead placed importance on medium and close-range engagements.
But the dreadnought was going against this mainstream naval tactic.
"Indeed, it's a gamble."
In the naval field, which required huge budgets and a large amount of manpower, choosing a non-mainstream path was like putting all one's eggs in one basket.
If it failed, the hope of the German Navy catching up with the British Navy would become even slimmer.
However, if it succeeded, it would completely change the existing mode of naval warfare.
Because traditional warships were slow and had a low hit rate, and they simply couldn't compete with the dreadnought that could carry out long-range shelling.
"However, he seems to have come back from the future, and he is full of confidence in the success of the dreadnought."
Hans' certainty eventually won over His Majesty the Emperor and General Tirpitz.
Of course, considering the personalities of these two people who had always been desperate to catch up with the British Navy, this was not surprising.
"He's a smart boy."
He's also a boy with great courage.
Exactly the kind of person that Mother likes.
However, just as Mother said yesterday, he's not the kind of person that my elder brother Wilhelm would like.
"With my elder brother's usual character, he should have driven him away long ago. But it's really strange that he can still stay at the court."
"I like that boy too. Especially since he treats Mother so well, which is different from some people."
"Don't say that in front of our eldest brother. Be careful that it will cause endless trouble."
"Ah, brother, you're up?"
Just as Heinrich and Margaret were talking, Sophie came over and greeted Heinrich.
"Good morning, Sophie, or should I say good noon?"
"Hehe, it doesn't really matter, does it? Are you hungry?"
Shall I cook something for you? Sophie asked, but Heinrich shook his head.
"I'll take care of it later. You'd better go and rest. Don't push yourself too hard. What if you hurt the baby in your belly?"
His younger sister Sophie was now pregnant.
Heinrich was worried that Sophie, who was already in poor health, would be hit hard by their mother's passing, so he had advised her to stay in Greece. But Sophie was determined to spend the last moments with their mother.
"Brother is really being too strict with such a good child."
Although the issue of changing one's religion was indeed a big deal, Heinrich thought that his eldest brother Wilhelm didn't need to be so harsh on Sophie.
Of course, Heinrich's tolerant character also played a certain role.
"By the way, is there still no news from Sister Charlotte?"
"My sister-in-law said that she has already mentioned it to our eldest brother, but there doesn't seem to be a reply yet."
Where on earth is she and what is she doing?
To be honest, he wouldn't be surprised even if he heard that his sister had been brought back to Friedrichshof after getting drunk in an evening dress.
Sister's life was almost filled with luxurious banquets.
"Mother always said that Sister Charlotte was 'the oddest child'."
"Wow, you actually agree with Mother."
No wonder their parents were in a hurry to send her out of the palace when she said she was going to marry her husband.
In Heinrich's opinion, Sister Charlotte had always caused a lot of trouble when she was in the palace.
"No wonder even Sister-in-law, who has such a good temper, dislikes Sister Charlotte."
Especially after that "letter scandal".
The so-called letter scandal began in early 1881, when court celebrities such as Kaiser Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta received anonymous letters. These letters were full of unpleasant rumors and vicious slurs about the German nobility.
Although the person who wrote the letters was not identified, people generally believed that, in line with her usual character of liking to gossip about others behind their backs, Princess Charlotte was somehow involved in this matter.
"Just at that time, Sister also lost her own notebook."
Princess Charlotte's notebook was not an ordinary one. It recorded the gossip and secrets of the German upper class society, and even contained the privacy of the royal family.
Therefore, Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife had a serious conflict with Princess Charlotte and her husband, Duke Bernhard.
"I was really scared at that time."
Although the matter was finally resolved, if Sister could have been a little more cautious, perhaps this kind of thing wouldn't have happened.
Rustle...
"Hmm?"
There was suddenly a commotion outside.
Heinrich walked to the window to check.
"Ah, he's finally here."
The eldest son of the family, Kaiser Wilhelm II, arrived at the Castle of Friedrichshof.
...
"Nothing has changed here at all."
Kaiser Wilhelm II murmured to himself as he got off the carriage.
Seeing Wilhelm II's figure from inside the mansion, whether they noticed his arrival or not, Empress Augusta and other family members came out to greet him.
"Your Majesty, you've come."
"Brother."
"Brother."
"Yeah, it's been a long time since we saw each other."
Wilhelm II responded coldly to the greetings from his younger siblings.
Under their guidance, he was about to enter the mansion when he suddenly realized that there were no children in sight.
"Come to think of it, aren't the children here? Where have they gone?"
"Joachim and Louise went out to play nearby with Sister Victoria."
"What about Hans?"
"...Hans is with Mother."
Empress Augusta replied carefully, and Wilhelm II unconsciously frowned.
That boy Hans is with that woman?
"Dona (Augusta's nickname), what do you mean by that now?"
"Mother seems to like Hans very much. She said she would take him to visit the study today."
"Hmph. That woman?"
Kaiser Wilhelm II was somewhat surprised by the news of the close relationship between Empress Dowager Victoria and Hans.
'What on earth does that mean?'
Hans was originally an amiable boy who was friendly to everyone, and that was fine. But that woman was different.
She might have an unfavorable and reactionary "British-style" influence on Hans.
'I don't like it.'
"Margaret, did you say that Hans is in the study with Mother?"
"Yes? Yes, brother."
"Lead the way. I have to go and see for myself."
Margaret was worried that her brother would have another argument with their mother, but with the gestures from Augusta and Heinrich, she nodded and decided to go with them.
Kaiser Wilhelm II slowly followed his sister, walking towards Empress Dowager Victoria's study with steps that he wasn't quite used to.
...
"Come here, Hans. I have something I want to show you."
In Empress Dowager Victoria Adelaide's study.
Since the morning, Hans and an unknown maid who was pushing her wheelchair had come here together to visit the precious books and artworks in the Empress Dowager's personal collection.
"These paintings were done by Norbert Schröder. I was on very good terms with him, and he painted a portrait of me last year."
"I see. They're really masterpieces."
Hans said this and nodded.
To be honest, he had never heard of this name – Schröder. It was truly the first time he had heard it.
"It seems you like painting very much."
"Yes, and that's also the reason why I chose to settle in Kronberg. Kronberg is a town of artists."
Hans had heard of this. It was a place where artists lived in clusters.
"I used to paint landscape paintings here often as well."
"Now, though, I prefer taking walks or reading books."
Empress Dowager Victoria added as she recalled the past.
Dong dong dong!
Just as the two of them were talking, someone knocked on the study door in a timely manner.
Empress Dowager Victoria asked, "What is it?"
"Empress Dowager, His Majesty is here."
Upon hearing the word "His Majesty", the Empress Dowager's expression changed immediately.
It seemed that the German Emperor had finally arrived at the Castle of Friedrichshof.
"...Let him in."
Empress Dowager Victoria sighed and replied.
The door opened, and Kaiser Wilhelm II walked into the study. After a long time, he stood in front of Hans.
Behind him were Empress Augusta, Princess Margaret, and Prince Heinrich.
This was a good thing for Hans.
After all, it was really rather awkward for him to be caught between these two people who didn't get along well.
"Your Majesty, you've come."
"Hans, thank you for taking care of this old woman."
Kaiser Wilhelm II directly responded upon hearing Hans' greeting.
Saying such a thing right from the start?
"...Mother."
"Long time no see, Willy."
"How is your health?"
"Don't worry. Just as you're worried, it won't get better suddenly."
"Is that so? Good."
The conversation between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Empress Dowager Victoria was clearly filled with an atmosphere of confrontation, as if to prove their discord with each other.
Hans could almost hear the sighs of the family members behind him.
"Mother, brother, everyone must be hungry, right? Let's go have lunch. It's almost time."
Seeing that the atmosphere seemed to be getting more intense, Princess Margaret quickly said this.
Kaiser Wilhelm II and Empress Dowager Victoria reluctantly nodded.
However, there was still an obvious look of displeasure on both of their faces.
The rift between the mother and son was just that deep.