If one were to na the greatest global festival of the 21st century, it would undoubtedly be the World Cup—but that was not the case in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Even the World Cup and the Olympics, now called global festivals, did not match the early prestige of the Exposition.
In fact, in their early days, those events were treated almost as side attractions attached to the Exposition. That alone shows just how imnse its status was.
The reason was simple.
As the na World's Fair suggests, it was a stage where the great powers competed to display their superiority.
To promote one's system and politics, one must demonstrate superiority—and there was no better platform than this.
Even heads of state personally took part in promoting their nations, and it is well known that even that mustached man from Germany once attempted to participate himself.
The original London Exposition, regarded as the first of its kind, had been modest in scale—but with my intervention, it had grown far larger than intended.
And now, crushed beneath the disaster I had brought upon myself, I was forced to endure humiliation in front of countless ambassadors.
"Are you alright? Your expression earlier was… barely holding together—pfft."
"…What do you an? That was my normal expression."
"Oh really? I've known you since childhood, yet I never realized you panic so easily. How surprising."
Victoria teasing so openly—it had been a long ti.
Well… it must have been that amusing for her.
Even if I had been made a spectacle, if my wife was happy then—
No. Absolutely not.
After hearing that mindless chanting in front of nearly every ambassador in Europe, who exactly is supposed to take responsibility for that atmosphere?
What if they misunderstand and think I orchestrated that display in Joseon and Japan?
…No, surely not. No one would believe I planned sothing so crude.
Given everything I have shown so far.
"But Killian? The Japanese diplomat kept saying… Susanoo? What is that?"
"…I don't know."
"Oh co now, you clearly do. If you don't tell , I'll summon the Japanese ambassador right now—"
"…It's one of the major deities in their mythology. One of the three most prominent gods."
"Ah~ I think I've heard of it. They're polytheistic, aren't they? Similar to Egypt, perhaps?"
Now that she ntioned it, that comparison was not entirely wrong.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh was called the incarnation of Horus, the sun god.
In Japan, the Emperor is revered as the embodint of Amaterasu, also a sun deity.
If so… that envoy must have likened to Susanoo as a convenient counterpart.
Lower than the Emperor, yet still one of their most beloved gods.
How thoughtful. I could almost be moved to tears.
Though hearing "Susanoo" repeatedly makes it feel like strange patterns might appear in my eyes at any mont.
"Japan is a representative polytheistic nation in Northeast Asia. They attach the nas of gods to everything—there's no need to pay it much attention."
"My husband is an incarnation of a god? Then our children would be demigods, wouldn't they?"
…She was not listening at all.
Of course, as the head of the Anglican Church, Victoria would never take such things seriously.
She simply found my embarrassnt entertaining.
At least the children had not attended the banquet—that much was a relief.
"Yes, yes. But surely none of that compares to Your Majesty—the center of the world, the sovereign acknowledged by the nations of the East."
"To be honest, that part did feel a bit embarrassing. But then sothing even more outrageous happened, so I felt relieved. Otherwise I would have been the only one left awkward."
"…You're welco. Truly, there is no husband like ."
"Soone might think you planned it."
Victoria laughed and lightly kissed my forehead.
Unintended as it was, perhaps this incident even offset my earlier recklessness during the Crian War.
I had briefly considered how to properly discipline that Japanese envoy who made into a spectacle—but seeing Victoria so amused, it hardly seed worth it.
Let it be.
To them, it was probably sincere praise.
"Victoria, in any case… now that things have co to this, I assu you are prepared?"
"Prepared? For what? It's mostly honorary—nothing truly changes."
In this era, calling oneself emperor or king often ans little in practice.
Even if Prussia proclaims itself an empire, little truly changes.
Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, and many followed suit—but it altered little in substance.
Even the Ottomans claid the title of Roman Emperor after conquering Constantinople, yet Europe dismissed it outright.
However—
A true imperial title, not rely self-proclaid, can still bring diplomatic advantages.
What I seek is not so hollow title like "Emperor of India" or "Emperor of Brazil."
No one likely understands my intentions—perhaps only the Joseon king I spoke with directly.
Others might have inferred sothing at the banquet—
but thanks to Japan's outburst, I beca the evening's punchline instead.
Even Victoria seed unaware.
…In that case, did Japan unintentionally help ?
If so, perhaps I should make full use of this opportunity.
The fractured order of Northeast Asia—
it is ti to reassemble it with my own hands.
While I spent a quiet mont with Victoria after the unexpected incident—
the Japanese embassy was in complete chaos.
The envoy responsible, Chikasige, had recently been appointed to London by the shogun.
A close aide elevated to such a position—it was a clear sign the shogunate intended to strengthen ties with Britain.
However, the outgoing envoy, Tadafusa, who was to return to Japan, was now berating him furiously.
"I told you countless tis! Absolutely no strange behavior! What on earth did you do yesterday?!"
"I fail to understand what you an."
"At the banquet—you proclaid His Highness Killian as Susanoo's incarnation and led a chant!"
"Ah, that? It was very well received. A great success, no?"
Success?
Just recalling it made Tadafusa pale.
This is why one cannot trust provincial n from Edo.
"Ambassador Chikasige, Europe is not like Asia! Did you not see how the other envoys looked at us?"
"They looked with interest. Isn't that beneficial?"
Interest?
More like watching animals in a cage.
Still—attention is better than indifference, perhaps.
"…And what of calling him Susanoo's incarnation?"
"That was my brilliance. The attention shifted from Joseon to us imdiately."
"…."
"With the Emperor as the incarnation of Amaterasu, we cannot elevate him too highly—but His Highness is of Tokugawa blood, a naval admiral of Britain, and a war hero who defeated Russia. Who better than the god of storms and seas—Susanoo?"
From a Japanese perspective, the logic held.
But Europeans would not understand any of it.
"To Europeans, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi an nothing!"
"Then we shall present gifts—paintings and treasures—and explain the mythology."
"…This is a Christian nation! Introducing foreign gods could be seen as blasphemy!"
"…Ah. I see."
At last, he seed to understand.
"Then I will revise the strategy. We could present His Highness as the reincarnation of Jesus—"
"If you do that, I will kill you myself!"
Only then did the man finally grasp the gravity.
At this rate, disaster within a month seed inevitable.
"…In any case, do you rember how Qing glared at Joseon?"
"Of course. This could beco the central issue of the Exhibition."
Japan understood what Joseon was attempting.
And that ant—
it could be used.
If necessary, even cooperating with Joseon might serve Japan's interests.
For attention—
anything was possible.
And so, the discussion between the current and forr envoys continued deep into the night.
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