Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

Then, Viscount Palmeston delivered the aforementioned speech in Parliament, vehemently opposing what he considered to be "a quixotic crusade for abstract principles." In his view, the action was neither economical nor practical, and it also risked offending much of Europe.


Upon hearing this, Talleyrand smiled slightly, "If that's what he said, I can understand why he made such a statement today. I realize he doesn't like to take risks—he only squeezes soft persimmons. But let me be clear here, he will eventually regret his indulgence of the Russians' behavior."


"Look at Greece, it's because Britain indulged the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War and the Greek War of Independence, allowing Cordington to completely defeat the Ottoman navy, that now Russia's influence in Greece not only outpaces France's but even Britain cannot catch up with Russia."


Chapter 230 Flowers, Swords, Poland, and France (6K4)_3