HOMA18CL 04

Episode 4: A Marriage Information Company in London?

◈ One Month Later

The Intelligence Club, London.

“Mr. Theo Sanderson!”

As soon as Tae-oh opened the club door and stepped inside, a member rushed up, calling his name. It was the Baron he had shared a seat with a few times.

“Mr. Sanderson? Why didn’t you come last week?”

The club met once a week on Monday.

“Ah, well, I hadn’t been here long after moving, so I had various things to take care of.”

“Ha ha. I see. Moving is always difficult. We were worried about why you hadn’t shown up. With the cold going around London, we thought you might be ill.”

However, the Baron kept closing the distance more than necessary.

Every person has a ‘Personal Space,’ and the meaning of invading this personal boundary changes based on the level of intimacy. That is, the ‘distance’ between two people changes according to their relationship; generally, in relationships without high intimacy, people instinctively maintain a distance of around one meter. When that distance is breached and someone enters their personal space, most people instinctively step back due to a vague discomfort. Conversely, if they feel intimacy, they may approach closer.

The Baron was now trying to maintain a distance that showed extreme intimacy, unlike their previous meeting.

‘He feels favorable toward me.’

Noticing this, Tae-oh did not step back and continued the conversation up close.

“Thank you for your concern. But do you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“Ah, yes. A few days ago, I unexpectedly ran into Admiral Matthew Bentham on the street.”

Tae-oh asked with a pleased look.

“Ah—you did? Then is the Admiral coming to the club today?”

“No, he won’t be able to make it. He was on his way to the harbor, saying he had to set sail urgently that day.”

“Ah, I wanted to see him… But did something happen to the Admiral?”

The Baron’s face became quite serious.

“Well… they say trouble has broken out in North America.”

“?”

“The Admiral said a skirmish occurred in Lexington. Between the Massachusetts militia and the British military.”

“A skirmish, in Lexington?”

‘A skirmish in Lexington… the Battles of Lexington and Concord?’

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were recorded as the first engagement between Britain and America, opening the door to the ‘American War of Independence.’

‘I didn’t know the exact date the first battle started, but the Battle of Lexington definitely marks the opening act of the American Revolutionary War.’

The Baron began to praise Tae-oh.

“It’s too early to judge, but it seems a clash has occurred between the British military and North America, just as you predicted, Mr. Sanderson.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“When I told Admiral Bentham about the skirmish, he was surprised and told me he completely trusts Mr. Theo Sanderson’s assessment of the political situation. And he praised Mr. Sanderson greatly. He was so proud, saying he recommended a man with such excellent insight to the club.”

“The Admiral thinks too highly of me. I am only grateful and somewhat embarrassed.”

Club members, having heard the news of the Lexington skirmish, began to gather around Tae-oh one by one.

“Well—it seems Mr. Sanderson is going to sweep up all the money we bet last time, doesn’t he?”

“I thought you were a very bright man back then, given your clear and confident analysis of the political situation, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. By the way, do you really think our Britain might lose?”

Tae-oh nodded.

“I believe it will become inevitable. Although North America will certainly be at a disadvantage in the early stages of the war, the British military will find itself at a disadvantage as the years go by.”

“As the years go by? Then how many years do you think the war will last if it truly breaks out?”

“Yes. I believe that will be the case.”

“What is the basis for your thinking?”

“Our British government spent too much of its finances driving the French out of the American colonies, didn’t it? It was to replenish those depleted finances that we decided to increase taxes on the North American colonies. But that will anger the North American residents, creating the ironic situation of them joining hands with the French and others. In the end, Britain, facing financial difficulty, seems likely to have to fight a long war.”

The war between Britain and the North American colonies was the biggest topic of discussion in the club for a while. Heated debates raged daily over the issue, and predictions about the future were rampant.

But Tae-oh always ended up summarizing and concluding the discussion.

“Of course, Mr. Albert’s opinion holds considerable weight. But looking at the current situation of Spain and the Netherlands…”

As his terrifyingly accurate assessments of the international situation continued week after week, Tae-oh emerged as the most popular figure in the club.

Eventually, whenever Tae-oh appeared at the club on a Monday, the intellectuals, nobles, and emerging capitalists of London would frequently gather in a circle around him to discuss various topics—a remarkable sight.

In particular, London’s most prominent intellectuals, including Adam Smith, would take the seat next to Tae-oh and engage in serious conversations. The club members would watch their high-level discussions with interest and occasionally participate in a Q&A session.

Tae-oh did not possess any special academic qualifications or titles, but since the club’s atmosphere prioritized knowledge and insight, the interest in the young intellectual who had appeared like a comet was bound to be intense.

The members, who had been deep in a serious discussion about the North American colonial war and the British Parliament’s response, changed the topic to light travel stories.

“Mr. Sanderson? If you’ve been to the South Pole, you must have seen the glaciers, too? Someone said the ice thickness at the South Pole exceeds 3,300 feet (about 1,000 meters). That must be an exaggeration, right?”

“It reaches 6,600 feet (about 2,000 meters), not 3,300 feet.”

“What? Six… 6,600 feet?”

“Yes. And that is the average thickness, so there will be many places that are thicker.”

The members listened with bated breath to Tae-oh’s vivid accounts, which were based on his real-life experience of having traveled to King George Island in the Antarctic.

Travel and exploration of the unknown world were a great aspiration that every intellectual at the time dreamed of. However, due to the poor transportation system and exorbitant costs, only a tiny fraction of people could travel the world.

“Mr. Sanderson, your experiences are astonishing every time I hear them. It’s incredible that you’ve been to nearby Europe, Africa, the East, and even the South Pole.”

Among the club members were quite a few upper-class nobles who had traveled the world through the Grand Tour, which cost over 3,000 pounds (about 400–500 million KRW).

Yet, even they couldn’t help but believe Tae-oh, as detailed explanations that could only be known by those who had traveled poured out of his mouth.

This was because Tae-oh had traveled to many countries since university, and before going, he had made sure to thoroughly study the history of the place, giving him a wealth of stories to tell.

After the travel stories concluded, they drank tea and exchanged various casual discussions. These conversations mainly revolved around the various social ills occurring in society and ways to resolve them.

Then, a young noble cautiously opened the conversation toward Tae-oh.

“Excuse me… Mr. Sanderson. My name is Viscount Antony Burns. I have something I’d like to ask you.”

<Although in Britain a noble is typically referred to by their title when inherited, to avoid confusing the reader with the appearance of many different titles, the name is simply followed by the title in this novel for convenience.>

“Ah, yes. Please speak, Viscount.”

“What do you think about the current marriage system, Mr. Sanderson?”

Tae-oh was flustered by the unexpected question.

“The marriage system?”

“Watching you for over two months, I have been deeply impressed by your broad and profound insight and foresight. Frankly, while the international situation and accounts of the world are interesting, I was genuinely curious about how long this terrible marriage system would last. I thought you might be able to predict the future of this flawed marriage system to some extent.”

18th-century European nobles tended to strongly separate love and marriage. Marriage was viewed as a means to maintain noble lineage, so they believed they must marry the person designated by the King or their parents, even if they did not know them.

After bearing children to maintain the lineage, they considered their marital duty complete, and the widespread mindset was to then freely pursue love affairs with people they liked.

From a modern perspective, this was an immoral relationship that could not be understood, and Viscount Antony Burns was criticizing this very marriage system.

Tae-oh pondered for a moment about how to reply, then opened his mouth.

“I am confident that Britain is now in a major period of transition, and accordingly, the value placed on marriage will also undergo tremendous change.”

“You mean the perception of marriage itself will change?”

“That’s right. First, there will be a storm following the war with North America. Then, a revolutionary wave will hit the knowledge and industrial sectors, ushering in new values across society and leading us to a completely different world. That is, as the perspective on humanity changes rapidly, the perception of marriage is also expected to be completely overturned.”

“When might such a wonderful change arrive?”

“Well, it will inevitably take time. Still, I predict that visible changes might begin to emerge in about twenty years.”

However, when the topic of marriage came up, many criticisms erupted everywhere. Even Tae-oh was surprised.

The comments were mostly about the marriages of their sisters or daughters, and there was a particular surge of condemnation for marriage brokers.

“My sister couldn’t find a suitable groom after several social seasons and was eventually forced to marry through a marriage broker.”

“Oh dear—those matchmakers are just after their own gain, aren’t they? You should never entrust anything to those people.”

“Exactly! I was completely deceived. They tricked us into marrying off my sister to a drunken scoundrel, pretending he was a respectable man. He wasn’t even a proper noble. It was essentially fraud, and that damned marriage broker completely ruined my sister’s life.”

“My sister was also victimized. I don’t know why these people who commit fraud for a small commission aren’t locked up in prison.”

At the time, marriage brokers often forced marriages to secure their fees, causing great social harm. This led to distrust of marriage brokers, whose public perception was very poor.

“That may be true, but if even those marriage brokers didn’t exist, wouldn’t it be the reality that desperate spinsters would have no way to be introduced to men and would grow old alone?”

Many members agreed with someone’s remark.

“Well… that is a valid point. The social atmosphere is such that women who cannot marry are not treated as full people. If they marry through a broker, even if it’s a fraudulent marriage, they are at least accepted within the family, aren’t they? Since it’s virtually impossible for a spinster past her marriageable age to meet a man without involving a broker, that’s why those trashy matchmakers can run rampant, isn’t it?”

“In any case, it seems far too difficult to meet a decent person and get married. It is a source of immense stress.”

Adam Smith, who had been silent, also chimed in.

“Considering the reality that women have virtually no social standing in our society, marriage is bound to be the most crucial event in a woman’s entire life, especially for women. However, we don’t have a social atmosphere where young men and women can freely meet, date, and get to know each other, and there are many problems resulting from forced marriages. As a father with a married daughter, it is truly regrettable that fraudulent marriages caused by these shoddy matchmakers are constantly happening around us.”

**

Clatter, clatter.

Inside the carriage on the way home, Tae-oh was deep in thought.

‘The conversation between the mother and daughter I overheard on the streets of Bristol, and the fiery condemnation from the club members today… The issue of marriage in this society is truly important, yet there seems to be no proper solution. To the point where they have no choice but to rely on those shoddy marriage brokers.’

Tae-oh suddenly recalled the US TV series he had watched in his present life, which was set in modern Britain. He had watched the customs of modern British society, where everything seemed to hinge on marriage, with great interest.

‘The drama showed that the whole society, especially women, was frantically obsessed with marriage, and that drama was by no means exaggerated.’

But at that moment, an idea flashed through his mind.

‘Wait… The ultimate goal in life for European women in this era is a successful marriage, isn’t it? If they don’t get married by their mid-twenties and become spinsters, they’re ruined. And the fact that there are surprisingly many unmarried women means shoddy matchmakers are rampant. But wasn’t marriage matching my greatest specialty?‘

There was a specific reason why Hyun Tae-oh, despite obtaining a difficult Ph.D. in Psychology, surprisingly entered the marriage information business. He found immense pleasure in thoroughly analyzing the behavior and psychology of men and women and finding a strong link between them, more so than in studying psychological theories or conducting counseling therapy in a lab.

His maternal uncle, recognizing this ability at a glance, pulled Tae-oh into the marriage information company he had founded, and the result was a great success.

The anticipation that he might be able to feel that same thrill here made Tae-oh’s heart suddenly race.

‘Wow, this is truly something I never thought of. Using the men and women matching skills I learned in the 21st century in 18th-century Britain?’

This was an era where hit-or-miss marriage brokers ran wild. Conversely, it was a society where everything was staked on marriage, incomparable to modern society.

The needed demand was overflowing, but the proper supply was completely zero in the market.

‘Yes. This is it. I’ll find genuinely good grooms for the unmarried women. And conversely, I’ll introduce men to the women who are perfect for them.’

Tae-oh nodded to himself involuntarily.

‘I’ve finally decided what I need to do in London. I’m going to pour all my remaining funds into starting a marriage information company. And I’ll use my specialty from my present life to grow it into the best marriage information company in Britain.’