Bab 56: White House

Felipe slowly got on his carriage and began to wave. He remembered the video of President Kennedy getting shot in the head while in a convertible during a massive parade, just like that one. Or how Archduke Franz was almost killed with a grenade in a parade.

His paranoia became extensive as he opened the carriage door enough to push it and get out of harm's way. In the early 19th century, snipers were not that good, so his only concern was people getting into the crowd and shooting him.

He didn't think it would happen, but his gut was telling him to prepare, and he had been listening to his gut for a long time, which had not failed him.

"Fuck this trip," Felipe said to himself as he was still waving. The street was long, but they were already approaching the white house's destination.

"Fuck this trip," Felipe said as he was still waving; the street was quite long, but he was already tired of being seen like an animal in a Zoo. 'One visit, one fucking visit from the king, and no matter how much taxes you put on them, the USA would not have rebelled.'

In a country where there are no kings or emperors, plus combined with the novelty of a king, and a prosperous nation, it made for a heck of an entertainment; many people side to side didn't even know where the Colombian Empire was on a map, they just knew that Felipe was going to be Emperor once his father dies, and that was enough to make everyone come out to look at him.

Felipe looked around and saw that some people were holding signs with his matches' painted brand, which was basically their family crest.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the giant mansion.

It was new, it had just finished renovation in 1821sh, so it was less than a decade old. Spanking new. It still looked like a plantation house but bigger. The home of Jhon was smaller but quite similar; he took inspiration from it, after all.

They claim not to be an empire, yet they are exactly that, multiple somewhat independent states united into one nation with a common goal.

Moreover, the Term Emperor came from the Roman Empire; he was no king but supreme commander, the literal translation, Supreme Commander.

The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was selected through voting, but they would last their whole life. The emperors of the Roman Empire were chosen by the person with the most influence after the current Emperor died, and so on.

The concept of Emperor was malformed into a type of Royalty when kingdoms began to call themselves emperors to boost their image or status or when the Kingdom grew too large. Still, they kept the laws of a kingdom, passing down the title in bloodline succession.

The Colombian Empire is also more akin to a Kingdom; they are kings of most of the land except Bolivia.

In other words, Bolivar has the right to become an emperor as he has influence and a royal title, yet, he will not as he recognizes the ability to rule that Felipe has.

But then again, if Bolivar tried to become Emperor, Felipe would have to fight him, and they would separate the Empire, just like what happened with the Holy Roman Empire; it just broke up into 2 big countries.

Prussia and Astro-Hungarian states. In the case of the Colombian Empire, it would be the Bolivian Kingdom and the Colombian Kingdom.

Though the very name of the Empire, "The Colombian Empire," shows it is the main Kingdom of the Empire.

In the USA, the Emperor is the president, though he has to be re-elected by the country's electorates, who can ignore the people's vote and choose with their own judgement and, of course, have terms of 4 years instead of for life. Still, until the end of the second world war, a person could be re-elected for life if they were charming and popular enough. And even make their child next in power if they were to be a good politician like the Trudeau Family in Canada.

The white house is the castle, or the Palace, on which the Emperor rules and loves. Nevertheless, power tends to concentrate on the top, no matter how equal a system of government is designed to be.

PAH!!!!!!!

Felipe's gut feeling finally came true, and they felt the shockwave created by the ignited black powder of a handgun. The loud shot did not hit or even directed at him; rather, it was shot away from him.

His guards have killed a man… a young man. It was quick death as the brain matter spread across the American Guards. The shot only made people more curious about what was happening inside the White House fences.

Only a few people left at the sound of a shot being fired; after all, it was far too common, and if the shooter were to shoot against them, they would have enough time between shots to leave.

The American Guards were following protocol more than anything and just put their weapons up, pointing at the soldier, while some other American soldiers were trying to appease the jumpy American Soldiers as they had seen what happened.

The Colombian Guard's first instinct was to draw their handguns toward the soldiers whose rifle was directed more closely to their Prince than their partner; even the Colombian guards that saw what happened drew their guns against the soldiers whose barrel was too close to their Prince.

Felipe sees some American Soldiers trying to calm down their fellow soldiers when he uses his hands to calmly put down two of the rifles of the nearest soldiers and do as if nothing has happened.

His calmness was Contagious, and the first to fall in line was his own guards, who quickly unarmed themselves, which made the American Guards lose their guard.

"I said put your weapons down! I saw it with my eyes; the chap wanted to kill the Prince." One of the officers said loudly, so the rest of the guards put down their weapons.

It was only a short time before other Guards would come and assess the situation, but seeing no real threat to their colleagues or guests, they could not assess things well.

Felipe saw the president of the USA actually coming out of inside the white house and seeing what was happening outside.

"Mr. Quincy." Felipe extended his hand as if he did not care.

"Oh, your majesty… everything is alright?" He asked as he looked in surprise at the dead body. "Good lord."

"I have too many people wanting me dead; I normally meet them on a battlefield… or I would send an army." Felipe laughed at the end, making the mood a bit more light.

"Ah, I see." The president was entirely surprised by Felipe's English. He was still surprised that a person would be able to almost Kill his Guest.

"Oh, my goodness."

"No, dear, please don't come here; it is unpleasant to a man; it must be horrifying to women." The president said as he hurried and ensured his wife didn't look.

"Okey okey… But his majesty…."

"Don't worry, you will meet him inside."

"Oh, okay."

Felipe smiled as he saw the interaction between husband and wife. The wife was interested in meeting him.

After Felipe entered the white house, he was finally met by the First Lady.

She put her right foot behind her left and corrected herself by putting her right foot a bit over the left side of her left foot, ending, crossing her legs, and then bending her knees while lifting her skirt just enough for the fabric not to fold on the ground. A Court Curtsy is how any lady should present herself before a monarch.

"Your Majesty. Louisa Catherine Adams, for your service."

Felipe humoured her and took her hand, which was gloved in white, and kissed the top of her hand. He bowed to that, which showed his respect for her and appreciation for beauty.

"It is my pleasure."

"… Ohh… Yeah, please, come; I guess you must be tired." She said, flustered, not knowing what to say.

Felipe was not a home wrecker as long as the man didn't participate in a coup against him. Moreover, he did so to show respect, and the president saw that and just smiled and nodded with a smile on.

Ever since his wife knew about Felipe Visiting the USA, she has made sure things were perfect, the garden outside the white house and the art inside the white house. Adams himself was quite a follower of Felipe.

For once, in a state of the Union in the early 20s, he negotiated the Colombian Empire as one of the most powerful nations before he was president. Felipe has written about Adams in his papers in the USA and worldwide, praising some and providing critical criticism for some policies, but never slander.

In other words, they have common respect for each other.

Plus, the recognition of the Colombian Empire gave the USA legitimacy; after the wake of Napoleon Bonaparte, no country in Europe would recognize an independent country without a European dynasty as monarchs, and All the European Countries recognized the Colombian Empire. Thus by proxy, it was like all other European countries recognizing the USA, making the recognition of the Colombian Empire worth quite a lot despite being a very new country.

In a way, Adams and Felipe were in a symbiotic relationship where they needed each other. And Felipe humouring his wife was just part of the undirect relationship they had been having for years already.