Rasputin of the East

＜ Episode 73 >

The room I was guided into was quiet.

The space lit up the room with only candles with all the curtains down… It was reminiscent of a mortuary.

Slowly, silently, the corpse turned to me.

Wilhelm II.

Emperor of the German Empire.

Who would have been the last emperor of the German Empire.

He looked at me with lifeless eyes.

“Are you Nicky’s sword?”

“Though the nickname of the Tsar’s Hound is more familiar.”

The tone was blunt, and it was an answer that could be felt as rude enough, but Wilhelm II did not answer.

“Is that true?”

what. The word was not added. Because there was only one word to come out of here.

“The Tsar wants you to remain emperor of the German Empire.”

“Then how are you?”

The emperor, who had been energetic until just a few weeks ago, seemed to have lost his vitality after his desperate escape from Berlin.

If you force the body to live, that’s what it would look like.

“The Tsar’s will is my will. If you command it, I just follow it.”

“I don’t want you to be loyal to me, because you’re a tsar’s servant anyway, but if you’re willing to show me the least amount of respect, I don’t want you to speak like that, no matter how incompetent I may be. From here you can figure out who is holding the hilt.”

“…Were the communist revolutions that shocking? I wouldn’t have known.”

“… Do you know what they said when they encouraged me to open the war? I told you to remember 1905, and you said that if you go to war, Russia will fall into a revolution, so you have a good chance of winning.”

“It would have been.”

There is still an unquenchable embers, and it would have come true without me.

“But it was me who was ousted from power due to the revolution. I didn’t know that I was closer to the cliff just by seeing that others were close to the cliff.”

Wilhelm II, who was complaining like an old man on the verge of dying, looked at me.

“The empire has not been defeated by Russia, it has been defeated by a man named Mikhail Nikolaevich Kim, Duke of Vostok. Even in Tannenberg… because victory was in sight. One more push, one more push, and it would be over, I thought.”

Not expecting my answer, so I let the old man mumble.

“Are you satisfied with revenge?”

“I have no grudges against the former German Empire.”

“……”

Of course, the story of the Russian people may be a little different. In the first place, the princesses of Montenegro who were married to the Russian imperial family right away defend Serbia and have a strong influence on politics, and the majority of the people are on the side of Serbia.

That’s why I secretly sent the plan to invade Serbia. If it’s difficult to completely eradicate Serbia, you’d have to replace it with certainty.

“Not long ago, I had been arguing at Buckingham Palace over what to do with the end of the war in England and France until I heard the news and rushed to respond. If you have nothing more to say to me, I will step down.”

There was no answer. Did you just want to meet me once?

However, no matter how he looked at it, his condition did not appear to be normal.

If we’re considering ending up with even a few ports in East Prussia and dealing with the rest as reparations, would that situation get any better?

There is no point in eating all of East Prussia. East Prussia is the base of the German Junkers.

Right now, even in this crisis, at least the poor were able to eat three meals a day, even if the quality was low in Russia today.

“I will leave. Rest.”

As I quietly came out, a man was standing there.

“Nice to meet you. Peacock.”

The man with the mustache said softly.

“Call me Wilhelm of Hohenzollern.”

“…the Crown Prince has told you.”

“If you drive them out and take Berlin back, you can call it that.”

The Crown Prince, after looking at his arms, recommended a cigar.

“Would you like a drink?”

“I will take my heart. I hate cigarettes.”

“Then could you give me some time?”

“of course.”

“Then let’s move on. This is not a very nice place.”

Prince Wilhelm, who was walking in the lead, opened his mouth when he thought the room was far enough away.

“How do you feel about meeting my father?”

“……”

“I will be honest. My father… was quite shocked. It might be, though. Even in the imperial family, there were people who were caught and sacrificed by those mobs.”

“Is it even in the Imperial Household?”

“There is so much to lose in Berlin. Loyal generals, family… It is the will to see their ruin and the devotion of my brother that have kept you still in this world.”

Two cups of coffee were placed on a small table. Steam was rising from the coffee as if they had prepared something to talk about here in the first place.

“Eat it.”

“Then thank you.”

I almost wrinkled my face after tasting it. it was too dark

“I know it’s rude, but I’ve heard the story of the father and the duke.”

“Is that so.”

“There is nothing we can do about the past. I’ve been against starting this damn war from the start, and I’ve heard that the Duke was the same. It’s quite a famous story in Europe, is it true?”

“It is true.”

“Then I hope the story goes well.”

With a serious expression on his face, the prince opened his mouth.

“What does the Russian Empire want in return for ending the war?”

“The three countries have not reached an agreement. To be precise, something happened before an agreement was reached, so the meeting was interrupted and I returned.”

“You know that. However, this war was not started by anyone’s will, but only one can end this war. The same person who is holding a coffee mug right in front of me.”

“That’s an overstatement.”

“No, not at all. Can our German Empire end the war of its own will? No idiot would ever think so. So what about England? Do you think France will end the war of its own accord? The British, who could not even break through the defenses of the empire in great chaos, made trenches with corpses in the Somme and the Alps? Or the French who intend to block the river with corpses in the river Yen? Don’t tell me the Balkans or the Japanese can do that.”

“……”

“Only the Russian Empire, and at this moment, who can control the will of the Russian Empire, which holds the key to ending the war.”

“Tsar, His Majesty Nicholas II.”

“You cannot control the tsar. Savior of Jerusalem and Constantinople.”

“……”

“But the loser dares to ask the protagonist of the new age, what do you plan to do with our German Empire? No, I will change the question.”

Prince Wilhelm looked straight at me and asked.

“Is there any place for us, Hohenzollern, to stand in the post-war world you paint?”

“It is up to you only.”

For me, there is room for relative comfort if Hohenzollern stays in place.

But can Hohenzollern survive on its own in post-war Germany?

“If you can only maintain the power on your own, yes, we will work closely with you to keep you in power as much as possible. In East Prussia, permission to use several ports, indemnity, and the formation of the demilitarized zone and the acceptance of Russian air reconnaissance in the demilitarized zone. This is roughly what the Russian Empire is asking for. I don’t know about France or England.”

“Can you tell us about the treatment of our allies?”

“The Austro-Hungarian Empire is disintegrating. Czechoslovakia became independent. Wouldn’t it be possible to serve one of the Russian imperial families as king? Austria and Hungary will be separated. Much of the Balkan territories would also have to be surrendered. The Ottoman Turks are also dismantled. The treatment of the German Empire is very generous.”

“Then, in order to maintain the German Empire, can you help me with just one thing?”

I was a little puzzled by the sudden change of tone, but I didn’t react hastily.

“Tell me.”

“The loss of Alsace-Lorraine will be inevitable anyway, France may try to tear down the Rhineland, and it will be difficult for Luxembourg to defend, as well as handing over all overseas colonies.”

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Maybe it will. I didn’t really deny it.

“I, and Hohenzollern have come to a conclusion, I can give up everything, but will the people convince me? Will you bear the shame?”

“It is the fate of the defeated nation.”

“But because of that, you can’t just climb the guillotine, can’t you? So I ask for your cooperation.”

“What is?”

“Help the annexation of Austria and Switzerland.”

“……?”

For a moment I wondered if I was already old enough to wear hearing aids.

“Do you think the negotiating countries will just stand by and watch it?”

“No, I can only guess that they will try to get in the way at any cost. I am not that bad.”

“Then why are you talking?”

“If we lose Alsace-Lorraine, maybe even the Rhineland, we need enough results to allay the anger of the people, and if the Joker, Duke of Vostok, puts weight on Hohenzollern, I think it is possible.”

Prince Wilhelm rose from his seat and bowed to me.

“What is this… His Majesty the Crown Prince.”

“I have come prepared to kneel to the Duke if necessary.”

“……”

“Any price will be fine, but Hohenzollern will never give in to those mobs who have killed one of my brothers, and even the spouse of another. It has been so, and it will always be. I am ready to pay any price for that.”

“The Tsar…”

“I am not asking the Tsar or the Russian Empire now, I am asking the Duke, Mikhail Nikolaevich Kim, Duke of Vostok, to grant the Empire tomorrow.”

It was only then that I realized the identity of the sense of incongruity I was feeling. At first glance, I could feel the madness hidden in the cold voice.

“Tell me what you want in return, literally whatever you want, and I will give you everything Hohenzollern can give you. Even if they ask for money or titles, Austria and Switzerland, which will be annexed in the future, they will gladly give them away. No, I will grant you the status of the royal family if you wish, as long as it is legal enough.”

A madness called vengeance.