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Let’s整理一下.

History has changed.

Our Hitler didn’t seize power with the German Nazi Party, and Hero Adolf won’t kill Hitler either.

Honestly, from my standpoint, having Adolf Hitler rise to power in Germany would be the best since at least I know him.

From the time Hitler joined the volunteer army in the Red-White Civil War, the history has essentially changed.

So I sent him to Austria hoping for at least no Anschluss.

If Britain is too busy with its colonies to intervene in Europe, then naturally, we will hold the hegemony in post-war Europe.

Replacing the defeated communist axis countries with pro-Russian regimes and tying them together like the European Union is practically the reconstruction of Rome.

No Anschluss, tied to Poland, and a Germany split between East Prussia and Austria.

Even if I weren’t familiar with the rival, the historical Hitler turned out lucky in gambling, so it shouldn’t be too hard to handle.

That said, I’m at least preparing for a serious situation where I lose France, and Britain is tied up in colonies, merely guarding the English Channel with a stance of non-intervention in continental Europe. That’s why I’m even developing nuclear bombs.

It’s going to be tough for Britain to come across to Germany after losing France, unless the U.S. uses Britain as a stepping stone to reach the European continent.

But I’ve already sown poison into the U.S. Hmmm.

Well, anyway, that’s why there’s a civil defense treaty.

We need to clarify who the enemy and the ally are.

“If Austria and Poland do their job as meat shields and the Balkan countries cover their backs…”

At least some form can be seen here, right?

Communist Italy is only a name for communism.

With Mussolini around, not much is likely to change. Honestly, I’ve already said it several times.

Still, to maintain a sense of crisis, I should at least let Maria know.

“Your Majesty, you’re looking toward the future.”

Of course.

The fight against the Reds always requires looking to the future.

We must be cautious of the red seeds the Reds sow.

It fits this era perfectly. After all, we never know how these red seeds may bloom in the future.

“I must look to the future. If I focus on reality rather than the future, I won’t be prepared enough. Britain is only looking at the present, but I’m different.”

Considering how the Soviet Union and the communist bloc will turn out. I think I have an idea of how the revolution communist Germany will bring about will spread.

I don’t know whether Germany will follow the Soviet path, but at least looking at what they’re doing now gives off a Soviet Germany vibe.

An even more active Soviet than the Soviet Union.

Right now, Britain and France are reacting to the lack of colonies and trying to spread communism.

Seeing Britain feeling a sense of crisis and how another Chamberlain brings about peace in your times shows they’re genuinely wary of red water spreading in their colonies.

However, today, a new event occurred.

“Your Majesty. It’s urgent.”

“What is it?”

“A man claiming to be a Cheka agent from Soviet Russia has arrived at the Kremlin.”

A Cheka agent from Soviet Russia.

Saying that in front of the Kremlin is like openly asking to be killed.

There’s no way anyone would be so thoughtless.

Even in Moscow, the majority, no, almost everyone, must be members of Anastasia’s fan club.

In that circumstance, someone claims to be a Cheka agent and arrives.

That’s suspicious.

For now, I decided to let him in.

The Kremlin is guarded by the Imperial Guard, known as Anastasia’s personal guard, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Then, let’s have a look.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“It’s fine. I have a feeling I know who it is.”

Even if a Cheka agent comes to kill me himself, I still have my tanghulu.

No need to worry.

* * *

So, I let him in, but this man claiming to be a Cheka agent looked familiar.

Yeah. That face I saw in Yekaterinburg.

The guy who, even after seeing that I didn’t die, was foaming at the mouth and trying to kill me until the very end—Yakov or Yakov, I can’t remember his name, that Cheka agent I killed.

“Where have you been? You were in Makhno’s Free Territory.”

I never thought he would have gone to Makhno’s Free Territory.

He’s not a notable person.

Just a run-of-the-mill Cheka lackey who wanted to do something with the Princess. Just an extra, nothing more, nothing less.

But he did go to Makhno’s Free Territory.

If he turned around and came to me—hmm. There’s a smell of something.

“When has there ever been a force that could oppose the Saints? I was sneaking in to repay the grace of Your Majesty, who should forgive my sin.”

“Your Majesty, can you trust the words of this beggar?”

Maria seems to want to catch this Cheka agent right away.

Then again, his appearance claiming to be a Cheka agent is no different from a beggar.

It likely would’ve been complicated for him to come from Makhno’s Free Territory to the United States.

“That’s the Cheka agent who tried to kill me in Yekaterinburg. The one who turned at the end.”

I remember his face clearly.

Though years have passed since then, I still recall it.

I witnessed the Saint who wouldn’t die right before my eyes.

Seeing the Saint who wouldn’t burn even when scorched, I was led to fanaticism and turned.

“I see.”

For this guy to have come here means there’s a reason behind it.

“Okay. Tell me in detail. What’s going on?”

“They say that the Secretary of Germany has sent a personal letter from Makhno’s Free Territory.”

The Germans sent a personal letter to Makhno’s Free Territory?

“A personal letter? How do you know?”

Makhno. That name pops up just often enough to make one forget it.

Ukrainian Makhno Free Territory.

I wonder if they’ll be able to eat there before the 30s.

Anyway, the British won’t object to us taking Makhno’s land.

In fact, I thought about stepping in when they messed things up a bit more through collectivization.

“I am the chairperson of the Supreme Labor Council in Makhno’s Free Territory!”

“The Chairperson of Makhno’s Labor Council?”

This Cheka agent claims to be a member of the council created by Makhno?

His name sounds like it could be something like Sergey.

He claims to have worked extremely hard?

Back then, I at least gave a little something to the Cheka agents who turned, pretending to do them a favor.

I thought they all escaped, warning them they would get killed by the White Army, but is this guy the one who ended up there?

“Yes. When Makhno established the Supreme Labor Council, a number of Bolsheviks were appointed to that council.”

I see. So the Supreme Labor Council is a government institution he created.

The name seems rather hastily put together, doesn’t it?

I’m probably just feeling that way, but it doesn’t seem to carry any dignity at all.

Still, I can’t believe everything he says just like that.

“Still, it’s hard to believe without evidence. What proof do you have?”

“I stealthily brought the personal letter.”

The Cheka agent answered with an incredibly confident expression.

“A personal letter? It seems you’ve been quite close to Makhno.”

“Since he claims to be a Bolshevik, I was placed in the council to curry favor with Makhno and act as Makhno’s errand boy.”

The Cheka agent politely took out an envelope and handed it to me.

I pulled the letter from the ripped envelope.

If simply being appointed because they were Bolsheviks meant the Free Territory wasn’t running well.

If it were running smoothly, they wouldn’t be appointing Bolsheviks just because of that.

This indicates that Makhno’s anarchic regime is unstable, and this would work in favor for Russia.

But whatever, that’s not what matters right now.

What’s important is this personal letter.

From the ripped envelope, I read a letter sent by the German Secretary.

Honestly, it was nothing special.

To be frank, it was just a friendly “Hey, we’re comrades in communism, let’s get along!”

The Ukrainian Free Territory is an anarchist entity and subtly forms a precarious independent nation but.

There’s really no need to inform us about that.

But judging from Germany’s movements, this doesn’t seem like a simple “Oh? You share our ideology? Let’s be friendly comrades!” kind of situation.

After all, there’s the revolutionary Liebknecht.

They understand that much of the food for the Russian Army comes from Ukraine.

They might try to squeeze Russia using Ukraine.

In other words, they might use Ukraine to stab us in the back.

“Hmmm, so the Secretary wants to expand his influence, huh?”

It’s suspicious if you think about it a bit more.

He’s not sending telegrams or anything.

Why on earth would the Secretary send a personal letter to the Ukrainians?

What’s the reason behind sending the personal letter?

They know that telegrams could leak out somewhere in Russia.

This is probably a scheme to secretly connect with Makhno and outsmart Russia.

Yeah. They thought that through.

Anyway, judging by the standing of communist Germany, Makhno looks similar to them.

They likely want to connect with Makhno somehow.

“Hmmm.”

We do need to eat Ukraine.

To be honest, during the operation in Ukraine, we could have taken the whole area as it is.

We were cautious of the British, so we threw Makhno in there to create a neutral zone, but still.

Now, thinking about it, seeing how the British are tied up with communist Germany, could we not have swallowed half of Ukraine back then?

I thought about keeping Makhno alive for a bit and, depending on the situation, then get to gobble him up, but did they already catch on?

“If you have nowhere to go, stay in Moscow. If we ever need to deal with Makhno, you might have to testify.”

“Understood, Your Saintliness!”

The Cheka agent repeatedly bowed his head in gratitude before me.

This one’s a bit out of his mind.

Calling me a Saint instead of a Tsar.

Yeah. I guess anyone would go mad when witnessing miracles like not being burned and not dying from bullets.

To him, I would appear as a true Saint, so of course, he would call me that.

For now, this Cheka agent has arranged lodging in Moscow, and I need to think a bit more about this situation.

We need to eat Ukraine.

Ukraine produces most of the food for the Soviet troops.

Right now, although they’re officially getting grains through Makhno for domestic use, we’ll have to plan that through soon enough.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we discuss this with the National Duma?”

“That’s true.”

This isn’t the kind of thing to chat about with Maria; at least the current task is to discuss how to consume half of Ukraine with the National Duma.

“Then, what about this Cheka agent? Should we deal with him? He only calls you Saint, not Your Majesty.”

“Well, since the Russian Orthodox Church has declared me a Saint, it’s not incorrect.”

“Still, we need to maintain a distinction. Isn’t the title of Saint held by all your sisters?”

That’s true. They all became Saints just like in actual history.

However, from this guy’s perspective, he can only see me as a Saint.

Maria, who hasn’t directly witnessed me not dying, can make such statements, but still.

“He’s useful, so it’s probably best not to disturb him.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I have nothing more to say, but I wonder if he’ll ever become a hindrance for you.”

Hmm, hard to say.

After all, he’s not a named Bolshevik.

Although he turned after witnessing my miracle, he’s only a level one passerby extra.

He’s not a potential risk, and it’s likely he came to find me to slightly atone for the crime he committed.

He was, after all, a Tsar who could’ve been killed without a second thought. But he definitely fears my father, the Saint.

Having witnessed the miracle, he would dread the day I might seek revenge for my father.

That’s why he’s probably looking for a justification to deal with Makhno.

Yeah. I can give him that much credit.

“Is it necessary to make a fuss about it? I’ve set his place in Moscow, and I plan to keep him under the protection of Okhrana as an excuse and keep him under surveillance. Later, I’ll provide him a reason to send Makhno away. That shouldn’t be a problem. Just in case, I’ll put someone from the Kremlin there for supervision.”

“Understood.”

He was hiding under Makhno for a long time.

And that too, as a turncoat.

It’s logical to think he’s not a named character but that he’s really here for me.

Even if he wasn’t, he still has value.

We’ll definitely have to keep him for when we eventually complain to Ukraine.

“Wait, an interesting thought just came to me.”

“Your Majesty?”

“Once this situation is over, why don’t we award him a medal for his service to benefit Russia as a turncoat? Maybe even the remaining Bolsheviks will reconsider their positions.”

Even former Bolsheviks can contribute under the new regime! Let’s spread the word like that.

After all, the leadership was completely shattered; those remaining Bolsheviks were the temporary followers saying, “It’s unbearable! Let’s turn it over!”

Those with any pride would decline the turn or claim they prefer the concentration camps, but at least the Tsar will be seen as someone who can embrace even those who used to be Bolsheviks, reflecting a more gentle image.

If communist Germany is determined to split us internally with communists, we should draw that line first.

 

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