"This is going to be a lot of intervention, setting ourselves in the forefront of global diplomacy," Alexander said as he propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand.
"In that case, Your Majesty, we should select sides that will be most beneficial to the Ruthenia Empire," Sevastian suggested.
"I know, we have to study the nature of their conflict. Why is it happening and what was the cause? We can't just provide a faction with weapons we know nothing about and earn the ire of both factions."
Supporting a side in a civil war is one thing. Uprisings in the colonies of major colonial powers are a whole new can of worms.
Should his support with the rebels be found out, the country the colony belongs to will declare war on him. Vice versa, his support of suppressing the uprisings will be seen by other freedom fighter factions as evidence of cooperative imperialistic superpower bullying.
"That's a good insight, Your Majesty. I will prepare the necessary documents for you to read. It'll contain the compilation of investigations of our intelligence agents stationed outside Ruthenia. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency will also advise you what action to take in the aforementioned conflict."
'Preferably, manipulate them into a truce in order to settle for a compromise in the best possible scenario...' Alexander hoped.
Civil wars and revolutions can be such a bloody affairs.
"That's good to hear. It's been just a month and you surely are adapting quickly..." Alexander remarked.
"I'm honored, Your Majesty. To be honest, I should praise you for the hard work that you've been doing in the Ruthenia Empire. Imagine having to attend a cabinet meeting that could go on for two to three hours all the while running the Imperial Dynamic Systems..."
As Sevastian was speaking, the female news anchor continued reporting on the long queues outside the Ruthenian Fried Chicken. He took a quick cursory glance before returning to Alexander.
"Your fast-food concept is surely taking off. I'm so glad that I invested my money in your business. Now I can see the return of investment coming anytime soon."
"Fast food will take over the world and the concept will sell like hotcakes into the future itself, you won't regret investing in the Imperial Dynamic Systems as everything we've been producing is well-received and well-liked not only by the people of Ruthenia but the foreigners too."
Sevastian smiled as his eyes remained fixed on Alexander. His first thought was what happened to him? He's not the same person whom he met like ten years ago. He had changed a lot and he's certain that he is not the only one who noticed it.
"I should get going, Your Majesty. I just remembered that I have tons of work to do. Send my regards to my cousins."
Alexander simply nodded at his words as he watched him walk over to the door. As soon as he opened it, a girl in her early twenties showed up before him. He recognized this girl. Silver pristine hair, blue eyes, and a beautiful face. It was Christina.
"Sevastian?" Christina asked with a surprised tone in her voice. "I didn't know you were here..."
"Who is he, sister? What's he doing in our brother's office?" Anastasia asked.
"Why are you here, Sevastian?" Tiffania raised a brow.
"Hello, everyone, I know there's a lot to explain..." Sevastian replied as he glanced over his three cousins.
"Who is he....sister?" Anastasia tugged Christina's sleeve to catch her attention.
"He is Prince Sevastian Alexandrovich of Ruthenia, your cousin, Anastasia," Christina answered as Sevastian bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.
Anastasia gasped dramatically. "I didn't know..."
"You wouldn't because you were at a young age at the time when he first visited the Winter Palace," Christina informed her.
"Christina? Why are you three doing this?" Alexander approached the four.
"Brother...what is Prince Sevastian doing in your office?" Christina asked as she shifted her gaze to Alexander.
"Ah...I haven't informed you yet but you see, Prince Sevastian is my new National Security Advisor."
"So he works for you?" Tiffania arched an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yes," Alexander simply said before clearing his throat. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you all."
"This is a touching reunion, Your Majesty," Sevastian commented as he put one arm around Christina and held the other towards Tiffania. But the two of them removed his arm without saying anything.
"So this is how bad our relationship is...huh?" Sevastian muttered under his breath. "I'll take my leave now, Your Majesty. I'm honored to see the three of you once again."
As Sevastian left Alexander's office, the girls remained silent as they looked at each other.
"When did he start working here, brother?"
"About a month ago," Alexander answered and continued. "Anyways, why did you come here? Is there something you would like to tell me?"
"Yes..." The three entered his office. His eyes followed their movement and saw Anastasia's grinning face. It feels as though they have something they'd want to say to him.
Alexander closed the door behind them before sitting down on the edge of his desk. He grabbed the remote control and pressed the mute button.
"Let's hear what you have to say."
The sisters exchanged a look and Tiffania cleared her throat.
"Brother...we have a favor to ask of you," Anastasia started.
"A favor? Now, this is new. What is it?"
Tiffania bit her lip nervously as Anastasia stared at the floor. Finally, she decided to speak.
"We'd like to visit a foreign country..."
"A state visit huh?" Alexander uttered as he grabbed a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. "What country do you have in mind? Francois? Britannia? Deutschland? Austrean?"
"No brother..." Christina spoke up slowly, "It's far from those places."
"I literally have no clue," Alexander shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his wine. "Just tell me what country you three would like to visit so I can arrange it."
"Wait...you would allow us to visit foreign countries?" Christina asked tentatively.
"Depending on the state of the country you plan to visit," Alexander paused, "I suppose yes."
"Great! Then the country that the three of us would like to visit is the Yamato Empire!" Christina said excitedly.
Alexander spat out his wine, nearly choking.
"Yamato?!" he managed to choke out. "Did I hear that right?"
"Yes, dear brother...do you have a problem with it?" Anastasia inquired innocently.
"No...no no no, not at all. Just surprised. I never expected that you would choose that country out of all places. But you see, the Ruthenian Empire and the Yamato Empire relationship is in quite a rocky stage of recovery."
"Would this perhaps be the cause of the St. Petersburg treaty where the Ruthenia annexed Manchuria?' Tiffania questioned curiously.
"The post-war treaty and the Manchurian acquisition," Alexander answered. "Anyways, let me think about your favor for a second."
Alexander began to contemplate. The Yamato Empire, as of right now, is relatively peaceful. There's no internal conflict going on within its borders. Would they be safe if his sisters visited the Yamato? Wait...actually, this presents a good opportunity to repair the relationship with the Yamato Empire. They've been wary of each other ever since the Manchurian incident. If he would like to grow his influences in the Far East, he must first establish a cordial relationship with them.
"Fine, I'll arrange it. When do you plan to leave?"
"How about this week on Sunday, brother?" Tiffania suggested.
"Well, it's Wednesday, I guess we can still make preparations and inform Yamato of your planned visit."
"Thank you brother," the three said in unison.
Alexander spread his arms, offering them a hug. But none of them took it.
"Wait...seriously? Not even you Anastasia?"
"Brother...I'm sixteen years old. I am not a child anymore that would hug you for silly reasons. I'm a grown lady now."
Her words his heart like a knife. He fell on his knee in defeat before sighing heavily.
They've changed.
Looks like he'll need a stiffer drink later.
***
Rocket engineers were hard at work building the rocket engines needed for the 1st test launch.
The completion of the 1st rocket is set to be after a month of the space rocket launchpad to give the concrete time to dry and to check the structure.
Even with all the expectations riding on their expertise, any and all launches must be kept secret from nearly everyone.
The cover story for the secret launch complex is that they are starting a new mine with an experimental method of extracting ore from the ground by using oxy-fuel cutting methods to melt rock and bore down into a rich vein.
Of course, such a device is rather inefficient for mining, due to using large quantities of fuel and liquified oxygen.
But the early 20th century scientific sensationalist magazines are full of things that induced fantasy futurism in the public minds.
The magazines will print out false information on the month the 1st test launch will be done, pulling wool over people's eyes when "mining accidents" and "failures" occur.
