Reincarnated as Nikolai II - Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Each to Their Own Survival (1)
End of war, what European wouldn’t cheer at this sweet phrase?

But today, that exhilaration that hadn’t ceased even in the Imperial Palace feels somewhat deadened.

“Is he coming?”

“He’ll arrive soon. They say he’s rushing here, even skipping the parade.”

Beyond the path lined with internal troops and decorated by the honor guard, numerous members of the imperial family have come out.

I too felt somewhat awkward being in the position of waiting for someone outside the palace for the first time, but no one complained.

Finally, those approaching on horseback, crossing through the capital.

Before them appeared a silhouette I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Walking forward alone, he dismounted and approached me.

The honor guard was about to start playing, but I raised my hand to stop them.

“…Mikhail.”

“Your Majesty.”

The man kneeling before me exuded an atmosphere like a corpse moving only from duty, with none of his past vigor remaining.

Four years.

The period Mikhail had fought crawling through trenches on the Eastern Front.

In this situation, there was only one thing I could say to him.

“…You’ve worked hard.”

“…”

We brothers maintained this silence for a moment without words, the weight of unspoken understanding hanging heavy in the air between us like morning mist. The only sounds were our measured breaths and the distant echoes of the castle’s daily life.

Though Mikhail hadn’t lived as an exemplary member of the imperial family, often choosing revelry and personal pursuits over duty, he had more than proven himself through this war. His uniform, once pristine, now bore the honest marks of battle and leadership. The medals on his chest weren’t mere decorations – they were testaments to courage earned in blood and fire.

It meant he showed he wasn’t just someone born with good bloodlines, but someone who knew how to sacrifice for the empire. Every scar and callus on his once-soft hands told stories of moments where he chose duty over comfort, where he put the needs of his soldiers and citizens before his own.

Is this how it feels when a runaway son returns home mature? The thought stirred something deep within my chest – a mixture of pride, regret for doubting him, and joy at witnessing this transformation. The rebellious youth who had stormed out of these very halls years ago now stood before me as a man worthy of his title.

As I helped up my brother who had changed so much, I wanted to commend him.

“Let’s go in, Mother is waiting.”

“Before that, I have a request.”

But instead of getting up, Mikhail made a request first.

Mikhail’s request. Knowing how much he had elevated the Romanov name and sacrificed himself, I didn’t hesitate.

“Say anything. I will grant it.”

As my words fell, Mikhail gestured behind him.

From among the crowd, a woman holding a child’s hand came forward before me.

“This is my son. Please recognize him as your true nephew.”

“…His name?”

“Georgi, Georgi Mikhailovich.”

A small child who seemed barely 10 years old.

Though he seemed to shrink from the numerous gazes, Mikhail alone was looking straight at me in this moment.

For just this one child, Mikhail had run through danger for 4 years.

I knelt down to match the child’s eye level.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hello.”

Now I know better than anyone that this child is not just another illegitimate child to Mikhail.

“Count Fredericks.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“As of today, return the Grand Duke title we took from Mikhail. Raise his son Georgi Alexandrovich to prince status and announce that he is indeed my nephew, and give him three times the estate and property he had before leaving for London.”

“I will proceed immediately.”

While Mikhail’s reason for going to the battlefield may have been worry that his son would live unable to emerge in society, buried as an illegitimate child, he had already exceeded my expectations.

“Is that enough?”

Only then did Mikhail rise, dusting himself off without needing help.

He smiled and said:

“I never asked for the property though?”

“Tsk, Mother is waiting. Let’s go in and eat first.”

“Hah, I lived in Knebworth House on the outskirts of London, but how I missed the food here! Oh, brother, you must try those bastards’ herring pie. Come on, son! Let’s go eat something delicious!”

They say people don’t change until death, but I suppose there’s a reason he returned safely from war.

As vulgarity returns to the corpse like life, it feels like another sign that this damned war is over.

Mikhail has returned.

==

Though there was no legendary U.S. soldier Corporal Alvin York who set the unprecedented record of 1 vs 157, nor Emperor Karl IV’s Völkermanifest declaration or Wilhelm II’s abdication declaration.

The world flows as it changes when it changes.

“…I want Transylvania.”

“Then we should annex Bosnia and Herzegovina like the Austro-Hungarian Empire did.”

“But will Russia allow it? The ethnicities are different?”

Though they say they fought hiding behind Russia’s back, ultimately the Balkan and Southern fronts were victorious, so they’re in a position to take.

However, since nothing was decided about what, who, and how much to take, the Balkan nations were all licking their lips while preparing their forks and knives.

“The International cannot accept this armistice!”

“Again the ones above whisper among themselves to end the war while only we die!”

“The Kaiser must step down! The Kaiser must step down!”

Meanwhile, though Germany clearly lost and sought armistice before taking more beatings, that didn’t mean internal stability.

Communist uprisings, leftist alienation backlash, workers’ violent expressions of dissatisfaction, and anti-imperial factions.

It was natural in a way that those who would’ve been shot without question during wartime were acting up in this gap right after the armistice.

However, the one sharpening their knife more than anyone during this time was.

“…Alsace-Lorraine, Rhineland, Saarland too. We must take them all.”

“General Foch, come to your senses! Germany proposed armistice looking to the future, they haven’t collapsed militarily!”

“That’s why we must shove our demands down their throats even if we have to break the armistice! General Haig is the one acting like this war is all over!”