Ch.111The Little Ball Launched by the Commie

* * *

“Hmph. How rich coming from such an authoritarian state that even the German Empire pales in comparison. Are you aware that your Secretary Karl is known as the Red Kaiser?”

It was already a well-known story.

Rosa Luxemburg frowned at the French ambassador’s sarcasm.

But it didn’t matter.

They had already prepared countermeasures for when France became this agitated.

“That’s quite harsh. However, if France helps us, we could cooperate to some extent and prevent communists from carrying out revolutions in Algeria or Indochina.”

So they were now targeting Indochina as well.

What she was saying now was simply absurd.

Preventing revolution. That meant she wanted something in return.

That something would be withdrawing from the Ruhr.

The French ambassador heaved a deep sigh.

“So you want us to withdraw from the Ruhr.”

“Then we could exert our influence. Think about it. Even Britain no longer demands reparations. Germany can no longer afford to pay any more reparations. But aren’t you profiting greatly from the Ruhr?”

I knew these people would do this.

These damn reds.

We should have crushed Kaiser’s Germany and uprooted communism from the start.

But there was no other option.

“The Rhineland must remain demilitarized. This must be upheld.”

Rosa Luxemburg inwardly sneered at her diplomatic victory.

That’s how it should be. This is the reality of imperialist nations.

They had no choice but to yield to communism.

In the end, France had to admit they could no longer maintain their occupation of the Ruhr and had to withdraw.

Of course, if Communist Germany had truly intended to withdraw from Algeria, they wouldn’t have conceived the idea of planting communists in the colonies in the first place.

The communists they had already sent multiple times had begun to take root in the colonies.

It was enough just to establish communication channels with them.

Until the day war breaks out with the colonial imperial nations.

The day of revolutionary war. Until the day when countless colonies suffering under imperial powers rise up.

After bringing down France and strangling Britain.

Rosa Luxemburg turned her head to look east.

They would have to advance toward that Slavic land where the double-headed eagle, once thought never to rise again, had soared high into the sky.

“So Romania is next for now.”

Romania, which Hungary has been actively provoking recently.

What if they incited internal unrest in Romania, which was already anxious under Hungarian pressure, and sparked a workers’ liberation? It would be good if they could land a blow against Russia.

The German Communist Party had already made many preparations for that day.

Meanwhile, in Romania, the situation was taking a strange turn.

Hungary wasn’t invading, but they were frequently conducting military exercises at the border, openly targeting Transylvania.

Adding to this, Russia, along with Bulgaria and Turkey, was conducting landing exercises, claiming they were preparing for a future landing in Italy, making Romania increasingly uneasy.

Romania was part of the Anti-Comintern Pact but couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Moreover, the Romanian royal family was far from peaceful.

After joining the Anti-Comintern Pact, Ferdinand I found himself comparing the playboy Carol with Anastasia, who had survived alone and pulled Russia up by its collar. Each time, his anger toward his wife Marie, who had passed down those wayward tendencies, grew.

A queen beloved by the people despite her affairs and even bearing an illegitimate child.

Every time he thought about it, he felt like his insides were rotting.

Naturally, marital fights occurred frequently, and as her relationship with her husband grew distant, Marie could only sigh.

With Hungary’s provocations continuing, they needed to decide on a successor for the sake of the royal family.

No matter how strained their marital relationship had become, they had to discuss the succession issue.

“I will appoint Michael as Crown Prince.”

“Not Carol?”

“Putting someone who chases women like someone I know on the throne would only tarnish the royal family’s honor.”

Thinking back, he should have reconsidered marrying Marie.

His father-in-law, Duke Alfred of Edinburgh, had opposed the marriage—perhaps he should have listened.

“…You’ve made a wise decision.”

“It’s quite amusing that the queen dislikes the child who resembles her the most.”

It was truly amusing.

Instead of protecting the son who resembled her the most, she disliked him. Moreover, Marie’s friend Loie Fuller had even exposed how much she had badmouthed her husband.

“…How much more must I apologize? That child even died not long after.”

“His death doesn’t change the fact that you bore your lover’s child with pain and even claimed he was my son.”

“I’m truly sorry.”

Marie’s face contorted visibly.

He kept bringing up a story that was already over. She couldn’t help feeling displeased, but she couldn’t deny that having an affair and bearing another man’s child was entirely her fault.

But that was one thing, and the crisis facing Romania was another matter that needed to be addressed.

“But regardless, don’t we need to attend to state affairs? Hungary is clearly targeting Transylvania. They don’t even acknowledge whose efforts prevented the communist revolution.”

“Whose efforts? Why do you think Hungary ended up in that state? It was because I risked being expelled from my family and fell for your persuasion. After taking such a large piece, it would be strange if they didn’t harbor resentment.”

Growing older and with the queen handling most affairs, Ferdinand no longer wanted to bear the responsibility.

Of course, it was thanks to the queen that Ferdinand became the king of Greater Romania. But separately, the queen was also responsible for creating this situation.

“Your Majesty!”

“You can handle state affairs with Barbu Știrbey (her lover). You’ve realized Greater Romania with the seeds you’ve sown, so you should resolve the crisis as well.”

The queen would handle everything anyway.

All he would do was designate Michael, who was much better than Carol, as the next in line for the throne.

And this news was also conveyed to Prince Carol.

“The throne to my son instead of me? Absurd!”

Carol was furious, and Miklós Horthy of Hungary had no intention of missing this opportunity.

* * *

After 25 years, France finally officially withdrew from the Ruhr.

They claimed to have extracted all the reparations they could.

In reality, it seems there were underground negotiations between Communist Germany and France.

For example, France demanded that communism not spread in Algeria, and Communist Germany apparently agreed.

-According to Beria, who has been running around Europe recently.

“France is quite foolish. This won’t stop communism from spreading in Algeria.”

“Perhaps they’re just trying to put out the immediate fire?”

“I understand the urgency, but the problem is they withdrew from the Ruhr too easily.”

This might be due to the eyes of neighboring countries and German anti-French sentiment. But those people won’t keep their promises.

The communist seeds have already been sown.

Those seeds will soon sprout through the locals. Sigh.

The situation in Romania has started to take a strange turn.

As Hungary pressures Romania, internal instability has grown, and there’s much talk about the succession.

Romania has apparently informed the major powers that Hungary is planning something regarding the Transylvania issue, but what good does that do? Nothing changed.

Britain and France didn’t believe Hungary, bound by the Anti-Comintern Pact, would target Transylvania—they didn’t think military exercises at the border meant Hungary was planning war over Transylvania.

While that’s optimistic, Britain and France are unable to act due to Germany. From Russia’s perspective, the Foreign Ministry stated that this was a different issue from the Anti-Comintern Pact, making it difficult for Russia to intervene.

“Hungary’s movements are suspicious. Russia must help!”

“They haven’t launched direct military operations, have they? The Anti-Comintern Pact is an alliance against communism, and we cannot intervene in territorial disputes between member countries.”

Hungary hadn’t directly launched military actions targeting Transylvania. There was no reason for Russia, leading landing exercises among Anti-Comintern countries, to act based solely on Romania’s suspicions.

Additionally, according to Okhrana intelligence:

The relationship between Ferdinand and his wife is poor.

I didn’t even try to sow discord, but suddenly the king brought up the queen’s affair and got angry.

Personally, having a child with a lover rather than one’s husband is something I can’t understand with my former Korean mindset, so I can see why Ferdinand is upset, but I wonder if they fought like this in actual history.

From what I know about Romania at that time, there was a perception that the queen was remarkable for even having a boyfriend!

Ferdinand had acknowledged it.

“It seems Prince Carol, who is to inherit the throne, is being compared to Your Majesty.”

Recently, Beria, who had been gathering intelligence on the Romanian royal situation, presented a report.

It detailed the current situation in Romania and issues within the royal family.

I became curious about something Beria mentioned.

“Me?”

Why am I being mentioned?

“Yes. After the Anti-Comintern Pact, their marital relationship deteriorated over succession issues, especially with the king criticizing Carol for resembling the queen.”

“Hmm. Is that how it works.”

If it happened after the Anti-Comintern Pact, does that mean I had an influence?

I suppose I would feel the same way.

Nicholas II’s youngest daughter led Russia to where it is now, while the state of his own heir to the throne is deplorable.

This would naturally lead to comparisons. Since Prince Carol inherited his mother Marie’s nature, fights like “why did you bear such a child” would naturally occur.

Hmm. Looking at it that way, it makes sense.

A child who inherited his promiscuous mother’s traits. How could Ferdinand not be upset?

Personally, if I were Ferdinand, I would be furious if my wife boldly bore another man’s child and presented it to me.

Wouldn’t I have immediately stamped the divorce papers?

The Romanians who praise such a queen don’t seem normal either. But she must have been extraordinary enough to cover for it with her achievements in World War I and the vast territories she secured.

Come to think of it, Romania participated in World War I and surrendered to Germany. If we trace the cause, wasn’t it because of the queen who pushed for participation?

So all of this has been building up inside Ferdinand and now it’s exploded.

“If you want to have affairs and play around so much, you should have stayed unmarried like me. Or at least run away in the night.”

I really don’t understand why a married woman would do such things.

“Pardon?”

“I’m just saying if she wanted to sleep around so much, she shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. Isn’t all this because the queen is promiscuous?”

Think about it. If she had been a clean queen who didn’t have affairs, Prince Carol wouldn’t have inherited her wayward tendencies and wouldn’t have known about his mother’s infidelity. If he had been even slightly more decent, would things have turned out this way?

That must be why Ferdinand finally snapped.

“Yes. It’s truly absurd. A woman who persuaded her husband to join the Allies, who greatly expanded Romania’s territory, is now suffering because of her eldest son who resembles her. According to her close friend, she even badmouths her husband regularly.”

“Then, regarding the succession, Prince Carol must be dissatisfied, right?”

“Yes. How could he not be angry when his own son is named Crown Prince?”

“If Horthy secretly negotiates with Carol under the table, we might get the outcome we want.”

If, unlike actual history, Horthy approached Carol directly for negotiations, what might happen? Carol would see his own son’s position being taken away. If Horthy whispered devilish suggestions, wouldn’t things change?

“Is it alright to leave things as they are?”

“What do you mean?”

“If, by some remote chance, things go wrong.”

Why is this guy asking so many questions today?

“You’re quite inquisitive today.”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

But Beria has a point.

I don’t intend to become overconfident like Hitler, who had some success in a war started on a gamble.

Even knowing the future, much has changed.

No one knows how Romania will turn out now.

When this unpleasant fellow speaks like that, it makes me feel a bit chilled.

“Well, you have a point. There’s always a remote possibility. Carol might innocently step aside, or he might later take his son’s position. Or Michael might unexpectedly hold on for a long time.”

It’s entirely possible that all my variables could be disrupted and the status quo maintained.

Romania might be able to stop Horthy’s Hungarian army.

They’ve been training for a long time. Romania might have already prepared for a Hungarian invasion.

In that case, we would need something to shake them from within.

Carol would be good, or even communists.