Ch.296Anastasia Palace

* * *

Look at Churchill. He took a submissive stance with me on a national issue just because he didn’t want to eat mint chocolate.

He could have tried mint chocolate like a real man.

“But am I the only one making this sacrifice—I mean, am I the only leader trying this?”

That’s not the case.

Recently, Romanov Ice has expanded into Balhae and Israel.

We plan to expand into Israel once the country becomes more established.

“Romanov Ice recently expanded into Western Japan too. They launched it there as ‘Heroes Love Mint Choco.'”

This was also discussed previously in Balhae.

They even put Teacher Mo Jeongu’s drawing on it.

“I’m relieved I’m not the only one at least.”

“That’s right. Their response has been particularly enthusiastic.”

Hitler’s eyes widened in surprise, as if asking if that was true.

Indeed, among leaders, only Hitler seems to be a proper gentleman.

Since my business is doing well. Seeing him so moved, even if he was a bastard in the original history, I could keep him as a close friend in this world.

“Ahem.”

“I don’t think mint chocolate is the right choice, Your Majesty.”

Maria said something beside me that might disturb my mood.

Even for Maria, this is quite presumptuous.

“Really? Why?”

“Why not try mixing mint with other flavors like strawberry? Or apple too. We could color all of Europe.”

Oh, that’s a good idea. Unifying all of Europe with ice cream.

If I ever run out of things to do, that’s what I should work on.

Hitler seemed dumbfounded hearing my new goal, at a loss for words.

“Hmm. I’ll have to think about it. Well then, Hitler. Take care of yourself.”

With those words, I patted Hitler’s shoulder and turned away.

“Yes. Yes, Your Majesty.”

Hitler looked somewhat dazed. He must be completely captivated by the taste of mint chocolate.

That old man Churchill really needs to change his taste. If he’s British, he should be able to enjoy mint chocolate.

“South Vietnam and South Africa have been resolved. Hmm. Then the rest would be Southern China and Japan, I suppose.”

I wonder how things are going in Japan.

I did drop Trotsky there, but it’s difficult to deploy the Okhrana to Eastern Japan.

The Americans are deliberately holding onto Eastern Japan.

“Still, it’s fortunate.”

At least in this body, I can meddle in various affairs.

In this body, I can contribute to world peace in the future.

After going to Vienna to heal the sick Hitler with mint chocolate, I returned to Russia and received good news in the Duma.

“Princess Frederike is pregnant.”

“Finally! It took too long. I told her to have a child quickly.”

At her age, she should hurry up and have children. That’s the only way to secure the succession.

But the Duma seems particularly noisy today. With that energy, I wish they would just put me in the back room.

Vladimir should be the evaluator now!

“Your Majesty. The Duma has this for your consideration.”

“This is… Anastasia Palace? Why that specifically?”

Something else has come up, and this time they want to spend money building a palace.

It sounds similar to the Soviet Palace, doesn’t it? It seems they’re planning to build something enormous.

Why does it remind me of the American Statue of Liberty? Wait, they want to build it in the center of Moscow?

“Wait. It could be built in the outskirts, but why specifically in the center? The Cathedral of Christ the Savior…”

“It was destroyed during the Civil War, and we couldn’t restore it immediately due to the chaos. Then during Adolf Hitler’s Moscow New City Plan, it was rebuilt, but in a different location, leaving the original site as just a vast square that feels rather empty.”

“I see.”

Yes, I think I’ve seen it.

It’s a perfect place for military parades. Now that I think about it, Hitler might have deliberately left that space.

Perhaps something like this was always meant to be built there.

Seeing that Grigory Semyonov is the one who proposed it, I wonder if there’s some kind of deterrent force at work.

This is somewhat disappointing.

“The Roman National Party directly held a competition.”

“Why build something like this? Isn’t it just wasting money?”

No matter how I look at it, it seems like a waste of money.

I don’t particularly mind, but in the future, people might say Anastasia built a massive skyscraper to show off her achievements.

If such evaluations come out, it would be troublesome. Well, it probably won’t be as grand as the Soviet Palace.

Sergei Kirov, who was the chairman of the Soviet Congress, said that the palace used only by landlords, capitalists, and the Tsar would be built by the Soviets to become a beacon for the European proletarian revolution!

That’s what he said.

Why does it seem like just an excuse to build something?

Well, unlike those hypocritical Reds who openly reveal their true colors, it’s a good thing, but still.

“We have the power to do it.”

I suppose if the Soviets tried to build it but failed due to the Nazi-Soviet war, there’s no reason we couldn’t succeed.

They’ll want to do this no matter what I say.

Personally, I think it wouldn’t be bad to have it. As long as it doesn’t destroy civilian homes or harass citizens.

Won’t it be noisy to build this? Thinking about that makes me consider changing my mind.

Can’t be helped. Let me say something about this.

Anastasia Palace.

Anyone could see it was time to bring up that cursed self-absorbed nickname.

I want to tell them not to build that strange thing. That’s what I want to say.

“That’s good news. Ah, I was about to bring this up.”

“Please speak.”

“About that Anastasia Palace. Is it really necessary to build it?”

I’m genuinely embarrassed.

The Reds were always like that, but this side is a bit different.

According to the report, they plan to decorate the interior well and include spaces for my use.

Then why not just build a separate palace!

I’m willing to let them do it if there’s a valid reason.

“This is absolutely necessary. It will prove Your Majesty’s achievements and demonstrate that the Romanov Dynasty remains strong.”

“I see.”

Certainly. Although my presence has raised the authority that fell with the revolution and the execution of the Tsar’s family, something is needed to prove it.

Well, couldn’t we just record my achievements in a book?

“The building will be engraved with double-headed eagles, and the goddess statue of Your Majesty above the double-headed eagle statue will wear a laurel wreath as proof of being a Roman Emperor.”

They want to put a laurel wreath on my head?

Mussolini, who is now scattered ashes, would be envious if he saw this.

Well, that guy acknowledged me at his trial, so he probably wouldn’t feel too bitter even in death.

“Has it already been designed?”

If there’s already a design, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.

“Various designs were submitted in the competition. We thought the goddess statue should be on top of the building.”

It’s really like the Anastasia version of the Soviet Palace.

Of course, since the Soviet Palace never actually existed, mine would be the original, but still, the feeling is quite strange.

Try being the protagonist yourself. It feels weird.

I wonder what Lenin would say if someone proposed building a palace with his statue.

“Are there any submitted designs?”

Yes. If they’re this confident, there must be some evidence of submissions.

I should hear about it at least once.

The Prime Minister personally presented a design to me.

“To elevate Your Majesty’s achievements, we made the goddess statue quite large.”

Yes, it’s clearly large.

So large that the building supporting my goddess statue looks strained. Wouldn’t it be better to just make it a goddess statue?

Maybe because it’s me and not a bald man like Lenin, the design is cleaner.

“At this point, wouldn’t it be better to just make a goddess statue?”

Like the Statue of Liberty.

Or would that be too much like a copy of the Statue of Liberty?

“Wouldn’t that seem like copying the Yankees’ Statue of Liberty?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t we make it a magnificent skyscraper instead?”

Yes, that’s right.

It feels a bit off to copy America.

If we’re going to follow something, this isn’t bad either. Since it’s over 400 meters tall, it seems they’re planning to build it quite large.

I wonder if this will actually work.

“Well, that’s right, but is this correct?”

“Currently, there’s a design by the French architect Le Corbusier. His design seems quite plausible.”

I’m still looking at the design.

It looks similar to the Soviet Palace I know, but it’s not bad.

It seems quite tall. This looks substantial.

“A French architect? Hmm, it looks good.”

In the end, Boris Iofan, a native, was selected, wasn’t he?

But here, it seems Le Corbusier is highly regarded.

I don’t see Boris Iofan’s name, so perhaps he didn’t participate here.

Or maybe he died during the Civil War or somewhere else.

“This man has contributed to apartment complex development in Russia. He came to live in Russia after the war.”

Oh, so this person is directly developing Russian architecture.

With Europe unified, each country’s secrets, technologies, and information are being shared, so it’s not just Russia that’s developing.

“Apartment complexes?”

“At first, they looked like chicken coops. But if designed well, I thought they weren’t bad.”

Huh? Why is the term “chicken coop” suddenly coming up?

“Chicken coops?”

“Yes? These apartment complexes. They looked like chicken coops.”

Looking at the additional apartment complex design I received, it’s surprising.

What Hitler established was a superficial plan, but this is more detailed.

“Ah, I see.”

I was momentarily shocked.

Well, I didn’t expect the term “chicken coop apartments” to exist in this era too.

There wasn’t really such a term as “chicken coop apartments” during this period.

“These are Le Corbusier’s apartment complexes for Moscow’s outskirts and provinces. Is there anyone who doesn’t like them?”

It seems the Duma wants to push this Corbusier, as they’ve submitted his apartment complex plans to me.

What use is it for me to see these when I’m stuck in the Kremlin Palace or visiting palaces set up by Yusupov in Sevastopol or Constantinople?

Well, let’s say we select this person’s design.

“Uh, no, there isn’t.”

“Still, I don’t want to be idolized.”

Originally, the Soviet Palace was also going to feature statues of Lenin, Marx, Engels, and other socialist figures.

The Reds really can’t survive without that idolization.

But I’m different.

Even so, being idolized feels wrong.

I wonder if they’ll create some special Anastasia law next.

“Honestly, if you maintain such youth and have unified Europe, aren’t you worthy of idolization?”

Well, yes. But I didn’t expect to become like this.

Later, I might be extremely idolized, with the entire nation worshipping me like North Korean pigs.

“That’s right. Even the communists have Leninism among themselves. Looking at the Reds’ idolization during the civil war, we certainly have the right to do the same.”

Communism collapsed here before such idolization took place, but there was some tendency toward it.

“Wasn’t there a statue of that bastard Goebbels in Berlin?”

Ah, I did see that.

There is a statue of Goebbels in Berlin, but still, I feel embarrassed if it’s me.

“That’s true. But using my name so openly is a bit…”

If they openly call it the Anastasia Goddess Statue, it would be perfect for fans.

I can already imagine people enthusiastically calling out “Ana-chan!”

No matter what, that’s not right.

“We can keep the building name as Anastasia Palace, but make the goddess statue the Mother Tsarina statue, wouldn’t that work?”

It’s a roundabout way of saying it, but hmm, not bad.

Statues often use real people as models anyway.

Even the Soviet Mother Homeland statue had a model.

If they use my face for it, well, it’s not bad. Yes, that much is unavoidable. Personally, my figure is quite good too.

My chest is quite large as well. Ah, if I keep talking like this, it might get creepy, so let’s delegate this matter entirely to the Duma.

I don’t dislike this atmosphere.

The blue sky and the sunlight blessing Moscow as if from God.

The citizens of Moscow continuously praise the Tsar, no, the State Duma, and it will be even more so when the palace is built.

I don’t like such burdensome situations.

“This is embarrassing, let’s change the subject now. How is polio progressing?”

“According to statistics from Constantinople Treaty Organization countries, polio cases are increasing every year.”

“As the population increases, it will continue to grow.”

“We need to do something about polio.”

Polio cases were steadily increasing until the development of the polio vaccine.

It was particularly severe in America. Roosevelt of the United States contracted polio at age 39 and had to rely on a wheelchair.

Developing a polio vaccine is currently humanity’s aspiration.

“Vaccine development is the issue.”

Polio vaccine. That’s the most important thing. If we don’t want to end up like America’s wheelchair president, we must eliminate polio.

To accelerate this, we need to work with the United States.

“Doctors from all Constantinople Treaty Organization countries are participating in the American polio research project, so we should have good news soon, shouldn’t we?”

Yes. It’s good that America is collaborating on this.

The polio vaccine research with America will likely remain as a new achievement in the future.

There will be no more polio damage within the Constantinople Treaty, and I’ve passed data from radiation risk experiments using Bolsheviks to America, so there won’t be plutonium experiments on their own citizens or strange things made with radium, or people dying horribly from radiation exposure as in the original history.

“Since the Yankees are covering all the vaccine development costs, we should prioritize budgeting for the palace.”

Just as I changed the subject, Ungern brought up the palace again.