Ch.367Surely, It’s Not You

# * * *

“Your Majesty. This is not a matter to be taken lightly.”

Yes, I know. But it’s over now, isn’t it?

That’s how I personally stepped in to stop the protests. After that, the Duma provided even better insurance benefits.

“What’s the problem? The Duma came up with solutions for the workers’ issues, and I plan to wrap things up appropriately through television.”

“It’s just that the Duma might… ahem. They might recognize Your Majesty’s disguise. That was the catalyst for all this in the first place. When the Tsar essentially permitted them to issue orders in the Tsar’s name, with such significant consequences, who knows what will become of the Duma in the future.”

Yes, that’s possible. But my disguise was perfect.

No one in the Duma recognized my disguise. And in the end, it was our Duma representatives who made the decision.

Blaming me for this seems a bit unfair, I’d say.

“That’s impossible. My disguise was definitely perfect.”

It truly was a perfect disguise.

As perfect as when I visited the Fyodorov Arsenal.

Everyone must have been completely fooled. They probably didn’t even know I was there.

I wasn’t scheduled to attend the Duma today anyway. The Duma members especially wouldn’t have expected me to come.

“If you consider that a disguise, then I should…”

“What are you saying?”

What could be a more perfect disguise?

“Unless you had wrinkles or something that prevented you from attending the Duma, it might have worked. But being so young is just… well, you know.”

Being too young makes it obvious.

If I were old, they’d probably complain about that too. So basically, my appearance makes disguising myself pointless.

Does that mean the Duma members were just pretending not to notice?

Was I the only one thinking, “Hehe, my disguise worked”?

But this also means I need to keep attending the Duma.

It was especially significant that I issued orders in my name.

“So if I don’t attend the Duma, it would actually be worse?”

“That’s correct. Unless you genuinely had to step down due to age, this protest wouldn’t have happened if Your Majesty had been attending the Duma daily from the beginning and issued orders directly as the Tsar’s will.”

Hitting me with facts like that makes me sad.

If I had just stepped up to the Duma and directly utilized my own orders, none of this would have happened.

At least we’ve overcome the biggest problem, so we should be able to get through this somehow.

“It is a bit unfair.”

I suppose so. It’s not even about age.

I’m literally just a saint, that’s all.

“I am younger, after all.”

Look at this overwhelming beauty. It’s an unavoidable reality.

When I’m with Vladimir, I look more suited to be the Tsar.

That’s the problem. If this were the future, I could use digital manipulation or proper makeup with wrinkles and such.

This makes identity laundering difficult. It’s a problem that needs solving.

“I need to figure out how to abdicate somehow. The Duma is strange to begin with. Saying the Tsar’s body is indispensable? Isn’t that too much?”

The Duma should function well enough since they’re all elites, but they’re too concerned with public opinion.

Well, it’s natural to care about public opinion, I suppose.

“All of this is due to Your Majesty’s achievements, I must say.”

“Honestly, I think it’s a bit much to credit it all to me.”

I think it’s excessive. How can this be attributed to my will alone?

It was only possible because the Duma members followed me well, and the Duma actually managed internal affairs effectively.

Could the current United States of Greater Russia have been possible through my charisma alone?

Throughout this time, I’ve given ideas to the Duma, but it was the Duma that accomplished them.

In this situation, this body of mine has become too deified.

I’m reminded of something someone once said.

Even a mere mortal becomes a god when they gain followers. It’s similar to when I told those Islamic people, “If you call me a whore, then I am a whore.”

It’s roughly the same principle.

In this situation, while it can’t be compared to North Korea, when over 200 million citizens worship you like a god, doesn’t that make you a real god?

Even within the Roman Treaty, there are those who are worshipped as gods. Even Churchill, who has set a date for his death, says things like, “You won’t age anyway.” It seems my condition is considered quite natural.

Should I be working on downgrading my status?

Seriously, I feel like I might be set in concrete in the future. Shouldn’t I be working on downgrading my status?

“Maybe I should work on downgrading Anastasia.”

“Downgrading, Your Majesty?”

Like Stalin’s de-Stalinization or the Emperor’s demotion. Declaring myself an ordinary person.

If things continue like this, there will be no solution, so I might have to do something like that.

Even if it causes some pain, it needs to be done.

Spreading Bolsheviks would be insane, but what if we somehow extract democrats who are wary of theocratic states to fill the Duma?

It doesn’t seem impossible, but the backlash might be stronger than expected.

Stalin had done plenty of terrible things throughout his life.

He had sufficient reasons to be demoted.

So what reasons would I have to be demoted?

“I mean, downgrading to the point where people would ask, ‘Did our country really have an imperial family?'”

“The plan isn’t bad, but…”

“But what?”

“Are there any incidents worth downgrading for?”

No, there aren’t. That’s why I’m going crazy.

“That’s also a dangerous statement. The Kremlin Palace has ears and eyes.”

Ears and eyes in the Kremlin Palace. How many could there be?

“It would just be the existing Imperial Guard, maids, and Cossack guards. Oh.”

That’s actually an enormous number.

The actual military guard force is only a few thousand, but even that is a lot.

The Imperial Guard, Cossack guards, and maids are essentially special members of the Anastasia fan club, manager-level, so to speak.

Hmm, I should be careful with such comments.

That’s when Maria II catches my eye.

“It’s not you, is it, Maria?”

“……”

No answer. That’s suspicious.

Her face shows no emotion, but she’s staring at me intently.

Isn’t that disrespectful to the Tsar?

From her reaction, it seems like she either couldn’t find the right timing to answer or is thinking hard.

Feeling slightly uneasy, I laughed mechanically.

“Come on, surely not! I trust Maria and Maria.”

“…Um, no, it’s not me.”

Maria II finally answered and turned her head away.

Could it be that even Maria II is like them? Her lack of response is suspicious.

If the entire nation is like this, I’m worried about the future.

“Wasn’t that silence a bit too long?”

She’s even averting her eyes.

Could it be that they want to place me on the throne as the eternal emperor of humanity?

“It can’t be helped. Frankly speaking, the current generation owes their very existence to Tsar Anastasia.”

After the Civil War, the younger generation grew up hearing constant praise for the Tsar.

They consider it completely natural.

If the Tsar were truly a tyrant who mobilized the army to oppress the people, there might be grounds for demotion, but I’ve done nothing of the sort.

I’ve been victorious in every war, rebuilt Rome, and even looked after workers’ welfare.

At this point, it’s probably to be expected.

“That’s true, but hmm.”

Has that become poison now?

But at least the Emperor of Japan can abdicate. This is different.

Hasn’t Vladimir been mindful of public sentiment?

“Personally, if there’s a solution, rather than causing chaos through demotion, perhaps the role of eternal emperor would be better.”

The role of eternal emperor, hmm. No, that won’t work.

I’ll die someday too. This fact won’t change.

“I’m screwed.”

If this were the future, technology would be better, and they could show me aging gradually through synthesis or whatever.

Why did the old man make me ageless and put me in this situation? No one who isn’t immortal like me would understand.

What if the old man suddenly takes me away? I’ve been worrying about this every day recently.

Still, I need to think about ways to launder my identity.

Even if I go down the route of becoming the Emperor of Humanity, I don’t know when I’ll die. This is an unchangeable fact.

If the existence of Anastasia is so special, I can’t just say “can’t be helped.” I need to prepare for my eventual death.

“If you’re talking about gradually erasing your presence, well, that might work. But you’ll experience tremendous pain, not just ordinary pain.”

I felt it deeply after seeing these protests.

It’s as if the Duma is threatening the Tsar. That’s how it seems.

Simple laundering won’t work?

“I’m saying this sincerely. I won’t live forever.”

Should I have avoided appearing directly in the media until now?

No, if I hadn’t, the morale of the soldiers during wartime would have been low, and project attempts would have been difficult.

To pull Russia up by the collar, it had to be done.

Honestly, even if I had possessed Princess Louise of Germany, or become a Habsburg descendant and rebuilt Austria-Hungary, or somehow possessed Princess Deokhye of the Korean Empire, I would have pulled the country up by the collar in the same way.

Should I stretch time as much as possible until AI Anastasia?

I messed up my hair in frustration.

“Ah, I don’t know. Something will work out.”

Is it because I have so much to do? Somehow, in this body, I want to abandon complicated things.

Developing the country is already tough; where would I find time to think about this?

At times like this, I should change the subject.

“At times like this, a change of subject is needed. I’m curious about Israel.”

“Suddenly?”

“In situations like this, you should divert your attention elsewhere.”

In cases like this, you need to look elsewhere.

And Israel is just the right subject.

* * *

Around this time, Israel’s holy war was being thwarted by UN interference.

UN peacekeeping forces had begun providing humanitarian aid to both armies, and soon after, they announced they would mediate peace.

Israel initially seemed to feel betrayed.

Russia had once been an anti-Semitic country, but after the current Tsar’s ascension, pro-Jewish policies and support from Jewish people had made Russia a pro-Israel nation.

Russia had supported Israel’s establishment and provided the land for its founding.

But who could have expected such a betrayal?

“Wasn’t Russia an ally of Israel?”

With faces that seemed to say “How could you do this to me?”, Israeli diplomats looked at the Russian delegation with dismay.

“It’s because we are allies that we’re doing this. Didn’t your country retreat after advancing inland, falling back to Shanghai? Doesn’t that mean you have no intention of maintaining occupied territories?”

That’s right. Israel had repeatedly retreated.

Why? Because the Nationalist Government forces were more numerous than expected.

They couldn’t maintain occupied territories, so they would take what they could from the Nationalist Government’s inland areas and then retreat to Shanghai to defend again.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“If the war continues now, the Nationalist Government will collapse. Then the remaining warlords will devour it, and after that, they’ll try to recover Shanghai first. Unless you plan to expand your occupied territories further, wouldn’t Israel also want to stop at this point? You just lack a pretext.”

In fact, there had been many such voices within Israel.

That the local war with the Nationalist Government should end.

They needed to focus on operations in Northern China, and continuing the fight with the Nationalist Government without significantly increasing national power was not advisable.

They just couldn’t let go because of pride.

“That’s true, but…”

“That’s why the UN is stepping in directly. We need to keep governments like the Nationalist Government around because they’re easy to deal with. Don’t you agree?”

That’s not wrong. If the current government were overthrown and replaced by an unknown one, plans against Israel might collapse.

Having entities that growl at each other is necessary.

In that case, keeping the current Nationalist Government around wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Sigh, I understand. We’ll accept the UN’s mediation.”

They finally accepted it, as if they had no choice.

“Don’t worry. Shanghai is what we handed over. We’ll make sure it doesn’t go to China. Mother Tsar has been very clear on that point.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

From Russia’s perspective, they wanted them to continue fighting among themselves.