Ch.5Army on the Train

* * *

For days, I’ve been contemplating how to escape from this place.

This city is essentially at the front lines, belonging neither to the White Army nor the Red Army, but rather to Anastasia—and that’s no exaggeration.

Moreover, I have no idea what the future holds.

I don’t know how long I’ll manage to avoid getting a bullet through my head. My only fighting experience was against marauders for food.

So I planned to just help coordinate the White Army commanders and then find an escape route to slip away.

But somehow, Yekaterinburg has completely become mine.

Every time I went out, Russians would rejoice, saying I had come to check on them.

You can’t spit in the face of someone who’s smiling at you.

I forced a smile and even held hands with my… subjects?

Then, I received a report from a soldier.

“Your Highness. An unidentified army is approaching.”

“Unidentified?”

“It’s the Czechoslovak Legion.”

The Czechoslovak Legion.

An army that struck fear into the hearts of the Red Army as they crisscrossed Russian territory in armored trains.

Originally, they were an independence army formed by Czechs and Slovaks during World War I, but pressure from German and Austria-Hungary forces forced them to journey as far as Siberia.

Their achievements were so remarkable that some say the Bolsheviks executed the Tsar’s family because they feared the Czechoslovak Legion would reach Yekaterinburg and hand the Tsar’s family over to the White Army.

I heard they numbered over 50,000 men.

“The Czechoslovak Legion. Then they must be traveling in armored trains.”

“Yes. Their commander wishes to meet with you, Your Highness.”

Why would they come here?

I don’t even have a proper army—just a few hundred volunteer militia who are essentially Grand Duchess Anastasia’s fan club.

I see. Perhaps they want to negotiate with us.

After all, despite the Tsar’s failures, being the last child of the Tsar still carries weight.

I’m not sure why they want to see me.

Hand me over to the Red Army?

No, that can’t be it. If that were the case, they would have attacked.

If they want to meet, it’s only proper to oblige.

The Czechoslovak Legion is the elite of the elite. And they number in the tens of thousands.

If things go well, I might be able to increase my forces.

“It is an honor to meet the holy maiden of the All-Russian Empire, Grand Duchess Anastasia.”

General Radola Gajda, whom I was now meeting in person, exuded an intimidating presence befitting a man who had struck fear into the hearts of the Reds while traversing Russian territory by train.

Is he trying to intimidate me from the start?

I spoke with feigned composure.

“General Radola Gajda.”

“You know my name?”

“Aren’t you the commander of the famous Czechoslovak Legion who rides the armored train Orlik? I’ve heard you strike terror into the hearts of the Bolsheviks on the Trans-Siberian Railway.”

Is this the right timing?

It doesn’t matter.

In any case, I can’t afford to get on this man’s bad side.

But I also can’t appear too submissive, given my position as a Grand Duchess.

“I heard you were quite frail, so I was surprised to learn you survived the Bolsheviks’ clutches.”

“The dead are dead, and the living are living. However, my strength is woefully inadequate to protect this land. I don’t know how long I’ll remain alive.”

What I’m indirectly saying is: stop wandering around and help me.

That’s what I mean, but I don’t yet know this man’s intentions well enough to directly ask for help.

“—perhaps you should head further east.”

“Since you’ve come here, you must have seen it. How my subjects revere me.”

“Ah, yes. I could see that the Romanov legacy remains strong.”

It’s sarcasm but also sincere.

He probably couldn’t have imagined there would still be people loyal to the Romanovs. So Gajda must have been quite surprised.

If I felt my life was in danger…

“Thanks to Rasputin’s meddling in state affairs and the Tsar’s incompetence, the Bolshevik Revolution erupted, and many subjects turned their backs on us. Yet the people of Yekaterinburg still follow me, despite my powerlessness. I cannot abandon them and flee eastward.”

“I see.”

His expression remains impassive.

He must be calculating what benefit he could gain through me.

Let me ask a question that might intrigue you.

“Shall I guess why General Gajda has come all this way?”

“Please do.”

Now there’s a glint in his eyes.

“If possible, you want to secure me and send me eastward. And you want to get involved in this civil war to gain support from America and Japan, aiming to escape via Vladivostok, isn’t that right?”

“Well, you’ve seen right through me.”

We understand each other perfectly.

The Czechoslovak Legion must want to return home. To do that, they need to use whatever means necessary.

Didn’t they actually secure a safe retreat from the Red Army by handing over Kolchak?

“It’s a good idea, but Yekaterinburg is a region that divides European Russia from Asian Russia, including Siberia. Industry, commerce, and finance have developed here.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of how important this place is.”

“That’s why. If this place falls, the White Army will lose its strength.”

Yekaterinburg itself is part of Asia, but at least this place needs to remain.

We need to maintain connections with southern Russia.

The White Army cannot sustain itself with just Siberia and the Far East.

“Hmm, I’d like to understand the true meaning behind your words.”

“General, you might be thinking, ‘What nonsense is this Grand Duchess talking? She seems to understand the situation well, but is that all? Should I just kidnap her and leave?’ That’s possible, isn’t it?”

“Ahem.”

This bastard really was thinking that.

Depending on my actions, he might just drag me away right now.

But even if I’m taken away, I should at least make a dignified impression.

In situations like this, I need to confront things head-on.

“Let me get straight to the point.”

“Please.”

“When you go to the Far East and make contact with the Entente, please spread the word that the Tsar and his family are dead, and only Grand Duchess Anastasia survived.”

“Well, that’s something I’d have to announce if I went that way. So you intend to stay here.”

Gajda narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through my intentions.

I continued speaking impassively, not reacting to his gaze.

“Tell them that the vengeance-filled Grand Duchess will face the Red Army in Yekaterinburg and die gloriously. Please convey that as well.”

“You mean to face the enemy with just a few hundred volunteers?”

Now, let’s set the stage.

“Though they were incompetent, my father and mother were mercilessly shot down without trial. And it happened right before my eyes.”

“…”

Not only did I witness my parents and siblings being shot to death, but they were doused with oil, burned, and carelessly buried.

Could anyone remain sane after seeing that?

“My younger brother died screaming, and my sisters were violated before being torn apart by bullets and bayonets. Then they were burned.”

“Hmm.”

“With my own eyes, I watched my family die so horribly right in front of me. With this burden, I cannot simply flee and live comfortably alone.”

I’ve established a plausible motive.

A Grand Duchess driven mad by witnessing her family’s horrific deaths.

A Grand Duchess who must seek revenge.

I created an atmosphere suggesting I might commit suicide if taken away, whether out of sympathy or whatever else.

“Shouldn’t the living continue to live?”

“Even now, the sky appears yellow to me, and every night, the spirits of my family visit me, asking me to avenge them. You wouldn’t understand, General. The sight of my family dying so horribly, burning to bones, and being carelessly buried. That scene won’t leave me. Yes, if there’s one more thing I’d like to ask…”

“What is it?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could provide military supplies.”

At my words, Gajda frowned and said with a serious expression:

“Please give me some time to think.”

Good, will he take the bait or not? That’s fine.

I’ve thrown enough out there. If he says, “Stop talking nonsense and come with me,” and takes me away semi-forcibly, that would look better.

At least it’s better than happily going along, and I can definitely establish a clear image.

Revenge?

Are they my parents? No, they’re Anastasia’s parents.

I may have Anastasia’s memories, but they’re just memories.

I have no reason to seek revenge.

I could reluctantly be taken away to Europe or America, play the role of a tragic heroine for a while, and then comfortably live with support from sympathetic countries.

But if things don’t go as expected…

I might really have to sacrifice myself here.

Then I’d truly need to be prepared to change the future.

If it comes to that, since the old empire is gone, how about a united states?

* * *

After meeting with Anastasia, Gajda gathered with his adjutants to discuss their strategy.

In truth, they hadn’t really needed a strategy up to this point.

They had planned to simply make an appearance, take the trembling Grand Duchess who could be killed by the Bolsheviks at any moment, and head east.

That’s what they had thought.

But the Grand Duchess they met seemed half-crazed, perhaps from witnessing her family’s deaths and cremation right before her eyes.

A maniacal smile lingered on her lips, one that a woman of her age shouldn’t possess.

She was consumed by vengeance.

“She’s not so different from us, unable to return to our homeland and wandering.”

The comparison isn’t entirely fair, but under the broader context of urgent circumstances, it holds some truth.

“What should we do? She seems like she might commit suicide if we try to take her away.”

True. Seeing her like that, she’d probably choose death if she couldn’t have her revenge.

Moreover, this city of Yekaterinburg was strangely fanatical about the Grand Duchess, neither siding with the Bolsheviks nor anyone else.

It wasn’t just sympathy for the Grand Duchess, but something more.

Yes, as if they had witnessed a miracle.

Speaking with her devotees in passing, they claimed she had survived Bolshevik bullets and bayonets, and that the sick were healed just by her waving her hand.

While he dismissed this as propaganda by the Grand Duchess’s inner circle to deify her, the city did indeed seem to have fallen into her hands.

They were in a bind.

They hadn’t anticipated that Grand Duchess Anastasia would react this way.

If anything happened to the Grand Duchess after they made contact with her, the Czechoslovak Legion would be blamed.

Already wandering without a homeland, being labeled as the assassins of the Grand Duchess would be dangerous.

If neither option works, they might need to find another path.

“Hmm. There’s no choice.”

“Pardon?”

“What if we support the Grand Duchess instead?”

“But then, when will we return to our homeland?”

Why are they traversing Russian territory like this?

Isn’t it ultimately to return to their homeland?

“It wouldn’t be bad to break through those Bolsheviks who arbitrarily signed treaties and withdrew from the war. So cooperating with the Grand Duchess to some extent…”

“We’re not Cossacks, and becoming the Romanovs’ sword seems a bit… inappropriate, doesn’t it?”

“As long as the Grand Duchess survives, she’ll inevitably become a rallying point against the Bolsheviks. I’m suggesting we take the lead and exert our influence.”

As long as the Grand Duchess remains alive, any faction fighting the Bolsheviks will rally under the banner of the last Romanov, who holds legitimacy.

“Then…”

“Think about it. What if the Grand Duchess becomes the Tsarina of Russia in the future?”

If they play their cards right, couldn’t Czechoslovakia potentially influence Russia?

After all, if they help fulfill the vengeance of a woman consumed by revenge, wouldn’t she later be willing to give them anything in return?

Russia is a vast country.

While today’s Russia is in this state due to an incompetent Tsar, its potential cannot be ignored.

Moreover, those Bolshevik bastards betrayed their country by arbitrarily signing treaties with Germany, ceding territories, and withdrawing from the war, all for their own power.

In other words, if they really wanted to, they could find reasons to help Anastasia.

“Hmm. But even if we become the foundation for the Grand Duchess, how far can we go?”

“That’s what I want to discuss. First, she must meet our demands.”

“Our demands?”

“Guaranteeing Czech independence. Ensuring we maintain power in Czechoslovakia in the future. This would be more than we could ask for.”

“Can we defeat the Red Army?”

Can we win?

Rather than the vague expression of whether they can win by siding with the Grand Duchess, they should fight with determination, believing they must win.

Moreover, the Red Army they faced didn’t seem that formidable to them.

“They’re just for show. The Bolsheviks feared war and withdrew from the Great War, and the competent Russian generals from the imperial era have all stepped back.”

“Ah.”

“Yes, well. It’s about helping each other in difficult times.”

With Anastasia’s survival, the gears of history began to shift.