244 Leaving St. Petersburg
Tiffania surprisingly saw Sevastian, his dearest brother’s National Security Advisor, inside the Beast.
“Uncle Sevastian? Are you coming with us?” Tiffania asked.
“No, I’m staying in St. Petersburg, Your Imperial Highness. This is where I work. I just came here to see you leave the city, right, Your Majesty?”
“That’s right,” Alexander said as he sat on the comfy leather seat of the Beast. “Do you have something I can pass the time for?”
“There is one, Your Majesty but your little sister doesn’t have the code-word clearance.”
“Code word clearance,” Alexander scoffed after hearing that word. “Sevastian, you know my sister right? Does she look like a princess who is going to disclose sensitive information to other countries?” his gaze flickered to Tiffania. “Do you?”
“Why would I, dearest brother? Do you want me to cover my ears or get out of the car so I can’t hear your classified conversation?”
“There is no need for that,” Alexander sternly stated. “You may stay here, in fact, it’s not even that serious, right Sevastian?” he looked firmly at Sevastian.
“Well, you are the only one who can override the protocol, Your Majesty. Should you wish for me to report the contents, I shall gladly do so,” Sevastian said.
“Declassify it for me then,” Alexander prompted him to begin.
The Beast began to drive away from the Winter Palace’s grounds and is now on its way to the Moskva Railway Station.
“If you say so, Your Majesty,” Sevastian opened the file and began. “Your Majesty, the airstrike that you authorized to destroy the stolen military vehicles in the town of Gallivare now reached the ears of the Swedish government. There are mixed reactions but most of them are royally pissed by the incursion of our fighter planes in their airspace.”
Alexander sighed before giving an appropriate response to that statement. “Contacting them before initiating an airstrike would be a stupid move. What if there’s a mole inside their government that could tip them off? Our chance of eliminating the threat would be thrown out the window. I had to take that chance, as it may be our last, even if it means straining our relations with the host nation. Our interest is more important than their opinion.”
Hearing that, Tiffania gasped slightly. Does his dearest brother occasionally speak in a cold manner? She doesn’t know, there’s no way for her to find out. But this gave her a hint about what Alexander appears like when he is acting as the head of state of the Ruthenia Empire.
“We are still waiting for a casualty report, please expect that there would be civilian casualties as the fighter planes that were sent to destroy the military vehicles fired six 134 kilogram ordnance, air-to-ground missiles at the target.”
“So are you saying that the fighters went overboard?” Alexander raised his brow.
“No, Your Majesty. I think that’s more than enough to ensure that any hardware on that military vehicle is destroyed, to which the fighter pilots exceptionally performed in the task.”
“What could be the possible repercussions if the Swedish government found civilian casualties in the airstrike you ordered, dearest brother? Would that affect our relationship with the Kingdom of Sweden? If it is, in what way?” Tiffania asked innocently.
Alexander hummed in thought, thinking of the best answer he could come up with before they arrived at the train station.
“Hmm, if there are civilian casualties, which is inevitable in any military operation, then yes, our relationship with the Kingdom of Sweden will take a hit, politically. You see, Tiffania, the government doesn’t care about its people, as long as there’s something they can get out of the situation, they’ll make it appear they care for the people, even though in reality, it wasn’t the case.”
“A good insight, Your Majesty,” Sevastian nodded as he concurred with Alexander. “For example, the Swedish government might take advantage of this situation by demanding ridiculous terms to settle the dispute, if we don’t accept it, they’ll call us out. It is the only best they could do. After all, they can’t afford to go to war against us. In terms of military power, they are an ant compared to ours.”
“So, brother, if what you say is true, then is it the same case as you? Do you really care for the people living in your realm, the Ruthenia Empire?”
Alexander was taken aback by the sudden question. It was the first time he was asked. Does he really care for the people? It was a simple question yet Alexander hesitated.
“I do care for them, Tiffania. They are the reason why the Ruthenian Empire exists. Without them, a country would cease to exist. They may be peasants, middle-class, or upper class but each one of them has a role to play. It is the reason why I invested heavily in the social welfare programs to improve their quality of life so that they can do more…” Alexander looked out of the window for a moment and there he saw the train station. “Looks like we are here,”
Sevastian looked out of the window as well to confirm Alexander’s words. They have indeed arrived at Moskva Train Station.
“Thanks to this brief conversation, Your Majesty. Sadly, this is where we part. I will notify you if something big happens while you are gone. Please enjoy your trip to Moskva,” Sevastian bowed his head reverently to the members of the Romanoff Imperial Family.
Alexander and Tiffania step out of the vehicle, wearing a hat and a glass to cover their identity. The Imperial Guards disguised as civilians scattered around to set up a perimeter. The Moskva Train Station has been cleared by them so there was no need to worry about someone planning on taking them out.
Alexander’s presence in the Moskva Train Station is not announced to the public, so they don’t know where the emperor is at the moment, and can only assume that he is staying in Winter Palace.
The civilian guise Imperial Guards escorted them to the platform where the train was waiting for their arrival.
Once they got there, Tiffania’s eyes widened when the sight of the train greeted her vision. ‘How magnificent’, was all she could think at the moment. The design is very futuristic, compared to the rather utilitarian design which she often sees in television and newspapers. The front car has a curvy and pointy look, making it look aerodynamically efficient with painting as white as the snow.
“Brother, what is this?”
“Tiffania, I introduce to you, the first electric bullet train in the world,” Alexander announced proudly. “It is called the Sapsan, or the ‘Peregrine Falcon’ in English. It will be put into service in the second week of February. With this train, it will only take us three hours and thirty minutes to get to Moskva.”