22nd of June, 2018, 14:00h,
Latvian-Estonian Border
The battle had finished some minutes before and through most of the frontline, the soldiers were now dismounting from their frames. Because of the surrendering with the Honour of the Arms, the Euro Britannians were not supposed to put down their weapons or flags. Only unit still fighting was the Glinda Knights, which under direct order of Princess Marrybel, would have kept fighting until the end.
Their aircraft, the Grandberry, a Caerleon Class, was seriously damaged and forced to land and now they, surrounded by the Iron Guard, were gathered around it for the last desperate resistance.
Commanding this desperate effort, the Head Knight, Lady Oldrin Zevon, knew perfectly well that what they were doing was like a sentence of death. Yet if such were the orders, she would have followed them till the end and died as a Britannian noble. There was nonetheless some bitterness in this death: Giulio was, after all a friend to her, or at least he used to be back in Pendragon and she would never expect him to be the responsible for her death. She still failed to understand why he had raised in rebellion against Britannia. He had everything he wished, he had the influence to change things from within, the respect of the aristocracy, yet he preferred to join Shin Hyuga and revolt against Britannia. It's true, maybe his story would have been different, after all, it would not be the first time that Charles would commit an injustice, but soon she would have been dead anyway and all this meaningless.
"How is Sokkia?" She asked calling the Grandberry.
"Recovering, she was lucky. But how are you there?" Answered Toto Thompson, her maid and now KMF Operator.
"We have lost other three knights, there are five of us left here."
As she said that, another knight was hit by a missile and his frame exploded, giving no chances for the survival of the pilot.
'Four now, soon it will be my turn.'
In that moment she saw, from the German lines, appearing a young officer, with apparently, a Prussian uniform.
Showing a white flag, the officer started walking in their direction.
"Cease fire!" Ordered Oldrin.
As he went closer, she could finally recognise Giulio.
"Who is in command of this unit?" Asked Giulio.
"Me. Colonel Oldrin Zevon." Replied her. He smiled.
"What a place for a meeting, eh? I think I would prefer the Victoria Park in Pendragon."
It was always strange to hear him making his jokes in the most tragic situations.
"I don't know what you find of funny in this situation, it's tragic."
"Oldrin, I want to ask you to stop this. You are surrounded and it's over."
"Better to die with honour than to live the rest of a life with such a stain. Isn't it your philosophy, after all?" Answered back Oldrin.
"But this would be a honourable peace."
"Giulio, do you realise that you are a traitor? There is no honour in surrendering to a traitor."
Giulio took a long breath.
"No, Oldrin, I haven't betrayed. I was arrested by Shin Hyuga and then forced to participate to an operation against the EU, that was still Britannia's enemy and Hyuga would have killed me anyway. Then Charles and his court just stripped me of all my titles and properties and declared me an outlaw, despite everything I did for the Empire."
"In Pendragon, they say that you and Guinevere had conspired with Shin to declare the independence."
"In Pendragon, Oldrin, there is an Emperor with dozens of concubines and hundreds of children that has ruined some of the most ancient families of his Empire, exiled a son of his and encourage the others to fight between themselves to reach the Throne. Is this the people you trust."
Oldrin made a pause, everything he was claiming was true.
"Oldrin, what's happening there? Why have you stopped fighting?"
This was Marrybel, who from Saint Petersburg was calling her.
"Sorry, Your Highness, but I am afraid we won't be able to resist any further."
"What? Surrendering to traitors and bandits?"
"Can you send me reinforcements? There should be the Gordon Highlanders, the Black Watch, the Gurkhas and the Coldstream Guard under your command in Saint Petersburg."
"You should try to fall back, as we are preparing to defend Saint Petersburg. Sorry."
"Impossible, I am surrounded and honestly, do you know who really is the traitor here?"
"Giulio is a traitor, a rebel and a rogue, there is no question on this." Answered Marrybel.
"He claims that your father has stripped him of all titles and dignity without any reason and that he did not betrayed."
"And you do believe him?"
"Well, not in principle, but this wouldn't be the first time he would act in such way..."
Marrybel by this point had lost her patience. "Now listen, if you want to go after what he says and surrender go on, this will be your problem. But be aware that by doing so, you will go against my orders and betray your country and you shall be treated as such." The Princess closed the call.
Oldrin was left in the silence of her frame, thinking about what to do. In front of her, in his Prussian uniform with the Pickelhaube Helmet, Giulio was waiting, calmly for his response. She took her decision.
"To all the units, you can put down your weapons, we surrendered."
As she left her frame, Giulio went in her direction and hugging her kissed Lady Zevon twice.
"Thank you Oldrin, I have already lost enough in this war."
22nd of June, 2018, 15:30
Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Euro Britannia
"With the Germans crossing Estonia our best hopes are to defend around the perimeter of Saint Petersburg." Observed Lord Farnese.
In the war room at the Peter and Paul Fortress, were gathered him, the Viceroy Henry Velaines, Princess Marrybell, Lord Cecil Attlee, High Commissioner for the Order of Saint Michael, Admiral Lord Francis Nimitz and Lord Piero Visconti-Prasca, Chancellor of Euro Britannia.
"With my forces, combined with the two orders, we should be able to hold them for some time." Observed Marrybel. "Yet, with most of the Euro Britannian Army destroyed, if the Homeland doesn't send us reinforcement we shall have no hopes."
"But this depends on the result of the war in Japan." Said Velaines.
"We have just got an update." Announced Marrybel, looking at her computer. "And it says: Britannian Army defeated on every front. FLEJA exploded on Tokyo, 25 millions dead. Britannian Prime Minister, Prince Schneizel el Britannia seeking armistice with Black Knights."
She raised her head, looking at the shocked faces of all the others.
"Well... this... this means that our communication lines with the Homeland will be cutted." Observed Velaines.
"What's the situation on the Atlantic?" Asked Marrybel.
"I've just been updated." Answered Nimitz. "Looks like Admiral Nelson has recalled the 6th Fleet, after the Krauts managed to inflict them several losses... and this using EU ships!"
"To make things worse." Added Attlee. "Many troops of the Euro Britannian Defence Force and of the Order of Saint Raphael are defecting to join the German side. All this means that even with the Coldstream, the Highlanders, the Gurkhas and the Order of Saint Raphael, whatever we will do here will be pointless."
In that moment a colonel entered the room.
"Milords, Your Highness, with permission, I came to inform that the Gordon Highlanders had just been engaged North of Saint Petersburg by the German forces of General Friedrich Rommel."
Marrybell left herself fall on her chair.
"I never thought I would live to bear such a dishonour. Gentlemen, we have no choice but to order the evacuation of Saint Petersburg. We shall seek repair in Vladivostok. If we secure the Sakhalin Island we might still have some hope... how ironic, Britannia will fall not because of a more powerful foreigner enemy, but because of the treason of her own nobility!"
22nd of June, 2018, 17:00h
Lomonosov, Dominion of Euro Britannia
The German and defecting Euro Britannian forces were proceeding through the highway towards the Euro Britannian capital. During their whole trip through Estonia and then entering Russia, they found absolutely no resistance and were now passing through Lomonosov, at few kilometers from Saint Petersburg.
In the command room, Giulio and Oldrin had spent most of the trip talking and telling each other about their adventures. Giulio also told her about Guinevere's death, that saddened Oldrin, who was well acquainted with her. Oldrin also started telling Giulio about her changing feelings on Britannia.
"Few weeks ago I was in Spain for counterinsurgency activities with the Glinda Knights, and it was there that I started having my differences with Oldrin and the Britannian establishment. I might be biased because I've lived in Spain for a while but the Spaniards and the Portuguese are not different from us, I mean, they are Europeans, we have European origins, yet we named their land Area 24 and treated them as any other colonial population, then they rebelled and their cause seemed to me to be right."
"I can see your point, Britannia unfortunately tends to be often like that."
"But there was more, I saw some figures within our aristocracy, like Luciano Bradley, who made me really question the essence of it. Shouldn't we protect the weak and bring justice? Then why does Charles rules with an iron fist? Why did he destroyed all the old nobility in favour of a bunch of social climbers?"
"Politics, Oldrin, just that."
"Yes, but he was destroying the very essence of the Empire."
"I know, Britannia was founded by fleeing European nobles, who wanted to create an alternative to the revolutionary order that had dominated their land, unfortunately at some point their project degenerated into an individualistic and materialistic tyranny. But now my question, why didn't you revolted earlier?"
"Because, Giulio, I still had a certain attachment to Marrybell and to my team, other than my sense of duty. So I preferred to stay."
"I understand you, it's a valid reason. Is Sokkia feeling better, by the way?"
"Oh yes, she didn't had anything serious and even said that found Ayano quite attractive."
"What?" Asked Giulio with some shock.
"You should have seen the scene, Sokkia started saying some provocative things and Ayano became red like a tomato."
"Oh..." Both them started laughing as Oldrin went on describing some of the things she said.
Downstairs, in a lounge instead, Amedeo and Ayano had the opportunity to know better each other and since the beginning of the trip they had been talking between themselves.
"(...) So but in the end where did you met my cousin?" Asked Amedeo. "Was it in the Wesswolf?"
"No, it was actually much before, when the unit was formed and I was recruited, but of course, back then I was a rebellious recruit taken from a French Banlieue and he was a General, and a harsh one."
"I see and since the battle at the Weisswolf you had been following him..."
"Yes, I didn't wanted to follow my comrades to live with the gypsies, I saw no glory in that and descending from Samurais you can imagine that I take this seriously."
"You descend from Samurais? It must be a reason for pride for you."
"I honestly started caring more now, after joining Giulio because he cares a lot about nobility, honour and all these things but before, when I used to steal tourists in Amsterdam... I had other concerns."
"Oh I see." Said Amedeo with a laugh. "At times I ask myself how much we should give importance to those things. For instance, Giulio thinks that you must know where you came from to accomplish anything worth and that you must honour your ancestors. He also gets mad at nobles that disregard their roots or dishonour them through inappropriate behaviour."
"And you?" Asked Ayano.
"I think that these things might have some importance, but that you should focus more on making your own way."
"Not so long ago I would have thought the same way and even seen the nobility as a form of pettiness. Yet now I was realising that an individual is made of influences coming from the environment around him and that if you have a family and if your family has the privilege of having a great history, then you should value it and let the influences coming from it to guide to you be like your ancestors. It's funny that since I have joined the Iron Guard I have even started worshipping my ancestors, as we use in Shintoism."
"Maybe you're right... I should stop listening to my friends that vote for the Whigs." Said Amedeo after some thought.
"We have stopped." Observed Ayano looking outside the window.
The troops had stopped at the gates of Saint Petersburg. To stop them was Lord Andrea Farnese and 50 Guards of the Imperial Order of Saint Raphael Archangel.
"Salut, Andrea!" Said Giulio leaving the mobile base and rising his right arm.
"Greetings, Giulio." Answered Andrea. His expression was immovable, stoically serious, as he often was.
"I intend to enter Saint Petersburg with the Army."
"I know."
"Are you going to oppose me?"
"No, you can pass, I was just here to surrender. All the military and government officials besides the Chancellor has fled. You won't find any resistance."
"Thank you, Andrea. Ah, before I enter I wanted to say that I had no fault in the fate of Guinevere... I tried to protect her until the end."
Andrea Farnese closed his eyes for a moment, than he reopened them and maintained his expression.
"Please, go, go enjoy your victory and leave me alone."
Giulio ordered to have a white horse brought to him and then, disposing his troops for parade, began the triumphal entrance in the Euro Britannian Capital.
The German forces and the defecting Euro Britannians entered Saint Petersburg at the sound of the Hohenfriedberger Marsch and amidst the acclamation of the population, took over the main public and military building of the city, raising on them the German Flag. Quickly, the city was in German hands without having been fired a shot.
As soon as this was done, Giulio called all the Euro Britannian nobles to the Court, in the Winter Palace, demanding that they would come in ceremonial attire. Obviously, this demanded time as most of the heads of noble houses were either on the front, or in their fiefs around the Dominion or still in their villas in Pavlosk, which made possible to have the gathering only later, around 21-22.
Around that time, the Court was finally ready. The nobles, gathered, were using the ceremonial attires bearing the insignia of their rank, while the representatives of the bouregoisie (all them owners of the main Euro Britannian and European industries) were wearing smokings with eventual decorations that they might have received, also present were some important German Generals coming from the EU, such as Rommel.
The event was to be transmitted on all the national TVs, where it was announced by the sounding of the Russian patriotic song "Slav'sya!". The first image that would then be seen was that of the St. George's Hall full of all the people invited, ready to receive the new ruler.
"I want to sleep." Complained Ayano, who was sitting in the first line, close to the King of Prussia and that of Saxony.
"Me too, where does he finds energy to organise such things after everything that happened?" Echoed Oldrin.
"I think we should thank our dear Anna Clément." Answered Amedeo, who was just told about the implants that Giulio had received.
"There are no evidences of correlation between my implants and Giulio's behaviour, for your information." Answered Anna from the line behind.
The Master of Ceremony entered the hall and stopping in front of the Throne, addressed the presents.
"Honourable Lords of the Dominion of Euro Britannia, Illustrious Representatives of the Burgers, upon the fall of the Regency of the Excellent Viceroy Lord Henry Augustus Velaines, Grand Duke of Verance, I am presenting before you his successor, the Right Honourable Lord Giulio Galahad-Canossa, Co-President of the German Federation, Duke of Poltava, Count of Crimea and Baronet Galahad-Canossa. I invite all of you to stand up to salute him."
As he was announced, Giulio arrived on the Viceroyal Carriage at Palace Square, wearing, this time, an Imperial Russian attire.
There he was greeted by Lord Farnese, General Guderian, Baron Richthofen (commander of the Luftwaffe) and Admiral Borghese, as by military protocol. The Viceroyal Guard saluted him and with his commanders behind, he started walking through the red carpet, entering the Palace and going towards the St. George's Hall. The orchestra played Tchaikovsky's Festival Coronation March.
Giulio and his Generals finally entered the room and all the presents presented their swords. Crossing the whole hall, Giulio took his place on the Throne that once belonged to the Russian Emperor, while the generals took their seats in front of him. The music stopped. He remained silent for a couple of minutes, waiting to have everyone attention. He was feeling quite nervous, after all this was the moment for which he waited for so long: the moment in which he would finally give the change to Charles and his family.
Calmly, he removed his helmet and gave it to a page.
"Lords of the Realm, exponents of the industrial elites, thank you for coming.
I do not wish to be received here today as a conqueror, but rather as a liberator. On one side, I have liberated Europe from the yoke of Britannian occupation force and of an elite, heir of the French Revolution, that in a last effort to save its status had joined the Federation of Nations, the political entity created by the terrorist Zero and his puppet Kaguya Sumeragi. On the other, I am here in the capital of the Dominion of Euro Britannia to liberate it from the abusive and tyrannical administration from Pendragon.
As a founder of this Dominion, I do recall well the spirit with which we left the Homeland to come here, almost a year ago. We came here to renew. To renew the Old Europe, from where our ancestors had fled three centuries ago and cleanse it from the decadent and corrupting forces of merchants and usurers.
Unfortunately, we fell in the hands of a selfish tyrant such as Shin Hyuga first and then in those of the commissioners appointed by that other tyrant that Charles zi Britannia is, from who we are tonight asserting our independence.
Milords, it is with this proposal that I have marched throughout half of Europe in these two days, the proposal of declaring the independence of Euro Britannia. Therefore, according to the Rule of the Acclamation, an ancient Britannian custom used for the last time in 1215 under King Oswin XV zi Britannia, I submit here to your acclamation, the Unilateral Declaration of Indepencence. Here we state:
1st_ That from this moment onwards, all the ties between the Dominion of Euro Britannia and the Holy Britannian Empire are broken.
2nd_ That all the powers and prerogatives of the Euro Britannian House of Lords are to be restored.
3rd_ That the Dominion of Euro Britannia will form, together with the German Federation, a new entity, which shall be named Holy Roman Empire.
4th_ That the Rt. Hon. Lord Giulio Galahad-Canossa, 1st Duke of Poltava shall assume the title of Regent of the Holy Roman Empire, temporarely.
5th_ That the Britannian Church is to be banished from all the lands and dominions of the Holy Roman Empire.
6th_ That given their support, the Imperial Orders of Saint Raphael and Saint Michael will pledge loyalty to the Roman Regency."
Giulio had finished his speech, in the Hall fell the silence. All the presents stood, looking at him, as if confused by such radical proposals. He started considering the dangerous option of using the Geass on all them to accept his proposals.
Seeing how the situation was turning, however, Oldrin Zevon, sitting in the first line stood up and shouted:
"All Heil Galahad!"
"All Heil Galahad!"
Soon also Ayano and Amedeo followed her example, and then those sitting next to them. As the Five German Kings did that, then, all the others nobles raised and acclaimed their new leader. As this acclamation was taking place, all over the lands controlled by those loyal to Giulio, the flag of Euro Britannia was being lowered and replaced by the red flag with the golden Imperial Eagle holding the Fasces Lictoriae. Renewed, Rome was rising again.