1st of May, 2025, 08:40 a.m.

Wilhelmshaven, Kingdom of Prussia, HRE

There was silence at the Wilhelmshaven Naval Base. The HM Loyalist Army was entirely defeated. Most of the soldiers and even of the Knights of Camelot were either dead or captured, while the few who survived were now trying to return on board of the Roman ships. Only up North, in Inverness, the forces under the command of Cornelia li Britannia were managing to resist the Regular Army. No news were coming from the Balmoral Castle.

"I can't believe we lost her..." Muttered Giulio, thinking of Nunnally.

"Hey, maybe there is still hope. The map is just not showing information." Whispered Anya, holding his arm.

"And so, also Aberdeen goes." Stated Scipione Borghese. "Let's at least hope that the forces in Inverness will manage to withdraw."

"Good thing is that the Britannian Navy has given up on attacking us. Otherwise at this point we would have a full scale war." Observed the Duke of Aosta.

"Roman Squadron about to enter the English Air Space." Announced one of the operators.

"Please, Dominika, do identify them." Ordered Borghese.

"It's the Iron Guard!" Exclaimed the girl after receiving information from them.

"What the Hell?" Shouted Giulio standing up. "I said no Roman ground forces over there! Who gave this order?"

"Request of contact by the commander of the Squadron." Announced the operator.

"Put them on screen." Ordered the Emperor. Immediately the image of Ayano Kosaka, appeared in the screen.

"Ayano?" Asked Giulio. "Is this a joke? Which part of 'no Roman ground forces' did you failed to understand?"

"I am sorry, Giulio. But it is our duty to save Nunnally and you know it well." Replied the girl.

"Your duty was to stay in Rome and not cause troubles."

"That what was you ordered, but certainly not what you wanted me to do." Replied Ayano.

"Has she gone crazy?" Asked Borghese.

"No, Lord Borghese." Replied Ayano, calmly. "I am well aware of the bound that links all of us with Empress Nunnally of Britannia. I knew, when I heard of the fall of Balmoral, that something had to be done. We could not leave her in the hands of our enemies."

Giulio nodded.

"I am sorry about this." She then said. "I take full responsibility for what I am doing. There is no one else to blame, only and exclusively me, it was my own idea and I am willing to accept any kind of punishment if I come back. But now I will act."

Giulio looked at the screen and with tears in his eyes smiled with approvation.

"She is not crazy, Lord Borghese, she is being more Roman than all of us at the moment. Go Ayano, do your duty, best of luck!"

Ayano smiled back.

"I will, Your Majesty. I won't fail you." The communication ended.


The attack of the Iron Guard at Balmoral Castle was quick, lasting less than one hour. The Iron Guard reached the castle and caught by surprise the Britannian Forces still there, who were quickly overpowered and dispersed by the Roman special forces. Without waiting for longer, they rescued Nunnally and left, in the direction of Wilhelmshaven.

As soon as they succeeded, they sent a short message to the Loyalist Forces in Inverness and to the SMS Wotan: 'We have Nunnally. Heading to Wilhelmshaven.' This communication was sufficient to convince Cornelia to order the evacuation of the town, while with the retreat of the last soldiers of the Loyalist Army, also the Roman Navy and Air Force were finally recalled.


At the Wilhelmshaven Airfield, The Emperor and the Empress were the first to arrive to wait, with all the medical staff, for the Britannian Empress. The second to arrive, with the recognition jet of the SMS Wotan, was Prince Schneizel el Britannia. After him, finally the Iron Guard Squadron arrived.

Ayano was the first to come out of the Trinacria, the flying fortress used by the Iron Guard as flying command centre. She was in tears and Giulio rushed in her direction.

"I'm sorry... I could do nothing about it!" She said crying.

"It's fine, you did well, you were right." He replied hugging and kissing the girl.

"No! You don't understand!" She said distancing herself.

"What happened?" Asked Giulio confused.

Ayano took a long breath and still hesitated. In the meantime, even Schneizel came closer to them.

"Nunnally vi Britannia is dead." She finally said. "The Empress of Britannia is dead!" She repeated.

"Oh no..." Said Giulio shocked.

"No... It can't be true!" Exclaimed Anya, in a rare moment in which she betrayed her emotions.

Schneizel felt on the mud on his knees, shaking his head, then looked at the sky, without saying a word.

Two doctors came then out of the Trinacria, carrying on a stretcher a the thin and pale body of a girl with long brown hairs. Her eyes were closed and her expression was that of someone peacefully sleeping an eternal sleep. That was the body of Nunnally vi Britannia, 100th and last Empress of the Holy Empire of Britannia.


From BBC News

Opening: playing Land of Hope and Glory

Presenter: Ladies and gentlemen, we are interrupting our noon news in order to broadcast the speech of the Right Honourable Henry de Montgomerie, Duke of Mercia and Regent of the Holy Britannian Empire.

Lord Mercia [sitting at a desk, in Buckingham Palace]: "Citizens of Britannia, yesterday night our beloved country has been object of a vile attack by the Holy Roman Empire, that relied on mercenaries, supported by its own Navy and Air Force and on internal traitors, to overthrow the Government of the People and hijack our Empress, which has been used by them as a tool to further boost the rebellion. While our forces have managed to fight back and crush the uprising, our beloved Empress, already seriously ill, has died in their hands, during their attempt to carry her away from Britannia.

Britannians, during the last six years, we have all been victims of betrayal: betrayal by unpatriotic nobles, by the Imperial Family, by self-proclaimed allies who only sought to exploit us, by usurers and corrupted politicians. This shall be no more, Britannia is not to be left behind by the natural selection, Britannia is stronger and fit even to radical changes. We shall fight and strive to prevail and overcome all of our enemies, internal and external.

It is for this reason that earlier today, both chambers of our Parliament, symbol of the sovereignty of the people, have voted the Republic Act, putting an end to the old, consumed and rotten monarchy, that had indeed its moments of glory, but has proven unfit for the modern challenges. From this moment and forever, Britannia shall be a Republic, known as Commonwealth of Britannia and in virtue of the mandate given to me by the Parliament, I take for me, from this moment onwards, the title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of Britannia.

All Hail Britannia!

All Hail Our Commonwealth!"


2nd of May, 2025

Bologna, Imperial County of Bologna and Forlì, HRE

The failure of the Operation Jacobite had disastrous repercussions on the Holy Roman Empire. First of all, the whole establishment came under major criticism by those sectors of the society who were opposed to a war with Britannia. The Reichkanzler, Prince Wilhelm von Metternich had announced his resignation and so did the President of the Senate and that of the Comitia Populi (the lower house). Giulio and his family retreated in Bologna, with the Britannian Imperial Family, Gino Weinberg and other close friends, in order to organise a proper funeral for the last Empress of Britannia. Across the Empire, were declared three days of national mourning.

In the meantime, Bologna had become the gathering place of many illustrious foreign visitors, who wanted to pay a last homage to Nunnally vi Britannia: from Empress Carine of Brazil and her husband, Prince Consort Pedro Gastao of Orleans-Bragança, to Kallen Kozuki, Chairwoman of the People's Federation of Indonesia, to Kyoshiro Tohdoh, Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan, Kaguya Sumeragi, the South African President, Hendrik Verwoerd and many others. Only absentees were the representatives of the Commonwealth of Britannia, for obvious reasons and those from the Empire of China, that could not send representatives due to the state of war with Rome, but nonetheless sent a message expressing the Emperor's sincere condolences.

Nunnally's body was resting in an open coffin, at the centre of the Basilica of San Petronio, the never-concluded gothic cathedral located in Piazza Maggiore, where people could give her a last salute. Giulio went forwards, through the enormous church, towards the coffin of the old friend and former lover.

"I wish I was a better sister... I feel so guilty!" Heard from his left. Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw Carine ne Britannia, crying, while hugging Oldrin, who looked at him and made a sign with her head, to salute him. Forwards, he also saw his sister, sitting and crying, while trying to say the Pater Noster. Closer to the coffin, leaving, he saw Kallen Kozuki.

"Hi..." She said, almost as if unsure about what to say.

"Hi." Replied Giulio.

"All this is terrible, isn't it?" She asked, showing her grief.

"Please, not now and not today, I really don't want to talk."

"I know it was not your fault." She insisted, taking his arm. "Please, let's talk, whenever you want."

Giulio wanted to smile at her, but he could not find the forces and the will. "Yes, let's talk, later today. Just not now."

"Sure... Whenever you want." Replied Kallen.

The view of Nunnally inside the coffin brought immediately Giulio back to his childhood memories, more specifically to his father's funeral, in the family chapel in Vermont. Fo a moment, he saw very clearly all of his family, dressed in dark, his mother with a long black dress and a veil and Euphemia li Britannia with Clovis la Britannia trying to make him feel better. Those memories were immediately dissipated and his attention fell on that angelical corpse, lying right in front of him. He touched her hands, now pale, cold and joint together.

"There you go too, Nunnally and I stay, in this world of sorrow and desolation. I hope you have found peace and joy, wherever you may be and I hope you will forgive me."

After saying so he turned back and walked towards the exit of the church. It was in that moment that his eyes crossed with those of Lihua, the former Empress of China. She seemed to want to say something, but Giulio immediately continued walking and left the Basilica.


Nunnally vi Britannia was buried in San Petronio, after State Funerals celebrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, following the Anglican rite, on the 4th of May of 2025. The news caused sorrow and commotion across the whole world, with the only exception of the Commonwealth of Britannia, where any news concerning Nunnally's funerals were censored. The Empress was dead, the Republic was proclaimed and the Gotterdammerung was now set.


5th of May, 2025

"And so, also Nunnally goes too. Sooner or later this time arrives for all of us." Said Kallen, with resignation. She was having tea with Giulio at the Caffè Marinetti, inside the prestigious Hotel Baglioni, in Bologna's centretown.

"Indeed, so it is." Replied Giulio. "Are you going back to Indonesia this afternoon?"

Kallen nodded. "My flight leaves at 15:00h."

"I just wish things could be different." Said Giulio. "Soon we will be fighting each other."

"I know and it deeply saddens me. But I think it is unavoidable, if you wish to create a new world."

"Why don't you just stay out of this war? You don't need to join it. We can find a way to have Japan recognising Indonesia. I am sure Kaguya will help."

Kallen shook her head. "I appreaciate your efforts, Giulio, but I cannot betray the pacts that I have made, plus you know it well, we represent two views that are at each other's antipodes. One cannot prevail if the other survives."

"... But one also cannot exist without its opposite half. Or you wouldn't have given me that marble Yin Yang."

Kallen smiled. "That's also true, who knows what Fate has prepared for us."

In that moment Lucrezia reached both in the café.

"Giulio, we have news for you. From the Syndicalist Congress."

"Duty calls you." Said Kallen, trying to encourage her friend.

"Indeed..." Replied Giulio with a sigh. "Well, may the Gods protect you, Kallen!"

"And you as well." Replied Kallen. "You need much more than I do."

With those words, Giulio and Kallen kissed each other before taking different paths.


6th of May, 2025

Rome, Imperial Duchy of Latium, HRE

Giulio and Nina Berija were sitting outside the Casino dei Principi, a dependency of Villa Torlonia, one of the many properties of the Roman Imperial Family in the capital.

"What a pleasant day, and in such a garden." Said Nina looking around.

"Together with Villa Ada, it's one of my favourite residences here in Rome."

"But then why do you stay at Quirinale? Here looks much nicer."

"Because here I am more removed from the city life, that happens in the centre and it's harder for a subject willing to see me to come here than to Quirinale. You see, the challenge of a monarch is that he has to be close enough to the people, in order not to look removed from the Kingdom, yet not too close, in order not to lose his sacred dimension."

"Indeed... I never thought of this, even while dealing with the King of Georgia."

"You mean that he is one of the extremes? If so, he is a bad King."

"Oh no! Nothing like that..."

Giulio laughed.

"You still don't trust me. You fear that I may harm the others just because I wish to."

"No, no, nothing like that." Replied Nina embarrassed.

"Well, I hope to convince you that I am not this kind of bloodthirsty tyrant, although at times I have to act as if I was one... Ah look, there comes Antonio."

The Marquis José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Commander of the Praetorian Guard and Minister of the Imperial Household arrived there on a golf cart, driven by a servant. As he went down and reached the Emperor, he could not hide his surprise and disappointment at the view of Nina Berjia, but immediately bowed respectfully at his monarch.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! If I may ask, what is the leader of the Pan-Eurasian Syndicalist Movement doing here?"

"Greetings, José." Replied Giulio. "Allow me to introduce you Ms. Nina Berija, she is a friend of mine and of the Empire."

"Sir, I keep not understanding. She is a republican." Replied Primo de Rivera.

"Not anymore, she will help ensure a fair and equilibrated administration of the Empire."

"I have handed this morning to the IBI a list with all the Syndicalist leaders and activists suspected of having ties with subversive and anti-monarchist groups. The Syndicalist Movement will, from now onwards, endorse only the legitimate fights of the workers and abandon any eversive ambitions against the natural order."

"What a relief." Replied Primo de Rivera still uncertain.

"But there is more." Continued Giulio. "I want you to step down from the Imperial Household and from the Praetorian Guard."

At those words, Primo de Rivera looked frightened.

"B-but, Your Majesty, I always served you with loyalty and devotion, since the time you were a guerrilla leader in Russia and I was the commander of a lost Spanish Division, don't you recall? I-I..."

"I am aware of that, José and that's why I won't go back on my decision. As you know, the recent escalation with Britannia has brought Wilhelm to resign from the position of Reichkanzler. He just doesn't feel like he can continue in the position. As I had to accept his resignation, I have decided to form a new Government. We have a horizon of war, which means that I need a Reichkanzler that is capable to lead a country in a war. Borghese could have been good choice, but he is not apt to political leadership, my cousin Amedeo well, we know him, Ayano already told me that she doesn't want to be involved in politics, Oldrin was willing to do it, but it is somehow known that she is my mistress, so better not, Lucrezia makes an excellent spymaster and will remain so... So there you are."

"You mean, that you want me to become Head of Government?"

"Of course, if you don't want to I can look for someone else, I believe Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen may like..."

"No, no, it's fine, I accept."

Giulio smiled. "That's amazing. Now let me explain why Nina is here: she is to be included in your new executive, as Minister of the Workers."

"I look forward to work alongside you and the other members of His Majesty's Government. My main purpose will be that of finding ways to improve the conditions of life of our working classes, while our country mobilises for war. After all, a healthy and strong population will be more motivated to support our effort."

"Of course! If such is the will of His Majesty, I do not dispute it." Replied the Spanish noble. "Ms. Berija, I look forwards to work with you, I am sure you will bring valuable contributions to the Empire."

"I am sure you will get along well. Antonio, could you prepare me the list of the ministers by tomorrow morning? I would like to see it approved by the Imperial Senate by lunch time. Also make clear that Nina is appointed by my own sovereign decision, so that they won't try to veto her election."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Replied Primo the Rivera, doing the Roman Salute.

Giulio stood up, followed by Anubis, who reached him running from the nearby forest.

"You can go now, best of luck. Today and forever: Roma Victrix!" Concluded the Emperor responding to the salute.

"Roma Victrix!" Exclaimed Nina, also doing the Roman Salute.