The party was a pain, not even the existence of the sweets improved my mood and to complete my suffering, Viktor had to go with the men to do men's things. A misogynistic society. I could survive it, but it still made me angry, 3 lives, 2 of them in a society as egalitarian as possible to end up in an empire underdeveloped in every way.
I continued to lament even as the rest of the party continued on, as lively as it had been when it had just started.
"Your highness, how do you do?" spoke a voice in an accent I knew very well, Francois. Years of killing and capturing them gave me enough familiarity with their accent, so much so that even though I never heard them speak Russy, I could tell it came from a Francois.
I turned to the unexpected guest, "I am Charles de Gaulle, pleased to meet you," before me stood a giant of 2 metres.
De Gaulle? I had not heard that name in my second life, only in my first, feeling a need to satisfy my curiosity I turned to him.
"Pleased to meet you as well, General De Gaulle, however, I have a question, what brought a Francois general to a party in Kieva?"
De Gaulle waved his hand as if it were a minor matter, "One simply cannot refuse a order from a superior who dislikes you" taking an apple he stood in front of me, "A mission to improve relations between the two nations, however as my arrival was not announced I am unable to do anything of the sort".
So De Gaulle was venting his frustration about how his boss was interfering in his career. It's my chance to make friends for the future.
I understood where he came from, "What a poor superior, driven by envy rather than efficiency and the interests of the nation. Isn't it miserable when the efforts of great men are held back by incompetent bureaucracy who stubbornly cling on to their jobs?"
I have seen great promises consumed and forgotten at the hands of bureaucracy and power struggles, in both my previous lifetimes. My words came with experience.
De Gaulle cocked his head to one side, as if trying to identify an animal that had never been registered in history, "Indeed, the rumours about you seem to be true as far as I can see."
Shit, the worst thing about rumours is that you have no control over them. Since I don't know what those rumours are, I have to quickly switch to a topic to change his opinion of me, I couldn't let him be influenced by surely exaggerated and malicious rumours.
"If your mission is to improve trust between the two nations, I can help you. From having My Imperial Father receive you at court, or give you an honorary title. Even putting in a good word for all of Paris to hear will not be too difficult."
De Gaulle shifting uncomfortably looked as if he was going to refuse my offer. However, I could not afford to fail. As someone who could very well be the one to save me from the communists in the future, I needed him on my side.
"With this, when the superiors of your superiors hear about how you put yourself before the situation and gain the appreciation of his majesty, in turn increasing trust between our two countries, you could appeal directly to them for promotion and finally get ahead of those who are trying to hold you back."
De Gaulle stopped moving and began to think, showing a deep look, as if trying to find out what my plan was.
"You are even smarter than the rumours say... But what do you want in return, this is too much generosity to be priceless."
Smiling and moving towards the banquet, I paused so that De Gaulle could digest what I was offering, so that he would accept what I would ask.
I picked up a chocolate biscuit and began to nibble, leaving the General to stew in awkward silence. Finally finished, I prepared to answer his question.
"I help you in your time of need and you help me when I am in a time of need. The Russ Empire is in unsettled times, one never knows when one might have need of you. Perhaps in the future, you may help me in my time of need from a position of power."
De Gaulle looked sideways, as if he was a dealer who wanted to make sure no one sees him commit a crime, before offering me his hand.
"I, Charles De Gaulle, swear that when Princess Tatiana Nikolaeva Romanova needs my help, I will be there to assist her. Even if with your help, I did not achieve my own goals, I will keep this promise, for the honour of my family and for the honour of the Francois!"
A sly smile appeared on my face
"I look forward to exchanging letters with you. It was nice to meet you," I concluded before leaving for the park. I couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement fill me. A great success of a party, to find 2 diamonds of such high quality was incredible, was my luck taking a turn for the better?
As I walked out into the park, I saw that no one wanted to be in the park despite the objectively good weather, something that was to my benefit. I sat down and began to internalise just how busy a day today had been.
De Gaulle, a competent General Francois who was held back by his superiors and who I am now assisting in his career.
Viktor, Visha's older brother who was a genius. And someone I am trying to win over through political concessions from my father.
My teachers, who were apparently satisfied with me, put in a little more effort and no one will be able to deny that I hold superior abilities in terms of intellect, even if it was technically a lie.
And finally my family, while my sisters continue to antagonise me, my parents try to keep the family happy. If I wish to continue benefiting from this, I will have to be a good daughter.
But what did it mean to be a good daughter? That wasn't something you could just learn! In my first life my parents never listened to me, in my second life they didn't even exist. Should I follow anything they say? But what iff they request something stupid or counterproductive? Being my parents shouldn't give them power over my choices.
I have never seriously put thought into my relationship with my family. Originally, I was thinking of abandoning them to flee the country alone, perhaps I should help them flee the country? Isn't that what a good daughter would do?
"May I know what's on your mind?" turning around I saw Viktor slowly creeping up to me, as if he was going to scare me, how childish.
"I was thinking about some things.", should I ask Viktor my questions? After all he did seem to be what one would call a good son. Perhaps he knew better than me.
Viktor sat down next to me, he smelled of cigarettes, he must have gotten it from the men's discussion.
"Sorry about the smell, it's hard to get rid of after hours of talking to old men," if my disgust was that obvious, I needed to control my facial expressions better.
I sighed, it was now or never, "I have a question, just what makes someone a good daughter?"
Viktor seemed surprised by the question. "Being a good child is relative, in the end each person has a way they would prefer their children to be," he sighed, resigning in a way unbecoming of someone of his status, "However, just helping your family and not making trouble is already a good start."
Help my family? What a vague answer. How was I supposed to do that? "And just what does that mean?"
Viktor looked at me pitifully, like he was looking at an abandoned puppy, "Doing things for them, not just for their favour or for profit, but simply because you wish to. Those little gestures are what make the family in the end."
"I think I understand" I decided to change the subject. While this conversation had been useful to try to understand more about irrational relationships, we had to go back to rational things.
"Viktor, your father is very rich, isn't he?" Viktor seemed surprised by the question, "Well, not as much as your family. But he can take more liberties when it comes to using his wealth."
"Well I have a project in mind, would you mind convincing your father to invest in it?"
Viktor understood the situation right away and turned to give me his full attention.
"Tell me about it."
I watched the train pick up speed as it left Kieva, heading towards Berun. To think I had to fight for every kilometer of this territory in my past life. I would have never known that in summer, it was so much more beautiful. This trip would be infinitely less eventful.
Remembering that, I couldn't help but wonder why I didn't have any traumas from everything I had gone through in my second life. Even people more capable than me had their fair share of trauma after experiencing war. Yet someone like me, who had burnt cities to the ground, killed thousands of enemies and watched thousands of comrades die, had nothing?
Was this another one of your sick interferences Being X? Just why did you give me something that was objectively beneficial? What are you up to, Being X?
Moving away from the window, I sat down on the comfortable chair in my personal quarters. Pulling out a map of the Russ Empire, it was then I truly understood just how large it was.
However, this map was not the geographical map, it was the map of the railways. One of the biggest problems I will face would be the speed with which it took to reach the frontier, in case the revolution breaks out sooner than expected.
Yet perhaps one may wonder, wouldn't that give the communists an advantage as well? Technically speaking, the answer was no. Moskova has 10 armoured trains at the ready, at least one of which was fitted to protect the royal family in the worst case scenario, something that should work if it wasn't for one problem.
"WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RAILWAYS"
If they destroy a mere 10 meters of the Moskova-Kieva railway the entire journey would come to a halt. A communist revolution may be disorganised in the first few days, but even then, communist leaders would already have organised some loyal troops to achieve their goals. All they needed was to destroy part of the railway lines and it would be goodbye armoured trains, goodbye Royal family and goodbye Tatiana Romanova.
That's why I had to get Viktor to convince his father to invest in the railways. I don't know if his father would accept, but if he did, I will have a better chance of survival. If he doesn't, I just have to convince someone else.
Looking at the map again, I realised something.
Still, it's amazing that the Russy Empire of this life already had more infrastructure than the Russian Empire of my first life. Perhaps a liberal managed to convince the government to reform. However, considering that the red revolution still existed in my second life, it would seem that in the end liberalisation still failed.
Going back to the railway map, I set out to look at the administrative regions of Russ. I will have to visit the local rulers of the Baltic, Little Russ and Russ regions. While Viktor's father could increase the railways of all of Kieva and the Moskova-Kieva connection, only a fool would trust a single escape plan.
I have to take the development of the entirety of Russ locomotive transport into my own hands.
Having my little bubble burst by someone knocking on the door, I closed the map and called for them to enter.
It was my mother, "Tatiana, why don't you come to my room, I want to show you your family tree, for when we get to the Empire."
Following Viktor's advice, the best decision would be to go with her, even though there was no inherent benefit.
"Absolutely."
Following behind her, we made our way to the front carriage.
As we went in, I stood next to her, watching as she pulled out a rather large book from a trunk.
"Here," she said as she placed the book down, motioning for me to sit down next to her so that I could see its contents.
"This is your grandfather, son of..."
And that was how we spent days of travel; with small, seemingly pointless events. Until we finally arrived in the capital of the Empire and my home in another life.
"Welcome to Berun, your Imperial Majesty and Royal Highnesses," greeted an officer.
Stepping off the train, a feeling welled up within me. I HAVE RETURNED.
Hey, hello, so Im a bad english speaker, so if somebody wants to help me in that part, send me your gmail in private or your discord.
In the other part, comment what do you think or if you like it.
I will acept any critic, only dont be rude.
HEY Hello, chapter 7 has been rewriten by Dualwing , I hope u enjoy it more