Pov Tatiana

"Tanya, is that you?" he asked, offering his hand.

Reaching out to take his hand, I got up.

That's definitely Romel. Was he reincarnated too? It seems likely, considering he knew my old name.

"Oh, I must have mistaken you for an acquaintance of mine. Sorry about knocking you over," he apologised, bowing down.

He definitely remembered his past life and he definitely remembered me, no two ways about it.

It would be pointless to ask who he was, but considering I wasn't supposed to know who he was, it was a necessity to keep up the charade.

"It's alright, accidents happen. May I know who you are?"

"Oh yes, where are my manners? Erwin Romel, Field Marshal of the Imperial Military, at your service."

Field Marshal? Wasn't that a little early? Just what changed?

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova, Princess of the Russ Empire."

Paling as he heard my name, he apologised once again, "Forgive me your highness, forgive my improper behavior."

What a shame, to be so on guard of angering Royalty. Knowing how much of a believer of meritocracy he was, he must have hated the aristocracy. Not wanting to humiliate or antagonise him further, I raised my hand to stop him.

"It was my fault for being distracted, please do not apologise any further. Instead why don't you tell me why someone of your age is already a Field Marshal?"

"It is a long story, and one that I do not quite have the time to explain. But if you want to know the basics, it had everything to do with De Gaulle's offensive."

That offensive again! I have no recollection of such a thing yet it seems like everyone of any importance has heard of it. Just what happened?

"Perhaps if we meet again when I am not as busy, I could explain how it happened," he continued, leaving with a bunch of folders in hand.

I am glad Romel seems to be doing well in his second life. But why did Being X decide to reincarnate him too?

Just as I was about to leave myself, I spotted my mother approaching me.

"Tatiana! There you are! I have something very important to tell you, so listen closely."

"What is it mother?"

"The Kaiser would like to arrange a meeting between you and his son while I am having a political discussion. It's a good idea for you to get to know him, so please treat him well. We are guests, after all. We don't want anyone speaking poorly of us."

"Yes Mother, I won't bring shame to Russ," I answered, before making my way to my guest room.

The Crown Prince? If he was anything like the Kaiser's son from my previous life, he'd grow up to be a militaristic person. He was a benefactor in my previous life, one that had recommended me to the rear. If only that Bloody Valkyrie didn't exist, I would have been enjoying the rear. I would have gladly served as his military advisor, too bad some things just were not meant to be.

A knock from behind the door caught my attention, then came a voice in Russ,"Princess Tatiana, I have come to pick you up."

Opening the door, I saw who it was. The Prince, in a ceremonial military suit. Not as elaborate as the one I saw in my past life, but it would, in time.

"Good morning, your highness," I replied in Deutsch.

He laughed loudly, "You speak Deutsch too? Well, let's converse in your preferred language."

Considering that I have spoken Deutsch for more years than Russ, I would thus make a better impression speaking the one I had more familiarity with.

"Deutsch, I am a guest and when one is in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"Well said!" he looked at his watch chain, "Let's take a ride through Berun, to the new museum that has recently opened. Berun is the capital of innovation, science and culture, I'm sure you'll love it!"

"You must mean the first dinosaur museum in the world? I was looking forward to visiting there," I answered, truly interested, "the Empire is leading in research on the subject of Fossils, after all."

As the car drove past the Imperial Palace, I saw a face I had not expected. Leading the Imperial Escort was Rudersdorf himself. Unlike how I remembered him in my previous life, he had yet to gain his portly figure.

To see so many familiar faces in a single day. What exactly was X planning, bringing so many people from both my first and second life here?

"Princess", asked the Crown Prince, interrupting my thoughts as I looked out the window, "You seem distracted, not interested in the museum?"

"Quite the opposite, your majesty, I just couldn't help but appreciate the beautiful uniforms of your imperial guard, much more impressive than Russ."

It wounded my pride, but I have to start licking Imperial boots, only then would they consider giving my family temporary asylum. When the revolution begins, it would be worth it.

"Yes, the Empire might as well be synonymous with the word civilized. Perhaps if we worked together, we could help Russ grow to be as powerful. I have to say, you seem to be the only one of your sisters who appreciates the Empire for what it is."

Was that a proposal?

That was something to consider. It would give me superior standing and security. But I am only seven, it would be strange, even by current standards.

Actually, why wasn't someone of his age already engaged? Was there something wrong with him? Was he perhaps homosexual?

I have never been one to think about my own sexuality much. In my first, I never really acted upon it and in my second, my body had yet to mature, so I had even less of a reason to. But if I had to say, I wouldn't mind a marriage that promised future security.

Would that make me bisexual? I don't mind having relationships with either, but only if they were beneficial.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing much, I was just comparing how different you were from your sisters. Oh, it seems we have arrived at our destination."

It was true, the car had stopped before a grand building. The museum.

As I opened the door myself, he came up and extended his hand, "Please, let me show my courtesy."

Accepting his hand, I got out of the car and followed him.

Why was everyone I interacted with so strange? From my family, to my potential allies.

The museum was certainly awe-inspiring, especially the centrepiece that was a towering skeleton, perhaps one of a T-Rex?

"Impressive, isn't it? It's such a shame that the Empire is the only one that has dedicated itself to researching these amazing creatures! Though perhaps that's why we got these wonderful bones so easily."

"Yes, it's wonderful!"

We continued to walk through hundreds of reconstructed skeletons, there was an excessive amount of them and with a lot of descriptions of what they think the creatures looked like and how each lived.

If only I was born the princess of the Empire instead. Life would be so much less stressful.

POV Prince of the Empire Karl

I gave a knock on the doors of the audience chamber, announcing my presence.

"Yes, come in," answered the voice from within. My father was waiting. Upon seeing me, he impatiently asked, "What is your opinion of Tatiana?"

"She is pro-imperial by nature, she goes on and on about imperial superiority over Russ"

Hearing those words, he laughed with joy, "What great news! Solidify your friendship with her and soon Russ will be our close ally."

Opening a bottle and pouring two glasses, my father asked, "Tell me more about her."

"She is very intelligent, yet tries to be humble. She wants to be independent but also has a bad habit of getting her head lost in the clouds."

Taking a sip from his wine, my father continued, "Two of those characteristics match those of many geniuses, maybe her mother wasn't lying after all".

"About what?"

"The people of Russ revere her as a Saint, apparently she is a girl who has already passed Russ's university exams. Which is certainly something to think about."

I found myself laughing out loud, "Anyone from Warsaw could probably do that by the age of ten. And perhaps even conquer Moskva while they were at it."

"That's what I thought as well," he replied, "Maybe it's nothing, but it's also possible there's some truth to it. Can you tell me anything else?"

I put the glass on the table and started to reminisce about the few hours we spent together, when something interesting came to my mind.

"She seemed pretty quiet around me, perhaps even shy."

My father laughed louder than before, "Perhaps she's in love with you! I couldn't ask for more! It's perfect! Treat her well while she's here!"

I slammed my palm on the table, "Father, for God's sake, she's only seven years old!"

My father looked at me as if I was the one being preposterous, "So what? My grandfather was twenty when married a ten year old girl to inherit the throne of Cologne. Karl, this is politics, no matter the age, only the results matter."

"But father, the times have changed."

He touched his chin, "We can have the marriage when she is 14. You may have your reservations, but remember what happened with Alexandra, she fell madly in love and shook the political world just by getting married. Imagine what would happen if you married Tatiana."

Sighing and throwing myself on the couch, I put my hands on my head to de-stress.

"Okay, I'll try."

There was truth to his words, if I can influence Russ' politics through Tatiana, the Empire will be unstoppable. We could regain everything we lost and dominate the world. Karl I of the Germanian-Russ Empire, an Empire that dominated the lands between the Atlantic and the Pacific. That did sound nice.

But there was one issue with that. Tatiana was fourth in line to the throne. Unless she became Heiress, there was little chance that dream could hope to pass. Perhaps some things would have to be done about those troublesome obstacles.

Comment if u like! Thx to Dualwing creator of Shackled to a Corpse for helping me review and edit the chapter.

Also i appreciate any critics and recommendations for the story!