Chapter 59: Grand Duke of the North (5)

Surprisingly, no one voiced any opposition.

If anything, things proceeded so smoothly that Nicholas, who had diligently prepared arguments of his own, almost felt deflated.

Of course, everyone was shocked.

Not by the fact that he intended to hand the position of Viceroy of the Far East to an 11-year-old, but by the revelation that Nicholas II, of all people, had an illegitimate son.

“Y-Your Majesty! Then Young Master Mikhail is not an Odoyevsky, but Your Majesty’s own son….”

“Yes. Surprisingly enough, it is true. I have kept it hidden until now, but it seems there is no longer any reason to do so.”

He brought his illegitimate son into the palace and raised him alongside his own children?

Just what the hell had you done, Nicholas II?!

“H-Her Majesty the Empress….”

“Naturally, she knows. Do you think I would have done something like this without my wife’s consent?”

“Ah, yes. Of course you would never do such a thing. Considering what kind of man Your Majesty is….”

The ministers suddenly remembered that the Empress practically kept Mikhail at her side at all times and doted on him.

It was only natural that the nobles had eyes and ears inside the imperial palace, and they too received reports on the affairs of the imperial family, so they knew for certain.

They knew just how much the Empress adored Young Master Mikhail, lavishing him with affection that bordered on outright favoritism.

Common sense dictated that the Empress would never dote on an illegitimate son, so the nobles had never even imagined that Mikhail might carry Nicholas’s blood.

If anything, the most plausible theory had been that he was a future husband for one of the Princesses, with the Empress’s approval.

After all, the Emperor favored the boy enough to designate him as the future head of the intelligence organization. It seemed only natural that he might marry him to one of the Princesses.

…But he was his son?

“Er…um…Your Majesty.”

While the ministers’ minds went completely blank, the Tsar himself was scratching his head over an entirely different matter.

He had been certain that someone would object fiercely.

He was entrusting the weighty position of Viceroy of the Far East to an 11-year-old. There was no way these seasoned nobles would simply sit quietly.

That was why Nicholas II had come fully prepared.

Since no one was raising an objection, he had no choice but to preemptively cut off the arguments they might make.

“Ahem. Of course, I am well aware that Mikhail is young. However, has it not long been the custom of our imperial house for members of the imperial family to receive honorary posts from childhood?”

“…That is true, but.”

“There is no need to look far. Peter the Great himself ascended the throne at the age of nine, and there have been Grand Dukes who learned military affairs from childhood and took charge of the navy at twenty. It is perfectly common for a newborn Tsesarevich to be appointed a regimental commander.”

The Tsar rattled off the examples he had prepared in advance.

Yet for some reason, no rebuttal came.

“…Is that not so? Have I said something incorrect?”

“You have not, Your Majesty.”

“Everything Your Majesty has said is entirely correct.”

Things were going so easily that he almost felt deflated.

He had gone to all the trouble of constructing a meticulous argument, yet not only the ministers but even the elders were obediently bowing their heads, as though they had all agreed beforehand.

Their reaction was strangely subdued.

Of course, the nobles had their reasons.

Their minds were currently filled with an entirely different set of calculations, leaving them no room whatsoever to scrutinize the Tsar’s arguments.

‘What is this? Why reveal all of this at once, now of all times?’

He was acknowledging his 11-year-old illegitimate son as his own, while simultaneously placing the position of Viceroy of the Far East in his hands.

Not a single person believed that the young boy would actually govern that vast territory himself.

Since he had obviously been installed in an honorary post, it meant that the person who would truly oversee the position was ultimately the Emperor himself.

Why would the Emperor personally go out of his way to place a young member of the imperial family in the viceroy’s seat as an honorary appointment?

There could be no doubt that he had no intention of stopping with Manchuria.

Should they not take this as the Emperor indirectly declaring his grand design to use Manchuria as a foothold, bring Primorye under his grasp, and eventually seize even the Korean Empire?

‘It is practically a declaration that the Romanov imperial house intends to reign over that land forever as its master.’

In other words, he was declaring that the Far East would not merely be conquered territory or some colony, but the private domain of the Romanov family.

By placing a single member of the imperial family in the viceroy’s seat, the Emperor was conveying that message without adding so much as a single line of unnecessary explanation.

Once their thoughts reached that point, chills ran down their spines.

‘And the most frightening part is how casually he is dropping this on us.’

The entire court was already in turmoil over Manchuria and Korea.

There could hardly be a better moment to completely overwhelm the nobles, and there had to be some other scheme lurking beneath the surface.

The problem was that none of them could begin to guess what it was.

While the nobles privately racked their brains, the Tsar continued with a satisfied expression.

“Therefore, I intend to grant Mikhail a suitable surname along with the rank of Grand Duke. We shall hold a proper investiture ceremony together with his title as Viceroy.”

Given the circumstances of his birth, the obvious condition that he would have no right of succession was added as well.

Seen from that alone, it was simply the heart of a father who wanted to arrange a respectable celebration and raise his son’s standing.

Of course, not a single person present understood those feelings.

‘Does he intend to publicly drive home the strengthening of imperial power once and for all?’

‘An investiture ceremony? Is he planning to summon every noble in the Empire and make them bow before this new member of the imperial family?’

Cold sweat ran down their backs.

He would hold the rank of Grand Duke, but he had been given a separate surname and possessed no right of succession, so strictly speaking, nothing about it violated Russian tradition.

There were more than enough precedents of Grand Dukes losing their succession rights through morganatic marriage, so they did not even have grounds to object.

The Emperor wished to grant his own son the rank of Grand Duke without succession rights. There had never been any justification for opposing it in the first place.

If he had truly lost his mind and tried to grant the boy succession rights, that could have caused problems, but he was not doing that.

Then what was this deep-rooted sense of defeat, this feeling that they had been dragged around by the nose from beginning to end?

The nobles of the State Council had reached the point where they felt there was an insurmountable wall between themselves and Nicholas, who always surpassed their expectations with moves they could never have imagined.

They could not even begin to guess what thoughts were inside that Emperor’s head.

More than anything else, that was what frightened the nobles most.

—

For reference, as for what was actually going through the head of that terrifying Emperor.

“Your Majesty, how could you spring something this big without discussing it with me at all?”

“Hahaha, what do you think? Do you not like it? You are now the man in charge of the entire Far East.”

He had decided to dump the entire troublesome Eastern question onto his own son.

After the State Council adjourned and I was summoned separately, I could not entirely hide how dumbfounded I was.

The Tsar, meanwhile, had no idea what was going through my head and looked nothing short of delighted.

“Of course I’m grateful, but…I wish you had at least given me some warning.”

“But then you would not have been nearly as surprised. Things like this are best given as surprise gifts. Both you and Grand Duke Mikhailovich were properly astonished. A most satisfying reaction indeed. Hahaha!”

-That is a little too huge for a surprise gift.

What kind of surprise gift involved basically dumping an entire country into someone’s lap?

“Ah, and I already came up with your surname.”

“Pardon…? My surname?”

“How does Grand Duke Seversky sound? Sunny and I spent the entire day racking our brains to come up with it.”

Seversky.

A name meaning a duke of the north.

“What better name could there be for the child who will rule the northern reaches of Northeast Asia? And it suits our Russia perfectly as well.”

The Tsar seemed quite proud of his naming skills.

-Oho, His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Seversky. You really have become the Grand Duke of the North now, huh?

Shut up. They call it Grand Duke of the North, but didn’t I just get stuck with all the scut work?

Of course, regardless of what I thought inside, my mouth smoothly poured out exactly what my old man wanted to hear.

“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty. It is a name far grander than I deserve.”

“Grand? I told you, it suits you perfectly.”

The Tsar smiled contentedly, then continued in a much lighter tone.

“In any case, now that you are Viceroy of the Far East, you may discuss matters with Witte and handle Manchuria or Korea however you see fit.”

“…However I see fit?”

“Yes. I shall not interfere in every little matter. I trust you, so I will leave it in your hands.”

I knew it…this really was just him saying he was dumping every troublesome problem onto me and washing his hands of it.

You idiot, you’re the Emperor. You do understand that Manchuria is going to become the single most important enterprise supporting the finances of the imperial house, right?

“Is it not also a virtue of a sovereign to trust his capable son and leave matters to him? Hahaha!”

Power had rolled straight into my lap without my having to do anything. Was I supposed to be happy about this?

Fine. I had already been able to dictate policy however I wanted, but now I could skip the annoying extra step in between, so I might as well think of it as a good thing.

-Of course, that also means mountains of pointless work are going to roll straight into your lap.

Wait. If I thought about it, having that ghost around was basically like having 2 brains.

Couldn’t I just make him deal with all the annoying work instead?

I could keep my eyes fixed on the paperwork while I kicked back and let him auto-hunt through it.

Yeah, that could work.

I swallowed a sigh while letting Seong-jun’s frantic protests go in one ear and out the other.

“Then I’ll return and handle the matters concerning Manchuria.”

“Oh, yes. And from now on, unless something is truly important, there is no need to report it to me. I trust my son.”

Clicking my tongue at the Tsar’s laughter as he smiled in obvious relief at having dumped all the tedious work onto me, I left his office.

Then, clutching my throbbing head, I returned to the Okhrana office, only to be greeted by thunderous cheers and applause.

“Young Master Mikhail! No, I suppose I should call you Your Imperial Highness now! Congratulations!”

The moment I returned to the office, Yakov rushed over in a tremendous fuss.

“Young Master…no, to think Your Imperial Highness was of His Majesty’s own blood! I knew it, I knew there had to be something extraordinary about you…!”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand. It was such a major secret that I had no choice.”

“Haha, what are you saying! Carelessly speaking of such a secret would have been the real problem!”

Yakov was genuinely delighted as though it were his own good fortune.

He was such a loyal man that he even seemed proud to learn that the superior he had served was actually a prince.

“To think I had the honor of serving His Majesty’s own son at his side. There could be no greater honor for my family!”

“Please don’t make such a fuss. Not much is going to change anyway.”

That was what I said, but in truth, quite a lot would change.

Now that I held the title of Viceroy of the Far East, I could openly use that legitimate authority to manipulate both Manchuria and the Korean Empire at the same time.

“By the way, Director-General Yakov. Even if it’s only an honorary post, now that I’m the Viceroy of the Far East, shouldn’t I at least go there once for a courtesy call on taking office?”

“It would probably be best if Your Imperial Highness visited at least once. Members holding honorary rather than executive posts normally do not go in person, but custom still calls for them to visit once or twice and hear what the people there have to say.”

Even in the Russian Empire, it was customary for a Governor-General to take up his post in person, but surprisingly, that often did not apply to members of the imperial family.

There were countless members of the imperial family who received posts such as Governor-General of Finland, Governor-General of Poland, or viceroy of the Far East, visited the territory once or twice for appearances’ sake, then spent the rest of their time idling around Petersburg.

“Then I’ll make a trip there. There are matters we need to discuss with the Korean side regarding the development of Manchuria, so it wouldn’t hurt to visit. While we’re at it, let’s summon their ministers as well.”

Of course, the courtesy call and negotiations were merely plausible pretexts.

In the Korean Empire, which would have to become my backyard from now on, I needed to clearly distinguish between those who were merely part of the pro-Russian faction and those who were prepared to hand the entire country over on a platter.

“Then I’ll send a telegram to Korea. We’ll say that we are inviting the ministers to discuss the development of Manchuria.”

“Yes. Let’s see who comes running.”

Remarkably, the telegram went out that very day.

And a reply came back at a speed that could only be called lightning-fast.

“Your Imperial Highness, a response has already arrived from Korea.”

“…Already? Who says they’re coming?”

“Well…we have already received replies from 5 of them saying they intend to come.”

Not 1, but 5 of them had responded?

I took the telegram from Yakov and flicked it open with my fingers.

Let’s see.

Yi Wan-yong, Park Je-sun, Yi Ji-yong, Yi Geun-taek, Gwon Jung-hyeon.

“…Oh.”

Now that was quite the lineup.

-I know every one of those names.

Even I knew this one.

This was that thing called the Suicide Squad, right?

It was 1906 now, so last year had been the Eulsa year.

The Traitor Avengers had assembled at my summons.

~~~

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