“How do you like the room, Alexander?” Diana asked as Alexander looked out of the window of his bedroom in Buckingham Palace. The interior design of his room is similar to his bedroom in the Winter Palace. As expected of the neoclassical and baroque-style architecture that prospered in this era.

“It’s good. It gives me the same vibe as the Winter Palace. I never felt that I had left Ruthenia. But sooner or later, I would notice it as I won’t be able to see my wife and my cute little daughter,” Alexander joked.

Diana simply smiled at his response. From the outside, she looked genuinely happy for him but on the inside, her heart is getting crushed by the weight of reality. That the man she loathed in her childhood days because of his banter is already taken by someone else.

“Well, don’t worry. Once the crown ceremony is finished, you can return to your country and be with them,” Diana let out a forced chuckle.

Alexander noticed the tone of her words and he quickly realized that something was wrong. He turned his head towards Diana who was looking down to the ground, fiddling with her hands and biting her lower lip.

“Diana…is something the matter? And your choice of words just now made me think that you want me to go back to my home country….”

“No, I’m fine. Never been happy as you were able to attend my crown ceremony. If you need anything please feel free to reach out to Lancelot, my butler. I tasked him to stay near you while you are in the Britannia Empire. That’s all! I will leave now…”

After embarrassingly saying that Diana dashed out of the room leaving a confused Alexander alone.

He sighed knowing that Diana isn’t herself. She seems so different from when they were children, where she is cold towards him because of his childhood antics.

The moment Diana got out of his bedroom, Sevastian and Rolan entered and closed the door behind them, locking it.

They approached Alexander and stood next to his sides.

“Rolan, how’s the security of Buckingham Palace?” Alexander asked right away without bothering to look at either of them.

“We are coordinating closely with the Captain of the Royal Guards of Buckingham Palace as well as authorities in Scotland Yard. I’ve also studied the layout of Buckingham Palace and have devised five emergency escape routes if something were to happen suddenly,” Rolan reported.

“How about you, Sevastian?”

“Well, there’s an interesting development happening within the city of London. Our agents in the Foreign Intelligence Services have been clearing out the alley of any suspicious people lurking around. They believe that the people they have rounded up are affiliated with the Black Hand. We can’t be too careful these days.”

“Sevastian, let’s get this straight. Do you mean to say that our agents are detaining Britannian citizens on Britannian soil? I don’t want to get myself caught in a diplomatic scandal.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Your Majesty. Every person we detained is kept in black sites unknown to the Britannian officials. Once we have squeezed them out of viable intelligence, we will drug and toss them out,” Sevastian said confidently.

“If there are unwanted elements moving about the city, then I assume there must be something big happening at the crown ceremony. Your Majesty, we know what the Black Hand is capable of. They terrorize our neighboring countries with an exploding television. They are willing to sacrifice a number of innocent civilians just to achieve their goal. And there’s no perfect place for that other than the crown ceremony,” Rolan explained.

“Rolan is right, Your Majesty. The crown ceremony will be attended by heads of state of great powers. Even the president of the United States is coming. For Black Hand, this is their perfect opportunity to strike what they despised the most, monarchies,” Sevastian added.

Alexander let out a sigh, looking down somberly. “I know. The crown ceremony could potentially be a trap. But I cannot just walk away. I have to be in that crown ceremony. The crown ceremony is also a perfect time to capture Black Hand agents that will lead us to the mastermind. So Rolan, keep me safe during the ceremony and while you’re at it, have your men scour the place and look out for them.”

“Your Majesty, I will do my best to keep you safe. We have already planned an exit route in case our fears become a reality. Helicopters from the battleship docked at the Port of London are on standby twenty-four-seven. Should the situation call for it, you will be out of the Britannia Empire in just fifteen minutes.”

“That’s reassuring then,” Alexander heaved a sigh of relief. “I think I have already heard what I want to hear. You two are dismissed. I will take my afternoon nap here and wake up once the luncheon with the Britannia Empire Royal Family

starts.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. We will leave you be. Feel free to relax as Buckingham Palace is as secured as the Winter Palace,” Rolan reassured his safety once more before tapping the shoulder of Sevastian, signaling him to leave His Majesty’s room.

Once the two left the bedroom, Alexander jumped onto the bed. He took off his coat and placed it next to him. He can feel his consciousness drifting away as exhaustion took over his body. Sleep has always been his best friend ever since he became an emperor. So he closed his eyes and let the sleep overtake him.

***

Meanwhile, at the Port of London, the Flagship of the Baltic Fleet, His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty’s Ship Imperator Aleksandr IV Class Battleship is garnering so much attention from the townsfolk living nearby. It attracted men, women, and children, as well as photographers and other people with professions.

It’s the biggest battleship in the world so being near one to one of them is a blessing enough. They won’t let this opportunity slip by.

The body of water the ship is floating right now is the River Thames, the busiest waterway in the Britannia Empire.

A flat-bottomed boat ship called a barge sailed near the battleship. One of the crews of the battleship noticed it and immediately picked up his megaphone.

“To the people closing into our vessel, change your course immediately! I will change your course immediately!”

The captain of the barge came out from the bridge deck and grabbed his own megaphone. “You have a huge and magnificent warship here sir! We just want to see it really close if that’s okay!”

The crew of the battleships radioed the bridge deck, connecting him to the officers. They spoke briefly, asking if it was alright for a ship to come close to their battleship just to check it.

He received his instruction and relayed it to the men below. “Okay but just for three minutes. After that, you have to leave,”

“Thank you!” the captain of the barge ship said and returned back to the bridge. Inside were ten men looking at him expectantly.

“They are giving us three minutes. Now, looking up close, how many explosives do we need to make a huge hole in their hull?”

“I think three thousand kilograms of explosives will do, captain. We will have it ready on the day of the crown ceremony.”

“Good…we can’t let the Ruthenian Emperor out of this country, do you all hear me?”

“Yes sir!”