The General Staff Building, a governmental building for the Imperial Ruthenian Armed Forces. It houses the most secure bunker in the world, the Command Ops. Three years ago, Alexander commissioned the construction of a tunnel that directly connects the Winter Palace and the General Staff Building. This was upon the personal recommendation of Rolan Makarov, the current Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guards.

He believes that in this way, the Emperor won’t have to go outside the Winter Palace to go to the General Staff Building, making it all the safer.

But before he heads there, he makes a quick detour to one of the many rooms of the Winter Palace.

“Oh darling, good morning. You’re quite early to visit me,” Sophie said as she peeked over at the easel.

“No darling, I’m heading to the Command Ops,” Alexander said as he leaned over and gave her a smooch on the cheek.

“Oh my? Did something bad happen?” Sophie asked as she pulled away from him with wide eyes. “What happened?”

The Command Ops spell bad news to Sophie, as she believes that her husband only goes there whenever something major comes up. Making her worry.

Alexander noticed the slight change of expression on her face, so he smiled warmly and pressed her shoulder gently. “No, I will just visit it, see how the staff has been working. You know, I got to make the world peaceful. Anyways, where is Anya? I haven’t seen her since we ate breakfast together.”

“Oh, she’s attending a class in the art school I founded, funny right?” Sophie chuckled a little.

“Really? That’s nice. I would like to see her painting one day,” Alexander replied.

“She’s really doing well too and making a lot of friends. Even the teachers praised her, saying that she is talented.” Sophie said proudly.

“Well, now I know whom Anya gets it from,” Alexander remarked as his smile broadened.

“Ah silly,” Sophie nudged her elbow on his side. “So, how’s Andrei? Did the two of you get along well in your office?”

“Hmm…how should I put this,” Alexander paused and then said: “Well, things did not go quite so well.”

Sophie looked back at him with confusion and opened her mouth to say something when Alexander continued:

“His interest in politics led him to question me, about why is the Ruthenia Empire doing quite poorly or why is it that I’m letting violence from a thousand miles continue instead of stepping forward and doing some actions.”

“I see, Andrei’s a precocious child. Ever since he started to learn to read and talk, he grew fond of reading books all night, even textbooks that I would never comprehend. Just make sure you explain it in a way that he would understand and at the same time, appropriate to his age.”

“I know, that’s why when he was pressing me for answers, I turned off the television and told him to leave the office.”

“That wasn’t very nice of you…”

“I know, I was hoping I’d see him here but it turns out, I was wrong,” Alexander said as he crossed his arms.

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Sophie said as she rubbed her hand on his arm.

“I would personally love to speak with him personally about this, but I think it’s not the right time for that.”

“Fine, I will speak to him,” Sophie promised as she took Alexander’s hands in hers, interlacing their fingers. “But promise me that you’ll be careful next time. You know children’s hearts are fragile, we as parents have to take care of them with utmost care.”

Sophie stood, wrapped her arm around his neck, and stretched upwards.

The height difference between them was half a head, but Sophie’s high heels she’s wearing currently covered most of it.

And there, they shared a kiss.

The kiss Sophie did to Alexander warmed his heart because she has always made it her habit to give him tender loving kisses every time she saw him. Sometimes she gives them on a whim, sometimes deliberately, but either way, it makes Alexander melt into them.

“Okay, I’m heading to the Command Ops now before things start to get out of control.”

Sophie smiled alluringly, “I would love it if you let your urges take control of you, and then revel in the pleasure.”

“Well, not today.”

“Alright darling,” Sophie sighed. “Take care.”

“Always do,” Alexander nodded and headed out of her room, and made his way downstairs to where the tunnel to the General Staff Building is located.

Normally, Alexander would have Rolan escorting him but he is not in the Ruthenia Empire at the moment. For now, he is protecting one of the precious people to him, Christina. Who was on a diplomatic trip in the Anatolia Empire discussing a joint project of building pipelines that will deliver Ruthenian oil to their country?

At the end of the hallway, a huge metal door opened, slowly revealing an underground road tunnel with lights coming to life and a black sedan with its engine on.

The Imperial Guards performed a salute as Alexander passed by them. The door of the black sedan was opened by one of the Imperial Guards, and Alexander took a seat inside. The vehicle immediately moved and transported the emperor to the other end of the tunnel.

In just two minutes, Alexander arrived at the Command Ops.

His sudden arrival shocked the staffers. One of them was the Minister of Defense, Alexei.

“Your Majesty,” Alexei saluted and continued. “You didn’t inform us that you’d be coming here.”

“Oh Alexei, you do know that I don’t need to inform anyone. I visit as I pleased,” Alexander said coolly. “Okay ladies and gentlemen, as you were.”

The military and civilian staffers took their seats.

“So, can someone tell me why our weapons are being smuggled out in Africa without our knowledge? Is the Ruthenia Empire only good at the start? Seriously, I’m pissed.”

“We are still tracking those responsible, Your Majesty. We are pouring every resource available.”

“And while we wait for that to generate results, thousands of civilians from across the world are being killed. Africa and Asia are becoming a hotspot for nationalists and communists, and they are armed with weapons. Have you watched the United Nations session today? They are grilling us, and I don’t want to be humiliated in the organization I created, especially on live television.”

“We’ll inform you once we know more, Your Majesty.”

“At least tell me about current global affairs.”

“Well, Your Majesty, it has been relatively peaceful for the last six years until nationalists and communists started rearing their ugly heads. In the Asia region, communist forces are taking the Republic of China’s cities one by one, ambushing the Chinese forces. They are once again engaged in a second civil war. The Choson Empire communist forces are also making progress in the north, conducting guerilla warfare and overwhelming the Chosonese forces.”

“Oh my god, how can they fuck up when we practically handed pretty much everything to them?” Alexander cursed as he rubbed his temples. “So we have two civil wars happening in the Far East. What about in Africa?”

“In Africa, there’s a huge wave of the independence movement, tribes banding together to kick out their colonizers. Which is again, armed with Ruthenian weapons.”

“This is worse than Black Hands, what should we do?”

“I suggest, Your Majesty. that we sit this one out for a while,” Sergei said. “The world is hot at the moment and we don’t want ourselves getting involved in any countries’ domestic affairs. Our priority is to find the bastards that are giving away our weapons, and neutralize them.”

“Good, notify me when you find those bastards.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”