Quite frankly, Bruno had missed much of what the Tsar had said. There were specific battles named for each award granted to him, as well as campaigns, such as his involvement in the Ingria, Volga, and counter-insurgency campaigns.
Bruno was still flabbergasted by what this all meant. He was no longer just the 9th son of a German nobleman. Instead, he was granted permission by the Tsar to display his own coat of arms and to name his own noble house, of which he was now the head.
In fact, if Bruno really wanted to, he could change his name on Russian documents and the name of his house to blend in with the Russian aristocracy. It was truly a strange thing, as his loyalties were first and foremost to the German Reich.
No doubt this was a scheme by either the Tsar or someone far more cunning behind him to bring Bruno closer to the Russian Empire. Either way, he had no choice but to accept the words and thank the Tsar for his benevolence, which is exactly what Bruno did.
“Your Majesty, I simply did what I felt was necessary to end a threat, not just to the Russian Empire and its people, but to all of humanity. The Red Menace must be confronted and fought wherever it is found, lest it destroy everything we, as Christians and men of conscience, hold dear.
Though I believe I was merely fulfilling my role as a man of faith and am wholly undeserving of the generosity you have bestowed upon me this day, I will still accept these honors, since you seem to think I am worthy of them.
I thank the Tsar and the House of Romanov for the kindness they have shown me today and will remember it until the day I die.”
Knowing these were the words the Tsar wanted to hear, or at least those supporting him behind the scenes, Bruno chose to speak to them. After all, being granted citizenship and nobility in another major power was something whose value could not be easily defined by modern sensibilities.
For example, if—God forbid—Bruno ever found himself at odds with the Kaiser and the German Reich, or perhaps the Kaiser ended up being overthrown in this timeline and replaced with a government hostile to the nobility, yet in some odd chain of events the Tsar maintained his power, then Bruno and his family could flee to Russia and be treated as members of the highest social class, as well as heroes of the Empire for the contributions Bruno had made in the Russian Civil War.
Either way, Bruno was not going to reject a get-out-of-jail-free card. Although, he would seriously need to figure out how to incorporate Russia into his plans for the future. Perhaps the League of Three Emperors could really be restored through his efforts?
If so, then it would be Germany, Austro-Hungary, Russia, and Japan, against the likes of France, Britain, and Italy. Of course, there was the question of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on the side of the Central Powers for their own purposes.
Russia and the Ottomans had been at odds since the creation of the Ottoman Empire. After all, the last princess of the Byzantine Empire had married a Russian prince, thus contributing to Russia’s claim as the last successor of the Romans.
Then again, the Ottomans themselves disputed this claim, asserting they were the true successors of the Romans, having defeated the Byzantines.
This petty matter was just one of many contributing reasons for the centuries-long conflicts between the Ottomans and Russians. There wasn’t the slightest hint of a possibility of them getting along in any timeline.
Then there was the fact that the League of Three Emperors had fallen apart due to disputes in the Balkans between the Austro-Hungarians and the Russians. There was simply no way to reconcile these differences between the Russians, Austro-Hungarians, and Ottomans.
Considering the Ottomans would start the Balkan Wars, which would eventually result in the instability that caused the death of the Austrian Archduke—thus sparking the Great War—there was no feasible way to secure Ottoman support. Not that they contributed much to the war, anyway.
The Ottomans were a fully agrarian society, while the Russians were at least semi-industrial. Having Russia as an ally was a much better solution than allying with the Ottomans. For starters, it closed the Eastern Front, making its reopening an impossibility. This meant Germany and Austro-Hungary could concentrate their efforts on France and Italy rather than fighting on all fronts.
In addition, Russian troops were superior to their Ottoman counterparts, especially in this timeline where the Russian Civil War had occurred early, forcing the Tsar to make some concessions and, of course, kickstart rapid industrialization.
Especially considering that machine guns and advanced artillery employed by the Iron Division had proven Russia’s industrial shortcomings, Bruno pondered these matters as the Tsar delivered a long-winded speech that he missed entirely.
In the end, Bruno was introduced to several members of the Tsar’s family, including his wife, daughters, and his young son, who was born less than a year earlier in August of 1904. The young children were all rather intimidated by Bruno.
After all, he was a man with a cold expression and a noticeable scar on his face from his days as an academic fencer in Germany. With a scene that repeated itself from his brief time in the court of Emperor Meiji, Bruno couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head as he forced a friendly smile and introduced himself to the young girls, all of whom were younger than ten. The eldest of them was set to turn ten in a few months.
“Your Majesties, I assure you I’m not nearly as frightening as I appear to be.”
The eldest of the children was Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna. She was the only one of the children who wasn’t frightened by Bruno’s rather striking appearance and was quick to laugh at him, making a remark that made Bruno laugh as well.
“I hear they call you the Red Scourge… Judging by that name, I would have thought you were some fearsome monster, like a walking skeleton. But you appear to be just a normal man. Why do they call you by such a dreadful title?”
Bruno couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. This conversation was eerily similar to the one he had with the Japanese princess. He sighed heavily, shaking his head before explaining the origins to Olga in a way he hoped wouldn’t scare her younger sisters, who were hiding behind her.
“I assure you, you have nothing to fear from the name your father’s enemies have given me. It is simply a reminder that I am good at my job, that’s all.”
This remark caused Olga’s younger siblings to sigh in relief, believing that Bruno wasn’t as terrifying as they had initially thought. That is until Olga had the nerve to explain exactly what his words really meant.
“So, you are saying that you are good at killing people, and that is why the Bolsheviks have given you such a terrible title?”
Bruno looked squarely into the girl’s eyes with a cold gaze and said words that would only make her shake in fright.
“You are mistaken, Your Grace… Communists aren’t people.”
After saying this, Bruno bowed before the young daughters of the Tsar and walked off to get himself a stiff drink, mingling with the other patrons of the party thrown in his honor.
As for Olga, she stared at Bruno’s back as he walked away, trembling at the words he had spoken and the indifference he showed towards the hundreds of thousands of men who had died at his command.
She restrained herself from speaking her thoughts aloud, knowing they were not appropriate to say, given the circumstances. However, if she had voiced them, her thoughts would have been as follows:
‘Communists aren’t human? Then what kind of monster does that make you?’
After seeing Bruno return to some semblance of humanity, Olga sighed heavily in relief, having regained control of her nerves. She quickly led her siblings over to their father, hoping she would not have any further encounters with the monster who wore the flesh of a man.
