The sun rose from the horizon, its rays streaming down on Alexander's bedroom through the window and landed on his face. The warm light made his eyes snap open, causing him to groan as he tried to push the blankets off himself. Finally, he managed to get them up enough to crawl out of bed.

He stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly before making his way toward the bathroom. A shower would be nice right now, though not for very long. Five minutes would be enough to enjoy a warm shower in the winter.

He stepped out of the bathroom while rubbing a towel vigorously through his hair and face, drying it off before hanging it up on the rack near the door.

He then began getting dressed in some comfortable clothing. His usual red military jacket and black trousers. Once dressed he made his way to the drawer next to his bed and grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before leaving his bedroom.Yesterday was a hell of a day for him. Receiving three bad news from the capital was enough to make anyone feel stressed and anxious. Fortunately, there is one good news, the Black Hand. He's been yearning for information about those worldwide syndicates who are terrorizing the western world and the one who killed Alexander's parents and attempted to assassinate him after the historic signing of the infrastructure bill. He could've ordered the Foreign Intelligence Services to report everything to him when Sevastian informed him yesterday that they already have sufficient actionable intelligence on them, but he didn't, believing that delaying it for a week would give the Foreign Intelligence Services time to polish their report so that no mistake can be made.

Three minutes later, Alexander arrived at his office. The Imperial Guards promptly opened the door for him and he proceeded without delay inside. They then closed the door behind him after bowing respectfully.

He unslung his bag off his shoulder and set it atop the table. Like his office in the Winter Palace, the Grand Kremlin Palace also has a television in his office here as well. He pulled one of the drawers on his desk and grabbed the remote.

He pressed the power button on the remote and the television flickered to life with an image of a man sitting behind the desk reporting the recent events of the Ruthenian Empire.

"It's another great morning in the western side of the Ruthenian Empire. My name is Draco, and this is the first news of the morning. A bridge spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea has been finally completed. It started five years ago and is part of the Infrastructure Bill our Great Emperor signed. The bridge has been declared to be the longest bridge in Europa and the longest bridge ever created by the Ruthenian Empire. The inauguration ceremony will be held this morning by the mayors of Krasnodar Krai and Crimea. They said the bridge will shorten the travel times for people who want to visit Crimea from the mainland. That's it for the first news, let's go to the next one. In the Far East, after winning the second Rutho-Yamato War, the Choson Empire, which once was a protectorate of the Yamato Empire, has now achieved its independence after signing the declaration of independence. The Ruthenian Empire was the first one to recognize its independence and was followed by the Francois Republic and the Yamato Empire. As you can see on the screen, you'll see the Chosonese waving their national flag with pride and roaring in cheers in front of the Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace. While the others celebrated regaining their independence, some helped in the reconstruction efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation. The Choson Empire serves as the battlefield between the two empires so there is a lot of work before stability is restored. And lastly, in the Yamato Empire, mass protests and civil unrest unfold in Tokyo. As you can see here on the screen here, the buildings and houses that stood strong in the capital were now reduced to ash after the bombing operation conducted by the Imperial Ruthenian Air Force bombers, killing thousands of lives. No wonder why the Yamatos are bitter and enraged..."

Hearing the newscaster's last sentence a sad expression settled on his face. Indeed there are a lot of innocent civilians that were killed in the operation he ordered, but there's no such thing as a clean war. The Yamato Empire tried to do it on Vladivostok but failed utterly thanks to the region's supreme air defense capability.

Sooner or later, the Yamato Empire will rise up from the ashes again, this time they'll come at them hard, something that he has to be prepared for.

Alexander resumed watching the television.

"Another news in the Far East again. Since the war ended, the martial law placed on Manchuria has been lifted under the direct orders of the emperor of the Ruthenian Empire. The usual normal lives of the people living there have now returned. Manchuria began an integral part of winning the war with the Yamato Empire as most of the troops that fought in the Choson Peninsula and the aircraft that supported our men on the ground came from Manchuria. In this video, you can see our troops celebrating the victory all night in the bars across Manchuria. It is a heartwarming sight, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Alexander agreed, his lips curving upwards into a small smile.

Surely, the people watching the news right now would be elated to see and hear the good news sweeping across the Ruthenia Empire. That is exactly what he needed right now, to make the people happy under his reign and the patriotism within them grow. This solidifies his position as the Emperor and he knows he has to keep it coming.

"Maybe this is a good time to release the classified video of the Sputnik launch."

Releasing the footage of the sputnik launch would surely gain Ruthenian more enemies, but would they dare to attack them? Now that the Ruthenians already have the upper hand in terms of technology? He doesn't think so.

In his five years of his rule, Alexander has been passive in his foreign policy. His way of thinking is that of a politician in the twenty-first century where peace and national interest is the main priority. But in this age of imperialism, such things don't exist. The reason, is they don't care what happens to a weaker country or to those races lower than them. For example, in Africa, even though a lot of atrocities is committed against the natives, no one cared. The atrocities in Congo? Nope, the world has turned a blind eye. In this era, having an empire across the seven continents is a symbol of national power. But it doesn't mean Alexander has to follow it, or would he? Will he choose to become the world police that advocates freedom to the countries under colonial rule or do what the west has been doing, expansion?

"Oops, I have a schedule this morning as well," Alexander checked his watch and his itinerary. "The Sevastopol Sea Wharf," he sighed, another flight to Crimea.

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