“That was tiring,” Alexander sighed as he stepped down the stairs, heading towards his car.

Immediately after, two agents converged into his position, escorting him with their eyes scanning around the surroundings, analyzing potential threats.

Since the sniper incident that almost took his life, there were now snipers and scouts scattered within 500 meters with him as its center. This is to make sure that such a thing would never happen again.

They noticed the two luggage and tubes Alexander was carrying and offered a hand.

“Thank you,” Alexander gratefully said with a smile. His left shoulder is acting up from the injuries he incurred weeks ago.

He rubbed both of his hands, generating heat, and placed them over his face, warming him up. The air whipping around St. Petersburg is really cold that could numb one’s body. He glanced at the sky and saw how dark it was turning, it would be night in two hours.

Now that he finished meeting up with the military contractors that were eventually absorbed in the Imperial Dynamics System, Alexander is reassured that in the coming decades, the Ruthenia Empire will be armed with modern weapons capable of taking down any forces of this world.

That’s just phase 1 of his plan of modernizing the armed forces, he’s just giving them insights into what modern warfare would look like in the future.

He could’ve chosen a more advanced military arsenal such as the Abrams tank but was barred by the current technological capabilities of this world and the cost of procuring one would be expensive.

Once Alexander time-jump Ruthenia’s technological level akin to the 1970s or 80s, that’s where the fun began.

As he walked over to his car which looked similar to a Tickford Cabriolet 1936, his eyes widened as he saw someone familiar.

“Rolan?”

Rolan opened the door and smiled at him in return.

“The one and only, Your Majesty,” Rolan chuckled.

“How long since you arrived?”-.

“Two hours sir. The moment the train arrived in St. Petersburg, I hurriedly got here to do my duty,”

Alexander approached Rolan and studied him.

“Were you hurt during your operation?”

“A little bit, sir but it was no big deal,” Rolan lied, Alexander can see his eyes twitching in pain, probably around the sternum, as he will momentarily move his hand on his chest when he is moving or talking and stop it halfway.

“Is that so? Well, Rolan, you have a lot of stories to tell, but I’d like to discuss it along the trip,” Alexander entered the vehicle and Rolan closed the door.

Rolan got to the driver’s seat, and he buckled up, starting the engine, making it roar, as he started to drive.

Alexander observed the snow-white cityscape as they were moving away from the General Staff Building. From time to time, Rolan would glance at him through the rearview mirror, making sure that Alexander was safe.

“So, how did the operation go? I heard that it was a success. However it seems like the Minister of Internal Affairs is holding something back,”

“He must’ve not told you then, sir,” Rolan replied, his eyes fixed on the snowy road.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Alexander said, his eyes narrowing with curiosity.It’s a moment of silence for some moments until Rolan spoke, “Even though the operation was successful and has gained invaluable information about the Black Hand, we suffered fourteen casualties, Your Majesty,” Rolan said with a melancholic expression painted on his face.

Alexander frowned at the news as he repeated the casualty count, “14 deaths? What unfortunate news,” he gazed down somberly and continued. “Did they fight valiantly?”

“Yes, sir, they all did,” Rolan’s voice was full of respect and admiration. He was very proud of the men who partake in a very important mission that would ensure the safety of the Royal Family.

“14 lost souls…they earned my respect,” Alexander remarked solemnly. “We shall honor them.”

The journey was quiet as the two continued traveling. Soon enough, Rolan pulled onto the curb outside the Winter Palace’s doorstep.

Alexander alighted from the car and made his way inside, leaving Rolan behind who would sweep the perimeter of the Winter Palace for security reasons.

The two Imperial Guards followed him while carrying his luggage containing sensitive information. As soon as they made their way to the door of his office, Alexander turned around and faced them.

“I’ll take it from here now, thank you for your help,”

“Understood, Your Highness,” they lowered the luggage and saluted before they left.

Taking out the key and inserting it into the doorknob, he entered the room and closed the door.

Once inside he placed all of his belongings on the table before jumping down on a sofa. He let out an exhausted sigh as he leaned backward, resting his head on the backrest, closing his eyes as he basked in the warmth radiating from the fireplace.

Suddenly, a knock came on the door. Before he could answer the person, the door creaked open revealing a figure.

It was his beautiful fiance, Sophie. She seemed to be hiding something since her arms were behind her back, carrying something that Alexander couldn’t make out.

“Good evening, honey. How was your trip?” Sophie ambled towards him gracefully, exuding a natural elegance with every step she took. It didn’t take long before she arrived at the edge of the sofa, gently setting down the frame she was carrying, and leaned forward to kiss Alexander’s forehead.

That kiss washed away the fatigue Alexander felt for hours and gave him a sense of comfort and peace. His eyes fluttered closed as he rested his head on her chest and wrapped his hand around her back, effectively catching her in surprise.

“I’m sorry, Sophie…Can…I stay…like…this for a while?”

His voice floated past her ears, it was soft yet coarse. It isn’t a voice she used to hear.

Did something happen?

As Alexander’s head rested on her shoulder, his hair intertwined with hers and brushed against her ear.

As if not wanting to let her go, Alexander’s arms were tight around her, but she could escape if she really wanted.

“Did something happen during your work?” Sophie asked, caressing his head gently.

“I just learned on the news that 14 of our men were killed during the operation against the Black Hand,” Alexander said as his grip tightened.

Sophie gasped softly but didn’t utter a word. He must’ve felt guilty about the news. As the supreme leader of the Ruthenia Empire, every responsibility falls onto him. The only thing she can do in this situation is to comfort him.

Sighing softly, she gently placed him down onto the sofa and stood up, leaning over the edge of the sofa, grabbing what she intended to show him.

“Look, I’ve drawn a portrait of you,” She said, showing him the portrait in front of him. It was an image of him engrossed in doing his duty.

Seeing that, Alexander smiled warmly at the sight. It was very well-drawn, like a professional painter. As expected of Sophie who loves to paint and draw.

“It’s beautiful…” Alexander remarked. “Can I hang it on the walls?”

“Of course, you can, darling,” Sophie said, smiling at him and pecking his lips.

They chuckled together and then silence filled the room. The only sound they can hear is the flickering of embers coming from the fireplace.After a few seconds, Sophie broke the silence.

“Shall…we continue?” Sophie spread her arm, offering him to rest his head again on her chest. But Alexander shook his head, causing Sophie to frown slightly. “What’s the matter?”

“Well…Sophie, I have a silly favor…I’m not asking…for sex…but something different,” he stammered, his heart thudding rapidly, nervousness filling his body.

“What is it?” Sophie asked with a curious gaze.

Alexander reminisced his past memory of his original world where he saw two of his employees where the man was resting his head on the woman’s thigh. He was curious as to what it would’ve felt.

“Ehem…” Alexander cleared his throat as his eyes were looking down on Sophie’s slender leg, “Can I rest my head on your lap?”

Sophie stared blankly for a second before letting out a cute giggle. “You’re really silly, darling. Why do you ask for permission? I belong to you and you belong to me, remember?” She stroked his face tenderly.

“Is that so?” Alexander blushed as he let out a forced chuckle, “Well then, excuse me.”

Alexander leaned closer to her, placing his head on her lap. The moment the back of his head made contact with her soft thigh, his body shivered in pleasure. Well, it was an amazing sensation but her breast is better because you know…it’s close to the heart.

“This is kind of embarrassing but…it feels good,” Alexander’s face was a deep shade of red. “How are you, Sophie?”

“Well, it’s ticklish but I’m fine…”

“Is that so?” Alexander slowly closed his eyes, enjoying the heavenly sensations emanating from Sophie’s thighs and the soothing strokes her fingers were tracing across his scalp.action

…

A day later in Alexander’s office.

Minister of Interior, Dmitri Kaniv was standing in front of Alexander’s desk who was sifting through files that he had brought.

“So this is all information regarding the Black Hand’s secret locations across Ruthenia?.. Sadly it didn’t tell us where exactly are their main headquarters…But this will do,” Alexander said, biting his lower lip. “Have you already sent agents to these locations?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I’ve organized various task forces that will take down this terrorist. It’ll be a nationwide operation.”

“Excellent,” Alexander commented. “Once Ruthenia is cleansed off of this terrorist, we can now focus on developing Ruthenia. In an inevitable event where one of them could be killed during the operation, we will honor their bravery and sacrifice,”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Dmitri nodded.

“Now, I’ve received a call from the Embassy of Britannia Empire that Her Royal Highness, Diana Rosemary Edinburgh, will arrive in St. Petersburg in four days. Make sure to prepare everything necessary for her safety. We don’t want an international incident. Our relationship with the Britannia Empire is precarious so we can’t afford to make a mistake. Is that understood?”

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. We will employ necessary means to safeguard the safety of the Britannian Princess during her stay here in St. Petersburg.”

————————————————————————————————

As Dmitri Kaniv closed the door behind him, Alexander sat down behind his desk on the cushioned chair.

Digesting the information he learned, Alexander pulls out his private notebook in his table drawer.

He flips it open to the page where he stuck a small world map of countries and some small notes he pasted with it.

With some paper torn into smaller squares, he jots and crosses out some hypothetical theories he has about the infamous Black Hand organization.

The notes contain all the lists of secret societies, clandestine clans, underground movements, and government conspiracies that Thomas remembers from his previous life on Earth.

‘I feel like a tinfoil conspiracy theorist keeping track of things that normal people do not see.’

He has a list of suspected places where the Black Hand Main HQ might be, from an island somewhere in this world’s Bermuda Triangle or to an underground base somewhere in one of the continents.

Possible allies or supporters of Black Hand includes countries he suspects that have animosities and goals towards engineering the destabilization of Ruthenia.

A good portion of the notes is dedicated to the origins of the Black Hand. A splinter of a bigger group? Has an ancient order gone rogue? The descendants of an older civilization with a grudge against the world?

In his free time, he read as much of the world’s history from books in the palace library. But still hasn’t even gone thru a hundredth of the information available.

With a sign and a dab of glue, Alexander shuts his conspiracy theorist scrapbook to focus on his paperwork. Such is the price to be a Tsar of the biggest piece of land.