I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

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“Pro-Danube Serbian Militia?”

“Tito is leading it.”

“Tito is leading the Pro-Danube Militia? The Joseph Tito, right?”

“Wasn’t he the one who used to drag the Yugoslav Communist Party?”

That guy is now leading the Pro-Danube Militia?

I don’t know if he’s struggling to survive or if he genuinely believes that this is the only way for Serbians to survive.

Well, according to history, it seems they’ll end up fighting Mihailović.

“That’s him, but it seems he’s rather wagging his tail at Göring.”

“That makes sense.”

Yugoslavia is already doomed anyway.

To be honest, if we want to nitpick, wasn’t Tito originally from the Croatian side?

Tito might just want a spot in the Danube Federation. Maybe that’s his mindset.

With things going this way, even if it’s late, will those two have friction in this world?

I’m curious how they’ll fight each other.

But you know, this all happened because of the polio vaccination, right?

“Is all this because of a single polio vaccination?”

No matter how many times I think about it, these guys seem to have a mindset different from regular folks.

What on earth leads them to break apart and fight over just that?

It’s a bit peculiar. These Serbians, you know?

Usually, they’d just surrender and live their lives, but now they’re fighting among themselves.

If it’s karma, I’d think it’d be better to accept defeat gracefully.

They should reflect on how to help humanity moving forward.

“Should we intervene?”

“Hmm, intervention.”

“If a bloodbath breaks out like this, won’t that just become a hassle?”

Fighting among themselves in the autonomy. If the Danube Federation doesn’t intervene, won’t they turn the place into a complete lawless area?

Or does Göring actually want that?

I don’t think so; instead, I believe he won’t let the Serbian autonomy go unchecked.

“We don’t need to intervene.”

Why would we step in for such a Serbia? It’s an overcommitment.

After all, the Danube Federation is already a developed country in this era and holds a massive position in the Rome Treaty.

Unlike during the Empire days, the military is now much stronger and united by the desire for revenge against Serbia.

Of course, fellow Slavs wouldn’t want to fight Serbia, but if they mobilize the Austrian army filled with vengeance against Serbia, that’s different.

Anyway, Serbia can manage on its own.

Not only the Danube Federation but Bulgaria is also there, so they’ll eliminate those Chetniks together.

However, this eventually leads back to square one.

In fact, I could have ended it all when the nuke was launched.

It’s not different from the leftover mess that Hitler left behind.

“If it’s a civil war among Serbians, how effective could that be?”

“Hmm, it’s a really good idea to pit these two against each other.”

These crazy guys are splitting over one vaccine.

The ones who administered it forcefully see effective results in eradicating polio, yet they’re treated as traitors by those nationalists.

That’s something I’m curious about too.

For now, they’ll probably watch until one of them collapses. The Danube Federation will outwardly support Tito, but they likely won’t deploy troops to mediate or eliminate Chetniks.

“If this drags on, there will be a lot of talk within the Danube Federation.”

Well, I don’t think that’s likely.

They haven’t moved Danube people into the Serbian autonomy, right?

The autonomy is filled solely with Serbians.

Would there really be complaints?

From the perspective of the Governor-General’s Office, they just need to provide some arms support and that’s it.

“That’s not true. The longer it drags on, they’ll keep killing each other, and the Serbians will dwindle. Conversely, if guerrilla tactics unfold, they can legitimately claim the cause for the ethnic extermination of Serbians. Above all, Hitler has declared Serbia as the enemy that divides the Danube.”

Thinking about it, it’s terrifying.

Hitler set the stage and just passed it all to Göring.

In this situation, if Göring declares the extermination of the Serbian ethnicity, the culprit—Hitler—could bear all the blame.

I don’t know how far Hitler was aware or thought this through.

The Chetniks have a long history.

What if our Göring aimed to erase that history?

Perfect timing to have the Pro-Danube Serbian Militia too. If he uses them well, Göring could become the hero who wipes out the Serbian Chetniks.

Was the reason Hitler didn’t thoroughly wipe out the Serbian autonomy for that very purpose?

So that his successor, Göring, could progress smoothly.

If I were Göring, I would probably supply arms to the Pro-Danube Militia while simultaneously taking them from the Chetniks through dark routes.

That way, they can just keep killing each other.

It’s unfortunate, but what can be done?

It’s the fate they brought upon themselves.

“We might need to put some effort into making them kill each other. Is there no good method?”

I’d like to completely dismantle Serbia, ensuring they can’t become an axis of evil again.

With Europe united now, yet they still act without awareness, perhaps we should consider eradicating the nation entirely.

But of course, I can’t just openly massacre them with military force.

After all, I am a saint.

Fake or not, being called a saint means I can’t encourage the ethnic extermination of Serbians.

I ponder by flicking my fingers.

Hmm, nothing really comes to mind.

The best method would be to create a justification intentionally, and that could be possible, but personally, I prefer for the Serbians to foolishly fight and kill each other.

That way, they’d receive no sympathy or support whatsoever.

“Oh, I have an idea.”

“An idea?”

What method has our Maria thought of?

“The Serbians have now split because of that vaccine.”

“True. One of the reasons they split might be that they’re trying to reestablish nationalism to achieve Serbian independence.”

Did they really break apart just over a vaccine?

That can’t be all. The Chetniks would be fighting fiercely out of a desire to revive their country.

They will just fight enough to achieve independence.

Unfortunately, I dislike such Serbian folks.

At this point, they might be worth saving, but you get the feeling? If left alive, they could become a hindrance one day.

“What if we grant the Serbian autonomy the right to immigrate to a city in the Russian Republic as citizens of the Rome Treaty Organization?”

Oh, that sounds plausible.

The Danube Federation is indeed a prosperous nation, but technically speaking, it is now united as a Danube ethnicity.

On the other hand, Russia, one way or another, is the elder brother of the Slavic nations.

Even within the same Rome Treaty, there might be some who want to live in Russia.

Then, naturally, they would have to oppose the Chetniks who wish to reestablish Serbia and fight against the Pro-Danube faction.

The Chetniks would likely fan the flames of nationalism even more.

That Mihailović or whatever Chetnik leader will probably seize the opportunity to incite and grow their forces during this time.

Conversely, Tito’s Pro-Danube Militia will probably gain strength as well.

A cockroach ethnicity as nauseating as the reds might be able to rise again.

Would the Danube Federation and Bulgaria just sit back and watch this?

No way. If it’s about Serbia, they’d be grinding their teeth.

Serbia will end up getting beaten again, and considering how fractured they already are, I doubt they’ll be able to reestablish themselves.

“That’s not a bad method. As expected of Maria.”

I clapped my hands, impressed.

Perhaps it’s a perfect plan that could make even Britain weep.

“Hehehe, I may be getting older, but when it comes to helping Your Majesty, my mind sharpens again.”

Right. The direction in which that mind works is a bit scary for various reasons.

Who knew she’d come up with something I hadn’t thought of?

Of course, I feel like I might’ve thought up something like that, but I probably wouldn’t have voiced it as boldly.

From my perspective, though, letting the Chetniks just be handed over to the Danube would be fine.

Going so far as to provide such a good plan.

Maria is getting older, yet she hasn’t changed.

“Speaking of which, what about Maria II? Isn’t it time to help you as a mother?”

This is truly a case of being an unfilial daughter.

She must be around here somewhere in this palace.

Should I meet her and then scold her to stop assisting Maria?

“Maria II is with us as well. Soon, she may take over in assisting Your Majesty instead of me.”

Taking over from Maria. That sounds quite peculiar. I guess she’s already at that age.

That means she’s grown enough to be an adequate substitute.

“Is that so? She’s already grown that much.”

“Sometimes I envy Your Majesty for being forever young.”

Indeed, I am always young.

For a woman, age is a thug. Youth is the ultimate weapon.

“Hey, is being young always good?”

“Well, if I grow old, I won’t be able to serve you, Your Majesty.”

That’s true. I can’t ask someone with a head full of gray to follow me.

Unfortunately, what can be done. I’m not some kind of vampire to turn Maria into one, after all.

If I’m going to make her immortal, I’d ask her to become a vampire instead.

No, well, such things probably don’t exist, so it can’t be helped.

“So, can it really work that way?”

Saying that makes me feel a bit sorry.

Maria is from Yekaterinburg.

To be honest, our meeting was merely because I wanted to pick someone trustworthy from Yekaterinburg.

“When Your Majesty raised a volunteer army in Yekaterinburg, my family was also able to escape the red aftermath.”

Ah, Yekaterinburg. Indeed, such events did happen.

Maria was frankly almost a meteoric rise.

At that time, there were just no trustworthy people. This one could be a red, that one could have turned red. With so many like that, even if I was immortal, I couldn’t let someone preparing for a new revolution assist me from the shadows.

At that moment, all I had to trust was someone from Yekaterinburg. That’s why I honestly didn’t consider her educational background when I brought Maria on board.

So, Maria really had an immensely rapid rise.

It’s been almost 40 years since we first met.

“What a long time ago.”

“Forty years ago is no different than now.”

Right. So much time has already passed.

Yekaterinburg.

It could now be called the eastern capital of the United States. Next in line is Vladivostok as the capital of the Far East.

Should I maybe visit Yekaterinburg once?

I bet there’s a bunch of loyal people on that side, just like Maria II. It could be nice to go there when I find the time.

“I’d like to see Maria’s daughter as well.”

“Then are you planning to hand the next generations to my daughter?”

Handing down the next generation. That concept sounds very subtle. For now, it seems like Maria is considering passing it along.

“Once it’s prepared, isn’t it just human nature to want to see it?”

It’ll be the second Maria, meaning Maria II will also become Maria II.

Wow, both mother and daughter serving me, huh? This makes me wonder how things will go when I need to clean up my identity.

First, I need to keep it a secret from the Duma how I’m laundering my identity.

“Yes, you should do that. Speaking of which, today, I will introduce my daughter Maria.”

“Huh, suddenly this is happening?”

Hmm, looking back, it does feel a bit different.

On the contrary, it seems I’ve just called for her after being somewhere in the Kremlin.

In reality, seeing Maria, she’s not that old yet.

No, she has aged, but at least she doesn’t need to retire just yet.

You know how in comics or novels, some people hold onto their maid roles for ages?

Of course, Maria isn’t a maid.

“Yes, I believe it’s time to prepare. If Your Majesty wishes to see my daughter, I must properly present her.”

The Maria II I met was strikingly similar to Maria, but felt a bit different.

This one had the feel of a Maria enhanced version, raised solely with the intent of serving me.

The maid outfit suited her quite well.

“I am Maria.”

“You belong to the Spetsnaz, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s an honor to serve you this way.”

Serving or not, it feels a bit unique. But she seems quite young.

Looking closely, she seems to be in her mid-twenties.

Considering that when I first met Maria, she was practically at the level of a child, this feels like I’m welcoming Lady Maria instead.