Public Recognition
In March of 1885, around the time Waldemar and his circle finished their acquisition of BASF, Alexander Komarov, the military governor of Russia’s Transcaspian Oblast (the region of modern Turkmenistan), seized Panjdeh, a vital stronghold on the Afghan frontier.
The seeds of the crisis had been sown the previous year.
Early in 1884 the Russians had occupied the Merv oasis, a key position along the Afghan border. Alarmed, the Afghan Emirate, with British backing, built the Ak-Tepe fortress at Panjdeh and pushed troops forward.
Commander Komarov decided to meet the challenge head-on.
In truth the Russian force was in far worse shape than in the original timeline. Saint Petersburg lacked the means to support the expedition properly, so Komarov could field only about two-thirds the men and matériel he had once commanded. Even so, the battle-hardened general smashed the British-supported Afghan army and took complete control of Panjdeh.
The outcome stunned everyone.
Russia’s victory at Panjdeh provoked an immediate reaction from the British Empire, which was pathologically obsessed with the security of its Indian dominion.
“This is a provocation against the British Empire! They must be punished!”
Gladstone’s cabinet resolved on retaliation. Though the Gladstone government was relatively moderate by British standards, that moderation ended the moment imperial interests were threatened. The cabinet promptly appropriated eleven million pounds—roughly two hundred and twenty million marks—for military preparations and set the machinery of war in motion.
“Where, then, is the target we are to strike?”
“Joseon.”
Citing the need to block any Russian naval advance into the Pacific, the Gladstone cabinet and the Admiralty ordered the China Squadron to occupy Geomundo Island.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Any Joseon subject who learned of it would have asked the same question, but in a world ruled by the law of the jungle no one listened to the weak. Unfortunately Joseon never even had the chance to protest. The kingdom did not know its own territory had been seized.
On 15 April British forces swiftly occupied Geomundo and drew a hard line against Russia.
Russia went berserk over the ruble short-selling, yet things still turned out like this?
Waldemar could not hide his astonishment that events had veered so completely from the course he had anticipated at the end of the previous year.
His pen-pal friends, however, welcomed the news. With Britain and Russia now locked in sharp confrontation, they insisted the moment had come to kill the League of the Three Emperors once and for all.
In terms of timing they aren’t wrong.
Waldemar agreed with his pen-pals, though he never openly joined their campaign. Once again he pleaded his undeclared status in society.
That only made the Conservative pen-pals more curious about the date of his debut.
“I understand Your Highness turns seventeen this year. Decide on a suitable moment for your debut and let us know. We shall arrange a truly magnificent entrance for you.”
Hammerstein, the leading figure of the New Conservatives, made no secret of his desire to shape the occasion.
“I am grateful for your consideration, sir, but the timing must be discussed with my parents.”
Waldemar intended to drag the debut out for as long as possible—until he was twenty if he could manage it, twenty-five if fortune allowed. After all, a marriage partner was already secured whether he entered society or not.
“If that is Your Highness’s wish, then so be it.”
The Conservative pen-pals were disappointed, yet they did not press. Waldemar was relieved they stopped clinging, but they were not the only ones interested in his debut.
Not long afterward Hesse also began discreetly inquiring about the date—more precisely, trying to confirm whether he meant to decide now and begin circulating in society.
Nothing to think about, really.
Having no intention of debuting, Waldemar simply replied that he was thinking of several years hence. The people of Hesse were delighted with the answer.
“What a responsible boy. To think of our Alix that way.”
“I always believed he would.”
They concluded that Waldemar had postponed his own debut so he could wait for his beloved Alix’s. Overnight their attitude changed. Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse, who had once watched with suspicion as the young prince grew too close to his daughter, now declared that Waldemar was welcome to visit her whenever he wished. Alix’s symptoms grew still more acute.
I can only thank you again and again for the affection you have shown me. With boundless love for you,
— Alix
Moved by his “sacrifice,” she poured out affection in every letter as though she would die if she did not. Waldemar carefully preserved the image of a man who had given up his debut for his beloved.
“I never imagined you thought so deeply of Alix.”
The trouble was that others began to believe the fiction as well. Everyone at court was convinced he had renounced society out of devotion to Alix. Even Crown Prince Wilhelm, who had never shown him particular warmth, finally asked, “You’re going to give up your debut for some little girl?”
That isn’t it at all—how did it come to this?
Waldemar considered explaining, then decided simply to abandon the attempt.
Let them think what they like.
On reflection it was not such a bad arrangement. Using Alix as a shield meant no one would find it strange if he never debuted.
At least four years of peace.
Until Alix herself entered society, no one would pressure him to appear.
Yet by making Alix his official shield, Waldemar created an unforeseen problem.
“Is it true? The prince gave up his debut because of some little girl?”
“Absolutely. I heard it from a friend who works at court.”
Waldemar, previously almost unknown among society ladies, suddenly found his name on every tongue.
“How romantic. Postponing his debut for his little sweetheart.”
“If only my fiancé showed half that resolve.”
Women who had never even seen him now regarded Waldemar as a pure-hearted lover who would sacrifice everything for his beloved. For a man who had intended to cultivate the long-term image of a formidable power-broker, the development was thoroughly unwelcome.
That’s the sort of image that suits Nikolai!
But he could not silence the mouths of women who moved freely through every salon. Before long the rumor had spread not only through Germany but into Russia, France, Austria, and Britain as well.
“Valdi really did that?”
“Hahaha. That rascal—hahaha.”
In that moment the image of the strong, formidable prince Waldemar had wanted was as good as finished. How could anyone fear a man they found so endearing? Confronted with the limits of the world, Waldemar decided to change his own thinking instead.
If he could not change the world, then he would change.
“Yes, that’s right. I am a pure romantic.”
He simply accepted the image. The reputation of a pure-hearted lover came with the good opinion of women, and that brought advantages of its own.
As long as he enjoyed the support of noble ladies, he need never fear being spoken ill of in the high society they dominated.
“Did you just insult His Highness Prince Waldemar?”
“N-no, of course not. A misunderstanding.”
Moreover, those eager to win favor with the ladies of society now offered him at least surface goodwill.
“Your Highness, the son of Count XX has invited you to a masquerade ball. He says it would be the greatest honor if Your Highness would only attend.”
“Ah. Please convey my thanks for the invitation.”
Finally, he could count on being underestimated by those around him.
“He’s just a fool who gave up society for one little girl. Some Hohenzollern genius.”
“Yes, I am merely an innocent boy who abandoned society for the girl he loves.”
Waldemar had never wanted everyone to hold him in high esteem. If the world valued him too highly, it would only breed suspicion. It was enough that the carefully chosen friends who knew his true abilities appreciated them.
Looked at this way, the pure-romantic mask isn’t so bad after all.
There was one thing, however, that Waldemar failed to consider: the girl herself, Alix, drowning in love.
Alix believed that the entire world was cheering for her romance with the prince. Since everyone already knew of their bond, she decided she could openly act as his fiancée. The people of Hesse thought so; so did the Hohenzollerns.
Fueled by certainty of Waldemar’s affection and by the approval of everyone around her, Alix grew bold. She moved beyond letters and began visiting the Crown Prince’s Palace in person. Of course she always brought a chaperone and met him only in public rooms, but the sheer frequency was the problem.
No one, however, thought to correct her.
She’s his cousin and the acknowledged fiancée, after all. Between Alix and Waldemar it’s only natural.
Waldemar himself began to lose track of whether she was in Hesse or Berlin. He felt as though he saw her five days out of every month.
Isn’t this a bit much?
When he finally hinted at the difficulty, Alix filtered the words through her own private lens.
“Your Highness is worried about my reputation. I don’t mind at all. As long as I can stay by your side.”
She reassured her beloved that she cared nothing for her own good name. Waldemar abandoned any further attempt to reason with a girl living in a world of her own, drunk on the fever of first love.
Fine. I’m a damned pure romantic, after all.
He decided to accept the sweet, terrifying reality for what it was.