Reincarnated as Nikolai II

"I don't negotiate with those not before me. If you hadn't come, the Foreign Ministry would have handled it. In that sense, Prince Victor, I have no small expectations for you."

"What expectations do you mean?"

"Expectations for bringing Romania's golden age."

Carol and Ferdinand's reigns were quite successful, weren't they?

The two kings performed their roles so well that after about 50 years of communization, the Romanian people would reinstate their king.

Then Ferdinand is worth investing in, even if it means giving up some territory.

"I'll give half of Dobruja."

"If it's by Russian coercion, Bulgaria's resistance won't be small."

"That's fine, I am the Tsar who rules all Slavs. If that's not enough, how about my territory? I'll give the area near Moldova and the southern Moldovan lands too. You'll gain various opportunities to reach the Black Sea."

Though it seems like I'm spouting nonsense, this is nothing compared to historical Greater Romania's territory.

"...I decline, but may I ask what you want?"

"The Ottoman Empire's destruction."

Bringing up Austria-Hungary or Germany now won't make Romania take the bait and say 'Ah, then let's form an anti-German alliance.'

However, with the Ottoman Empire, they already have experience joining hands to defeat them once, so I wanted to exploit this point.

"The Ottoman Empire. Though they've become weak enough that Russia alone could destroy them, it would still take time. If they're determined to endure, it might take years."

"That country seems to be struggling with revolution too."

Though Bulgaria gained independence, the Ottoman Empire still occupies a large part of the Balkans.

"The new year is coming soon. I don't know how interested you are in international affairs, but I can see movements trying to tear apart the Ottoman Empire."

The moment they sold Bosnia and Herzegovina for a few coins, the Ottoman Sultan effectively threw his country's fate to the ground.

That's the best evidence of their weakness.

"Is there any reason to form an alliance with your country, giving something up to attack the Ottoman Empire that will naturally weaken?"

"I want that country to fall when I want, at the moment I want."

I don't even desire to colonize or subjugate the Turkish people anyway.

Obviously impossible, and I'm not foolish enough to do such things just to pass through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

However, that country needs to fall at least once.

And by our power.

Only then can Russia fully access the Mediterranean.

And that timing is right at the start of the war.

"Your great-uncle and I are from different eras so our thinking seems quite different, but won't your reign share the same era as mine?"

"My ascension to the throne is still far off, and it's not something I should speak carelessly about."

"Haha, I understand. But when that day comes. Remember this."

Kokovtsov will be disappointed, but we weren't expecting an alliance during Carol I's era anyway.

"When the time comes for you to take the throne, you'll have to make a choice. The crime of being a bystander is heavier than you think."

"..."

"Please don't take this as a threat. This is my sincere advice."

If no one else embodies territorial ambition, Prince Victor stands as a clear example of expansionist interests. His diplomatic maneuvers and strategic positioning of resources along the borderlands speak volumes about his underlying motivations.

Though currently constrained by his nation's limited military capability and economic resources, preventing the realization of his imperialistic vision, he shares the common trait of rulers throughout history – an unwavering drive to forge a formidable state. His careful cultivation of international alliances and aggressive modernization programs suggest he's laying groundwork for future power projection, even if circumstances currently force him to move cautiously and incrementally.

I can fulfill his desire.

If only he stands with me.

But if the Great War breaks out and my Black Sea gets locked? And for a long period due to a mere kingdom's inaction?

'...Forgiveness would be difficult.'

Will it become Greater Romania or the Principality of Romania?

We'll see when Prince Victor becomes Ferdinand I.

==
Your journey continues with empire

Prince Victor showed no reaction about that day's conversation until his departure.

Since he's not a hot-blooded youth but a middle-aged man with growing experience, I believe he fully processed the essence of our conversation.

"Prime Minister Kokovtsov, are you disappointed?"

"Just regrettable."

"Don't worry too much. Prince Victor holds great affinity for us."

"To my eyes, he seemed wary."

Well, rather than affinity, it's closer to hidden desire, but even a slight touch making him waver seemed quite hopeful to me.

'Perhaps he wavered more because it was me.'

A Great Empire's Tsar of the same age.

Might he not have projected himself while looking at me?

Though it might seem too self-absorbed, that's really how I saw Prince Victor - with his imperious gaze and that perpetual frown that creased his forehead whenever matters of state were discussed. His bearing spoke of someone who believed destiny had greater things in store, even if others couldn't yet see it.

Prince Victor isn't someone who would be satisfied with Carol I's internal prosperity. While his predecessor had focused on building railways and establishing financial institutions to modernize the kingdom, Victor dreamed of expansion and military glory. The careful economic foundations laid by Carol seemed, in Victor's eyes, merely a launching pad for grander ambitions that would extend far beyond their current borders.

He wants more.

He wants more brilliant prosperity, and doesn't want tedious neutrality.

Yes, he probably wants to make his voice heard loudly in the Balkans, caught between great powers.

'What small country wouldn't?'

I see this as something like the instinct of small nations.

While Kokovtsov continues his disappointment and preparations for the Black Sea being locked.

I keep giving new orders in my own way.

And while the entire empire gradually puts more strength into military preparations.

[Italian Giolitti and Minister Declare Colony Building for the People]

[Libya Invasion Operation]

[Italy Declares War on Ottoman Empire.]

Italy, unable to contain their imperialistic tendencies, volunteered first to step onto the test bed that was the Ottoman Empire.

It was the start of the Italo-Turkish War.