I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

---

Still, if the White Army tries to dissuade me, I guess I have no choice.

If only I weren’t the Tsar, I might have been able to give it a shot. Why was I born into the body of a Tsar with so many limitations?

“Your Majesty, you are not alone.”

“I’m not pregnant, you know.”

Anyone who hears that would think I’m expecting.

Of course, considering that I’m basically the fan club president of the entire nation, I am not alone, but still. So what good does it do for me to step up?

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Maria shakes her head, insisting it’s not her.

“I know. But isn’t it a bit disappointing? Don’t you think?”

I mean, I’m practically invincible, and not getting to ride in a tank is just wrong, isn’t it?

“I think you could approach it like in World War II.”

World War II? Does that mean I just need to follow along in a military vehicle?

Thinking about just trailing behind like a timid follower doesn’t sound appealing. Of course, not all the generals who fought in the Great War directly charged into battle, but still.

“Then, perhaps this time, I should at least try riding on an armored vehicle. Watching from a distance should be fine.”

Jumping in like this wouldn’t be too bad.

Anyway, the technology of the Arab folks is pretty predictable, and the tech we handed over is virtually nonexistent.

They might have already received support from the United States, but that’s about it.

The U.S. weapons are lagging far behind.

For now, discussing this in the Duma wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Since it came up, I decided to summon the Duma.

“This time, I’ll be going in person.”

“When you say you’ll go in person…”

“Yes, I mean I’m heading to Iraq and Iran myself.”

I doubt the Duma would be able to stop this.

After all, the idea of a Roman Emperor expanding into Arab territory is something groundbreaking.

Leaving it solely to the military doesn’t have much flair.

“Your Majesty is going personally?”

“If I do this, it’ll be almost like Alexander III personally leading the charge.”

Indeed, everyone is in an uproar over my declaration.

So, it feels exhilarating. Pushing straight through Arabia to Iraq and Iran.

Well, there’s no need to touch places like Kuwait at the end of the Arabian Peninsula; it seems easier just to push into Iraq and Iran. They are nothing but mediocre countries anyway.

We could take them out with just infantry, without even needing an armored division.

Thinking that way made me chuckle.

“Your Majesty, if you are going to sweep through, you should advance to Afghanistan as well.”

And finally, the topic of Afghanistan has come up.

A place I have mixed feelings about; I both want to touch it and not touch it.

It’s a place I’ve debated in my mind before.

I want to challenge it at least once, but do I really need to march in?

Considering this came from the Duma, I can’t just ignore it, so what should I do?

Should I at least pretend to ponder it a bit?

“Afghanistan, huh? Afghanistan. Hmm.”

I crossed my arms and quietly mulled it over.

Can we win if we strike Afghanistan under the current Rome Treaty?

I don’t think the Rome Treaty would lose, but it’s always better to simulate a few times in my head rather than getting overconfident.

After all, these things must be handled meticulously.

Especially considering that these lands have been historically referred to as the graveyard of empires, it’s not something to tackle lightly.

“Afghanistan has been experiencing financial difficulties since the British withdrawal. Depending on how we approach this, we might have a chance.”

Afghanistan. The graveyard of empires. I expected that story to come up, but hearing it feels quite daunting.

If the current Rome Treaty organization really throws a punch, I might feel we could defeat Afghanistan. But if public opinion shifts and we can’t occupy it, it could just end with us getting scolded.

No, should I even give it a try?

The Soviet-Afghan War, if we really break it down, was disrupted by Western intervention. But how many countries would offer support here?

The U.S. is currently treating Eastern Japan as a reincarnated enemy, so they won’t be able to export weapons, and they don’t even have any export routes in the first place.

Indian nations aren’t even worth mentioning. In the original history, there were almost no weapons to support the Afghan Mujahideen.

“Why do you seem so distant?”

Everyone seems anxious, looking for clues about my mood.

Well, if you ask why, it’s only natural to provide an answer.

I pulled out a book.

It’s an outline of my world strategy for the Arab Middle East that I wrote recently.

Since I had nothing to do, I was able to crank it out faster when I really focused.

“As you can see from my world strategy on the Arab-Middle East section, Afghanistan is tricky to occupy. Take a look at the content in this book. It’s based on the investigations conducted by the ‘Okhrana’ in Afghanistan.”

I pulled out the volume dedicated to Afghanistan and passed it around for the council to review.

This was based solely on what the Okhrana investigated. Do I really need to mention that?

After all, the world could be molded to our whims, so what does it matter?

I let the representatives look it over through Beria.

“Could this be actual history?”

“I just sketched it out based on the investigations by the Okhrana. It can’t be considered real history at all.”

I waved my hand dismissively, while the council members looked as though they understood and began reading intensely, some with expressions that seemed quite rude.

Initially, it simply stated that these are the kinds of people they are, but as soon as I showed it to them, they all began discussing how to handle it.

“The high and rugged mountains, solid foundations. It’s an environment that’s difficult to utilize aircraft. They say we absolutely have to fight on foot.”

“That’s not entirely impossible, is it?”

“The problem is that they don’t have a proper central government. They are all military factions.”

Right, that’s the issue. Although the Soviets failed, who knows, they might have still won if they had persisted till the end.

After all, it’s said that following the Soviet-Afghan war, Afghanistan’s population dropped by a third. They should have prepared for genocide going in.

“If there’s no proper central government, can’t we just establish one?”

“It is already a monarchy. We can’t say there is absolutely no central government.”

As I watched everyone discuss it, it felt quite uncomfortable.

It seems they are hell-bent on wanting to stomp on Afghanistan. I hope they won’t brand me as a war enthusiast.

Ana-chan is actually a war fanatic! That would be quite hurtful.

“Your Majesty, there are a few points to clarify.”

“Go ahead.”

Yes. There is a reasonable justification for hitting Afghanistan. Is that what they want to say?

Unlike me, it seems the Duma is eager to take Afghanistan down.

“The current situation in Afghanistan is quite different from what is described in the world strategy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

It would be different, but I wonder how different exactly.

Especially from the White Army perspective, it appears they have a lot to say about my comments.

The notion of advancing into the Middle East has been in discussion for some time, so it seems that the White Army would rather attack Afghanistan than vaguely strike Iran.

It’s just right that Afghanistan is the target.

“If it’s due to geographical factors, we may end up facing great losses. But the level of extremists you described doesn’t exist there now.”

Right. It makes sense. At least, I don’t think those types I know are around yet.

But that alone doesn’t mean the enemies aren’t formidable.

It’s a valid point. The Islamic folks are out of my depth knowledge-wise.

Is this Afghanistan in this era really easily conquerable? The British had their share of trouble and ultimately withdrew.

Considering the aftermath of World War I, when population and weapon shortages must be accounted for, still…

“And then?”

“First of all, there are no countries willing to provide them with weapon support.”

I already knew that, so I’ll let that pass.

It’s true that we are overwhelmingly superior in weaponry. Am I really overthinking this?

“Additionally, the majority of the infantry in the current Rome Treaty are seasoned elite warriors who have considerable war experience. While there may be some losses, there shouldn’t be any defeats in war.”

Yes, that’s true. The current generation of soldiers is elite. If not now, when else would we tackle Afghanistan?

“Still, even if that’s the case, justification remains important.”

Given the assumption that we’d unite against Afghanistan, whether we actually need to attack it is the real question.

It seems like everyone feels competitive since both the Soviets and the Americans failed in war according to the world strategies, but…

Is there really any need for war? After all, the Arab issue is crucial.

“Moreover, Afghanistan is also a monarchy. Even if there are many military factions, having a king still changes circumstances.”

“Plus, in our world strategy, the Soviet Union never really went all-out from the beginning. Eventually, the West intervened, and considering the damages Afghanistan incurred after that, we could push aggressively from the start and end it quickly.”

To push aggressively and end it from the get-go.

If I put it that way, it seems possible, but… ultimately, isn’t this just a result-oriented thought?

Afghanistan is a country renowned for repelling many empires. The Mongols, British, and though it doesn’t exist in this world, the Soviets and Americans are among the great powers it has fended off.

At this rate, the position of the Soviets could become ours.

With the Russian Republic, which has achieved victory after victory, bringing all of Rome’s might to Afghanistan only to lose would be quite something.

Even if we win, it could still cost us greatly. It’s a precarious situation.

That could only be termed as a colossal failure on Ana-chan’s part.

“Most importantly, Afghanistan is part of the Hellenistic Empire region.”

Oh, that’s true.

The Hellenistic influence does stretch all the way to Afghanistan.

“Indeed. That makes it unavoidable to engage.”

After all, the premise of being part of the Hellenistic Empire is merely based on territorial considerations. If we really nitpick, isn’t that land originally where polytheistic Greek culture was prevalent?

Now there are many Islamic folks.

While we’ve said we would incorporate them into the Hellenistic sphere, if we delve into religious issues, we should at least mark them as pro-Roman states.

“Let’s at least push through to Iran.”

“Then what about Afghanistan?”

Ah, that darn Afghanistan! Am I overthinking it? I want to minimize potential losses, that’s what this boils down to.

I’d like to avoid Afghanistan as much as possible. If we could do that while making the most of every opportunity, that would be lovely.

“I do have one idea in mind.”

“What is it?”

It’s about reorganizing the provinces into a grand framework, dividing them into Roman provinces.

I pulled out a map of Europe. More precisely, a map divided by Roman provinces.

“Eastern Rome, Northern Rome, Western Rome, Central Rome, Southern Rome, and Hellenistic provinces. Hmm.”

“Since you’ve accepted the formation of the Rome Treaty organization, this should be acceptable.”

Having already accepted the Rome Treaty, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

“To start, let’s push to Iran and accept Afghanistan into the Rome Treaty’s Hellenistic provinces while being forgiven.”

“If they are divided into military factions, it will be tough even if a king accepts it.”

“In that case, we should uproot all regions except for the royal territory.”

“However, according to your Majesty’s words, it seems best to extract Islam from the Arab region.”

“How about leaving it to Turkey?”

If we let Turkey handle it, they should manage it themselves. Or is that too far?

If Turkey takes over after Saudi Arabia, they would dominate the entire Middle East.

Although it’s about the Rome Treaty, it shouldn’t be a concern.

“Then, Turkey’s influence would grow too large. And I doubt Turkey currently has the capacity for that. Regardless of the Rome Treaty, it’s essential that everything remains under our control. Handing over the entire Middle East would upset the balance of power within the Rome Treaty itself.”

That makes sense.

If we split it up by region, Turkey, which was previously part of the Hellenistic Empire, must also be included, but where does that leave the Arab regions?

What should we do then under Russian dominance?

“If blood must be shed, it could be beneficial to hold Islam under Russian religious governance.”

“Let’s provoke Iraq and Iran on the condition of conversion.”

Oh, that’s definitely going to raise a ruckus.

It would be better to keep them under our influence and gradually assimilate.

Let’s just tell Turkey to restrict their expansion to Saudi Arabia. That ought to suffice.

“That seems like it might cause bloodshed.”

“Then, will you allow Islam?”

We must allow Islam. Being overly aggressive in suppressing it would lead to complications.

If we do, extreme factions will definitely emerge.

With the strong power of the Rome Treaty, subduing them completely is indeed possible. However, that would make me a death saint.

Yes, having an insatiable thirst for conquest is not a good thing.

Ultimately, if we aim to suppress Islam, it’s clear we’ll be facing challenging times for decades to come.

“Hmm, let’s integrate them into a new faction.”

Using the powers we’ve consumed for that purpose sounded feasible.

By capitalizing on Arab oil rights, we can create a Middle Eastern Islamic peace region solely for Europe.

Let’s make Turkey the Islamic leading power while subtly eroding the Russian Orthodox Church.

Rather than through sheer force, using religion to merge—that’s not a bad idea.

Yes, then the new faction we form must pay the utmost attention to the Arab peoples.

“What about the Islamic-Hellenism Federation?”

The Islamic-Hellenism Federation as a subordinate organization of the Roman territories.

In essence, we could make it a puppet of the Rome Treaty organization.