Arriving in Berlin (2)

Berlin City, German Empire

“Your Imperial Highness, are you alright?” Count Karl Alexander is concerned if Crown Prince Justinian is offended and angry on how the German officer treats him. Coming here uninvited and meeting them with no prior reservation and informing them is rude and offensive especially the one they are meeting is the future ruler of Austrian Empire.

If this is known publicly, the Austrian people would be angry and riot across the street for the insult they have done to the Crown Prince. But instead, Count Karl Alexander sees that the Crown Prince is smiling and in a good mood. For the Count it seems weird why the Crown Prince is happy, for even if they can use this as an advantage or excuse to the Germans during negotiations for the Prime Minister’s visit tomorrow, the damage to the Crown Prince’s honor and nobility has been dealt and insulted.

For any nobles, especially to high nobles and the imperial family, honor and pride is the most important thing that one should have. Any dishonor and insult should be returned with manyfold against the perpetrator of the insult. But the Crown Prince instead didn’t mind such affront and even laughed and smiled at it.

“Don't worry Count. I’m fine with it, if Austria can receive help from it. We must continue to look in the bigger picture.” Crown Prince Justinian answers the questioning look of Count Karl Alexander. He understands why the Count feels that way even if they had gained something from the accident, the mindset of a pure noble of this era is different from his who remembers his past life who had different mindset and opinions.

“By the way, does our intelligence agencies and secret police regain control to our country’s security and counterintelligence?” Crown Prince Justinian added. Due to the defense and the military getting the short end of the stick for decades, it is not only the military that has suffer from inefficiencies and short budget, even the intelligence agencies of Austria and the Austria’s secret police also suffered from it.

For decades, the Austrian intelligence agency is almost non-existent. Foreign spies and agents are sprawling across the entire empire and Austria can’t do anything from it as the government officials and bureaucrats focused and prioritized economy, education and diplomacy. Austria even almost becomes a pacifist state due to the military limits enforced by other European powers upon the empire and focusing on economy and development.

It is not wrong for that time the emperor focuses more on economy and development as it created the Austrian Empire as an economic juggernaut in the continent. The development and wealth of the empire had kept the empire stable and the people content even if they came from different ethnicities and cultures. By decreasing its military might, the neighbors were not threaten by Austria and it has bought time for Austria to build its economy and develop amidst the giants around the empire.

This action has help Austria to navigate and develop peacefully after their defeat during the Russo-Prussian war of 1832 and become a foundation of the powerful economy that can support the remilitarization and rearmament of Austria today. And now Austria can make such great changes with the foundation the emperor has created for decades.

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. We had finished clearing and checking most of the personnel under our ranks. Also, internally inside our borders, we were able to regain much of the ground we lost in intelligence gathering and warfare happening. But on the outside, we are still adjusting and organizing our foreign assets. But I can assure you that the French, Germans, British and other powers would not be able to know our plans and operations anymore inside our borders not like during those times in the past.”

Count Karl Alexander can still clearly remember the inefficiency and powerlessness of Austria in regards for intelligence and espionage. Austria is like an open book during that time that’s why the French Princess and other powers has the advantages over them as they know almost everything that they needed. He can still remember in order to lower the guards of other nations; they need to act like fools and only make easy and simple plans.

But now Austria has now a competent intelligence and espionage agency that can stand on its own. Even though it is not as powerful and strong as other countries’ intelligence agencies and groups, it can still do its job done and protect classified information and cover up movements and plans that they would soon take into action.

“Good... what Austria needs right now is secrecy and covertness. Everything is almost in place and the only thing we need to have been to cover our plans for the future. They might still be able to deduce or forecast our plans, but they should not gain the information directly from us, at least we can buy time and space... I would go now Count to rest... you should also.”

Crown Prince Justinian then starts to walk towards his room. Even if he was able to rest during the trip, the weariness and exhaustion has still taken a toll on him. He has even calluses on his hands due to the entire break he is very busy in his sword lessons, hunting trips with his father, and doing tons of paperwork that is needed from a Crown Prince.

Becoming a Crown Prince has taken much of his time and attention that he has barely enough time to enjoy life and childhood as he become the Crown Prince at the young age, and he became busier due to the fact of the rapid changes that the Austrian Empire has went through the past year.

His father, Archduke Charles of Austria, would have become the Crown Prince if it had followed the proper order but instead it is him because his father is very liberal in the eyes of the conservatives and monarchist in the empire, and he leans more on democratic causes. And it didn’t help that his grandfather, the current Emperor, has very high charisma and prestige that it is very hard bar to surpass, this causes the deterioration of power and influence of Archduke Charles in the political battlefield.

Then the conservatives and their relatives decided that the young Justinian would become the Crown Prince instead of his father. Remembering the power of the conservatives, Crown Prince Justinian feels the need to limit their power and influence even if more of his policies right now leans more towards it and his support base is also from that faction.

To make the imperial family of Habsburgs and Austrian Empire survive into future like the royal families of United Kingdom, Japan and others. He needs to make correct choices and balance every faction in the state. In his past life, the Habsburgs rule ends with the defeat of the Central Powers during the first world war and thus he must make choices that would not result like that, and he must first secure his position and prestige that would become unshakeable against any attacks and assault internally and externally.

While thinking and contemplating, Crown Prince Justinian arrives to his room which is also guarded by Austrian soldier outside his room. He enters it and sees the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. He immediately approaches and lies on the bed without changing the clothes that he is wearing. He is really tired from everything that has happened today and the past few days and he knows that this might be the last rest he will have as tomorrow might be another busy day and the day after that the start of classes again for the year.

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