Author Notes:
Right, I think it's high time I start working on Yuki's POV and the rest of her family. It's been a while since I did so and I am itching to take a crack at it once more. Give me your coffee, people, or I will come and take it! I need that nectar of the Gods for my insanity!
Also also, Monthly Recruitment Drive will be starting from the 1st to the 20th of October! Do stay tune for that and make your Halloween ever so slightly more exciting!
Now, enjoy!
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Income goal 760/880 USD (UmU)
Marshal Yuki https://postimg.cc/S2s28YZs
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Told you the warships weren't needed." Rosa, sitting across from me, grins as she lays down the report and communique from ONI and one Admiral Gensoul. "Not that I am ungrateful for the backup plan, mind you."
I shrug in an easy-going manner, leaning back on the white chair that I've deigned myself to sit on.
"Consider it me being overtly worried that somehow the Eruseans would pull a miracle out of their bums then. That said, now that one of my Strike Groups is down in the Meds, I may as well put them to good use."
Rosa leans in, her fingers twirling a spoon in her mug of coffee, brownish due to her added fresh milk.
"What would require you to have an entire Carrier Strike Group then? Surely you don't want to bomb the miserable fools in Sardegna again?"
I smirk, picking up a cup of coffee of my own.
"One Carrier Strike Group and an Expeditionary Strike Group, which is nearby." I correct the information before adding. "May as well direct them over to take Gibraltar while they're there and place being an empty home."
I then take a sip as Rosa ponders; my dear Queen has been catching up on a lot of the information I declassified for her and her trusted subordinates. In other words, Rosa now knows more about the Reich's true capability, but obviously not all of it. When informed that what she has access to may as well not be the full picture, Rosa is perfectly fine with that little detail. She knows when to separate matters of work from personal life, and the reigning Queen of Ustio understands clearly the need for information compartmentalization, having been the one to lead an Army, and now, a nation. It doesn't seem like it at first glance, but Rosa is quite possibly my first and most successful pupil of my own Art of War, with young Daria being the second, and she is still less decorated than the loving Queen in front of me.
Speaking of Daria...
I glance around while taking a sip of the black nectar brewed by Mary, who is standing dutifully right next to our table. And, while we're hanging around a clean, hospitable streetside cafe in the heart of Paris, I can see Daria mingling with my pack of officially or unofficially adopted, albeit cute, little sisters. Now that things have died down for a bit and Paris is deemed safe, I have taken all of my sisters out to visit Paris. Rosa and Mary have been kind enough to sequester a secure venue around the Eiffel Tower for the occasion, which doesn't necessarily mean they boot everyone out of their homes, and I have Sirin portaled everyone to the tourist landmark. Ordinary citizens of Paris are still able to come and go around the Eiffel Tower, and their daily lives have improved; a new, Belkan-aligned normal has been accepted by them. However, whatever business they have to conduct around the Tower area today, the civilians will have to do so under the strict supervision of both the Ustian military, police, and plainclothes Reichsguards and ONI agents. There's also the undisguised members of my 404th 'Ghost' Division around, acting as both off-duty tourists themselves and as a backup Quick Response Force. Additionally, Bryn is leading her personal unit of Night Witches on an aerial patrol above the Eiffel Tower's airspace. All in all, it's a dense, multilayer security measure, just for today.
Overkill, you say? There ain't such a thing as overkill when it comes to the safety and happiness of my little sisters. Today is an opportunity for them to go out, explore the beauty of the world, and listen to how the common populace lives through the periods. Basically, I am telling my sisters to go out and touch grass, rather than holing up in whatever places they used to hang out, study, or even work. Quite frankly, Ningyo and Mei are the guiltiest of regularly hiding in their labs and ignoring the larger world right outside. Bronya and Sirin, however, are a close second. The two girls, while not to the point of haphazardly throwing themselves into making groundbreaking inventions, are no less studious than Ningyo and Mei. Bronya, I can get it as her power over Reason requires her to be extremely knowledgeable on all subjects. But Sirin is a surprising case; this little sister of mine has long since made it clear that she will be following my footsteps and even striving to surpass me in some aspects. There's a certain intensity behind Sirin's act of self-improvement that I can't help but find familiar, but more than that, I am proud that she is raising herself from a budding seed.
As expected of my little sister, or multiple, really!
Usually, it's either the rest of the family or the little sisters' gang that pulls the four from their workaholic state, the latter of which tends to involve Liliya and Rozaliya dragging them from their comfort zones and disrupting their pace. But today, I throw them a curveball of: Here's the Eiffel Tower, now go and do a crime. Why? Because, for whatever damn reason, Nicolae tagged along with the merry band of little sisters, and I am suddenly in a lazy mood not to care about how they will go on to redecorate the antique tower. Not that I can stop them anyway, those puppy eyes are super effective against me or anyone in particular when they're put to use.
I have a soft smile on my face when my sisters are frolicking about with Nicolae at the helm; she's just great with kids, honestly. Sticking close to them are 'adults', who are none other than Bella and Daria. Griseo, however, is taking her sweet time painting a family picture, with Mash helpfully by her side with the assorted painting tools. Seeing that they're lost in their own, smiley corner of the world and that nothing will do them misdeed, I feel content.
"Say," Rosa's voice brings my gaze back to her. "With two Strike Groups, I don't think you'll be needing the help of my newfound Navy, right?"
I raise an eyebrow before thoughtfully replying. "Usually, I don't... But I think there's more to that question, isn't it?"
Rosa grins before using two hands to bring her mug up for a sip. "Well, is it a hard requirement that it must be the Reich that occupies Gibraltar?"
"Well, not exactly. The decision was made out of convenience, for the most part." I say before stopping a whole second to realize what Rosa is getting at. "You want Ustio to take Gibraltar..."
Rosa makes a finger gun gesture at me.
"Bingo. Considering how Gibraltar has always been an eyesore, what's with it standing in the way of our African colonies and whatnot, I think our Navy and Army will have a fun time blowing and seizing it. It will help us integrate the Colonial forces under my banner as well, which is a plus."
I turn thoughtful with my fingers beneath my chin.
"Interesting... No, it's actually a great idea." I comment with a nod. "I didn't think of this because I am not you, Rosa. But yes, I will not just encourage but also support your idea. A defensive victory is great, but it can be made better with a successful counterattack. Such good news will help your national unity, and it will let your Colonial forces know that you won't fault them for being on the sidelines in earlier events. They will find it more agreeable to offer you their loyalty. Like before, I will pledge the support of the Reichsmarine and even ONI, considering the nature of your idea."
Rosa claps her hands together. "Yatta~! Great, now I don't have to think about writing a whole bunch of communiques!"
I giggle wryly. "So that's your real motive."
Mary, who has been looking at us warmly thus far, adds.
"Half of the time, I have been the one to write the letters that are being sent to the governing bodies of our colonies. If Rosa is left alone, she might rage and burn the letters instead, now that she got a taste of military power." Mary then moves to pat Rosa's hair very kindly. "Ah, gone are the times when Rosa was content with just political maneuvering. She's truly and well corrupted by the expediency of military force."
Rosa chokes at that, blushing at the teasing of our dear maid. The Queen of Ustio then forcibly changes the subject as we chuckle at her expense.
"A-Anyway! This will be an operation involving our Mediterranean Fleet and my restructured Vichya Libre Army. However, if the timeline permitted it, I will see if I can rope in the Colonial Armies as well."
I settled my expression on a soft smile before saying. "Gibraltar isn't that big, you know."
"Well..." Rosa scratches her cheek. "I don't want to deploy them all? Only partially should suffice, of course. But depending on the final military composition, managing them and planning for each individual unit will be a pain... So, I am hoping to gain access to the real-time battlefield data from ONI, and perhaps precision strikes from your Strike Groups."
I nod without hesitation. "Consider it done. With those, you won't have to worry much about your forces running into something they can't handle."
Grateful, Rosa leans over the table and gives me a kiss on the lips. "Thanks, love, for spoiling me rotten."
Mary giggles before joining in as well, turning my face so that I am kissed deeply by her. After leaving me breathless and Rosa pouting from not kissing me long enough, the maid pulls back and winks. "That's for spoiling Rosa on my part."
With a tinge of blush on my face, I reply with a soft smile.
"Trust me, this ain't me spoiling our dear Queen rotten. If I were to do that, Rosa would have been under lock and key back in Berlin, with only you and me being her constant associates, Mary. I think I can be possessive like that, if I am a bit more domineering."
Rosa and Mary smile kindly at me.
"Then it's a good thing that you are who you are currently, Yuki. You treat us as partners, not prizes to be sequestered in a vault. Although I must admit that a domineering, possessive you is a bit hot... What's the word again, Mary?"
The maid answers with a knowing expression. "I believe you're talking about a Yandere, Rosa."
"Yeah," Rosa points a finger at Mary. "What she said."
I laugh at the absurd prospect of myself being a Yandere.
"Ok, you two sinful girls, settle down. I am not that depraved, yet."
"An emphasis is put on 'yet'." Mary helpfully adds with a smirk."
"What can I say, a Yandere is indeed hot, but only if they're the kind that appreciate the desires of their love interests."
"True that." Rosa and Mary chime in. The Queen of Ustio then asks this. "Say, what do you think the Eruseans will do, now that their last Fleet is seven leagues beneath the sea?"
"Oh, they are a goner, that's for sure." I shrug. "Their economy is already tanking, and their people are distrustful of the state. Add on top of those the government backstabbing their former ally, and even failing at that? Yeah, the Erusean Kingdom will be crumbling hard. Even ONI can't give me an accurate scenario of how or when Erusea will implode, but it's a guarantee."
"Yikes, I would hate to be the one sitting on the Erusean throne right now." Rosa shudders."
"You and me both, though it will be hilarious if they don't even know that their so-called Force H is already gone, and it takes ONI's propaganda leaflets for them to know." We all giggle at that prospect.
As of this day, Erusea can be considered a non-factor. What's left is just Warsaw, and the Rusviets that are fighting them tooth and nail. Unironically enough, it's not wrong to say that Army Group D is just sitting back and eating popcorn as both sides slug it out for the rest of Polania.
Fun times we're living in.