Empire of the Ring

Szechenyi’s wedding was just a week away.

In recent years; there had been little news in the European royal family, but the wedding of Isabella—a Danish princess, and a brother of the Archduchess of the Arirang Autonomous State, was enough to draw people’s attention.

The wedding ceremony would be held in Denmark, but surprisingly, the autonomous state was in the center of media companies. It was because the Danish royal family was quite well-known, but many things about the Arirang state were still in a veil.

“Prince consort, what should we do with the press’s rush of requests for interviews?”

“There’s no more news. I’m not going to do any interview. Once you start doing an interview, there’s no end to it.”

“Those reporters are going to back down.”

“Well, why don’t you let Commissioner Kim do interviews? He’ll give them good stories to talk about.”

Youngho could do interviews, but it would be a hassle if reporters tried to take pictures of him. If he let Kim Chun be in charge of the media, he would probably make the secret history of the Serbian kingdom more appealing and mysterious with his exaggerative story-telling skill.

What the reporters wanted was a hidden story of the Archduke family that would stimulate the public’s curiosity, not Youngho’s face.

Journalists were not the only ones to visit the state since the rumors of the wedding were spread. Many common people also visited to see what the Arirang Autonomous State which was formed by the descendants of the Serbian kingdom was like.

Due to increased travelers, women soldiers working at the state’s airport and the gate checkpoint were having a hard time. Some of them were Koryoins, but most of them were Serbians, and the presence of women soldiers was enough to draw people’s attention. It was because they insisted on military uniform even though they were not required to do so. Also, the beauty of Serbian ladies was playing a huge role in this.

Youngho smirked to hear that many male travelers tended to hover around the checkpoint where the women soldiers work.

When female soldiers were highlighted by the media, it was also highlighted that the state had a separate military organization. This was touted as if the autonomous state was an independent country.

Cho Chul-hwan, the chief of the Countryside Force, was also irritated because the military force of the state was being exposed too much.

“It’s like at the coronation, and now it’s all over again with speculative articles, and there’s no way to stop it, and I can’t chase away all the reporters in the state. Man, this is driving me crazy.”

“Just leave them alone. The Kazakh government has permitted our military force. What’s going to cause a problem?”

“They don’t see our existence as part of Kazakhstan, but in a different way.”

“In what kind of a way?”

“They doubt that the Kazakh government had permitted a military force in the autonomous state and allowed it to take charge of Maritime Police duties. They think of us as a second troop of Russia.”

“That’s probably because our state consists of Serbians who are Slavic just like Russians. Well, we can’t ask for a correction every time. Actually, I think it’s good. They will not look down on our state but will think of it as a fearful being.”

“How could you be so relaxed? Man, this is killing me.”

“It’s a temporary phenomenon. You don’t have to be too sensitive to those stories that are intended to draw people’s attention.”

It was actually better if the rumor that Russia was behind the autonomous state was spread out. Considering the relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia, it was not too much for the media to think so. Kazakhstan was an independent country, but it was also true that it was inseparable from Russia.

The 30 percent of the country’s population consisted of Russians and some Europeans, and they were the ones who control the country’s economy, which made the global society to think that the country was Russia’s subjugation. Under such circumstances, Serbians, who were of the same Slavic descent as Russians, could be misunderstood as Russians. Especially when the state was armed with its own military force, people were bound to think that the state was Russia’s another military base.

Youngho was not going to deny or confirm the speculation. It was fortunate that the state was considered to have power.

***

Szechenyi’s wedding played a huge role in moving Serbian immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula. They were eager to move to the great state of Arirang which was going to be related to the Danish royal family.

Niksic called in an excited voice, saying that those who were not descended from the Serbian kingdom also filed for immigration.

“Prince consort, I’m going to stay in Serbia and go to Denmark the day before the wedding.

The classification of the applicants is also difficult as there are so many of them.”

“Why don’t you take all of them if they’re members of the Serbian Orthodox Church?”

“We will prioritize the descendants of the kingdom as far as possible. Wouldn’t it be a disaster if we receive people who used to be war criminals like last time?”

“They’re victims of that time, too.”

“I see what you mean, but it’ll be the best for the future of the country if you can rule out those people as much as possible.”

Niksic tried to pick out only moderate-minded people.

The reason behind the disgrace of being the world’s powder keg was the massacres committed by nationalists and their followers in the Balkan Peninsula. Since it was the time when everyone was obsessed with nationalist insanity, people could not judge which was right and wrong.

The conflicts between ethnic groups were still taking place everywhere in the peninsula. Those who had been plagued by ethnic conflicts in the past wanted to move out of the place. Many people had immigrated to other Eastern European countries or North American countries. It was because the conflicts of more than a decade ago remained as a terrible scar in people’s heart.

To Youngho, it was a sign that those people would never want to see that happening again. Since they were ready to live a better life and move on, he thought that there was no point in picking who qualified as immigrants of the autonomous state.

However, Niksic would probably choose the descendants of the kingdom first. He had a stubborn idea that made him think that only the descendants of the kingdom were considered Serbians.

If disappointed people who had failed the screening process were going to follow and come to the state on their own expense, Youngho wanted to take them as residents of the state.

If he readily accepted such people, they would be more loyal to the state than any other residents of the state since people never forgot the help given at the moment of desperation.

***

The reality of the state was that it was impossible to focus only on the wedding ceremony since there was still a lot of work to do. Although Youngho’s friends including Park Jong-il were playing their respective roles to help Youngho’s work, there were still a lot of things that Youngho was involved in. Only Kim Chun and Youngho could take part in matters related to the Kazakh government.

Especially if it was related to the president’s affairs, Youngho was the one who had to take care of it. As the ceremony approached, the president sought for Youngho. It was to discuss the issue of a delegation.

Youngho hastily flew over to Astana.

President Nazarbayev, who had not been visiting foreign countries for very long, said he would go to Denmark for the ceremony. It was a sudden change of plan since he previously said that he would send the foreign minister and other politicians due to his health issues.

The Danish government was equally perplexed by Kazakh president’s protocol.

Although the economic power of Kazakhstan was meager, the president of Kazakhstan, which was a resource-rich country with a huge land, was also an honorable guest.

“Mr. President, you wanted to see me?”

“Come on, prince consort. I’m sure I’m giving you a hard time with a sudden change of mind.”

“No, I’m glad your Excellency has decided to join the ceremony.”

“Haha… I know it’s a lie but it still feels good to hear such a lie. Well, I changed my mind because I didn’t like the way France has bailed on me.”

“What about France?”

“France suddenly stopped the joint gas field exploration project that had been going on in our country. The French government has asked to postpone it for a few months because of their internal situation, but we’ll lose money for it. We’ve already signed contracts with Western European countries for supplies but we’re going to have to send them back. There was a good reason, but it’s such a pain in the neck. So I’ve decided to give the project to the Danish government as a gift for the wedding.”

“Are you serious? I don’t think France is going to stand still.”

“What if it doesn’t? They’re not going to come all the way here. This is not the first time France has done this to us. I’m not going to take it anymore.”

“You must have exchanged the memorandum of understanding already. You could be violating the international law.”

“We’re not the only one violating the international law. They did it first.”

“The Danish government would love if you give this opportunity to it, but there’s going to be too much of a political burden.”

“I’m doing it anyway. I’m going to fix the France government’s bad habit this time. I didn’t have a proper gift for your brother-in-law’s wedding, but now I get to give a good one. I needed to get connected with the Danish government anyway.”

Youngho worried if Kazakhstan would be okay even if it betrayed the French company.

In any case, it was good to be rich in resources. The sense of confidence came from having rich resources since other countries that needed the resources were the only ones to be sorry when their relationships went downhill.

The president’s action would benefit Youngho in his relationship with the Danish government. If the emergence of President Nazarbayev was an opportunity for Denmark to take a step forward in the development of Kazakhstan’s resources, Youngho would get some credit too since the Danish royal family would thank Youngho’s connection to the Kazakh president.

“Mr. President, I’ll escort you if you’re going to the ceremony.”

“Oh, the head of the Arirang Autonomous State should not be treated like that. I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry.”