The venue for the welcome banquet for Arthur was held at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. It was the imperial palace of the Russian Empire and the most inhabited by Russian tsars since Catherine the Great.

Of course, as the emperor of Russia, one of the European powers, Nicholas II also owned a large number of palaces and estates.

The Winter Palace is the largest palace in Russia and one of the most official, and it was here that the workers' petitions took place.

But according to tradition, it is currently summer, and Nicholas II should have vacationed at the Livadian Palace in Yalta.

Yes, the place where the Yalta Conference will be held in the future. The Yalta Conference was the victor of the war at that time, and it was a conference on the distribution of post-war benefits, and it was also a conference that decided the pattern of the post-World War II world.

Because of the need to negotiate a treaty with Wilhelm II, Nicholas II did not go to the Livadia Palace this summer, but stayed in the Winter Palace, so that he could go to the place of conversation at any time, that is, near the island of Björk.

The climate in St. Petersburg is relatively comfortable in the summer, with temperatures consistently above 10 degrees Celsius during the day and peaking at around 20 degrees Celsius.

But the good weather didn't last long, and after four months of summer, St. Petersburg will also have eight months of winter.

I also have to admire the thick skin and flesh of the Russians, such a cold winter is not something that anyone can bear.

This is also the reason why history, including the mighty Napoleon, and later the Mustache Crusade against Russia, have failed.

In Russia, it is not only necessary to face thousands of kilometers of transport routes, but also to face the cold Russian winter.

Although St. Petersburg's climate is not suitable for the capital, it makes up for it in other ways, making it the capital of Russia for more than 100 years.

St. Petersburg has access to the sea and is a safe port with a high degree of development and belonging to the mainstream Russian culture.

If Russia wants to continue its development into Europe, St. Petersburg is the best choice of all Russian cities.

Nicholas II gave Arthur a grand welcome, and was personally greeted by Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich.

Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich was the uncle of the current Tsar Nicholas II and one of the most influential thinkers of Nicholas II.

At the same time, Grand Duke Sergei also served as the Governor-General of Moscow and the Commander-in-Chief of the Moscow Military District, and was one of the most respected people in the Russian imperial family, Nicholas II.

Under the premise that Crown Prince Alexei was only one year old, Grand Duke Sergei was also the most powerful and powerful member of the Russian imperial family besides Nicholas II.

I also have to complain about the chaotic relationship between the European aristocracy, the most powerful monarchies in Europe, Britain, Germany and Russia, are actually relatives, and they are not distant relatives.

This is why the First World War is known as the battle of the relatives of the royal families of Europe.

Inside the Winter Palace, Nicholas II was already having the guards inform all members of the nobility in the vicinity of St. Petersburg that they were ready to attend the welcome banquet in the evening.

Whatever the purpose, Russia's current friendship with Australia is not bad news.

At least in the Far East, Australia already has influence no weaker than that of the second-strongest countries in Europe, and can provide Russia with a large amount of weapons and equipment support and manufactured goods.

Even in terms of food, Australia can provide a lot of food for Russia's Far East army, which will greatly solve Russia's long-troubled logistics problems.

After learning that Arthur did not currently have any marriage engagement, Nicholas II had some ideas.

Although Australia's overall influence is not as strong as Spain and the Netherlands, Australia also has the advantage of being far away in Oceania and not worrying about getting involved in European disputes.

Moreover, Russia is still paying more attention to the Far East, and these two countries may not be able to exert more influence in the Far East than Australia.

If Australia can be tied to Russia's chariot and Australia can provide some logistical assistance to the Russian Far East, then Russia will not have an advantage in the next Far East hegemony?

But Nicholas II's eldest daughter, Archduchess Augar, is now only ten years old, so naturally it is not suitable for this banquet.

Unable to think of a suitable candidate for the time being, Nicholas II had to call his beloved Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and let the women do their most professional work.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was unimpressed at first, but after finally hearing that she was looking for a marriage partner for her cousin Arthur, she concentrated on searching for her own memories and looking for a suitable person in the entire Russian royal family.

Yes, Princess Hesse-Darmstadt, the mother of Queen Alexandrola Feodorovna is Princess Alice, that is, the second daughter of Queen Victoria.

Unfortunately, Queen Alexandrola Feodorovna, as a descendant of Queen Victoria, carries the gene for Queen Victoria's hemophilia.

This is also the reason why Kaiser Wilhelm II supported Empress Feodorovna to marry Nikolai, who was still the crown prince at the time, so that hemophilia could enter the Russian royal family, and no one should think about it.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of Mary?" Empress Feodorovna thought for a long time, and then slowly spat out a name.

"Mary? Do you mean Mary, who is now being adopted by Grand Duke Sergei? Nicholas II asked.

Mary's full name was Marie Pavlovna, the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II and the daughter of Archduke Paul.

But Archduchess Alexandra died when Archduchess Marie was one year old, and her father, Archduke Paul, was unable to take care of young Mary and her newborn brother due to grief, so he had to give them up for adoption by Archduke Paul's brother, Archduke Sergei.

However, because Grand Duke Paul later married a divorced woman, the former Tsar Alexander III was very angry and did not allow Grand Duke Paul to return to Russia again, and Grand Duke Sergei and his wife officially became the guardians of the Mary siblings.

In a practical sense, Grand Duke Sergei raised the Mary siblings since childhood, and although there is no father-daughter relationship in name, the actual relationship is not much different.

Mary, as a female grand duchess of the Russian royal family, and a contemporary of Nicholas II, was indeed a suitable candidate for this marriage.

It's just that Archduchess Mary is only seventeen years old (two years more than the original history, a small modification, according to the setting of this book), is there a bit of a big age gap with Arthur?

Empress Alexandra did not have this problem. For a de facto European royal marriage, the rank and prestige between the two families are far more important than the age difference between the two families.

Arthur's Saxe-Coburg Gotha family, which even surpassed the Russian royal Romanov family in terms of prosperity, naturally did not have the phenomenon of being in the wrong household.

After finalizing the candidates, Nicholas II asked Empress Alexandra to remind Grand Duchess Sergei that Mary should prepare for the evening banquet.

In fact, in addition to the Grand Duchess Marie, personally chosen by Nicholas II, the banquet was attended by dozens of Russian nobles and their daughters.

If Archduchess Mary was the main candidate for this Russian marriage, then the other noble ladies were the foils.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that these noble ladies will be chosen by Arthur to become Arthur's lover.

After all, the current European royal marriages also have to consider the attitudes of both parties, and for a monarch like Arthur who has already grasped real power, his own attitude is far more important than the interests of the family.

Grand Duke Sergei's mansion, in a certain room.

Inside the house, a young and beautiful girl was sitting on a dresser and carefully examining herself. There was also a girl dressed as a maid standing next to her, carefully helping the girl comb her long hair.

"Lolita, how's it going, is it pretty?" The girl looked at her face expectantly at the maid beside her.

Although it is said to be a maid, in fact, the feelings of girls are also very well cultivated. For Archduchess Marie, Lolita was more like her friend.

"Of course it's pretty, Your Highness. If you bring this pearl necklace again, then Your Highness, you will be the most beautiful swan at the banquet! Lolita replied with a smile as she brushed Mary's shoulder-length hair.

Scenes like this took place in several locations in St. Petersburg this afternoon. For the Russian aristocracy, Arthur, who has an independent territory and holds real power, can be regarded as a golden beetle-in-law, although it is a little remote, but the interests of the family are more important than everything, isn't it.

Coupled with the relationship between Russia and Australia during the war, if these nobles could get involved with the powerful monarch Arthur, even if only as lovers, it would at least give their families a strong boost abroad.

The marriage goals of the aristocracy were first and foremost based on the other party's family and the relationship between the other family, Arthur was born into one of the most prominent families in Europe, the current royal family of the British Empire, Saxe-Coburg Gotha, and was also a member of the line.

These two points alone were enough to attract the vast majority of nobles, not to mention the 100 million pounds of wealth that Queen Victoria gave to Arthur at the time, which caused a sensation in Europe at the time.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the grand welcome banquet finally began.

Arthur, as the protagonist, also attracted a lot of eyes and attention in this banquet.

Wearing a custom-made dress, Arthur was already a handsome young man with extraordinary appearance after a simple dress.

Although it is not as earth-shattering as handsome, it is also considered to be long in the aesthetics of Westerners, coupled with the top background and wealth, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is fascinating.

There was a lot of food at the banquet, but Arthur wasn't in the mood to look at it at this time.

For no other reason, as the protagonist of this banquet, someone comes to invite Arthur to dance every once in a while, and all of them are teenage aristocratic girls.

Arthur didn't know it at first, but soon understood the true purpose of Nicholas II's banquet.

Just these aristocratic girls one after another, this is not a blind date, what is this?

However, Arthur is not excluded, after all, he is also twenty-two years old, and the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand does not yet have a legal heir, which is also something that all federal citizens and officials are looking forward to.

There will be successors to the country, and only after there is a legitimate prince will more unstable factors in the country be stabilized.

In addition, Arthur's mother, Princess Louis, urged every once in a while, and Arthur was indeed a little crying and laughing.

Isn't the best way out of this situation to find a qualified duchess for the Australian Commonwealth?

Speaking of which, I have to praise the appearance of a Russian girl. No matter what happens after that, the appearance of a teenage Russian girl is indeed at its peak, which Arthur can be very confident in affirming both in later generations and now.

Before looking for a duchess for Australia, it is important to think carefully about whether a marriage with Russia would have many benefits for Australia.

From a purely historical point of view, the Russian royal family will be wiped out in more than a decade, and a marriage with the Russian royal family will not help at that time.

But there is a big difference between now and in history. Russia's crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War also led to a heightened public anger at home.

But now it is different, Russia's defeat is more of a temporary compromise of internal and external troubles, rather than a defeat by the army of the island nation.

Although there are still many internal worries in Russia, Russia, which is not plagued by the German problem, can still have more than a decade of development and recuperation.

Coupled with German aid and loans, at least the rotten country of the Tsarist Empire could hold out for a while longer.

It is difficult to say whether Russia will even participate in World War I in the future, and will Russia, which does not mobilize its troops, really be overthrown by the revolution that will break out in the future?

No one can be sure of this matter, but the probability of being overturned has been greatly reduced.

Moreover, for the time being, there are still many advantages to marrying with Russia.

First of all, Russia is currently the fourth great power in the world, and apart from the British Empire, the German Empire, France and the United States, which have sufficient advantages, no other country is necessarily a rival to Russia.

Secondly, Russia has a large population, a considerable part of which has a tendency to emigrate.

If it can marry Russia, Australia will also be able to accept some of these Russian immigrants. Of course, this has to be after the exclusion of revolutionaries and dangerous elements.

Russia still has a Far East policy in mind, and if they want to realize it, they must also rely on Australia's support.

This also means that Australia can get more resources and benefits from Russia, and can also cultivate Russia's strength in the Far East, so that Russia's military in the Far East can always remain above the strength of the island countries, and suppress the rise and expansion of the island countries in disguise.

You must know that it only took a few decades for the island country to transform from a backward feudal country into a great power country recognized by the whole world.

In the future, the ambitions of the island nations will be expanded to the entire Pacific Rim, even Australia and New Zealand.

This also means that the island nation is likely to grow into one of Australia's strong enemies, and it is necessary to prepare in advance and use Russia's power to suppress the island country.

Although this may lead to Russian dominance in the Far East and occupation of more parts of the Qing state in the south.

But in reality, the major powers have a considerable part of the interests in these regions, and naturally they will not allow Russia to expand in this region without want.

If Russia wants to ask for more, I am afraid that the European countries led by Britain will not agree, and the island countries will also resist desperately to hold their last chance to become a great power country.

At that time, the Far East will again become a hegemony between Russia and the island countries, and Australia's military industry will usher in new opportunities.

After thinking about all this, Arthur did not reject a possible marriage with Russia, and even took the initiative to choose.

Under the premise of being the right person, Arthur naturally wanted to find a qualified, at least smart, empathetic, but not interfering in Australian politics, and being a duchess with peace of mind.

Of course, appearance is also one of the important indicators when Arthur chooses. Although they don't pay so much attention to appearance, who doesn't want to have a beautiful face with the person who is next to them.

After a while, Nicholas II also brought Queen Alexandra to the banquet, but after only a few words of greeting Arthur, he left.

The host of this banquet was Arthur, and Nicholas II knew that his stay at the banquet would attract some attention, so he left with interest.

After the departure of Nicholas II, the banquet gradually reached a climax with the sound of beautiful music again.

Many people have already entered the dancing area and danced to the sound of music, which sets off the atmosphere of the banquet.

So far, Arthur has been invited no less than ten times, and has danced three or four times.

Even though I was prepared in advance, I was still a little tired, so I found a corner to do it.

Next to Arthur, Mary, who had never thought about what reason to invite Arthur to dance, suddenly widened her eyes, but she didn't expect Arthur to send it to the door by herself.

Arthur also saw Mary next to him at this time, and nodded his head with a smile as a greeting.

Boom!

Mary swallowed quietly, cheered herself up, picked up a glass of red wine and stood up, wanting to talk to Arthur.

It just so happened that Mary, perhaps because she was too nervous, slipped on her feet when she stood up and accidentally tripped on the stool.

The weight of this stool was not light, and Mary suddenly lost her center of gravity, and the whole person fell on Arthur's lap, and her head smashed directly into Arthur's vital point.

"Ahh

Thankfully, Arthur was prepared in advance, and he held Mary's head in front of him with his hands before danger came.

Mary's cherry lips touched the point like a dragonfly, and then Arthur helped her up.

"Are you alright, miss?" Arthur asked with a slight politeness.

This accident caught Arthur off guard, and the sudden contact made Arthur stumble.

"I'm fine, Your Highness." Mary's cheeks were like ripe apples, red enough to drip blood.

Although Mary is not yet clear about more complicated things, she also knows that such intimate encounters should not be.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I just accidentally tripped over it. Mary quickly explained.

Although the accident caused her to have contact with Arthur, Mary did not want to be considered deliberate, let alone make a bad impression of Arthur.

"It's all right, miss. Can I know your name? Arthur smiled and shook his head, unconcerned about what had just happened.

In fact, Arthur only now noticed the appearance of the girl in front of him, even at a banquet full of beauties, the girl's appearance was so outstanding and lovely.

"Mary, Mary Pavlovna, Your Highness." Mary nodded lightly and replied.

What happened in the corner attracted everyone's attention, after all, the place where Arthur was also the eyes of the audience.

But when everyone saw that the protagonists of the matter were Arthur and Archduchess Mary, everyone waited for the result with great interest.

"Mary? Okay, can I invite you to dance? Arthur nodded and made an invitation to the girl in front of him.

Mary nodded lightly again, and her jade-white hand took Arthur's hand and followed Arthur to the center of the dance floor.

5,400 words 2-in-1 chapter, ask for support! The heroine is not easy to find, and all kinds of information have been checked for a long time, a belated chapter, asking for support! There is also an easter egg chapter, don't miss it for a while.

(End of chapter)