On August 12, 1912, an internal meeting of the four Entente nations proposed by Ferdinand was secretly convened in Paris.
Those attending included Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill, and Foreign Secretary Edward; Russia's Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich; and Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Metev and Minister of War Popov.
Clearly, the secrecy referred only to the meeting's contents. The meeting itself could not be kept secret. Britain, Russia, and Bulgaria had all sent heavyweight figures; unless the Germans were fools, they would know it was aimed at them.
Thus, on October 7, 1912, the Alliance also convened a rival conference in Berlin, meeting needle to needle. Clearly, both sides had begun preparing for war, and the smell of gunpowder in Europe grew even thicker.
Ferdinand did not know what sort of agreement the Alliance had reached, but after this Entente meeting, the alliance of the four nations had truly been established!
The British were no longer standing apart, and likewise had to assume military obligations toward the other three nations. They had no choice—if they did not accept military responsibilities, the Russians would not join either. They could not possibly leave Bulgaria and France to face the Alliance alone, could they?
If that happened, the British Empire's position as world hegemon might as well change hands. Ferdinand would certainly be the first to back down!
Under the newly signed Four-Power Entente, should any one member of the alliance suffer an unprovoked attack from a fifth nation, the four countries were to consult immediately and take joint action to safeguard world peace!
Obviously, this was aimed at the Alliance—or, rather, at the Germans! Other than the Alliance, no one in the world dared attack the Entente. Or rather, even if some fool dared start a war, there would be no need