The world was cruel; amid fierce international competition, there was no room for even the slightest warmth.
For their own interests, the Tsarist Government decisively chose to abandon the European nations, and Madrid was thrown into turmoil.
No matter how far it had declined, Spain, as the gatekeeper among the great powers, was still a major continental power whose influence in Europe could not be underestimated.
With the Russians, ranked third in the world, unwilling to step forward, the responsibility naturally fell to Spain, ranked fourth.
Though Spain's title as the fourth-strongest nation was somewhat undeserved, its competitors simply failed to measure up.
When picking the tallest among dwarfs, the Kingdom of Spain, which had once been formidable, was still more widely recognized than Japan and America, which had never been formidable at all.
Not only were the continental European nations urging Spain to step forward and lead the "non-alignment movement," but Britain, the Union, and others were also egging them on from behind the scenes.
Overnight, the Spaniards seemed to have returned to that age when destiny was on their side, becoming trailblazers of the era once more.
Unlike the Russian Empire, whose economy was deeply entwined with Holy Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire's penetration of Spain was relatively limited, nowhere near enough to influence government decisions.
As the international situation shifted like clouds and winds, even the British changed their strategy, going from pulling nations aboard to encouraging them to remain neutral.
Now, the only one actually demanding that they take sides was the Holy Roman Empire. Theoretically, as long as they could withstand the pressure from the Vienna Government, the non-alignment movement would succeed.
If the Spanish Government had ambitions, then this was its best opportunity. So long as it handled matters properly, Spain could very