"Were they the ones that demon who murdered his father sent to the battlefield?" Nacelli asked. Though the Honor Representative's story had not yet reached Paul I's death, everyone had already guessed who had done it.
"Yes..." Sergeant Paupard reacted quickly, smiling. "Don't try to pry it out of me. The real culprit will appear in tonight's story.
"But these people deserve what they got. They came to destroy France."
Just then, the Russian POWs who had been busily working all stopped what they were doing and turned to look westward.
Gaizika nervously took his gun from his back. "Are they starting a riot?"
The guards at the railway construction site also raised their guns and shouted, but soon the Russian POWs began bowing toward someone, speaking with great respect.
Sergeant Paupard knew a little Russian and immediately frowned. "Her Highness the Princess? Has the Crown Princess Consort come?"
Gaizika had sharp eyes and promptly pointed toward the honor guard in the distance. "Over there. Is that woman in the purple dress the Crown Princess Consort?"
A group of palace guards escorted Alexandra into the midst of the POWs, then signaled for servants to carry over basket after basket of steaming rye bread. Dozens of doctors with medical kits on their backs had come with her.
The Crown Princess Consort gestured to the guards at the worksite. Before long, more than a thousand Russian POWs lined up and passed before her one by one.
"This was baked in my bakery. Eat quickly." Alexandra stuffed bread into the prisoners' hands and offered a few comforting words. Whenever she saw someone injured, she instructed the doctors to tend to their wounds.
Seeing the Russian-style ornament at the princess's collar and holding still-warm bread, nearly all the Russian POWs silently began wiping away