Catherine and the Black Emperor

The Royal Theatre.

Sophia blindfolded Peter with a black cloth, and she stopped him several times when he tried to take it off.

"Alright, you can take it off now!" Sofia said, ready.

Peter removed the cloth and saw the Prussian army on the sand table; every soldier was lifelike.

"I can't believe this is for me?" Peter exclaimed in shock.

"Do you like it?" Sofia asked expectantly.

Peter looked at her, the joy in his eyes visibly diminishing, and he shook his head in refusal.

"You should know I don't like you. You don't meet my standards, so even though I like these soldiers, I don't like them that much."

Sofia was disappointed, but she concealed her low spirits well.

"My appearance cannot be changed, but Your Grace, I believe there must be other reasons that please you. But please remember, in the Orthodox Church, despondency is a sin."

She gave a signal with her eyes, and Matryona immediately had the musicians begin to play.

Sure enough, Peter's attention was immediately drawn to the musical instruments.

"Classical music is so beautiful! Masters, let's play Vivaldi's pieces together!"

He picked up his violin and played passionately with the musicians, while Sofia and Matryona applauded from the sidelines.

"My nephew, you are so lucky."

As the music finished playing, a voice came from behind them. Everyone turned around and saw Elizabeth, who had arrived at some unknown time.

Elizabeth walked up to them, with Sergei following behind her.

Peter, Sophia, and others bowed in greeting.

Elizabeth looked at Sofia, her eyes filled with approval and satisfaction: "I have good news for you. The engagement ceremony will be held next weekend at the Cathedral of the Assumption (the church where the Tsars were crowned). You will be baptized the day before."

Sofia was overjoyed: "You've arranged everything?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

"There is no name like 'Frederica' in the church calendar, but my middle name is my Orthodox name, Sophia."

"Sophia? Peter Romanov, do you like that name?" Elizabeth asked her nephew.

The nephew shrugged indifferently. Elizabeth stared at him intently, her gaze becoming deep and cold. Under this pressure, Peter nodded.

"Yes, I hate this name."

Elizabeth looked at Sophia with a smile, but her words carried an undeniable air: "I've chosen a first and last name for you, using my mother's name."

Sofia tried to salvage the situation: "But my father is Christian Augustus."

"My mother's original name was Masha Sumerova, which was bestowed upon her by my father, Peter the Great. She has her current name, and you should feel honored. Do you have any further comments?"

Sofia bowed and said, "It is a great honor to be named after your mother."

June 28, Moscow.

In the early morning, Sofia was awakened from her sleep by Matrena. Elizabeth personally dressed her in a heavy scarlet taffeta gown with silver embroidery along the seams.

In contrast to Elizabeth's gown, which was adorned with dazzling diamonds, Sofia's gown was only decorated with a brooch bestowed upon her by Elizabeth.

Her hair, which wasn't powdered, was adorned with a simple white ribbon.

"I am gorgeous and noble, charming and alluring; you are simple and elegant, fresh and refined. We are both so captivating." Elizabeth smiled with satisfaction.

Sofia smiled as Elizabeth led her by the hand through the luxurious corridors to the cathedral.

"Look, the Grand Duke's fiancée is out!"

The church was packed with people.

With her black hair, snow-white skin, blue eyes, and scarlet dress, this young girl was so delicate and elegant, so captivating, that she captured the hearts of countless young men.

Sergei stood in the crowd, next to Naryshkin, and did not respond to Naryshkin's words—that the princess was so beautiful.

Sofia knelt on the square cushion, and the lengthy initiation ceremony began.

The priest was the archbishop of the Novgorod diocese (located between Moscow and St. Petersburg), and he stood before the crowd wearing a cross on his chest.

"Lord, you have warned me that without you I will accomplish nothing. My Lord, I believe in you with all my heart, and I kneel at your feet. Please forgive my sins and help me to finish what I have not yet done. In your holy name, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."

At the priest's prompting, Sofia lowered her head, holy water was poured over her long hair, and the priest pinned a cross on her chest.

Elizabeth placed an extremely expensive diamond necklace around Sofia's neck.

"Wear it with pride, my dear, and forget your past."

Sofia had a sweet smile, but her eyes were full of tears.

Elizabeth ignored him and looked at Peter: "Peter Romanov, what's your fiancée's name?"

Peter looked at Sophia, a mocking smile on his face: "Ekaterina Alexeyevna."

Elizabeth smiled and asked, "What was her name before?"

Peter shook his head and replied, "I don't remember. Nobody remembers anymore!"

Sofia seemed to be laughing, and she seemed to be crying at the same time.

On this day, Sofia converted to Orthodox Christianity and publicly announced to the Russian people that she had renounced her Lutheran faith and joined the Orthodox Church.

On this day, Sofia Augustus Frederica from Anhat-Zebust became Ekaterina Alexeyevna.

"A historically renowned emperor has appeared," Sergei murmured to himself.

After the ceremony, Sofia had a short rest, and the courtiers surrounded Elizabeth and Peter. Sergei then approached.

"Your Highness, everything has finally settled down."

Sofia's feelings were very complicated, just like before, with both joy and sadness.

"Congratulations, this is what you've been waiting for."

Sergei sat down next to her, and together they gazed at the crowd in the distance.

Sofia was at a loss for words. For the first time, she was speechless in front of him, or rather, nothing she said could express her guilt and self-blame at this moment.

Finally, Sergei spoke up: "Do you know the next procedure?"

"It's a banquet. No matter what kind of event or ceremony it is, there's always a banquet. I'm very hungry, but I want to conserve my energy for tomorrow." Sophia rubbed her stomach in distress.

Before being baptized, she was required to fast for three days, and now she is so hungry that she is skin and bones and seeing stars.

Sergei handed her a piece of food.

Sofia exclaimed with delight, "Biroshgei (Russian-style pie with fillings such as beef and rice)! You knew I'd be hungry!"

Sergei smiled slightly: "Eat up."

"Um!"

Sophia quickly devoured the entire pie, filling her stomach with hunger. She then asked Elizabeth for permission to skip the banquet to conserve her energy, and Elizabeth agreed.

Johanna complained in the room.

"Because of taking care of you, I cannot attend tonight's banquet, and the Queen only gave you a necklace, which is worth at least 3000 tyrants. She should also prepare a gift for me!"

"The Queen has already been very generous," Sofia argued.

"Yes, she was incredibly generous; she was willing to give up anything, even her mother's name!"

Sofia's smile gradually faded, replaced by determination and courage.

"If I were empress, I would be Catherine II. II... sounds better than Louis XV."

Johanna couldn't help but scoff: "The French don't refer to their kings by generations, but by honorifics, like the Sun King (Louis XIV), the Father of the People (Louis XII)..."

"Yes, the Russian emperors also have their own honorific titles, Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, and I... will be called the Wise Catherine."

Sophia walked to the mirror and looked at herself.

"Or call her... Loyal Catherine."