Boris—Prince Michael Obolovitch

Boris’s relationship with Prince Michael is defined by devoted service and loyalty to the Obolovitch dynasty. When Michael is murdered at Chimneys, Boris confronts Mademoiselle Brun during a nighttime search; after a pistol goes off in the struggle and Brun dies, he declares that she killed his master and had tried to shoot him. The scene makes his allegiance both personal and dynastic: grief for Michael drives his response, while the dynasty remains the object of his enduring attachment.

Service and Loyalty

Boris’s conduct establishes him as a faithful servant of Prince Michael. His loyalty does not end with Michael’s death. When Mademoiselle Brun is found dead, Boris explains that he had tried to take the pistol from her and that it went off in the struggle. He attributes the outcome to St Michael’s direction, revealing how he interprets the event through devotion to his murdered master.

From Michael to Anthony Cade

After Michael dies, Boris attaches himself to Anthony Cade. Cade later remarks that Boris could not have known his true identity, making the transfer of allegiance striking: Boris’s loyalty moves to the man who is, in fact, another Obolovitch, but not because he has recognized that kinship. Superintendent Battle calls the attachment instinctive, while Cade admits that he worried it might reveal his secret.

Role in the Succession

The bond links household service to the wider dynastic crisis. Michael is a candidate for the restored throne, and after his murder his first cousin Prince Nicholas is identified as the next heir. Boris’s continued loyalty to the Obolovitch line therefore outlasts his service to Michael and attaches itself to Cade, who eventually reveals that he is Nicholas, presumed dead after spreading a false report of his death. The relationship’s significance lies in that quiet continuity: Boris remains loyal to the dynasty even before its surviving heir discloses who he is.