Re: Blood and Iron

The matter was settled, and the King of Italy was welcomed to stay the weekend in Tyrol, to get a feel for the world Bruno intended to create.

Meanwhile, Bruno returned to his palace, his home. By now, after eight years of dedicated construction, and all the money and labor Bruno could pour into it, his family’s future home was nearly complete.

At most, 10% of it was still under construction.

The estate grounds served as an operational fortress, symbolic as a capital, luxurious as a home, functional as a seat of government, yet were still growing in the depths and fringes, just as Bruno’s empire is.

It was a residence built to survive the end of the world if need be, and its ongoing construction was dedicated primarily to those purposes.

Even so, that didn’t stop him and his family from enjoying its vast grounds and the amenities within them. Bruno himself found his wife waiting at the door, with a liter of beer in hand, as she hugged and kissed her husband, all while whispering into his ears.

“So… How did your meeting go?”

Bruno grabbed the beer out of Heidi’s hands and sipped its foam while kissing the woman on the lips in a way that transferred it to her own face, forming a mustache out of suds as he responded to her greeting.

“Excellent. I’ve secured a proper husband for our daughter, Anna. When she comes of age in approximately ten years, that is….”

Heidi wiped her lip by plucking Bruno’s pocket square out of his coat, and using it for its intended purpose, she then nifty made sure it was seated perfectly in its proper place before adding an additional pat to the man’s chest.

“And I presume that means you gained Italy as an ally for the Reich?”

Bruno simply nodded, taking his wife’s hand as he led her to a living area of the mighty palace that he had built for them, and their dynasty.

The two of them sat down together, lounging on a sofa, like a couple much younger than themselves, Heidi resting her legs on her husband’s lap, as she clung tightly around his neck.

“Of course, do I ever fail?”

Heidi could only laugh lightly and shake her head. Thinking back on all that Bruno had endeavored to do in this life.

“Now that I think about it… I can’t say I have ever seen you fail at anything you have set your mind to in this life. Even when you tried to protect me from those sisters of mine and their petty jealousy. You were so brazen, bold as you tossed my father’s guard to the floor!”

Bruno smirked, feeling a sense of pride well in his chest as this ancient memory from their childhood flooded his mind for the first time in years.

“Yeah… I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I?”

Heidi could only flick her husband between the eyes as she scolded him about this matter for the first time in their lives.

“Amazing!?! You bastard, I was scared to death that my father was going to have you drawn and quartered for that act! But somehow…

You not only got off without the even a slap on the wrist, you even got the old man to begin treating me better…

His wife hated it, but he had a valid excuse… Something he desperately needed, but never had until you gave it to him. I think that’s why he never came after you for smacking my sister.”

Bruno could tell that Heidi was beginning to remember past regrets she had suppressed for years.

Her relationship with her father was a distant one, and she had never truly reconciled with him during his life.

She had only learned of the truth behind his actions after the man had passed, much in the same way she had with her mother.

Because of this, Bruno wiped a strand of Heidi’s hair away from her face and leaned in with a kiss.

After doing so, he whispered into the woman’s ear a comment that couldn’t help but make her recover from her glum state.

“Anything for milady…”

Heidi couldn’t help but laugh at her husband’s poor joke. It was so absurd, and in the worst timing possible, she had to mock the man for it.

“Shut up! Must you always do that?”

Bruno’s gaze softened as he grabbed his wife by the chin and forced her to look into his eyes. His words, tender, soft, gentle.

“But of course… I hate to see you look so sad…. It wounds me more than the bullet in my shoulder ever could….”

Heidi rolled her eyes and pouted. Bruno was being unfair to this remark, but he was also being dreadfully serious.

Knowing the full weight of how he received such an injury, and what it meant to the man, there was nothing she could say to rebuke such a sweet and grim sentiment.

And seeing that Bruno had ultimately achieved his goal of uplifting his wife’s mood, before she spiraled into depression over matters she couldn’t change. He grabbed her hand and stood up, hoisting her into his arms.

Playfully tapping her nose with his index finger, he made another joke that thoroughly “outraged” her.

“You might be right… I don’t think it’s possible for me to fail in anything I aspire…”

It took all of two seconds for Heidi to realize the man was openly bragging about how he had succeeded in making her feel better.

Because of this, she stood with a huff, turned on her heel with theatrical flair, and stormed off—pausing just long enough to peek back and make sure he was watching.

“God, I love that woman…”

It would be a long while before their daughter was old enough to marry her newly betrothed.

But that didn’t matter, because Bruno had another daughter whose wedding was just around the corner, and that was far more important to him right now than matters which would be settled in a decade’s time.