Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 607: A Matter of the Heart

The drawing room of the Tyrolean estate was lit by soft golden lamplight, the long curtains pulled aside to reveal the gentle snowfall beyond the windowpanes.

It was a rare night when all the great figures of the von Zehntner family stood gathered not for matters of state or strategy, but for something as old and human as love.

Erich stood at attention, still dressed in the uniform he wore for his return from Spain.

His medals caught the light, among them the gleaming star of his valor awarded by the restored Spanish monarchy.

But the young man’s jaw was clenched, and his eyes never quite met the gaze of those before him.

Before him stood his parents, Erwin and Alya, noble and composed in posture, but unmistakably curious.

Heidi sat beside her husband, Bruno, both elder figures unmoving, watching with expressions unreadable.

Erich could feel the weight of his grandfather’s scrutiny.

Sharp, piercing, the gaze of a man who had survived two lifetimes of war, betrayal, and victory.

The silence stretched long, oppressive.

Then Erich drew in a breath and spoke.

“I know this will come as a surprise. Perhaps even a disappointment. But I’ve made my choice. I love her. I’ve loved her for some time now. Erika is more than just the daughter of a fallen friend; she is her own person. Strong. Proud. Kind. I want to marry her.”

Still, no one spoke.

He hesitated, as if waiting for the blow to fall. “If it means relinquishing my inheritance or standing, I’ll bear it. I would rather be a man with no title and her by my side than a prince of this house with nothing in my heart.”

A faint tremble quivered at the corner of Alya’s lips, almost a smile. Heidi blinked once, then glanced toward her husband.

Bruno exhaled and leaned forward slightly. “I just wish you had told me your intentions earlier.”

Erich’s heart stopped.

Bruno continued, calm and dry as snow: “I would have officially arranged it. Despite the fact that her mother still loathes me, I did promise to look after Erika’s family when her father fell. Had you done so, I wouldn’t have made other plans…”

He trailed off, swirling the wine in his glass with just enough pause to make the young man sweat.

“…Which I suppose now passes to your younger brother.”

Erich blinked. “So… you’re not… angry?”

Bruno looked amused. “Of course I’m angry. I had six months of negotiations with With House Orleans lined up for you. But… I should have put those plans on ice when I first noticed how smitten you were with Erika… that’s my problem, not yours.”

Before Erich could respond, Erwin cleared his throat.

“Don’t be too harsh on the boy,” he said, placing a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder. “He’s young. And thought he would have to elope. Can you really blame him for not telling you about his desires sooner? This is you we’re talking about, father…”

A beat passed, and Heidi, of all people nodded first. “It’s true.”

Alya gave a knowing smirk and chimed in, “You do have a reputation.”

Even the servants paused as Bruno slowly looked around the room, incredulous.

“Am I really so intimidating?” he asked at last, voice colored with genuine confusion, “that my own family would fear disappointing me?”

Everyone answered in unison.

“Yes.”

Heidi sipped her tea.

Erwin smiled faintly.

Alya stifled a laugh.

And Erich… Erich finally let himself breathe, shoulders sagging with relief as he turned to his betrothed who now entered from the hall.

Erika, proud-eyed and unafraid, gave him a subtle nod, as though this, too, was just another victory earned on a battlefield.

“You know,” Bruno muttered, rising with a sigh and walking to the hearth, “in my youth, men feared disappointing their commanders. Not their grandfathers.”

Erwin chuckled. “That’s because most grandfathers didn’t annex Austria and survive being shot at by every major government on the planet.”

Bruno stared into the flames, then shook his head, smiling to himself.

“Well then,” he murmured, lifting his glass toward the couple. “To youth. And to your better judgment… eventually.”

Everyone raised their glasses.

Outside, the wind blew over the mountains.

Inside, peace, at least for now, held fast.

—

Later that night, Heidi and Bruno had a private moment on the balcony outside their master bedroom.

Bruno seemed almost sulking after the moment earlier in the day. And when his wife found him, she knew all too well what he was thinking.

“Did you honestly not think about your position and how the family views you…. Have you never once took a genuine look at the medals on your chest and what they actually mean. There has never been a soldier so dedicated in the history of the Reich. And yet, you want to believe your family, especially the younger generations, sees you as anything other than a legendary, mythic figure?”

Legendary… Mythic…. A name designed to be written into the annals of history.

Was that really him? Had he become so old, had he accomplished so many feats that this was how people viewed him, even his own kin?

Bruno didn’t know how to respond, not even how to feel about the thought. He had lived his entire life preparing for the future.

Preventing wars, starting them, creating dynasties, destroying others.

All for one purpose, one aim. A future worth living in. Not for him, but his children, and his children’s children.

But… His children’s children were already adults, at least some of them.

And they saw him as a titanic figure already.

Then what did the common people think of him?

He had never thought of himself as one of the many historical legends he had come to know. And now… He himself was revered in the same way that he held the likes of the late Tsar Nicholas II, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and August von Mackensen.

Men he had known, men he had shared drinks with. Men who were now either dead or dying.

All he could do was sigh and shake his head, with a bitter smile on his face.

“I really am old, aren’t I?”

Heidi simply laughed and grabbed Bruno’s hand. Holding him tightly as she assured him that it was okay to grow old.

“Yeah… but we grew old together, and isn’t that what everyone desires?”