Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 616: When the Circle Closes

By the spring of 1934 the rain slicked stones of Unter den Linden gleamed under the gaslights, the Brandenburg Gate standing watch over the capital like an ancient sentinel.

Inside the marble corridors of the Berliner Schloss, the air was thick with the scent of polish and cigars.

King Arthur Arz von Straußenburg of Hungary was not a man to fidget, but the long walk to the Kaiser’s private salon made his fingers drum the silver head of his cane.

He wore the full dress of his restored kingdom, green tunic, gold braid, and the sash of St. Stephen, every inch the monarch he had fought to become.

The doors swung open.

Wilhelm II stood by the fire, one hand resting on a carved chair, the other stroking his mustache with the easy self-assurance of a man who had outlived empires and was now assembling his own anew.

And there, already seated, already watching, was Bruno von Zehntner.

Officially, he was in Berlin to “visit his daughter Eva.” Unofficially, Arthur suspected, Bruno had read the request for an audience before it even reached the Kaiser’s desk.

“Your Majesty,” Wilhelm said warmly, gesturing to the seat opposite. “You’ve come at an interesting time.”

Arthur inclined his head, settling into the chair. “I intend to make it more interesting. Hungary wishes to take its rightful place among the Central Powers, while the path is open, and before lesser nations claim it.”

Bruno’s eyes flicked to the King, calm but measuring. “The path is never as open as it seems, Your Majesty. Those who walk it too late… or too early… often find the gates shut behind them.”

Arthur smiled thinly. “Then perhaps you might advise when the timing is… correct.”

Wilhelm chuckled, the firelight catching the medals on his breast. “Timing, my dear Arthur, is what we are here to discuss. But know this, our circle grows smaller by the month. Those inside it will shape the century. Those outside…”

His glance toward the rain-streaked windows said the rest.

Bruno leaned back, steepling his fingers. “The question, Your Majesty, is not whether Hungary wishes to join, but what Hungary is prepared to bring when it does.”

For a moment, the only sound was the steady ticking of the grandfather clock.

Arthur’s smile returned, sharper this time. “Enough to make sure no one dares shut the gate behind me.”

—

The meeting ended with polite handshakes and practiced smiles, Arthur escorted away by a liveried aide.

Bruno lingered by the fire, eyes still on the door. Wilhelm stepped up beside him, his cane tapping lightly on the carpet.

“You’ve worn that same look since he walked in,” the Kaiser remarked.

Bruno exhaled through his nose. “From the moment he signed the peace accords with Romania in Tyrol, with me as witness, I knew the day would come when he’d make a move for what I denied him.”

A brief sigh escaped Bruno’s lips as he looked outside the glass window, stained with condensation and raindrops.

It would appear there was a look of lament in his ice-blue eyes as he looked back down at the glass of beer in his hands.

“I may not have been ruler over Transylvania for long, but I did my best to secure its future and fulfill my duty to the people. Now he threatens that…”

His gaze drifted to the map on the far wall, the Carpathians drawn like a blade across the paper.

“But so does Romania. And if I’m being frank, Hungary makes a better ally than an enemy. Romania lacks the steel and resolve to be formidable in either role.”

Wilhelm hummed thoughtfully. “Do you think he’ll push the matter soon?”

“He’ll wait until the wind favors him, he’s not reckless. But he’s impatient. Every day we delay, he measures it against his own ambitions.”

“And if we open the gate too soon?” Wilhelm asked.

“Then he walks in thinking he’s an equal partner rather than a guest at our table,” Bruno said flatly.

The Kaiser chuckled. “You’ve always had a talent for putting the matter plainly.”

“I call it as I see it,” Bruno replied. “Let him stew a little longer. Give him reassurance to keep him from wandering into the Allies’ arms, but make him prove himself first.”

Wilhelm nodded slowly. “Very well. We’ll bring him in when the time is right.”

Bruno allowed a faint smile. “That will ease his worries, and ours. A Hungary at our side is useful. A Hungary chasing its own designs unchecked…” He let the thought trail off.

The Kaiser’s cane tapped once more. “Then we’ll make sure the door opens only when we hold the key.”

Outside, the rain still fell over Berlin, washing the streets clean, but leaving the stones beneath unchanged.

—

The carriage wheels whispered over wet stone, Berlin’s streetlamps bending to yellow blurs in the rain.

King Arthur Arz von Straußenburg sat rigid in the seat, cane across his lap, staring at nothing.

“They’re delaying me,” he muttered, more to himself than to his aide. “Hungary will join when it suits them… and not a day sooner.”

He leaned back, his leg throbbing with the old ache of Balkan winters. And then, unbidden, the memory came.

Belgrade, in the opening days of the war. Arthur had ridden in with his men expecting to find the siege still raging.

Instead, the air was thick with a strange, metallic stillness. Not a gunshot. Not a scream. Just the faint, acrid ghost of something he couldn’t name at the time.

The gates stood open. The streets were clean. Too clean. Not a body in sight, yet the city was empty of life.

The German troops on watch spoke in low voices to his officers.

Whispers of what had happened before the Austro-Hungarians arrived: of envoys from the city offering peace, of how Bruno von Zehntner had received them in his siege camp.

And after some insult… or perhaps merely a reminder of a Sarajevo café and the people who once poured his coffee… the meeting had ended in gunfire.

The official report said Belgrade had refused to surrender, and so the city had been gassed to spare German lives and its ancient walls.

But in the private telling, Arthur heard darker things. That the envoys had been shot where they stood. And that their bodies lay somewhere beneath the soil of that very camp.

In the end, the gas had not been a strategic necessity, but a message.

Arthur had seen the empty city with his own eyes, had walked streets where not even a stray dog lingered.

In that moment, he understood what kind of man Bruno was, one who could make an entire capital vanish in a single night, and sleep soundly after.

Now, in Berlin’s rain, Arthur tapped his cane against the floor, jaw tight. “Even monsters can be bargained with,” he told himself quietly.

But the truth was, he feared what might happen if the bargaining ever failed.

—

Berlin, Reich Chancellery… Later That Week

The rain had not let up all morning, spattering against the tall windows of the Foreign Ministry.

A clerk hurried in, boots squeaking on polished tile, hat dripping. He handed a sealed telegram to an Undersecretary.

The man cracked the wax with the absentminded air of someone expecting yet another dull logistics report. His eyes scanned the page. Then he stopped. Blinked. Read it again.

“From Sofia?” he muttered.

“Yes, sir,” the clerk said, still damp. “Priority diplomatic channel. They request an immediate audience with the Kaiser.”

Von Hatzfeldt’s jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before glancing toward the closed doors of the conference room, where the Kaiser, Bruno, and the Hungarian delegation were still deep in discussion.

“Greece first,” von Hatzfeldt murmured. “Then Hungary. And now…” he let the telegram droop slightly, “…Bulgaria.”

The clerk shifted uneasily. “Should I file it under standard scheduling?”

“No,” Hatzfeldt sighed. “File it under inevitable.”

Inside the conference room, an adjutant slipped in and placed the telegram on the Kaiser’s desk.

Wilhelm read it, gave a short bark of laughter, and passed it across to Bruno without a word.

Bruno scanned it, one eyebrow rising. For a heartbeat, his expression was unreadable… then the widest grin Wilhelm had ever seen stretched across the man’s face.

“Of course they are.”

Wilhelm tilted his head. “You seem… unusually pleased.”

Bruno leaned back in his chair, still looking at the telegram as if it were a long-lost friend’s letter.

“In the last war, I was conflicted when Greece declared itself on our side. Sure, I always had a desire to reclaim Hellenic lands for Christendom that the Ottomans had long since stolen. But Bulgaria is the truest ally we could ever have…. not flashy, not fickle, just there when you needed them most. No questions. No hesitation.” He tapped the paper. “Seems some things don’t change.”

The Kaiser smirked. “So you think they’ll be useful this time as well?”

Bruno’s grin sharpened. “Useful? No, they’ll be indispensable. While others dither and calculate, Bulgaria is there for you, regardless of whether it’s a good idea or not. The very thought that something could go wrong doesn’t even cross their minds. They are the kind of friends you want by your side in the trenches when you’re surrounded by a world of enemies.”

Wilhelm chuckled. “Then perhaps fate has a sense of humor after all.”