Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 894: Lunch in Vienna Part I

While Bruno’s focus had shifted from geo-politics to internal development that did not mean for one second that the world had stopped spinning without his notice.

Hungary had repeatedly sent forth communications with the Kaiser regarding their current situation regarding tensions with Romania, and the liberties they had taken during the Second World war.

The Kaiser’s words had been anything but reassuring to King Pál Esterházy de Galántha of Hungary.

If anything, his words were deliberately cryptic. Vague notions of Germany stepping out from its previous role as World Hegemon and instead letting the world “settle its own affairs for once.”

While many on the King’s council assured him, that was the Kaiser’s way of saying he would not intervene in any actions taken in Romania, it truly wasn’t his word that Pál was looking to secure.

No, he wanted to speak with Bruno. But Bruno had disappeared from the map. Bruno always had a tendency to become like wallpaper when he desired to. Especially now in his old age, where he was often mistaken as just another old man in public.

It was hard to know what the man was doing, when everything he did now was behind the scenes. The name “Bruno von Zehntner” had in many ways ceased to be printed. Instead, whenever something that bore his fingerprints on it became noteworthy it bore the name of whatever proxy he desired.

“Werwolf group leads attack against Turkish minority in Arabia.”

“Waffenwerke von Zehntner conducts first test flight of supersonic jet.”

Every time there was something somewhere that Bruno was involved with, there was always a stand in for his name. If the King of Hungary didn’t know any better, he might have presumed Bruno was actually enjoying his retirement with his family….

There was simply no way the man refused to take messages from a fellow monarch, simply so he could play a falling block game with his granddaughters, was there?”

It took nearly a year for King Pál to finally get in touch with Bruno. And by the time he did, Bruno agreed to a brief, one hour lunch meeting with the man in Vienna.

When the King of Hungary arrived at the agreed upon location, Bruno was relaxing beneath the spring air. Pál almost didn’t recognize the man who was renowned across the word for bringing it to heel.

Bruno was smiling, wearing civilian clothes, and not even highly formal attire. He wore a linen buttoned shirt, a pair of slacks, and sunglasses. He looked healthy, happy, and free from stress.

This was not the man Pál had known in life. The only reason Pál didn’t mistake Bruno for another man entirely was because Archduke Karl von Habsburg was sitting in front of him.

Pál had nearly passed them by entirely until he realized what he was looking at. The two men sat, enjoying coffee and breakfast at the café. Bruno even waved at Pál, causing the man to freeze in his spot. Staring at the two other monarchs as if he had completely stepped into another timeline.

All eyes suddenly fell on the trio as the people realized exactly what was happening. Bruno and Karl were so commonly dressed nobody in the vicinity thought to give them a second glance.

But Pál was dressed to his status. And was surrounded by his own Royal Guard. This caused Karl to look over at Bruno with an interrogating gaze.

“Did you not tell him we were meeting up without ceremony?”

Bruno sighed, and raised his sunglasses and his menu, pretending not to know Pál while muttering under his breath.

“I did… I think he didn’t believe I was being serious….”

Eventually Pál was forced to contend with reality, understanding that Bruno’s message to him wasn’t code for something his intelligence couldn’t break, or that he could remotely extrapolate. The man had seriously asked him to come to a café in Vienna as a civilian. And he had messed it up….

He sighed heavily and forced his way forward, sitting at the table with the other two monarchs. Where Karl couldn’t help but make a remark.

“Well… I suppose it can’t be avoided now can it? The entire public’s eye is now squarely upon up.”

Bruno did not remotely lower his menu, even as the waitress forced her way over, performing her best attempt at a curtsy that she could manage.

“Your majesties! I’m sorry! I should have known, are you sure you want to sit all the way out here? There is better seating inside if you desire to change….”

Bruno sighed and handed the woman his menu before standing up and following her indoors.

“No point being out in the open now that we’re exposed, shall we have this conversation somewhere more private?”

Karl instantly followed Bruno inside, leaving Pál to feel like he was an absolute idiot. But in his defense, when was the last time anyone, anywhere on Earth had even heard of Bruno relaxing, let alone witnessed it.

He walked into the proverbial lion’s den as the group entered a small and private room away from the public eye.

Once inside, Bruno sat down and gave his order to the waitress. Karl followed, and Pál… was given some time to think about it.

It was only after the door shut behind them, did he finally speak up.

“Okay… I appear to have completely misunderstood your message…. I do apologize for ruining your plans.”

Bruno simply looked at his watch and shook his head.

“It’s a shame, we’ve already wasted a quarter of an hour simply moving tables. You’ve got forty minutes of my time, but I’m not missing the next train to Innsbruck. And I promised my wife I would be home in time for her favorite series this afternoon, so hurry this up will you?”

Pál shot a glance over at Karl who simply smirked and shook his head. Shooting the Hungarian King a glance that suggested this was not a farce, this was how Bruno really was when stripped of the ceremony and grandeur that he was usually forced to partake in.