Emperor Taisho stared at Bruno intensely for a long while. What the man had said was sothing no other had ever dared to utter in front of him until now. He would not kneel? That was an insult to his station as the Emperor of Japan, a figure of almost divine power among his own people.
For this foreigner to refuse such a simple act of submission, while acting as an emissary from abroad. It was a direct blow to his prestige. But Bruno did not blink. He did not hesitate. He showed no fear, as he blatantly, and openly refused to get down on one knee and bow his head.
Voices from nearby began to break out in dissent among themselves, outraged over Bruno's lack of "Basic courtesy." anwhile, one pair of familiar eyes gazed upon Bruno's form, shocked that the man had returned, that he had aged so well.
She was a princess who should never have existed in this world, and yet she did, an aberration in a tiline that was otherwise nearly identical to the one Bruno had co from.
And she had fallen for Bruno during their first encounter when she was just a little girl. Now, however as a grown woman, who had not seen, nor thought about Bruno in years, she couldn't help but feel a deeply complicated mixture of emotions in her chest, as her husband, the heir apparent to the Japanese Throne, gazed upon Bruno with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Bruno was, after all, a man of great renown within Japan's military circles. The na Mamushi was still rembered by the generals and the admirals at its highest ranks. The foreign advisor who had been "tricked" into taking responsibility for the failures at Port Arthur only to win the battle in a single decisive assault at 203 ter hill.
Then managed to stalk the Russian retreat back to Mukden where he annihilated the army to the last man with overwhelming machine gun and artillery fire. iji had been fond of Bruno, especially because Bruno had freely shared the depth of his military insights with the aging emperor.
But the new guard were not fans of his. They saw Bruno as having stolen the honor of the generals at Port Arthur and Mukden. He was not a hero, let alone a man worthy of the honor which the previous emperor had pinned to his chest.
And now, Bruno stood defiantly in front of the new emperor, his eyes conveying clear intent. In the end the room turned absolutely quiet, as all waited for the Emperor's response, which he ultimately did so in a way that thoroughly broke diplomatic ties with Germany once and for all.
"If you will not kneel, then you have no place in this court. Go back to whence you ca, foreigner. Because of who you are, and what you an to your Kaiser, I will grant your insolence pardon just this once, but return to these lands again, and I will be forced to call for your head! Be Gone!"
Bruno did not react in the slightest. He did not perform a gesture of refute, or even speak his thoughts on the matter. He simply made an about face and walked towards the door. He more or less expected this outco in advance, and even then, he knew there was little he and Taisho could discuss in terms of the ongoing disputes.
Japan wanted Germany's islands for its own reasons, and Bruno would not be able to convince them otherwise. There was only one outco, and this visit was more a formality than anything else.
As a result, he left the Emperor's palace with the answer the Kaiser was looking for. A reason to invest in defenses and to deploy troops to the region. And Taisho had been baited into giving that reason to the Reich.
However, as Bruno was about to step on the ship to take him back to the Reich, he was stopped by a few ard guards. At first Bruno thought perhaps the Emperor was going to have him assassinated in secret, but then the guard spoke to him, assuring the man that they were not hostile with a formal and respectable salute.
"General Mamushi! We understand our orders are to ensure your departure as soon as possible, but before you go, there is one person who wishes to speak with you, to say their final farewell before you leave these lands forever…"
Bruno couldn't possibly think of who this person was, but decided to wait regardless. His own bodyguards were on high alert as he did so. However, soon enough, a car pulled into the dock, and a young woman, dressed rather lavishly in western attire stepped forward.
It had been so many years, Bruno barely recognized the Japanese Princess, but he would never forget her na, as she was an unknown entity in this world, one who he only learned about due to a fateful crossing of their paths.
And as Princess Sakura stood there in front of Bruno, her hands held together, and fidgeting in anxiety, she was about to say sothing, anything to just get her thoughts out when Bruno raised a finger to her lips, and silenced her with a simple hush.
"Not a word, Princess…. It has been the greatest curse of this life that I was blessed with the looks and charm of a womanizer, without the heart to be one… I will tell you what I told the others who have never let go of their childish fancies towards .
It was never ant to be, and I never once considered you anything other than a friend… Live your life well, and should our nations co to blows in the near future, honor your family and your holand."
After saying this, Bruno turned around and left, leaving the Japanese Princess who had thought she moved on from Bruno with cold clarity, and the finality she needed in doing so. Whether or not the Empire of Japan and the German Reich would go to war over colonies in the south-east had yet to be seen.
But as far as Bruno was concerned, his story with the Land of the Rising Sun and its people had co to an end. After all, his ambitions were not in the East but in Europe. And that was where the totality of his focus would be from this day forward.
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