Bruno sat in the Kaiser’s palace, a cup of tea in his hands. For today’s occasion he had dusted off the old Reichsmarschall uniform. Not because he had co out of retirent and taken up the sword once more on behalf of the Reich.
But because it acted as his royal regalia. Every dal and honor that was officially recognized by the Reich as valid to be worn within formal military uniforms was emblazoned spectacularly across his visage.
He looked like a man from another century. A century where kings and emperors ruled man. Not technocrats, bureaucrats, and politicians.
By his will and hand alone fate had kneeled in submission, and that era continued into the modern age. After half a century of warfare, Bruno sat calmly, Kaiser Wilhelm II seated in front of him.
The two n shared tea and didn’t say a word. Not at first, that is until finally Wilhelm spoke.
"I must say... When I appointed you Chancellor, I didn’t expect you to force into the office and co-sign each and every piece of paperwork you approved. Do you intend to work into an early grave?"
Bruno chuckled and shook his head when he heard this.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you’re already living on borrowed ti. Thanks to the dical advancents my corporation spurred into this world, your doctors were able to detect your condition and treat it so effectively that you’ve lived five years beyond the point you would have if the dicine didn’t exist."
The Kaiser scoffed and rolled his eyes, sipping from his tea before responding again in the exaggerated manner Bruno had grown fond of.
"Yes, and in doing so I lived just long enough to be buried by the mountain of paperwork you require of !"
Bruno didn’t say anything, he simply smirked. And that irritated Wilhelm more than anything else could have.
But Bruno cut him off before he could continue.
"You could always abdicate and allow your son to finally take control. The Crown Prince is just a few years younger than I am. And you are already the Kaiser who will be known for restoring the Greater German Reich. Why don’t you enjoy the rest of your life in peace, luxury, and privacy? Either that, or you can stubbornly wait until your son, Wilhelm, is your age by the ti he inherits the throne, and continue to wake up at dawn and spend eight hours of your day co-signing paperwork with in my office."
Wilhelm stared in absolute silence at the sheer audacity that his favorite subject had posed to him. Bruno simply smirked in silence and continued to drink his tea, knowing it would further infuriate the German Emperor.
The Kaiser opened his mouth to speak, but looked out the window and remained utterly silent. Berlin was the pinnacle of human civilization, the only other cities were also German, and did so at a different level.
He had accomplished in his life more than he ever expected, and in reality those accomplishnts belonged to the man sitting next to him. But history would rember him as the Kaiser whose reign they occurred under.
Wilhelm sighed heavily and muttered beneath his breath so low that Bruno couldn’t hear the words.
"Perhaps it is ti...."
Bruno had only heard the heaviness of the sigh and the tone of lant. Not the actual words spoken. He raised his brow while taking another sip of his tea before speaking.
"I’m sorry? I didn’t quite hear that."
The Kaiser sighed and shook his head, thinking deeply on a matter Bruno could not surmise with a bitter smile on his face.
"Nothing, don’t worry about it. You have a trip to prepare for. All of Europe’s leaders will be eting in Hanseong before long. I would make the journey for myself, but these bones are far too old to travel such a distance. You’ll have to go in my stead."
Bruno scowled, he knew this matter well in advance. Hell, he had naturally already made his preparations for it.
But the thought of sitting a table full of diplomats, kings, emperors, and bureaucrats, arguing about the precise nature of the future the next generation had already planned. And who would play what role in its building was sothing Bruno found nothing short of distasteful.
And the Kaiser knew it... It was his turn to smirk as he waited Bruno’s response. Sothing that made the man absolutely livid. Which was only stoked further by Wilhelm’s direct provocation.
"What? Are you telling the King of Alemannia, the Reichsmarschall, and the man known most fiercely as the Lion of Tirol, is afraid of a little economic summit?"
Bruno scoffed so low it almost sounded like a growl. He rolled his eyes in silent indignation while sipping from his cup.
"Is it too late for to re-enlist?"
The sheer absurdity of the comnt prompted Wilhelm to break out into laughter. Bruno would rather enlist as infantry and storm a machine gun nest than engage in an economic summit.
And the worst part was, the Kaiser knew that was true. It had not been said in jest, nor with bravado. That was just the kind of man Bruno was, and perhaps always had been.
The two of them shared a laugh before silence settled once more, and as it did Bruno broke it.
"Fine... It can’t be helped. I suppose you’ll have to owe one."
Wilhelm didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. Both of them knew all too well how much the Kaiser, the House of Hohenzollern, and all of Germany owed Bruno for what he had done in this life.
Bruno instead, stood up from his seat and placed his teacup down on its saucer. Bowing respectfully to the Kaiser before walking off.
"Thank you for the tea, Your Majesty. I shouldn’t be gone long, when I get back, I’ll make sure to drag you back into the Reich Chancellery so we can finish, together, all the paperwork that will surely have stacked up on my desk during my absence."
Bruno walked off, leaving the Kaiser to mutter bitterly beneath his breath.
"Perhaps I should abdicate after all...."
---
Alexei stood in the Tsar’s Winter Palace. Saint Petersburg was so peaceful this ti of year. He was in the act of packing his own trunk. A habit he had never picked up in his life, until his wife Elsa beca a part of it.
She aided him in doing so, ensuring that everything they needed for the journey to the East was properly prepared in advance.
Alexei had just placed one of his toothbrushes in a bag filled with other such hygiene products. And sighed when looking over at his wife who was preparing her most priceless dresses and jewelry for the occasion.
"You know you don’t have to bother traveling across Eurasia with again. I’m sure the other delegates won’t be bringing their wives."
Elsa didn’t stop packing, she continued with her actions as if a woman possessed. All the while addressing her husband’s concerns.
"I sincerely doubt they will, but my father will be there. And until the maglev that connects Saint Petersburg to Innsbruck is complete, it as a right royal pain to see my parents. Even if my mother stays behind like last ti, the ability to see my father for a few days is worth the trip. So why would I wait for you in Saint Petersburg when I can just accompany you east?"
Alexei chuckled, Elsa was usually reserved in public and hard gained the nickna the Ice Empress of Russia by many in the Romanov court. But when it ca to family, whether that was her parents, or siblings, or her husband and children, she was a different person entirely.
No matter how many years they had been married, he continued to find the duality of her personality amusing. He also knew that once the woman was determined on a course of action, there was nothing in this universe that could convince her otherwise.
Because of this, he sighed and shook his head. Thinking instead about the economic summit and what his father-in-law had planned to reveal to the world this ti.
Elsa imdiately knew exactly what her husband was thinking about and was quick to interject her thoughts.
"If I know my father, he’s probably going to attempt to negotiate a way for all the European realms to invest resources and manpower into building a massive infrastructure project."
Alexei stopped what he was doing and looked over at his wife with a suspicious gaze.
"And just how the hell do you know that?"
Elsa scoffed and packed one of her favorite blouses into the back, neatly folding it so there wasn’t a single crease. All the while dismissing her husband’s concerns.
"Because... my father has already accomplished all of his life goals, and he’s still got a few decades more to live. My father is not the type to cope with inactivity for long. And what does a man like that do when he’s won every war and dismantled every enemy worth fighting? He builds a better future...."
Alexei stared at his wife in astonishnt. The woman had always understood him better than himself, in fact now that he thought about it, she must have been a clairvoyant of so kind, because she seed to possess this degree intuition towards everyone.
But he didn’t interrogate further. Only ti would tell if Elsa was right, and by Alexei’s experience she usually was. For now, he finished packing up his bags with his wife and prepared for the journey east.
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