In 1940, two years after a brutal civil war that resulted in the return of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the revived German Empire emerged as the dominant military, economic, and technological power in most of Europe. The Central Powers had been reformed, and...
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The Empress sat in unmotivated anticipation on her throne for the moment that Oberstleutnant Werner von Goldberg finally walked through the doors at the end of the room to meet her. The fact that he hadn't walked in an hour after she arrived, despite arriving, meant he was either stalling or giving her some time to prepare. The fact that most of the nobles present in the seats to the right and left side would point to the latter, she no longer knows her city's saviour anymore.
Fashionably late wasn't one of Werner's games. It was the game of politics, one that he has no time for. If he was playing that game, it had to have some sort of motivation. That motivation in question wasn't easy to spot, meaning he had learnt a thing or two about keeping his true feelings hidden deep.
She could hear the chatting and murmuring on her right, left, and overhead. If she didn't have a headset provided by the Abwehr at her own request and Werner's permission, she would've never understood her own court's feelings about their own empress. Luckily, none of them could comprehend the headsets, so none of them was expecting their own empress to listen to their whispers.
"What exactly was she thinking, talking so coy with the Major?!"
"It is HIS report, HIS word, that is keeping the army of the Reich protecting the land."
"Is Lord Werner going to scold the empress?"
Each comment only added to the Empress's decreasing mentality. Each comment wouldn't have been made if she was still in charge, only kept in the mind, meaning they'd finally realised who they had to fear in this day and age. The moment Werner walked right in and everyone present was silenced proved her point, even though he was alone, not a super soldier or metallic dog in sight. Is this your way of letting us know you aren't afraid of us? Guinevere thought.
When Werner walked in, it looked very different from when he first entered her throne room. His posture was more stiffened, like a military commander, and his facial expression was less of an arrogant grin and more of a blank glare, like being forced to be where he doesn't want to go. The Major truly was the one who orchestrated this meeting.
Werner stopped in the centre of the throne room and, in a serious tone, asked, "Is the report of your resistance to our military mission here true, Empress Guinevere?"
Guinevere was taken aback for a moment. This wasn't the same Werner from months ago. "It's nice to meet you again, Lord Werner von Goldberg." She tried to feign a smile but ended up creating the most awkward grin.
"Let's not talk like old friends and get down to business." A demand that made the nobles on the rafters gasp. "Why is it you believe you can cheek one of our officers like some politician?"
The smile left the empress. "I expected you were summoned by the Major as if he was of higher rank. I must submit my own grievances as I say that he has consistently been making demands that I have no time for, like summoning me to witness him play with the toys he showed me many times before. Is this the German way of trying to impress me?"
