For the first time since Bruno had been promoted to a general position. He had not been invited to the Kaiser’s palace to receive his latest promotion. Rather, he was standing within the Headquarters of the German Army’s Central Division, saluting the German Kaiser with a stern expression on his face.
The Kaiser returned Bruno’s salute. He seemed rather proud as he did so. And why wouldn’t he be? Bruno was now only two ranks away from becoming a full fledged Field Marshal. And he was not even thirty yet.
Although, give him a year and he would be. Even so, to become a GeneralOberst at the age of 29, it was an achievement nobody had ever succeeded in obtaining prior to now. At least not in the German Army.
Then again, the rank of GeneralOberst was less than 100 years old at this point, having been made by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1854 for his son, the Prince Regent who would eventually go on to become the first Kaiser of the German Reich, Wilhelm I.
At the time, members of the Royal Family could not hold the rank of Field Marshal, which was a rank that was only meant for the purpose of wartime. Hence why GeneralOberst was created as a reward for Wilhelm I who was then the Crown Prince of Prussia.
Of course, in 1908, the Kaiser was one of many Field Marshals in the German Army, and it was a rank that could be held by any member of the Hohenzollern dynasty, as well as those who had earned it through merit whether in a time of peace or war.
By extension, the rank of GeneralOberst, or in English “Colonel General” was also held during both peace and war. As a result, the Kaiser handed Bruno a new tunic, one that had the shoulder and collar tabs of a proper Colonel General already ironed onto them.
Bruno slowly replaced the jacket, where a servant came over and stripped Bruno’s medals from his old waffenrock, and instead held his jacket firmly for the Kaiser to pin them on his chest in proper fashion.
After Bruno was properly adorned in his new uniform, he saluted the Kaiser, who returned his salute, before making a remark about Bruno’s most recent promotion and his future in the German Army.
“At this rate you will be a Generalfeldmarschall by the time you are 35. An achievement unparalleled in the history of the German nation. You should be proud of your accomplishments. There are many who have tried to prevent your success, but you have continued to prove them wrong. Until now, they can no longer deny your merit.
I look forward to your progress in the years to come GeneralOberst, do not let me down now! Oh, and by the way, you and your family should come to visit when you are able. I have many questions I wish to ask you in particular. But now is neither the time nor the place to do so.”
Quite frankly, Bruno was also certain that he would achieve the highest rank possible in the German Army by the time he was thirty-five. After all, that would also be the year that the Great War broke out if everything went according to the previous timeline.
And if he not yet earned the rank of Generalfeldmarschall by the start of the war. He would most certainly do so by the time his birthday came around. Which was towards the end of the year, as he had no doubt he would be able to crush Serbia by the time the leaves fell from the trees.
With all of this in mind, Bruno nodded his head and responded positively to the Kaiser’s invitation. No doubt thankful for the opportunity to grow close to the Imperial Dynasty, which ruled over Germany.
“Of course, your majesty, simply send me the details and I will gladly arrive when you call for me.”
The Kaiser smirked and shook his head, while clicking his tongue almost as if he was scolding Bruno before outright doing so.
“No, no, no, I think I will have the details sent to your wife. She seems to have a much better memory when it comes to social affairs now, doesn’t she?”
Bruno felt like the Kaiser was mocking him, as he often forgot about important social gatherings, and had to be reminded multiple times in advance. It was a weakness of his, partially because such things were often at the bottom of his list of priorities.
But thankfully he had Heidi was always on top of such matters, and would drag him by the ear to such events if she was required to do so. And because of this, he couldn’t refute the Kaiser nor his attempt at friendly banter.
“Alright, I trust your judgement.”
With this said, Bruno was granted leave for the day. He would return to his new estate, whereby no surprise he found his children and his wife waiting for him. By now, Heidi was confirmed to be pregnant once more. It wasn’t exactly shocking. She was younger than Bruno, and by all means fertile enough to carry another child.
Even so, Heidi still tried her best to command the kitchen. Partially because she considered it her job, partially because she loved the act of cooking for her husband and children, and partially because she was deeply paranoid regarding Bruno’s safety, and did not trust anyone to prepare the man’s food other than herself.
Hence why the woman had become the tyrant of the kitchen. Now that cooking was pretty much the only housework she managed, with the cleaning, repairs, et cetera being done by a host of servants who had been thoroughly vetted prior to their hiring, Heidi had all day to make lavish and delicious meals for her family.
And she took great joy in doing so. And, of course, by the time Bruno returned home from work, food was prepared in accordance with his personal schedule. Over dinner, Heidi made a remark that did not surprise her husband in the least.
“I received an intriguing piece of news today. The Kaiser personally extended an invitation to his home towards our family. He said, and I quote, I understand you are the more sociable of the two of you, so I trust you to drag your husband to my home by force, if necessary. I’m surprised his majesty understands our relationship so well!”
Bruno damn nearly choked on his beer when he heard this. He couldn’t help but remind the woman that the man had his eyes on the both of them since they were teenagers.
“If not for that little stunt at his daughter’s second birthday, I doubt he would have been watching us so carefully all these years…”
Heid couldn’t help but blush at the mention of what happened over a decade ago when both she and Bruno were still young. It was a night she would never forget in this life. And one that had quite thoroughly cemented her love and loyalty towards her husband.
Sure she had always known that the two of them would be married one day. But she was just old enough at the time of that fateful evening to truly understand what love was and why she was so lucky to have Bruno. The gallantry which he displayed in her defense was truly the stuff of fairy tales.
And in doing so, he had caught the eyes of very powerful people, such as the Kaiser who personally saw to it that Bruno was admitted to the Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute, and later the Prussian War College, both of which had kick-started his military career, and allowed him to excel to such great lengths at such a young age.
In fact, Heidi was quite grateful for the graciousness which the Kaiser had shown her husband, and by extension their family. Even if it was ultimately the Tsar who elevated them to the status of Princely House, albeit only in Russia. The Kaiser had done far more for the two of them, and in many ways, more than Bruno realized.
Heidi’s connections were deep. She was all too aware of the struggles the Kaiser had fought, with the Chancellor, with the Bundesrat, with his officers, all to help advance Bruno’s career. Wilhlem had seen something in Bruno, and at such a young age that was hard to convince others of.
He had seen the man who would win him this world. A hyperbolic statement, but not an inaccurate one. Bruno’s potential was unrivaled, even if the Kaiser didn’t understand the reason for this fact. He understood it, nonetheless.
Even so, Heidi did not tell Bruno the extents which the Kaiser had fought behind the scenes on his behalf. It was not her place to do so. When the time came, the man would reveal this secret himself, and to deprive him of the satisfaction of this revelation was from Heidi’s perspective an act of deep disrespect.
Hence why she simply congratulated Bruno on his latest promotion, while thoroughly earned from his own merit, was no doubt aided by the Kaiser’s personal favor. And she did this by preparing the man’s favorite meal for him and their children.
