After being awarded the Order of Saint George 1st Class in another extravagant awards ceremony that Bruno would rather not have attended. Bruno officially disbanded the Iron Division and returned to the German Reich.
Upon arriving at the train station, Bruno was shocked to find that his family was standing there waiting for him. But it was not just Heidi and the kids who were eager to greet the man, but also his older brother Ludwig and his family.
Bruno wanted more than anything to go home with his family, and celebrate his safe return to them all. But this was unfortunately not on the cards. The Kaiser wanted him to report directly to his home to meet with him and the German Field Marshals to brief them on the war and the lessons he had learned in it.
No doubt the Russian Tsar was taking this opportunity to strengthen his position and modernize his army the best he could. At the same time, a new line of communications had been opened up between the Russian Empire and the German Reich.
Once more trade had begun flowing extensively between the two imperial powers, and it had done so shortly after the German intervention in the war began. In addition to this, diplomacy between the German Reich and the Russian Empire was at its greatest extent since the League of the Three Emperors was created in 1873.
Quite frankly, Bruno was the cause of all of this, and the Kaiser wanted to personally extend his gratitude. And because of this, Bruno was forced to only entertain his family for a mere thirty minutes before ultimately parting ways with them in order to meet with the Kaiser.
Standing in the Kaiser’s palace, in his German military uniform with all of his awards pinned to his chest, Burno now looked the part of a proper general, even if these awards were mostly foreign.
He had chosen to wear the crimson sash of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, if not simply because it went better with the Feldgrau German Uniform with the red trim than the black and orange sash of the Order of Saint George did.
Nevertheless, the Breast Star of the Order of Saint George 1st class was pinned vertically above that of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, showing it off as the more prestigious of the two awards.
The Kaiser himself couldn’t help but remark on how remarkably stylish Bruno appeared in a sentiment that he himself felt every time he looked in the mirror.
“I have to say, you are finally looking the part of the Rank you hold. Having a mere two medals pinned to your chest was rather unbecoming of a general in my army! Still, I do have a reward for you myself.
Quite frankly, I had wanted to promote you to Generalfeldmarschall to match your status as a Field Marshal in the Russian Army. But there were some who disagreed with me, believing it was too swift of a promotion, and because of this I have instead decided to confer upon you’re the rank of General der Infanterie.
While your efforts were had in service of a Foreign Nation, and the Tsar has already awarded you significantly in this regard. The fact remained that you led German Soldiers into battle, and quite effectively at that.
Our losses were less than 1/10th of the entire division, despite them fighting in multiple battles and campaigns. In addition to this, the effects of your victories have brought us much closer to the Russian Empire than we were previously.
It is not impossible for the League of Three Emperors to be restored. Or I suppose with the inclusion of Emperor Meiji it would become the League of Four Emperors. Albeit it will take some significant diplomatic maneuvering on my part.
Nevertheless, your contributions are more than worthy of a promotion. Now I have taken up enough of your time. Please, go enjoy the leave which you have earned. In the meantime, we will create a proper celebration for the Veterans of the Iron Division for you all to be properly awarded with the medals you requested I commission in commemoration of your efforts.
I will let you know when we have decided on a day. Until we meet again, my young friend!”
After saying this, Bruno saluted the Kaiser, who returned the gesture before being dismissed. He was about to step out of the Kaiser’s palace when he was approached by the man’s young daughter. It had been several years since Bruno had last seen the girl, and he had grown far more fearsome in this time.
Even the man’s demeanor was much colder than it had been in the past. Nevertheless, the young girl who was now 14 happily approached him as he was about to leave her home.
“Well, look at you! You’re finally starting to look the part of a proper general! Not bad, that’s definitely quite a few awards pinned to your chest, it’s too bad only one of them is from the Reich. I’m starting to wonder if you really are a German General!”
Bruno scoffed at the girl’s remarks as he turned around. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was a very different man than the last time they had met and was almost startled by his expression.
Though he looked just as young as he had in the past, in terms of actual physical age, he somehow appeared to have aged significantly in the few years since their last encounter. The young princess naturally forced herself to remain composed as Bruno began to speak to her.
“Your majesty… Is there something on my face? Or is there some other reason you are staring at me as if I am some sort of villain?”
Despite his rather intimidating expression, the absolute deadpan delivery of Bruno’s joke was more than enough to make the teenage girl break into laughter as she responded to Bruno’s words with an equally humorous attempt.
“I’m sorry… I can’t… I didn’t expect that from you… Please, pardon my intrusion you probably want to get back to your family. I’m sorry for disturbing you!”
The girl ran off in a fit of giggles after that. Whatever she wanted to talk to him about she was clearly not in the state to do so, and thus it would have to wait for another day.
—
When Burno stepped foot into his home, he was damn near brought to his knees by the smell of his wife’s cooking in the background. Having connections to German Military Intelligence, she was well aware that her husband was finally coming home to her safe and sound.
And as a result, she had spent the entire day preparing a feast of epic proporitons to celebrate the occasion. Heidi had made it abundantly clear to her children that they were not to misbehave in the slightest, no matter how late on the day their father arrived, or she would have their rears mounted above the fireplace.
Because of this, the children were on their best behavior, not only that but they were well groomed, and dressed in their nicest attire. When Bruno stepped into his home, he was immediately assaulted by his young girls who ran into his arms screaming as if a grenade had exploded nearby, all in excitement for the man’s return, which instantly brought a smile to his face.
“Daddy’s home!”
Upon hearing the screams of her girls, Heidi instantly ceased what she was doing and rushed out of the kitchen. She was the only one whose appearance was rather unkempt. As she had been working all day in the kitchen.
She had, of course, taken time to wash her hands and detach her apron, which was covered in food, before approaching the man she loved with the warmest and most gentle smile a woman could muster.
Words could not express the excitement in Heidi’s heart as she joined her young daughters, and her only son in a family hug. Kissing Bruno on the lips repeatedly in front of her children while thanking God for bringing him home safe and sound. Saying the Lord’s prayer as she did so, before doing a sign of the cross over her heart.
Bruno was not accustomed to such overwhelming treatment from his family, and though he welcomed it, he couldn’t help but crack a joke about the way his family was acting towards his return in order to lighten the severity of the mood.
“What? Did you all miss me that much? Honestly, if I didn’t know any better, I would assume you all thought I had died in Russia!”
Though this remark was intended for comedic effect, it did not appear to lighten the mood. Instead, Heidi became upset that he would even joke about such a thing when she had waited patiently for over a year for her husband’s return.
The entire time Heidi had been anxious out of her mind that her beloved husband might actually get himself killed, especially after he got himself shot by a would be assassin. And because of this, she rather sternly flicked Bruno between the eyes while lecturing him on his inappropriate joke.
“Don’t you ever joke about such a thing again! Do you hear me!?! You have no idea how worried I was about you the entire time you were gone!”
Seeing how he had messed up, perhaps because the war had corrupted his sense of humor, Bruno swiftly apologized to the woman, hugging her to his chest after putting down his two kids before kissing her on the forehead.
“I’m sorry, you’re right, that joke was in poor taste…”
Feeling the warmth of Bruno’s embrace, Heidi couldn’t help but smile, despite still being peeved about his dark sense of humor. Nevertheless, she was quickly re-energized by the hug and kisses she received and was thus swift to depart back to the kitchen to finish dinner for the evening.
“I forgive you… Anyway, I’m sure you’re exhausted after everything you have been through. I will go fetch you a beer while you sit here in the living room with the kids. Dinner should be done soon, and I have spent all day preparing your favorites in anticipation of your arrival! So, you better eat every last bit, mister, or I will be seriously angry with you!”
It was only then that Bruno realized he would be in for a very painful night. As his wife most certainly went overboard preparing dinner for their family. And they were not a family that wasted food…
But having spent the last year and a half consuming mostly field rations, there was no God, King, or Tyrant in this world that could prevent him from eating every last ounce of his wife’s homemade cooking.
