Bruno awoke late in the afternoon feeling groggy and fatigued. Hungover even, as he had consumed far too much alcohol during the grieving process of losing Erich. News had not immediately spread of what had been done, and who officially was held responsible.
But the moment Bruno finally managed to climb down his stairs after taking a proper shower to wash away the sweat accumulated in his sleep, and dressing himself appropriately for the day, he found that sitting in his foyer was none other than a familiar face.
One that did not seem the least bit pleased to see him. Heinrich, of course did not immediately comment. He carefully observed Bruno’s behavior and appearance before finally sighing and making a remark to try to lighten the mood and address this serious matter with a less heavy tone.
“Judging by your ungodly appearance, and the lateness to which you have slept, I’m assuming the rumors are true, then?”
Bruno did not say anything, instead silently nodding his head as he passed by Heinrich, and quickly entered the kitchen to grab a pot of coffee, which had been kept hot by his servants for his eventual awakening.
Heinrich naturally followed the man into the dining room where he saw Bruno sit at the table. There was no paper in his hands. He not needed to read the lies which were printed under his own guidance, and this only further confirmed Heinrich’s suspicions.
He did not immediately address the elephant in the room, instead waiting patiently and silently for Bruno to say the words himself. And finally, the man groaned and sighed, casting an accusatory glance at the only other man he had held such a close brotherhood to.
“You want to know if I am the one behind all of this? Do you want me to confess openly to you what you already understand? If I didn’t know you better, I would suspect you of trying to set me up with such suspicious behavior!
We both know what truly happened, so let’s leave it at that for now shall we?”
Bruno immediately returned his gaze to the cup of coffee in his hands, drinking down its contents as if it were the smoothest and most savory of liquids. All the while Heinrich began to speak of Erich’s character in a far more somber and grim tone.
“He and I always had our disagreements especially over the ethics of his behavior… But I never thought it would end for him like this… Bruno did not immediately respond, continuing with his silent grumbling for some time before finally changing the topic altogether. Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire
“Your daughter… How is she handling this matter?”
A familiar voice called out to Bruno from behind as Alya entered the room. She had been waiting in the other room where Heinrich was first seated. Bruno had been so fatigued he had not even seen her when he walked by. And her voice was far from pleased.
“I lost one of my godfathers… And now everyone is saying his is some kind of traitor to the German Reich when I know better than that! How the hell do you think I feel!?!”
Bruno was quick to turn around and stare at the young maiden whose ears were filled with tears, causing him to immediately question her attitude. Bruno had not spent nearly as much time with Alya over the years as his wife and son had. Because of this, his understanding of her character was rather shallow, mostly based upon outdated information from when she was but a little girl.
“I thought you were terrified of Erich? What changed?”
As if offended by the mere assertion, Alya scoffed and rolled her eyes only after understanding Bruno had been so busy with managing the affairs of the German Reich and looking after his own family, that he had truly spent far less time with her than Erich had. And may not even be aware of the extent Erich had helped them over the years.
“Of course… You know I used to be frightened by you too, but that was a long time ago, and as fearsome as a figure as uncle Erich was, he was also a deeply tragic soul. One that you made and added to every time you ordered him to… To-“
Heinrich was quick to order a cessation to Alya’s rant, as what she was doing was extremely rude to Bruno whose home they were in, not only that, but the man she was insulting to his face was also in an obvious bad mood, and interfering now before she could say anything further was prudent.
“Alya! Enough! Go take a breather… Your godfather and I need to speak in private…”
Alya’s face immediately became flustered, but she had enough emotional maturity and grace to realize what she had done in a moment of frustration and grief, solemnly bowing her head and apologizing to Bruno and her adopted father as she obeyed the man’s command.
“I’m terribly sorry… That was uncouth of me… Please forgive my outburst just now… I will do as you say father…”
After saying this, the woman marched off, clearly still angered by the whole situation. Bruno now curious about matters he did not understand was quick to ask about it.
“Since when were you and Erich so close?”
Heinrich sighed and shook his head before explaining the matter in further detail, but just cryptic enough to leave matters as they should be.
“It’s no fault of your own that you don’t understand… You have the entirety of the Reich to look after, and the wellbeing of your family. It’s only natural that you would not be an active part of the girl’s life.
Let’s just say the reason I have been willing to tolerate that murderous bastard all these years is because despite his brutality, cruelty, and ruthlessness bordering on the outright sadistic, he was a man who was still capable of showing some kindness towards those who were close to him.
And since his relationship with his own family became estranged as a result of your attempts at humor, over the years had had dropped by our place frequently to help us when you were unavailable to do so.
He was not a man suited for peace… And was something akin to a monster trying his best to prevent the demon from possessing him… But he still deserved better than this…”
Bruno looked perplexed at the complexity with which Heinrich had used to paint their fallen friend. A side of the man existed that Bruno never knew about. And when Heinrich was about to stand up and walk away, Bruno reached out to him with one last comment.
“The last time I saw Erich he mentioned something about finally settling down and becoming an honest man. I presumed he meant he had a fiancée. I must confess that until now I never had the time to look into the matter… Would you perhaps know her name? I would very much like to pay my respects.”
Heinrich looked back at Bruno with a look of confusion on his face. Before expressing his ignorance outright entirely.
“Erich had a fiancée? This is the first I am hearing about it…”
The two men sat there in silence for a long time, contemplating on the mystery of the man they had known for so many years, and how little they may have both understood about him after all.
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