Promises of Peace
To the Honourable Members of the General staff
Dear Sirs,
Let me first congratulate you on the success of your brilliant strategy to counter the perfidious efforts of François Republic and the valiant efforts of you and your soldiers to retake my home, Letzenbourg. It is truly humbling to know that both countries are protected and guided by such fine leaders such as yourselves. However, now that the Francois are defeated, I find myself feeling sympathetic towards our vanquished foes.
Being military men, you are all no doubt focused on the important tasks of planning new ways of capturing Republican land and neutralising their forces. Having performed a modest amount of military service myself, I am acutely aware of the regrettable necessities of such actions. However, my own experience and my conscience tells me that this job has already been accomplished and that we are now inflicting unnecessary suffering on both Republican citizens and our valiant soldiers by continuing our crusade.
Perhaps you may think I am too soft-hearted and perhaps you are correct. I am aware I have somewhat of a reputation in that regard, but I truly abhor the thought that people may be suffering if there is some way I can prevent it.
I have also written to the chancellor and the other members of the Supreme High command about these worries, and it would ease my conscience if you could confirm to me that the members of the General staff are working with the other ministers in order to bring the conflict to a swift end through diplomatic means.
It is my firm hope that I might be able to help in this matter and will soon be returning to Berlun to do what I can to help end this terrible war.
I remain
HRH Prince Wilhelm Viktor von Hozollern, Col
–Correspondence found in the ruins of Imperial General staff offices, Berlun
xxxxx
Dear Prince Wilhelm von Hozollern,
The General staff thank you for your hard work in the recent operation and it is my honour to inform you that you are being considered for a commendation for your actions.
We also understand your concerns regarding the possibility of unnecessary suffering being caused during the prosecution of the war. Let me assure you that everyone within the General staff office shares these worries and we are working night and day with the civilian ministers to bring about a lasting peace.
To that end, I am happy to inform you of some news that may help alleviate your worries. An Armistice has already been planned to facilitate peace talks with the François Republic and it will be implemented very soon.
In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you could work with Captain Wahler of the propaganda department in order to help maintain morale until such time as you are recalled to the capital. We do not doubt that your presence will help any soldiers who share your concerns, your reputation for kindness and compassion will undoubtedly ease any troubled minds.
Sincerely
General Joel von Marchese, Chairman of Imperial General staff.
–Correspondence found in the Letzenbourg Embassy, Berlun
June 3rd Unified Year 1925
Somewhere outside the Village of Schliersee, Bayern Alps
Patryk Kulig had been Prince Wilhelm's financial advisor for over four years now and one thing he had realised was that it wasn't like working for his normal clients. Usually, the people who hired him were either those desiring help refinancing or those wishing for advice on where to invest their wealth. He would usually broker deals for these people and make a comfortable commission from the service without putting in too much effort.
Working for the young royal was different, however, when the boy had first arrived with his maids in tow, Patryk had been more than a little intrigued, it wasn't every day royalty came to his office. In truth, he didn't usually deal with any high profile clients like the prince. Patryk ran a small consultancy business in Berlun, usually, he only dealt with people in debt and little old ladies wanting to invest their savings so they could leave something for their children. He never dreamed that anyone as wealthy as the Letzenbourg royal would want his financial advice, but it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
Although young, it was well known that the prince had inherited a sizable fortune from his late mother and somehow neither his mentally ill father nor his harsh looking brother had managed to get a hold of it. In short, the boy was rich and was too young to know what to do with all that money. For someone like Kulig, there was the potential for a lot of profit to be made from the boy.
So when the stern-looking maid with the glasses told him he was being put in charge of the adolescent royal's finances he had been ecstatic. Aside from making sure some of his fortune was put aside for his living expenses, he was tasked with investing the remainder in various businesses and industries in order to allow the boy's wealth to grow further. Not only would his commission be excellent but he would have full authority over the boy's fortune.
Patryk could barely hide his excitement, he was basically getting control of the prince's bank balance! He started making plans to divert a little bit of that wealth into a nest egg of his own, the young prince was rich enough that he wouldn't miss a little sliver off the top and Patryk expected to have a small fortune of his own before long.
Things hadn't gone quite the way he expected, however, and initially, Patryk had feared it would become an utter disaster. Instead of being in control of the young royal's fortune and being allowed to pick investments for him as he had anticipated, he was expected to buy stocks and shares chosen by the prince himself since he was not permitted to due to his age. When the boy's first demand was that Patryk buy up the failing mining industries in the east, he had wanted to cry for the fortune he would lose. Those mines had been in decline for years, putting any capital in there would be like throwing it in a black hole. In the end, for the sake of his own reputation as a financial advisor and the money he still hoped to squeeze from the royal, he had only invested a small portion of the boy's wealth there.
It had backfired horribly, however. To the surprise of the financial world, the markets suddenly turned around. As world tensions began to rise and countries started to announce rearmament plans the demand for raw materials began to skyrocket. Within months, the stock he'd obtained in the mining industry was suddenly worth five times the amount he had originally bought it for, and Patryk was forced to explain why he had invested so little in the mines. The prince had expected a much larger windfall but due to his actions, the boy's fortune had grown much less than it should have.
It had been a very uncomfortable meeting, he had tried to explain his reasoning for the small investment and reduced profits, no one could have predicted the rapid change after all, but the little prince had looked at him as if Patryk had betrayed him somehow. The boy's eyes had been filled with such a hurt expression it was almost painful. Kulig didn't understand it, the prince seemed more upset that he hadn't been listened to rather than the loss of his money and since then he had sent one of his servants to regularly check that Patryk was obeying his directions.
It was while following the Prince's instructions that he realised that the boy wasn't a normal child. He seemed far too intelligent for his age and sometimes it seemed as though he could see into the future. The boy had ordered him to invest in weapons, medical supplies, and raw materials and within a year the value of all these began to skyrocket. Patryk tried to make his own suggestions but was routinely ignored, even when his advice fitted with the prince's investments. Somehow the boy seemed to know what was going to succeed and fail, however.
A prime example had been the steel mills in Legadonia, Patryk had practically begged the boy to put some of his wealth in the Legadonian steel industry but the prince had refused, claiming that any money invested would be lost. Kulig was sure it was a good investment, however, so put some of his own savings into it instead. He was sure the prince would be wrong; he was only a boy after all, what did he know? Then the border war had broken out and he'd lost everything, how could anyone have predicted that? Why would the Legadonia Entente Alliance even try such a crazy thing? Didn't they know the economic damage they would do to themselves? Not to mention his own losses. How could the prince have possibly known to avoid it?
He also began to realise the Prince's maids were not as innocent-looking as they seemed either, their regular visits to check on him convinced him of that. He was especially wary of the one who always wore the beautiful smile, he'd learned long ago that a woman with that kind of a smile was someone to be careful of. Sophia Zerbist was something else though, she had followed the little prince into military service and soon became a captain. What kind of maid does that? There were even rumours that she had criminal contacts, she was definitely not a normal servant. It was her that the prince sent whenever Patryk did anything that displeased him and it was her that had first found out he had been skimming from the prince's fortune.
She'd appeared in his office one evening just before he was locking up and although she had never raised her voice or let her friendly smile slip from her face, she had somehow seemed incredibly threatening as she spoke. When she explained that they knew he was syphoning a small portion of the prince's fortune for himself, he had almost had a heart attack as he imagined what might lay in store for him. But to his surprise, she told him that the prince didn't mind as long as he did what he was told, before warning him that they could always find someone else to deal with the prince's finances. He could only imagine what she meant by that so resolved to make sure it wouldn't happen.
He didn't want another surprise visit from Captain Zerbist or her potential underworld friends, so since then, he had made sure to do everything that the prince or any of his assistants asked of him, no matter the request. It was for that reason he was currently trudging through the Bayern countryside in the south of the Empire in the disguise of sweepstakes agent in search of a woman to give a prize too.
It was a strange request to be sure and it wasn't something he was especially happy about. He wasn't the best actor by any stretch of the imagination and the large case of Schnapps he was forced to carry was heavy and awkward to transport. He wasn't even sure it was schnapps, no one would usually go to this sort of effort to deliver alcohol to a middle-aged lady in the mountains. Why not send a normal delivery man? He had the horrible feeling that he was getting involved in something illegal but he hadn't dared to refuse the request from Captain Zerbist. He didn't want to think about what might happen if he did so he had left as soon as he had found the mysterious message left on his desk.
The woman he was seeking was one Hilde Canaris, according to the letter Captain Zerbist had sent, she was staying with family out here in the country. The name seemed familiar but he couldn't think why and he soon decided it was probably wiser not to dwell on it. If he was right in his suspicions, the less he knew the better.
He had been told to find this woman and convince her that she had won all this alcohol in some competition. Again he thought it better not to ask questions as to why and he was fairly sure that any speculation would be bad for his health. The letter had been very clear that she must accept the prize, no matter what she might say or do and Patryk didn't want to think about what Captain Zerbist might do if he failed.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind and focused on hauling the crate up the mountain path. He was beginning to regret not hiring a carriage, the crate was heavy but at the time he hadn't wanted to waste the money on transport. The prince's servant had allowed him a decent amount in expenses but he had hoped to put the extra money back into his retirement fund rather than spend it needlessly. He was still trying to recoup the losses on the Legadonia investment after all. But if he'd realised that the Canaris woman was staying so far from the train station and halfway up a mountain, he might have been a little less frugal when it came to transporting himself and his cargo.
He let out a sigh of relief as he turned a corner and finally saw the quaint little cottage in the clearing of the dense mountain forest. It was quite an idyllic spot, he could understand why someone would want to come out here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. He began considering a place like this for his retirement, with what he was earning working for the prince it wouldn't be long before he could afford it.
He continued staring out at the view for a few moments more before remembering why he was here and he began to feel his stomach knot with nerves. He had been so preoccupied with getting here he hadn't thought about how he would accomplish his mission. What should he say to the woman? How could she convince her? What if she wouldn't accept the schnapps? All this and more flooded into his mind as he gingerly began to approach the door of the Bayern home.
He swallowed hard as he nervously knocked on the door and waited for a response. Why me? He complained internally as he felt the panic begin to grow, what should I even say to her?
He heard the sound of someone fiddling with some keys and eventually, a plump middle-aged woman opened the door and stared at him inquisitively before offering a quiet greeting.
"Mrs. Hilde Canaris?" Asked Patryk as he tried to calm his nerves and look professional. He could feel the blood rushing through him and it felt like his heart was going to leap from his chest.
"Yes?" the woman replied obviously confused about her unexpected visitor.
"I'm er…. Fritz Thyssen" He began, picking the name of one of his old colleagues as a pseudonym. He was convinced that giving his own name was a bad idea, if this was all part of some illicit activity, he'd rather not be named in it.
"I'm from the De Kuyper spirits company" He began, thankful for the time he'd spent studying his cargo. "I'm delighted to tell you that you've won an entire crate of our blackcurrant Schnapps!"
He did his best to hide his anxiety behind a smile and tried to act like the irritating door to door salesmen who often bothered him at his office. He wasn't confident it was working however as the woman stared back at him with a look of complete bafflement.
"I haven't entered any competitions" She stated with confusion, "I don't even drink."
Patryk almost felt his heart stop, she didn't believe him, and she didn't even drink! How was he going to get her to take it? What was he supposed to do? He could almost imagine the smiling Zerbist woman's reaction if he brought the crate back with him.
"I have strict instructions to make sure you get this prize," He stuttered nervously. That was the truth at least, although it wasn't exactly the whole story. "Perhaps someone in your family entered?" he added hopefully.
The woman looked down at the crate of schnapps thoughtfully for a few moments. She doesn't believe me, Patryk thought worriedly. He was going to fail, and Captain Zerbist would be angry. Who knew what kinds of ruffians she would set on him, he began to wonder if he could go into hiding before she found out.
"Well Greta is always entering these things," She said slowly before looking back up at Patryk. "Blackcurrant you say? That's my Husband's favourite!"
Patryk let out a sigh of relief as the woman kneeled and examined one of the bottles excitedly. It seemed the ruse was working, hopefully, he'd soon be able to get out of here and forget about this mess.
"I must send some back to the capital for him," She continued happily. "He'll be thrilled! Thank you so much."
Patryk smiled as he handed over the crate to the now delighted woman and excused himself before hurrying away back down the slope. He wondered whether it was ok that she was sending the bottles to her husband. The letter hadn't mentioned anything about that but surely captain Zerbist wouldn't hold him responsible for what the woman did with the booze after he'd delivered it, would she? He felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach again and wondered if he should quit working for the prince.
The thought soon left him however, he was making far too much money from the boy. It was worth putting up with the smiling captain for that. He had a decent amount of cash in the Berlun bank now, even with the losses from the Legadonian fiasco and he wondered if he should invest it in the same places the prince had, the little royal did seem to have an uncanny knack for that sort of thing. I'd better not he decided after some consideration, his luck is bound to run out eventually. He would put all his money in businesses that produced luxury goods, the war was almost over, after all, that was where the profit would be.
xxxx
June 19th Unified Year 1925
Relocated 203rd Temporary Command Centre
It had been three weeks since Tanya's encounter with the revived Legadonian mage and the little colonel's strange behaviour off the coast of the Rhine. Operation revolving door had been a complete success, despite Wilhelm's blasé attitude to helping out the rest of the front. The goal of encircling the Republic's Rhine battle group and forcing open a hole in their lines had been achieved perfectly and the remainder of the Republican army group had been captured or destroyed. They'd successfully pulled the rug from under the Republic's feet.
This, of course, hadn't meant an immediate end to the fighting. Not all of the Republic's soldiers were stationed on the Empire's borders and there were still plenty of reserve troops, garrisons, and support units that the Republic could put between the Imperial forces and Parisii but wars aren't fought to the last man. Soldiers are resources in war, and when you have to take those resources from their usual tasks and support duties just to defend the lines, you've already lost. It was just a matter of time until the Republic admitted that.
Still, Tanya had waited nervously during this time for either Being X or Wilhelm to try and do something to screw everything up. She hadn't been able to do anything about the would-be God of course, but she'd been absolutely determined to make sure the little manipulator didn't do anything that could jeopardise their victory. After his strange behaviour off the coast, she had been almost certain he was plotting something, so she had done what she could to keep an eye on his activities.
It seemed now that the boy had finished the butcher's work in operation lock pick and his latter slacking off with operation 177; the Army personnel department had decided to make use of him for propaganda purposes before he went back to Berlun to sign the Charlemagne treaty. For some reason, they seemed to think pictures of the brat standing in the rubble of destroyed Franciosi villages while waving his sword around would somehow be rousing for the folks back home. Tanya couldn't think of many things that would be less inspiring but fortunately for her, that wasn't her department so it wasn't her problem.
Originally, the propaganda people had also requested that she be included in the PR duties, but Wilhelm had intervened before she could even find a reason to avoid it. Strangely the boy had kicked up quite the stink about it. He had flatly refused to be pictured with her and had even threatened to ignore their orders and immediately return to the capital if they didn't back down over the issue.
She didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted about the brat's interference, somehow, it felt like she was being snubbed. Usually, she would be quite content to let the little brat hog the limelight. Having to pose in the ridiculous outfits that the propaganda department provided had always been a pet peeve of hers and she always avoided it where possible. However, the little colonel had been extremely adverse to her being there and that troubled her. It wasn't what she would expect from the brat and it heightened her suspicions about him even further.
Normally he would jump at the chance to see her humiliated in some awful piece of feminine attire. She could imagine the grin on his face as he put on his best innocent act and said something along the lines of "Oh Major, that dress looks wonderful on you" before chuckling to himself as the propaganda department went to work dismantling her pride. She suppressed an involuntary shudder at the thought before returning to her suspicions. He wouldn't usually pass up an opportunity like that, why was he suddenly so keen to keep her out of the way?
As luck would have it her old classmate, Major Ugar from the railway division had been assigned the unenviable task of transporting Wilhelm and the propaganda team around the occupied republic. In a further fortunate turn of events, she'd managed to run into him as she was sending her reports back to Berlun. She'd always gotten along well with Max Ugar, so when she casually asked him if he would keep her informed about the boy's activities, he was more than willing to help. In truth he was probably a little too enthusiastic, she'd expected to have to owe him a favour after this but the man had simply smiled conspiratorially, telling her that he understood and would do his best.
Since then, she'd received clandestine reports from him every two days. As expected from someone in the railway division, they had arrived quickly after he had sent them. He was obviously using his contacts in the rail network to deliver them to her, so they arrived promptly, despite the near-constant movement of both sender and recipient around the lines. I'll have to do something to thank him later she found herself thinking at the time, he really was sticking his neck out and going the extra mile for her in this, despite the unusual request.
For some reason, Major Ugar seemed to have gotten the idea that his reports should focus on Wilhelm's moods and anything the boy might mention about her. Although not necessarily what she had expected, it had still been useful information for trying to decipher what the boy might be up to.
It seemed the brat had spent much of his time sulking about his propaganda duties. Tanya thought this was a bit unusual, the little colonel liked to show off and promote his public persona, he would usually only gripe about this sort of thing if it kept him away from the front lines. However, according to Ugar, instead of urging them to let him go back to fighting, the boy had only expressed frustration at not being sent back to Berlun.
Whilst making his PR appearances, Wilhelm seemed to spend most of his time making speeches written by the propaganda people and trying to be friendly with the locals. From what Ugar described it wasn't going well, the speeches seemed to do nothing but aggravate the occupied locals. She wondered why the boy allowed it, she knew he was a good enough orator that he could easily turn a crowd to his side and he could probably improvise a less provocative speech than those fools in the propaganda division had written for him. According to Ugar though, Wilhelm didn't seem especially interested.
As for the meet and greets, it seemed some were happy to meet 'The Saint' but the Imperial soldiers acting as his entourage were receiving a far less enthusiastic welcome. From the way that Major Ugar described it, Wilhelm was guarding them from the Republicans, not the other way around. Max also reported that Wilhelm seemed to be rushing these engagements, as though he were desperate to get them over with. His actions all seemed off to Tanya, they just didn't line up with the Wilhelm she knew.
She considered whether Ugar might have fallen for one of Wilhelm's deceptions. For whatever reason, few people ever saw through his little performances and it was quite possible that the man had been taken in by it like everyone else. She soon dismissed the idea however, something seemed wrong about that, Wilhelm didn't usually sulk in front of people he didn't know well. He liked to make sure everyone believed in the fake smile he put on for them. The only people she had seen him show his true side to were his servants and herself, everyone else only saw his character "the Saint." But now it seemed he had dropped the act for some reason and constantly complained about not being sent to the capital. She could almost believe he really did want to go back to Berlun, but why?
She began to wonder if she had been mistaken and he really had succeeded in his goal, why else would he want to move away from the lines? He obviously wasn't worried that the war was coming to an end so he must have, but why was he avoiding her?
Fortunately, Max had provided her with clues for that question, he had noted that the little colonel seemed to ask after her quite often. The little colonel had even gone so far as to ask Major Ugar to listen out for any rumours about what she and her unit were up to, something the man had found quite ironic given the task she had given him. Tanya initially took this as proof that the boy was trying to avoid her, he must have known she would be suspicious of him and taken steps to stay out of her way while he carried out whatever he had planned. She had to be wary and considered what she could do to counter him if she needed to.
She thought about contacting Sister Mary at the orphanage, she'd sent the evidence of Wilhelm's dubious origins to her for safekeeping before the Letzenbourg incident. It had been a good thing too considering the idiot had been willing to blow up his own mansion just to get it away from her. It was for that reason she had wanted to avoid letting the boy know she still had it in case he became overly paranoid again and tried to do something stupid. In the end, she decided to leave the information with the nuns, for now, she didn't need to reveal its existence yet.
Although she believed him when he said he didn't want to harm her in any way, it was clear that the little colonel would go to extreme lengths if he felt threatened. The last time the boy had gotten it in his head that she might reveal his secret, he'd pulled a gun on her and she had ended up breaking his arm. It had only been his reluctance to fire that had given her the opportunity to turn the tables on him and she couldn't be sure she could count on that again.
However, he had been surprisingly trusting of her since the rooftop scuffle, he'd accepted without question that she would keep his secret and hadn't mentioned that any of his injuries had been her doing. He would no doubt feel betrayed if she tried to use the evidence against him and she didn't want to provoke an explosive reaction from him again unless she had to. There was no way to tell how he might respond.
Furthermore, she didn't know exactly what he was up to, the last time it had been a misunderstanding that had led their fight in Letzenbourg, although his previous secretive actions hadn't exactly helped. The logical part of her brain knew her mistrust of his motives could be clouding her perception of him and she could be in danger of repeating her previous mistake. After all, after Letzenbourg Wilhelm had promised to stay out of her way, it was possible this was his way of accomplishing that.
She hadn't had too much time to ponder the boy's actions, however. Tanya and her newly returned battalion had spent much of those three weeks busy on raids to help speed up the advance and she'd had to rely entirely on Ugar's surveillance to figure out what the boy was up to. The sorties were easy enough, the confusion caused by revolving door meant the Republic's lines were still disorganised and it wasn't long before the Imperial Army stood at the gates of Parisii. Surprisingly, the Republic let their capital fall almost without a fight. She'd heard that they were worried the city might end up like Arene and a François official had claimed, "The burning of Parisii would represent an unforgivable loss for world culture."
Although she didn't quite agree with that reasoning, it was at least nice to see they were beginning to think of preventing their losses rather than putting up a stubborn resistance. She hoped it was a sign they were coming to their senses and they would finally give in.
It was the day before the Imperial Army marched into the undefended capital that she finally ran into the little colonel in person. Things had started calming down and western command had approved some leave for the Battalion, she'd had some paperwork to catch up on however so she, second Lieutenant Serabryakov and a skeleton staff had been left at the temporary HQ. She was still required to report regularly to General von Falken at western command, however, and it had been on one of these visits that she'd encountered a sour-looking Wilhelm and slightly stressed looking Major Ugar.
"Major Degurechaff, it's good to see you again." Ugar had called as he spotted her in the halls. Wilhelm meanwhile put on a half-hearted version of his innocent performance and greeted her like they were old friends. It seemed he hadn't quite given up his act but it was clear he wasn't putting in the usual effort. Soon the conversation inevitably turned to what they were all doing here and before long Ugar explained that this was just a quick stop before heading off to the Republican capital.
Apparently, the Propaganda department had come up with a new way to upset the locals. Since Parisii was surrendering itself, someone had thought it was a good idea to make a spectacle of it. There was going to be a victory parade through the centre of the city towards the Palais Bourbon, where some city officials would offer an official surrender to an Imperial officer. The officer they had chosen to represent the Imperial forces was Wilhelm. The propaganda people liked the idea of a relative of the Emperor being pictured in front of a Francois landmark and claimed it would send a powerful message, to Tanya it seemed like they were gloating.
"If I wanted to be glared at by people that hated me, I'd go back to Letzenbourg". Wilhelm had grumbled almost inaudibly.
For a moment she hadn't been sure if his words were some sort of joke, from what she'd heard the citizens of Letzenbourg city thought of him as some sort of messiah. His promise not to return until the war was over had somehow stirred the people in the city up, and they had started a violent resistance movement during their short occupation. Now they had been liberated, they were crying out for him to return. From the look on Wilhelm's face however, nobody had told him this. He must have assumed they all hated him after his failed coup, she probably would if she was in their shoes.
She could understand his reluctance to march through the Republican capital however, she certainly wouldn't want to do it. Wearing an imperial uniform didn't exactly help your popularity in the occupied republic and leading a parade of soldiers wearing them through Parisii sounded about as safe as volunteering to be a target for the artillery on the firing range. But from what Ugar had told her the Republicans seemed less hostile towards the boy than most other imperials, his undeserved reputation was a shield for him and his black Letzenbourg uniform and small stature meant it was unlikely that he'd be mistaken for anyone else.
"I assume you're itching to get back to the front lines before this is all over," She probed keeping an eye on his expression. He gave her a strange and unreadable look for a moment and there was a glint of something she couldn't quite identify in his eyes.
"There's not much for me to do there at the moment, I'm sure you can handle it. I'd rather go home and get the treaty over and done with" He shrugged before turning to stare out a nearby window. "Or go flying, you can see things more clearly from up there" He added wistfully to himself. "I wonder if they realise that."
"Don't worry your Highness, this is the last task the propaganda department has planned," Ugar interjected in an attempt to lift the mood. "Then you can head back to the capital."
Wilhelm had barely reacted, only letting out a slightly frustrated sigh before the pair made their excuses and left. She hadn't heard much else from them since then and she was beginning to think that maybe the boy wasn't up to something. It did feel like he was hiding something, but she didn't believe he was lying. If anything, he seemed slightly depressed, she couldn't help but wonder why. In the end, she was forced to conclude her suspicions were due to his secretive nature and that she had been reading too much into his actions.
Ultimately, he hadn't done anything during the past few weeks to hinder the Imperial efforts to finish the war. According to Ugar, he'd actually sent letters to the General staff and high command asking them to begin negotiating terms with the Republic. It seemed he was as eager to end this war as everyone else despite his newfound glum demeanour.
She found herself finally able to relax, Wilhelm was behaving, and the collapse of the Republic was proof that Being X had run out of ideas. She even found herself visiting an empty church to rub it in the would-be God's face, she'd won, she'd survived the false deity's little game and emerged victorious.
She couldn't help but smirk as she wandered back to the headquarters with her rifle on her shoulder. The world was her oyster now, once the Empire was at peace, she would have the freedom to live her life how she pleased. She could leave the army and rejoin the world of business, with the Empire's progressive attitude towards women and her hard-earned war record she was confident she could arrange her resume to showcase her leadership skills. Alternatively, she could stick with the military and try to get that position in the rear, maybe even back with the instructor unit as long as she didn't have to go back to testing for Schugel. So many opportunities.
"Have you learned your lesson?" She heard breaking her from her thoughts.
She looked over a nearby fence and saw a small group of children with sticks gathered around a boy on his knees clutching his stomach. There had obviously been some disagreement and this boy had ended up on the wrong side of the group's ire, it reminded her of a similar encounter she had experienced in the orphanage. She had no intention of stepping in, of course, there was no point anyway, the boy had clearly lost and all he needed to do now was accept it and live with the consequences.
The boy looked up at his attacker with eyes that burned with hate and rage, it reminded her of Wilhelm's enraged expression in Letzenbourg when he had dragged his broken body away to confront his brother. They were the eyes of an irrational person, the sort of look she despised and couldn't understand.
"I'll never forgive you!" The boy yelled before launching himself at one of his attackers. The others soon piled in and taught him the folly of his senseless actions, but Tanya found herself frowning thoughtfully as she walked away.
Why were some people like that? Why did they act so irrationally and without logic? True, the boy was only a child but even he should have been able to see his continued resistance was futile, why didn't he just give in? The whole situation bothered her more than she cared to admit, with people acting so stupidly, it was hardly surprising Being X had such a warped view on humanity. These irrational idiots like that were practically proving him right.
The strange feeling followed her back to headquarters. She should have been happy, she was sitting comfortably at a desk doing mundane paperwork and reading the paper, just like she wanted. So why did it feel like something was wrong?
She glanced down at the newspaper, trying to take her mind off it. The Berlun Herald was covered in headlines congratulating the military on its decisive blow and proclaiming that it was the end of the war. She understood why they would print that, but it seemed a bit premature to Tanya, the Republic hadn't officially surrendered yet after all. Then again, the Republic had to give up, didn't they? There was no other logical alternative.
She sighed and looked away from the paper, trying to vent her unfocused frustration. She felt tense but couldn't understand why and it was beginning to affect her ability to concentrate properly. Her eyes fell on the weapon rack in the corner, neatly placed within it was the submachine gun that she had liberated from the Legadonian mage in Norden. As she stared at the inscribed initials on the weapon, she couldn't help but think about the last moments of the resurrected fanatical Legadonian. He had resisted for longer than any rational being should too. He'd even destroyed himself seemingly out of spite, Being X's influence was truly terrifying.
"Oh, Hi Major, I didn't expect you to be in here today," Said Visha as she entered the office.
"To be honest, I didn't have much else to do," Tanya replied honestly. For the first time since she'd joined the military, she'd found herself with free time and nothing to fill it with. She had been so focussed on furthering her career, she hadn't had much time to develop many outside interests or friends. With most of the battalion away, she had even managed to catch up on all the paperwork. Technically she didn't need to be here but coming to work and clocking in was almost second nature to her now so the thought of not being here hadn't really crossed her mind.
"I've never met anyone so dedicated, compared to you our men are downright lazy." The second lieutenant observed, and Tanya tried not to feel embarrassed. "They're all lounging around on a republic beach."
She couldn't exactly tell her subordinate that she was only here because she had nowhere else to be, being devoted to your work was one thing but people start to think you're weird if you do nothing but work. What if her superiors found out? They might get the impression she didn't socialise well, and it could hurt her promotion chances. Not for the first time, she cursed this child's body, if she were old enough, she could have gone for drinks with both her superiors and her team, just as she had in her previous life. As it stood, she would have to find a different way to prove to her superiors she wasn't simply an automaton.
"They've more than earned a rest," Tanya said quickly trying to avoid the issue as she stood up and wandered towards the window. It was sunny outside, and the weather was getting warm, it was summer already. Time seemed to have flown by, it didn't feel like it had been six months since their winter mission in the Osfjord.
"I guess you're right, the war's pretty much over anyway. They say the Republican navy is withdrawing." Visha replied absently as she sat at her desk and began organising some files.
"They're withdrawing?" asked Tanya as her feeling of disquiet began to grow, something about what Serabyakov had just said was nagging at her, it definitely felt wrong.
The second Lieutenant nodded before explaining that they'd received a report that all François ships had been ordered to cease combat operations and move out under the authority of General de Lugo. Army intelligence believed they were trying to protect the precious and expensive battleships so that they would have a slightly better bargaining position at the peace negotiations. Everyone was saying it was only a matter of time until the end of the war now.
"Lieutenant, did the report from HQ say the end of the war? Not armistice or surrender?" Said Tanya as horrible a suspicion began to form in her mind.
"Huh?" Replied her adjutant as she blinked in confusion, "I think they called it an armistice."
Tanya felt her feeling of disquiet begin to grow as her mind digested this information, something was definitely wrong but what? An armistice was an agreement to cease fighting, although it didn't mean the war was over it should mean the beginning of peace talks. That should be a good thing, right? Then again it hadn't been officially declared yet, so why was the republican Navy withdrawing? She couldn't see it giving the republic that much leverage in negotiations, in fact, they'd be better off if they sank a few more imperial subs before they gave up if they wanted to save face.
"And the order came from General de Lugo, correct?" She said aloud thoughtfully. That was strange, he was a General, not an Admiral, why was he interfering with the navy? Unless he needed them to be somewhere.
"Where is the Republican army now?" She asked more urgently this time as she rushed to her desk and grabbed a map. Are they that stupid! Have they lost all rational sense!
"I think they're at Brest military port" Replied Serabryakov seeming even more confused. Her adjutant probably thought she'd gone mad but there wasn't time to worry about that, she needed to confirm her suspicions. Please let me be wrong.
She unfurled the parchment and hastily scanned the chart looking for the naval port. She stared at it with growing horror, it would be the perfect location! At the most western point of the Republic, it was safest from attacks from land, sea, and air, they could load up their forces then stay close to neutral Ispagna and take their remaining forces to the Republican colonies. They were going to carry on the war! They'd lost but they were going to fight no matter what! It was just like those children scuffling in the street, the battered boy had continued to resist even though it was hopeless.
"NO!" Tanya yelled, smashing her fist down on the table so hard it spilled her coffee "How the hell did I miss this?!"
The Republicans were going to pull their own Dunkirk! If they evacuated their troops to the colonies it would give them time to regroup and drag the war out longer. Worse still, it would be difficult for the empire to press them once they were there, the Empire had no colonies on the southern continent and few ports on the south coast. It would be difficult to deploy any sizable force and even harder to supply it.
Additionally, the longer the war continued, the more the empire would bleed itself dry and the more likely other powers would step in. They already had the Allied Kingdom breathing down their necks but everyone expected them to bow out once the republic caved. If the republic didn't surrender they would likely continue to support their new ally and while they did, who was to say that others wouldn't jump in? What if the Russy or the Unified states decided they wanted to join? It would spell likely mean the end for the Empire and most likely an end to her! Then when she died, she'd have Being X leering over her mockingly. She couldn't allow it to happen, she refused to let that bastard being X win. She would see to it that the Republic forces never left Brest military port.
"Erm is everything alr…." Visha started but Tanya cut her off
"Contact the engineers and have them ready the V1 rockets" She ordered as she rushed to grab her officer's cap and headed towards the door. "And have the men brought back by air at once! Their vacation is cancelled!"
Authors Notes
Hi all and thank you as always for reading.
I'm straying from my two-week deadline a little bit and I apologise for that as it is entirely my fault. Despite being busy, I've volunteered myself to do more work and have been helping out with the Youjo Senki Redux mod for Hearts of Iron 4. If you like that game I highly recommend the mod and if you join the discord server, it's full of lots of friendly people (Say hello to Lord_Solus if you do join it, that's me).
Anyway, I'm still working hard at getting this story out and hopefully you're still enjoying it. Everything is all lined up for some stuff to happen now so hopefully, this is where it gets interesting.
I've now had a few people asking if there will be romance in this story, (I'm assuming between Wilhelm and Tanya) so I'll answer that question here:
I've done my best to hint at possible romances in the story but have shied away from writing anything explicitly because I'm not super confident I can write it while still having it feel in character. Especially with Tanya. Although it has been something I have been considering for a while and I'm beginning to feel a bit better about it.
Also, I know how I want the story to end and although a romance in the story won't affect that ending it would make it a little more tragic. Which I personally quite like but anyone expecting a happy ending might be disappointed.
Wilhelm/Tanya has some difficulties if it were to happen, however. I can confirm that Wilhelm's affection towards Tanya is 100% genuine and he probably isn't too far from thinking about her in more of a romantic way. Especially since he sees her success as part of his deserved happiness. He is still Wilhelm though, so he will undoubtedly continue to do things that annoy and infuriate Tanya.
As I said before though, Tanya is the tricky one. I don't think she or the salaryman see romance in quite the same way as most people. It's only ever briefly mentioned that Tanya's past-self wanted a wife and family and then it seemed more because it was expected rather than a real desire. That combined with her mistrust of Wilhelm makes it pretty difficult to push them together without a break in her character.
A Tanya/Visha ship would be easier because the manga has some scenes that kinda hint at it anyway. It would always have to be a slow burner, however, to keep them in character.
Ultimately if enough people want to see it, I'll try to write a bit of something in, so let me know. Regardless of whether I do or not, Tanya will definitely feel something more than frustration for Wilhelm before the end.
Thank you again for reading
Xanen