Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 471: A Time For Leisure

Bruno would be hard-pressed to say he'd ever seen a more beautiful bouquet in his living room that spring of 1919—and he wasn't talking about the roses in the vase. His wife Heidi though aging into her mid to later thirties still maintained the youthful appearance of a woman a decade younger.

It was part genetics, part a vice-free life of peace, and the rest owed to a mind unburdened by regret. Surrounding her were her two daughters and her daughter-in-law. All of which were technically princesses, by birth or marriage. And each and every one of them was dressed as formally and elegantly as the Queen among them.

So why were all these pretty and dainty little things gathered in Bruno's home? Well… Heidi had decided to do something special now that their house were officially rulers of their own principality, it meant that she could create a new Order of Dames for the county of Tyrol to create noble women of good moral character, and exceptional charitable contributions to the state from.

Bruno had done the same with a Chivalric Order, and an Order of Merit here or there, but he had not awarded himself a position within them, not even as their Grand Master, he may be their sovereign, and thus bore the right to wear their decorations but he utterly refused so as he felt he had not earned the right to wear such an award.

And Heidi was the same, the first medals and ribbons were pinned to the dresses of her daughters and god daughters, each of which had actually contributed significantly to German as a whole, and especially Tyrol during and after the Great War while working within the confines of Heidi's charities.

This wasn't just a social club of brunch, tea, and noble chatter—today's gathering was about real work. Organizing aid. Planning outreach. Lending power to the powerless in Tyrol. And while they were in the middle of it Bruno came down the stairs, fresh from his daily workout and shower, dressed in simple clothes that looked wildly out of place among royalty.

"Pardon me, your royal highnesses... This humble commoner dares not disturb such a sacred council."

Heidi stared at her husband as if he was deliberately being a fool, but in a way that subtly hinted at approval. It was honestly nice to see the man have a sense of humor after all this time.

He had come home from the war fatigued and wounded, but it would appear that the pain was starting to fade, or at least become tolerable. The fact that he could make fun of himself in such a nonsensical way couldn't help but cause Heidi to laugh, no matter how much she tried not to.

And once she did, Eva and the others were quick to join the fun, with Elsa being the only one casting a disapproving gaze. Not because she was angry at her father for dressing in casual and comfortable clothes around the home, but because he looked like he had not even put in the effort to style his hair properly.

A day off didn't mean he had the right to be lazy! Not her father, no he had to look the part of a proper Prince even when he was masquerading as a pauper for the day, and because of this the youngest of the group pouted and looked away.

Heidi instantly noticed the younger of her two girls present acting this way, and was quick to identify the cause, pulling the girl in close, as she tussled Elsa's platinum like hair.

"Oh, please… Your father has earned a day off. Do you have any idea how long it's been since he last lazed around the home like this? It was before any of you were born! Don't sulk just because he looks a little rough around the edges. He will be prim and proper by the week begins, isn't that right dear?"

The gaze Heidi cast Bruno was both one which assured him it was fine to go unshaven for a day or two, but three would be crossing the line… And thus Bruno simply smiled as he shook his head, and assured his daughter he would be indeed be clean shaven, and tidied up by the start of the week.

"You heard your mother. Let me laze about like a drunken vagrant just this once. It's been nearly two decades since I last did so…"

This was no exaggeration, Bruno had been hard at work nearly every day of his life, and there was seldom a time like today where he truly had a day off, even when he was younger, his days off after marrying Heidi were either spent with her, or with their children after they were born, being a proper husband and father as he should.

Even Alya looked at her father-in-law with an almost pitiful gaze as she realized behind the loving smile of a father there was a man working himself to death for his family in a way that her own husband, Erwin was starting to do the same…

And when she realized that, Alya decided to completely and totally put her foot down, and make sure that her husband took weekends off for himself. Because she was starting to think the reason Bruno was such a terrifying figure, one whose cruelty in Russia against the Bolsheviks which she was bore to witness as a child, and had haunted her dreams for many years, was because he simply gave everything of himself away to others.

What little of Bruno's time that remained after duty to the Army, to the Reich, and to the Kaiser was spent entirely with his family? And because of this, she was actually curious about one little detail, asking the man a question that stunned both Bruno and Heidi.

"Father… What do you do for leisure?"

The room went still. Even Heidi stopped stirring her tea. Bruno blinked, then blinked again. No one had ever asked him that before. And frankly speaking he had no answer. All he could do was respond openly with his thoughts aloud.

"Well… I suppose I'm about to find out today. You ladies enjoy your tea and biscuits. I'm going to go see what passes for fun these days…"

Heidi shot Alya a glance that was far from approving, because she knew Bruno well, and the moment he actually thought about having fun, he would be right back to work, because what the hell else was he going to do?