Chapter 830: Subversion

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Bruno sat still as he listened to the words his son-in-law had just spoken. He had known the man since he was but an infant, and had watched him grow into a capable heir and successor to the Reich.

If Bruno had not seen potential in the man, he would have never married his eldest daughter to him.

Eva was a woman who inherited Bruno’s geopolitical genius at a level none of his sons had ever grasped.

And she had spent nearly two decades wrapping her husband around her finger. Her influence on the man had been staggering, in ways even Bruno had not anticipated.

However, Bruno had noticed in recent years that the man’s behavior had shifted slightly. And he had suspected that Prince Wilhelm was growing restless. His grandfather persisted as the Kaiser into an age where historically was nearly impossible to achieve.

While Crown Prince Wilhelm was three years younger than Bruno, he himself was. Not even reaching his sixtieth birthday. When the Kaiser finally passed the crown, it would fall into Crown Prince Wilhelm’s hands, and potentially for decades.

For a young, ambitious, and capable would-be emperor, it was almost unbearable to think of waiting several more decades for his own time to shine.

It was because of this Bruno was at his most serious, as he heard the words "I want to hire the Werwolf…" spoken. Suspecting perhaps that the Prince had grown tired and restless of waiting, and had now sought his father-in-law to help him lead a coup.

Yet, Wilhelm surprised Bruno with his next words.

"My grandfather is getting on in years, and he has expressed that his last wish is to see the Peace of Westphalia undone. Over the course of your lives, the two of you have masterfully returned much of the Reich’s borders to the fatherland. And yet… the Netherlands and Switzerland persist in their defiance of Berlin. I want nothing more than to contract Werwolf to help my grandfather see his dream come true before he takes his last breath. So… will you help me?"

Bruno sat there staggered in disbelief. He had expected the worst from his own son-in-law and was even coming up with inconceivable contingency plans on the spot in case his worst fears were realized.

Only for the man to express a desire that Bruno could not help but admire in the deepest parts of his cold and shriveled heart.

Bruno pinched his brow as he rested on his elbows, realizing that perhaps he had grown paranoid and bitter in his old age.

For the first time in his life, he felt genuinely remorseful, and for an assumption no less. He took a moment to breathe and calm his nerves before continuing. Then he began to chuckle softly.

"Boy… do you have any idea how much time and resources are needed to subvert a nation so thoroughly that they will welcome outsiders as liberators and not enemies?"

The line went silent for a few moments before a sullen tone emerged on the other end.

"Forgive my ignorance… Please, educate me."

Bruno pulled his flask out of his coat and added a certain needed stiffness to his morning coffee before taking a sip.

"A generation… maybe two, sometimes three…"

Wilhelm went silent once more, perhaps ashamed that he had come to the conclusion too late. He did not speak again, not until Bruno himself added something of his own with a certain snark.

"Luckily for our dearly beloved Kaiser… I began the process of subverting the world as early as the turn of the century. You didn’t genuinely believe that my reach spread across the Fatherland, Russia, and the United States alone did you?"

Bruno could practically hear the Prince gasp at the realization. Nearly 40 years of preparations had gone into preparing not just for both World Wars, but the world that came after.

Just how far ahead did Bruno see into the future? Prince Wilhelm could not even begin to fathom the depths of what he had just been told. But the timeline was too convenient… especially with current projections towards the end of the war.

Wilhelm remained stunned into silence for the longest time as Bruno sat there sipping his morning coffee. Watching the clock tick, waiting for the prince’s response. And finally, it came.

"You’ve been planning for it this entire time… for forty… no… maybe even fifty years… You have been plotting, scheming, and maneuvering in a way that ensures you are not only remembered as history’s greatest military leader but also the Chancellor who undid the failures of Westphalia as his first act in office and united the German Reich to its fullest extent…"

A smirk carved itself onto Bruno’s weathered face as he drank from his cup once more. Allowing the faintly alcohol-tainted coffee to pass smoothly before speaking.

He placed the cup back down on its saucer before congratulating the Prince.

"You’re far more astute than I gave you credit for boy. Perhaps it’s because you’re married to my eldest daughter who is the only one of my children to inherit the full extent of my thinking. But even my wife, who knows me better than anyone else in this world, has failed to piece together that last part. Yes… my entire life’s goal has been to restore Germany to its rightful borders. And every aim I have taken in this life has been to secure that objective."

Wilhelm honestly didn’t know how to respond, nor did he need to as Bruno continued to prattle on, almost as if he was happy someone had finally truly seen through his endgame.

"Many people have wrongly assumed that the day I resign from my position as Reichsmarschall and hang up the sword once and for all, that my story will come to its rightful conclusion. But the reality is, there is still so much work to be done, and not enough years of life left within me to see it through. But from my first moments in this world, until my last, I will do my duty."