Peace talks were held near instantly after the French Republic surrendered, while the conference for the treaty to end the war was stationed in Versailles under the careful watch of the German Army to ensure that no foul play was conducted by any potential parties which were hostile to the idea of ending the Great War.
Bruno and the other generals of the Central Powers were visibly displayed in all the papers, laughing and enjoying their time in the city of Paris, as if they had come as conquerors. A notable picture was taken by the press, showing a young woman throwing herself at Bruno and the man getting rather "violent with her" as he shoved her out of her way and chastised her as a "common harlot."
However, Bruno was fairly unique in this regard, as the soldiers in his army, and the other central powers enjoyed the company of the local women who, like every time someone invaded Paris threw themselves at their latest round of conquerors. Stay updated through Freewebnovel
Heinrich, seeing this as a brief ability to relapse into his more playboy ways, was commonly witnessed by reporters with a young woman in both of his arms. An image that made it back to Berlin causing both Heidi and Alya to sigh, face palm, and shake their heads at the scandalous image of the man who was near and dear to both of them.
To Bruno’s family, Heinrich was practically an uncle. He may not be related to Bruno by blood, but the two of them were united in the spilling of it, a bond stronger than those often had between biological brothers.
And naturally this extended to Heidi who perceived the man as if he were her brother-in-law, albeit a particularly shameless one. Alya couldn’t help but sigh once more as she stood up after rolling the newspaper and tossing it in the garbage.
Heidi couldn’t help but make a comment about her future daughter-in-law’s upbringing, as the man on the second page was her adoptive father who had long since given up his playboy ways for her benefit.
"Well, I guess since you are a woman now, and will soon be marrying my son, he may have gotten ahead of himself and thought it would be a good opportunity to slip back into his old ways as a bachelor..."
Alya glanced over at Heidi with a stern stare as a chilling phrase escaped her perfectly curved lips.
"Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to correct his errant behavior before he walks me down the aisle..."
She then flawlessly transitioned between German and Russian, letting her true thoughts escape her lips not realizing that Heidi had long since mastered the Russian language.
"Such a stupid and foolish man!"
Alya only realized that her godmother, and future mother-in-law had perfectly understood what she said in a fit of frustration when the woman broke out into laughter. Prompting a sharp turn of Alya’s neck so that her eyes could look at Heidi in abject horror as she realized her outburst just now was fully comprehended.
Heidi however just outright admitted it with a dismissive comment that only made the girl feel more embarrassed.
"You’re so cute when you’re angry... No wonder you managed to charm my son despite your lack of proper heritage. I’m sure if you broke out into fits of Russian every time you got mildly frustrated it would have been deeply endearing to the boy..."
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Alya seemed quite nervous, not because of her upcoming marriage, but because her thoughts immediately drifted to an uncertain future as she commented on the current state of global affairs and the fears she believed were coming.
"I’m glad the war ended... In another two years, Erwin would be expected to serve, and I would not want him out there in the Great War! I don’t know how you do it with Bruno... Knowing the danger he faces every time he leaves your side, how can you live with it? What if Erwin is called to war in the next few years? How will I be able to live with it?"
Heidi simply sighed and shook her head, as she stood up and hugged Alya in a reassuring gesture, one that did not dismiss her worries as nonsense, but rather affirmed them.
"You’re right to feel that way, especially since your marriage is getting closer. Hopefully that day doesn’t happen, and Erwin serves in a time of peace before leaving the military and pursuing a far more safe venture in life.
Bruno was.... unlucky... His brothers were able to serve their entire careers without ever having to fight a war... And yet he is a veteran of four of them now... This last one was especially tough... For all of us...
But I doubt you will have to worry about such a thing with your husband, because mine has already fought and won the wars for him. You just need to trust that everything will be alright, and that should such a time ever come, that your man will survive and come home to you. It’s all you can do..."
Alya could only sigh, and nod her head, trusting that her soon to be mother-in-law had all the answers, as she had lived through these worries four times now, each time greater than the last.
Thus, she ultimately thanked Heidi before wondering off, as she had something important to take care of, something that would also help ease her mind and shift her focus to a more unbridled rage that only a woman scorned could truly understand.
"Thank you, mother, but may I be excused? I need to go write a strongly worded letter to my father... After the .... act ... he pulled into Paris. He needs to know just how much trouble he has gotten himself into before he steps foot in our home! I want him to dread returning to me..."
Heidi dismissed Alya with a graceful smile on her face, before becoming a little worried, the way a mother does for her child, as she expressed these thoughts aloud.
"Oh, boy.... I do believe I raised that a girl a little too fierce... Or maybe it’s just her nature as a Russian. Either way, Erwin, my beloved baby boy... I might have made life difficult for you in ways I never intended, do forgive mommy, would you?"
Though Heidi said this out loud, she would not in fact warn Erwin about Alya’s fierce temperament, as she after all felt extremely guilty about helping forge such an aspect of the girl’s character, and could not reasonably face her son if that one day made him unhappy.
Lucky for Erwin, he inherited his father’s unwavering personality, which would allow him to face any storm, no matter how harsh, and tame it as its master. But that might be something the boy would need to learn in time, as the battles of matrimony were not something they taught a young student at the military academy. Rather, one could only excel in those after having gained ample personal experience on the matter.