Re: Blood and Iron-Chapter 387: The Morning After

The alliance being brokered between the Tsar of Russia and the future Grand Prince of Tyrol was something that nobody would be aware of until much later. Rather, the entire attention of the reception for Erwin and Alya’s wedding was on their relationship and the beauty it represented.

Not only the coming of a new age of nobility were common and noble classes intertwined to the point of marriage, but also the end of the war. It was a wedding in the wake of a very cold and dark winter.

Spring had come, and the winds of war had passed. The storm was well beyond the horizon, and the future was bright. This was indeed one of the reasons Heidi had prepared her son’s wedding for the beginning of spring.

But as with all good things in life, the party soon came to an end, as Erwin and Alya found their hearts beating steadily as they climbed the steps to groom’s bedroom where they spent their first night together as husband and wife.

By this time, even the Tsar and his family had left the estate. But when Nicholas did so, there was a silent and tacit understanding between him and Bruno that some form of agreement had been made.

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Bruno awoke bright and early the next day as he descended the staircase, after taking a morning shower, and performing other basic hygiene that was required before any civilized man began his usual routine.

After which he sat down at the breakfast table, noticing that his entire family were gathered other than the newlywed couple, to which Bruno smirked while the maid poured him his daily cup of coffee, taking a brief sip and smiling with closed eyes, as if he had entered a state of true bliss.

Only after building up such a silent and smug atmosphere did he finally make an inappropriate joke about son’s wedding night.

"It would appear that I fully underestimated that boy’s stamina… I suppose he is at that age… Poor Alya…"

Heidi immediately rolled up the newspaper and smacked her husband on the shoulder like she was disciplining a mischievous stray, all the while commenting on his deliberately poor choice of words.

"Can’t you have the slightest decorum in front of our daughters? Why must you always do this?"

Considering the woman was only playfully admonishing her husband, Bruno could only chuckle heartily as he "restrained" his wife’s fury in a similar way. Assuring her with a soothing voice that he was just having a little fun at their son’s expense while the man in question descended from the staircase fully clothed with his beautiful new bride in tow.

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"I was only having a little fun… Honestly, woman you really should do something about- Hey! There is my little man! And his loving young bride as well! We were just talking about you two!"

Erwin seemed to have gained an entire lifetime’s worth of confidence over night as he no longer appeared to have the slightest trace of embarrassment at his father’s jester like behavior.

Instead, he sat down at the side of the table next to his wife, while his sisters looked between him and their father, blushing at the remarks that were just made. That is his oldest two sisters. The other batch of children were still far too young to truly comprehend the meaning of what happened last night, or their parents’ remarks.

Erwin finally cleared the air, reaching towards the food on the table to serve to his wife’s and his owns plate as he did so.

"Sorry about the wait, Alya and I were really tired after all the …. Erm…. Dancing last night. We somehow managed to oversleep…."

Alya blushed upon hearing her husband’s words, unconsciously grabbing hold of his hands as she lowered her gaze in embarrassment. While Heidi damn near choked on her own coffee after hearing her beloved "baby boy say such a shameless thing.

Bruno however was as proud as a father could be as he smirked smugly all while complimenting his son on finally becoming a man in the worst possible way.

"Yeah… dancing will have that effect on you… Why your mother and I danced all night long the night we got married, long after everyone else had fallen asleep, didn’t we dear?"

Heidi choked on her coffee a second time, this time much more fiercely, as Bruno patted her back in an attempt to soothe her cough. All the while the oldest of their children, Eva was quick to make an embarrassed remark while digging into her food.

"So gross…."

This remark provoked a response from her father who was quick to look over not towards his eldest daughter who had made the statement but his second oldest daughter who was trying her best not to pass out from sheer embarrassment and awkwardness.

"By the way, that reminds me… Elsa, you will be marrying Prince Alexei of the House of Romanov when the two of you come of proper age. The Tsar and I agreed upon this last night while your brother and his bride were dancing…."

Heidi looked over at Bruno with complete shock and awe on her face. She had just recovered from his horrific remarks about their wedding night only to have a bombshell dropped right on top of her.

He actually managed to pull it off? Why the hell didn’t he tell her last night when they were in bed together? This miserable bastard revealing something so monumental casually over breakfast conversation while stuffing his face with eggs and bacon!

Did the war scramble his brains or something? The way Heidi was staring at Bruno was so obvious to everyone around the two of them that nobody said anything and instead ate their food silently and awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Bruno behaved as if he were completely oblivious to his wife’s fury, nonchalantly eating his breakfast as if he had not just leaked history’s greatest secret casually over breakfast with his family.

Elsa, of course, was too stunned to say anything, trying her best to comprehend what her father had said. And just when she was about to say something, the man just happened to shut her up in his own perfect way.

"You know… Breakfast is cooked perfectly today… The bacon is so crispy it practically melts in your mouth, just the way I like it! You did a wonderful job cooking as per usual, honey!"

The words were naturally directed to Heidi and instantly quelled all of her fury and rage as she received the slightest compliment from her husband, turning her from a lioness who was about to tear into a scandalous jackal, to a domesticated kitten in the span of seconds.

Erwin stared at his parents’ interaction, with a sudden and newfound understanding of a relationship dynamic he had been observing his entire life. Something nobody else in the room seemed to quite understand.

He could only mutter beneath his breath the Epiphany he had received, provoking a silent wink from his father as he did so, the only man who appeared to have properly heard the boy despite being most distant from him.

"The man is a genius…"

Even Alya who was right next to Erwin clutching his hand did not accurately hear what he had whispered, raising her brow as she questioned him over it.

"Did you say something, dear?"

Erwin simply shook his head and refused to acknowledge he had said anything, as it appeared that only the two men in the room realized the exchange of glances at one another.

It had suddenly dawned on Erwin that his father had become a master of defusing his mother’s sudden fits of rage over his increasingly clownish behavior. A trait that he only now realized would become a life saver later on in his own marriage if he too managed to learn how to properly gain such an understanding.

The rest of the time spent at breakfast was done, so discussing Elsa’s engagement to the future Tsar of Russia, and why Bruno believed this was a good fit for the family and for the girl. Who herself seemed quite open to the idea, as though she had limited contact with the boy over the years, she appeared to possess a favorable impression.

As for Erwin, he was subtly watching the way that his father interacted with his family, gaining as if it were some kind of secret revelation, the entirety of his understanding of his family’s dynamic, and his father’s ability to carelessly yet masterfully take care of everyone’s emotional needs, and mental development was something he had never noticed until this very morning.

It was almost as if infinite wisdom had been bestowed upon the boy, as his memory flashed back to the foundation of discipline and respect his father had built for him, while treating his sisters entirely different.

Only to slowly over the years incorporate more freedom and mentorship into his own life, while becoming more authoritarian to Eva and Elsa as they got older. His entire history with his family swirled in Erwin’s head, forcing him to realize that his father had been far better at raising him and his sisters than he had ever thought before.

And in the end he smiled and shook his head, taking a sip from his coffee, before voicing his truest and deepest thoughts aloud.

"I’m such an idiot…"