Chapter 112: Pinky Promise
The Joint-Military Exercise continued in various mock battles over the course of three weeks. Before Bruno was invited to the Hofburg once more, which was the primary palace of the Habsburg Dynasty. Overall, there was quite a bit that Austro-Hungary learned from their German counterparts.
And during the dinner that followed the event, Bruno brought up many ideas that could be used to improve Austro-Hungarian performance in the field. And while his ideas certainly made sense, there were political, economic, and industrial challenges that needed to be faced to fully implement them.
Meaning that Bruno ultimately did not pursue them any further than mere lip service.
Fundamentally, whether or not Austro-Hungary actually performed respectably in the war wasn't important to Bruno.
What was important was that the Eastern front was closed as quickly as possible. And if Russia ultimately proved to be a German ally, or at the very least decided not to get involved with the war, which Bruno was still not expecting to happen, nor planning for, then Serbia could be knocked out of the game relatively quickly, allowing Austro Hungary to focus their forces in the Western and Southern Fronts.
Thus were Bruno's thoughts as he continued to discuss things with the Habsburg family. However, after the military exercise concluded, Bruno quickly found that he had a little admirer. And unfortunately for him, the one paying the most attention to him was not the Austrian Kaiser, or the man who would become his successor.
Rather, it was the Austrian Kaiser's young granddaughter, who wanted to hear more about Bruno's exploits in war, and the Joint Military Exercise which he had just concluded. The girl followed him around as if she were some kind of lost puppy, and eventually Bruno had to sit her aside, and tell her that although he appreciated her interest in his achievements, she was ultimately preventing the man from establishing relationships with more prominent members of her family.
"Listen, Hedwig, I would be more than happy to discuss my military career with you at a later time. But tomorrow morning I am on the first train back to Berlin. And this gathering is not only being thrown in honor of the soldiers and officers who participated in the exercise of these last few weeks, but also is a means for me to establish greater ties with your family. So please, I am begging you to leave me be for the remainder of the night."
The girl seemed to take far greater offense to Bruno's words than he initially intended for them, and because of this, she crossed her arms and began to pout while not even glancing in Bruno's direction.
"Fine then, go speak with those boring old men, see if I care! But you better live up to your promise and come to visit me soon, or I will never forgive you!"