Chapter 187: The Road to Hell Part I
The unification of the German Reich in 1871 came with many benefits. For the first time in their history as a people, Germany was united into a single empire under a single ruler. While the Holy Roman Empire had been ruled almost exclusively by German kings throughout its history, it was composed of various cultures, languages, and ethnicities, some of which held significant power over who came to the throne.
That could not be said for the German Reich. Of course, there were some drawbacks to the unification of the German States, such as the loss of sovereignty for many men who had once proudly called themselves monarchs.
Among these various kingdoms, principalities, grand duchies, etc., was the Kingdom of Bavaria, which had been ruled by the illustrious von Wittelsbach family since the High Medieval Period. The history of Bavaria was overshadowed only by that of Prussia and Austria among the German states.
But unlike the Prussians, renowned for their martial prowess, the Bavarians were well- regarded for their affinity for music, theater, and the high arts. Even so, that did not mean their Royal Family was entirely composed of patrons of the arts or a people whose sense of regality was beyond reproach.
The wife of Heidi's father was a von Wittelsbach, though her exact relation to the main line of the prestigious Bavarian Royal family was uncertain. Most likely, she was a distant cousin from a branch family that was on the decline.
Nevertheless, her maiden name alone commanded respect and, more importantly, authority. She was the woman who had commanded that Heidi's mother suffer an untimely death. After all, this "Princess" was far from the archetype she bore in title only.
No, she was a vicious, petty person who had always resented her husband for taking a lover and, moreover, siring a bastard girl whose beauty was well beyond that of her own daughters.
The only reason Heidi was not marked for death as well was that her foolish father had actually provoked the Junker coalition by engaging his bastard daughter to the ninth son of a prominent industrial family-who were little more than upstarts in the eyes of the ancient Bavarian Kings and Queens.
Or so it was perceived by the von Wittelsbach family, who looked upon Heidi's father with disdain, despite his awareness of his own position and the unfortunate circumstances his daughter faced as a result of his actions.
No one would have guessed that the man who played the part of a socially inept fool was, in fact, a wise man hiding his cleverness with a carefully crafted fa?ade. And while it wasn't impossible for the von Wittelsbachs to lash out at Heidi during her childhood, the window for such an opportunity had long since passed.
With her marriage to Bruno, and Bruno's rapid rise to prominence within the German Reich, daring to touch a hair on his beloved wife's head was as good as summoning the Demon Prince of Wrath to unleash hell upon their family.
Bruno, after all, was a man with a fierce reputation, one who had no qualms about shooting someone in the head in broad daylight if sufficiently provoked. Thus, the current Prince Regent of Bavaria, Luitpold von Wittelsbach, was now discussing the matter with his distant relative, the wife of Heidi's father.