Chapter 402: Declaring War Against Destiny
Bruno stood before the Kaiser, and his fellow General August von Mackensen, they were the only three men left in the room, and as a result the atmosphere immediately went from tighter than a garrote wrapped around its victim’s neck, to complete and utter relief.
The Kaiser himself sighed heavily and shook his head as he explained the reason for the summons to Bruno in a far less formal manner.
"My apologies. I tried to stave off those vultures and their attempts to drag your reputation through the mud, but there are powers that be that even I must appease from time to time.
Luckily, you have made powerful friends who will stand by your side as these decrepit old fools seek to undo all the progress we have made together over the years. So, off the record, what is your actual involvement with the Werwolf Brigade?"
Bruno, who had never lied to the Kaiser, and answered all of his questions truthfully, albeit sometimes withholding the whole truth when it was of the utmost importance was quick to reveal that which he was asked of.
"I founded the group, funded their organization, training, and equipment, and suggested that Franz Joseph hire their services in order to deal with the many problems which are currently plaguing his lands.
I outlined specifically the price that would be associated with such a purchase, albeit told him that the final bill would be sent to him after the fees and costs that would result from employing a mercenary force like this.
He voluntarily entered the agreement willingly, and he is now dealing with the consequences of his own decisions. No matter whom he may seek to blame for the violence overtaking the Habsburg Empire he only has himself to blame.
The Balkans should have never been conquered by the Austrians, the dual-monarchy was a massive political mistake, and the Austro-Hungarian leadership’s decision to recklessly abandon the strict practices and guidelines we introduced when issuing pervatin were flagrantly ignored in pursuit of greater combat effects.
Everything that is happening within the Austro-Hungarian at this moment is entirely of his own making. I merely provided him with a solution to restore control to the lands directly beneath the authority of the Austrian Crown.