Published at 22nd of January 2026 6:58 am

Chapter 835: Lunch and Diplomacy

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It was shortly after noon, in the midst of the early summer. Bruno found himself dining on a finely cooked local delicacy, which sat neatly on his porcelain plate.

Cuba had been kind to him, and its people had long since embraced their occupiers as liberators, not conquerors.

The chefs at the Presidential palace had been thoroughly vetted by German intelligence. And a had a close eye kept upon them, but they were permitted to help guide the cooks of the German Marine Corps as they prepared Cuban cuisine for the Reichsmarschall.

Bruno sat in Batista’s old office, holding a fork in one hand, bringing its portion straight to his mouth when the landline began to rattle off.

At first, Bruno tried to ignore it, taking a bite of his much-needed lunch, that is until it began to ring again much to his displeasure.

A light sigh escaped his lips as he placed his fork down on the plate and wiped his mouth with a fine napkin.

Only then did he pick up the phone and speak, his voice filled with a level of irritation that easily scared the operator on the other side.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of having my lunch interrupted on such a fine summer afternoon?"

The operator went silent for several moments, but when he spoke again, he began to stammer in fright.

"S...Sir... I apologize for the interruption, but there is a call waiting from Berlin. The Kaiser requests your immediate help on an important diplomatic matter."

Bruno looked at his watch briefly to gauge the time difference between him and Berlin, before sighing heavily.

"Alright... patch him through."

In the next moment he heard a click on the other line, before Wilhelm’s voice emerged."

"Apologies for the inconvenience, Herr Reichsmarschall. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important on your end. It’s just that I have come across a rather perplexing number of formal requests for a diplomatic summit regarding the formal surrender of most, if not all, of the Latin American countries that are currently marked as belligerents."

Bruno thought about it for two seconds before smiling. He realized then and there what was the most likely cause of this sudden outpouring of requests for negotiations towards the cessation of hostilities.

And it wasn’t just his rapid conquest, occupation, and rebirth of Cuba. No... this had to do with the seeds he began sowing a decade prior. And the paranoia brought forth by their fruits.

"It would appear it is time that we reaped the harvest that we have long since sown. Let me guess, you are formally summoning me to whatever neutral party you seek to host these negotiations?"

Wilhelm didn’t speak, not at first, and when he did so, his voice sounded exhausted, not elated at their upcoming victory.

"Why do I get the feeling this is all going according to some Machiavellian plot you planned a decade or two ago without my knowledge?"

Bruno began once more to cut into his meal, while keeping the phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. He chewed on the dish lightly before speaking once more only after he had swallowed its savory taste.

"What can I say, your majesty, Nicolo Machievelli wrote the book on how to act as a proper general and statesman. You have given me the power to run the Reich in your stead, and so I have endeavored in this life towards supreme excellence, and nothing else. Anything else would be a dereliction of my duty towards you and your House."

Bruno could only imagine the expression the Kaiser was making right now. Knowing Wilhelm, the man was practically facepalming as the floodgates began to open, and he realized just how much of the world was playing in the palm of his Reichsmarschall’s hands.

"Bruno... Just make sure to be in Geneva by next Friday afternoon... I would really prefer not to receive another lecture from you about Machiavelli, Clausewitz, Bismarck, or whomever else you draw inspiration from."

Upon hearing the Kaiser weary of his philosophical lectures, Bruno could only chuckle and shake his head while finishing up his meal.

"Understood, Your Majesty. I’ll keep my lecturing to a minimum during these upcoming peace accords. Oh, and Your Majesty... I have received intelligence that there are certain Francophile nationalist parties in Geneva that pose security risks to our delegation. It would be best if you did not attend these meetings. Send the Chancellor in your stead, if a piece must be sacrificed to take our opponent’s King, then let it be a pawn and not our own sovereign piece, yes? "

The Kaiser instantly understood the true meaning behind Bruno’s words. And though he was mortified by what was left unsaid, he also knew it was all in Bruno’s character to do so.

With a heavy sigh, the Kaiser responded to Bruno’s claims in a way that denied any involvement, but still recognized he understood what was being spoken.

"I wasn’t planning to make the trip myself anyway. My doctor has said my health has deteriorated in recent weeks to such an extent that I’m unsuited for travel. Especially for a region as rife with civil strife as Geneva is at the moment. Please be careful, Bruno, and do your best to protect the Chancellor against those forces that may move against us."

Just as Wilhelm expected, Bruno responded with nearly the precise words he imagined.

"I will do my best, but under such contentious circumstances I can make no promises towards the safety of anyone other than myself. At least, if my intelligence is to be believed, not with the limitations the Swiss intend to place upon our security detail. I fear that at this rate the protection of our delegation is reliant entirely upon the Swiss police to handle."

The Kaiser said nothing; he simply hung up while Bruno sat back in his seat and gazed upon the intelligence report that lay on his desk.

Bruno didn’t need to move directly. The dominoes had tipped in favor of his schemes. And soon, Switzerland would pay a grave price for not actively policing the more extreme members of its Swiss-French minority population.

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