Published at 11th of April 2026 6:52 am

Chapter 934: The Next Generation of von Zehntners

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By the time dawn rose, Bern was a mess. The attacks had left the capital of the Swiss Confederation isolated and vulnerable. But the culprits were nowhere to be found.

The police were mobilized as quickly as the bombs had gone off. And yet, as they assisted with securing the perimeter and allowing the other first responders to do their jobs. They did not find a single trace of who had coordinated the attack

Reveil de France claimed credit immediately after. The headlines of every paper posted their manifesto, which had been sent anonymously.

They called for a Switzerland "free from the yoke of German tyranny" and demanded the French-speaking minority be given equal representation in parliament.

There were various other demands, some of which seemed almost contradictory in nature. But one thing was certain. The name Reveil de France was in the public mind once more.

Many had forgotten about them after their attack on the peace summit held at Geneva during the last days of the Second Weltkrieg.

Most had assumed they were obliterated then and there during the standoff with the Swiss Federal Police.

Switzerland found itself rocked, and Parliament could do little about it, as the capital was effectively cut off from the rest of the country.

It wasn’t just means of transportation that were targeted. Power substations, radio towers, and telephone lines were all cut off.

While the rest of the country reeled at the sudden attack and the impact it had on their own lives, Berlin was quiet.

It wasn’t quiet because it was unaware. But because Bruno had a day off....

Bruno was currently enjoying breakfast with his family. Drinking a cup of coffee while enjoying the cooking that his wife had helped prepare for him.

He was all too aware of what was happening in Switzerland, but he didn’t move a muscle to intervene. In fact, it wasn’t even in the back of his mind. Instead, he looked over at Maria, Theresa, and their friend Claire who had joined them for Sunday Mass.

But Claire’s attention was elsewhere. She was staring over at one of many scions that the von Zehntners had sired over the years.

He was a boy roughly the same age as her, but just slightly younger. He was the younger brother of Maria and Theresa. Claire had known about the boy for over a year now. As her friends never ceased talking about him.

But she had rarely met the infamous Karl Franz von Zehntner. As he had been away at the Tyrolean Main Cadet Institute to finalize his education before joining the German Army as a Gebirgsjäger officer.

He inherited his mother’s dark hair and was currently dressed in his cadet uniform. To Claire, he was just about the most handsome boy she had ever seen.

He paid her no attention. As he was currently being smothered by his elder sisters. Both of whom tried to feed him as if he were a child.

But he didn’t react or get embarrassed. Nor was there a sign of frustration on his face. He stoically resisted their attempts to spoon his food into his mouth, accurately and adeptly raising his hand and blocking his sister all while they complained.

Claire blushed every time she snuck a glance at him. And ultimately Maria noticed what their friend was doing. She quickly pointed the sterling spoon that was filled with Tiroler Grostl at Claire.

"Claire! Stop staring at my little brother! You’ll never get your hands on him!"

The comment was loud and immediately grabbed the attention of everyone at the table. Claire had never felt so embarrassed in her life and instinctively tried to protest.

"I wasn’t-"

But she could only cut herself off and shrink in her seat, wishing desperately she was a turtle.

Theresa was no better, gaining momentum off of her twin-sister’s chaotic energy and doubling down on Maria’s shameless comment.

"Who would have thought Claire was the type to purposely befriend us so she could snatch our precious little brother away from us!"

Heidi looked over at Bruno and cast him a glance. Silently suggesting he should interfere with the scene, as it was growing beyond a mere joke between the younger generation. But luckily for him, Karl acted first.

"Enough, the two of you... Father may dote on you, but you are still princesses. This behavior is unbecoming."

It wasn’t Josef who could shut the girls up and get them to behave. Neither was it Bruno, hell even their mother struggled to contain them when they got like this.

But Karl had a way of getting the two twins most well known for being a couple of gremlins to become silent, prim, and proper like nobody else could. The two young women instantly bowed their heads and apologized to their brother, and to Claire.

’We humbly apologize for our improper behavior.... And the insult we have caused you, Claire."

Since she had first gotten to know the two girls, Claire had never once seen them cowed into submission by anyone.

Sure, they knew how to bend strategically, but they seemed to be genuinely sorrowful for the comments they had made, causing Claire to suddenly feel like she had entered another timeline altogether.

But Karl simply nodded silently in her direction, causing her to blush once more before forcing herself to accept her friends’ apologies.

"It’s.... Fine... I know how you two get, I wasn’t offended."

Heidi looked over at her grandson and smirked with approval, she then whispered something in Bruno’s ear.

"It would appear the next generation will be in good hands. Between Erwin and Karl, I’d say our family has a bright future."

Even Bruno had to admit that the boy had done something he himself had found troublesome. And that was bringing those two troublesome sisters of his to heel.

The two girls were soft-spoken and well mannered for the rest of the meal. As if to prove to Karl that they knew how to behave and were not a couple of mad women... and Bruno found this to be... amusing.

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