Re: Blood and Iron

Christoph was not a fool, he was aware that Bruno's rapid rise to prominence both in the Imperial German Army, and among the aristocratic class had made him many detractors. It was an obvious inevitability, one that Christoph already suspected Bruno was already well aware of himself.

After all, humans were petty and vain creatures. And those who rose to the top via their own merits would always be chastised and spat upon by the incompetent, the mediocre, and god forbid those who gained their position through nepotism.

But Bruno had gained the Kaiser's favor and because of this, nobody had the balls to openly say anything about the man. They would only whisper among those whose ears they knew were friendly, and even then, they would take more than a few glances around to make sure that no prying eyes were lurking around the corner.

The more Bruno shot to the top, the more he would be despised by the old guard of the aristocratic class. Especially when he was challenging certain social norms. For the most part, Bruno was a staunch traditionalist, and a large supporter of the monarchy, and the institution of nobility in general.

However, there were some things he felt were impractical and needed to evolve with the times. For starters, the idea that noble families should only marry in their own social class. This had caused long-term genetic defects in many of the noble households, especially the older ones.

The rich veins of those whose ancestors had risen to their positions in a time of strife and bloodshed had initially made the Knights, lords, and kings the most genetically gifted families. As the exceptional rose to the top and produced exceptional children.

But over time, without fresh new blood to be pumped through the veins of these ancient lineages, they would ultimately rot and decay from inbreeding. This was one of the many reasons Bruno was more than happy to marry his eldest son off to a Russian commoner.

However, this was also something that many looked down upon, especially since Bruno's family was relatively recently established as nobility, marrying his heir off to a commoner meant that he was depriving another noble house of that honor, and this made more than a few powerful figures resentful towards Bruno's familial practices.

Ultimately, this was not something that Christoph perceived to be an issue that he was required to get involved with. He was after all not in his youngest brother's position, nor was he particularly close to the man, in fact, he would only do something of the matter if he either personally witnessed it, or he heard of something that may perhaps be considered a threat.

Unfortunately, because he had walked in on his wife and her friends at the wrong time, while they were in the midst of gossiping about Bruno's family, Christoph was now in a place and position where he needed to confront the slander being cast towards his own bloodline.

After all, Bruno's rise had brought his own family and the rest who shared his surname to a far greater prominence than they already had. Whether it was the number of military orders they were receiving, or invitations to important social events.

The von Zehntner family had become a household name within the German Reich, and Bruno had even rewarded several of his family members with shares in many of his corporations.

Christoph himself held a 5% share in Bruno's personal bank, that was being used to counter the interests of those who sought to further destabilize the German Riech, not that anyone really knew this purpose for its existence other than the owner himself.

And recently there were talks of officially recognizing the main line of the von Zehntner family as counts for the contributions that multiple generations of their family had made to the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Reich over the years.

This would officially place them in the High Nobility, and would give them some face, considering the youngest member of their main family line was now a Prince in Russia, and the Grand Prince of Transylvania.

With all of this in mind, Christoph was now obligated to chastise these women who were staring at him with dread, and rebuke his wife thoroughly in front of them. After all, she had the shame to go along with these bitches and their slanderous words towards her own family.

The time frame Christoph had given to these highborn "ladies" to recant their remarks was quickly passing all the while he stared at them with fury in his eyes and curled fists. His face had practically turned red with rage.

Not particularly because of what they had said, but because they had the audacity to say it in his home, and his wife of all people helped facilitate it, rather than shut it down. It was truly a black mark on his immediate family's reputation, and if word got out to his brothers, his stock in the house would drop drastically.

Perhaps because one of these ladies was a countess, she felt that she was entitled to do as she said in this humble home of a junker's second son. And was quick to lash out at Christoph for what he had said to her just moments before.

"My word, I don't believe I have ever met a man with such an ego as to tell me, a countess that he will personally cast me out of his home! Touch me if you dare!"

*slap*

The sound that echoed as Christoph's hand smacked the absolute shit out of the highborn "lady's" cheek resounded across the room as if a bolt of lightning had gone off nearby in the immediate vicinity. And the shock that it had stirred was no less stunning in nature.

Neither Christoph's wife, nor her other friends could believe that the man had just struck the wife of a count. Nor could the woman in question as her reddened cheek stung with agony. Tears quickly followed as they washed away the extensive makeup which was caked on the hag's face.

Quickly revealing the wrinkles she had so desperately tried to hide as she stared at Christoph with the devil in her eyes. All the while conjuring his voice in the loudest and most vicious shriek the man had ever heard in his life.

"You dare strike me? You knave! I will have my husband know of this insult!"

Christoph was undeterred as he heard this and hollered at the woman with bravado as she stormed out of the house.

"Go and tell your cuckold of a husband what I have done. I dare you! I will have him lying dead in the yard within a fortnight if he has the fortitude to challenge me over your lack of honor. You up jumped harlot!"

After saying this, Christoph stared at the other women who were enjoying the show as if it were some grand theater. Only after they saw the sheer hatred in his blue eyes did they realize they had messed up. And they were quick to scatter before he could do the same to them.

Only after all of his wife's friends were gone did Christoph lecture the woman personally, as he told her exactly what she thought of her.

"Are you so desperate for the approval of those floozies that you must tarnish the reputation of your own family!?! Let me make something abundantly clear to you, woman, since you don't seem to understand.

I am not as passive as you believe me to be. And if I find out you have been engaging in the same nocturnal activities as those hussies, I will see to it that your body is never discovered, do you understand me?"

There was nothing that Christoph's wife could say to calm the man's fury, and she remained utterly silent until he began to walk up their staircase. And when he did the woman called out to him.

"And just what are you going to do about Claudia? You do understand that her husband is a very powerful and wealthy man! For striking her, he could easily have you arrested!"

Christoph did not say a word to his wife at first, instead he continued to climb the stairs. It was only after he came back t the staircase with a wooden case did he finally speak. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"As I said to that whore you call your friend, if her husband has the stones to demand satisfaction from me, we will handle this the old way. Laws be damned I will have him dead and buried in my yard within a fortnight at the latest…."

After saying this, Christoph opened the wooden chest to reveal two dueling pistols that were entirely unique. They were a set of 1 of 1, designed specifically for his own entertainment. Breech loading pistols chambered in the American .45-70 government.

These pistols had rifles, barrels, and a blued steel finish, with gold damascene inlays, as well as ivory pistol grips. They were as beautiful as they were deadly. And when Christoph's wife saw this, she damn near freaked out at him.

But the man simply loaded a .45-70 round into the breach and shut it closed. The very act of which terrified the woman into total silence. And when he turned his head around to look at her, there was no emotion on his face as Christoph spoke the words that sent chills down his wife's spine.

"You were saying?"