Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 341: No Price Too Steep!



Whispers had gone quiet regarding the upcoming marriage between Erwin and Alya... After the Count who challenged Christoph went missing, word quickly got around of what had happened. Everybody knew what Christoph had done, but nobody had any evidence to report him to the proper authorities.

And because of this, even quietly among friends, few if any of the higher nobility dared to utter their thoughts regarding the upstart who was marrying off his son to some lowborn Russian girl. Word eventually reached Heidi's ears, and because of this she invited Christoph and his wife out for tea.

Gone were days where Heidi would silently dispose of people behind her husband's back. If a threat reared its ugly head, she would leave such dirty and blood business to the men in her life. Bruno was one of them, but he was about as subtle as a fragmentation grenade being tossed into a living room.

But Bruno had men at his behest who were quite skilled in covert operations. Still, she had not expected Christoph to be one of them. And frankly speaking, Christoph was a man who had heard rumors of the things Heidi had done behind the scenes in the past years.

There was never a shred of evidence left behind for him to confirm them, but if rumors were to be true, even to some degree, the woman had buried more men than she had saved. A saint who wielded a dagger in one hand and a syringe full of penicillin in the other.

And if he was being honest, he had seldom had a reason to speak alone with Heidi in the past, nor would he want scandalous rumors to appear should people witness them together in public without their spouses. Out of both fear of potential violence, as well as the stain such baseless rumors could have on their family's reputation, Christoph brought his wife as he met with Heidi.

Interestingly enough, Heidi also did not appear alone. She had her son Erwin with her. The boy was home for the summer, which had just arrived and thus acted as his mother's companion in this exchange.

Erwin, though young, had the ferocity in his sky-blue eyes that was shared with his father. But unlike his father who was the alpha of a wolf pack who had been through scraps and scrapes with the likes of coyotes, bobcats, cougars, and bears, he was like a young pup that while eager to prove himself, was as green as grass.

Still, Christoph could not help but smile at the fortitude in his nephew's eyes as he addressed the boy first before his mother.

"Erwin, you have grown much since our last encounter. I must say, you look very much like your father did when he was your age. Though you have a hint of your mother's grace, which I suppose is fitting, as Bruno inherited much the same from our own mother.

Unfortunately, I was never afforded such a luxury, and am a rather scruffy looking fellow myself..."

Despite all of Bruno's family being relatively attractive when compared with the average population, and Christoph easily being ranked within the top three of his eight other brothers, he was always the most critical of his own appearance.

Erwin did not say a word in response to this, instead Heidi spoke. Her eyes were much softer than they had been in years past. The hint of paranoia and the ever lurking darkness behind them were fully gone.

Even her smile showed no signs of falsehood or concealed enmity. No, she had changed, and Christoph had never really been close enough to see it until now. Which surprised him as the woman, who herself had been born the bastard of a prince, spoke with the civility of a woman who truly deserved her newfound status as a Grand Princess.

"Come now, Christoph, we are family. Must we really speak with such formalities? My son is your nephew is he not? I suppose that is why I have you to thank for shutting down those awful rumors spoken about the boy and his bride to be behind their backs..."

Christoph did not admit to it. After all, that would not be a wise thing to do. Even if Heidi was his family by law, and Erwin his nephew by blood. Admission of guilt was not something anyone should ever do. Especially when it was to a crime as heinous as murder.

Thus, Christoph was quick to deny the allegations.

"I'm sure I know what you have heard about me, but I must state for the record that these are mere falsehoods. The count did indeed come to my estate, but I am not responsible for whatever gruesome business he managed to get himself into after he left the grounds of my villa...."

Knowing the game all too well, as she had practiced it a thousand times in the mirror herself, Heidi was quick to respond to Christoph with words that denied guilt, but a tone that assured her she knew damn well what he did, and that he need not worry about her speaking it aloud. "Of course, our family is renowned for its honor and prestige. The men within our line are proud warriors, soldiers of Christ, and defenders of the Crown. They are not murderers, though. I will say that the mere existence of these allegations has done wonders to stifle the words of those cowards who don't have the stones to say them in public.

You should also be aware that these baseless claims against you have made you some powerful enemies. The same people who dislike my husband because of his rapid rise to power, and his challenge of the status quo, have now shifted their sights to you.

I asked to meet with you here to warn you in advance, as these noble families are far from as civil as they present themselves to be, and are more than willing to get their hands dirty in order to dispose of those who threatened their polished image. You do understand what I am saying, right?"

Christoph's gaze became grim when he heard these words. His wife did not have the intellect necessary to understand what Heidi was alluding to, but he sure did. Men would be coming for him and his family because of what he had done. And now he would need to defend them, much in the same way Bruno had done for his own bloodline.

It was after saying this that Heidi drank the rest of her tea, and paid the tab, before standing up. As she was about to walk away, she gave one final bit of advice to Christoph before

departing.

"You should know, though you may not be on the best of terms with my husband, he has made ample preparations to defend those who are close to him.

If you need a helping hand, Bruno has people in his service who are experts at dealing with these kinds of problems, discreetly. But you should be aware the price to be paid for using their services will weigh on your conscience, assuming you have one that is...

If you wish to know specifics, you should look at today's headline in the paper..." After saying this, Heidi departed with Erwin, not taking a second glance back at her brother- in-law. Who himself was quick to unravel the newspaper on their table where he read the headline aloud albeit in a hushed tone.

"Massacre in Berlin! The mysterious murder of von Bleichröder family!"

Upon seeing the title of the headline, Christoph would read about the prominent family of bankers being slain within their household. And though the dots had not been connected by the publication, it was clear to Christoph that this was a similar situation to what had happened to the Rothschilds in Austria and England not long ago.

Bruno was going after bankers... But why? Why was he massacring the entire family lines of these wealthy families? Was it to shut down the competition to his own banking institutions? No... No, that was most certainly not the case.

Christoph may not be close to his youngest brother, but he knew very well that the man only acted in violence out of defense of two things: his family and the fatherland. Regardless of the man's reasons, Heidi was outlining exactly what she meant.

If he were to make use of Bruno's assassins, he would have to have the guilty of murdering

entire families on his mind. The question was, could he handle such a thing? Of course he could! Just like with Bruno, there was no price too steep when it came to protecting one's@@novelbin@@

loved ones!