Chapter 11: A New Assignment

Chapter 11: A New Assignment



A year came and went, from the time Bruno had his wedding night, until the day he graduated from the Academy and officially entered service within the Imperial German Army as a

commissioned officer.

As the most exceptional cadet to graduate in his class, Bruno was immediately awarded the rank of First Lieutenant. Whereas the rest of his class graduated as Second Lieutenants.

Bruno was immediately granted the position he requested, which was being assigned to the East Asian Expeditionary Corps. And was given two weeks of leave before shipping off to his new unit.

After all, by now China was thoroughly embroiled in the early stages of the Boxer Rebellion, and it would be a matter of months before the Eight Nation Alliance was officially formed in response.

When Bruno returned to his home, he was not surprised to find to find that Heidi was waiting for him. She appeared to have been notified in advance of his temporary leave and was quick to greet her husband at the door of the quiet and quaint manor.

They had only seen each other over the holidays during the past year, despite being newlyweds. And as much as Bruno wanted to take her out to some place extravagant for a proper honeymoon. He was not able to do so because of his military obligations.

Still, to see the young woman's loving smile as she welcomed him home was a sight for sore eyes indeed. Of course, her smile immediately vanished, and turned into concern when she saw Bruno's face, quickly approaching the man and grabbing hold of his chin. Carefully examining his cheekbones on the right side of his face.

"My god, what has happened to your face? Are you alright? Who did this to you?" Bruno grabbed hold of Heidi's hands with his own and lifted them off his face. He had a confident smile as he explained the blemish that was cut horizontally on his cheekbones. "Relax Heidi, it's a simple fencing scar. I received it during a contest with a student from the Bavarian Military Academy. After my duel with Julius all those years ago, I was practically forced to join the Mensur team at the Academy. And by the way, I won the match, so don't go pitying me as if I'm some kind of loser."

The scar was neither hideous nor large. It was left by a glancing blow, and was quite small, no matter how noticeable it may be. Hedi, of course pouted as she heard Bruno had gotten hurt taking up the sword again. And she lectured him on his reckless actions as a result.

"You shouldn't be risking your health simply because they asked you to take up fencing on behalf of the academy! I'll go get some alcohol and I'll try to clean it up!"

Bruno wanted to tell the girl there was no point, as the wound was old, having suffered the blow several months ago. By now it was thoroughly scarred and there was nothing she could do about it. But she nevertheless ran off to fetch the first aid kit.

In reality, the moment she turned the corner, she rested her back on the wall. Her face was thoroughly flush as she tried to calm her beating heart. Although she scolded her husband, Heidi thought that the scar he had received was rather dignified and actually enhanced his already handsome appearance.

Before long, she returned to Bruno and carried on with her pointless attempt to "disinfect" the scar.

---

After spending a lovely night together, eating a home cooked meal prepared by Heidi, and then absconding off to the bedroom. Bruno pulled out a pack of cigarettes as he stepped out naked onto his bedroom's private balcony. He lit up a smoke and stared at the crescent moon above.

There were a lot of thoughts on his mind. Particularly because he had not actually told Heidi yet that he had volunteered to lead a platoon of soldiers in the most chaotic part of the world as of this moment. One that Germany, and the other Great Powers would no doubt be sending troops to in two months during the botched Seymour Expedition.

husband's inquiry.

"I... That is to say... I was in the market the other day and I heard some woman say that she was worried about her son who is stationed in Tsingtao! She said there was some kind of rebellion

happening across the country!"

While this was feasible, especially if the woman was a family member of a soldier. It was still highly suspicious because of the way that Heidi was acting. But Bruno ultimately put it to the back of his mind. And decided to shift the conversation back to his initial intent.

"So you are aware, then? Yes, it is increasingly starting to appear that was between the Qing Dynasty and the Great Powers is an inevitability at this point. And if I'm being honest with you, Heidi, I requested this assignment."

The young blonde beauty appeared as if she had just been dealt a mortal blow. She was not expecting Bruno to say that this was all his idea. In fact, she was going to ask if there was any way he could be reassigned until she heard that. Heidi couldn't help the tears that were forming in her eyes, as she asked why, why he felt the need to put himself in so much danger. "I just don't understand. Why would you do such a thing? Why would you knowingly request a position that is guaranteed to send you into combat? Aren't you afraid?"

Bruno shook his head and sighed as he hugged the young woman and patted her head as he commonly did when they were children. It definitely helped her overcome the dread she was

currently suffering from.

There was a supremely confident tone in his voice, as he swore he would come back to her in

one piece. "You wouldn't understand why I feel compelled to do this, even if I tried to explain my

reasoning to you. Just know it is something I have made up my mind about. This is something

that I need to do...."

Heidi would not try to persuade Bruno to abandon this desire of his. Though she couldn't understand what was worth risking his life and well-being over. She would support him in any way she could. Even if that meant simply waiting for him to return to her.

"Alright, if you really must do this, then I will not stand in your way. But Bruno, you have to promise me. Promise me you will come back to me alive and well..... I can't stand to think about living all alone in this world for the rest of my life without you...."

Bruno chuckled when he heard this, and patted the young woman's hair once more, before

pinning her on the bed and kissing her neck. In between his actions, he made a solemn vow that no matter what happened he would always return to her side.

"No matter what may come my way, I will always find my way back to you Heidi, this I swear

to you..."