The fire crackled low in the marble hearth of the study, casting a warm amber halo across the carved lions at its base.
Outside, winter gnawed at the gardens, the branches stiff with frost. But inside, all was quiet save for the ticking of a Prussian clock and the soft scrape of chess pieces across the board between two men.
Kaiser Wilhelm II leaned forward, a thick winter greatcoat draped over his knees, eyes narrowed at the arrangement before him.
Bruno sat opposite, posture relaxed, fingers steepled, expression unreadable as ever. The lamp above them threw his profile into sharp relief, calm, deliberate, forged from steel and certainty.
A servant approached with a tray of tea, but Wilhelm waved him off gently.
"No interruptions," the Kaiser murmured. "Not tonight."
He waited until the door closed before turning back to Bruno, lowering his voice.
"You've heard the news, of course. America… is coming apart."
