Before the second fight of the tournament's first round could begin, the room, and its sullen atmosphere, was interrupted by the arrival of two individuals who immediately lightened the mood.
Tsar Alexei and his wife, Tsarina Elsa, arrived dressed far more casually than one might expect from those of their position.
For Bruno, that was a hard rule at his family's Christmas gatherings: come comfortable and unpretentious, or not at all.
When Bruno saw his daughter arrive beside her husband, along with their children and grandchildren, he could not help but rise from his seat and approach them.
He wrapped his second daughter in a tight embrace, a warmth breaking through his otherwise composed demeanor.
"Welcome home, darling…"
Elsa, despite rapidly approaching forty, could not help but grow sheepish beneath her father's affection, instantly reverting to an almost childlike state.
"Thanks, Daddy…"
