While Bruno was speaking with the Tsar in private about his military modernization efforts, Heidi was off speaking with the Tsar’s wife. The two of them, oddly enough, hit it off, or at least as well as two women can upon first meeting each other.
And because of this, they were quite friendly to one another by the time Bruno and Nicohlas emerged from their private discussion. Both Bruno and the Tsar were surprised to see how friendly the two women were being, and because of this, Bruno was quick to make a remark about it.
“And here I thought you were fundamentally incapable of making friends… I’m surprised that even after all these years being married, there are still parts of you I don’t understand.”
Truthfully speaking, Bruno wasn’t aware that Heidi was actually on good terms with the distant members of her family. And had a close friendship with a mediatized princess within the German Reich. One who she commonly spoke with while Bruno was away.
Because of this, Heidi simply laughed and made a remark that caused Bruno to become curious, as he did not know whether the woman was joking or being serious.
“There is a lot you don’t know about me, my love. Did you seriously think that for all the years we have been together, even during our childhood, that you were my only friend?”
This was a rather shocking remark, as Bruno had indeed operated under the assumption that he was the only friend that his wife had when they were children. But when he really thought about it, he had only seen her once a month, or perhaps on rare occasions once every two weeks. It was not like he had seen the girl every day throughout his childhood.
There was perhaps a possibility that she had friends, but if that were the case, why had they not attended their wedding? Or at the very least send wedding gifts? The reality was that Heidi’s relationship with the other half of her family’s dynasty was rather complicated, and they could not openly be seen with her, at least in any formal setting.
She was, after all, an eyesore in the eyes of some very powerful people. People whose royal titles actually held significance, rather than just mere words granted to satisfy those who had lost their lands in the previous century to annexation.
Because of this, Bruno was trying to think through all the things he potentially did not understand about his wife. Meanwhile, the Tsarina spoke to her husband about her newest friend.
“Nicholas, you didn’t tell me that the prince’s wife was such a delight! She has been telling me all about her upbringing, and how she and her husband were engaged. It is quite a wonderful story of true love…”
When Bruno and Heidi heard the term “Prince’s Wife” be used, they had no idea who the Tsarina was talking about. Even though it sounded like they were referring to Heidi. And because of this, they both asked the exact same question at the same time.
“I’m sorry, Prince? Who exactly are you referring to?”
It was with this question that both the Tsar and his wife looked at Bruno and Heidi as if they were the ones who were confused. With Nicholas quickly asking Bruno a question that he found to be deeply embarrassing.
“Wait? Did you not know? How is that possible? Were you not paying attention when I conferred upon you the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint George? The victory over the Red Army and the Russian Civil War was granted to you. By saving the Russian Empire and the House of Romanov from certain extinction, I awarded you the title of Prince. For you and your descendants to bear until the end of times. How did you not know this?”
Bruno was stunned when he heard this. Truthfully speaking, he always hated awards ceremonies and had spent most of the time standing there in silence, not paying attention to the massive amounts of drivel that were said in long and winded speeches.
Had he really been granted the maximum title of nobility in Russia? For clarification, Russian nobility, as most forms of nobility, was a complicated affair. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of princely families throughout the Russian Empire who had gained their hereditary titles through a number of means.
Whether it was families of natural princely stock who had gained their titles from old Russian Dynasties like the Ruriks, or families whose Princely Titles were granted by Russian Emperors like Bruno. Hell, there were even those foreign princely families who were naturalized as Russian citizens.
Whatever the reason, just because a family was princely, did not mean they had any blood ties to the ruling dynasty, or were even remotely within the line of succession. Nor did it necessarily mean they ruled a “principality.” Although Bruno now owned enough land in Russia that he might as well be considered as such.
Bruno had gained the highest status of nobility in the Russian Empire, along with the numerous prestigious awards and medals. And reasonably speaking, it made sense. The Russian Army and their loyalist militias were in a dreadful state before Bruno arrived with the Iron Division in tail.
He took command of the Russian Armies and practically single-handedly drove the Red Army and the Bolshevik Party to extinction. Nobody doubted that Bruno was the man who had achieved the victory for the Tsar. And the massive amounts of propaganda the Tsar and his ministers put out displaying Bruno as the face of the loyalist cause had endeared him to a fair chunk of the Russian population.
To put it simply, Bruno’s achievements in Russia were significant enough to warrant all the honors he had been granted. Although it was still shocking to him. But there were certain things that finally made sense to Bruno now that he realized the full extent of the honors he had been given.
For example, the Kaiser questioning his loyalty. It was one thing to be granted the status of a Field Marshal in a foreign army, along with a minor title of nobility like Burno had been born into within the Reich. But in Russia, Bruno held basically the highest status outside of someone born into the Romanov Dynasty.
Why the hell would be loyal to the land of his birth after being granted such honors? Now Bruno was starting to understand the concerns of the Kaiser and his ministers back home. And he was also understanding that this “personal request” that Wilhelm had made of him was actually a test of loyalty in disguise.
Either way, Bruno didn’t have time to respond to the Tsar’s questions, because Heidi quickly broke out into tears as she realized what this meant. She was now a genuine princess. She was not just the wife of some minor nobleman from a family of junkers which she had married
into.
Nor was she the bastard daughter of a mediatized Prince. No, she was a genuine Titular Princess of the Russian Empire, one whose daughters were also now princesses, and whose son was a Prince in his own right.
The wounds from her childhood, of being singled out among her father’s children for being the only one not capable of carrying his name, or hereditary title, had overwhelmed her as she realized that thanks to the man she loved, she was now elevated into a position equal with her
half siblings.
It was a sight that bewildered the Tsar, as he had not heard the woman’s tale. But ultimately, he was alerted to it by his wife, who whispered the story of her birth into the man’s ears, while Bruno comforted his wife.
Eventually Heidi would recover, and would be in a far more cheerful state now that she knew what status her family held in Russia. At the same time, Bruno was vexed by this sudden revelation, as it meant he could no longer dress or act with such humility as he always had.
Rather… He would be forced to buy a proper estate, both in Russia and Germany, or else he would not be able to live up to the status he had gained through his own merit. And his family would have to suffer from insults as a result.
Thus came an end to Bruno’s humble and working-class lifestyle….