AU: This chapter is a bit late but it is the longest chapter so far. I will be going away for three weeks on a family trip however I plan to keep writing on my phone given that my connection is stable enough. I will try and upload at least three times during this trip.
On a sunny day such as today the market would be abuzz with activity. The smells of food wafted from the stalls and the ringing of hammers echoed in the more secluded parts. Various pack horses and noble horses roamed around with their masters contributing to the buzz.
The sounds and smells of the city could be heard for a great distance, even on water the sounds of the city could be heard from the nearest port town to the north.
However that fateful day the sounds of a thriving city were drowned with the sounds of artillery, explosions and crumbling buildings.
Loud shrieks of air hissing passing fast moving steel heads as high explosive rounds arced over the walls into the city.
The civilians caught by the barrage by surprised had no time to flee into stronger buildings or their cellars found themselves running for the main castle and the various underground entrances to the storage which ran throughout the city. Many could not avoid the shells and perished in the explosive fires.
The wooden and stone structures could not withstand the high intensity barrage of explosives and within minutes the entire southern part of the city was reduced to rubble.
Casualties were high, majority civilians. There was no Geneva Convention, Geneva didn't even exist in this world so the German army had full range of how to fight and what to fight with.
The walls were hit the hardest by the opening artillery fire. A huge amount of ordnance blew apart the ramparts which were manned by soldiers sending them flying.
The cannons which strengthened the walls were targeted and ripped apart as their stone base was disintegrated.
A lone explosive hurled over the wall and ripped into a wooden shack which lay against the wall setting its stores alight. A huge gunpowder explosion then went off killing everyone around it.
The harbor was not spared from the gunfire. Off the horizon an unknown fleet was firing at the port city. Small caliber rounds slammed into the docked ships, wrecking many as they remained moored in port. The medium and large caliber rounds flew farther and started demolishing the coastal buildings and forming huge craters in the ground.
These high explosive rounds when impacted spread combustible parts which set fire to the wooden buildings and various other flammable objects. It was not long until a huge fire broke out in the close proximities of the city which in an urban environment was fatally catastrophic.
From his position on a small hill overlooking the city Wilhelm was watching the carnage through binoculars. He could see the fire raging against the insides of the broken walls as more explosions echoed distantly.
"With all this talk about magic there was no response to our bombardment."
Next to him was Andrew who was watching Wallaceburg go up in flames with his face in his hands. Wilhelm could see the dread on his face observing one of the Kingdom's largest cities being reduced to rubble after a single attack during the siege.
Behind them more sounds of cannons firing as this bombardment was to last about 2 hours of continuous fire. Since this was their first time sieging a castle in this world they wanted to ensure which means was most effective for both time and cost.
Previously before the 'Vanishing" when this was all a PC game, the border fights with other nations required 40w heavy artillery divisions due to the broken WoI modding the Soviet Union had level 10 forts all across its border. It extended the gameplay which made it hellish to play but could be solved with suicidal paratrooper drops behind enemy lines.
Wilhelm was very familiar with long, grueling sieges of heavily fortified territory so he opted to rely on massive artillery strikes.
Andrew continued to watch as the left side of the southern wall broke apart and crumbled to the ground as another five rounds exploded against it.
From overhead the sounds of planes droned as Do-19 heavy bombers flew overhead. These were a canceled project revived as long-range bombers were required for this operation and operations in the future. The Do-19 was currently being upgraded under Junkers for a better heavy bomber.
These heavy bombers escorted by Messerschmitt Bf 110 multi-purpose heavy fighter rained 220lb bombs all over the city.
The sight of these planes paled Andrew further as dozens of these planes saturated the sky and rained bombs on the inside of the city.
The devastation caused by the 220lb bombs left craters scattered all around the city and blew holes in the parts of the walls in the bombing run.
54 Do-19s made up this bombing run and dropped 16 bombs each. Needless to say damage was very high.
There attempts of dragon knights to intercept the planes but they were flying at heights beyond their range. The Bf 110s did not let let them get close as they dove to lower ceilings to intercept the dragons.
The ensuring skirmish saw the Bf 110s use their superior speed to outclass the dragons and maneuver around them. The Bf 110 had its fair share of problems as it would be outclassed by the British Supermarine in the original world but since those fighters never appeared in this world their top speed of 541 km/h was mightily impressive.
The dragons as impressive as an organic being had the same problems as organic beings. They had high pain tolerance but the explosive rounds fired from the Bf 110s tore their protective green scales. The light iron chainmail they wore over their scales were too ineffective to block the explosive rounds.
The dragon's pivot ability surpassed the Bf 110s but the sheer speed of the fighters negated this advantage.
These fast heavy fighters arced around the dragons and ripped them to shreds with their 20 mm guns.
The city continued to burn as more rounds from the Army Group 2's artillery and the 4th fleet hammered at the defensive structures.
An hour later and the bombardment ceased. They had ended the bombardment early since it proved to be very effective at softening the defenses. Wilhelm assessed that they had caused enough damage since the vast majority of the walls and internal buildings were reduced to smoking ruins.
Fire raged in the demolished city since the German attack essentially flattened the entire southern part of the city.
The Germans waited for signs of the enemy. The only sign was that the fire was being combatted by someone as the lights from the city slowly dimmed.
"Cancel today's attack. We will attack them again tomorrow."
Wilhelm's orders were received by the commanders who rested their soldiers for the rest of the day.
The next day the 16th infantry division flanked northwest to encircle the city. They caught many refugees who were trying to flee the carnage of the siege.
These people were carrying many interesting items which were confiscated by the Germans. Those who were captured were handed to military police who would process them.
Some may have slipped past the siege but that was intentional. They would spread rumors of how strong they were without knowing their armaments, true numbers or even nationality. Wilhelm hoped that this would help to force a peace deal without further bloodshed. However he knew this was not rationally possible.
Wilhelm sat on his chair in his command truck awaiting any new changes to the frontline.
This was when suddenly his radio operator lurched and grabbed a phone.
Wilhelm curiously watched the operator speak with the other person before beckoning Wilhelm over. He handed him the phone.
"Hello, Wilhelm here."
"Yes hello this is battalion commander Paul Hahn of the 224th panzergrenadier battalion, 78th motorized. We just intercepted a man on horseback waving a white flag. He carries a message offering to negotiate a surrender."
"Did you inform the generalfeldmarschall?"
"Yes, he says to demand unconditional surrender. Shall I tell the messenger this?"
"Yes, also threaten to start the bombardment again. This might scare them into submitting."
"Jawohl."
____________________
Wallaceburg, Esmeralda
The situation inside the city of Wallaceburg was critical. Thousands of civilians lay dead on the streets, the walls were wrecked beyond repair and the stores of weapons and food were mostly destroyed. The bombardment had done damage beyond the scope the Germans had anticipated.
While the survivors of the 2 hour attack huddled inside burned out houses and inside bunkers and cellars, the remaining soldiers patrolled the streets.
They had been reduced from 30000 men to less than 7000. A large majority of the soldiers were inside the barracks scattered around the city but those were blown to pieces in the barrage of explosives.
7000 men was not enough to guard a city meant to house 300000 citizens whether or not they were alive or dead.
The central castle was not spared from the bombardment. Four spires were located on each of the cardinal points of the castle. Two of them were demolished. The building had suffered catastrophic damage to its structure but was still standing.
A large hole of the left side of the hall was blown open letting the elements inside. Charles sat on his throne in the hall despite his aides nagging him to flee.
"No! I am 5th prince of this Kingdom! I will not turn tail and flee from just a day of the siege!"
He was basically yelling at his aides who survived the bombardment. The general was killed as well as the minister of finance. They stood in the room with the sun beating down from the blasted roof.
Then suddenly the shadow behind Charles quivered and shook to reveal Amira.
The aides gasped and drew weapons at the known figure.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!"
Amira pulled her hood back and ignored the yells at her.
She leaned over and whispered in Charles's ear.
He scrunched his eyebrows and pondered while being observed by his aides.
"We will not surrender. This city must stand. Amira here tells me that reinforcements have been dispatch from the capital. They will arrive in two weeks."
Feeling pleased with his response Charles puffed his chest, however the looks of his aides were deathly grim.
"We are doomed."
"Agreed."
These words were spoken softly as to not be heard by Charles but Amira raised an eyebrow to this criticism.
The old sage with his young assistant started ranting in front of the prince.
"We must surrender! We stand no chance! The walls are destroyed, there is no way we can repel a force greater than our own!"
The sage's outburst popped the balloon which was nervous tension in the room. All of the other aides then started shouting.
"He is right! Maybe if the walls were still standing we would have a chance but we are at a complete disadvantage! "
"The food stores are gone! We cannot last the two weeks!"
Charles shut his eyes in a futile attempt to not see the criticism. Finally he had enough.
"Silence! My word is final!"
Charles silenced the aides who were getting more and more agitated.
"Leave, you lot are too bothersome."
Disgruntled, the aides and military officers left the hall.
John the minister of agriculture gathered several bureaucrats and surviving military officers.
"We must surrender before it is too late. Our food stores were raided by the population just this morning. We will not be able to last three months, only about a week at this rate. Reinforcements will not come in time. Also what if the enemy outside our destroyed walls try to launch a full all-out attack we cannot defend."
The leader of the elite knights was missing his left arm and head and torso was wrapped in bloodied cloth. He was among the military officials gathered by minister John.
"Their metal dragons are impossibly fast. They spray bullets faster than we can fly. If the archmage was correct earlier then their armored cannons are even stronger, they have hundreds of them!"
The group began to sweat. They knew that if the enemy tried to assault the damaged walls they would be annihilated without a doubt.
"The prince is mad! He trusts the information given by a foreign agent over his own aides!"
The minister of foreign affairs pointed at the door and then throws his hands in frustration.
"How can we contact the enemy without the prince finding out? Will we need to depose him?"
The group silenced with this suggestion from John. This was a suggestion of treason.
"But what else can we do but wait for the inevitable slaughter?"
They stood silently for another few moments.
A silent agreement was silently acknowledged by all of the people who gathered: they would launch a coup against prince Charles.
Two hours later
Inside the throne hall Charles was napping on his throne. He really liked the throne and refused to be anywhere else but in this room despite the broken walls and roof from the bombardments.
Amira stood on his right observing the prince as he napped.
She was studying his neck intensely before she jerked up and looked at the door across the hall. She drew two long knives from her waist holster.
She cautiously walked to the large doors, careful to not wake the prince incase it was a false alarm.
She paused at the door, several sets of faint feet were running outside. She couldn't tell if they were trying to get to the door.
Then suddenly she felt the dread of imminent danger. Her fingers tightened around the knives.
The door then violently shuddered as two people tried forcefully breaking the door open.
The door's lock was thrown against its placeholder with a loud metallic crack.
"What the hell is that?"
Charles now fully aware and awake was standing from his throne.
Amira put her finger to his mouth and quieted Charles.
Then the lock burst and the doors flew open.
The vice-commander of the dragon knights and six other armored men then burst through the now open doors.
"Prince Charles! Your actions against this city and its people are unacceptable! We cannot hold the city anymore against this threat! At this rate we will be overrun and you refuse to act!"
The vice-commander brandished a medium length sword at the prince, his lavish plate armor over his blue uniform glittered.
The other men held spears and heavy shields. Their armor was more elaborate than the regular soldier signaling that it was the elite guards which followed the vice-commander.
"Treason! This all treason! I am the ruler! I am the law! Go outside this room and kill yourselves for your disgrace to the Junta!"
"No! Surrender now or we will have to force you."
The vice-commander snapped twice to the nearest two guards and they moved closer to the prince.
They climbed the steps of the throne base which made Charles flee backwards.
He tripped over the base of the throne and fell backwards.
"Stop! I am the prince of your country! You can't do this!"
The closest guard stepped forward to grab the prince when a dark flash of movement swung down across his arm.
"AHHHH!"
The guard fell back, hand by its base cleaved off cleanly.
His hand fell to the ground, spraying Charles with blood. He screamed in surprise.
The guard fell off the base of the throne and rolled down the stairs.
At the bottom his plumed helmet came off and rolled away. The guard clutched the stump where his hand used to be.
Three other guards rushed forward, two stood to face the person who cut the first guard's hand and the other helped to drag the injured guard to the vice-commander.
"Quickly you, cast basic healing magic. The rest of you follow me!"
"Sir!"
The four guards and the vice-commander rushed at the hidden figure.
The first guard thrusted his spear which was blocked by a long knife. He fell back and another guard thrusted his spear in succession.
This one pierced nothing but air.
A dark figure somersaulted off the throne base over the host of guards and landed behind them.
They swiveled to meet the figure now in the open.
"You Perseusian bitch!"
The vice-commander glared daggers at Amira who brandished her two knives.
"Secure the prince, you three on me."
Half of the guards with the vice-commander rushed up the steps to the prince and the rest advanced on Amira with the third coming from the doorway after he had attended the injured guard.
Amira then nodded which signaled three others who dropped from the broken roof. Two gathered around Charles and the other one who was female linked with Amira.
"Augh, more pests. Kill them all!"
The guards then started clashing with the Perseusian agents who wielded daggers and short swords.
The two guards and two agents were slashing at each other on the throne base while Amira and her subordinate fought the vice-commander and three of his guards.
Amira threw her right knife at the vice-commander while parrying a guard who thrust his spear at her. Her subordinate step-sided another thrust from the other guard and elbowed the guard in the exposed throat using his momentum against him.
The struck guard fell back while the other used his shield to bash Amira's subordinate away from the other guard.
Amira used magic to recall her dagger which she threw after the vice-commander used his shield to block the dagger.
The vice-commander then from his position behind his shield then used it to rush closer to Amira.
Amira sensing the danger from this shield rush lifted her left leg and kicked the shield.
The powerful kick dented the shield and revealed the vice-commander who used this movement to thrust his sword at Amira.
Caught off guard by this attack, Amira was forced to lean back as the sword cut her bangs off. The third guard thrusted his spear and impaled Amira in her abdomen when she avoided the vice-commander's attack. They were very coordinated and well trained to the dismay of AMira.
She stumbled back as her subordinate abandoned her fight and ran to her aid.
Amira stood up with help of her subordinate and looked up at the throne hall. In the back the other two guards have already killed her other subordinates, Charles was already gone.
"Older sister, we must flee."
Amira's subordinate from under Amira's arm whispered to her.
The vice-commander and his guard backed the two against the open air of the broken wall. Blood flowed from Amira's wound.
"Surrender, there is nowhere else to go."
The vice-commander changed his tone from earlier. They could be useful as bargaining chips with the enemy if they agree to their surrender for more lenient terms. Spies had many uses.
The two looked back to the steep fall from the castle into the yard below. Outside several guards spotted them. One nocked an arrow in a short bow.
The subordinate looked at Amira. They both grimly knew that they had to die because of their agent status. They must never be captured. Amira also knew that she would not be able to flee even if she tried.
"Long live the Emirate."
"Gods willing."
(AU: definiatally not an Islam spinoff.)
The two then leaned back to fall off the high castle throne hall.
"Wait, stop them!"
The vice-commander was too late in recognizing their actions and therefore was too late in trying to stop the suicide.
The two fell two stories and landed on their backs, splintering their spines. Needless to say it was a quick and instantaneous death.
The vice-commander rushed to the open air with his men and looked down at then broken bodies of the agents. He didn't know anything about their purpose in swindling the prince. He was without his bargaining chips or information.
"Shit. How are we supposed to use dead bodies? We have enough of those already. You two call the recruits to clean this mess."
"Sir."
The vice-commander sheathed his sword and marched out the throne hall to meet with his superior. Outside chaos ensued as the rebels quickly took over key points in the city and clashing who those who refused to rebel.
The fires from the battle which were put out were re-lit as the city battled itself for supremacy.
____________________________
Wallceburg (occupied), Esmeralda
The gates were thrown open and a large white banner was placed on the walls of the gate. It was apparent that white signaled surrender no matter the universe or dimension.
The entire 4th infantry division of Army Group 1 as well as elements of Army Group 2 occupied the city. Since this was so far the largest enemy city captured they planned to hold a small military parade for the Kaiser.
Before the parade the city must be swept for all elements of resistance.
To protect the city now that it was in German hands the Germans dug a huge series of trenches and choke points around the outskirts of the city which the vast majority of the invading Germans would be stationed.
However the panzer divisions and motorized divisions were needed to continue the drive north to extend the frontlines away from the city and to the nearest enemy city.
The defeated soldiers were disarmed without any problems and their stores of food as well as gunpowder were seized.
Soldiers were forced to march away from the city to the Eprulian POW camp set up outside the Atlantikwall. The 221st Reserve regiment was tasked with moving about 6000 POWs to this camp.
The large amounts of bodies posed significant problems for smell and disease control. The 16th, 1st and 3rd infantry divisions spent four hours collectively digging a huge mass grave 5km from the city to bury the dead.
The citizens were allowed to leave the city under watchful eyes to attend the burial of about 50000 people both civilians and soldiers alike.
The city itself was heavily damaged by the battle. The walls were virtually gone. What remained was on the verge of collapsing which posed safety problems. The roads and majority of the buildings were flattened since they were very poor quality according the German standards.
The 35th engineer regiment went about to fix the roads and clear the rubble. All available servicemen were required to assist in their endeavor.
The civilians who were subjected to a short but devastating attack by the Germans were hostile to their occupiers but mellowed a bit when they watched as the Germans build them a refugee camp in the middle of the flattened districts and provided free meals.
The construction of the city was very poor in the German eyes and this was a great opportunity to modernize this new piece of land they acquired. City planners were driven to Wallaceburg from France who then went about rebuilding the city.
They first demolished the walls which were a hazard now and served no purpose to the Germans. Then they began to create very neat housing and commercial districts. The main castle was repaired for use by Wilhelm as his new base of operations.
Wilhelm and the 5th KST would hold Wallaceburg while all of the other units left the city to continue Operation Westwind. The KST maintained order and continued to rebuild the city but at a slower rate than before since their manpower left to the frontlines. In their place they revived the economy of Wallaceburg by employing the citizens to continue rebuilding under German foremen and advisors. To Wilhelm this was like playing a city building simulator in real time.
One week later
Wilhelm was looked out of his window in the royal chambers inside of the central castle overlooking the city.
Everything was going well. The KST using the previous SS training were able to suppress unrest and convince the population that compliance was better then rebelling.
This was achieved through many means from surprise raids, searches and mass employment conducted by Wilhelm.
Wilhelm however knew that this workforce of builders will not last so he began to implement more changes to Wallaceburg.
One of these things was the construction of a grand hospital run by the government. They would be able to provide free healthcare to the population of Wallaceburg. This was by far the most popular reform.
The roads were modernized from their original cobblestone to asphalt and concrete. Sewers were dug under the city to eliminate the waste which used to flow freely in the streets. Wilhelm was initially repulsed by how bad the city smelled but it was a common theme in books about the medieval period. This didn't make sense to Wilhelm as the Epruilans used 17th century firearms and tactics.
Telephone poles were cleanly placed to connect all positions around the new city. Powerlines were created which linked all the way back to France.
The port was also modernized and quickly became a frequent naval base for the 4th fleet.
Although these changes were great, after only a week the hospital, power lines and cable lines were the only things which were finished.
The vast majority of the things Wilhelm wanted to build would take more time to make. He was content with the basics he had inside the city.
He was not just lazing around all day. While his subordinates directed the construction he was going around to record everything that the people here knew. Every bit of information was useful about this strange new land.
Since he was the only person who could speak the language Wilhelm assumed the alias John Doe to cover his identity. The KST and Abwehr were aware of this mission being preformed by Wilhelm and covered for him by not informing the central government who would probably launch a coup if they heard how reckless the Kaiser was being.
Wilhelm was quite thankful for their cooperation.
John Doe was a member of the 5th KST's HR branch and wore the appropriate uniform. He was followed by a KST guard just for security.
Wilhelm exited the main castle with his guard. The KST guards in front of the castle paid him no attention.
Because driving around in staff car was very conspicuous Wilhelm opted to walk into the city. The first district Wilhelm visited was the refugee camp where the residential district in the south part of the city used to be.
The refugee camp was very large. It was organized very well according to German organizers who were renown early war for their precision and care for details.
Each block was a 3x3 section of three tents by three tents with a central gathering place in the middle for communal leisure. Each tent could house 6-8 people or two medium sized families.
A total of 5000 of these tents were set up along a central road leading to the main castle and many sub roads which divided the blocks.
For every 27 blocks was a district (in a 1, 3, 9, 27 sequence) the central block was converted into a local mess and supply store for the district.
About 185 districts were set up.
For security and policing the 15th and 13th regiments of the 5th KST were assigned for this. A grand total of 4000 men of all ranks and types they were the cream of the crop when it came to equipment, training and discipline. Since they were the Kaiser's personal division they were fanatically loyal to him while enjoying more autonomy from the rigid Heer orders which had to be followed without question.
Wilhelm and his guard walked amongst these men from his division.
They knew his face but pretended to not know who he was since they were debriefed of Wilhelm's movements beforehand.
Wilhelm wanted to talk with people, not just anyone of course. The KST had preformed screening on various refugees of all occupancies. From bureaucrats to fishermen select individuals who showed the least hostility and most compliance to the Germans were allowed to meet with Wilhelm.
His guard led him to the 13th regiment's headquarters in the center of the refugee camp. All around him cleared land was set up with equipment, anti-tank guns, heavy machinegun nests, sandbags, barbed wire and tents for the regiment. Wilhelm was to use one of these tents for his interviews.
The first person to meet Wilhelm was a maid who used to work at the main castle but fled when the bombardment first started.
Wilhelm sat behind a wooden table in the rear of the tent. Around him were crates of unopened equipment and a set of four light bulbs in all four corners of the tent.
The maid entered and room followed by Wilhelm's guard. He nudged her with his assault rifle to Wilhelm in an attempt to get her to sit.
She was clearly frightened by this act and refused to move. Wilhelm assumed that she was frozen with fright.
"Please sit down ma'am." Wilhelm said this in Epruilan tongue.
"Remain at the entrance." This was in German to the guard.
The guard saluted and left the tent.
The maid watched the guard leave and then timidly turned around back to WIlhelm.
She had two brown colored braids, one on each side of her head. On her nose sat glass-less circle rimmed glasses. They seemed to be broken, Wilhelm didn't know how.
She was not wearing a maid's uniform or any fancy clothes you would expect from a maid in the central castle but a plain light blue smock tied at the waist with a white band.
"Please sit."
Wilhelm repeated himself while gesturing to the open chair.
Unwilling to not comply the girl sat quickly. Her glasses shifted as if they were loose.
"Um, why am I here? Did I do something wrong?"
The girl was quickly asking questions. She was clearly unnerved by the presence of Wilhelm. He was quite large, even compared to other Germans. He also had jet black hair compared to the common blonde or brown hair of most Germans.
His piercing look and sharp stature made him look more like a general than his fake job of an information officer for the 5th KST.
"No, please be at ease. I am John Doe of the 5th KST division, Army Group 2. I have several questions for you."
The girl blinked twice.
"Just a few questions? If I leave will you let me go?"
"Yes. First, describe your work environment prior to the attack."
The girl started fumbling with her thumbs and didn't look at Wilhelm's eyes.
"Well I used to work as a maid at the central castle. I was a cleaner. I cleaned the halls, floor and everything else. My sisters at the castle also did other jobs like cooking and attending the guests."
Wilhelm looked at a piles of papers to his right. He slid the top paper off and attached it to a clipboard. (AU: they were invented in 1908)
The paper was a file on this person. Mary Conrad, 16 years old. Epruilan, born in Wallaceburg. Worked as a waitress at a bar before the castle. The rest were notes made by other information officers as well as testimony from others who admitted about facts about her life and job.
Wilhelm raised an eyebrow to several pieces of information listed on another file attached to Mary's information.
"Okay, were there any significant events which occurred prior to the attack of much personal importance."
To this question Mary paled. Wilhelm was asking for her to admit to personal events which occurred in her life.
"Well, um."
"Well?"
"I... ah. How personal do you want it to be."
"Ma'am. I am an information officer. We know more than you think we do. Personal things included. You know what I am talking about, right?"
Mary paled further as Wilhelm pressured her to recall her personal event. Wilhelm knew what this event was, Mary's file detailed it. He wanted her perspective since others already admitted to its existence.
"Will you promise to keep this a secret?"
"I cannot. However I can make sure that your name is not mentioned if this event is brought to my superiors."
Mary seemed to understand that she would be anonymous. At least the to what Germans were concerned. She recognized that they wanted dirt. Dirt against the person who was part of her event.
With this she was not afraid to not speak about it anymore.
"Okay. It happened about two months ago. I was dusting a vase in the second hallway next to the throne room. It was a normal day like usual. However the fifth prince was visiting the city. I don't know his purpose but he was here for about two weeks. This was before control over the castle was given to him. Well he was touring the castle and looking at the other maids. I didn't do anything, I swear. It happened so fast I didn't know how to react I... I."
Mary started to cry and hyperventilate as she recalled her trauma.
"Soldat, enter please."
The guard entered the room and looked at the girl who was breaking down in tears on the chair in front of Wilhelm.
He sighed and fetched a handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to Mary. She wiped here eyes and took several minutes to calm down.
"Thank you soldat, please remain outside."
The guard left and Wilhelm turned back to Mary who was looked at the floor.
"Mary. I know what happened. Tell me who did it, what happened and what happened after."
Mary looked up at Wilhelm. His concerned look made her take a deep breath and continue.
"It was prince Charles. He raped me that day. I was told to be quiet or they would kill my family."
"Did it happen afterwards?"
"Yes. It happened twice more afterwards."
"Did it happen to others?"
Mary paused.
"Will you promise to not reveal their names either if I tell you?"
"Of course. To the best of my rank I promise this."
"Okay. A maid I knew before named Tress was also raped. She worked to attend Charles. Cindy too, she worked as a cleaner."
"Do you know where these two are now?"
Mary looked down again.
"Tress died in the attack. The wall collapsed on her. I don't know where Cindy went."
Wilhelm scribbled this response and checked his notes. The person called Tress was uncovered from the rubble of the castle's left side. She was buried privately with her family. Cindy however was killed by the Epruilan guards because she refused to hand over a set of keys which she was entrusted with during the coup.
Wilhelm would not tell Mary about Cindy's fate.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Please take this token of gratitude and return to your block."
The guard reentered the room and handed Mary a small metal can filled with small candies. He then escorted a curious Mary who was examining the candies outside where she would be trucked back to her district.
Wilhelm would continue questioning various people for many days uncovering information which was not collected by other information officers.