"Mr. Pug, Merry Christmas!"
As the children's voices echoed from the doorway, Logan had just lazily crawled out of the spacious and soft bed. He had returned to his residence around 1 a.m. last night and had to dress up as Santa Claus to deliver gifts to everyone. As a result, he had barely slept for five hours.
"Um... Merry Christmas! Kids!" He was still a little unused to saying "Merry Christmas" in French. Rubbing his eyes, he saw two of Ghislaine's siblings, wearing pretty and well-fitted new clothes, staring at him with big, hopeful eyes. The fear in their eyes had long disappeared, but there was still some awe mixed with joy. As for Ghislaine, standing behind them, she had become like a budding iris in her mustard-colored wool coat and knee-high leather boots, carefully chosen by Logan.
"We have a gift for you too!" Ghislaine said, pushing her shy younger siblings forward. Each of the two French children held a knitted sock, timidly approaching Logan's bedside and then lifting them up high.
"Although they're not very well knitted, they're warm!" Ghislaine stood shyly at the door, smiling shyly yet mischievously. "I learned this from Miss Marguerite at the church!"
"Oh, really? That's great! I was just in need of a comfortable pair of socks!" Logan took the socks from the two children. He felt their faces gently, then smiled as he put on these plain socks — having seen so much death and suffering on the battlefield, he had never felt the importance of family as much as now. With his own family gone from this world, these orphaned children, who shared his plight, had become his new family.
"Are you... going out like this?" Ghislaine asked in surprise.
"Yeah!" Logan got off the bed and stepped on the carpet. "They fit perfectly! Very comfortable! Thank you!"
As Ghislaine hurriedly ran back to her siblings who had scampered away, she wore the same shy smile, but with a hint of anticipation. "Will you be gone for long on this trip?" she asked.
"I don't know, probably just a few days!" Logan replied as he opened the wardrobe and took out clean and pressed shirts and military uniforms. It was hard to imagine that these were all done under the guidance of "Aunt Susan" with Dorine's assistance.
"Going on vacation?" Ghislaine tilted her head cutely as she watched Logan.
"Yeah, sort of!" Logan quickly put on the shirt, trousers, and then the immaculate uniform, the whole process taking less than the time it would take to smoke a cigarette.
"Oh, by the way, Dorine also has a gift for you, but it seems she hasn't woken up yet!" Ghislaine bent down to her siblings, gave them a few instructions, and then the two children ran off, hand in hand.
"You seem to be getting along well with them!" Logan said, pulling open the drawer in the middle of the wardrobe. Inside were four exquisitely crafted square boxes. He opened one of them and took out the highest military decoration in Germany at the moment — the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Ghislaine ran in cheerfully and took the ribbon of the medal from Logan's hand. Due to the difference in height, she stood on tiptoe while Logan bent down, and they completed the action of hanging it on his uniform together with remarkable coordination. Finally, Ghislaine carefully adjusted the position of the medal and said softly:
"Don't worry, Aunt Dorine is very good to us, and so are Aunt Ivana, Aunt Donna, Aunt Daisy, they are all very good to us!"
"Oh, that's good! If they bully you, just tell me!" Logan said, looking at himself in the mirror of the wardrobe. Indeed, clothes do make the man. The sleepy Han, who had just been lounging around, looked quite different in his sharp and refined military uniform. And it had to be said, the new-style military uniform designed with Hitler's involvement had indeed achieved his desired effect — countless German youths were enamored with it. They proudly put on their uniforms and went to the battlefield, leaving many of them forever in foreign lands.
When Logan finished washing up, combing his hair, Dorine, wearing a white nightgown, appeared at the door with a fresh and natural face, holding a small box wrapped in colored paper.
"Are you leaving so early?" she asked.
"Yeah, I have to go on a long trip, but it shouldn't be too long!" With people speaking French, English, and German in the house, Logan's international communication skills had improved significantly recently.
Dorine walked up, shyly saying, "Take care of yourself on the way. This is our gift for you! Please accept it!"
The small box couldn't contain a bomb, so Logan took it solemnly. "Thank you, Dorine! Please express my gratitude to them too! And, Merry Christmas to everyone!"
As he finished speaking, Dorine suddenly took a step forward and gave Logan a gentle hug, then quickly pulled away. A rosy blush spread across her chubby face.
"We pray every day, praying that the war between Britain and Germany can end sooner! Hans, you are our only hope!"
As she said this, Dorine lowered her head, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Logan. Although the front lines of the war were hundreds of kilometers away from Berlin, the propaganda within Germany was overwhelming. Even those who didn't understand German should be able to see that the German army was winning victory after victory!
Logan, who should have felt embarrassed, felt unusually relieved on this beautiful morning. "I will do my best to ensure that the land, buildings, and civilians of Britain remain intact throughout this war!"
"Really?" Dorine raised her head, pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah, that's the best Christmas gift I can give you!" Logan smiled, giving her a hug. Before leaving, he also gave Ghislaine and her siblings warm hugs.
The Christmas gift Berlin received was a heavy snowfall. In the morning, the sky was still gray, with snowflakes the size of confetti floating down. Despite the biting cold, there were already quite a few pedestrians and cars on the streets. Logan arrived at Berlin Central Station in his own car — he didn't have his own special train until he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force.
The normally bustling platform could only be seen with military personnel. Even the area around the train station had been cleared and guarded with armed sentries. On the platform, the luxurious special train of the Fuhrer seemed ready, with two armored anti-aircraft cars attached behind the double locomotives due to the wartime situation.
In the West, Christmas always comes with a certain amount of holiday time off, much like the Spring Festival in the East. Even during wartime, all German arms factories and shipyards were given a day off. Wealthy families typically went to their vacation villas with their families, enjoying the snowy mountains or the mild climate by the seaside. Perhaps it was because he had just returned from Berchtesgaden that the Fuhrer decided not to go to the Alps as usual, but also didn't plan to stay in his Chancellery to deal with military and diplomatic affairs. In fact, even most of the friendly country ambassadors were on holiday or had returned home. It seemed to be for political reasons that this dictator decided to go to France to visit his brave soldiers and, incidentally, to visit those French soldiers still being held in prisoner-of-war camps, as well as the newly arrived British prisoners of war.
"General Logan, this way, please!"
A dedicated attendant led Logan directly from the platform to the specific location of the carriages (of course, not the ordinary passenger carriages with rows of seats, but the sleeping compartments used at night, where officers would gather for work and meetings during the day). The attentive service made this young officer, who was boarding the Fuhrer's special train for the first time, feel somewhat overwhelmed. Then he realized that he was sharing a compartment with the Air Force's technical director, Ernst Udet. Before he had even had a drink, he was already feeling a bit intoxicated!
"Hey, Hans, guess who I just saw?" Udet said mysteriously.
"Who? Jesus Christ?" Logan joked.
After the attendant had placed his luggage and left the compartment, Udet lowered his voice and said, "Yes, Jesus Christ, or rather, Jesus Christ who can save Britain's homeland!"
"What? Really?" Logan's eyes widened.
Udet further lowered his voice, "Yes! I saw the Duke and Duchess of Windsor with the Fuhrer! My God, this war will soon be over!"
Even those who didn't know much about military affairs had probably heard of the Duke of Windsor, one of the truly "love the person, not the throne" kings in world history. He was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from his father George V's death on January 20, 1936, until his abdication on December 11, 1936, for a reign of 325 days, under the name Edward VIII. The official reason for his abdication was his desire to marry an American woman, Mrs. Simpson, who was several years older than him and had been married twice before. The British royal family, government, and both houses of parliament unanimously opposed this, stating that Britain could not accept an American woman as queen consort, and the king had to choose between the throne and Mrs. Simpson. If he insisted on marrying Mrs. Simpson, he had to abdicate!
In the 1930s, although Britain's power and influence had slightly declined after World War I, it was still the country with the largest colonial area and the richest accumulated wealth for generations on this planet. When he ascended the throne, Edward VIII was only 42 years old, with both civil and military talents and extraordinary energy, making him the most suitable king in decades. However, after several days of consideration, this handsome old fox made a startling decision: to abdicate and marry Mrs. Simpson!
Edward VIII became the Duke of Windsor. The happiest people apart from Mrs. Simpson, now the Duchess of Windsor, were probably the Duke of York and the newly crowned King George VI, his younger brother, who was mediocre in ability, introverted, and suffered from a severe stammer. Under this new king's leadership, Britain became involved in the largest war in human history!
Logan looked out the window for a moment, but unfortunately, the mysterious guest was not making a show on the platform. In fact, he hadn't appeared at the high-level Christmas banquet in Germany last night either.
"Well... General, I'm curious, if the Duke of Windsor has abdicated, can he still become the King of England?"
"Of course! Haven't there been enough abdications and restorations in history? But Hans, besides this Duke of Windsor, have you heard of any other king being driven from the throne purely because of marital issues?" Udet asked.
Logan thought for a moment. "I don't think so! So, does that mean the Duke of Windsor's abdication wasn't just about marital issues?"
Udet cleared his throat. "I'm not exactly sure. I just heard... that this Duke has a strong sympathy for National Socialism, and his wife is even a devoted admirer of our Fuhrer!"
Logan was truly taken aback. Was this the truth of history?