Chapter 8 - At the dinner table

Pressing all her thoughts aside Erika got out of the bath and dressed in a beautiful silky dress. She looked really cute as a child in that dress. She now had to face the full might of her mother's barrage of questions which to her felt like the bombardment by the Gustav guns on the Soviet fortress of Sevastopol. "Good evening mother." With the formal aristocratic bow, Erika entered the dining room. "It seems your education as a noble is going well. Good evening my dear daughter." Replied her mother. "Yes I have learnt a lot. But it's still not at a stage of real aristocrats." "Don't worry you are just learning from me and the maids at home." "You will get a teacher when you turn 12." Erika was not very happy with this news. She let out a deep breath and thought to herself, "it means I will only get two more years to complete my goals. How frustrating!" "It seems you are not very happy with development. Is something wrong?" Startled by this sudden interruption in her thought Erika came up with a hasty excuse, "I..... I-Its not like that. Its just that I will have less time to play when that happens." "its alright take seat and start eating it is bad manner to keep the food in front of you waiting. Plus I want you to taste the food I personally made for you while it is still hot." "yes, mother." With this Erika pulled out a chair and set on the table. Her mother started serving her the foods she cooked the smile on her face was sweet and reflected a motherly love for her daughter who she saw as a continuation of her own life into the future. The talking continued. Her mother smiled more and Erika thought there was something different about her smile today. Its not just the regular smile she has for her precious daughter. Something was not right. "You know Erika we have received a letter from His Majesty today. You know your father is a great duke who is second only to the royal family in terms of power right. As a result it is common to have marriage bonds between our family and the royal family. So the king has proposed for an Engagement between you and the first prince who is just two years older then you and it is very likely that he will be the next king." Erika who was hoping to get bombarded the barrage of 800 mm shells of her mother's Gustav gun about what she did in the town was now feeling like she was attacked by waves after waves of the V2 flying bombs. This announcement was so shocking that she choked on her food. "cough, chough..... water... I need..... water cough cough." Hurriedly her mother poured water in her glass and made her drink it Her face grimed the slightly shrewd smile in her face was replaced with anxiety. Erika has just been cured from an almost life threatening illness and she was very worried about her daughter. "What's wrong my dear?! What happened, is something wrong?" She also almost choked. "Ah, mother please don't worry. Its nothing. I was just surprised to suddenly hear that I was being engaged to the prince. Please don't fret." Suddenly there was a silence in the room and it seemed to be tightening along her neck. Erika now felt that the room was suffocating and the worried look on her mother's face and the silence she had was also not helping anything. She was so enthusiastic about about her reincarnation and the 'Wehrmacht" that she was building up from scratch that she had forgotten about this part. There was so many things at stake though she was preparing for this eventually the sudden announcement and its implication on her future still caught her off-guard. However she slowly cleared her mind as she ate the rest of the food on her plate and started to think deeply. Her mother who was silent all along just kept looking at her daughter Still not recovering from the shock she had when her daughter choked on her food. Erika felt that her life was already on the verge of doom. "No not only me but my whole family will be doomed. My conviction as a bully and abuser of royal authority will not only lead me to my imprisonment but also the seizure of my family's assets. I can't let it happen. I have been building my own Wehrmacht as a final step but I would like to use every possible option not just the force of arms to make sure me and my family including everyone who serves them to continue lives as they are. Using force will mean war that will result in huge loss of life. I can't do that except for the very last measure even for me or my family. Okay now is the time I start implementing my other measures. No matter what I have to persuade mother and father to not go with this engagement."