Brusilov didn't think someone who had risen to Imperial Field Marshal would make such an emotional choice.
"Perhaps, perhaps. My enemy, Field Marshal Hötzendorf seems to know in his heart too."
"Know what?"
"What else, defeat."
No matter how much good news comes from the west, it sounds too distant, like someone else's story here in the south.
Just as the law is far but fists are close, wouldn't Hötzendorf also see Germany's victory as far and Austria-Hungary's defeat as close?
"But isn't Germany winning on the Western Front? Even if the Austrian Empire gives up everything and just endures, couldn't they negotiate-"
"Lieutenant General Mannerheim."
"Yes, General."
Putting his hand on Mannerheim's shoulder as he poured out consecutive questions, Brusilov spoke of what he considered obvious reality.
"Even if Paris falls, the German Empire's collapse remains unchanged."
"...Is that so."
