Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

Joachim remained in a daze for a long time. It wasn't until a light rain started to fall outside that he slowly opened his eyes; by then, it was already dark.

I checked the time and realized I had slept for two hours.

He knew he shouldn't hesitate any longer, so he pushed open the door: "Erich, give me His Majesty the Emperor's phone number..."

"Why isn't anyone here?"

I glanced around the living room and found no one there.

Joachim, having made a fool of himself, casually took a plate of fruit from the refrigerator, and then some wine.

Joachim lived in Elizabeth's house, and their quality of life naturally improved; they not only had a refrigerator but also a phonograph.

Therefore, Joachim was a true benefactor in the Elizabethan family.

I randomly picked a CD and put it on the player. The gramophone spun, and beautiful music echoed continuously.

The vodka was drunk, and the fruit was chewed.

As the saying goes, after three rounds of drinks and five courses of food.

He was also feeling a bit drowsy.

But at that moment, the German prince was awakened by a soft knock on the door. Joachim opened his eyes groggily: "Come in... Erich."

He swallowed back the words that were in his throat before he could finish speaking.

Because it wasn't Manstein who entered, but Elizabeth.

"What's wrong, Elizabeth?"

Joachim looked at him and couldn't help but shrink back towards the sofa, as the saying goes, there's a difference between men and women.

Moreover, Elizabeth was still an unmarried woman, so he naturally had to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

"Sir, do you also know Mozart?"

At this point, Elizabeth had already guessed Joachim's identity to some extent.

After all, in German, the words for prince and adult are quite easy to distinguish.

But Elizabeth still chose to address him as "sir" at this time.

"You actually know about this?"

Joachim looked at her in surprise, shrinking further back towards the sofa, because the moment the door opened, he smelled a faint fragrance in his nostrils. Clearly, Elizabeth had come prepared and had worn perfume.

Then look at her outfit, wow, all of this shows that it's blatant seduction.

They came prepared!

"Hmm, I know a little..." Elizabeth leaned closer and took Joachim's hand in hers. "Can you dance, Your Highness?"

The woman made no attempt to conceal her desire for Joachim, addressing him directly as His Highness.

Upon hearing the word "Your Highness," Joachim immediately became more alert, and his hand unconsciously reached for the pistol at his waist.

However, Elizabeth would not give him that chance at this point.

Without a word, she took his hands and awkwardly began to dance the traditional Polish dance, the Mazurka.

"You can actually dance this dance?"

"It's just a traditional Polish dance."

Elizabeth lowered her eyes, looking extremely shy.

Joachim looked on in surprise, and then saw her fair cheeks turn crimson.

"It seems you came prepared."

Joachim drew out his words meaningfully and spoke Polish for the first time in their home.

However, just one sentence was enough to make Elizabeth lose her mind. The prince opposite her actually knew Polish. So, had he already heard all of her father's insults against Germany?

What would he think of himself?

Will it drag my family from heaven to hell again?

Elizabeth flinched at those words, but she quickly regained her composure and leaned closer to Joachim.

Believe in your own charm, believe in your own charm.

Elizabeth recalled her father's words, and her body moved even closer to Joachim.

She was shorter than Joachim, so now Joachim could easily see what the woman was so proud of simply by lowering his head slightly.

An ambiguous atmosphere permeated the entire living room.

The temperature of the two of them seemed to be rising.

The originally cheerful melody gradually became enchanting in my ears.

Joachim was a man; he was not a eunuch.

Under such teasing, he had long since had a normal male reaction. As for Elizabeth?

Even if she had never been married, it was impossible for her to be completely unaware of this.

Women in industrial society mature early, so she naturally understood what that meant, and her flushed cheeks quickly turned crimson.

Men conquer the world, women conquer men.

Everything turned out exactly as predicted.

Seeing that the other party did not answer, Joachim continued to move his dance steps: "Do you want to sleep with me?"

A straightforward question once again left Elizabeth stumped.

Seeing that she remained silent, Joachim raised his hand and gripped her shoulder, his tone slightly more forceful: "Is this your father's will, or yours?"

Elizabeth finally snapped out of her daze and chuckled at the man, "Both..."

"......"

Now it was Joachim's turn to fall silent. He looked at Elizabeth before him, seemingly having a new perspective on this pure girl he once knew.

Elizabeth, seeing Joachim's silence, met his gaze directly.

Finally, his hot lips pressed against mine.

The electric shock filled his entire body, but Joachim miraculously did not succumb to it; instead, he pushed the other person away.

She looked at him calmly and said, "You really didn't need to do this. I'm staying at your house not because I'm attracted to you, but because I need a safe place..."

"I can write you a letter of introduction. Go to Berlin. I can arrange a household registration for you, and then you can find a good family to marry into."

"There's really no need to give it to me. I have a family..."

"To marry into a good family and then live a plain and ordinary life?"

Elizabeth looked at Joachim with eyes full of ambition; she wanted to be a great man like him.

A powerful figure who can command the winds and rains at will.

"Shouldn't it be like this?"

After saying this, Joachim fell silent for a while.

Then he added, "Isn't this the greatest wish of an ordinary person?"

"I have a happy family, a caring husband, and a well-behaved child."

How happy must one be?

"In this era when even food is scarce."

"Every day when I go out and see my child, he's as thin as a dog and can't eat anything good."

"Look around."

"Other people's kids eat lavishly, and they're enrolled in dance classes and piano lessons one after another."

"What's the point of this kind of marriage?"

"I'd rather be someone's mistress than marry an ordinary man and live like a fool for the rest of my life."

After saying this, the girl became excited, grabbed Joachim by the neck, and kissed him deeply: "I'm going to become a real big shot!"