A tense silence follows Edgar's exit.
The door stills. The echo of it closing lingers like a held breath.
The Kaiser does not move.
His jaw is locked so tightly Edgar half expects to hear bone grind against bone, yet the old man remains motionless in his chair, eyes fixed on the shut door as if sheer will might burn through it. Around him, the nobles sense the shift immediately. Chairs creak. Boots scrape. Even Count von Hohenzollern hesitates, his florid face darkening to an almost impressive shade of purple.
Finally, the Kaiser speaks.
"Leave us."
The command is quiet. Absolute.
No one questions it. The nobles rise as one, their haste betraying them. They file out quickly, avoiding the Kaiser's gaze, avoiding the door Edgar vanished through. Von Hohenzollern casts one last resentful glance toward it before retreating, shoulders hunched. Edgar almost feels pity.
Almost.
When the room is empty, the Kaiser stands.
Slowly. Deliberately.
He turns at last, pinning his son with a gaze honed by decades of rule. Edgar does not shift. His hands rest clasped behind his back, posture immaculate, expression unreadable.
"You have gone too far." the Kaiser growls. "You humiliated me before my court. You undermined my authority. And then you dared to walk away while I spoke."
He advances a step, fists clenching until his knuckles pale.
"You think this was a game? A performance for your nobles?"
Edgar raises a brow, cool as marble.
"Is it not, Father?" he replies evenly. "A court thrives on spectacle. Tonight simply required a better actor."
The Kaiser's face darkens.
"You will learn your place." He hisses, jabbing a finger into Edgar's chest. "You will respect me. You will obey. You will marry whom I command. And you will never embarrass me like this again."
Edgar does not flinch.
Slowly, deliberately, his lips curl into something sharp and displeased, his voice smooth with restrained contempt.
"Oh, Father."
He says softly.
"You mistake the nature of our arrangement."
He steps forward.
Just enough.
The Kaiser is forced back a single inch.
"You do not command me." Edgar continues, lowering his voice. "You negotiate with me. And right now…"
He leans closer, the words brushing the air between them.
"Your bargaining position is laughable."
For a moment, the Kaiser's breath catches. Rage flares, then tightens into calculation. Edgar straightens, snapping his cuffs into place, all courtesy stripped away.
"Now then." He says calmly. "Shall we discuss Lorraine like civilized monarchs? Or shall I begin dismantling the pieces you have overplayed?"
Silence answers him.
Then the Kaiser exhales. Long. Controlled.
Edgar watches the fury in his father's eyes cool into something sharper, more dangerous. Good. The Kaiser has always been most competent when cornered.
"Fine."
The old man grits out.
"We will do this your way."
Edgar smiles, all teeth.
"Splendid."
He murmurs. "Let us start with you no longer treating me like breeding stock."
"The Princess of Lorraine-"
"Is irrelevant."
Edgar interrupts smoothly, already moving.
"Unless you intend to welcome Bonaparte's armies before winter."
From his sleeve, he produces a folded dispatch and places it into his father's hand.
"Their latest mobilization reports suggest they are prepared."
The Kaiser scans the page.
His expression shifts.
Edgar watches with quiet satisfaction.
"They have been funnelling mercenaries through Swiss borders."
Edgar continues.
"Unfortunate timing for matrimonial diplomacy."
He flicks open his pocket watch.
"Now."
He says, voice pleasant.
.
"Would you like my strategy to salvage this situation, or shall I allow you the dignity of failing on your own?"
Silence.
"You insufferable-"
Edgar laughs.
"And yet."
He says, snapping the watch shut.
"Here we are. Tick-tock, Father. Your move."
For a moment, it seems the game is his.
Then the Kaiser smiles.
Not warmly.
"You speak boldly for someone whose life rests on my indulgence."
The old man says.
"But very well. If you believe yourself indispensable, let us test it."
Edgar stills.
"I have a challenge for you."
"Name it."
The Kaiser's eyes gleam, predatory now.
"The servant you ordered detained."
He says.
"You will conduct his interrogation yourself. If you extract everything he knows, I will suspend all marriage negotiations until you deem them necessary."
The words settle heavily between them.
Edgar feels it immediately.
The trap.
The calculation.
His breath hitches once, barely perceptible, before his composure locks back into place.
"My."
He says softly.
"How medieval of you."
"You are confident in your talents."
The Kaiser replies coolly.
"I thought you would welcome the test."
Edgar considers him in silence, mind racing through outcomes, consequences, risks.
Refusal means chains.
Compliance means blood.
But even so.
He is still a Wolfenstein.
Even if the name would follow him to the grave.
Edgar bows his head a fraction.
"Challenge accepted."
His smile sharpens slowly, deliberate as a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Bring me the servant."
Edgar says, turning toward the guards.
"And prepare a clean interrogation chamber."
His gaze flicks back to his father, eyes glittering.
"We would not want our guest to faint before the truth is extracted."
The Kaiser does not respond.
Edgar's pulse hums with anticipation as he turns away.
At last, something worthy of him.
Let the game begin.