Chapter 18

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Chapter 18: Anna’s Departure

"What are you writing?" Leader One asked curiously.

"I’m working on my doctoral thesis. I didn’t pass last time, so the school asked me to revise it," Karl said.

Karl is 21 years old this year, he is studying at Berlin University. Before coming to Berlin University, he had already obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Bonn. Now he is studying for a law bachelor’s degree while preparing his doctoral thesis in philosophy.

He was originally into philosophy, and not very interested in law. He deliberately took time to study law with Professor Savigny… just like Leader One’s idea.

If he passes the lawyer qualification exam, he won’t have to serve in the military.

It’s not enough to just have the qualification, he also needs to actually work as a lawyer for a period of time. In history, after Karl completed his bachelor’s degree in law and the lawyer qualification exam, he didn’t actually work as a lawyer, which did not meet the exemption rules for military service. This became a lifelong embarrassment for him, as the Prussian government always thought Karl was trying to avoid military service.

He is completely focused on philosophy. Leader One wants to persuade him to register at a law firm, take on a few cases, to avoid future trouble with military service.

Hmm… couldn’t persuade him.

He said he is very busy preparing for his doctoral thesis in philosophy, focusing on refining his ideas, and he doesn’t have time to work as a lawyer.

Leader One, "If you continue on this path, you will definitely cause trouble. But before causing trouble, don’t give anyone a reason to use against you, such as the military service issue. If the King of Prussia is tough, he could have you killed directly."

Karl casually said he understood.

But he didn’t care at all, Leader One’s reminder was already very kind.

When it was time for class, Professor Savigny happily entered the classroom with a big smile on his face.

"I regret to inform everyone that Anna has taken a break from school due to family reasons. We don’t know when she’ll be back," Professor Savigny said with a suppressed smile.

The troublemaking woman has finally left, and the professor’s high blood pressure has improved. He couldn’t stop smiling with joy.

Leader One and Catherine looked at each other in surprise and confusion.

Catherine passed a small note to Leader One.

"Anna has been going to the casino in this short period of time. She won some money at first, but lost it all in the last two days. She even owes 200 pounds to a loan shark and has gone back to her hometown," the note said.

Following Leader One’s instructions, Catherine secretly followed Anna every day, both to keep an eye on her and to protect her.

Anna initially wanted to earn a thousand pounds through hard work, but found it too difficult to achieve. So she turned to gambling for a quicker way to make money.

When Anna stepped into the casino, the banker started investigating her background. They set up a scheme to let Anna win some money at first, only to take it back later along with high interest.

The banker believed that Anna’s family was capable of repaying 200 pounds, and so did Anna. She went back to her hometown to ask her parents for money.

However…

Due to the Bismarck family’s farm facing consecutive years of losses, with negative profits for almost 9 years, Old Bismarck was seriously injured in his last mercenary job and couldn’t make money that way anymore. They had to rely on their savings to get by.

Facing financial difficulties at home, Anna spent money extravagantly at Berlin University, just like her frivolous mother. The Bismarck family couldn’t provide any financial support.

After the life-and-death duel before, Anna finally found a purpose in life. She stopped squandering her wealth and worked hard to earn money. Everything was looking up until she got into debt due to gambling.

The already struggling family faced even more hardships.

On Anna’s first day back home, the house was empty. The beautiful paintings and porcelain were gone, along with valuable items, making Anna think they had been robbed.

Anna’s mother wasn’t home; she had probably gone to the city to have fun.

Father, Old Bismarck, who had injuries, slowly worked in the fields, swinging the hoe and taking breaks.

The household servants and serfs were all gone, unable to hire or keep them.

The once respectable Junker family had completely fallen into ruin.

Anna stood by the field, hesitant to speak. It wouldn’t be right to ask her father for money at this moment.

Two hundred pounds of high-interest loans… It might require selling more than a hundred hectares of land, or even more since the Bismarck family’s land was less fertile.

It was a gloomy day, with dark clouds looming as Anna made her way home, now feeling raindrops starting to fall.

The dampness weighed heavily on Old Bismarck’s injuries, causing him to gradually stop swinging the hoe and struggle to turn back towards the house, where he saw his daughter returning.

"Anna, you’re back. Why didn’t you send a letter beforehand?" Old Bismarck smiled faintly.

"Are you on vacation? How have you been in Berlin? If you’re short on money, let me know. Spending should be high in Berlin, after all, you come from the Junker aristocracy. When socializing with friends, you should be lavish, spend more money to save face and not be looked down upon by others."

"Let’s go back inside, it’s raining."

Anna didn’t know what to say, so she helped the old father back into the house, quietly lit the fireplace, and covered Old Bismarck with a worn-out army blanket.

Dinner was some dry bread and potatoes, along with some sauce. Old Bismarck mumbled that he forgot to buy groceries, but he promised to get more tasty food in the morning to prepare a delicious meal for Anna.

"What about her?" Anna asked.

"Oh, your mother had some things to take care of at her parents’ home, so she’s been staying there for a while," Old Bismarck said.

Anna disliked her careless mother, but she also understood her.

Her mother had never returned to her parents’ home in her whole life. She always portrayed herself as living well in front of her family, having a strong sense of vanity. This time going back to her parents’ home should make her feel embarrassed and ashamed.

The decline of the Bismarck family was related to Anna’s careless mother, as she lived a lavish lifestyle. It was also related to Old Bismarck, as he lacked military talent and only earned a meager salary as a mercenary. He also had no farming skills, leading to losses on the family’s 800 hectares of land every year.

The family’s decline was also directly linked to Anna. In the past decade, Anna and her careless mother had little difference, living recklessly, wasting family assets, getting into fights, and causing the family financial losses and embarrassment.

After experiencing life-and-death battles and gambling debt events, Anna finally woke up.

She decided to take a temporary break from school, then returned to her hometown to manage the farm diligently and responsibly, ensuring the family property was well taken care of, slowly repaying her debts, and supporting the family.

Faced with the pressure of debt and the burdens of life, Anna no longer felt superior or arrogant. She worked in the fields, sweat dripping as she toiled with her farming tools.

During breaks from farming, she often thought of that face, that relationship that never really began, that couldn’t even be considered a true first love.

"You’re drifting further away from me. Perhaps we will never see each other again in this lifetime."

Soon, Anna immersed herself back into farming.

In fact, she wasn’t growing distant from Leader One, but closer. She had shed her youthful naivety and was gradually maturing.