Chapter 436: Love

In the kitchen, a pregnant woman was humming a song as she pan-fried a steak. Her face had grown slightly fuller, but it still held the charm that could topple nations. Mercedes, the First Lady of the Holy Greater German Third Reich, the woman of the Führer who commanded the winds and rains of the European continent, the helmsman looked up to by hundreds of thousands of employees of the White Orchid Group. If any of her subordinates were to see her at this moment, full of charm and grace, they might be too stunned to even speak.

“Ma’am, the Führer hasn’t even gotten off the plane yet, and you’re already so happy,” the maid said, standing behind Mercedes with a bowl of washed greens. “These are small chores that I should be doing. I can’t believe you insist on doing it yourself, ma’am.”

“Margaret, you don’t understand. It’s a very pleasant thing to make dinner for a man you love. They may be all-powerful out there, but in the end, aren’t they just slobs who are too lazy to even wash their own socks?” Mercedes said, now exuding the air of a housewife as she tasted the sauce.

Behind her, the middle-aged woman, who was not only a master of Western cuisine but also the head chef, smiled and nodded, seeming to agree with her mistress’s words. It was hard to imagine that this chef with the kind face was one of the few people in this building who was authorized to carry a gun under her skirt. She was responsible for protecting Mercedes’s safety, at least her absolute safety within this building.

As she flipped the steak, Mercedes spoke in a slightly shy, coquettish tone, as if confiding in an elder. “You don’t know, the Führer… he’s a stoic one. If you don’t bring it up with him, he’ll just keep it bottled up inside and never say a word to me. That was the White Orchid Group I managed for ten years; what could possibly escape my eyes?”

“The Führer is too concerned about you, that’s why he doesn’t know how to tell you,” the head chef, Margaret, said with a smile as she watched Mercedes flip the steak. “He dares to gamble the fate of the nation on a war with Britain and France with an army of millions, but he doesn’t dare to touch the White Orchid Group that you care so much about.”

“He underestimated me! The White Orchid Group is his, not mine… But, I’m still very satisfied with what he’s doing. At least he cares a lot about me, right?” Mercedes tossed the spatula aside and sighed. “You’re afraid of being indebted to me, but isn’t love just a game of being indebted to each other?”

“Ma’am… the Führer is rushing back from Rotterdam. It seems he’s come to his senses and only now dares to see you,” the head chef said after considering her words carefully.

“I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll forgive him one more time… What else can I do? Anna, just like me, can’t leave him… And that Fanny, well, let’s not talk about her…” Mercedes caressed her swelling belly and said with a loving expression, “Don’t be anxious, little baby. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Mommy doesn’t care what your daddy does, but I will definitely save up a thick family fortune for you, to make you the happiest child in the world!”

“Ma’am…” the head chef prompted.

“Alright, Margaret, you don’t have to persuade me. I know what you mean…” Mercedes said softly, still looking down at her belly.

“Ma’am… the steak… is burnt…” the head chef said in a low voice.

“…” Mercedes looked at the now-hardened piece of steak, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “It seems I really have no talent for cooking. Margaret, you’d better take over. The Führer won’t be eating a steak made by my own hands today.”

Perhaps, he’ll never get to eat one in this lifetime, she thought. Behind all those glamorous women, do their men truly understand them? Or is sharing a man with two other women not an infuriating thing after all? Mercedes frowned, said nothing, and walked straight out of the Führer’s residence’s kitchen.

One after another, Mercedes-Benz cars pulled up to the main gate of the Führer’s residence. The SS soldiers on both sides stood at attention, waiting for Führer Akado to step out of his car. Anna got out, walked around to the other side, and opened the door. Everyone snapped to attention, saluted, and raised their right hands.

Amidst a thunderous chorus of “Long live the Führer, Akado Rudolph!”, Akado ducked out of his car. He draped the black leather trench coat that Anna handed him over his shoulders and his gaze swept over the officials of the Führer’s residence who had gathered at the entrance to welcome him.

“Gentlemen, thank you for your hard work,” Akado said softly as he walked past them, then headed straight for the dozens of steps leading to the main entrance. He desperately wanted to see that woman, the woman who needed all his care and cherish.

In fact, after Britain had dismissed Montgomery and changed its commander mid-battle, the German High Command knew that the subsequent fighting would become much simpler. The few British generals with any reputation had been watched by the German military for a long time. Mountbatten was now maintaining the situation in India, and Montgomery was already on a ship to Canada. The rest of them were not worth mentioning, each one worse than the last!

So, while the war in Britain seemed chaotic, it was actually no longer a critical threat. The key was to find a way to reduce German casualties and make Britain leave behind more of its original supplies and reserves. These problems were naturally left to Rundstedt at the front and Brauchitsch in the rear to worry about. Thus, Akado had rushed back to Berlin, hoping to explain the matter of the White Orchid Group to Mercedes.

The invasion of Britain, the dismantling of the White Orchid Group—these things concerned many people and many aspects. But the child in Mercedes’s belly was his, Akado’s, personal affair, so he couldn’t help but be a little nervous.

“My dear, has the situation at the front stabilized?” Mercedes asked with a smile, standing quietly in the room and looking at the travel-worn Akado.

Looking at the beautiful and moving Mercedes, whose pregnancy had not diminished her beauty but had added a touching motherly radiance, Akado found it even more difficult to say what he had come to say. He gave an awkward smile and handed his hat and coat to Anna behind him. “Hang this up for me, thank you.”

“Alright, there’s no need to send Anna away. I’ve prepared dinner for Anna as well. A family should naturally eat together,” Mercedes said. Having already acknowledged Anna’s status, she wouldn’t go back on her word now. Besides, she was grateful to Anna, feeling that since Anna had risked her life to save Akado, she deserved her share of his love.

This made Akado even more embarrassed and anxious. He followed behind Mercedes, while Anna, blushing, supported her, calling her “sister” with the utmost sweetness. The two women were as beautiful as flowers, making the entire hall seem even more brilliant.

The atmosphere at dinner was unspeakably bizarre. Akado glanced at Anna, but she didn’t dare to stick her neck out in front of Mercedes. She immediately lowered her head, pretending not to see Akado’s pleading look, and, under Mercedes’s teasing gaze, focused all her energy on her steak.

Having no other choice, Akado cast aside all thoughts of face and the Führer’s dignity. He coughed desperately, hoping to awaken Anna’s conscience. “Ahem! Ahem, ahem! Ahem!” But it was clear his efforts were in vain. Anna was determined to play the turtle in its shell to the end.

“My dear? Did you perhaps catch a cold in Rotterdam?” Mercedes asked, picking up a piece of beef with her fork. She didn’t eat it but looked at Akado with a playful smile. “As the Führer of the German people, you should take good care of your health.”

Those seven words, “Führer of the German people,” made Akado feel even more ashamed. He felt guiltily that the “Führer of the German people” was definitely not “Mercedes’s good husband.” So he quickly shook his head. “No, I’m fine! I don’t have a cold…”

“Oh!” Mercedes nodded. “No cold, then you must feel a little bit sorry for me for dismantling the White Orchid Group, is that it?”

“…” Akado seemed to become even more nervous, but also somewhat relieved. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Give me a few years. I will compensate you with an even larger White Orchid Group. Then… In short, it is I, Akado, who has wronged you. If you are willing, I will use any means to make up for my selfishness. I beg you, please don’t be angry… okay?”

No woman is born indebted to a man. The reason she endures is for that boundless love. And of course, no man is unforgettable to a woman; it is only because he owes her too much.

Akado didn’t know about others, but he knew he was truly indebted to these women, these good women that others could only dream of.

“To say it doesn’t hurt would be a lie. You, the absentee chairman, have no feelings for the White Orchid Group. But how could I, the woman who accompanied its growth, not have feelings for it?” Mercedes said with a sigh, her voice full of sorrow.

“Sister…” Anna braced herself, wanting to say a few good words for Akado.

But she was cut off by Mercedes the moment she spoke. “Don’t try to persuade me. I have persuaded myself many times. But, what can I do? I fell in love with the Führer of such an empire. If he didn’t do this, he would be letting down the people who love him. Rather than letting down Germany, it’s better for me to bear this pain alone.”

“Sister!” Anna cried, grabbing Mercedes’s hand, her eyes red.

Akado felt like the luckiest man in the world. A woman as beautiful as a goddess was willing to marry him, had acquiesced to his entanglements with two other beautiful women, and was willing to give up her career for him, to bear his child… If he were not content with this, he felt he would be no different from an animal.

“Thank you,” Akado said solemnly. “Give me some time, and I will give you a group better than the White Orchid Group.”

“Nothing is more important than all of us living well together,” Mercedes said, expressing her thoughts and seemingly letting go of her attachment to her career. “Right now, I just hope my child can come into this world healthy and safe. That is my greatest happiness.”

At this moment, the cold Führer’s residence was filled with love.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair