Chapter 24 - 24: The Kaiser’s Judgment

The Emperor's study smelled of paper, ink, and cigar smoke, as always.

Oskar wrinkled his nose very slightly at the last part. In his previous life, he'd read enough to know that grandfather Frederick III's throat cancer had been worsened—if not outright caused—by smoking like a steam locomotive. Shortest reign in Prussian history, courtesy of cigarettes.

The room itself, though, was respectable enough. Dark wooden shelves lined with leather-bound volumes. Maps rolled and unrolled on side tables. A stern portrait of Frederick the Great glaring down from above the mantel. Paintings of ships and seascapes everywhere. Little model warships set carefully on shelves and cabinets.

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