Chapter 11: The Fiery Steed

The Late Summer Wind, Already Bearing the Taste of Autumn

In the tranquil East Prussia, after the harvest, the fields presented a naturally pleasant scene: on the vast grasslands, groups of horses of various colors grazed or chased each other, occasionally, one could see horsemen lightly wielding whips; flowing streams, unlike the canals around industrial cities, looked like the crystalline veins of the earth from a distance; lush forests harbored rich timber resources, with some particularly tall trees possibly hundreds of years old!

On the tree-lined road, a dark gray Mercedes sped along. Looking at the beautiful scenery around him, Logan couldn't imagine that in the original historical timeline of 1945, this place would become a hell on earth.

East Prussia, the traditional territory of the Germanic people, was also the granary and stud farm of the German Empire. As long as Germany did not lose this war, the fertile land would not be coveted by neighboring countries, and the Germanic residents who had lived here for generations would not be cruelly expelled, embarking on a long and arduous migration journey.

Fortunately, history had already changed its course at the crossroads of Dunkirk, but where it would ultimately lead, no one could say for sure!

From Stanisławów to Königsberg, there was a highway, which took just over three hours by car. Logan, who held three deputy director positions, had been busy dealing with various complicated official duties recently and was physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing that the training of various participating troops was proceeding in an orderly manner, he decided to give himself a half-day break and "incidentally" go see his "fiancée" whom he had never met - according to Jocheninek, who seemed puzzled by his pursuit of French jasmine and English lily after abandoning the German rose. The Lucy in the black and white photos did not have stunning beauty, but her features were regular, her teeth were neat, and her smile was somewhat friendly. Would she be his type?

If she was his cup of tea, he would accept her directly; if he couldn't bear to look at her, he should clarify it early on to avoid delaying the girl.

With this mentality, Logan almost casually inspected the German airfield - during the summer and autumn of 1940, the attention of the entire Europe was focused on both sides of the English Channel. In addition, Germany and Italy had signed a non-aggression treaty a few months ago. The eastern border of the empire was particularly quiet, and under the instructions of the high command, the German Air Force stationed near the East Prussian border was strictly prohibited from crossing the border, and aerial reconnaissance missions were temporarily suspended, it could be said that there was "no fighting on the Eastern Front"!

After leaving the airfield, Logan directly had the driver find Lucy's mailing address.

The cool military license plate sedan finally turned into an estate about 10 kilometers from the city of Königsberg. As soon as the car stopped, a blond teenager of about sixteen or seventeen years old, riding a white horse, galloped over and exclaimed in his still immature voice:

"Hey, Hans, long time no see! Wow, you're already a colonel?"

From the tone of his voice, this teenager should be very familiar with "himself". But did Logan have any memories related to him? He could only smile and say:

"Long time no see, you've grown up so much! Where's Lucy?"

"She's taking care of her little baby in the stable! Come on, I'll take you there!" The blond teenager smiled and reached out his hand, indicating for Logan to mount his horse.

Whether the original Logan could ride a horse was unknown, but this Logan definitely couldn't. He got off the car and hesitated as he looked at the adult horse, which was two heads taller than him. "Won't we weigh it down if both of us get on it?"

The teenager laughed, "Hey, you're underestimating my 'Marshal Moltke'! Come on!"

Unable to resist his generous invitation mixed with a hint of provocation, Logan reluctantly climbed onto the horse's back. The teenager seemed completely unaware of the embarrassment of the Air Force colonel, and with reins in hand and a squeeze of his legs, the sturdy quadruped dashed off.

In order to avoid falling from the high horse, Logan had to hold onto the teenager's waist, only to be mercilessly mocked by him, "Hey, Hans, how long has it been since you rode a horse? You look like a city boy!"

"Um... it's been a long time!" Logan began to resent his own bad idea. Wouldn't it be better to stay in the office honestly? Why did he have to come here to challenge nature and suffer? Who knows what's coming up next!

The car journey didn't provide a clear sense of scale, but after entering the stud farm, Logan realized the vastness of the space here: the paddocks for raising horses seemed to stretch endlessly!

As for horses of black, white, brown, and chestnut colors, how many were there in total? Logan couldn't even estimate a rough number.

But thinking about it, although the German Blitzkrieg was unstoppable, the overall mechanization level of the army was far from ideal, and the logistics transportation of infantry divisions more or less relied on horses. In those black and white films, German horse-drawn carts and horse-drawn cannons were almost ubiquitous on the Eastern Front!

After galloping for quite a while, the teenager finally slowed down, and before Logan could see what was ahead, he shouted, "Sister, look, who did I bring?"

"Who?" a plain but not unpleasant female voice came into his ears.

Glancing over the teenager's shoulder, Logan saw the girl squatting at the door of the stable, giving a chestnut-colored foal a bath with a brush in her hand. Coincidentally, she also had fiery red hair, but because of wearing a large apron, at first glance, she just seemed like a young village girl with a good posture.

Logan couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. Was "Hans Logan" himself really into this kind of taste? Was it because of his impoverished background before joining the army that he thought about wooing the daughter of a stud farm owner, or simply because he hadn't seen the world and was enchanted by any woman?

"Hey hey, of course, it's your dream lover!" the teenager laughed, stopping the horse and whispering to Logan, half-threateningly, "If you don't dismount, I'll take you out for another round!"

Logan clumsily dismounted from the horse. As he landed, he stumbled and fell to the ground, feeling a fiery pain in his buttocks.

"Ouch! Hans, are you alright?" the girl dropped the brush and habitually put her hands on her hips, "Hey, Monty, you naughty boy!"

"It's none of my business, he's just clumsy!" the teenager said, but still jumped off the horse and extended his hand to Logan, "You need to be careful when you dismount next time, Mr. Respectful Officer!"

"I'm fine!" Logan patted his buttocks and struggled to stand up. It was only then that he noticed two army lieutenants and a middle-aged man standing on the other side of the stable. The strange expressions on

 their faces clearly showed that they were trying hard to hold back their laughter.

"He says he's fine!" the teenager made a face at his sister and then rode away.

At this point, the girl had taken off her apron and walked over. When Logan turned around, his eyes lit up: Lucy was quite tall, probably over five feet seven inches tall, not thin, but wearing riding boots, her pair of well-proportioned long legs were particularly eye-catching, and the high peaks on her chest also contained astonishing internal energy. Her every smile or frown made her look much better than in the black and white photos!

"Hey, Hans, why did you suddenly come? You didn't even write a letter in advance!" Her voice was very gentle, completely different from her scolding of the teenager just now.

"Just passing by!" Logan came up with this low-level but practical excuse.

"Wow, is this the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross that they talk about?" The girl exclaimed with joy.

Logan couldn't help but straighten his chest. Although the mud on his buttocks hadn't been cleaned yet, this shiny little thing was enough to make the two officers who had just laughed at him envy and feel inferior!

But the good times didn't last long. A moment later, Lucy suddenly remembered something, put away her smile, and with her hands on her hips, said, "How long has it been since you wrote me a letter, huh?"

"It's been a while. My hand was injured before, and in the past two weeks..." Logan stammered, feeling anxious about whether scenes of violence forbidden to minors would appear. Lucy sighed, "Well, I also don't remember who once solemnly promised that even if his hand was broken by a bullet, he would still hold a pen with his mouth to write to me; even if he was surrounded by enemies, he would let the last pigeon bring back the letter; even if..."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes!

In an instant, Logan seemed to see his first love. Back then, she was also tearful like this. At that time, he was young and frivolous, unaware of how to cherish.

Looking back now, the woman had already married someone else.

When thinking back to his first love, how many people would shed tears like Logan?

"I heard you've become a very high-ranking officer. I thought you had forgotten about me!"

"I'm sorry!" 

As soon as the words were spoken, Logan's mind had a momentary short circuit. By the time he reacted, he had irretrievably kissed Lucy on the lips.

This kiss was almost suffocating.

Logan had never imagined that "Hans Logan" would be such a romantic and deeply affectionate person, but his actions had been completely contrary to his loyalty.

If Lucy found out about Verlaine and Dorine, how would he explain? "Sorry, I'm a time traveler?"

Logan's heart was suddenly extremely conflicted.

After the deep kiss, Lucy's emotions quickly calmed down, and she returned to being the shy big girl who spoke softly. As the sun set, the two walked hand in hand on the peaceful and lively stud farm. Logan occasionally turned his head to look at Lucy, whose eyes were exactly level with his nose, and the feeling of palpitations was something Verlaine and Dorine had never experienced.

That night, Logan was invited to have dinner with Lucy's family. The two army officers who came to purchase horses also stayed overnight. During the meal, when it came to marriage, Lucy still hoped to get married after the war ended - but Logan didn't know when the marriage was arranged, and he couldn't ask too much. As for when the war would end, no one could say for sure. Even if we look at the situation from the last war, it would still take at least another two or three years.

"Hurry up and get married! Old maid!"

The blond teenager, Lucy's younger brother, exclaimed, but he screamed as if he had eaten a cockroach. Logan glanced at him. Although Lucy's movements were quite quick, he still saw a hand fiercely pinching the boy's thigh.

What a powerful grip!

Logan sighed inwardly as he worried about his future life. If he went to work at the Air Force headquarters with bruises all over his body every time, wouldn't he always blame the poor cat!

But worry aside, the word "lust" is like a sharp knife hanging over his head. That night, Logan originally wanted to take advantage of the affection between the two parties to get things done, but at the critical moment, he was blocked outside the "door" by Lucy's "divine command". Having lived abroad for several years, Logan also knew that there was indeed a "prohibition of premarital sex" in the Christian commandments. Different people had different degrees of adherence to faith, just like some people believed that "wine and meat pass through the intestines, while the Buddha remains in the heart", while others would abstain from meat and fish for a lifetime.