Chapter 845: The Great Film

In his office at the Wolf’s Lair in Poland, the blazing bonfire of winter was no longer lit. The approaching April weather had brought a hint of green to the Polish forests. The melting snow seeped into the earth, reviving all things.

Compared to the tents and cold winds of the front, the environment here was absolutely warm and comfortable. In the corner of the office was a liquor cabinet and bar, filled with wine from Vichy France, as well as a collection of various champagnes and whiskeys, and even vodka from the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, Akado rarely enjoyed these fine liquors. To put it bluntly, the wine here served more of a decorative purpose than a practical one.

Akado was drinking coffee in his office, enjoying the constant pressure of Anna’s long, strong fingers on his shoulders. The slightly sore sensation traveled to his brain, making Akado involuntarily hum softly, “Your massage skills are really getting more and more satisfying. I hear you even consulted my personal physician to learn how to do this for me?”

“You just don’t pay attention to your own body. The doctor has already instructed me to help you relax your muscles whenever I have time, to prevent you from developing problems with your shoulders and cervical spine from sitting for too long,” Anna said, kneading Akado’s shoulders. “I can’t help you much with your work, but in your daily life, I promised Sister Mercedes I would take good care of you.”

“These last few days, how come I haven’t seen Fanny?” Akado asked, closing his eyes and enjoying the rich aroma of the coffee, his mind somewhat elsewhere. He felt he owed Mercedes and Anna, and he also owed Fanny, another good woman who admired him. He himself was no longer young, and the three women around him had truly dedicated their youth to him without any regrets.

Therefore, every time he mentioned Fanny, Anna, or Mercedes, Akado always felt a hint of apology. He couldn’t change the current situation and could only let it develop as it was. As a young man from the 21st century, although he had countless times fantasized about having a woman on each arm, when he truly experienced it, he found it was not as pleasant and heroic as he had imagined.

Man is an emotional animal. Only when feelings run deep can the true spark of love be ignited. For any man to become entangled with a woman, he must invest his own emotions, especially when he is with an outstanding woman. The mixture of feelings like longing, indebtedness, responsibility, and affection would spread through his heart every moment, preventing him from pursuing more women.

Those who interpret relationships between men and women with money and desire will never understand why more women are not always better. A truly good woman is like a fine red wine, leaving a lasting and memorable taste. And the kind of woman you would never tire of is like beer. Who would use the tip of their tongue to repeatedly savor the rich mellowness of a Corona that has been aged for years?

Unfortunately, there were too many good women around Akado. Before he could even achieve the carefree state of “passing through a hundred flowers without a single leaf clinging to him,” he was already saddled with the responsibility that a mature man should bear. This sounded very heavy, but who in the world could enjoy such a heavy burden?

To put it bluntly, our Führer had too many women around him who were like a 1982 Lafite. Now that his palate had been refined, he no longer had any interest in the common rouge and powder that were like beer—that was all.

“Oh, her? I heard a few of her subordinates brought back some very important video materials from the front. This is the first time color film has been used on a large scale to shoot a frontline documentary. After editing, it will be used in a movie called ‘Warrior’s Anthem’,” Anna said, seeming to know Fanny’s whereabouts like the back of her hand. “She told me herself that she wanted to give you a surprise. Many famous actors will be participating. This film is going to be the grand finale at the Berlin Film Festival.”

“Oh! The film starring Marlene Dietrich and Miss Greta Garbo,” Akado said. He was clearly quite familiar with this super-production funded by the German military. The entire film was an epic, grand super-production. The number of famous actors used in it was countless, and it was even planned to be a 5-part series with a total length of over 10 hours, creating many world records in the film industry.

Anna gave a teasing smile and said with a pursed lip, “Actually, there’s also the famous actress from the British occupied territories, Miss Vivien Leigh. I say, my dear, you’re really familiar with these stars. Is it possible you’ve taken a fancy to one of them?”

“Eh? Why do you ask? I’m just concerned about the army’s propaganda film. What does that have to do with taking a fancy to a woman?” Akado was a little speechless at Anna’s question. He really had no intention of provoking any other women.

This super war film used many famous movie actors, sparing no expense to gather movie stars from some of the occupied territories and neutral countries to Germany, hoping to make this film the world’s number one “war epic.” This was also one of the main reasons the army had invested in this major film: to hope that the film could open up a new situation for recruitment and to let the soldiers vent their emotions while watching it.

Watching a group of muscular men holding their weapons and firing away had no selling point in a military camp filled with masculine energy. So the propaganda department, besides using a large number of handsome male stars, had also used a super-large number of female stars, to let as many beautiful women as everyone loved to see appear in the film as possible, in order to meet the viewing needs of the frontline soldiers.

“I heard that that fellow, Frank Alston, your confidant in the Ministry of Industrial Aviation, has been running around for a film and television company he invested in recently, and has sent a 10-year-old girl into the cast of ‘Warrior’s Anthem’,” Anna said, kneading Akado’s shoulders as if talking about something that had nothing to do with her. “That girl, Audrey Hepburn, is said to have had some dealings with you. Can you tell me what that’s about?”

“Cough! Cough cough cough!” Hearing this name, Akado almost spat out the coffee in his mouth. He shot up from the sofa in embarrassment and coughed for a long time before he stopped. To suddenly hear such a familiar name had made Akado react too strongly for a moment, and he had choked on a big mouthful of coffee.

How to explain? He couldn’t just say, I was also one of her many admirers back in the day who was smitten by Hepburn. Now that I have the capital in this life, I might as well cultivate this future star, so as not to waste her, right? After thinking it over and over, Akado could only tell the “truth”: “I met a little girl while strolling with Frank. I didn’t think much of it at the time and just asked him to take care of her a little…”

Who would have thought that Frank, this playboy, would have ultimately interpreted Akado’s words of “cultivate and take care of” as his own extravagant and erotic games, and had forced Hepburn onto the path of a movie star, directly advancing her debut by so many years.

Don’t ruin such a good actress, such a beautiful girl! In his mind, Akado had already put Frank’s head in the noose of a gallows. He cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he was telling Anna what had happened that day.

“Alright! I know what you and Frank were up to that day,” Akado was halfway through his explanation when he was interrupted by Anna’s charming laughter. “I know you couldn’t possibly be interested in a 10-year-old girl, but after knowing that Frank had misunderstood, I just wanted to tell you, don’t let a lovely little girl be forced to accept a fate that others have arranged for her just because of one of your sentences.”

When the supreme authority of a vast empire arranges for his confidant to take care of a small person, it often means that this small person’s fate has been changed. With Akado’s one suggestive hint of “pulling up the seedlings to help them grow,” a little girl who had originally suffered all the hardships of life could become a star watched by thousands, or a princess that no one would dare to provoke. But was this kind of change really a good thing for a little girl whose mind was not yet mature?

Akado, of course, had also realized that Frank had gone a bit too far. But Anna clearly saw it more thoroughly—if you change a person, will that person still be the person you cherish and love?

Anna did not know what Hepburn was like in another timeline, but Akado did. He not only knew, but he also hoped that in this timeline that he had changed beyond recognition, Hepburn could still conquer the hearts of film lovers all over the world with her pure and beautiful face. So he immediately accepted Anna’s suggestion, which was, in fact, to follow his own inner thoughts.

He glanced at Anna, thought for a moment, and then said, “Leaving that little girl to Frank was probably my lack of consideration. You can help me handle this matter. Just make sure the little girl is not harmed.”

“My dear! Do you know what I like most about you?” Anna asked, looking at Akado. She walked to his side and wrapped her slender, lotus-root-like arms around his waist. “As the Führer who holds sway over the world, you can still be so kind and care about a little girl. It really moves me.”

Isn’t it that every man has a dream of a goddess? Akado forced a smile to hide his embarrassment. Even with a face as thick as his, he would still blush a little after being misunderstood by a beautiful woman—just a little.

“You know, sometimes my heart is very soft, as soft as the surface of the sea,” Akado said, staring into Anna’s beautiful eyes. He could see the eyelashes on her eyes trembling slightly with the waves of emotion. Finally, Anna slightly raised her sharp, smooth chin and slowly closed her eyes.

If a man at this time did not know what to do, he could just find a basement and shoot himself. Akado lowered his head. The room was filled with a warm and tender atmosphere.

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