His name was Friedrich Wolff, he was a young magus, a boy who had betrayed the Rote Mäntel and who had decided to travel the world to learn about new places and to make a new life, and yet he was back in Hamburg. His hometown.
January 20, 2021
Friedrich had gone to the Hamburg cemetery to visit the grave of his older brother, Clovis Wolff, who had committed suicide in November, probably because he was not strong enough to endure the sad loss of his daughter, who had died of tuberculosis. He hadn't taken part in the funeral but he didn't want to disrespect his beloved brother and so, that sad January, he brought flowers to the grave and remained silent, with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, his head bowed and his eyes closed. He prayed some prayers, the first one that crossed his mind, and then he left the grave. A man, at the exit of the cemetery, was waiting for Friedrich: Herbert Schmidt.
« Why did you come back, Friedrich? »
« I'm here just for my brother. »
« But you didn't show up at the funeral. »
« I was in New York. »
« Were you afraid to come back?" »
« Will you blame me? The Rote Mäntel are not known for their goodness. They love revenge. »
Friedrich passed close to Herbert and then left the cemetery. Herbert followed him along the road.
« I'm sorry for Clovis's death. »
« So? »
« I also cared for him, he was my disciple. »
« But he wasn't your brother. » Friedrich said, coldly.
« I know you don't like me, but I need to talk to you about something important. »
« I already know what you want from me, I'm not stupid. »
Friedrich turned to Herbert and without saying anything else shook his head slowly and then resumed his step.
« What do you mean? » Herbert asked, confused.
« I have heard that the Rote Mäntel and the Coven have put their hands on the research of a friend of mine, a French magus. Does the name Dorian Benard tell you anything? »
« So you also know about war. »
« The Holy Grail War? Yes I know it. But I'm not interested. »
« Did you really think I wanted to get you involved?" »
« What do you want from me? »
Friedrich was getting nervous and Herbert told him:
« He didn't commit suicide. Your brother didn't commit suicide. »
Those words shocked Friedrich more than anything else. He hated the Rote Mäntel and considered Herbert a rather unpleasant person but he certainly was not a liar, when he saw his grim expression he asked:
« What do you mean? »
« Clovis has always been loyal to the cause of the Rote Mäntel but his daughter's dire situation caused him to lose his mind, he turned against the organization and threatened to make some of our secret operations public if we hadn't taken care of the child. »
Friedrich, in a burst of anger, took Herbert by his tie and dragged him to the wall and said:
« Measure your next words, because I could hurt you a lot. »
« I didn't do anything to Clovis! Believe me! But the Rote Mäntel didn't want to risk and so they killed him! They made it look like a suicide. » Exclaimed Herbert, agitated.
« Why are you telling me this? »
« Because I want revenge. The Rote Mäntel want to take part in the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil, I stole the relic to summon a Servant, I want you to have it. Help me complete this revenge: for Clovis! »
Friedrich was shocked and angry at the same time, he could not understand anything. He didn't know whether to trust Herbert or not, he didn't even know if the story of Clovis's murder was true or not but he was sure he didn't want to take orders from Herbert.
« You forgot, Herbert, that I left Rote Mäntel because I don't want to take orders from anyone. I'm me and I'm not going to play your game. Do you want revenge? You take part in the Holy Grail War. Don't count on me. »
« Don't you want to avenge Clovis? »
Friedrich let go and left, saying:
« I'm not your dog, just consider me a lone wolf. Find someone else. »
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| Friedrich Wolff and Herbert Schmidt by Bikowolf |
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