Dawn Redemption

The sky is stained with a faint twilight.

It gets dark late in summer, but the cool breeze in the evening makes people feel very comfortable.

The black car was parked in the yard, and in front of it was a brightly lit off-white house, which still looked depressing under the hazy sky.The orange light in the window was reflected on the grass outside through the tightly drawn curtains, leaving a few bright spots with blurred edges.

"Hurray, Hitler!"

A young man in uniform stood upright, and saluted solemnly as soon as the two officials got out of the car.The neatly combed short blond hair seemed to still have traces of comb teeth, and it was almost spotless from head to toe, and the leather boots were also shiny black from shoe polish.It's just that the expressionless handsome face is as cold as ice.

The two officials returned the salute.The man turned around and led them into the house.

The servants lined up in two files to greet them as they had been told in advance.Noah von Seifert, the current commander of Auschwitz concentration camp, walked from among them, saluted and shook hands.

"Welcome. Mr. Enrich and Mr. Conrad who came from afar." Noah said.

One of them who was taller and more burly said: "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Seifert Lieutenant Colonel."

Noah spread his hands towards the young man who walked back to his side quickly: "This is my adjutant, Second Lieutenant Finn." Finn nodded and shook hands with the two generals, and the four of them walked into the dining room.

Candlesticks shaped like Poseidon's trident were placed on the long table.Even the silverware was dyed a faint golden yellow under the candlelight.

Noah walked to the head of the table with a calm and polite manner.Finn followed closely behind him, and wanted to help him pull out the chair, but was stopped by Noah raising his hand first, and he pulled the chair out and sat down.So Fern nodded and went to sit at the side of the table next to Mr. Enrich.

I glanced at it when I came in just now. If Jonas hadn't said it, it would be hard to see that the burly Mr. Enrich had a blood relationship with him.Conrad, on the other hand, was shorter and fatter, and sat down facing Mr. Enrich at this time, and the two sat on Noah's left and right hands respectively.

Such a situation made Finn feel that he was a little redundant no matter how he looked at it, so he had to turn his attention to the Riesling dry white wine that the servant was serving.

Fein doesn't drink a lot, but he doesn't show his face when drinking, and he always tries to restrain himself.In fact, every time I drink, I end up feeling like my head is sinking to death.But this time it was just to entertain two officials from the Propaganda Department, and he was more or less a foil, and he could go back to the camp to sleep by car immediately after eating, so he didn't feel too worried.After the servant finally poured wine into his glass, Finn followed Noah to pick up the glass, clinked glasses with the three officers in a polite but expressionless manner, and took a sip of the wine in his glass.

The taste of Riesling is on the sweet side, with a strong fruity aroma, which makes Fern feel quite comfortable.

"How's the situation on the Eastern Front?" Noah asked.His eyes were sharper in the candlelight, and the contours of his face were more resolute.

Mr. Conrad ate a piece of pickled cucumber as an appetizer, shook his head and said, "It's not very ideal, and Stalingrad still can't get it."

Noah nodded thoughtfully, cut a piece of smoked sausage, but didn't put it in his mouth immediately, but frowned and said: "That's the throat of the Soviet Union. If we shoot it down, we will get a lot of money." It’s just territory. Oil, food, these are what the empire needs. General Hoss is unlikely to capture Stalingrad by himself, and turning to the defensive at this time is not necessarily a bad thing. Before winter comes, we still have time.”

"Yeah." Enrich nodded, "Now we have to look at the Sixth Army commanded by General Paulus in the northwest."

Fein does not have as many sources of information as Noah, and he is already a little confused at this time to learn about news other than Auschwitz just by listening to the news.Fortunately, Noah and the others didn't notice his daze. When the steak tartare was served to each person, Finn finally found something to do for himself, and lowered his head to deal with the raw steak.

Noah and the three of them have been chatting with great interest, and the full wine is quickly finished.Fern had to drink with them, though he could barely get in on the subject, only occasionally answering some of Noah's little questions.

Seeing that the two bottles of wine that Noah took out had been finished, the voices of the two gentlemen also became louder. Even Noah slightly eased his usual serious expression, and spoke faster and faster.

Finn tried his best to maintain the same mechanical expression and demeanor as usual, but no one knew that his mind had begun to become dizzy.

But fortunately, since both bottles have been drunk, he is not in a particularly bad state and can survive until he returns to the camp, and then he can sleep until tomorrow morning.

Thinking of this, Finn cheered up and drank the last sip of white wine in the wine glass.

Just about to take a long breath, Mr. Enrich on the right suddenly said: "Hey, why did you drink so fast?" After a pause, he turned to Noah and said, "Mr. Feng Seifert, I'm sorry, Do you have stout here?"

As Noah nodded quite readily to invite the servant, Finn felt his heart sink into the wine he just drank with a thump.

"Cheers, to the Empire!"

Finn raised his glass limply to touch them, but when he looked down at the full pitcher of dark beer, he felt like throwing up, so he had to bite the bullet and drink it down.

The unique bitter taste of dark beer and the numbness brought by alcohol flow down the throat.Finn frowned, and tried to focus his shaking eyes on the pork knuckle on the table, but in fact, it took him a few seconds to react that it was a pork knuckle.His mind was so sluggish that he didn't even look at the clumsy Jewish servant who nearly knocked over his glass.

From the outside, Messrs. Enrich and Conrad seem to be more drunk than he is, drink a pitcher of stout, wave their forks like a baton, and sing "When People Don't Loyalty again.Mr. Enrich still put his arms around Fein's neck enthusiastically, but it was a pity that the deafening singing did not wake him up.

Noah kept smiling and sang together in a low voice.As the host, he probably drank the most wine at this table, but so far he has not shown the slightest sign of being drunk.Those hazel eyes were still as impenetrable as the abyss.

"... then we were never as lost as mortals,

"Preach the will of the Lord, and bear the name of Germany!"

The end of the last word dragged on for a long, long time, and Fein, who was already dizzy, felt a little lack of oxygen.The two officials applauded themselves enthusiastically, and Noah also clapped symbolically a few times out of politeness, but Finn didn't even have the energy to raise his hand.At this point he felt like a giant marshmallow.

Finn tried his best to support himself to stand up, although he could no longer maintain the straight posture of his back: "Sorry, sir, gentlemen. I'm going to the bathroom."

Noah responded, and he hurriedly turned and left.And almost knocked over a servant who was carrying a tray.

Finn bowed and stood by the sink, pouring cold water over his face over and over again. Even though he was a little conscious, it was only a drop in the bucket, and he was still completely submerged by the rising smell of alcohol.

He straightened up and wiped the water off his face.After all, I don't want others to know how uncomfortable I am now.For many years he has been deliberately hiding his feelings from others, domesticating himself into a working machine.He shook his head and turned back to the living room. In the corridor, he did not forget to straighten his hair and straighten his belt buckle.

It's just that he himself didn't notice that the handsome face that had been lifted up in the mirror of the washbasin before had already been stained with an easily detectable crimson color on his cheeks.

"...The recent anti-Semitic movement has been unprecedentedly intense." When he came back, Mr. Enrich was talking about this topic, "The propaganda work should be followed up accordingly. This is not a good job." Fein nodded politely. Then he sat down again and tried to pull himself together.

Noah nodded: "I can guess. The gentlemen in Berlin are busy." After that, he took another sip of beer.Just looking at this action made Finn dizzy, but the content of the conversation obviously attracted his more attention.

"Yes, Jewish animals with ridiculous armbands are everywhere now, and if you don't pay attention, you will become a target for the Gestapo. To be honest, I probably won't be surprised to see Jewish corpses on the streets of Berlin." Mr. Conrad Laughing gruffly, he bit off a fork of smoked sausage.

Fein felt his palms sweat a little, so he went to get a cold metal fork.His hands trembled uncontrollably when he took them out from under the tablecloth.

"So," Noah took another sip of beer, "I've been working harder recently. I hope they can repair that train, and don't make my people wait too long at the station every time.

"I will convey it to you." Mr. Conrad said, "As expected, there will be more and more prisoners. Now they are not only identified by their appearance, which is really unreliable. It seems that a special establishment The department investigates household registration or something—"

"Bang".Finn dropped the knife and slammed it hard into the silver-rimmed white china plate.This action is very rude at the dinner table.What's more, it made such a loud noise.

"Sorry." Finn said quickly.Some panickedly hid their fists clenched under the tablecloth.

"That's okay." Seeing Fein's embarrassing reaction, the drunk Mr. Conrad squeezed out a considerate smile and continued: "I heard that it was really found out, think about it, among us There are jewish bastards . . . well, it's a subtle feeling."

Finn felt a chill on his temple, as if someone had pressed a loaded gun there.When the coolness spread, he realized that it was a drop of cold sweat dripping from his hair.

He didn't want others to find out how nervous he was at the moment, so he lowered his head to look at the things on the plate, and just glanced at Noah at the end of the table like a momentary reflex.The man's quiet and resolute brown eyes didn't notice him. He was chatting with Mr. Conrad with his fingers crossed. His tone was as calm as usual, and it was not at all obvious that he had drunk so much wine just now.

Maybe it's just me worrying too much.No one will notice yourself at all.

——Then let them never find out.

Finn smiled self-deprecatingly.

That's right, as a person without a past, he worked so hard that no one would find out.

After calming down a little, Finn adjusted his expression and raised his head.Noah still didn't look back, which made him inexplicably relieved.

"...that doesn't contradict what you said."

"That's right," Noah said calmly, "whether there is hatred or discrimination still varies from person to person. If you don't turn your head and report to Mr. Minister, I am willing to admit that it is my personal subjective idea." I'm not particularly keen on genocide, but it has nothing to do with my job. As an honorable imperial soldier, I would be ashamed to disobey the instructions of my superiors. It is the honor of my life to dedicate my strength to the country. .”

Mr. Enrich raised his glass full of beer: "I admire your loyalty, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. I respect you."

Noah clinked glasses with him, and said indifferently: "Everyone who works hard for the empire is worthy of admiration. But to be honest, I am sorry that I really think that things here are not more valuable than the front line. Genocide, at least for the moment is too much. Too radical." After a pause, he suddenly laughed at himself and said, "Although I don't want to admit it, but when people get older, they really won't be as passionate as young people."

Noah is 37 years old this year, but he is considered the youngest senior official in the empire.After graduating from the Rietchfeld Military Academy in Berlin, he joined the National Defense Forces, and then was transferred to the SS. With his outstanding military exploits and ability to be as efficient as a machine, he has been promoted at an almost impossible speed in an open and honest manner.Among his soldiers, it was almost a myth.

His usual sharp demeanor and those perpetually piercing brown eyes make him look about 35 years old, or even younger.The two gentlemen Enrich and Conrad present are both in their 50s, so his words are obviously not just for his own self-mockery.

"...No." Finn, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said.And I don't know if it's because he's drunk too much, his voice is much louder than usual.The eyes of the other three moved to him in an instant.Finn raised his blue eyes and said loudly: "There is no need for a nation like the Jewish people to exist."

Enrich and Conrad were speechless for a while when they heard the propaganda they faced every day. Only Noah said calmly: "Second Lieutenant Finn, calm down."

"I'm very calm, sir." Fein said, "This kind of treacherous people who think they are invincible, it is best to let them all disappear! Isn't it disgusting enough to see what they do every day in the concentration camp? What qualifications do they have to exist?"

"Every nation has its reason for being, Finn—"

"Impossible!" Finn yelled directly and interrupted Noah's words, so that the two gentlemen who couldn't get in the conversation opened their mouths as if they were overly frightened. "What we are doing is the will of the empire. The ideal empire requires them to disappear, so we must—"

"Fin." Noah interrupted him calmly, "You're drunk." "I'm not, I'm very sober now. Sir, I don't understand why you defend them so much as the executor of this plan. Breaking the oath, I can't understand-"

"Fin." Noah's tone was a step higher than usual, but he still maintained a calm tone, and that voice actually contained an irrefutable majesty. "That's enough. There's no need to go on. Tomorrow you will regret what you said." Every syllable was extremely clear, without deliberately emphasizing a word, but Finn had difficulty responding.

After a moment of silence, neither Enrich nor Conrad dared to speak.Finn gritted his teeth and hung his head without saying a word.Noah slowed down his tone slightly: "If you said this to me because you drank too much, I don't blame you."

His light brown eyes seemed to be looking at Finn with insight, but he kept his head buried, as if he didn't even have the strength to meet his gaze.

In this atmosphere, the dinner ended awkwardly and hastily.The two officials had to stay here temporarily because they had nothing to discuss with Noah.Fortunately, there were already many vacant rooms, and the entire second floor was vacated for guest rooms.

"Sorry, sir, then I too..."

"Fin, come to my office."

Still in a steady tone.

Finn raised his dazed blue eyes, but what he met was brown pupils that were always unpredictable, unfathomable like an endless abyss.

The author has something to say:

Non-combatants please evacuate quickly.This is not a drill, beware!This is not a drill!