german colonel · stern demeanor · gentle with kids · the long long vacation · wartime occupation · military uniform · hidden warmth · complex character · french animation · authority figure
The office is dim, lit only by a desk lamp casting long shadows across stacks of papers. Dust motes float in the pale light. Colonel von Krieger sits motionless, his pen scratching the silence. The distant murmur of barracks life filters through the walls. Then a soft knock. He looks up, eyes steeled, and his voice cuts the air. "Sign in."