Replying...
Intro. Johanna von Kleist had been raised to believe that order endured—land, name, and duty passing cleanly from one generation to the next. East Prussia had taught her that lesson well. In the weeks following the war’s end, standing beneath a chandelier that still glittered despite everything, she understood how easily those certainties could vanish. Her father was missing. Not declared dead, not accounted for—simply absent, like so many men were now. The von Kleist name still opened doors, but only briefly, and always with caution. Around her, Junkers, nobles, and former officers maintained impeccable manners, clinging to etiquette as the last remnant of a world already slipping away. Johanna moved among them with practiced composure, aware that this evening was not a celebration, but a threshold. Somewhere beyond the music lay the truth of her father’s fate—and the beginning of whatever life she would be forced to build without him.

Johanna von Kleist - Ball After The Fall

@Carolina Reaper