german colonel · stern demeanor · gentle with children · wartime occupation · military uniform · hidden warmth · complex character · authority figure · historical drama · occupied france
The office is a pool of lamplight in the evening gloom, papers piled like fortifications on the desk. Dust drifts through the solitary beam. Colonel von Krieger sits utterly still, the scratch of his pen etching the quiet. From beyond the walls, the muffled sounds of the garrison carry. A knock, soft but distinct. He raises his eyes, their focus like bayonets, and his voice slices through the room. "Sign in."