Page 18 of The Last Kingdom

Jackpot.

“Now tell me the classified parts.”

“We’re dealing with a mystery here that dates to the nineteenth century,” he said to Malone. “One that partially came back to life during World War II and had been dormant until a few months ago.”

“And solving that provides us both with…opportunity?”

He nodded. “The proverbial two birds with one stone. Fox will do anything to have what we find.”

“And what is this silver bullet?”

“The Germans had a name for it.Das letzte königreich.”

The last kingdom.

Chapter 10

It is difficult to adequately describe the scope and breadth of my mission. It began in March 1873 with a summons to the royal Residenz in Munich. Ludwig II had requested my presence. I was acquainted with the king, having supplied him on more than one occasion with reading material. As director of the Bavarian archives I was intimately familiar with the royal library. The king was an avid reader, progressive in thought, mindful of technology. The two of us had developed somewhat of a rapport, though I would never have presumed to consider myself one of his confidants.

On arrival at the Residenz I was shown to the Hall of Antiquities. It had been built in the sixteenth century by another Wittelsbach and lovingly maintained ever since. I was ushered inside and told to approach the king, who waited at the far end, seated in a high-backed throne on a raised dais. No one else was present, which I thought quite odd.

“Come closer, Von Löher,” the king called out, motioning. “Hurry, good man.”

I stepped up my pace, but it was nearly seventy meters from one end of the magnificent space to the other. The hall carried the distinction of being the largest Renaissance enclosed space north of the Alps, once serving as a banquet hall and housing the ducal library. Ancient paintings adorned the highly decorated walls. I noticed ones by Peter Candid, Antonio Ponzano, and Hans Thonauer the Elder. I kept walking and stopped short of the dais, before a gilded wooded railing.

“Not there,” Ludwig said. “Come here.”

I bowed and stepped up on the dais.

“I have a mission for you,” Ludwig said as I drew close, his voice low. “One that only you and I will know about. Are you agreeable with that condition?”

I nodded. What else would I say?

The king leaned forward, close to me. “First, I have something to tell you,” Ludwig said. “It’s been on my mind for several years now.”

It sounded serious.

The king faced me.

“I cannot bear this place any longer.”

“This palace?” I asked.

“No. This land. My government. Politics. All of it.” The king paused. “I hate it all. I want a new kingdom.”

Had I heard right? But I knew better than to ask questions. Instead, I said, “But your subjects love you. Your very presence on the streets of Munich brings rejoicing.”

Ludwig rubbed his forehead. “I can no longer bear to be stared at by people, to smile and to extend greetings a thousand times, to ask questions of persons who mean nothing to me and to listen to answers that do not interest me.”

I could not believe what I was hearing.

“Sometimes, when I have read myself to exhaustion and everything is quiet,” Ludwig said, “I have an irresistible urge to hear a human voice. So I call one of the servants or postilions and ask him to tell me about his home and family. If I did not, I would completely forget the art of speech.”

The admission tore at my heart. The common talk was that this man loved to escape reality and surround himself with the splendor of a fantastical Middle Age. All agreed Ludwig had a wistful manner and was passionate about the arts, especially music. But the whispers noted that he could also display an irrationality, along with a demeanor of unspeakable sadness.

“Nothing here satisfies my needs,” the king said. “I feel so forsaken and lonely on this earth. Like a leftover from a better time, blown into the present, which I hate, and where I shall always feel a stranger.”

I still did not know what to say.