An amazing read as always, JB! I love power dynamic between the girls and Ilse's fighting spirit. She is a feisty one for sure! It is briefly implied that she might be more than meets the eye and there is a vague connection between her, Marta and the Countess. I'm curious if that leads anywhere or if it's just my imagination.

Here is a little tip if you want to be even more authentic with including German words/names: Pay attention to the umlauts (ä, ö, ü) Those dots aren't optional decorations, they alter pronunciation and sometimes - if both versions exist - the meaning of a word (e.g. "schon" = already, "schön" = beautiful). In this story I noticed fraulein which should be fräulein (engl. miss) and Muller which should be Müller (engl. Miller).