Ludwig and I sat on the couch together, enjoying the peace and quiet that filled the house, which was due to Gilbert going out with his friends. It had been a few months since Ludwig had proposed and we were halfway through the planning stage for the wedding. I had sent letters to my family, telling them to come over to Germany for the wedding and Ludwig had just a few of his friends coming to the wedding.

As we sat on the couch, I laid my head down on his shoulder and snuggled up to him. "Ludwig, can you believe that we're getting married?" I asked him.

"It's a big step," Ludwig replied.

"Yes,"

I looked up at Ludwig and smiled at him before leaning in to give him a kiss. He did the same. We were inches away from each other when the front door slammed open and Feliciano came inside. Ludwig and I both jumped as he walked inside. "Ciao Catherine~, Ciao Ludwig~," He greeted with his ever-energetic smile.

I couldn't help but smile at him. Feliciano was always just so full of energy. His smile was just contagious. However, Ludwig didn't feel the same way I did about the situation; "Feliciano!" He yelled, making poor Feliciano jump. "Vhat did I tell you about knocking before you barge into mein house?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Feliciano cried. "I didn't mean to get you mad! I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to spend some time together! That's all!"

Ludwig turned red in the face and I swear steam came off his body. "Feliciano!"

My Italian friend began to whimper so I decided to take some action; I walked over to Ludwig and said, "Ludwig, he didn't do anything wrong. He just wanted to spend some time with you."

"B-But Catherine I-"

I shook my head as I walked over to Feliciano. "It's no big deal if you spend time with him. He's your best friend."

"Gracie Catherine~,"

"No problemo Feliciano," (I had also learned some Italian from him).

That's when Feliciano gasped, as if realization had just dawned upon him; "Oh Ludwig, I heard that your boss wanted to see you. He said he needed to talk to you about something important."

"Okay." Ludwig walked over to the coat-rack and put on his green jacket that was hanging up. "I'll be back soon Catherine."

"Okay Ludwig," Ludwig waved to me one last time before heading out to his car and heading to his job.

I then smiled at Feliciano and offered him a refreshment from the kitchen. I had made some cookies from a recipe my Mother had given me and we ate them in the dining room. "Mmmmm~, these cookies taste amazing Catherine," Feliciano commented as he nibbled one of the cookies.

"Danke Feliciano. (I learned German as well) It's a recipe I learned from my Mother."

"Oooh, has Germany tried them yet?"

I looked at Feliciano in confusion and blinked. "Germany?"

Feliciano looked like he was panicking a bit. "Uh, um, I meant to say, Ludwig. Yeah, Ludwig!"

The way he nervously laughed made me wonder what he was hiding from me. "Feliciano, are you not telling me something?"

"What? No, no! I mean, uh," Feliciano looked around, trying to figure out how to turn the attention away from the situation.

"Feliciano, what are you not telling me?"

He gulped as he looked at me. Finally, he cracked; "I'm sorry Catherine! I didn't mean to lie to you!" He cried like crazy and I calmed him down.

"Then please tell me the truth."

Feliciano sniffled and then wiped his tears away before explaining things to me; "So, Ludwig has another name. His other name is Germany."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion but kept my mouth shut, waiting to ask questions after he finished explaining; "So, he represents the country of Germany. He's a personification. I'm also a personification. I represent North Italy~."

...This was a lot to take in. I didn't think that Ludwig was hiding an entirely secret identity from me. I knew he had a secret, but I thought it was something else, like he was going out a lot more with his brother, Gilbert, to get some beer.

"Are you okay Catherine?" Feliciano asked after I was sitting in silence for a while.

I nodded as I bit my lower lip. All sorts-of emotions were bouncing around inside me. I wasn't sure what to think or feel. I mean, my husband had a completely different life I didn't even know about. I mean,  I knew he worked for the government and military but I didn't think- Wait a minute...All of a sudden, I remembered my Grandfather's story about meeting Germany. Was this the same Germany from the story?

"...Feliciano, could you possibly think of a reason why Ludwig wouldn't tell me about this?"

Feliciano shrugged a bit before thinking. "I think it might have to do with other countries. No country has ever married a human before. If other countries found out, and if they wanted to get back at Germany, they could try and hurt you."

I blinked in realization. That made a lot of sense. Ludwig was always looking over his shoulder and checking around, as if he expected someone to show up. I always overlooked it but now it made sense. He was lying to protect me. "That makes sense," I said.

"Are you going to ask Ludwig about it?" Feliciano questioned.

"...I don't know."

**********

Later that night, as I laid down in bed, Ludwig was getting ready for bed. He sat on his side of the bed as he rubbed his temples. "Something bothering you Ludwig?" I asked as he groaned.

"It's vork. It's stressing me out quite a bit," he replied. He then laid down in bed right next to me, wrapping his arms around me. "I don't vant to vorry you."

I smiled up at him. "It's okay. I understand," I didn't press for answers. This secret of Ludwig's was something that I knew he would tell me about in time. For now, I just had to wait.