hildegard telling oberstein that a dead kircheis essentially appeared before reinhard to guide his decision-making (i forgot the exact wording and context tbh) was pretty funny (likely intentional, possibly to gaslight him imo). oberstein is so far removed from the theatrics of romanticized imperialism, and hilda being one of the only other figures arguably falling outside of this meta genuinely referencing how the ghost of the kaiser's lover thwarted his descent into taking a "dishonorable" path is fascinating. imagine telling your no-nonsense co-worker in the bureaucracy that your boss saw his dead spouse during work hours and is now making management decisions based on the conversation they had (many such cases in history). not excusing the flippant misogyny of oberstein's response (i.e. condescendingly stating that hilda seems to be "very romantic") but also how is one supposed to react in a situation where everyone in the workplace is just 100% accepting the reality of this alleged supernatural encounter as if they all hired a medium to confirm that kircheis's spirit is truly able to communicate with reinhard the day before (do you think obie seriously contemplated resigning after this).
