"Let me introduce you. This is Stephanie Malik, heir to the Malik family. You should know that her father was once a member of the World Security Council and has now joined the Council on Foreign Relations. The Malik family is responsible for providing official identities as cover for the City of Immortals. Stephanie is also an important assistant of mine and has been of great help in acquiring assets within Latveria."
Stephanie had long known that Salomon was expecting an important guest, but when she entered the office, the terrible scars on Victor von Doom's face still startled her. Though she concealed it with courtesy, the discomfort in her expression was obvious. She could hardly be blamed. Without his iron mask, Victor von Doom's face was scarcely distinguishable from that of a leper, a horrifying sight that could frighten anyone. He had originally only been disfigured in a school laboratory accident, but at Kamar-Taj, he had pressed an iron mask that had not yet cooled onto his face, enduring immense pain through sheer, unwavering willpower. That will came from his desire to save his homeland. He removed the iron mask only before a select few, such as the Sorcerer Supreme, Salomon, Mordo, and Cassilius.
Victor von Doom gave Stephanie a long, deep look, then put the iron mask back on and breathed through its grille and filters.
"My lord, I heard that you intend to start a war," Stephanie said, slightly out of breath.
She was the head of the Internal Affairs Department. Although she had always known that Salomon's ideals would have to be realized through war, and that the City of Immortals had been producing weapons and equipment all along, when the day of declaration finally came, it still felt unreal to her.
"Yes, a modern war.