Tyranny of Steel

The War of Austrian Independence finally ended, and to nobody's surprise, The Kingdom of Austria was overwhelmingly victorious. After the siege of Florence that left hundreds of thousands of Italians dead, Berengar successfully signed a peace treaty in the ruined city.

Those few who were fortunate enough to survive the bombardment would have to deal with Austrian occupation until the total wealth of the Medici Family was transferred back to the Austrian Royal Treasury.

As for Berengar, he returned home immediately after the peace treaty was signed between himself and the Holy Roman Emperor. Today was the day he returned to the city of Kufstein, and when he and his soldiers entered the town, they were shocked to see that a large ceremony had been organized in the streets to welcome the Heroes of Austria back to the Capital.

Berengar waved to the crowd on horseback as he stood at the front of the formation, leading them through the city's gates and into the walls. Women from all walks of life had gathered to toss flowers at the feet of the returning veterans who had given their all for a free and independent Austria.

Eventually, Berengar's army or at least those souls who came from Kufstein reached the city's center, where they broke ranks and returned to their homes. As for Berengar, he approached the walls of the newly constructed Royal Palace of Austria.

After several years of construction and several iterations in designs, the new home for Berengar and his family was finally finished. The result was a massive palace based upon the creation of the Schönbrunn Palace from Berengar's previous life.

Over the past few years, Berengar's grand architectural designs had shifted from the style of the renaissance in nature to that of Baroque. This included not only his Palace but also the Grand Cathedral that was nearly complete.

In Berengar's past life, Baroque Architecture was created in the early 17th Century by the Catholic Church in an attempt to combat the growing reformation. Berengar thus decided that in this life, he would use the Catholic Church's tactics against them.

Thus all of his major Architectural feats, such as his Palace and the Grand Cathedral of Kufstein, and Adela's efforts to introduce cultural centers such as concert halls and art galleries were now being constructed in the Baroque style.

After gazing upon his finished mighty Palace, a smile appeared on Berengar's lips as he passed through the gates handled by a unit of his grenadiers and pressed onwards into the Palace Grounds.

After arriving at the fountain in the front of the yard, Berengar noticed Honoria was sitting upon its edge, skimming the surface with her hands; she was not dressed in her usual practical attire. Instead, she was clothed in a mint green and gold dress. She was dolled up in a decent amount of makeup which highlighted her natural beauty.

Heraclius, her pet eagle, was perched upon the Princesses shoulder and glared at Berengar as he entered the scene. When Berengar saw one of his women who he had had not been with for some time, he hopped down from his mount and approached the girl who had not yet noticed his presence.

It was only after Heraclius cawed at Berengar that Honoria shifted her attention from the magnificent fountain to that of her lover, who was standing a few feet away from her. She was well aware that Berengar would be arriving home today and thus had waited for him in the palace gardens for well over an hour.

After seeing her man, clad in his armor, returning home from the war as a conquering hero, Honoria could not contain her pent-up desire and rushed into Berengar's arms, where she immediately planted a kiss upon his lips.

Unlike Linde and Adela, Berengar had worried about Honoria's safety while she was away. However, she was unaware, he had spies embedded on her ship who constantly watched over her, and as such, Berengar was always aware of the battles she had fought and the effect she had on the war effort.

Despite her immense success in the art of privateering, Berengar never stopped worrying about Honoria's safety. With this in mind, he eagerly accepted her embrace as he began groping at her chest, shoving his hand through the exposed portion of her dress and wrapping it around her substantial bosom. Honoria did not resist in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Heraclius hopped off Honoria's shoulder and perched himself upon the fountain, where he shifted his gaze from the passionate display that the couple was engaging in. At this moment, Berengar noticed Honoria's breasts were bigger than they used to be, and as such, he whispered in her ears the following words.

"You have grown since our last encounter; I can't wait to see what you look like under that dress!"

Though Honoria was eager to show off her improved figure, she was unfortunately not able to do so as after Berengar had said these words, the couple who were immersed in each other's presence heard a sound from a mere few feet away.

"Ahem..."

This immediately caused Berengar and Honoria to break up their intimate gestures and search for the origins of the sound. Adela and Linde were standing nearby where Berengar's little fiancee was pouting with her arms crossed, while his other lover smiled with a sultry expression. She, too, wanted to join in on Berengar and Honoria's fun. Unfortunately, Adela was present, so she would not have the ability to do so.

Noticing his two other women standing nearby, Berengar shamelessly walked over to Adela and picked her up in the air, swinging her around before planting a kiss on her luscious pink lips. After placing her down, he said the words he knew she wanted to hear the most.

"Adela! I missed you so much!"

Though Adela was still furious that Honoria was the first to greet Berengar upon his arrival, she was no longer mad at him for allowing himself to be taken advantage of. After seeing the cute expression on Adela's face, he patted her head before walking over to Linde, who was biting her lip in jealousy.

He immediately grabbed ahold of her and tucked her into his embrace; However, it was far from comfortable due to the massive amount of steel that covered his upper body; still, Linde enjoyed the hug, where Berengar planted one hand on her plump bottom before kissing her as well.

It was only after this that Berengar noticed Henrietta was standing nearby; she was dressed in a pastel pink dress with gold accents and was staring at Berengar with a sheepish expression; despite being nearly fourteen at the moment, the girl was still shy, even around her brother.

As such, Berengar let go of Linde and patted Henrietta's head before hugging her. As he did so, Henrietta flushed with embarrassment before whispering in a voice so low Berengar almost didn't hear it.

"Welcome home, big brother..."

After releasing Henrietta, a broad smile spread upon Berengar's lips as he gazed off into the distance at the massive Palace that had been constructed for himself and his family. As such, he made a suggestion to the four young women around him.

"Shall we head inside? I very much wish to get out of this clunky attire and witness my new home for myself!"

The four girls all nodded their heads silently before they followed Berengar into the house. Heraclius stayed out in the garden as he watched the small party depart for the building; he shook his head as he did so before taking off in flight. Where he would go and what he would do while his master socialized with her lover and rivals would remain unknown.

When Berengar and the girls finally entered the Palace, they reacted with different expressions; However, the girls had been living in the exquisite Palace for a few weeks now; it was Berengar's first time witnessing such a grand display of luxury in person.

He had seen pictures on the internet of various European palaces in his past life but never had he stepped foot inside one of the magnificent abodes himself. Now he had one of his own, and it was indeed everything he expected it to be. The level of detail that went into its construction did not go unnoticed.

As such, he spent some time searching every corner of the mega-structure before finally making his way to his room, where he stripped out of his armor and put on some more comfortable attire. After months of brutal warfare, he was finally reunited with his loved ones, and he fully intended to enjoy the moment. After dressing in some comfortable clothing he spent the rest of the day with his lovers and his sister.

As for what occurred in the night, that was left between Honoria, Linde, and Berengar. Despite being of age, Adela chose to wait for her wedding night until she gave her chastity to the man she loved. To a religious girl like her, some things were sacred.