Tyranny of Steel

Having spent his wedding night with his new wife, Berengar awoke later than he usually would. After all, he had his fill of food and wine the night before and was in the mood to sleep in. It was not until roughly noon that he awoke to see Adela still asleep by his side.

The young woman was still tired from their joint exercise the night before. As such, Berengar kissed her on the forehead before rising from his bed and getting dressed. He decided to take the day off from his usual fitness regimen and instead approached the dining hall for his morning coffee and breakfast.

As he sat down at the table, he saw Honoria and Linde sitting alongside Henrietta and Berengar's two children. It would appear that they had been waiting some time for his arrival. His two lovers immediately began to inquire about Berengar's night with Adela with wicked grins on their lips. Linde, who was gracefully sipping on a cup of coffee, was the first to speak about this issue.

"So, how is the little Queen doing? I hope you weren't too rough with her."

Berengar chuckled as he sat down at the table; shortly after that, a mug of coffee was brought over, prepared in just the way he liked it. He began to speak about his previous night's conquest with a gaze of pride as he drank from the cup.

"It could not have gone better. She and I are very compatible; maybe it is because we're related? Who knows... anyway, you might have some competition going forward. After all, Adela is now my lawful wife, and though she may be inexperienced, she is a quick learner."

An enviable expression formed on Linde's face as she lightly bit down upon her exquisite lips. The truth was that she did not sleep well the night before. It was the first time in a long time that Berengar was home and yet not sleeping by her side. One could say she was dreadfully uncomfortable. At this moment, a brilliant idea appeared in her head, and as such, A mocking smile appeared on Linde's lips as she began to tease her lover.

"That is fine by me; Honoria and I had a girls' night, it would appear you aren't needed to have a good time."

Berengar gazed up from his coffee mug and into the eyes of Linde as he tried to determine whether or not she was telling the truth. Although he had said in the past that if he were gone and Linde ever felt horny, she and Honoria should entertain themselves, he had never actually expected them to do so. It wasn't until he looked at Honoria's confused expression that he knew Linde was bluffing. As such, a wicked smile appeared on his face as he called his lover's bluff.

"Really? Then I guess I will spend the next week with my wife; after all, I wouldn't want to spoil your girls' nights."

Linde began to panic internally; seeing as her attempt to make Berengar jealous had backfired spectacularly, she quickly thought of a solution to the problem at hand. As such, Linde grabbed ahold of her lover's hand before whispering in his ear.

"You are more than welcome to join us next time, master..."

Berengar chuckled in response to this and fired back in a flirtatious manner.

"Oh? But then it wouldn't be a girl's night, would it?"

Honoria, who watched Linde and Berengar battle each other with their wits, smiled silently as she drank from her coffee. After witnessing Linde's tortured expression, Honoria couldn't help but get involved in the affair and quickly began to side with Berengar on the matter.

"I honestly don't know what Linde is talking about; I slept in the harem room last night by myself. Maybe she got a little too drunk and hooked up with some random girl at the party, thinking it was me. As you already know, I am always willing to share you, daddy!"

Linde could hardly believe her ears, Honoria and her were supposed to have an alliance against Adela, and yet the bitch had just stabbed her in the back so ruthlessly. As such, she glared daggers towards the treacherous princess, who simply stuck out her tongue in response.

Seeing how the conversation was starting to get out of hand, Berengar decided to end the whole charade and accepted Honoria's request.

"Sure, Just don't let Adela find out; you know how much of a prude she is."

The moment Berengar said this, he heard a voice call out to him from behind and instantly felt a chill go down his spine.

"Oh, I'm a prude, am I? Just what exactly is it that you three are hiding behind my back?"

Henrietta, who was watching the conversation, remained silent once more. She was old enough now to know what Berengar and his harem were fighting about, and as such, she merely smiled as she enjoyed her coffee and her meal. Berengar had dug his own grave by having three women by his side, and now he had to lie in it.

Berengar immediately turned around to see Adela standing behind him with her arms crossed and a pouting expression on her face. He had no idea that she had woken up and snuck up behind him. As such, she smiled awkwardly as he attempted to calm his young wife.

"It is nothing sweetheart, Linde and Honoria were just telling me how they entertained themselves during our wedding night..."

The moment Adela heard this, several thoughts came to her mind, and she instantly began to flush with embarrassment. Berengar's words had worked like a charm because she immediately decided to switch the topic.

"So, what are your plans now that we are married?"

After saying this, she sat down at the head of the table, next to her husband, who was just glad to see that she had voluntarily changed the conversation to something more productive; as such, Berengar smiled as he drank from his mug once more. After doing so, he began to speak about his ambitions.

"Well, now that I have bought our Kingdom some time of peace, I intend to take advantage of it. Industrialization is the path I am bringing forward; with that in mind, I plan to build railways across Austria and Switzerland.

I will set forth a decree looking for the labor necessary to produce a vast network of railways across our Kingdom so that supplies and troops can be rapidly transported to every corner of our realm. It will take several years, but I have no doubt that it will ultimately be successful."

With this said, Adela stared at him with a curious expression; she had no idea what a railway was or what it was used for. As such, she instantly began to question Berengar about the function of such a device.

"What exactly is this railway you speak of?"

Berengar smirked as he took a sip from his mug once more before speaking about the details of his plans.

"A railway is basically what you might call a metallic road; on this road, a locomotive which is a steam-powered device, is used to drag train cars across the railway at high speeds. These train cars can carry supplies or people, allowing rapid transport across the Kingdom.

With this system traveling from Kufstein to Vienna, or Zurich, or Trieste can take a matter of hours instead of days. Thus, we won't need to build long canals connecting the River Inn to the Adriatic Sea. With a railroad, we will quickly transfer goods and people from our ports in the Adriatic across the entire Kingdom, thus stimulating our trade.

Of course, from a defensive standpoint, it is also exceptional, as the construction of railroads will allow us to send troops and supplies to any corner of the Kingdom in a mere span of hours. No matter where we might be invaded, reinforcements can rapidly arrive."

Honoria was the most excited of all to hear about this; no longer would she have to take the route of the black sea to return to Kufstein, she had meant to speak with Berengar about the construction of canals to make her life easier, but this seemed like an even better plan. As such, she could not prevent herself from doubting Berengar's words.

"You can actually make something like this?"

Berengar nodded towards his lover with a smile on his face before responding in the affirmative.

"Absolutely! It will be expensive and require a lot of effort, but it can be done. Luckily for us, we just acquired the Medici fortune and can easily afford such an expense. I have decided that the first section of the railway will travel from Kufstein to Trieste. To connect the Capital to our major port city."

Adela was equally as happy as Honoria to hear about such plans. If the railway truly connected all significant areas of the Kingdom of Austria, she could visit her family far more frequently in the future. As such, she had a broad smile on her face as she heard of Berengar's ambitions. If he was going to work so hard for the Kingdom, and its people, then she too had to help in any way she could.

With this in mind, she began to think about plans for improving the culture within Austria. As she did so, a couple of plates were brought to the table by the servants. These plates contained the breakfasts Berengar had ordered for himself and Adela. After the food arrived, Adela said a short prayer before Berengar and herself began to dig into their food.

As they devoured their food like a couple of ravenous wolves, Berengar thought of ways to begin the construction of his railways. He wanted them to be fully operational when the crusaders invaded his lands. As such, he spent the rest of the meal in relative silence.