Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was off in the New World on another one of his escapades, he had left his chancellor, uncle, and father-in-law Otto von Graz in charge of his Empire. If there was one thing Berengar admired about the man is he had a work ethic on par with himself. Thus, it was no surprise that the man spent a significant amount of effort maintaining control over the Empire's various realms, and signing bills into law.

At the moment, he was looking at an expense report regarding the expansion of the train network. It had been over a year since Berengar united the Empire, and among his largest and most expensive projects was the existence of the National Railway. It had made significant progress over the past year and now connected much of the Southern German cities together. Currently, the department of transportation was requesting a certain amount of funds to expand the railway into Prussia's borders.

Otto carefully looked over the expenses before signing his name on the paper. After doing this, he stacked it into his pile of outbound paperwork, which would be later collected by a clerk and administered to the appropriate departments. After doing this, he grabbed hold of another piece of legislation and noticed it was an expense report regarding the Kingdom of Prussia.

King Eckhard von Marienburg was requesting an increase in funding for the construction of his shipyards. The plan was to establish a Baltic Fleet to maintain control over the Northern seas. After carefully examining the requested amount, he signed away his signature once more before looking at the next piece of legislation.

This next piece of legislation was a request by the Reichstag to approve the funding for a series of canals that would connect the Danube to the Rhine, and the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. Such a thing would increase trade via rivers throughout the borders of the empire and free up a large section of railway traffic. Thus, Otto did not hesitate to sign his approval for such a thing.

After signing this document, he realized it was his last piece of paperwork for the day and quickly pulled out a flask from his drawer, taking a hearty gulp of the fiery alcoholic liquid before stashing it away once more. A heavy sigh escaped the chancellor's lips as he complained about his lot in life.

"Berengar, how the hell do you get so much paperwork done each day? I swear to God, every time you leave on one of your adventures, I'm left drowning in a mountain of this shit!"

After saying this, the sound of his grandfather clock struck the newest hour, and the man gazed over towards its display in shock.

"Dear God, is it such a time already? I'm going to be late!"

After saying this, Otto quickly grabbed hold of his coat and donned it over his torso before running off from his office and towards a nearby restaurant where he had planned to meet two of his daughters for a meal.

By the time he arrived, the two women were sitting next to each other, and much to Otto's bewilderment, were being quite cordial with one another. Was he dreaming or were Adela and Ava actually on good terms? He quickly sat down at the table and apologized to his two daughters for his tardiness.

"I'm sorry for being late. There is just so much work I have to do these days. You can thank your husband for that, Adela..."

The German Empress merely wore a pretty smile as she assured her father his punctuality was not of significant importance to her.

"It's alright father, I know you are very busy overseeing Berengar's work. Ava and I were just reminiscing about when we were younger."

Otto stared strangely at his two daughters. They had never been so agreeable to each other since as long as he had known them. Ava was roughly the same age as Berengar, and despite this acted like a petulant child most of the time, whereas Adela had always been suffering from her torment. Thus, the old man could not help but question what had mended their differences.

"So, I have to ask, how exactly are the two of you sitting here right now, without making a scene?"

Ava blushed in embarrassment when she heard her father's words and looked away. Meanwhile, Adela merely chuckled as she drank from her glass.

"Ava proved me wrong. I thought she couldn't handle looking after the kids, but she did a splendid job while I was away on my honeymoon. I figured if I could trust her with looking after my children, then perhaps we could bury the hatchet."

Ava looked out the window and gazed into the bustling streets of Kufstein with an expression of awe on her face. She could not help but voice her thoughts on the changes to the city over the years.

"I can't believe that this is the same small agricultural town whose fields I used to frolic in when I was young. I will never know how Berengar managed to turn this entire valley into a thriving metropolis."

When Otto heard this, he reflected on how rapidly the city had been developed and nodded his head in agreement.

"It is truly mystifying. The man has proven me wrong on so many occasions, to think he used to be such a foolish and sickly child. Sometimes I wonder what could have possibly possessed him to become the man he is today... It is a damn shame..."

When Ava and Adela heard this last part, they looked up at their father and voiced their confusion simultaneously.

"What is?"

It was at this moment Otto sighed and glared at his eldest daughter before lecturing on her past actions.

"It's a damn shame that you had to ruin your relationship with Berengar. If I had known that Berengar would one day be the Emperor and legalize Polygamy, I would have gladly given both my daughters to him!"

Adela was shocked to hear her father say this, and Ava was overcome with embarrassment. It was her greatest regret in life, breaking her childhood engagement to Berengar and going after a dimwitted count's son. Now her husband was a disgrace, and her ex-fiance was the wealthiest and most powerful man in the world. Adela gazed over at Ava and saw the complicated expression on her face. She could not help but voice the confusion in her head.

"You don't still have feelings for him, do you?"

The busty, blonde-haired mother quickly went on the defensive as she denied the allegations, but it was not a convincing facade in the slightest.

"What? Of course not! He's your husband. I could never have feelings for him... Why has he asked about me?"

Adela and Otto gazed at Ava with utter shock. The two of them voiced their thoughts on the matter at the exact same time.

"How shameless..."

Otto immediately began to castigate his daughter as he heard such shameless words.

"Ava, you are already married. Don't get any idea of complicating matters for your sister..."

Ava immediately began to pout as she defended her words.

"I know that, but Wolfgang is such a dullard, and I think he's now impotent as he hasn't been able to get it up in some time... Oh Adela, won't you please share your husband with me, just once! I promise I will never approach him again after that!"

Adela felt like she needed a stiff drink after hearing this, but she would not do so. After all, much like Linde, she was currently pregnant with Berengar's child. Instead, the young Empress of Germany reprimanded her elder sister like their father had done previously.

"It sure sucks to be you, Ava, but you made your choice, and now you have to deal with the consequences. I will not share my man with you, just because your pathetic excuse of a husband can no longer satisfy you."

Ava sulked in indignation, uttering a single word as she dwelled on her life's mistakes.

"Hmph, it's just not fair!"

After she said that, Adela and Otto merely rolled their eyes. It would appear that Ava would never mature. Adela was not entirely angry with Ava. After hearing her complaints, she could only imagine how frustrated the woman was.

However, although Adela had become accepting of sharing her husband with his other wives and his mistress. She would never accept the idea of sharing Berengar with Ava. If she allowed such a thing to happen, the spoiled bitch would never learn her lesson.

As for Otto, he felt like he was about to have a stroke. Was he now so old that he was out of date with society? Were such conversations normal among siblings these days? Or is what his eldest daughter had just said equally scandalous as it would have been in his youth? He did not know the answer to any of these questions, but what he did know was that he needed a drink to cope with it.

Thus, the Chancellor of Germany immediately ordered a stiff drink to calm his nerves as he continued to have a meal with his two daughters. As painful as listening to these two girls bicker was, it was still better than the mountain of paperwork that awaited him on the morrow.