Tyranny of Steel

At the moment, Berengar was sitting in his study, overseeing reports on his desk. There were several notes of importance he had to go over. Many of these were focused on the procurement of resources for his vessels.

To accomplish this, Berengar had sent trade representatives to the Kalmar Union in Scandinavia in an attempt to garner an ample supply of oak timber. The reason for this was simple, Norway would be a massive stockpile of such material, and presently there was little demand for it. Thus he could acquire his shipbuilding materials at a low expense.

As for the procurement of hemp to use for his sails, and rope Berengar had already begun growing the product alongside flax for some time. Thus he did not need to spend too much money when it came to acquiring the amount he was missing from his current stockpile.

Berengar needed a powerful fleet of at least three ships if he would send an expedition to the new world. These ships would require thousands of sailors, and he could not purchase such a vast workforce.

Instead, he was at this moment officially signing into law the establishment of the Austrian Navy and had decided to purchase a few carracks from Venice to act as training vessels. They would be docked in Trieste, where he would funnel recruits over to the region to train as sailors.

He severely lacked in sailors for his territory. The Duchy of Austria, despite holding a coastline in the southern tip of Kärnten, an area that belonged to Slovenia and Croatia in his past life, had never bothered developing a Navy. Instead, they merely had trading vessels and fishing boats. 

Thus Berengar desired to hire some professionals, and in doing so, looked towards veterans of the Venetian Navy to act as instructors to his new sailors. The expenses for the construction of his Navy were growing by the day, but they had to be made. Without a powerful Navy, his future German Empire would never be able to maintain control over its colonies that would be vital to the success of his Dynasty. 

On top of all of this, Berengar had to design a basic training program for the Navy; luckily, he had a little bit of knowledge of the U.S. Navy's basic training program from his previous life; after all, he had an acquaintance who was an officer in the Navy, and they would commonly chat about the differences between Army and Navy life. 

Many hours passed, and eventually, Berengar had finished all of the necessary tasks to start the foundation of the Austrian Navy. After the last stroke of his quill was signed, he let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in his leather chair while stretching his muscles before expressing his thoughts aloud.

"The work of a Duke is never finished."

After finishing his work for the day, Berengar left his study and entered the dining hall, where he found Linde and Conrad in another conflict. The sight of which instantly brought a sense of fatigue to Berengar. He could not wait for this little brat to croak finally, but it could not be too sudden. Otherwise, the blame would surely fall on his shoulders, and the other nobles of Austria would be up in arms against him. 

Linde was furious. Conrad had said something that had visibly upset her, and she quickly slapped Conrad across the face once more before yelling at him.

"You little brat! Who do you think you are? How dare you call me that!"

Conrad's outbursts were becoming more frequent, and Linde was usually the one who had to put up with his crap. However, the following words that came out of his mouth invoked Linde's ire and Berengar's.

"You fucking whore! Just because you are sleeping with Berengar doesn't mean you get to lay a hand on me!"

Conrad's fists were curled as if he were ready to strike, and the guards were once more moving into position to separate the two; however, when they noticed Berengar's slow approach with a murderous glare in his one good eye, they immediately backed down. The Count wanted to handle this himself.

Just when Conrad was about to pounce on Linde, he felt an arm wrap around his little neck, and as it did so, it quickly began to cut off the supply of oxygen to his brain. Berengar had put the 12-year-old child in a rear-naked choke so tight that within a matter of seconds, the boy passed out. As he did so, Berengar slowly let the kid fall to the ground before releasing the chokehold. 

Linde gazed at Berengar with a cruel smile on her luscious lips; she loved it when her man took charge of the situation and hindered those who insulted her or did her harm. This was not the first time he had taken action to protect her against a violent male. She instantly got flashbacks to the time Berengar beat his little brother for his actions. 

It only took a few seconds for Conrad to regain consciousness, and when he did, he awoke with a fright; he had no idea where he was or what had happened; when his mind finally adjusted to his surroundings, he saw Berengar and Linde passionately kissing in front of him. Conrad did not know that Berengar had just choked him and instead glared furiously at Linde who was the initial target of his fury.

Upon seeing the boy's gaze, Berengar stopped his public display of affection and put on a terrifying expression as he glared down at Conrad. Berengar slowly kneeled in front of the kid and grabbed him by the throat with his hand, squeezing it tightly, but not tight enough to suffocate the lad. Afterward, he coldly stated a bold threat.

"If I hear you insulting my woman or see you getting violent with her again. I will end you..."

Conrad put on a tough facade, despite the intense fear he felt in his heart before scoffing at Berengar's words.

"Is that a threat?"

Berengar, however coldly shook his head before responding 

"It is a promise!"

With that, Berengar stood back up and walked over to the guards in the room who witnessed the entire display; he patted the man on the shoulder who was about to aid Linde before his interruption and said with a smile on his face.

"The Duke is tired; escort him to his room so that he can get some much-needed rest..."

Hearing this, a pair of guards marched over to Conrad and lifted him off the floor, where they then responded with the term. 

"Your Grace..." before escorting the boy to his room. All the while, Conrad threw a tantrum.

"Let me go! I command you! I am not tired; God damn it!"

After he was no longer visible and his screams could no longer be heard, Linde giggled slightly before getting in a snide remark.

"The Duke is tired? Really? That was your best excuse?"

Berengar laughed alongside his lover as he wrapped his arms around her and dragged her into his embrace.

"It worked, didn't it?"

After saying that, the couple resumed their passionate display of affection for a few moments; they became ever closer to engaging in carnal relations in the middle of the dining hall, that is, of course, until Berengar spotted Henrietta was sitting at her spot at the dining table with a sheepish expression on her face.

The entire time she was sitting quietly in her spot observing the situation, and now that Berengar was so passionately kissing Linde's breasts, she did not know how to react as such, Berengar froze into place before awkwardly addressing his little sister.

"Oh, Henrietta... I didn't see you there."

hearing this, Linde immediately began to blush; she had utterly forgotten Henrietta was present and had lost herself in the moment. As such, she quietly pulled up her dress which had slightly slid down her body while Berengar was toying with her.

After doing so, she quickly recovered herself and sat in her seat. Henrietta was frozen in place as if she had just seen a ghost. She had no idea how to react to the scene in front of her, and thus she just began to stare into her plate awkwardly.

Luckily not long after, the servants arrived, and with them, the food was prepared for Berengar and his family. This scene broke up the awkward silence that had permeated the air—allowing Berengar and Linde to recover from their embarrassing display just moments earlier. 

Thus Berengar enjoyed a lovely meal with his family, all while dreaming about the day he can finally dine on his glorious potato pancakes, as well as consume Bauernfrühstück for breakfast. Both of these things needed potatoes that could only be obtained from the new world. If not for the risks that involved hiring foreign sailors to explore the aforementioned region, he would have gladly done so by now. 

However, the new world and its discovery were of vital strategic importance to his future Empire. Thus he would never allow it to be revealed until after he had already begun to seize the most resource-rich lands. These were the thoughts that flowed through Berengar's mind as he dined in silence with his family.