Tyranny of Steel

Just like his Journey to Granada, Berengar had taken a Clipper with him to the Kalmar Union. Throughout the journey, Berengar and Honoria had spent most of it within the cabin. The couple made up for lost time in their own way.

By the time they arrived in Copenhagen, the capital of the Kalmar Union, Berengar and Honoria were almost completely drained of energy; they had spent so much time in bed that they were in dire need of some coffee or some protein. 

As such, Berengar and Honoria were quite thankful when they arrived at the King's estate, where he greeted them with open arms. Berengar was initially cautious about such a meeting. Still, despite his worries, the King genuinely seemed to embrace the idea of Reformation, or at the very least tolerate it within his Kingdom.

The Kalmar King was a man in his late thirties with a long flowing golden beard and matching hair. His eyes were a pastel blue, and he had quite a large gut. This man was a glutton, as he weighed more than a man his size should.  Nevertheless, the man known as King Alvar quickly greeted Berengar with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Duke Berengar of Austria, your reputation proceeds you! Welcome to my humble abode! I look forward to speaking with you over the coming days."

Seeing the white-haired beauty standing next to Berengar, who was dressed in a mint green gown with golden embroidery, and a fur coat draped over it. The King's eyes instantly widened; this young woman was among the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and as such, he greatly desired her. However, the moment he gazed at her with lustful intent, Heraclius, who was perched upon her shoulder, screeched at him with hostility. 

Thus the King was started; upon seeing this, Berengar chuckled slightly before giving the King of Scandinavia a fair warning.

"I wouldn't get any ideas if I were you; that bird is over-protective of the Lady Valeria..."

As usual, Berengar used Honoria's disguise as a cover; since he was bringing her along as his plus one, he had decided to use one of the girl's aliases. Of course, Honoria now had two aliases; one was an ordinary orphan and a privateer who was known as "Valeria Zonara," and the other was the Lady "Valeria Melodia," which was a more enhanced version of her initial alias.

Until Bernegar could marry the girl as his third wife, he had to be careful about her real identity. Since he was bringing her along with him on his journey to the Kalmar Union, he had to develop a new noble identity for her; as such, he and the princess spent some time on their journey overhauling her alias. 

Luckily Scandinavia was so far away from the Byzantine Empire that there was no way to confirm her identity quickly. Thus the King instantly began to greet the woman known as Lady "Valeria."

"Apologies if I offended your pet, my Lady, it won't happen again."

To this, Berengar struggled to contain himself from snickering; as such, he grabbed ahold of Honoria's waist and dragged her into his embrace.

"The Lady Valeria is my lover, so I would advise you not to get any unhealthy thoughts about her..."

The intent was clear; Berengar was making a stance immediately to avoid any necessary drama; of course, the King of the Kalmar Union noticed this and immediately backed off. He had no desire to pick a fight with Austria, especially over a woman. 

Thus he let go of his thoughts regarding Honoria and helped Berengar and his host move into his Castle. It was now close to wintertime, and it was dreadfully cold in Denmark. Thus Berengar and his subordinates were appropriately dressed in fine furs. 

After getting settled into the same room Honoria and Berengar prepared themselves for the feast that was about to transpire. As such, they approached the Dining Hall where a large group of people was sitting. Catholics, Reformists, and Noblemen all gathered in the Dining Hall to greet Berengar. 

Upon seeing this, Berengar was quite entertained by the idea of Catholics and Reformists sitting at the same table sharing bread while the rest of the Christian world was at war over their minor differences. When Berengar sat down at the table next to Honoria, they all began to say grace. 

After that was finished, they dug into their meal, where the head of the local Reformist Church began to speak to Berengar as if he were a legendary figure. 

"Your Grace, I must profess that I am a huge fan of your work; spreading the gospel to all of the people of Germany was a bold move, and I admire your bravery."

As for the Catholics, they had rather sour expressions. Under the decree of the King of the Kalmar Union, all Christian faiths were tolerated, The King may be a glutton, but he had seen what was happening in Germany and Bohemia and dreaded the idea of such a thing happening within his own realm. 

Because of this, he had enacted law of religious tolerance and enforced peace between the burgeoning reformist faction and the Catholic Church within Scandinavia. Thus the Catholics were in a difficult position at the table, as they could not openly make a move against the man known as Berengar, "the Accursed."

Upon hearing this, Bernegar nodded towards the reformist and addressed his concerns.

"I believe it is essential for the average person to read the word of God and understand it within its entirety. There are many things the Catholic Church preaches that are based on the tradition founded upon pagan beliefs, rather than the word of Christ!"

Though the Catholics wanted to jump up in response to this comment, the King eyed them carefully with an authoritative gaze; as such, they calmed themselves and ate from the food provided at the table.

Seeing the Catholics behaving themselves, Berengar decided to bring up the topic in his mind as he addressed everyone at the table. 

"Seeing Catholics and Reformists sharing a meal so peacefully is precisely the vision I had when I started my reformist movement. Unfortunately in Germany, and Bohemia, the Vatican holds too much power and sought to destroy us. 

I am glad to see that you, King Alvar have such firm control over your lands that you can allow the peaceful co-existence of our two beliefs systems."

On the one hand, this was a compliment to King Alvar and the Kalmar Union; on the other hand, it was an insult to the Catholics, implying that they hold too much power over the laws of man and that secular rule was more important. 

Nevertheless, both King Alvar and his Reformist members of his Court were happy to hear Berengar's compliment, and as such, King Alvar began to speak to Berengar. 

"You honor me, oh mighty Duke of Austria; I have heard of your exploits; in the taverns, they sing songs about you as if you were some ancient folk hero. The man who commands thunder! That is what some of the bards are referring to you as."

Berengar chuckled at this remark before responding.

"I claim no such thing, I simply command thousands of men with thousands of guns, and their echo merely resembles thunder."

After hearing this, King Alvar began to laugh, so much so that he began to choke on the food he was eating. The moment he did so, the people in the room began to panic; before long, the man was keeled over, trying his hardest to breathe.

Luckily Berengar was in the room and immediately sprang to action where he got behind the man and used the Heimlich maneuver he had learned during his duration in the army in his previous life. 

After a few attempts, the King spat out the chunk of meat lodged in his throat and gasped for air. It took the King a few moments to realize what had happened; after doing so, he got up from his feet and patted Berengar on the back. 

"I owe you my life!"

To this, Berengar merely shrugged his hand off and replied calmly.

"It was nothing; I know you would have done the same..."

Despite knowing for a fact that Alvar was incapable of doing such a thing, Berengar's humble attitude in the act of heroism left a favorable impression on the Scandinavian nobility who had gathered at the table. 

With that said, King Alvar returned to his seat, where he began to make a toast before drinking from his chalice. 

"To a lasting friendship with Austria!"

Afterward, the people of the Court began to drink away their shock and chat among themselves. Though Berengar knew he would not be able to easily establish a military alliance with the Kalmar Union, this coincidental event was enough to help secure him in their good graces. At the very least, he would not have to worry about an invasion from the North for the time being. 

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