Tyranny of Steel

The morning sun shined down upon the City of Kufstein within the Tyrolean Alps. Its warmth radiated from the sky above, onto the fields below, providing a much-needed change to the usual cold weather. 

Within this city lies a common Cafe, which had become fairly infamous for being one of the favorite places for the King of Austria to dine in. Sitting in one of its many booths was other than Berengar and his General Adelbrand. 

Berengar used the silverware within his hands to dig into the substantial breakfast; after taking a bite from the delicious meal, he swallowed it down with a sip of coffee. As he did so, the young King glanced over at the man who was accompanying him. 

Adelbrand was a man who was a member of the upper nobility and a battle-proven General. This was a man well renowned for his noble character and, in Berengar's eyes, his best hope at marrying off his sister so that she could live a normal life. 

Of course, the young General was utterly unaware of Berengar's intentions and thus was reasonably nervous as he sat in the ordinary cafe dressed in his luxurious Ducal attire. He was astounded that the King would eat in such a lowly establishment, yet he refused to voice his concerns out of fear of offending the man.  Upon noticing the nervous sweat that Adelbrand was brewing, Berengar put down his utensils and quickly got to business. 

"I'll be frank with you, Adelbrand. My sister is now of age to marry, yet she has no fiance. I have been having a tough time finding a suitable man for her to marry..."

Adelbrand sat in silence as he nodded in agreement; he had heard that Berengar was looking for potential suitors for his sister but never imagined himself as a prospect. Thus it took him a moment to realize what his King was requesting of him. It was only after Berengar looked at him with a suggestive gaze did the man finally get the hint.

"Me? You want me to marry Henrietta?"

Berengar was stoic as he expressed his views on the matter. 

"Since we are loosely related via marriage, and you have proven yourself as a loyal and valuable commander up until this point, I will be brutally honest with you. Henrietta has an unhealthy obsession with me, and frankly, I need a man other than myself to catch her interest. The fact that she is interested in me as a man and not as her brother is indicative of her high standards, and thus you are pretty much my only option to dissuade her from her current path... 

Now that you know my predicament, you are free to decline; after all, this is not an order but a personal request. All I ask of you is that you get to know my sister over the coming months as a suitor. She has minimal experience associating with men outside her family, and I am sure that with a bit of exposure to the opposite sex, she will quickly forget her infatuation with me and move on with her life."

Upon hearing this, Adelbrand was shocked, he had heard rumors that Henrietta had a brother complex, which originated from the other girls that attended her school, but he had never actually believed it to be true.

After all, the Princess was considered to be a Goddess who should not be tainted in the eyes of many young men. Though he knew this would likely be his only chance to marry royalty, he was still hesitant to follow through with Berengar's plan after learning the truth of Henrietta's affections.

Upon seeing the man's complicated expression Berengar sighed heavily as he revealed the extent of his difficulties. Since he had resolved himself to be honest with Adelbrand, he figured that he might as well inform him of the whole truth.

"I won't hide this from you; at the moment, I have found myself involved in a complicated relationship with my sister. To ensure that she won't do anything reckless, like a woman who has been rejected is prone to do. I may have promised to court her in secret. However, this was just a measure to buy me time to find a proper man for her.

Unfortunately, it has taken longer than I had initially estimated to achieve this. By now, she is getting impatient and demanding that I become more intimate with her. I must admit that I am fresh out of ideas to forestall any longer, and I am becoming quite desperate. I implore you to think about this mess I have created carefully before you get entangled within it..."

While Adelbrand reflected upon his choices, Berengar continued to sip from his coffee and dine upon his meal. If Adelbrand refused him, he was pretty much stuck with Henrietta, which meant that he would eventually fall prey to her desires. After all, he had never been able to refuse his sister; she was his weak spot.  After careful consideration, Adelbrand sighed heavily before revealing his answer.

"Since the King is making a personal request of me, I suppose the least I can do is court your sister. However, if she shows no interest in me after several months of me attempting to change her mind, then I will be forced to cut my losses and leave you to your fate."

A wide smile lit up Berengar's face as he heard this answer; he could hardly contain his excitement. Surely Henrietta's obsession with him was just a phase, right? Once she was introduced to a proper man, Berengar was confident that she would drop her incestuous fantasies and live a happy and normal life. Thus he quickly shook the man's hand and thanked him for his kindness.

"Thank you, Adelbrand; you have no idea how much this means to me; I can finally get a good night's sleep without worrying about my future and that of my sisters."

As for Adelbrand, he was not nearly as excited as Berengar was; from the tone of Berengar's voice Henrietta's infatuation with her big brother was no simple matter; in his mind, it would not be easy to convince the girl to embrace him as her husband and leave behind her wicked thoughts.  The young General could not believe that his King had dug himself into such an enormous hole; a single thought crossed his mind as he thought about Berengar's predicament.

Just say no, you fucking idiot! If you put your foot down and rejected your sister's sinful desires, then you would not be in this situation to begin with. How the hell are you the King of Austria and the most powerful man in the world if you don't have the guts to tell your sister that you don't want to be in a relationship with her?

After having this little rant in his head, Adelbrand sighed heavily before asking the question on his mind.

"So when do I get to meet the Princess?"

Berengar thought about this question carefully. Within a month, he was going to be going on a months-long trip overseas to the mythical land known as Vinland. During his absence, he would have to task Linde to watch over Henrietta and Adelbrand's encounters to ensure that nothing inappropriate happened between them. 

Part of the reason why he wanted to disappear was so that he would not influence Henrietta's thoughts while she was seeing Adelbrand. Thus he thought about this subject carefully as he came to a conclusion in regards to when they should meet. 

"Hmm... I suppose now is as good as time as any... How about it, do you want to follow me back to the Palace so I can introduce you to Henrietta?"

Adelbrand was shocked to hear Berengar being so calm about the whole thing. Sometimes he wondered how this man became so powerful when he lived life mainly on a whim. As the Monarch of one of the most powerful Kingdoms in the world, was there seriously no schedule this man followed? 

Nevertheless, the young General ultimately sighed before standing up from his seat. As he did so, he chugged the remainder of his coffee before placing it down on the table; in doing so, he garnered his resolve for the task that was to come.

"Lead the way!"

Upon hearing this, Berengar smiled, and he too finished his coffee before leaving a few silver thalers on the table as compensation for the meal. After doing so, the two men left the establishment and walked through the bustling city of Kufstein while flanked by the Royal Guard. 

In truth, Berengar was quite excited, as he hoped to dissuade Henrietta from the Incestuous path she walked upon and save himself the need to reject her outright. After what had transpired during the last time he left the poor girl, he feared what she might do, either to herself or those around her. Whether or not the couple could hit it off, had yet to be seen. 

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