Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat at his dining room table, sipping on a cup of coffee. Though he had just drunk a glass of the substance not long ago at the cafe, he was well known for drinking at least three cups of coffee a day. As he was sipping on his drink, he quietly observed the reactions between the young man and woman sitting across from him.

The King's sister had a scowl on her face as Adelbrand introduced himself, though she was aware that her brother had been working on finding a suitor for her to act as a cover for their secret taboo relationship. She was beginning to get the feeling that Berengar was not living up to his promise to be with her. 

After all, it had been months since the King promised that he would enter a relationship with his sister, and yet they have done little more than a hug and hold hands. The teenage Princess became impatient and wanted to be more intimate with her precious big brother.

However, as she began to pressure him, Berengar conveniently found a man to remove the pressure from his sister's actions. Thus she was forced to entertain Adelbrand for afternoon tea. Henrietta was dressed in a lavish gown befitting a young woman of her position, and Adelbrand was dressed in his black and gold full-service dress uniform. 

The medals that he had earned through gallantry were proudly displayed upon his chest, as well as the sash that signified him as a member of Austria's foremost order of Chivalry. Where other women might be impressed by these honors, Henrietta was uninterested at best. After all, when compared to her precious big brother, how could a man like Adelbrand interest her. Ultimately, Adelbrand was the one to break the silence as he began to address the girl with a cheerful tone. 

"So Henrietta, I hear that you are close to graduating high school. Have you thought about what you will do after you have received your education?"

This was a stupid question; she was a Princess and didn't need to do anything. Despite this fact, she did want to be helpful to her brother in some way; thus, she reflected upon this comment for some time before answering the young Duke.

"I will probably go to Kufstein University and get a degree in Biology so I can aid my big brother in the development of his Kingdom...."

Adelbrand sighed as he heard this; no matter what he talked about with this girl, ultimately, it would swing back to the topic of Berengar; he was beginning to understand why the King was so desperate to get her a man. Her obsession with her brother was something that would not easily be undone. 

The young Duke greatly desired to give up on his attempts to pursue the Princess then and there, but under the ever-watchful eye of the King, he would not demonstrate such a weak will. Thus he was forced to continue the awkward conversation that would inevitably speak about Berengar. 

"That's a noble goal; we could always use more scientists; I just never figured that a woman like yourself would be interested in such a subject..."

Henrietta scoffed in remark to Adelbrand's statement and immediately chastised him for his comments.

"Well, I have to do something to be useful to my brother. Adela is working on cultural improvements, Linde is the intelligence director, Honoria is a master of Naval Warfare, and Yasmin... Well, I don't exactly know what she does yet, but I'm sure she will be useful to big brother in some way..."

Adelbrand immediately wanted to slam his head on the table as he heard this retort; the girl made it sound like she was one of the King's wives. He did not know if she was intentionally being obstinate or simply unaware of how everything she talked about returned to the topic of Berengar. Thus he tried to switch the subject to Biology, which she appeared to be interested in.

"What do you like about Biology? There are plenty of other scientific fields you could go into."

Henrietta took a sip from her teacup before going on a small rant about the field of Biology and why she found it fascinating.

"Biology is the study of life and how we all came to be. If I can help my brother put an end to disease, which is the cause of so much suffering to the people of his Kingdom, why would I not want to get involved in the field?"

Berengar immediately peaked his brow as he heard this; currently, his biology department was somewhat lacking. After all, his Physician Ewald was among the head biologists in his Kingdom, and the man was far from the genius that Aldo von Passau was. Henrietta had a good head on her shoulders, but he had never expected that the girl would take an interest in biology. 

Ultimately Adelbrand nodded his head as he took a sip of his tea before responding.

"That is a very noble goal; though I don't know if we can entirely eliminate disease, I do believe that it is preventable; I can see that you care deeply about the people of Austria."

Henrietta smiled as she heard this praise; while she did care about the well-being of the people of Austria, her main goal in this endeavor was to receive her precious big brother's approval. She had a gleeful expression on her face as she imagined Berengar rewarding her with a head pat and a kiss the moment she discovered the cure to some deadly disease. 

The young King sipped his coffee in silence as he watched his sister's excited expression. He could guess what she was thinking about, but he chose to remain silent on the matter. After all, it was Henrietta's first meeting with Adelbrand, and he did not expect her to cease her infatuation with himself during her first encounter with the Duke. 

Thus he sat back and watched in silence as the two continued to converse; the more they talked, the more cordial Henrietta became to Adelbrand. She eventually dropped her ice-queen facade and actively engaged in a conversation about introductory biology with the Duke. Things were going quite well. Thus, Berengar decided to depart from the meeting. 

He would have a servant watch his sister and her suitor in order to ensure that they maintained appropriate behavior. After leaving the room, the young monarch approached the chambers allotted to his youngest daughter with his second wife. 

When he entered the room, he noticed that Linde was inside, gazing upon her newest daughter with a loving expression. Upon seeing this, Berengar remembered the conversation he had with Honoria not long ago about some of the more explicit behavior that his second wife engaged in.

He immediately approached the woman, where he proceeded to lift her dress in an attempt to see if she was wearing any underwear.  Upon seeing that the woman was, in fact, not wearing any panties, a devilish grin appeared on Berengar's face as he latched onto his wife from behind and whispered something in her ear.

"So Honoria was right, you do have a habit of walking around without any panties on..."

Linde's cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment; she had finally been caught during one of her escapades. Luckily it was by her husband and not some random stranger. Thus a smirk appeared on her lips as she turned around and wrapped her arms around her man's neck.

"Master, I have been a naughty girl; please punish me!"

Berengar was more than happy to take the vixen up on her offer. Thus, he led her to his room, where he gave her a good tumble, as for, Henrietta and Adelbrand continued their conversation for some time while the King was making love to his Queen, utterly unaware of what was transpiring on the other side of the Palace. 

Though they would not become a couple right away, Adelbrand felt as if he was off to a good start by the time their conversation ended. Little did he know that Henrietta was far from deterred from the path she walked upon. If anything, she merely thought of Adelbrand as a valuable tool to mask her relationship with her big brother. 

Though it was undetermined whether or not this train of thought would continue, either way, Berengar would make sure to continue to set up lunch dates like this between his sister and Adelbrand. After all, the more they interacted, the more likely Henrietta was to forget her infatuation with her big brother and live a normal life. 

Berengar knew that little progress could be made so long as he was around to influence her thoughts. As such, he planned to travel to the New World within a month and make first contact with the region's locals. As for Adelbrand, Berengar intended for him to remain behind in Kufstein and get to know the Princess better. There was much work to be done; thus, the King of Austria would stay busy for some time. He looked forward to the future that was on the horizon.

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