Tyranny of Steel

Duke Hartman von Luxembourg sat upon his seat of power in the land of his ancestors. At the moment, the young man was twirling the white queen of his chess set in his hand as he prepared to make his next move against his old friend and mentor.

The man sitting across from the young Duke went by the name of Renault De la Roche. He was a Frenchman by birth. Yet, he had travelled into the heart of Luxembourg and swore his service decades ago to the father of the young man sitting in front of him. 

Since then, he had looked after the bastard of Luxembourg as if he were his own child. Teaching him the ways of Chivalry, and the tactics that a Duke should know should he wish to be victorious on the field of battle. 

Over the years, Hartman had proven himself a capable warrior and a cunning leader. In fact, it was because of his actions that the true-born sons of his father met an untimely demise. Of course, none of this had ever been proven, and to speak of it was slander. Which would surely result in the decapitation of whoever had uttered such foolish words.

Despite his natural intellect and charisma, Hartman now found himself in a difficult situation. He could not see through his mentor's play on the chessboard, and was only a step away from being checked. After spending nearly five minutes gazing at the board, examining every path to victory, he suddenly realized that Renault had defeated him long ago. 

It was then that the young man noticed the cruel smile spread across the veteran Knight's lips as he gloated in victory. Though such a sight always brought out the worst of Hartman's inner emotions, he calmed himself by taking a deep breath and exhaling before doing the one thing a man in his position could do... admit defeat. 

"You have bested me once again Renault, I humbly admit defeat..."

The elderly Knight broke out in laughter as he took a swig from his flagon of wine. Upon doing so, he gazed fondly upon his charge before commenting on the situation. 

"You are getting better, but you are still a ways away from defeating this old Knight."

Before Hartman could respond, a messenger entered the room and whispered something in his ear. Though Renault could not hear what the messenger said to his master, he could tell by the excited expression on the young man's face that something good at happened. Despite his eagerness, Hartman remained calm as he dismissed the servant from the room after he had received the complete message.

"Leave us..."

The messenger did not hesitate and immediately departed from the room, leaving the Mentor and his student completely alone in silence. Hartman took a sip from his drink before gracefully wiping away the residue with a hanky. After doing so, Renault broke the silence that existed between the two.

"Well... Don't keep me waiting."

In response to this, Hartman smiled before giving the good news he had received from his servant. 

"Dietger has relinquished his claim to the Throne! There is nobody else left to challenge my claim. That means I am the new king of Germany!"

Despite the good news, Renault did not react overly joyously, instead he scratched his chin as he thought about what he was told. After a few moments of silence, the veteran Knight quickly inquired for further details on the matter. 

"What exactly happened? I can't imagine Dietger would spend decades of his life preparing for this war, engage in a bloody stalemate for five years, thoroughly bankrupting his realm just so to back out at the last moment..."

Hartman did not hesitate to inform his mentor of the details of what had transpired within the City of Kufstein.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but Dietger has submitted to the rule of that pretender Berengar von Kufstein. The self-proclaimed king of Austria! Without Dietger, we now have control over most of Germany. Aside from Bavaria and Austria."

While the news overjoyed Hartman, Renault was far more cautious. Just what kind of man was Berengar von Kufstein? Though he had never met the Austrian Monarch, he was well aware of the stories that shrouded him. Then again, it was hard to decipher what was reality, and what was propaganda.

Still, it could not be denied that Berengar had risen from among the lowest ranks of nobility to one of the most pivotal figures in the Western World. Such a feat was rare in the entire history of the world. If Dietger had submitted to this man, then it meant that he knew something about Austria that they themselves did not know. Because of his cautious nature, Renault sighed heavily before speaking the thoughts that dwelled in his mind. 

"I dare say that this is not something to celebrate. You know as well as I do the propaganda that is coming out of Austria nowadays. Every facet of their society is preaching for the unification of Germany under a single Empire, ruled by the von Kufstein Dynasty. If Dietger has submitted to that man's authority, then it means he believes Berengar is likely to succeed in this endeavor. 

By declaring yourself King of Germany, you are standing in the way of Austria's vision for a unified German Empire under their hegemony. You are making yourself the enemy of a powerful man, one who has proven himself invincible so far."

The moment Hartman heard these words, his expression dropped significantly. Just when he thought he had won the war, Renault had to reveal that an even more powerful enemy lie between him and the title of king of the Germans. A scowl appeared on the young man's face as he asked for advice on how to proceed. 

"Renault, you have always advised me on the best path forward, and you have never failed me. I need you to tell me how I get rid of this monumental obstacle between me and my rightful place as king..."

The veteran French Knight relaxed back in his chair as he contemplated the most suitable path to victory. After several minutes of silent thought, he finally revealed the plan he had devised. 

"Only a fool would face Austria in open battle. In fact, the chance of you winning any form of engagement against them is virtually nonexistent. Austria has the largest, most well equipped, and most well-trained army in the world. Don't even get me started on their Navy. 

However, that does not mean they don't have any weaknesses. The Kingdom of Austria's greatest weakness is that until now, they have relied entirely on their King to achieve their wealth and power. Without Berengar, Austria is nothing. None of his children are old enough to take the Throne, and no man at the present can fill his shoes and lead them to glory."

Hartman gulped heavily as he swallowed the saliva pooled in his mouth. After doing so, he asked the question that was on his mind.

"What are you saying I should do?"

Upon hearing this, Renault's expression became grave. He leaned in close to his student with a stern look in his eyes before revealing the words that would resound throughout history. 

"It is simple... You must kill Berengar von Kufstein..."

Hartman immediately scoffed upon hearing this, before throwing up his hands in defeat.

"Kill Berengar? If it was so simple, somebody would have succeeded by now!"

Renault's expression sank further as he heard his student's protests.

"I never said it was going to be easy, but this is the only way that you can achieve your goals in life. Without Berengar's guidance, Austria will fall into ruin. With the King of Austria's death, his bitches will fight to the death to put their sons on the throne, further dividing the unstable Kingdom that he has built. If you kill Berengar, you will become the king of Germany. I promise you that..."

Upon hearing this speech, Hartman mulled it over in his head for a long time. Nearly half an hour of silence had passed before the young man concluded on what needed to be done. With a cruel smile on his face, he took one last sip of his beverage before boldly declaring his intentions.

"Very well. If that is the only path to victory, then I must take it. Berengar von Kufstein must die!"

Upon saying this, a tacit understanding had taken place in the heart of Luxembourg, an assassination plan to eliminate the young King of Austria, and defeat his Kingdom had been hatched.. Regardless of whether this plot was to succeed, it was bound to have dire consequences on the western world and the fate of the German people.