Tyranny of Steel

Weeks had passed since the Aztec Empire surrendered to the Germans and now Berengar had returned to his homeland with Honoria and Tlexictli in tow. For whatever reason, the Aztec Princess showed no symptoms of the illnesses the Germans carried with them. Whether the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan granted her a blessing, or she simply had an exemplary immune system, Berengar did not know.

However, the moment they stepped off the docks of Trieste and into the lands of the German Empire, the Aztec Princess felt as if she had entered an entirely different world. Hundreds of ships lie within the docks, many of them were naval vessels, and others belonged to merchants across the globe.

She had initially thought that Berengar only possessed a small fleet of such large metal vessels, but when she saw that there were dozens of such behemoths in Trieste's naval base, she nearly had a heart attack. If his Navy had such power, then how insane was his army? Berengar had only dispatched 1,000 men to Mesoamerica, in a rather foolish attempt could compare his feat to Hernan Cortez from his past life.

While Cortez had allied with the neighbors of the mighty Aztec Empire to defeat them, Berengar used only the power of his own army, and the disease he knew would spread. Berengar smiled when he saw the stunned expression on the woman's face before hinting to her that her astonishment had only just begun.

"You are impressed by this? Wait until you see the trains!"

The woman looked at Berengar as if her understanding of the German language had suddenly dissipated from her mind. However, it was not long before the trio boarded the train to Kufstein. Tlexictli had thought that horses were impressive, as her people completely lacked beasts of burden. Yet when she step foot on the Royal Train which travelled at higher speeds than she could imagine, she practically fainted.

As the Austrian landscape passed by her visage, she noticed other strange machines which were used in the massive fields of the Kingdom. She could not help but satisfy her curiosity as she asked about the function of such devices.

"Berengar, what are those?"

The German Emperor chuckled when he saw the childish look of wonder in the Aztec Princess's eyes, before responding with a confident expression on his face.

"Those are tractors. They are used to plow, seed, and harvest the fields. We used to rely on animal power to achieve this, however, as more tractors enter the agricultural industry, those old horse-drawn devices are now shipped to the other kingdoms of my Empire, or to the Colonies to be used in their fields."

Tlexictli gazed upon the massive fields that took up thousands of acres across the Austrian Landscape and could not believe that so much food was being produced by the German Empire. She immediately realized why she had lost the war, and that in reality Berengar was being quite generous with how few of her people he killed. She could not help but ask the question in her mind as she gazed at Berengar in a new light.

"Just how many men does your army have?"

She had personally witnessed the sheer destructive power in the hands of the German soldiers, as well as their loyalty to their emperor. However, Berengar's words completely went beyond her expectations.

"In my Army I have between two hundred and fifty to three hundred thousand men. That's not including the men in the Border Guard, Navy, and Coast Guard. Altogether, the Armed Forces of the German Empire consist of roughly five hundred thousand men at the moment."

Tlexictli felt like she was about to hyperventilate. Berengar had only sent a thousand of his soldiers to the new world, excluding the naval personnel to ferry them. If he had sent a larger force, her people would have been completely slaughtered. When she came to this realization, she could only think of one question to ask him.

"Tell me the truth, are you actually a god?"

A fit of laughter broke the silence as Berengar and Honoria both mocked Tlexictli for her question. The Aztec princess immediately pouted when she heard the Royal Couple making fun of her. After several moments, Berengar finally gave her an answer.

"No, I'm not a god. However, there is no person in this world who can challenge my authority, so you could say I'm not far from being one."

A look of disbelief filled on the Aztec Princess's face as she heard this. What she was witnessing on this train ride had completely overturned her understanding of civilization. She immediately understood why Berengar referred to her, and her people, as filthy savages. Compared to the technological marvels, wealth, and power that belonged to the Fatherland, her people were practically cavemen.

If Germany was so much superior to her people, then the lands she sailed by probably weren't too far behind. She immediately became thankful that Berengar had demanded for her civilization to become a protectorate instead of just wiping them from the face of the earth.

Eventually the train ride ended, and the trio ended up in front of the royal palace, where Berengar's lovers were quick to greet him. The moment they saw another woman by his side, they sighed heavily. Their man just could not keep it in his pants. They were about to go through the usual routine when Berengar introduced the woman by his side.

"This is Tlexictli. She's the princess of an Empire in the New World. Her father has asked her to act as a diplomat in our realm. Before you get angry, I swear that I have not laid my hands on her."

It took Tlexictli a moment to notice, but all of these women were Berengar's wives, and they were eying her as if she were a rival. Thus, she bowed her head in submission as she assured them there was nothing between her and Berengar.

"It is as the Kaiser has said. I am merely a diplomat who will be staying with you until his majesty can find me some quarters. There is no inappropriate relationship between us. Queen Honoria can attest to that."

Berengar's wives immediately glanced at Honoria for confirmation, which she responded to with a slow nod of the head. After realizing that Tlexictli was not one of their rivals, the women immediately became more friendly with her. Linde was the first to speak, as she walked up to her husband and kissed him in front of the new girl.

"Master, it has been so long since I have seen you, you do not know how worried I was when I heard you went missing!"

When Tlexictli heard the way Linde referred to Berengar, she immediately questioned it by whispering to Honoria.

"Master?"

Honoria could only sigh and reveal the truth as she informed Tlexictli of the relationship between the two.

"It's a sex thing..."

The Aztec Princess immediately flushed in embarrassment when she heard this and tried to avert her gaze. However, despite Linde being unwilling to let go of her husband, she greeted the newcomer.

"Tlexictli, was it? I am Empress Linde von Kufstein, wife of Berengar von Kufstein. Do not think that you can so easily climb to my position..."

The Aztec Princess merely bowed her head in response to Linde and remained silent, which was enough to convince the redheaded beauty that the girl was at the very least obedient. After Linde greeted Tlexictli, Adela did the same.

"I am Empress Adela von Kufstein. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Though Adela was pleasant on the surface, after her encounter with the savages in the caribbean she had an inherent disdain towards the natives of the new world, and could not find herself to trust the Aztec Princess. Tlexictli remained bowing and silent. That is, until Henrietta approached her.

"I'm Princess Henrietta von Kufstein, Berengar's little sister. It is rare that I get to meet princesses of other realms. Maybe we can talk later, perhaps over some coffee and pfeffernusse?"

However, after saying this, Henrietta ran up to Berengar and kissed him passionately on the lips, before hugging him tightly. This action immediately shocked the woman as she inquired about the relationship between the two.

"Honoria, aren't they siblings?"

The Byzantine Princess could only sigh in defeat and shake her head.

"It's complicated. I'll explain it to you later..."

The last of Berengar's lovers to introduce themselves was Yasmin, who carefully examined the Aztec Princess. After a thorough analysis, she greeted the woman.

"So you are a princess from the new world, huh? I would love to hear about the stories you can tell me about your homeland."

Tlexictli responded to this with a bow and a simple response.

"It would be my pleasure..."

After the women had introduced themselves to one another, Berengar led them into the Palace for a nice meal. It had been a while since he had survived on anything other than rations, and he desperately wanted to taste his wives' cooking.