Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar may not be happy about Ava's presence in his home, that did not mean that everyone in his household agreed with his opinion of the woman. For example, the moment Hans witnessed his beautiful young aunt enter his home, he ran up to the woman for a hug. As for Ava, the troubled expression she had on her face instantly vanished when she saw the young boy running to her screaming.

"Aunty Ava!"

If there was one thing Hans disliked about his biological mother, it was how distant she was to the rest of her family. He did not understand the full circumstances that led to the callousness between Linde and her siblings, but she was not on speaking terms with either of her brothers, and her half-sister had been married off to a Westphalian nobleman, thus they rarely communicated by any means other than letters.

If there was one significant perk to the Polygynous system that Berengar had implemented across Germany, it was that children had multiple mothers to look after them, and because of that, Hans had a variety of aunts, uncles, and cousins who he could get along with. Hans had met most of his other relatives in passing, but the only one he had really spent any time with was Ava. Because of this, she was his favorite relative outside his immediate family.

For the record, Hans considered Henrietta one of his mommies. Even though she was his father's sister, the relationship between Berengar and Henrietta was apparent to the young boy, and because of this, he did not consider her an aunt, but a mother.

Ava spoiled Hans, especially during the time she looked after him while his parents were away, thus when she saw the little bugger running up to her, she instantly smiled and latched onto him, accepting his childish hug with enthusiasm.

"Hans, it is so good to see you!"

Hans was honestly a bit confused about why Ava was in the Royal Palace, and after nestling his head against the woman's substantial bosom, he looked up at her with his sapphire eyes and interrogated her.

"Why are you here Aunty Ava? Are my mommies and daddy going away on another trip?'

Ava stroked the boy's strawberry blonde hair with a smile on her face while she shook her head. She pinched his nose playfully before answering his question.

"Nothing of the sort. It is just that me and my family are going to be living with you for a while..."

When Hans heard these words, he was excited. He enjoyed his aunt's company and had previously thought of scheming to get his father and the woman together. He was just about to grab hold of the woman's hand and take her to meet his father when the woman's husband entered the room.

Wolfgang was a decently attractive man, though his appearance did not compare to Berengar's. The man's good looks were one of the few reasons Ava had agreed to marry him, that and the position he once held.

One could say that Wolfgang's appearance was his only redeeming quality, as the man's personality was beyond worthless. Not only was he arrogant, but he was incredibly foolish, and had a tendency of upsetting those in power. In fact, that is the exact reason Ava and her family were forced to move in with Adela to begin with.

Wolfgang gazed at the little brat who had his head buried in his wife's cleavage and instantly grew frustrated. Not only was he an arrogant idiot, but he had also recently become impotent, because of this he had an intense sense of jealousy towards any male who grew too close to his wife, believing they would snatch her away from him.

The man briskly walked over to his wife and was about the slap the unknown child who was in her clutches when the woman glared daggers at him, and smacked his hand away. She quickly scolded the fool for nearly laying his hands on the Prince who was most likely to succeed the Kaiser.

"Wolfgang, you fool! What the hell do you think you're doing!?! Do you have any idea who this child is!?!"

Wolfgang was so stupid, he did not realize that the child attached to his wife was the Kaiser's son. Ava wished she could say she was surprised. I mean seriously, the two of them were in the Royal Palace, a place only the von Kufstein Dynasty, their guests, and the staff were allowed to reside. Hans was clearly dressed in lavish clothing and seemed to know who Ava was. Could the man not use his brain for two seconds to guess the boy's identity?

Hans was a genius. Though he played the part of an adorable little tyke around his aunt, he knew very well what Wolfgang had just tried to do to him, but rather than establish his dominance, he continued to pretend like he was an ignorant child.

"Aunty Ava, who is this man? Why does he look so mean? Please make him go away!"

Wolfgang was surprised when the boy called his wife by the term aunt. Even though he was a dullard with a brain that operated at minimum capacity, he could still surmise the boy's identity after such an obvious statement. Ava wanted to strangle her husband at this moment and quickly scolded the man for his actions.

"Wolfgang, just leave us. I am trying to reunite with my nephew, and your stupidity has almost gotten the both of us in trouble yet again..."

Hans burrowed his head into Ava's chest once more, pretending to be scared of the glare the man was giving him. This caused Ava to snap at her husband once more.

"Do you have shit for brains? Did you not hear what I just said? Go!"

Wolfgang barely managed to contain his fury and simply scoffed before walking out. Once he was no longer within hearing distance, Hans put on an innocent facade as he asked his aunt a question.

"Aunty Ava, who was that man?"

Ava struggled to smile as she informed Hans about the identity of Wolfgang.

"Unfortunately, that man is my foolish husband..."

Hans' eyes grew wide in shock as he heard this, though he wasn't really surprised he planned to use this as the perfect moment to plant the seeds of betrayal in Ava's mind.

"Oh.... Aunty deserves better, how about father? Do you like him?"

Ava's face immediately flushed red in embarrassment when she heard these words. Hans knew at that moment that he had hit the mark. Clearly, Ava was at the very least attracted to his father. He was about to go in for the kill when Adela walked in on the two of them. She had a furious expression on her face. Evidently she had heard what Hans had said, and glared at him with menacing eyes.

Adela was already in a foul mood after Berengar scolded her for not keeping her sister in check. Then her husband taunted her by declaring he was going to have a good time with his sister. Now she walked in on her sister, and Linde's scheming brat, who seemed to be trying to convince the woman to sleep with his father. She sighed heavily as she forced herself to calm down, before speaking towards the boy in a defeated tone.

"Hans, you really are your mother's child..."

Hans looked at Adela with a curious light. Had this little girl seen through his act? It was quite amusing that he would refer to as Adela as a little girl in his mind considering he himself was a small child. However, compared to all of his other mommies, who were taller and sported more curvy figures, Adela was indeed a little girl in his mind.

Truthfully, the German Prince had limited experience with normal women and their sizes. He would be surprised later in life to learn that Adela was also considered an exceptional beauty with an impressive figure.

Meanwhile, Ava gazed in confusion at the interaction between Adela and Hans. She did not know what Adela had meant by her statement, nor that she was being played by the boy. Despite Adela seeing through Hans' actions, she did not call him out on his game, as she was certain that Berengar despised Ava and would never sleep with the woman. Instead, she dismissed Hans from the area so she could have a private talk with her sister.

"Hans, your mother has made lunch for you. I think it is time that you go meet up with your siblings and have a family meal."

Hans smiled as he heard this before jumping out of Ava's arms. He had an innocent expression on his face as he responded to Adela's words.

"Okay, mommy Adela, I'll go do that, bye Aunty Ava!"

The boy waved towards his aunt as he ran off towards the dining hall to eat lunch. Once he was out of earshot Adela sighed heavily before commenting on Hans and his hyper intelligence.

"That boy has the bravery of his father, and the scheming mind of his mother. I dread the type of monarch he may one day become..."

Ava did not understand that she was being played by Hans the whole time and quickly spoke up on the boy's behalf.

"God, Adela, must you look at everyone with such paranoia? He's a sweet and innocent child. I don't know why you have to condemn the boy like that, just because he's not your son..."

Adela did not want to hear her sister's foolishness, it took a significant effort for her not to snap at the woman, instead she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before responding to the woman's slight.

"What would you know? Anyway, I'm only going to say this once. Stay away from Berengar..."

After saying this, Adela walked off, leaving Ava in a state of depression. She already realized she had fucked up by approaching the man of her own accord, even if it was to thank him. Now her own sister, who she was only just repairing her relationship with, was treating her like some sort of home wrecker. Why did everyone think so poorly of her?