Tyranny of Steel

Alexandros had a stern expression on his youthful face as he looked at the menu with intense focus. It was evident by the lines on the boy's forehead that he was having difficulty choosing something to eat. Meanwhile, the child's father was far from impatient, instead he gazed around the room with a hint of nostalgia in his mismatched eyes. Finally, after several minutes of indecisiveness, the boy placed down the menu and sighed before he gave voice to his frustrations. 

"I don't know what to get!"

A simple snort resounded in the air as Helena retorted to her brother's statement with a look of contempt on her doll-like face.

"That's no surprise. You never know what to order whenever we go out to eat. In fact, it weren't for dear old mommy Linde you would have probably starved to death by now..."

The young boy's face grew red with both embarassment, and frustration as he heard his sister's venomous words. As for the two siblings' father, he gazed upon their dynamic with a bit of amusement before lecturing the boy on his behavior.

"Alexandros, one day you will rule over the Byzantine Empire, and a monarch needs to be decisive in everything he does. However, you're still young, and since you can't decide what to eat on your own, do you mind if I tell you what I'm having?"

The boy nodded his head, though as he spoke, his sight never left his sister's figure. 

"Go ahead..."

Berengar smiled before placing his finger on a picture which represented the meal he was going to have himself. 

"It's a foot long crispy buffalo chicken sandwich, with pepper jack cheese, bacon bits, and ranch dressing. As for an appetizer, I figured I would order a round of buffalo wings we can all share together. How does that sound?"

Upon hearing his father's recommendation, Alexandros nodded his head in agreement. However, his excitement was ruined by hearing Helena's next remarks.

"That sounds really good. I'll have one too!"

After hearing such words, he could only glare at his sister, knowing that her reason for selecting this particular sandwich was just to piss him off. Despite the two siblings squabbling over petty shit. Berengar had made a note of the order, and when the waitress came around, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

A woman who was now in her forties was dressed in rather casual clothes as she gazed upon the Kaiser and his two kids. There was a hint of emotion on her face that only Berengar could recognize. She struggled to find her voice as she curtseyed before the Kaiser, a man she had known since he was a small boy.

"My Kaiser, it is an honor to have you in my establishment once more. Can I get your order, or do you three still need some time to decide?"

Berengar shook his head and smiled before handing over the menus to the woman. He gave her their order before posing a personal question to the woman.

"Helga, I'm surprised to see you're still working in this old shop. As far as I'm aware, you and your husband have opened up locations all across the Reich. Yet you still undertake mundane tasks such as serving?"

A smile spread across the woman's face when she realized that Berengar still remembered her, which dispelled the worries she previously had. It was over a decade ago when the man first introduced the sandwich to Austrian Cuisine. She and her husband had invested in opening up the world's first sandwich shop, which Berengar had attended on his first date with Adela at this exact location. 

The woman wanted to tell the Kaiser all about how he had changed her life for the better, but she could see he was sharing a meal with two of his children, and thus she decided to only briefly detail why she was acting as a waitress on this night.

"One of my girls had a family emergency, and because of that, I decided to pick up her shift. My husband typically runs the daily operations of the chain, while I act as manager in the original location. As for your orders, I will have them right out! Please enjoy your stay."

Helena gazed at her father with curiosity. She was wondering why the man had taken them to the old quarter of town, which still maintained the frachwerk architecture which was popular in the preceding era. To think that he had a connection to this woman.  Berengar saw the way his daughter was eying him and chuckled before commenting on his relationship with Helga.

"Helga was one of the original inhabitants of Kufstein back when it was just a small farming town. You may not be aware of how unimportant our family's lands were until just thirteen years ago, but the thriving metropolis you see today was entirely non-existent. Anyway, that's not why I dragged the two of you out to dinner. I want to talk to the two of you about your mother..."

The air grew stale as both Alexandros and Helena squashed their petty rivalry for a single moment and instead they glared at their father together. They had much love for the man, despite the fact that he was an incredibly busy person with a very large family. The fact that he was able to spend so much time with them was already a god send.

But these two siblings universally agreed on one thing: that Honoria was the worst among their mothers. Unfortunately, she just so happened to be the one who had given birth to them. Berengar could tell they were displeased with his words, and sighed heavily as he took a sip from his liter of beer. He wiped the foam from his mouth before addressing the largest issue at hand.

"I know the two of you are not exactly the biggest fans of your mother. Alexandros more so than you Helena. I'm not going to excuse the fact that she was not the most present part of your upbringing. However, your mother is looking to put that behind her, and be a proper parent to you and your younger brother. 

I'm not asking the two of you to forgive the woman for her neglect. I just want you to give her a second chance. By all means, you two can still consider Linde or any other of my wives as your actual mother, but I want you both to know that Honoria cares about the two of you, even if she doesn't always show it."

Before the two siblings could speak, Helga returned with a tray full of buffalo wings and several platters of both blue cheese and ranch dipping sauce. Berengar had a wide smile on his face as he saw this, before thanking the woman for her efforts.

"Thanks, I'm sure my kids will enjoy these."

The woman smiled and nodded her head before departing, allowing the trio to eat their meal in peace. Berengar did not wait for his two kids' answers, and immediately dipped one of the buffalo wings into the ranch dressing before taking a bite out of its chunky meat. 

Alexandros and Helena stared at each other. They both had words they wanted to say, but they were also both hungry. Thus, they decided to wait until after they had eaten their meal to give their father an answer. It would also allow them to silently think about their response.  After Helena ate her first hotwing, Berengar noticed that she had a bit of sauce on her face, and dabbed it off of her with his napkin. The girl pouted as she scolded her father for stealing her sauce.

"Daddy! I was going to lick that!"

Berengar merely chuckled and licked the napkin to further tease the girl before taking a bite into another buffalo wing. 

"too late!"

Eventually, the sandwiches appeared, and the two siblings devoured the food with gusto. They both very much enjoyed their father's selection. It was only after every scrap of food was eaten that Berengar gazed sternly at his children and asked for their answers.

"So, how about it? Are you willing to give your mother a second chance?"

The two kids stared at each other once more, and silently nodded their heads before Helena spoke up on her brother's behalf.

"We will give Mother another chance, but not for her sake..."

Berengar's brow raised a little as he immediately followed up to that answer with a question.

"Oh, is that so? Then may I ask for whose sake are you willing to do it for?"

In the next moment, the two kids voiced their thoughts at the same time, as if they shared the same mind. 

"Yours!'

Berengar washed down the spicy meal with the rest of his beer before even attempting to respond to this bold statement. After doing so, he sighed heavily before praising the two kids for their generosity.

"I must say, I have two great kids, if they're both willing to look over their mother's faults, for my sake... Very well, when your mother returns from her journey we will all go out to eat together as a family."

After saying this, Berengar paid the bill, and gave Helga a rather big tip in the form of a thousand mark bill. Despite running a successful chain of restaurant, he still felt the obligation to generously tip his server. After all, he had so much wealth that a mere 1000 marks were nothing compared to the service and meal he had received. 

After doing so, Berengar led his children back to the car, where members of the Leibgarde were ready to escort them back to the palace. Though Alexandros and Helena had not forgiven their mother for being absent in their childhood, they had decided to give her a second chance. After all, they both still had many years left as children, and it would be a waste to give up on their biological mother so early on in life. 

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