Tyranny of Steel

As Conrad, Elma, and the other agent slowly made their way to Kufstein and the sanctuary it provided. Berengar was on his way to Graz, where he had planned to meet with his Uncle and discuss his plans for the future. Albeit not to their fullest extent, after all, poisoning Conrad after assuming the position of Regent was not exactly something he wanted to become public knowledge.

However, Berengar also had a far more critical goal at the moment, and that was to meet with Adela; it had been many months since he was last able to see her cute little face, and he was beginning to wonder how much she had grown in this time. Thus, in all reality, the meeting with Otto was a cover so that he could spend some time with his cute little fiancee. For this meeting, he had left Linde behind in Kufstein; after all, he was pretty sure that Count Otto would disapprove of him bringing his lover and bastard son to the meeting.

As Berengar and his Caravan approached the city of Graz, they could tell that it had seen better days. Despite the fact that the city of Graz had not been besieged; the flames of war had ravaged many of the surrounding areas, which provided it with supplies, and as such, the people were struggling to feed themselves. When the city guards noticed the banners of House von Kufstein flying in the wind, they quickly went to inform their Liege that Count Berengar of Tyrol had arrived. Of course, Count Otto was already aware that Berengar would be traveling to Kufstein; Berengar had made sure to inform him of his visit, as such, he was welcomed into the city with open arms.

Before long, he and his caravan had reached the castle, where he stepped out of the Carriage and greeted Count Otto at the footsteps of his castle. The man had an amiable smile on his face as he welcomed his nephew and future son-in-law.

"Berengar, my boy, it is good to see you. How is your father doing?"

Berengar smiled as he returned his Uncle's greeting.

"Though I have not had the time to visit my parents, I have received regular reports from the staff who tends to their needs, and they seem to be adjusting quite well to life in the countryside. Naturally, they are sufficiently protected from the potential invasion which tries to break into my lands as we speak. "

Hearing this news Count Otto and his wife Wanda smiled; it was good to hear that their relatives were doing well. As for Adela, she was standing in line with her other siblings, ready to greet Berengar; however, before she could do so, Ava stepped forward with a sultry smile on her face and began to analyze Berengar's appearance from head to toe. She was deeply filled with regret that she was not engaged to her cousin when they were younger. Though he was sickly in the past, he had grown into an exceptionally handsome man and was far more fit to be her husband. The moment the woman stepped forward, she embraced Berengar as if she had seen her long-lost lover. She made sure to press her ample bosom, which was even mightier than Linde's, into his chest; this was an act of provocation to mess with Adela's head; as she did so, the young woman cupped Berengar's face into her hands and gave her greeting to Berengar.

"Dearest me, is that you, Berengar? You have grown so handsome over the years; I remember that you could not even stomach meat when you were so sickly! Surely times have changed."

Berengar did not fall for her tricks; he quickly spotted the upset appearance on Adela's face and could guess Ava was using him to torment her little sister. Berengar promptly released himself from Ava's grip and hardly paid her any attention at all. After all, Ava's breasts may be larger than Linde's, but Linde's had a better shape and firmness; he could quickly tell such a thing just from having the woman press up against him. Instead, he merely accepted her greeting with a nod before pushing her aside to visit Adela.

The act greatly infuriated Ava, she thought she could use her figure to seduce Berengar and thus cause Adela some mental anguish, yet it turned out the man had no interest in her. Was he a lolicon? Of course, she had no way of knowing that Berengar was not easily impressed by Ava's attempts after being with Linde for so long. After approaching Adela, Berengar wrapped his arms around the girl and openly declared his affection for her, which caused her face to flush in embarrassment.

"My sweet little Adela, I have missed you so much!"

When Berengar hugged the girl, he made sure to check up on her development, and as such, he noticed that her chest had grown a bit larger from the last time he had seen her, which greatly pleased him for he was not, in fact, a lolicon. Of course, he would not reveal such thoughts, nor his unscrupulous actions, and instead, he merely presented himself as someone who missed his fiancee a great deal.

After latching onto Adela for quite some time, she nearly passed out from embarrassment before she was finally able to address the man she loved. Eventually, she found her voice, but she stuttered as she tried to present her jumbled thoughts.

"m... me too!"

ultimately she ended up muttering the phrase, and Berengar decided to tease his little fiancee by letting go of her and acting as if she had not heard what he said; in the process, he created some distance to allow her to state it clearly for everyone.

"I'm sorry I did not hear you. Could you repeat that?"

Ava immediately noticed the mind games Berengar was playing with her little sister and found Berengar's character to complement her own, thus making her frown in jealousy. Adela struggled with the embarrassing situation she found herself in, and eventually, she just blurted out her thoughts.

"I said I missed you too, okay!"

Afterward, she immediately began to pout, which caused Berengar to chuckle; Adela was just too cute when she was upset. Seeing the young couple getting along so well, Count Otto was incredibly pleased; it appeared as if Berengar still treated Adela well despite his infidelities; as for the Countess, she was even happier at the sight of Berengar and Adela's little "dispute" to her it was a sign that they were meant for each other. However, she glared at Ava and her attempts to seduce Berengar; even if it was meant only as a means to provoke Adela, the young woman had gone too far. Luckily Berengar had seen through her actions and merely chose not to entertain such illicit behavior.

After saying their initial greetings, Count Otto made a suggestion.

"Berengar, you must be weary from your journey; how about we all sit down at the table and discuss your journey over a feast?"

Berengar smiled and nodded while holding Adela's hand before replying.

"Lead the way."

With that, the group of nobles entered the castle and approached the dining hall, where they sat down in their respective seats. Ava's husband Wolfgang had witnessed her overly affectionate display when she greeted Berengar. As such was not happy with her performance, yet he was too dull to realize that it was not an earnest seduction attempt, but just a means to irritate her little sister; as such, he did not say much during the initial portion of the meal. As for Berengar, he dined upon the delicacies which Adela had brought back the recipes from Kufstein. The chefs in this castle were every bit as talented as the ones in his own, and as such, he thoroughly enjoyed the meal presented to him. As for the beer, it was still the standard light beer brewed everywhere in Europe; it was not the grandiose doppelbock or Oktoberfest beers in which he had brewed in his domain. However, it was enough to satisfy his thirst.

While sitting at the table, enjoying his meal Count Otto began to discuss with Berengar about his trip from Kufstein to Steiermark; after all, to get to the Count's territory, he had to pass through Bavarian occupied territory.

"So, how was your journey? I hope it was not exceptionally dangerous..."

Berengar shook his head as he dug into the beef rouladen sitting on his plate before answering the question.

"Not exceptionally so, there was an attack on my caravan, but with the firepower I brought with me, the Bavarians were easily repelled. There's a reason I brought so many troops with me; it seems that Salzburg has completely fallen to the Bavarians, or at least to the degree that the roads and the forts between them are under Bavarian occupation, whoever the Count of that region is, has surely failed in his duties."

Berengar was aware that Ava's husband was the Count of Salzburg and was actively taking a jab at him; in his opinion, it was utterly disgraceful for the man to stay hiding in Graz while his brother was left to fend for the region in which Wolfgang was responsible for. As such Berengar was not afraid to insult the man directly to his face. As for Wolfgang, he was scowling at the remark. However, everyone else present at the table agreed with Berengar's statement, even if Wolfgang was too dull to realize it. Instead, the man lashed out at Berengar and used one of Ava's talking points that she had always used to scold Adela.

"If your army is so capable, why have you not brought stability to all of Austria. Instead, you hide in Tyrol like a coward!"

Berengar smirked as he heard such a poorly thought-out response, he was more than happy to spar with this man verbally. Wolfgang was clearly out of his league; as such, Berengar responded in a condescending tone as if he was educating a moron about the art of war.

"My troops are needed to protect my borders from constant invasion; even though I am working overtime to draft new troops, these things take time; I can't just create an army out of thin air. Do not worry, boy; I will have won this war by the year's end."

Berengar, being several years younger than Wolfgang, called him "boy," which greatly outraged the man. However, Wolfgang could not think of a retort to such a well-thought-out statement. Instead, he merely gnashed his teeth and accepted his loss. Ava was outright disgusted with her husband's stupidity for fighting with Berengar in a war of words; after all, the man was well renowned for his quick wit. As for Adela, she was chuckling while sitting next to Berengar; the whole situation was funny to her. After this brief exchange of insults, the dust had settled, and Berengar was able to enjoy a fine meal with his fiancee; he would discuss his plans with Otto at a later date. As for Wolfgang, Berengar was more interested in conversing with his little brother about the matters at hand. The man in front of him was a dullard who would only screw up any job Berengar gave him. Thus the evening went by, and Berengar was content with his first night in Graz.