Tyranny of Steel

After addressing the Reichstag, Berengar returned to his Castle, which he lived in for the time being while his palace was being constructed. He thought deeply about the composition of his transitionary government. Truth be told, the current House of Commons and the House of Lords were not exactly large in number, nor were they voted into power. Instead, Bernegar placed those who had proven themselves competent and understanding of his reforms into the poisition for the time being to act as a form of governance during this transitional period. At the same time, he would spend the next few years educating the population enough to allow for a proper vote.

The House of Commons was filled with the commoners who already had a basic understanding of reading, writing, and trades. During the later part of the medieval period in which Berengar currently fond himself, towns and cities had commoners who were not mere serfs and who instead worked in trades within the local community, and it was these partially educated people, much like Ludwig, who were appointed to work in his rudimentary "Parliament."

In reality, the House of Commons comprised a dozen or two people whose current responsibility was to take some of the work off of Berengar's shoulders and act as a public face of political representation. As for the House of Lords, the men within it were far more educated and responsible for the overwhelming majority of work, at least for the time being. They were mostly comprised of the younger generation of nobility who proved to be more amicable towards Berengar's revolutionary ideas.

Technically these actions were legal under Berengar's so-called Constitution, as he gave the head of state the power to directly appoint people into positions of power, including the parliament, as well as remove them, or even directly dissolve parliament as a whole where he could then appoint whoever he wished for the position, or call for a re-election.

After returning to the Castle, he quickly found himself hugging Linde and the newborn boy who was within her arms. Linde had recently given birth to a son named Hans, who Berengar had officially recognized as his. However, he had not fully legitimized the child as doing so would provoke Otto into dissolving the engagement he had to Adela, which he could not afford to do. Of course, this was a massive scandal in its own right, and Otto nearly broke the engagement anyway; it was only thanks to Adela and her insistence upon marrying Berengar that it remained in place.

After embracing his lover, and his child, Berengar kissed Linde on the lips and asked her the question on his mind.

"How is my baby doing?"

Linde gave him a sly look as she cooed the sleeping child before addressing Berengar's question.

"Do you mean the child or me?"

Berengar smirked as he responded to his lover

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"I mean both!"

Linde smiled gently as she held onto her infant son before handing him over to his father.

"We're good, Hans is an extraordinarily healthy young boy, or so Ewald says!"

Berengar smiled at the news; the last thing he wanted was his firstborn child to suffer from the same degree of frailty and illness that he had endured in his youth. Meanwhile, he thought to himself in the back of his head.

'Mother, Father, you finally have a grandchild. It is just a shame you will not be able to meet him!"

Obviously, he was referring to his parents from his previous life, whom he had left behind with absolutely no grandchildren to speak of. To this day, he deeply regretted how his fate had turned out in his past life, yet there was nothing he could do about that. If he had not died in Afghanistan and transmigrated to this Alternate World, he never would have met Linde or Adela, nor would he be able to achieve the great things he had already accomplished in this world. To Berengar, this was only the start of his legacy.

After holding onto his son for a little bit, he returned the boy to his mother, who had a worried expression on her face, it had nothing to do with the child, and Berengar immediately noticed that. After placing the baby in his crib, Linde began to address the recent news she had received.

"The King is dead..."

Berengar was not surprised by this news and was actually quite happy about it; this meant that his plans for conquest could begin soon enough. Of course, the first objective on his list was to seize Innsbruck and declare himself Count of Tyrol; as such, his first question was regarding Linde's family.

"When will your father attack Vienna?"

Linde did not have the slightest bit of guilt as she revealed her father's plans to her lover as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"He will march upon Vienna in a week; it should take him at least a fortnight for his army to reach the Capital. By now, the Duke has already begun moving his forces to Bavaria where he will fight with the Wittelsbachs for the title of King."

Berengar nodded with a stern expression on his face before responding to the information.

"Then I will march upon Innsbruck in a month; it should be more than enough time for the Count to have begun his siege."

Linde wrapped her arms around Berengar and kissed him passionately as she conspired with her master against her father and her family.

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"Should I address you as Count Berengar?"

Berengar laughed at the young temptress's response before flicking her on the nose; she could not wait to have another child. Unfortunately for her, Berengar was adamant about waiting at least six weeks after having her child before they could engage in their usual nightly fun. Seeing as Linde had not yet had her proper period of rest, Berengar easily broke away from her grasp. To avoid complications after the delivery, it was best to wait a while before engaging in such activity. Since Berengar wanted both of his women to live as long as possible, he chose to abstain for the time being. Thus he teased Linde slightly as he responded to her temptation.

"Not yet, I refuse to use such a title until I have gained it by right of conquest!"

Of course, by refusing her, Linde began to pout; though Berengar had explained his reasoning for doing so, she still felt lonely without making love to the man she desired. Nevertheless, it was only for a short time longer, and thus the couple got ready for bed. Tomorrow was a day where Berengar would spend mostly with his troops, getting them ready for combat. His forces had grown substantially over the last six months, and he was confident in claiming the County of Tyrol for himself and putting down any rebellions that would naturally occur from the Lords who swore fealty to Count Lothar.

When the time came for Count Lothar to call the banners to war, Berengar would provide him with a force of Mercenaries and a gift of gold to apologize for his absence. Though it would surely infuriate the man, it would undoubtedly be accepted. Thus leaving Berengar and his superior armies with the ability to march on Innsbruck. Though he was unaware that an Army of Teutonic Knights was marching towards his lands, that would not stop his plans from coming to fruition. Even if he were aware of their advance, he would still behave in the same way; after all, with the might of his guns, he could bring Tyrol under his control before they even arrived. It was the dawn of a new era, a German era, one where Berengar would crown himself emperor!