Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stood on the docks of Trieste with his wife in hand. Two weeks had passed since he first returned to the Reich, after visiting Japan for an entire year. During this time, his days were filled with nothing but work and family. Which he managed to find a perfect balance to, especially now that Germany was finally in a state of peace which would last for the foreseeable future.

However, the man had several promises to fulfill, not only to his children, but his many wives as well, and because of that Berengar stood by Adela's side, as the royal couple gazed upon a large, and magnificent ocean liner which was the personal yacht of the von Kufstein Dynasty.

If the Titanic was known in Berengar's past life as the largest ship of its era, then the Germania was a titan on the sea. Designed to carry the entirety of the von Kufstein Dynasty for the next fifty years, Berengar had gone all out with his personal yacht, which was more akin to a floating palace than an actual ship.

The expense paid to construct this vessel was no small amount, and despite this, it was nothing more than pfennigs on the thaler when compared to the vast fortune that Berengar had accumulated in this life.

Adela was completely surprised by the massive ocean-going vessel which, for the purposes of this visit, would house only herself, her husband, and the staff necessary to look after them during the entire journey.

It was not just Adela who was surprised by this behemoth of a vessel, but all manners of citizens within the major port city had gathered to witness the spectacle. Having already said his goodbyes to the rest of his family, Berengar simply smiled as he grabbed hold of Adela's hand and led her onto the massive ship.

Adela could not help but exclaim her thoughts aloud, as she entered the luxurious interior of the vessel, which was constructed with the finest materials in the world. From polished marble, to gilded surfaces, Berengar had truly spared no expense, and this fact caused nothing but worry to flood Adela's mind.

"It's so beautiful! Berengar just how much did you spend on this yacht?"

Rather than answer his wife directly, and add to her worries. Berengar responded in a way which avoided the question at hand, but still made the woman happy.

"Don't worry about such a petty thing. There is no expense too great for the happiness of my family."

Adela was still looking around at the luxurious interior with awe, and had barely heard a word that Berengar had said. Instead her attention was attracted to a distinctive sound echoing across the ship, which she recognized to be the muscal talents of an entire orchestra.

When Adela realized this, her sapphire eyes fixed themselves upon the handsome face of her husband. Before she could question if what she was hearing was in fact reality, the man spoke with a haughty tone in his voice.

"You noticed the music, huh? Yes, I hired an orchestra to perform for us while we are sailing across the atlantic. But that is not all, I spared no expense to ensure that we have plenty of things to entertain us throughout our journey. From the finest food and drinks money can buy, to an entire water park reserved for just the two of us. Trust me, this will be a trip that you will never forget. And you deserve it!"

Adela did not respond to these bold claims, and simply smiled while latching onto her husband's arm like a lamprey. Seeing that his wife was happy, Berengar led her through the massive vessel and towards the dining hall, where he planned to share a nice meal with his wife, as the ship cast off.

After entering the dining hall, Adela was amazed to see that the origin of the music was on a large stage at the very front of the massive room. Hundreds of tables were set up to entertain an increasingly large family. But since they were the only two guests at the moment they were able to sit anywhere, which Adela immediately chose to be nearest to the music.

While Adela was gazing upon the magnificent performance with awe in her sapphire eyes, a beautiful young waitress approached the royal couple and was quick to inform them on a few important matters before taking their order.

"Your Majesties, the captain would like me to inform you that we are ready to cast off whenever you desire. As for the Kitchen, it is fully staffed, and prepared to make you any meal that you may crave at any hour of the day. The bar is also fully stocked, and you need only ask for a drink, and we will provide it to you as quickly as possible. Shall I prepare your majesties a round of drinks as we set off for our destination?"

Berengar was naturally aware of all of his wives tastes, and did not even need to ask Adela for what he wanted. Thus, he was quick to nod his head in approval before ordering a drink for himself and his lovely wife.

"I'll have whatever it is that you have on tap, while my wife here will have a strawberry margarita. As for the Captain, inform him that we are ready to cast off."

The waitress wrote down Berengar's and Adela's drinks, before walking away. As she disappeared somewhere into the massive ship, she spoke into her radio, informing the Captain of the Kaiser's orders. Within minutes, the ship had departed from the docks of Trieste and begun its grand voyage to the Caribbean.

As for the drinks that Berengar and Adela had ordered, they were swiftly brought to the table by the waitress, where Berengar then ordered a nice meal for himself and his wife. Once the royal couple were all alone, Berengar finally broke the awkward silence that prevailed between himself and his wife, with a slight jest.

"Well, I can say this for certain. If I had just remained a minor nobleman, we never would be able to go on this cruise together..."

It was clear that Berengar had taken Adela's previous words to heart, and had decided to show off just what they would have sacrificed if they had lived a boring, monogamous lifestyle in the mountains of Austria. This remark caused Adela to giggle slightly as she raised her margarita in a toast.

"To world peace!"

Berengar joined his wife in laughter as he clinked his beer mug against Adela's glass before taking in the music that played. Evidently it was a song that Adela enjoyed, because she was completely captivated by the atmosphere, so much so that she did not even notice the fine Italian cuisine that arrived on her plate.

Ultimately, Berengar took a spoonful of the baked ziti and shoved it into Adela's delicate mouth in order to catch her attention. Which caused the woman to react in shock at first, before chewing and swallowing the zesty dish.

While Adela enjoyed the serving, Berengar bit into a piece of garlic bread and savored the flavor. While it was true that he enjoyed German cooking more than anything, the man had definitely played a role in bringing the Italian cuisine he knew and loved into this world. Even if King Bruno Haselreider would never admit to such a thing. After Adela had eaten several spoonfuls, she asked about the origins of the dish with genuine curiosity.

"This is delicious. What is this? Some kind of new dish that you have made? It's not like anything else we have eaten so far!"

Berengar smiled and shook his head, even though he had been largely responsible for the new cuisine which was taking the Kingdom of Italy by storm, he decided to give credit where credit was due, and thus said the Italians were in fact responsible for this dish.

"No, actually the Italians invented this. Once we introduced tomatoes to the region, they began making an entirely new cuisine that is their own. Naturally, our chefs are well versed in this style of cooking and so I decided to give it a try. It is really good, is it not?"

Adela could not deny that the baked ziti was delightful, and thus she continued to dig into the meal, but with the grace of a woman of her position. Berengar did the same. It had been too long since he had a proper Italian dish, and thus was enjoying the meal to his greatest ability.

Before long, Berengar had consumed three liters of beer, and and three servings of food to match, while Adela was already tispy from her third margarita. Seeing that the sky had already begun to darken, Berengar decided now was the time to take Adela onto the deck and gaze at the stars.

Thus, he finished the last of his food, before grabbing hold of his wife's hand, and dragging her to the forward most position of the ship's deck. Once alone together beneath the stars, Berengar let his true thoughts escape from his lips.

"It has been a very long time since I have been able to relax like this. I'm glad you asked me for this trip. I really needed it..."

Adela's saphire eyes glistened under the starlight, as she shifted her gaze towards her husband who was wearing an unusually warm expression on his face. The words she wanted to say were caught in her throat for some time, causing several moments of awkward silence to persist, until she finally gained the resolve to speak her mind.

"I heard from our children that you have been spending more time with them since you have returned from Japan. I'm glad to see you are no longer working so hard that you neglect your very large family. Hopefully, after this trip is over, we can all have a fresh start. Especially now that the last of your wars have come to an end..."

In response to this suggestion, Berengar leaned in close, and kissed Adela on the lips before whispering something in her ears that made her smile.

"I'd like that..."

With that said, the Royal couple enjoyed themselves under the light of the stars, before retiring to their room, where they spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.