Tyranny of Steel

It did not take long for a funeral to be arranged for Emperor Dharya Tomara, for which Berengar had required his entire family to be present. It was an affair for the entire Indian Subcontinent, one that was broadcasted on television across the Reich.

Berengar stood by Priya's side, as she wept while watching her brother's coffin be interred into the ground. She was not the only one who was crying, in fact, all of Dharya's wives, were also in a similar state.

Several of Berengar's children had grown up with Dharya and Priya as foster siblings, and they too, showed their grief on their faces. Whether it was his daughters who cried for the loss of a man they considered being a brother, or the men who stared silently into the distance, remembering all the times they had shared with the man.

For the von Kufstein Dynasty, the loss of its friend and ally at such a young age was a tragedy. Berengar in particular was rather solemn, as he reflected on how few friends he had left in the world. Ludwig had passed away a few years ago, after living a rather luxurious retirement, and Eckhard already had one foot in the grave.

This was to be expected as these men were as old, if not older, than his father, who was nearing the end of his life as well. Still, Berengar had never thought that out of every one of his friends and relatives, Dharya would be the second to go.

It was truly a sobering realization, one which he dwelled upon as he comforted Priya, who cried profusely into his suit jacket. Berengar had attended a lot of funerals in his life, probably more than most people. As the Kaiser of the Reich, it was his duty to be present at the funerals of State Heroes.

But a few of them stung as much as Ludwig's and Dharya's. Berengar was entirely unfamiliar with the Hindu's cultural traditions when it came to burying someone the earth, and thus he sat by silently and watched as Dharya's coffin was lowered into the ground, never to be seen again.

Once the actual funeral was over, Berengar invited all its attendees back to the Indian Palace on behalf of Priya, who was too shaken up to say a word. Where he served food and drinks to everyone, while they reminisced about the man who had suddenly been taken from them all.

For the first time, in a very long time, Berengar spoke with Dharya's cousin Ishwar, who had been the Indian Emperor's right-hand man since his ascension to the throne. The man barely appeared to be holding things together, as he downed an unhealthy amount of hard liquor to deal with the grief he currently felt in his heart. Berengar approached the man and began to speak of the first time he had met the deceased.

"You know, when Dharya first came to Kufstein, he told me you had helped him escape the cruelty of your father, that you had given him hope about the society I created, one which he might be able to flee to with Priya, and live in exile. I'm sure if your father knew about this, he would have been furious with you."

Ishwar wore a bitter smile on his face as he shook his head before saying something that even Berengar found shocking.

"Good riddance to that black-hearted bastard. He was not half the man Dharya was..."

Berengar could not help but nod his head in agreement with this sentiment. In truth, Berengar had kept Chandra alive, in case he ever needed to replace Dharya, who had been a bit rebellious during his initial days as the Indian Emperor, but now that Dharya was dead, he felt no reason to keep the bastard alive. For the sake of Dharya's memory, he would have the old bastard executed in the most brutal way he could think of once he returned to the Reich, where the man lived in exile.

But that was something to be done at a later date, instead what he needed to do now was mourn the passing of a friend, and thus, Berengar grabbed the bottle of whiskey that Ishwar was drinking from, and poured himself an entire cup of the stuff. Where he took a swig from the alcohol as if he could not feel the intense burning sensation.

Berengar had to have taken two to three shots' worth of the liquid, and yet, he still did not feel drunk enough. Thus, he took another gulp, before patting Ishwar on the back and saying some final words before going back to Priya's side, who was being comforted by Dharya's widows.

"Your cousin was a good man. The world is worse off with his death..."

Berengar meant every word he had said, and slowly walked back to Priya, concealing the pain he felt in his heart with a stoic facade. As a man, he knew there were certain things you were not allowed to do in life. One of them was crying in public.

And though all the women and children at this wake were weeping for the loss of their beloved Emperor, the men had remained as cold as stone. Choosing to drink away their grief, rather than vent it through tears.

After sitting down next to Priya, the woman grabbed onto his shoulder and began crying into his coat once more, causing Berengar to simply stroke her jet black hair, as if he were petting a wounded kitten. He had no more words of comfort to say, and could only help the woman process her grief with physical intimacy.

As for Berengar's wives and other concubines, they mostly stayed to themselves, allowing Priya to receive the attention she needed from the man she loved most in her hour of need.

This would continue for the rest of the evening, where all the guests would then pack up and head back to their homes. Only Berengar and his family, as well as Dharya's widows, remained in the palace.

That night, Berengar slept alone with Priya. It was relatively uncommon for the man to sleep with only one of his women. But this was a special occasion, and he knew that Priya needed him now more than ever. Thus, they cuddled together for the entire night, while talking about their thoughts. However, Priya asked a question, which Berengar was not expecting, in a voice that sounded as if she were angry at him.

"I just don't understand how you can remain so cold, even at my brother's funeral. Did he mean nothing to you? I thought we were your family!"

Berengar instantly shifted his head, which was stared at the ceiling of the room, as he was lost in thought, before looking Priya directly in her emerald eyes. He felt particularly wounded at her remark, which he knew was simply the result of her heightened emotions, but he did not lash out at her and instead sighed heavily before telling her the truth.

"After you went to sleep last night, I wept for an entire hour alone in the dark. You think I don't care about the two of you? Dharya was my friend, no he was more than that. Like you just said, he was my family.

And though I have wronged him, in ways that I deeply regret, I still cared for the man, as if he were actually my blood. I may not be as heartbroken as you are right now, considering the many years that he was the only family that you had, but I am still grieving in my own way. I just don't have the luxury to show it in public.

I know you are hurting right now, and you didn't mean what you just said, but I think you should realize that you are not the only one who is in pain right now."

Priya felt ashamed of accusing Berengar of not caring enough for her brother after hearing his words, but there was one thing he said in particular that stuck out to her, which she was quick to ask about.

"You said you had wronged Dharya in ways that you deeply regret... What did you mean by that?"

Berengar immediately realized that he had said too much, but there was no stopping this can of worms now that it was opened. However, he would not dare to admit the truth to the woman, especially now when she was so aggrieved. Thus, he only admitted the half truth in a way that was more acceptable.

"I'm the reason that your brother couldn't have children.. You have to understand, our knowledge of the effects which radiation has on the human body is a relatively recent discovery.

Something I did not know many years ago, when Dharya first discovered a new mineral which we now know was Uranium, in the borders of his Empire, I asked him to collect some samples for my scientists to study. I know now that was the reason why he had become sterile, and I deeply regret being so ignorant of the world..."

This was only the half truth. In reality, Berengar of course knew that exposure to radiation could quickly make one become sterile, and he had purposely subjected Dharya to its effects, so that he would indeed be incapable of siring offspring. But if he said that part out loud, he would immediately become hated by Priya, and the woman might literally kill herself as a result. Or she might even attempt to kill him.

Thus, he had spoken a half truth, which Priya was able to accept, albeit, after much difficulty. The woman remained silent for nearly half an hour before she finally spoke her thoughts aloud.

"That is indeed heartbreaking, but I don't blame you. You didn't know that such a thing could happen. It is not like it was intentional. So, I forgive you..."

After saying this, Berengar kissed Priya before spooning with her while they both fell asleep in each other's arms.