Tyranny of Steel

While Emperor Vetranis was calming his nerves in the courtyard of the Royal Palace of Austria, Berengar was comforting Honoria after she had learned the troubling news of Arethas' death. He latched onto the beautiful young woman like a lamprey as he stroked her silky white hair. While he did so, he whispered into the Princess's ear.

"Don't worry; everything will be fine. I promise that I will convince your father to allow us to be together!"

Honoria looked up at Berengar with an appreciative glance. Without Berengar here to comfort her, she had no idea how she would handle the news of Arethas' death. Aside from Heraclius, her godfather was her only friend growing up, hearing that he had passed away while still being so young shook the girl to her core.

It was only after Berengar had helped calm the princess's nerves that the young King addressed the crowd of nobility who had gathered to witness his coronation with a calm and confident tone.

"I apologize for the scene just now; we will be moving onto the Coronation shortly, so I suggest you take your fill of food and wine before it is no longer being distributed."

After saying this, Berengar returned his attention to the people who were gathered by his side. Marquess Otto von Graz, who was the father of Adela had also approached Berengar during this time and began to speak to him.

"Your Majesty, I have to ask, will everything be alright between you and our allies to the East? It appears that Princess Honoria's presence has now become known to everyone present..."

Berengar smiled in response to this and nodded his head before addressing his Chancellor's concerns.

"Everything will be fine Otto, after my coronation, I intend to have a long discussion with the Byzantine Emperor about the future of our two realms. For now, you should enjoy yourself; the Ceremony will begin soon enough."

After seeing the confident expression on Berengar's face, Otto felt somewhat relieved. The King knew what he was doing, even if it may not have seemed that way from the initial encounter. As such, he nodded his head and smiled before responding to Berengar's remarks.

"I will do as you suggested."

With that said, Marquess Otto took his leave and began to mingle with the other guests. Before long, the Emperor returned to the event after some thorough convincing from the mysterious nobleman from the east.

After doing so, Berengar instructed the food and wine to be taken back to the kitchen, and the Ceremony had begun. Ludolf, who was the head of the Reformist Church, held onto a purple pillow with golden embroidery; upon this pillow was a crown fit for a King. This Crown was gold with black garnet gemstones embedded within its surface and contained a black velvet lining.

As such, Berengar spoke towards the crowd that had gathered to witness this occasion with an authoritative voice as he said the words that would be etched into history.

"I King Berengar von Kufstein, first of my name hereby declare that I am crowned by God, not by the Church as my power is divine in nature! It is under his will that no man alive or dead commands me on this great Earth, for I answer solely to the Lord God almighty!"

After saying this short, but precise speech Berengar grabbed ahold of the gilded Crown and placed it on his head. The moment he did so, Marquess Otto von Graz, the Chancellor of Austria, ordered every Austrian man, woman, and child present.

"Kneel before your King!"

The moment he said this, the entire crowd gathered, aside from the diplomats of foreign Kingdoms kneeled before Berengar and bowed their heads in respect to the man that would one day lead Austria to boundless glory.

When Berengar saw this, a smug smile carved itself upon his flawless face, he had waited years for this day, and it had finally come true. Though the road to the Crown was complete, the road to power had only just begun.

His ambitions were far more significant than simply being King of Austria and Switzerland. He planned many conquests in the years to come and had already begun to draft the documents necessary to fund expeditions across the world in search of lands with valuable resources ripe for colonization.

However, for now, such things were still unachievable. As a matter of principle, he had several tasks at hand that prevented such actions. Firstly, Berengar had to take care of his relations with the Empire to the East. Then he would have to marry his darling fiancee and sire some offspring; after that, he would have to begin the process of industrialization. It was not until Berengar had achieved the results he desired that he would fund an expedition to the new world and start his wars of unification.

Berengar kept this fact in mind as he spent the rest of the day entertaining his guests, many of which had traveled across Austria and Europe itself to witness the monumental occasion. After spending several hours mingling with the noblemen and women of the western world, Berengar finally ended the Coronation Ceremony.

After the hundreds of guests had dispersed from his palace, the young Monarch took his first steps on his long journey towards unification. As such, Berengar approached the Emperor and his counsel with a pleasant smile on his face.

The two men had waited silently until this moment, knowing that there were important matters that needed to be discussed between their two realms. Now that the Coronation ceremony was completed, Berengar was required to mend the temporary rift between himself and the Byzantines. As such, he approached the Emperor of the East with a friendly smile before expressing his thoughts.

"I apologize for the wait Emperor Vetranis; I believe that you and I have some important matters to discuss; if you and your friend would follow me to someplace more private, I would very much like to have a conversation with you."

The Byzantine Emperor eyed Berengar with suspicion. However, the mysterious Byzantine nobleman by his side nodded his head in approval, signaling to the Emperor that it would be acceptable to do so; as such, Emperor Vetranis and his counsel followed Berengar to his study where Honoria was already waiting for their discussion.

She had a nervous smile on her otherwise perfect face as she witnessed her lover and father enter the room together; she knew this discussion would seal her fate; either she could continue to live with Berengar and enjoy the life of a privateer, or she would be dragged back to Constantinople and be forced to marry some prince where she would live her life in servitude.

Regardless of the risks, she trusted Berengar with every fiber of his being to properly negotiate with her father about a potential marriage between herself and her lover. It was with this in mind that she greeted her estranged father with a pleasant but forced smile.

"Father, it is good to see that you are still in exceptional health."

Vetranis did not respond to this and merely snubbed his daughter; only after the doors were sealed and, absolute privacy was ensured did Emperor Vetranis speak his mind about the whole ordeal.

"Tell me, King Berengar, how long has my daughter been living with you?"

Berengar saw no reason to lie about such a thing, and as such, he quickly revealed the information.

"I suppose it has been roughly two years now? Maybe longer..."

Emperor Vetranis nodded his head before speaking his thoughts on the matter.

"I must thank you for keeping her safe during this time. However, I am still confused about the nature of your relationship with my daughter. I understand that you already have a fiancee, and your wedding is set not long from now. So tell me, what intentions do you have for my daughter, now that you know she is the Princess of the Byzantine Empire?"

Berengar smiled when he heard this question; for years now, he had been trying to think of a way to convince the Emperor to allow him to marry Honoria as his third wife, and now that the time had come, he refused to let the chance slip from his grasp. As such, he quickly grabbed ahold of Honoria's hand before bringing it to his lips, where he kissed it in an intimate display. After doing so, he revealed his thoughts to the Emperor, who was standing in shock.

"The fact that Valeria is the missing Princess Honoria does not change how I feel about her. The truth is we are in love and have been for some time. If anything, this presents an opportunity, one that could guarantee the prosperity of our two realms for years to come..."

Vetranis instantly frowned when he heard this; his worst fears had been realized; Berengar was nothing more than a womanizer who had taken his only daughter as a member of his harem. He had heard rumors that Berengar kept several mistresses by his side, but he never suspected that his daughter was one of them until now. As such, he was naturally inclined to reject any offer that Berengar was about to present.

However, before he could refuse to listen to such absurdity, the mysterious nobleman accompanying the Byzantine Emperor immediately spoke out with a friendly tone.

"Do tell, King Berengar, what kind of arrangement did you have in mind?"

After hearing this, a smug smile etched itself upon Berengar's immaculate features as he revealed the plot he had in mind ever since Honoria's arrival in Kufstein.

"Well, that is quite simple; I intend to Marry Honoria as my third wife; in doing so, I will absolve your Empire of all debts that you currently hold to the Austrian Crown and establish an alliance between our two realms for the foreseeable future. So tell me, Emperor Vetranis? Are you willing to marry your daughter to a German King?"

The room was utterly silent as the young Monarch spoke these words to the Emperor from the East. Berengar's offer was simply outrageous, as such, it took some time for the man to calm his nerves. What came next would be an intense negotiation that would alter the course of the world's history for the foreseeable future.