Tyranny of Steel

Nearly thirty minutes had passed since Berengar and Eckhard began to drink beer within the castle's Dining Hall in Prague. Berengar had spent this time informing the man of Austria's changes over the last few years. Since Eckhard had been deployed to Bohemia to act as a military advisor to the Hussites, there had been substantial advancements among all facets of life within the Fatherland.

Eckhard himself was shocked by the new fashion trends and military equipment that the men who had followed Berengar to Bohemia were equipped with. It had only been roughly five years since he had first met Berengar, and yet during that timeframe, the young man had risen from the position of a lowly baron's son to the King of Austria and Bohemia.

He also had advanced Austria's technological levels to a degree nobody would ever have believed. The fatherland was at the pinnacle of a pre-industrial society and just beginning to advance into the age of industry. Ultimately Eckhard sighed heavily before revealing his biggest regret of staying in Bohemia all this time.

"It is a damn shame that I missed your wedding. It is a sight I have always wanted to see."

Berengar chuckled when he heard this and patted the grizzled veteran on the back before revealing his plans for the future.

"Don't be so down; you will still be able to witness at least two more Royal Weddings."

Eckhard was confused when he heard these words; as such, he began to ask for clarification on the issue.

"What do you mean? Is Adela not in good health? Do you plan to divorce her? You're going to need to explain this to me!"

Seeing how flustered Eckhard had become only further encouraged Berengar to laugh at his state; after a few moments of fun, Berengar fully revealed what he intended to do in terms of marriage.

"Nothing of the sort, my dear friend; I intend to legalize Polygamy. A man can have up to five wives in the Kingdom of Austria. That will be the law of the land shortly!"

Eckhard was shocked when he heard this; he had no idea that Berengar had strayed so far from the path of traditionalism and instead asked the first question on his mind.

"Are you serious? You're willing to enact Polygamy so that you can marry that mistress of yours and legitimize your bastard?"

Berengar chuckled in response to this; he took a sip of his beer before answering Eckhard's question.

"Not just that, I also have an engagement to the Princess of the Byzantine Empire; a lot has happened since you left, my friend. What can I say? I can't turn away a pretty girl in need!"

Eckhard immediately began to rest his forehead in the palm of his hand as he heard this. He could not believe Berengar was willing to drastically overhaul the social fabric of Austria to accommodate his lust.

Before he could vocalize his disagreement with Berengar's decision, their chat was interrupted by the sight of a stunning and mature beauty who was in her forties. This woman was the former Queen of Bohemia.

She had a petite and slim figure with a relatively small bust. Despite that fact, her proportions were perfect, and she appeared to have aged like fine wine. She did not look a day over thirty. She had long blonde hair and shining blue eyes.

She was dressed in a burgundy dress with gold trimming in the typical style among the higher nobility within the Kingdom of Bohemia during this time. She exuded an aura of regal authority despite the death of her husband and the fact that she was standing before a usurper.

However, it was not this stunning woman that Berengar was attracted to; it was instead the doll-like girl standing hiding behind her. Berengar only got a glimpse of the girl, but it was enough to capture his attention.

The girl behind the Queen was at the cusp of adolescence. However, the part that drew Berengar's gaze was that this girl was had heterochromia. Having two different eye colors was a rarity among humans, and Berengar was intrigued by this development. Though the girl was young, she was as cute as a doll.

The girl had pale skin, with long and wavy blonde hair. Her eyebrows and lashes matched her hair color perfectly. As for her eyes, one was a solid sapphire, while the other was the color of a flawless emerald. Berengar was sure that in a few years' time when this girl physically matured she would undoubtedly be a knockout.

When the sun hit the girl's hair just right, Berengar could swear that there was a slightly pinkish hue to it. This girl had a slender and petite build, much like her mother, despite this, he found it to be fitting, as it matched her cute appearance. She was dressed in a white and pink dress fitting for a girl of her position.

The duo approached Berengar as he sat at the head of their table; while the mother stood proudly with the grace befitting a Queen, the daughter hid behind her before being ruthlessly pulled in front by her mother. It was only after she was on full display, that the girl attempted to kneel before Berengar. However, the moment she did so, she was viciously slapped across the face by her mother, who instantly chastised the poor girl.

"Veronika Brezinova! You do not kneel before this usurper! You only kneel before one man, your father, Radek Brezinova, King of Bohemia!"

The young girl held her cheek which was red with the print of her mother's palm. She choked back the tears in her eyes after her mother had struck her in front of the man who would decide their fates. As such, she attempted to plead her innocence to the woman who had given birth to her.

"But I-"

However, before she could finish her thought, she was slapped again; when she did so, Berengar raised from his seat and shouted at the duo. He could not contain his rage after seeing such a pretty young girl so viciously struck by her parent.

"Enough! I did not have you dragged before me so you could abuse your daughter, introduce yourselves properly; you are standing before the King of Austria and Bohemia!"

The girl known as Veronika gazed at Berengar with confusion; nobody, not even her father, had stood up for her against her mother's abuse. Yet a stranger and the man who had usurped her family's birthright had just done so. On the other hand, Dagmar snubbed her nose at Berengar; it was only after his royal guards began closing in on the duo that the woman finally introduced herself.

"I am Queen Dagmar Brezinova, wife of King Radek. This is my daughter Princess Veronika Brezinova! You may be the King of Austria, but the title of King of Bohemia belongs to my husband and his sons!"

Berengar was uncertain if the woman was unaware of her family's fate or if she was being obstinate for the sake of it. As such, he responded to her with a smug grin on his face as he appeared in front of the woman, staring down at her with the oppressive aura of a tyrant.

"Tell me, Queen Dagmar, where is your husband now? What about your sons? I would very much like to meet them..."

Dagmar knew the truth about the fate of her husband and children; the fact that she and her freak of a daughter were the sole survivors of the Bohemian royal family was something that she dreaded to the core of her being. Out of all of her children, the one she despised more than anything ended up surviving alongside her.

The moment Berengar's chilling gaze stared into Dagmar's deep blue eyes, her confident facade shattered. The former Queen immediately began to back away from Berengar in fear of what he might do to her; after all, he had named himself King of Bohemia, which meant that he had forced the various sects vying for the throne into submission.

As she imagined all kinds of wicked scenarios that Berengar might force upon her, the man in question shifted his attention to her pitiful daughter. The moment he did so, she was greatly relieved; after all, Dagmar did not care what cruel fate awaited Veronika.

As Veronika saw the usurper approach her with an authoritative gaze, she, too, was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. However, unlike her mother, she did not back away. Instead, she was paralyzed in fear as she stood there shivering. The moment Berengar softly laid his hands upon her red cheek, Veronika instinctively flinched, gazing at Berengar like a scared rabbit caught by a hungry wolf.

However, Berengar's gaze immediately softened as he stared at her with a solemn look in his one good eye. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he reassured the girl that he was not the monster she was led to believe.

"Do not be afraid, I mean you no harm; you and your mother are now under my protection. I swear that I will not allow you to suffer any injury in the future. Even your mother will not be able to lay a hand on you without my permission. You are my ward, and as such, I will look after you from this day forward."

The moment Berengar said these kind words to the young Princess broke out into tears. Berengar had no idea what kind of inner demons she had been fighting until now, but from the way her mother treated her, he could make an educated guess. It was not uncommon for people with heterochromia to be treated harshly in society.

As such, Berengar held onto the girl as she poured out all of the emotions that she had bottled up over the years into his tunic. Since she was born, nobody had ever been so kind to her as Berengar had this day. As for Eckhard, he had sat in silence as he witnessed the entire display; he gazed at Berengar's actions and sighed heavily while muttering under his breath.

"You really can't turn away a pretty girl in need, can you?"