Tyranny of Steel

Honoria sat within the confines of her personal quarters with her child Alexandros clutched to her breast. Due to how many wives Berengar had, he had given them each their own bedroom, so that they had a proper space to rest in while he was sleeping with one of his of his brides.

Not all of his women were into group activities like Linde and Honoria were. While Adela had made some exceptions, she typically avoided such debauchery. As for Yasmin, she preferred having the loving arms of her husband only to herself during their intimate moments. Though if ordered to share his bed with another woman, she would not refuse.

While Honoria was breastfeeding her baby boy, she gazed upon a map, with a course plotted to Constantinople. Berengar had promised her that after she had set up his colony in the New World, he would allow her to enact her vengeance on her brother. Not only for the attempt he had made on her life, but for his betrayal to their godfather, Arethas, all those years ago.

She knew now more than ever, action was required. As a pirate queen, she spent much of her time at sea, almost as much as her husband spent in conquest. Because of this, she was rarely up to date on the latest news across Christendom. It had only recently come to her attention that her brother had leaked the agricultural and industrial information that Byzantium had received as a gift from Berengar.

Such a thing absolutely outraged the young woman, and thus she waited for her husband to arrive in her room, as she knew he was currently busy entertaining his other family with an enjoyable meal. While The woman clutched her babe to her breasts, two Eagles were perched nearby.

One was an Eastern Imperial Eagle, which was her long time pet and friend Heraclius, and the other was an Iberian Imperial Eagle who she had thoughtfully named Fabia after the late Emperor Heraclius' first wife. Just where that feathery bastard had gained such an exotic mate, Honoria did not know.

Evidently, it would appear that while she was off visiting the new world, Heraclius had made his way to Iberia and found a mate of his own. Together, the two eagles had created three eggs, which they were currently looking after until they hatched.

Upon seeing that Heraclius was present for his mate and children, while her own husband was off with another woman, Honoria felt slightly bitter. It was true that she and Linde had a special bond, commonly servicing their husband together, and even pleasuring each other while he was away. However, that did not mean she had no bitterness in her heart towards the woman for monopolizing Berengar's time whenever she could.

After all, her relationship with Linde was a byproduct of the relationship she had with Berengar, and her husband would always come first in her mind. She pouted as she thought about this until the door to her room opened, revealing the man she was just thinking about. A smile immediately carved itself upon her face as Berengar entered the room. She was about to get up and rush over to the man, but he was one step quicker.

The young emperor quickly wrapped his arms around the woman before planting a passionate kiss on her lips. After doing so, he gazed down at their son and kissed the boy on the forehead. Having properly greeted the two, he let out a sigh before speaking his thoughts.

"It is rare for the three of us to be together like this as a family."

When Honoria heard this, she frowned before nodding her head in silence. However, Berengar's next words shocked her.

"Well, I'm here to make that up to you. I know I promised you to help get revenge on your brother, and it is about time I lived up to that. So together we will bring down Decentius and avenge your fallen godfather."

Upon saying this, Berengar glanced over at the chart that sat on the nearby table. He then looked back to Honoria and smiled before revealing his thoughts.

"I see you have already prepared without me. Just tell me what it is I need to do, and I will do it..."

Honoria sighed heavily as she heard this before revealing the plot she had come up with to assassinate her elder brother.

"I want you to bring me with you on an official visit to my father. We can use the border crisis with the Timurid Empire as an excuse. While we are there, I will bribe the maid to poison that bastard's food. After it is done, I will reveal what I have done to him, and give him the option to confess his crimes to our father, and receive the antidote, or a die a slow, painful death of poisoning!"

It shocked Berengar when he heard this plan and immediately asked for clarification on the matter.

"You mean to let his fate fall into the hands of your father?"

In response to this, a malicious smile formed on Honoria's face as she revealed the extent of her treachery.

"Of course not. There won't be an antidote to the poison I give him! He will die horribly either way! However, If I know my brother, he will definitely choose to confess his guilt, hoping that I can save him, in doing so forever ruining his reputation before he passes away from this world."

Berengar nodded his head in agreement to this plan and thought upon the plot for some time before sighing.

"I have given my word to support your father with an artillery brigade. I had meant to wait until we fully developed the revolving cannons before deploying them, but I suppose they can make do for the time being with Mk2s and breechloaders. Very well, I will arrange a meeting with your father in Constantinople in the coming days. After we have avenged your godfather, I hope it can bring you some closure..."

Honoria simply nodded her head in silence. There was nothing left to say on the matter. Instead, she thought of an interesting idea with a wide smile on her face.

"You said before while your parents were last here that you wanted to bring me and the girls on a honeymoon, but you have yet to live up to that promise. Perhaps after we kill my brother, all of us can go on a trip to the new world. I have noticed a few small islands that would be perfect to act as our personal vacation home!"

Berengar smiled when he heard this. With advancements in synthetic materials, Berengar could now make some very modern swimsuit designs. If his girls knew what kind of revealing swimwear he had planned for them, they would probably beat him to a pulp in that very moment.

He could imagine after this bloody business was over, being alone with all of his women on a private island, in a beachside villa. Such a thought immediately caused Berengar to smile and nod in agreement.

"Very well, if you have a location in mind, send it to me, and I will dispatch some men to clear the island of any potential hostiles and build a beachside manor for us. It is about time we all spent some quality time together."

When Honoria heard the words "quality time together" come from Berengar's mouth, she knew exactly what he meant, thus she rolled her eyes before agreeing to his terms.

"Deal..."

It was at that moment Berengar had a sudden thought which he could not help but expressing.

"What about the kids?"

Honoria gazed down at the baby boy suckling at her breast and laughed. She had completely forgotten about this matter. She dwelled on it for a few moments before deciding on a course of action.

"We can have your mother look after them. After all, she is their grandmother. As for feeding the infants, we can always temporarily hire a wet nurse. Or perhaps there is someone in your family tree capable of filling the role that you would be more comfortable with?"

The moment Berengar thought about the words "family tree, and boobies" he could only think of one woman who met the description that he would not be taking on the trip with him.

"I'll ask Adela to talk to Ava about the idea. I am almost entirely positive that woman still has some milk in her udders. If not, we can always go with Plan B."

This last part of Berengar's statement instantly confused Honoria, prompting her to ask for clarification.

"Plan B?"

With a proud smile on his face, Berengar nodded his head before shamelessly declaring his perverted intentions.

"Obviously, if the woman is all tapped out, all I need to do is Cuck Wolfgang and impregnate Ava so that she can produce milk again!"

When Honoria heard this, her smile instantly shattered, causing her to glower at her husband. Did this pervert seriously just suggest adultery as an option to his wife?"

Berengar saw the angry expression on Honoria's face and tussled her hair before kissing her on the lips. After doing so, he laughed his comment off as if it was a joke the whole time.

"I'm just kidding Honoria. Why are you so serious?"

The Byzantine Princess simply snubbed her husband and walked away with their infant son in her arms. She could not stand the man when he made jokes like this. Thus, Berengar was left alone in the room, where Heraclius gazed upon him as if he was an idiot. Upon seeing the disdain in the eagle's eyes, Berengar lowered his brows into a fierce glare before rebuking the bird.

"What are you looking at?"

Heraclius merely squawked and flew out the window, not dignifying the German Emperor's hostility with a proper response. As Berengar watched the eagle soar into the sky above, he sighed heavily before leaving the room as well. He had much work to do in preparation for his visit to Constantinople, and little time to do it.