Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat beside Itami within the mess hall of the SMS Berengar. After finishing their brats and beers, Berengar fetched another round for their continued conversation. Once seated, Berengar handed off the cold beer to the Japanese Empress, which she gulped down with ease.

Itami had proven greatly interested in Berengar's past, a topic the man himself did not wish to discuss more than he had to. With her sanguine eyes peering deeply into Berengar's soul, Itami asked the next question in her mind. However, she did so not in her native tongue, but in American English.

"So, do you speak English at all?" 

Berengar did not hesitate to nod his head as he spoke the words of a language that, in many ways, did not exist yet. While English was a language spoken in the British isles, it was a primitive form that was unrecognizable by modern speakers such as the two monarchs. For the first time in nearly fifteen years, Berengar found himself speaking the language of his past life, with a similar accent as he had done so during those days. 

However, despite a similar accent, Berengar's pitch and tone were widely different from that of his past life and as a result, Itami could not identify that he was, in fact, the man she loved. Naturally, she had the same problem, as the two conversed in an advanced language that should not belong in this world. 

"Indeed, I grew up in a country that spoke the English language, a pity that this world's variant of the tongue will probably never develop into the form I know so well. Not after the ongoing Germanization of the British Isles."

Itami glanced towards Berengar with a hint of curiosity on her gorgeous face, as she quickly asked just what exactly the man meant by his words.

"What do you mean?"

Berengar smiled as he recounted his tale of the great crusade against the German Nation.

"Well, as you are probably aware, the English were Catholic when I first encountered them. As we previously discussed, I almost immediately had difficulties with the Catholic church upon entering this world. Things kept escalating, and proxy wars were fought between myself and the papacy.

Eventually, a grand crusade was declared against the German Empire shortly after I had founded it, and in doing so, all the major European Kingdoms had united against me. The English were among them. In a rather foolish attempt to take control of what you know as the Suez Canal, which I had only recently finished construction on, the King of England marched his army to the Sinai Peninsula, where they were utterly massacred by my forces. 

As a result, I sailed to the Kingdom of England and dethroned the fallen King's successor, and in doing so placed myself as steward until a time when my son Lukas can come of age to become the next King of England. Currently, England is nothing more than a puppet of the Reich, as are all my neighbors. Most of which will have a member of my dynasty on their throne within a generation or two."

Since Itami's spy network was not nearly as advanced as Berengar's, she actually had very limited information about his rise to power, and thus most of what she was hearing from the man himself was new information. She was quick to interrogate the man further on just how he had accomplished so much during his brief life in this world.

"You're saying that all of your neighbors are your puppets? How did you manage to accomplish that?"

Berengar took a swig from his beer with a smug smile on his face as he further elaborated on his diplomatic policy over the last fifteen years.

"It is a long and rather complicated story, but to make it short, I essentially legalized polygamy and through marriages either to myself or my potential heirs, I have secured the thrones of most European Kingdoms for my dynasty or cadet branches that will be formed in the coming decades. Especially after the crusade where most of the previous monarchs had died in battle. 

It's not just England, the Iberian Empire will one day spread across North Africa during my son Ghazi's reign. Under the rule of my son Alexandros, the Byzantines shall conquer eastward until they reach the borders of India. From India, my bastard child with their princess shall inherit his uncle's throne, his borders already reach those of the Majapahit Empire where my son with their Princess shall succeed his grandfather.

You could say that I have spent the last fifteen years ensuring that my bloodline rules from the western shores of the new world to the western borders of China. The only region of this Earth where my descendants are unlikely to reign as sovereign is Northeast Asia. I dare say, China, Korea, and Japan are out of my sphere of influence."

Itami could hardly believe what she was hearing. Did this man seriously intend to unite the world with his bloodline? From the sound of it, the descendents of Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein would one day rule everything west of China. The idea was truly bold, and Itami had to admit the fact that Berengar had been scheming for this outcome for over a decade was truly impressive. 

If only Berengar wasn't such a womanizer, then perhaps she too might have fallen for him. However, Itami doubted she would ever be able to share the man she chose in this life to be her partner, and thus as much as she respected Berengar for his ability to manipulate the world around him, she also held a strong sense of disdain.

In Itami's eyes, there was nothing more beautiful and romantic than a loving monogamous relationship, and Berengar was the farthest thing from those ideals. Still, every day she witnessed how happy the Kaiser's family was, she felt her convictions being challenged.  This ultimately forced Itami to sigh heavily and drink from her beer before asking Berengar a far more personal question.

"Okay, I understand your reasoning for a polygamous lifestyle. It is a political weapon you used to assert your authority over all the world's major kingdoms and empires. However, be honest with me, there is no way that you could possible love all of your women equally, right?" 

Berengar simply chuckled when he heard this and took another sip from his beer before responding to Itami's claims. For the first time since she had met the man, he had smiled at her the same way he did when he was around his family.

Although Itami knew this was because the man was reflecting on his memories, she still found the warm expression on his face to be more attractive than she wanted to admit. After thinking about his answer for some time, Berengar let out a heavy sigh before speaking the words in his heart. 

"You pose an interesting question. Is it possible for one man to love ten women equally? I believe the answer to that is a resounding no. There is no doubt in my mind that some of my relationships, particularly the ones with my concubines, are more shallow than the ones I have with my lawful wives. And even my relationships with my wives vary in intensity between the four of them. 

I would be lying if I said that my relationships with the Aztec Princess, the Queen of the Crimean Khanate, the Princess of the Majapahit Empire, and the Indian Princess were equivalent to what I have with Linde or Adela. In fact, in those scenarios, our feelings towards one another are more akin to mutual attraction and friendship than actual romantic love. 

After all, I only have so much time in the world, and as the ruler of the world's largest and most powerful Empire, my ability to spend time with my loved ones is severely limited. Despite all of this, I still care for and provide for those women and the children we have together in the way a husband should. So at the end of the day, so long as everyone is happy, then I don't see a reason why I should not have so many women by my side."

Itami bit her lip in frustration when she heard this. She honestly did not expect Berengar to outright admit that his feelings were unequally distributed among his many women. Thus, she was compelled to ask the question that immediately appeared in her mind. 

"So you don't believe in soul mates then?" 

Berengar simply smiled and shook his head before responding to Itami in a rather gentle tone.

"Oh, quite the contrary, I do have a soul mate. She has been there for me every step of the way since I entered this world, almost as if she was waiting for me throughout the entirety of my two lives leading up to our first encounter. As I previously mentioned, if not for her, I would have likely died a horrific death a long time ago.

There is one other woman who I was bound by fate to meet and love. Unfortunately, we do not get to spend much time together, and it has not been long since our relationship first began. She lives in a different world entirely, and our reunions are always short-lived. Once a month, I fly across the sea to visit her. However, I can only stay for the weekend before I must depart back to my home..."

There appeared to be a look of longing on Berengar's face, one that Itami had never seen before. The man had ten women in total, several of which did not even live with him, and yet this one woman had touched his soul in such a way that just thinking about her brought him visible pain. 

Naturally, Berengar was referring to Brynhildr. From the moment he met the Valkyrie and learned that she was the reason he was brought into this world, he felt a deep personal connection with the mature beauty.

However, he would never inform Itami about this. As far as Berengar knew, the Japanese Empress had never made contact with the gods and would find his tale about mating with a Valkyrie to be entirely unbelievable. If she thought he was lying about such a thing, she might disregard everything he had since they first met, and thus undo weeks' worth of diplomatic progress. 

Itami closely examined the pain on Berengar's face as he briefly and cryptically spoke about this mysterious woman who she had yet to meet. It was almost the same sense of agony she endured after being apart from Julian for so long. Thus, she instinctively and silently grabbed hold of the man's hand to comfort him. Something Berengar did not even take notice of, as he was lost in his thoughts. 

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