Tyranny of Steel

Deep within the city of Paris sat the French Monarch King Gilles de Valois, who was currently sitting upon his throne, entertaining a diplomatic delegation from the Kingdom of Austria. Berengar had finally begun to make his move within the Kingdom of France, and the French Crown was only one faction in his plot to destabilize the region even further.

Though Gilles had no way of knowing what Berengar's true intentions were, and as such, he begrudgingly accepted the Austrian delegation who currently stood before him. Standing by the right side of the French Monarch was his son Prince Aubry de Valois, who had returned from the war effort after much pleading to his father. As per usual, the French King never followed through with disciplining his errant children.

On the left side of Gilles was his daughter Princess Sibilla de Valois. A young woman is known for her cruel and vicious nature. She had caused more than a few diplomatic crises due to her rotten behavior. The two royal offspring watched with bored expressions as the Austrian delegation presented themselves to the French King.

Baron Ludecke von Dürnstein was tasked with leading Austrian Intelligence's efforts to undermine the Kingdom of France. As such, he acted as the chief diplomat to the French Crown. In doing so, he hoped to gain their trust while his other operatives worked to supply France's rivals.

"Your Majesty, King Gilles de Valois, I am Baron Ludecke von Dürnstein, diplomat of his Majesty King Berengar von Kufstein. My liege has tasked me with aiding you in your efforts to crush the infernal rebellion of the Duke of Burgundy, as well as repel the English invasion. Thus I have come bearing gifts."

The moment Berengar von Kufstein came up, Aubry's interest was sparked, whereas King Gilles instantly grew sour; he could not contain his wrath any longer and immediately began to shout at Ludecke.

"Your master sends gifts after he has stolen my son's bride? What form of compensation can he possibly offer me that will ever compare to the alliance I have lost! You are lucky I even accepted your delegation considering your liege is a known Heretic, who has invoked the ire of the Holy Father! Do you realize there is a crusade declared against your Kingdom? I should have you locked up for even stepping foot in my realm!"

Sibilla gazed over at Aubry with a mocking expression; she knew her brother never intended to marry and most likely did everything he could to force the Princess of the Byzantine Empire to run away during his visit.

Aubry, on the other hand, was practically licking his lips in excitement; he had heard rumors of Berengar's handsome appearance and courage in battle. As such, he grew dreadfully excited thinking about the man who had risen from the ranks of lesser nobility to the status of a full-fledged Monarch through his own sheer will.

The moment Sibilla saw her brother's lust-filled expression, she immediately became disgusted as she knew exactly what the little slut was thinking about. As such, she returned her gaze to the show on display in front of her.

Ludecke did not panic in response to the King's outburst. Instead, he motioned for his delegates to bring forth one of the wooden crates stacked behind him; after doing so, they pulled out a steel crowbar where they pried open the crate to reveal what was contained within. Inside the large wooden box were several dozen matchlock arkebuses.

The arkebuse was a weapon utilized by Berengar allies and had even begun limited production within the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Granada. Several hundred examples had even been captured by the Iberian Union who was close to reverse-engineering the final product. The Catholic Church had received a small portion of these captured weapons and were themselves close to production.

If the fact that all sides of the war were equipped with arkebuses ever came into question, Berengar could point to any number of countries as a potential supplier of France's rivals. Though the countries would deny it, there would be virtually no way to prove that they weren't responsible. Thus giving Berengar and the Kingdom of Austria plausible deniability.

The moment the weapons were revealed, Aubry jumped with joy and ran over to the crate, where he immediately picked up one of the firearms and aimed down its bore. The moment he did this, Gilles placed his head within his palm; his son's over-eager actions had thoroughly ruined any position of authority he, as King of France, had in this negotiation.

As Aubry aimed down the bore of the arkebuse, he pointed it in the direction of his sister with a broad smile on his face, where he immediately pulled the trigger, making a "pow" motion with his feminine pink lips. When Sibilla saw this, she pouted and complained to her father.

"Father, Aubry is pretending to shoot me! Do something about this!"

Gilles sighed heavily and began to rebuke his son for his childish behavior.

"Aubry, knock it off and stow that weapon away; it is not a toy!"

Aubry immediately began to pout as he placed the weapon back in a pile, where he returned to his spot by his father's right side. He was incredibly excited about the prospects of cooperating with Austria, and as such, made his opinion known despite his father's reluctance to accept the gift.

"I heard King Berengar is exceptionally handsome and has the vigor to entertain three women! He is truly a man among men; I would very much like to meet him!"

Gilles's jaw dropped when he heard his son so blatantly praise the enemy of the Catholic world within his court. He was well aware of his son's sexuality, but he could not believe the boy was potentially entertaining the thought of hooking up with the Austrian King. As such, Gilles immediately tried to shut down the conversation. Yet before he could, Sibilla made her statement.

"I heard that King Berengar personally leads his troops into battle and is always in the thick of combat! He must surely have a love for violence if that is the case; I too would also like to meet the man and see if he lives up to the hype..."

Having been utterly betrayed by his contemptible children, Gilles's expression sank into defeat as he leaned back in his chair and sighed, waiting for the Austrian delegation to respond. Ludecke took advantage of the situation, clearing his throat before speaking on the matter.

"King Berengar is busy maintaining the realm, and as such, he won't be able to make a personal visit to Paris any time soon. However, I will be sure to send your regards to him. As for these firearms, they are a gift; there are three hundred of them in total. Use them however you see fit. If you require more, my liege would be more than happy to assist your armies, for a nominal fee, of course."

Gilles raised his brow as he heard this; if Berengar were willing to supply military aid to France, it would be helpful in his war against England and the uprising in Burgundy. However, it also meant he would be taking assistance from a heretical Kingdom, invoking the ire of the Catholic Church.

There were advantages and disadvantages to each side of the argument, and he would have to consider his options for some time before making a decision. The French Monarch rose from his seat and spoke to the Austrian delegation.

"Very well, I will accept your gift, as for any future assistance in our war effort, it will have to wait until after Berengar's troubles with the Church have been resolved. I am not willing to step on the tail of the Holy See to gain some minor military assistance."

Ludecke smiled as he bowed his head in modesty to the French Monarch.

"Of Course, your Majesty, if that is all, then we will be departing back to the Fatherland; if you ever desire to discuss terms further, you and your family are always welcome in Kufstein."

With this said, the Austrian delegation began to depart, and King Gilles began to discuss the matter with his children and his ministers.

"Damned Austrians, forcing me to accept such a troublesome gift; if it weren't for your actions, Aubry, I could have denied them!"

However, when the French King looked around to scold his errant son, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, Aubry had followed the Austrian delegation to the docks, where he whispered a personal message into the ear of Baron Ludecke von Dürnstein.

"Tell his majesty King Berengar von Kufstein that if he ever grows tired of that foolish princess, I'd be more than happy to entertain him!"

Ludecke was shocked when he heard this; however, as a member of Austrian Royal Intelligence, he managed to keep a calm facade as he smiled and nodded towards the French Prince before responding with respect.

"I will be sure to inform the King of your words..."

When Aubry heard this, his eyes sparkled with anticipation before he began to skip back to the Castle. His father would surely scold him, considering he went missing at such a crucial moment. Yet, he did not care about that; he was more interested in contacting King Berengar than being yelled at by his father.

Having begrudgingly promised to convey the French Prince's words to Berengar, Ludecke sighed heavily before stepping onto his vessel, where it began to depart for Trieste. It would be a long journey back home, but ultimately their objective had succeeded; Ludecke was quite sure that once the rivals of France got their hands on firearms, the French would be begging Berengar for military support; it was only a matter of time.

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