Tyranny of Steel

Shortly after the art exhibition, Berengar visited Prussia, where he was not standing at the altar of a particularly large cathedral. By his side was none other than King Eckhard von Marienburg. It was the first time in a long time that the two men had seen each other, and despite the years going by, Eckhard remained the same stalwart veteran he had always been. 

No, today was not Berengar's wedding day, and at the moment he had no real prospects for his final wife. Instead, today was the wedding of one of Berengar's oldest friends. Eckhard had climbed from the ranks of being a lonely, landless knight, to a mighty General in the Armed forces of Austria. Now, after years of service, he was the King of Prussia, which was a state founded as the cornerstone of German hegemony in the Baltic. 

The bride was a particularly loathsome bitch who Berengar held utter contempt for. After learning the extent that she and her father went towards to dethrone his dearest friend, Berengar had even thought of having the cunt executed. However, Eckhard had other plans for Martha.

Despite the woman's character flaws, Eckhard had insisted on marrying her. Why? Mainly as a matter of pride. He said he was going to marry her and he was a man who followed through with his promises. However, there were two others reasons that he chose to follow through with his engagement; one of which was simply a matter of spite towards the bride's family. 

The other major factor for Eckhard marrying Martha was the political stability it provided to the German Empire. After all, he was afforded up to five wives, and he didn't mind having a loveless marriage with his first wife. There was bound to be some other young woman who would fall in love with him.

Eckhard was not a man like Berengar, he did not have a mind hellbent on conquest of land, and the hearts of beauties, he was a far more simple man. If not for the fact that Martha was such a disappointment, he never would have considered having more than one wife. 

Berengar was selected as the best man for the wedding. After all, one could most certainly say that all of Eckhard's other friends were either dead, or in active combat zones. Besides, he had grown close with the Emperor through his years of service, and because of that, he was glad to have the man hold such an esteemed position at his wedding. 

The Bride entered the chapel, and walk down the aisle with her brother leading her towards the altar. After all, her fiance had in fact killed her father in combat, or at the very least gave the order to do so. She had a stern expression on her face. Though she wanted to rebel, she knew she had no choice in the matter. After what happened to her father, her brother immediately submitted to Eckhard's demands and grew fearful of the man. 

Though Eckhard no longer commanded his own personal army, he was a close friend of the Kaiser, who acted as Reichsmarschall over all of Germany's forces, as well as a former General in the Austrian Army. Needless to say, if he requested help from the Kaiser to deal with the Hohenzollerns, then things would be bloody. 

The man in question gazed upon his emperor and the King of Prussia with a complicated expression as he handed off the bride. The long white dress that belonged to the woman contrasted nicely with the Prussian Royal Regalia.

Even though Eckhard was now retired from military service, he still wore a military style uniform with all of his accolades. He even wore the chain that belonged to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. He was quite the imposing figure and was several decades older than the bride. 

The ceremony proceeded without incident, where Berengar watched with a pleasant smile. Eventually, the couple said their vows and kissed, sealing their matrimony. Afterward, the party was led into the Palace of Marienburg, where they dined on dishes prepared for the reception. 

Berengar sat by his friend's side and quietly informed him of some secrets that were being kept from the other monarchs. 

"Colonization of the New World is going as planned. I have even subjugated a Native Empire." 

When Eckhard heard this he smiled for the first time in a long time, life had been pretty dull since he retired from the military, and though he no longer wished to see bloodshed, it was still a joy to hear about his former comrades achieving glory in war. Thus, he could not help but pay more attention to Berengar's tales than to his new bride.

"Really? A native empire? Were they powerful?"

In response to this, Berengar merely drank from his chalice before shaking his head. 

"Hardly. They were a bunch of stone age primitives engaging in human sacrifice. However, they built some impressive structures. It is truly hard to believe they accomplished such feats without bronze or iron tools. Still, I only brought five hundred men with me on campaign. The weapons we have nowadays tore the savages to shreds. It truly was a magnificent sight to behold."

Eckhard was eager to learn more about this native empire, and the Emperor's plans for colonization and thus he quickly inquired further about the topic.

"So how many did you kill? Did you annihilate the Empire?"

Berengar shook his head before informing Eckhard of the info he requested.

"No, I simply don't have the means to control such a vast Empire across the atlantic. Get this, I told them I was a divine envoy of their gods, and that the gods were angry at them. That the German Empire was a divine empire requesting their servitude. After witnessing a few gory scenes, and the spreading of a plague, their emperor was practically on his knees, begging me to make him a protectorate. His daughter, though, she was smart enough to realize we were not gods, but said nothing. After all, she and I had some history."

Eckhard scoffed when he heard this. Of course Berengar was going into foreign countries and taming their beauties he was not surprised in the slightest, instead he made a smug remark.

"Oh, you had history did, you? Is that what you're calling it now?"

Berengar feigned offense as he scolded Eckhard for making assumptions.

"Hey, I'm an emperor with four gorgeous wives. Do you really think I'm the kind of man to sail across the ocean and get distracted by a native beauty?"

In response to this, Eckhard raised a brow before asking the question on his mind.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

The two men immediately broke out into laughter. Meanwhile, Martha noticed that her husband was being awfully chummy with the Emperor and decided to introduce herself to the man in question.

"Your Majesty, I believe this is the first time we have met. You are as impressive as they say. Pardon my rudeness, I am Martha von Hohenzollern, or well, I suppose that would be Martha von Marienburg now..."

Despite his internal feelings towards the woman, Berengar choked down his nasty words, and instead responded with a forced smile. After all, it would not be good for his public image to start a scene. Nor would it help his friendship with Eckhard, thus he responded kindly to the woman despite his detest for her.

"A pleasure. I am certain that Eckhard has made the right decision in forgiving you for your transgressions. Truly, he is a better man than I."

Eckhard glanced at Berengar with a hint of caution. He knew the man was forcing himself to be polite, which was not his style in the slightest. He could only imagine what the man thought about his new wife. However, in order to secure the peace of the realm, he had gone through with this sham of marriage, even if he wasn't fond of Martha himself. 

Martha, on the other hand, was not pleased with the tone Berengar had used with her. She was about to comment on it when Linde interrupted. Berengar took one date with him to this wedding, not wanting to complicate matters with his entire family, and decided to take Linde, who was on better terms with Eckhard than the others were. 

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Martha. I am Linde. I have heard so much about you!"

Apparently, the Empress was more cordial, or so Martha thought. She had no idea how terrifying the statement Linde just made was. The woman was the director of Imperial Intelligence, but few people knew this. So when she used a phrase like "I have heard so much about you" what she was really saying was something more akin to "I know everything there is to know about you, watch your step."

However, due to her ignorance, Martha assumed the woman was being friendly and decided to converse with her throughout the wedding reception. Thus, taking her attention off of the important discussions Berengar would be having with his old friend. Berengar and Eckhard would continue to get drunk while catching up well into the night, to the point where Eckhard nearly forgot to consummate his marriage. Luckily, Berengar gave him a reminder, and thus they were the last two people to retire for the night.