Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat in a local beerhouse dressed in casual attire. His hair was styled differently than normal in an attempt to hide his identity. It was a common tactic he used whenever visited local taverns and restaurants so that he could mingle with his people and hear from their lips just how they felt about the current state of affairs.

However, tonight was no such night. Instead, the Kaiser had just finished his fifth liter of beer, and was now hanging his head low, as it rested in the palms of his hands. He was well and truly vexed over the recent developments in the colonies. 

Immediately after receiving word of the battle of Berenwalde, Berengar had ordered the arrest of Arnulf, and his wife, Kahwihta. The two of them were to be brought to the Royal Capital to sit before a military tribunal and answer for their crimes. No doubt the man was already on his way to Kufstein. 

However, Berengar was not alone while he drowned his sorrows. Instead, he was accompanied by someone who he had a complex relationship with. On the one hand, Tlexictli admired Berengar as a ruler, and all that he had accomplished over the years. However, she also internally despised him for what he had done to her people, even if she felt a strong physical attraction to the man. 

Because of this love/hate relationship she had drunken just as much as Berengar, as the two reunited over recent events. Since the beginning, Tlexictli could tell that something was wrong with the Kaiser, though she did not want to pry into his business. After all, he had been exceptionally cruel to her back in Berenstadt, and she feared a repeat of such behavior. 

Despite this internal fear, Tlexictli's curiosity got the better of her, and after she had drank enough to feel as if she could wrestle a jaguar, she finally decided to pose the question that had been plaguing her all night.

"So are you going to tell me what has got you so frustrated?"

Berengar sighed heavily when he heard these words and slunk back into his booth with a depressed appearance. He did not like talking about his feelings. After all, he was a man, and there were two things that were absolutely taboo for a man, and those were crying and talking about their feelings. Thus, he tried to bottle up his emotions, but in the end, he could not help but release a raspy groan of distress while he spilled his guts. 

"God dammit, fine, I'll tell you since you are so insistent..."

Upon hearing this, Tlexictli perked up her ears and rested her dainty chin on one hand before giving the man her full attention. It was only now that Berengar had fully taken in the woman's natural beauty. It was a different type of beauty than any of his wives, like that of a proud and strong lioness. However, before he could let such thoughts plague him any further, Berengar took a sip from his beer and began expressing his woe to the woman.

"There are very people in this world that I can consider to be a trusted advisor and a close personal friend. Arnulf von Thiersee is one of these men, and though our relationship is built upon my own deception, he was never the wiser about some of the more horrific details, and has until now proven to be a capable and loyal man. 

I have made the mistake of entrusting this man with complete authority over the territory he rules over, and because of that, an incident has occurred. In truth, it is my own damn fault. I should have paid more attention to the development of the colonies, but I was too busy waging war in Europe. 

This man, has in his infinite wisdom, begun seeing the stone age savages who inhabited the lands of New Vienna before my conquests as valuable allies. So much so that he has alienated the people beneath his control, and guaranteed these savages land at the expense of German development. Something I'm sure you would appreciate as a woman from a similar situation. 

However, in doing so, he caused a large group of his citizens to leave the colony in self-imposed exile and stake a claim further north. They fought for control of their land from the natives who inhabited the region, and because of this, the savages requested support from Arnulf, who responded by dispatching his troops to put an end to the newfound colony of Berenwalde. 

When I found out about this, I tried to put an end to the conflict before any lives could be pointlessly wasted. However, I am but one man, half a world away, and despite my latest technological innovations in the field of communications, I lament to admit that I was too slow.

Because of this, hundreds of Germans lie dead, and even more are wounded. As we speak, the northern colonies of Lindeheim are in a state of total conflict, waiting for each other to make the next move. So because I failed to keep track of developments in the new world, I now have to punish a man that I consider to be a friend. There is only one punishment for treason, and I would give anything not to have to go through with it."

It shocked Tlexictli to hear that such a crazy scenario had taken place in the new world. She was beginning to understand how limited her knowledge of this world truly was. She wasn't even aware that the reich had colonies north of Berenstadt. However, from the look on Berengar's face, she could guess the price of treason, and quickly gulped down some more beer before asking for confirmation.

"You're going to kill him?"

Upon hearing these words so brazenly spoken, Berengar froze in his spot, gazing at the amber liquid of the lager in his glass for several moments in silence before finally nodding his head. 

"He has left me no choice. If I am unwilling to punish those at the highest level of society, it will send a message to my people that there are still men above the law, and that would prove to everyone I am nothing more than a despot like the feudal overlords who ruled over them in years prior.

Such a thing would invite chaos and rebellion, which is something I must prevent no matter what the cost. Thus, I am left with only one option: I have to kill my friend. Just like how I killed his father all those years ago, it has come full circle. Once more, I am left in a position of kill or be killed, which is something I foolishly believed I had evolved beyond." 

It was only now that Tlexictli learned of what Berengar meant when he previously said that his relationship with Arnulf was founded on his own deception. She was quite surprised that he was so ruthless as to kill a man's father and lie to him with a straight face for so many years without the slightest sign of guilt. She could hardly believe it and needed to ask for clarification, which she did.

"You killed his father, and you never told him?"

When Berengar heard this remark, he scoffed before taking another sip of his beer, where he proceeded to inform Tlexictli of his past. 

"If I told the man I killed his father, do you think he would have sacrificed so much for me over the years? The story is a bit complicated, but since you have asked, don't blame me if we go down the rabbit hole together...

Around ten years ago, my brother had conspired against me with a multitude of powerful men or, so I thought they were at the time. Compared to the power I wield now, they were practically nothing. Anyway, the goal of these men was to assassinate me so that Lambert could usurp my position as heir to Kufstein.

Where they intended to use him to secure Kufstein's iron deposits for their rebellion against the Duke. To make a long story shorter, I had outsmarted my brother, and after presenting evidence of his wrongdoing to my parents, they exiled him. Which ultimately resulted in his returning with an army, where I slew him in single combat on the field of battle. But not before the bastard left behind a little gift."

Berengar silently motioned to the scar over his right eye, causing Tlexictli to cover her gaping mouth with her hand in shock. She could not believe such a brutal story about fratricide was the origin of the man's most distinctive battle wound. However, after thinking about this, Tlexictli did not understand the connection between Berengar's rivalry with Lambert and his killing of Arnulf's father. Because of this, she interrupted the man when he was in the middle of his harrowing tale.

"But wait... What does that have to do with Arnulf's father?"

Berengar groaned in displeasure as he heard this before taking another sip of his drink before scolding the girl.

"If you would just let me finish! Anyway... the point I was trying to make is that Arnulf's father was one of my brother's supporters, So I had used Linde and her influence to turn one of the man's maids against him, who poisoned his food for some time, until he died a convincing death. Luckily for me, the man had died leaving behind a single word: Lambert.

What the old fucker was actually trying to say, I have no idea, but his dying words had convinced Arnulf that my brother was responsible for the man's death, and I just rolled with it, fabricating enough evidence to pin the blame on Lambert, which was ultimately overlooked in his sentencing due to the other serious crimes he had committed. 

The moral of the story is, Arnulf's father had committed treason by supporting my rebellious little brother, and his petty claim over what was rightfully mine. In doing so, the man forced me to eliminate him, and now, ten years later, his son has committed a similar offense. There is only one legitimate punishment for treason, and that is death..."

Tlexictli instantly sobered up in that moment as she came to a dreadful understanding. In his drunken state, Berengar had revealed to her a dirty secret about his past, something she was probably better off not knowing. Out of everyone in this world, the only people who knew about this incident were Berengar and Linde. After all, the crafty spymaster had long since removed all loose ends. 

Now there was a third person who knew of such a terrible secret, and most horrifying was the fact that Tlexictli was unsure whether Berengar considered her irreplaceable yet. She felt an intense fear that perhaps after sobering up, Berengar would eliminate her in order to keep such a secret buried. It was partially because of this dread that Tlexictli now felt an intense desire to become more intimate with Berengar, no matter the cost. Thus, the duo continued to drink long into the night, seemingly unaware of the time passing by and the extent of the alcohol they consumed.