Tyranny of Steel

Silence filled the room as a young girl walked forward from the rear ranks of her family. Like Kristoffer, Astrid was a child roughly the age of five. The Princess of the Kalmar Union was practically a living doll with porcelain skin, a heart-shaped face, a button nose, and wide ice-blue irises. Her platinum blonde hair was long in the back, while still having two distinctive pigtails tied together with ribbons.

Despite her doll-like appearance, Astrid was anything but stoic, and was quite shy as she stumbled forward and attempted a curtsey. Her pale white cheeks were flushed red, while her eyes stared straight at the floor, too embarrassed to gaze upon the appearance of her fiance. She stuttered as she struggled to introduce herself in the grace befitting a princess.

"I... It... i..is my honor to meet you... esteemed prince of Germany... I.. I am Astrid, your fiancee..."

The girl's light blue eyes darted back and forth, trying to see how her parents and her grandfather thought of her performance. In truth, it displeased Alvar. This granddaughter of his was always so shy, and timid, much like a common rabbit. In the eyes of the Kalmar King, her introduction was completely insulting to the Kaiser and his young son. 

However, Kristoffer did not seem to mind, and instead smiled warmly as he hugged the girl, an action which shocked her deeply. However, unlike his elder brother Hans, or his father Berengar, this wasn't a shady attempt at womanizing, but an expression of genuine heartfelt joy which resounded in his voice as he welcomed the girl to his family's home.

"I'm Kristoffer. I'm so happy to finally meet you! Welcome to Kufstein! I hope you enjoy your stay, because one day we will be living here together as a family!"

Though Astrid initially resisted Kristoffer's embrace, she soon found herself enthralled in the moment, as the boy was treating her more kindly than her own family. Adela gazed upon the sight of her young son meeting his fiancee and smiled. Meanwhile, Berengar was observing the entire scene. 

If Hans had inherited his father's intelligence, and his mother's cunning nature. Then Kristoffer had inherited his father's intellect and his mother's kind heart. This was something Berengar saw as both a weakness and a strength. The reich would not always be in a position of war, and because of this, a kind hearted ruler could be a good thing during an era of peace.

However, in the fires of war, kindness will only get you killed, and because Germany would sooner or later find itself at odds with the world, Berengar was currently leaning towards Hans as his successor. Though it was still too early to choose a victor for the family competition, after all Berengar had many German sons, and it was impossible to know how Josef, Franz, and Lukas would turn out. 

Thus, Berengar chose to watch and wait, as Kristoffer continued to speak to his young fiancee as if they had been friends for a long time. The gentle nature of the German Prince was enough to coax the girl out of her shell, or at least after some time had passed. For now, she was still remaining silent where she could, and stuttering with each sentence she was forced to speak. This strange behavior caused Berengar to question King Alvar about the girl's mental state.

"Does your granddaughter always stutter like that? Or is this a symptom of her anxiety?"

Alvar was quick to dismiss Berengar's worries about a potential genetic issue, even if he did not know what genes were, and assured the Kaiser that his bloodline was strong.

"She has trouble speaking to strangers, but I assure you, among people she is comfortable with, she is as quick as anyone."

In response to this, Berengar could only nod his head in silence as he observed his son interact with the young princess of Denmark. The Kalmar Union was not a unified political entity, but rather a union of multiple Kingdoms each ruled by their own royal family, which was currently being presided over by the King of Denmark. 

After several moments of thought, Berengar continued the introductions of his family members. Eventually Berengar stopped on Linde, who wore a pretty smile as she curtseyed before the Kalmar King. Berengar wore a proud smirk as she introduced his favorite wife to his guest from the north. 

"This is my second wife, Linde. Without her, I would be nothing..."

Berengar was slightly exaggerating, but not by much. Though much of Berengar's success was due to his heightened intelligence, and his knowledge of the future. In truth, Linde had been responsible in many ways for his rapid rise to power.

Her gifts in intrigue were unrivaled on the world stage, and he would not be alive today without her efforts. Linde had a graceful demeanor as she greeted the Kalmar King. Though her words were kind, her eyes were that of a hawk, which went entirely unnoticed by Alvar. 

"King Alvar, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you!" 

More than one member of the Reichsgarde flinched when they heard the last part of the Kaiserin's greeting. Few people outside of Imperial Intelligence knew that Linde was the spymaster who controlled the Reich with her web of intrigue. Those who did were aware just how terrifying the words "I have heard so much about you!" were when they came from this redheaded temptress's luscious lips. 

King Alvar was ignorant of this reality and simply smiled and nodded his head. Allowing Berengar to move onto his son Hans, who he was about to introduce when Ingrid rushed out of her place and hugged the boy tightly while shoving his head into her substantial bust. This action caught everyone off guard, including Hans, who was immediately suspicious of the woman's intentions. 

"You must be Prince Hans. I could spot you immediately! Your father is so handsome, and your mother's beauty is truly in a world of its own. It is no surprise that you yourself are a very handsome young boy! Oh, where are my manners? I am Ingrid your fiancee!"

After saying this, the young woman shot a glare towards Veronika, who gazed at her with shock. Ingrid had her own ways of finding out who Hans' fiancees were, and she had used that network to dig up all the dirt she could find on Veronika and the others.  As a devout Nordic Reformist, Ingrid did not approve of Polygamy and was determined to steal Hans away from his other women at any cost.

Especially now that she finally laid eyes upon him. From the moment Ingrid first saw Hans, she knew he would be an incredibly handsome man when he finally grew up. The first step in her master plan was to get Hans to fall in love with her while he was still a boy. She figured she had many years to influence the German Prince as she saw fit before he even began to have an interest in girls. 

Unfortunately for her, Hans's brain developed much quicker than most boys, and he was already keenly aware of the opposite sex. Thus, as she stuffed his head into her cleavage, he became increasingly flustered. He eventually pushed the young woman away before his mother could interfere and recovered his calm demeanor. The last thing he needed was for Linde to get angry over this harlot's scandalous actions. With a stone cold look on his face, Hans introduced himself to Ingrid. 

"Princess Ingrid, I am Hans von Kufstein. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

It surprised Ingrid to see how calm Hans was. She thought at the very least her overly affectionate actions would annoy him. In reality, the German Prince was incredibly flustered by what had just happened, but he was a masterful actor, and could easily mask his heightened emotions with a stoic facade. 

This perceived lack of care caused the girl to pout, especially when she saw the younger Veronika sneer in disdain towards her. Veronika knew Hans well enough to know when he was acting, but the fact that Ingrid did not notice how the boy really felt was simple proof that the woman was out of her depth. Ingrid had expected Hans to be a mere child, when in reality, his mind surpassed her own by a large margin.

Hans took notice of this brief exchange of glances between his bitches, and immediately understood what Ingrid's intent was. She was staking her claim over him, as if this were a monogamous relationship and his other fiancees were mere side chicks.

However, would Hans ever be trapped in such a horrific fate? He had watched for years as his father's wives competed for his favor, and he had learned much about the art of manipulating women. If Ingrid thought she was going to come into his house and take him away for herself, she was out of her goddamn mind.

Hans did not even need to look over at his mother to know that the woman was glaring daggers at Ingrid. He could only sigh in defeat at the fact that his parents were so overprotective of him. Berengar gazed upon the awkward scene of Ingrid trying to intimidate her rivals and chuckled. A brief thought appeared in his mind before he continued the introductions of his family.

My boy is growing up to be a true man of culture...