Tyranny of Steel

Sieghard stared at his son in silence for a few moments; during this time, all he did was slowly drink down the glass of whiskey. It was only after he had finished its contents that he began to speak the thoughts on his mind.

"When you were but a child, I did not believe you would live to be an adult. After all, you were so sickly back then. Because of this fact, I had focused all of my efforts on raising Lambert to be my successor. I left you to the life of a lazy wastrel, and if I am honest, I did not care; because I was sure that you would die before reaching the age of majority.

Despite this, you limped on, for years, engaging in pointless frivolities and smearing my family name. Yet, I tolerated it because I kept telling myself soon enough you would be dead, and Lambert would be my heir. When you fell ill a little over a year and a half ago, I assumed that was it, that you would be dead and in the grave and no longer be a black mark on my family's history.

Yet once more, you surprised me. You crawled your way out of the grave and brought yourself back to life. In the days that followed, you became a completely different person, driven, intelligent, and capable. It was as if you were not even my son anymore.

Within half a year, you had brought great wealth and success to Kufstein, the likes I had never anticipated. A year from then, you are now the Duke of Austria. To say that I was wrong about you is an understatement.

While I thought Lambert was a worthy successor, it turned out that I was blind to his shortcomings; rather than wait for you to naturally enter the grave, he poisoned you and made multiple other attempts on your life when you started showing yourself as a worthy member of this Dynasty.

The guilt I had for being a poor father to you and your brother forced me to concede my title and lands to you, and I now know that decision was the most excellent choice I have ever made in my life. With this in mind, I want you to be honest with me, for no matter what you tell me; I will be able to handle it. So allow me to ask you the question on my mind... Lambert is dead, isn't he?"

Having listened to this long-winded speech, Berengar felt his emotions fluctuate throughout the entirety of it; he had initially planned to tell his father that Lambert died gloriously in battle defending Christendom from its enemies. Still, after seeing the gaze in his father's blue eyes, he knew he could not lie to the man, and thus he opted to drink from his glass. Once he had finished the contents and had a mental buzz from the alcohol, he opened his mouth and revealed the truth.

"Lambert has been dead for some time now... The fool marched an army on our lands in an attempt to end my life and that of my family. So I marched an army of my own to meet him at Oberstdorf, where it turned into a chaotic slaughter. That knave took my eye from me, and in doing so, he paid the price with his life."

Sieghard frowned when he heard this. However, his expression did not sink into despair, merely one of understanding. After sighing heavily, the man signaled for Berengar to fill up his glass, where Berengar proceeded to pour another round for himself and his father. The two men drank in silence for some time before Sieghard opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Berengar..."

Hearing this, Berengar was stunned he was not expecting such a reaction from his father to the news of his son's death. As such, Berengar decided to clarify his confusion.

"About?"

Sieghard had a grave expression as he continued his train of thought.

"For everything. If I were a better father to the two of you, you would not have been forced into such a situation. It pains me to know that the grudge between you two brothers was so great that Lambert sought to kill you even after a chance at redemption. If I were a better man, I could have prevented everything bad that has happened to you."

Berengar merely drank from his glass in silence for a few moments before responding. When he did so, he had a severe expression on his face.

"You don't need to apologize; everything that has transpired in my life has made me who I am; without Lambert's attempts on my life, I would not be the man I am today. I fear to think about the life I would live if I had never awoken from my naivety."

Berenger then pointed to his eyepatch with a stern expression on his face and began to continue his speech.

"This is a permanent reminder that I should never show mercy to my enemies. It is because I had a soft heart that I spared Lambert at my mother's request. I will never make that mistake again."

Hearing this, Sieghard could tell that Berengar had been through a lot, and the extensive campaigns he had fought had hardened his resolve. The man before him was not the same son he knew a year ago when he left Kufstein to seek a life of leisure and seclusion.

Sieghard could hardly recognize his son, but he was curious about what Berengar was thinking and how grand his ambitions were, and thus the former Baron drank from his glass once more. Finishing its contents, he motioned for Berengar to fill it up, where the young Duke poured more whiskey into both of their cups. After doing so, Sieghard asked the following question on his mind.

"So is being Duke enough for you? Or do you desire to be King?"

When he heard this, Berengar decided to reveal some of his plans to his father. There were a few reasons for this; first and foremost, the man was family, and if Berengar's status was elevated, so too was his.

Second, the older man had retired and given Berengar his realm. Thus even if he was against Berengar's plans, there was nothing he could do. Thirdly Berengar did not plan to reveal everything about his grand ambitions, only what would come next. With this in mind, Berengar responded to his father's question with a smug expression on his face.

"For now, I will consolidate the gains that I have acquired throughout the past year. I will implement my reforms, expand the Army, and establish a Grand Navy. When the time comes that Austria is capable of standing on its own, I will declare myself King of Austria.

If the Emperor refuses to elevate my status from a lowly Duke to a full-fledged King, I will wage war for my independence. No matter how many soldiers the Empire brings to battle, I will be victorious. In the end, I will be King, whether it is done peacefully or through bloodshed; it is inevitable."

Hearing this, Sieghard was surprised that his son had such grand ambitions, to the point where he was willing to go to war for the right to call himself King. Then again, he understood that Berengar had the means to do so. After all, the man had retaken Austria from Bavarian occupation while at the same time preventing an invasion into Tyrol.

A wide smile appeared on Sieghard's face as he thought about such a future; in doing so, he let his thoughts escape from his lips.

"My son... The King of Austria! To think that you would reach such great heights in this life. Do not disappoint me, my boy!"

With this, the father and son broke out into laughter as they switched to beer. Berengar spent the night introducing his father to all kinds of alcohol that he had made. From fortified wine to heavy beers and distilled spirits. While drinking Sieghard gave his son one final piece of advice.

"My son, do not tell your mother or your sister the truth about Lambert's death. It would break their fragile hearts."

Berengar nodded silently towards Sieghard's words. If it were not for his father being so forthright about the topic, he would have lied to him as well. With that said, Berenga drank more from the chalice in his hands. This golden chalice was not the usual skull chalice he drank from. He felt that it would be inappropriate to drink from Lambert's skull in front of his father. Thus he had prepared a different goblet.

Later into the night, Berengar's other family members returned; by the looks on their faces, they had an exciting conversation, much like Berengar had with his father. However, the way Gisela and Linde were getting along was a good sign to Berengar. It would appear that they were able to hash out their difficulties.

Thus with his family's arrival, Berengar garnered their attention by clanging a spoon onto his golden chalice; after the others had turned their attention towards him, he began to speak the words he had prepared long ago.

"Mother, Henrietta, I have an announcement to make. There is no easy way to say this, so I will just come out and say it. Lambert is dead; I have received word from the Grand Master of the Teutonic order that he has died gloriously on the battlefield defending the east from the heathens of the Golden Horde."

Gisela dropped the cup in her hands in shock upon hearing this, and Henrietta began to tear up. Sieghard grabbed ahold of his wife's hands to comfort her in this time. The two women broke out into tears as they mourned Lambert's death, leaving Berengar, Sieghard, and Linde as the only ones aware of the truth.

Berengar had concocted this statement so that his mother and sister would still look fondly on Lambert, even though he had continued to tread upon the path of evil well until his death. In reality, there was no redemption for Lambert; he had died in an attempt to murder his brother and ex-fiancee. If there was an afterlife, only eternal hellfire awaited him. Then again, if hell really existed the two brothers would surely be united one day.