Tyranny of Steel

Nearly a month had passed since Honoria first entered the Danube, and with it, she had finally arrived in Kufstein. Since her adventure in Hungary, she had spent much time on the ship learning to sail and going over the German language with the translator that Agnellus had brought with him. When she was not on the boat learning to sail, sleeping, or learning the German language, she was venturing through the villages they passed through, talking to locals, and experiencing life.

By now she was fairly proficient in the use of the German Language, though she would still have a tough time holding an extended conversation without the translator. Despite this, she was fairly certain she could still communicate with Berengar when she arrived, after all the two of them were nobility, and thus should know Latin.

Now that she had finally arrived in Kufstein, she made sure to dress in her prestigious apparel before venturing towards the castle with Agnellus in tow. Over the past month, she had devised a plan to get on Berengar's good side and had discussed it at length with Agnellus. Her goal was simple; she would approach Berengar under the guise of being a noblewoman from Antioch named Valeria Zonara, seeking to establish trade with Berengar regarding jewelry.

After all, Austrian jewelry was starting to become popular in the market due to its high quality and new materials such as white gold. It had become highly desirable for the nobility among the Danube river to purchase. This has initially been Agnellus' reason for coming to Kufstein. Thus this little scheme of hers did not require anything extra of Agnellus other than for him to play along with her little ruse.

The galley pulled into the river Inn, which separated Kufstein's city and parked at a port designed for river merchants. The moment the ship came to a stop, Heraclius flew off from Honoria's shoulder and into the sky above. Where he was headed to, Honoria did not know. Regardless he would sure to be back soon enough. Thus Agnellus and Honoria followed suit and stepped off the vessel, where Agnellus gave Honoria a stern warning.

"Alright, I am going to go register with the dockworker, stay here, and don't get yourself into any trouble."

The moment Agnellus said this, Honoria rolled her eyes before back-sassing him.

"I know the drill; we have done this a dozen times already!"

Agnellus merely laughed at Honoria's attitude before departing to do as he said he would. As for Heraclius, he had flown high into the sky well above the river where he landed on the pane of an open window. This window belonged to Berengar and was the window to his study within his castle where he was currently sitting.

The moment the bird landed on his window, Berengar looked over and was shocked. He knew this bird to be an eastern imperial eagle, yet they were not found in Austria. Kufstein was well out of the bird's range. He could understand if it was a golden eagle, but this bird from the eastern Mediterranean should not be here in the Alps.

As such, Berengar's natural curiosity came over him, and he slowly approached the majestic eagle, where he lifted out his hand for it to sniff. In doing so, Heraclius gave Berengar a curious sight as he began to talk to the bird.

"Hey there, little fellow, what are you doing here so far from home?"

The bird instantly recognized Berengar's status by the extravagant attire and the fact that he was in the castle's study. Thus he knew this man was likely Honoria's target and decided to provide some assistance to his master.

The bird was quite surprised to see the man while taking a routine flight and had thus approached Berengar of his own free will to gauge his character. Seeing that Berengar did not shoo him away, and was instead friendly, left a good impression on the eagle.

However, Berengar's words that came next greatly shocked it. Berengar had been staring in the eagle's eyes this entire time; while he was observing Heraclius, he recognized that the eagle was also sizing him up, and thus he laughed at this.

"My my, aren't you quite the intelligent bird. Tell me have I gained your trust yet?"

Very few humans ever spoke to Heraclius as if he could understand them, only Honoria did so, and Berengar had quickly found out the bird's intellect. Thus Heraclius was just as curious with Berengar as he was with him.

"Tell me, my feathered friend, are you here on your own? Or did someone bring you here? I find it hard to believe a mighty eagle like you would venture this far into the alps on your own accord."

Hearing this, Heraclius merely cawed before flying out the window and down towards the docks. Seeing where the bird was headed Berengar chuckled, and shook his head before saying his thoughts aloud.

"Alright... I'll bite!"

Thus Berengar quickly gathered his medallion cape and slung it over his right side before placing his cavalier hat upon his head. Afterward, he promptly departed from the castle and followed the bird down to the Docks. Heraclius had made sure to hover in the air and guide Berengar towards Honoria, who was waiting patiently by the ship she had arrived on.

After a short journey through the streets of Kufstein, Berengar found his way down to the docks, where he saw Heraclius land upon the shoulder of a gorgeous young woman. This woman had white hair, brows, and lashes. While having pale skin and mint green eyes, she appeared to be a beautiful albino at first glance, and this immediately caught Berengar's interest as he gulped the saliva down his throat.

When Heraclius landed upon Honoria's shoulder, an elegant and pretty smile spread across her perfect face as she petted the eagle on the head while addressing him.

"Heraclius? Where have you been? We have only just arrived, and you already wandered off!"

Heraclius cawed in response to this and pointed his head toward Berengar, who had just arrived in front of the beautiful princess. It was not until this moment that Honoria had noticed Berengar's presence and was taken back by his handsome demeanor.

There could only be one man in Kufstein dressed so lavishly and having such a perfect appearance in her mind. While dressed in his black and gold Elizabethan attire, with a Cavalier hat, the embellished eyepatch added to his striking figure, rather than take away from it. As such, Honoria was attracted to Berengar to the same degree he was to her.

Berengar put on a charming facade before creating a subject to talk about with the attractive young woman standing in front of him. He decided to speak in Latin for one simple reason. He could tell by the woman's attire that she was from the Byzantine Empire, and though Greek had replaced Latin as the primary language of the Empire, she would surely know Latin as a noblewoman.

Berengar's Latin was a little rusty, but as a nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire, he spoke it to a degree. Thus, he was able to communicate with the woman effectively.

"Heraclius, huh? A fitting name for a majestic creature like the eastern imperial eagle! Emperor Heraclius was a great man to depose the despot Phocas and lead his armies to victory against the Sassanids to the East."

As Berengar said this, he prayed that his knowledge of Byzantine history in his previous life was the same as it was in this timeline. Luckily for him, he appeared correct because the girl covered her mouth in shock as she heard this. She had no idea that the Count from Kufstein would be so well educated in her own people's history.

Honoria was also surprised that Berengar's Latin was fluent. Though he spoke in the Church's dialect, it was still surprising to see a German nobleman pronounce the tongue that she and her ancestors spoke with such proficiency. The girl was greatly enamored by her first impression of the man in front of her. Having seen that Honoria was thoroughly ensnared by his charms Berengar took the time to introduce himself.

"Apologies, my lady, I should have introduced myself first. I am Berengar von Kufstein, Duke of Austria. Might I have the honor of knowing your name?"

It took Honoria a few moments to process her thoughts; when the princess heard Berengar refer to himself as a Duke, her heart fluttered for a moment. However, eventually, she managed to calm her beating heart before responding with what she had planned to say for some time now.

"I am Valeria Zonara; I am but a minor noblewoman from Antioch here to engage in the jewelry trade with Kufstein, your gems are legendary, and I would very much like to sell them in the Empire!"

Hearing this, Berengar sighed heavily within his mind while thinking to himself.

'If only she were a princess...'

After hearing Honoria was a minor noblewoman and not a princess, he had lost interest; despite her exceptional beauty that was on par with Linde's and Adela's, Berengar had told himself he would not take in another girl unless there were significant benefits tied to it, like an alliance with a foreign Kingdom.

Thus Honoria had unknowingly shot her initial chances into wooing Berengar in the foot without realizing it. Instead, Berengar controlled his animal instincts and shifted Honoria to the back of his mind into the category known as "strictly business."

Thus he no longer gazed at her lustfully and instead put on a friendly smile as he addressed her business concerns.

"Well, you are not wrong; we have the finest gems and jewelry here in Kufstein. I would be more than happy to negotiate with you about a trading agreement. How about you come back with me to the castle, and we can have a discussion about this over a hot meal?"

Honoria noticed the shift in Berengar's gaze as she stated her identity and felt as if she had somehow said something that displeased him, but she could not tell what. Ever being the wise bird, Heraclius realized that Honoria had ruined Berengar's initial impression of her and lightly pecked at her cheek, trying to warn her that she was friend-zoning herself.

Unfortunately, he could not speak the human tongue and could not inform the princess of her mistake. Thus Honoria merely shrugged the eagle off of her as she proceeded to bow gracefully to Berengar.

"It would be my pleasure!"

Hearing this, Berengar smiled and led her back to his castle. He had no idea that this Lady Valeria was Princess Honoria in disguise, and by now, he had mostly lost interest in trying to snatch her for himself.

On the other hand, Honoria had other plans; she fully intended to win Berengar's favor, especially now that she had seen him in person and was intensely infatuated with him. Thus an awkward Lunch was about to occur between Berengar, Linde, and Honoria, as the trio introduced themselves over a meal.

Of course, Honoria had utterly forgotten that she had promised to wait for Agnellus behind at the dock, and thus this would greatly outrage the man when he found out he had been left behind so that the princess could dine with the Duke. However, he was registering the boat with the dockmaster for the time being and was unaware that Honoria had left with Berengar.