Tyranny of Steel

After completing his Educational Reforms, Berengar left his study, where he instantly ran into Linde and Honoria, who both were standing outside of his door. It would appear they were having difficulties finding the courage to speak as the two women would not meet his gaze. Curious as to the issue, Berengar decided to lighten the mood by making a joke.

"Let me guess; you're both pregnant?"

Hearing Berengar so blatantly says what they were struggling to speak about shocked both Linde and Honoria, who rushed up to Berengar and grabbed ahold of him seeking answers for how he could be aware of such a thing.

"How did you know!?!"

Berengar, who was genuinely shocked to see that his jest was accurate, immediately inquired for clarification on the issue; he honestly could not believe that Adela, Linde, and Honoria would find out they were pregnant on the same day. As such, he scoffed at the girl's claims before speaking the thoughts on his mind. 

"You can't be serious..."

The two young women looked at each other before silently nodding their heads at Berengar; the sparkle in their eyes hinted that they were intensely judging his reaction. Upon seeing that they were serious, Berengar's expression sank; though he was aware of just how much fun he had been having with his three women, he honestly did not expect a scenario where the trio was pregnant at the same time. 

Judging by his timing, Adela was probably a few weeks further along than the other girls and had either just found out about it or was struggling to broach the subject with him until today. Berengar found it hard to believe that he had been shooting blanks for a few weeks before the first night he spent with all three of them. 

Nevertheless, the reality was that all three of his women were currently pregnant, which meant that his life was about to become a lot more interesting; by interesting, he meant miserable. He could only imagine the difficulties he would face by living with three pregnant women, all siring his offspring. 

Though Berengar could feel a headache looming over him, he did not let his grim outlook appear on his face; instead, he expressed great excitement to the girls who would soon be mothers. As such, he grabbed ahold of both of them and dragged them into his embrace, where he kissed them one at a time with an elated expression on his face. He spoke confidently as he was secretly lamenting the next nine months of his life.

"That's wonderful!"

Though Honoria bought his facade, Linde was far more shrewd and instantly picked up some of the small cues he left behind when he was acting; as such, she quickly withdrew from his kiss and questioned her lover in a severe tone.

"Are you not excited? This will be our third child; for some reason, you seem less sincere than when I informed you I was pregnant with Hans and Helga!"

It was only now that Honoria began to realize that Berengar had been faking his excitement, and as such, she immediately began to pout. Berengar had been found out, and as such, he carefully navigated around the minefield that was the girls' emotions.

"I'm excited; truly I am; I'm glad we will be able to increase the size of our family; it is just that I am worried, is all."

When Berengar said, this Linde and Honoria looked at each other with confusion before asking for clarification on what he had just said.

"Worried about what?"

When Berengar heard the two girls once more speak in unison, his excited facade crumbled, and a dejected expression filled his handsome face.

"I'll level with you; Adela has also informed me that she is pregnant, and so I am worried that something might happen to you girls, and I will be left alone in this world looking after our kids by myself."

Truthfully, Berengar was confident that nothing bad would happen to his wives or the children they bore. Instead, he was more concerned about the living hell his life was about to become; regardless, he could not very well admit that, or the girls would slap him.

As such, he went with the more safe approach to explain his lack of excitement. Luckily for him, Linde and Honoria had both bought this line and immediately began to hug him; the two girls comforted their lover, assuring him that there was nothing to worry about. 

"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to the children or us..."

Linde, who had already been through two healthy childbirths, knew that she would be okay, as, for the other two girls, she secretly prayed for their safety. Though she was not an exceptionally religious woman, she would find herself in prayer in times of doubt or fear, especially for those she cared about. 

As for Berengar, he placed his faith in himself and his medical reforms, though they were far from the efficiency of the 21st Century; the effectiveness of the doctors in his realm increased with each passing day, as men like Eawald continued their research into the field of medicine. 

By now, minor surgeries were starting to become commonplace, and blood types had been thoroughly researched, resulting in blood transfusions. Germ theory itself was largely accepted by Austrian scientists and doctors thanks to the efforts of Berengar's chemistry department.

Austrian medicine was already above and beyond anything else that existed in this medieval world. With Berengar's limited understanding of anatomy, biology, and chemistry which was no more than any other college graduate in the field of engineering would understand; he had significantly increased the knowledge of medical professionals, who themselves further researched into their respective fields with the tools that Berengar had provided them. 

This pool of educated and zealous professionals allowed Berengar to be confident about preventing any severe complications during the pregnancy of his three wives. God? Who was he? Some old man living in the clouds who was given credit for everything, despite doing nothing. It was Berengar and his Scientific Revolution that was to thank for the low infant mortality rate. 

Despite these thoughts, Berengar simply accepted the loving embrace of his two lovers; he would never allow anything to happen to them; if God existed and decided to steal his brides away from him, then Berengar would find a way to wage war against heaven to reclaim them.

Berengar smiled as he thought about the future; though the next nine months might be a living hell for him as a man, he would ultimately endure it. It was with this in mind that he grabbed ahold of Linde's and Honoria's hands and led them to the dining room. It was time for dinner, and Berengar intended to eat his fill. 

Before long, Berengar arrived in the Dining hall, where he sat down next to his wife. Honoria was exceptionally clingy and refused to leave his side; as such, she sat in his lap and clung to him while he fed her; for whatever reason, she enjoyed being spoiled in such a manner. The very act angered the other two women by his side, but before they could comment on the matter, Berengar spoke up.

"Well, since all three of you are pregnant, I suppose we should host the weddings as quickly as possible; after all, it is better to not cause controversy over the legitimacy of these children." 

When Berengar said this, Henrietta dropped her spoon from her mouth, which landed upon her porcelain plate, creating a loud clanking sound. Although she was aware of what Berengar and his women got up to in their spare time, she was astounded that he had managed to impregnate all three of them at once. 

On the other hand, Adela looked at the other two young women in shock; she could not believe they were also with children. As such, she began to pout, which did not go unnoticed by Berengar's trained eye. He, of course, smiled awkwardly at the whole situation while thinking to himself. 

Mom... Dad... if you're watching me from above, I'm not going to lie; I think I bit off more than I can chew...

Berengar was referring to his parents from his past life, he did not know how transmigration worked, or if there was a heaven, but it was moments like this that he liked to think his parents, who had given up everything to provide for him, could see where he was at now.

Would they be excited about having a bunch of grandchildren, or would they admonish him for being a no-good playboy? Berengar already knew the answer to that question within his own heart. His mother would undoubtedly chastise him for his behavior, but she would surely love his grandchildren and his wives. At the same time, his father would be giving him a high five while sharing a drink and a cigar with him. 

Thus Berengar gazed upon his new family with a loving expression as he drank from his beer and dined upon his food. He reflected on all of his life choices during both his past and this current one. Undoubtedly, his life here in this medieval world was superior to that of his first attempt. 

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