Tyranny of Steel

After the morning where Berengar had put Decentius in his place, he continued to enjoy his meal, even if it turned to awkward silence. However, after it was over, Berengar was left much to himself. As such, he mainly stayed by Honoria's side, spending a significant degree of time with her. After all, he had done the same thing with his previous marriages. 

After a while, Berengar found himself alone in the Byzantine Gardens admiring the scenery. While he was relaxing in this beautiful place, someone he was not expecting approached him. The man was dressed in lavish attire and was evidently very high up within the Byzantine Aristocracy. 

Though Berengar noticed the man's approach, he chose to say nothing and instead waited to see what would transpire. While Berengar was standing quietly at ease in front of the fountain, the man stopped thirty paces behind him and immediately began to speak in a calm and friendly manner. 

"King Berengar of Austria, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance at last; I do believe I was not able to introduce myself at your coronation ceremony properly. I am Strategos Palladius Angelus, ruler over the Balkans and General of its Army. I must admit I have taken great interest in your rise to power."

Berengar smiled before turning around to face the man. The man was practically fifty years old, which would make him an Elder in this day and age; yet, he appeared to be in exceptional health. He had a long grey beard and matching hair.

Though his face was weathered with age, it was also scarred heavily from battle, giving the man the dignified appearance of a soldier. Upon seeing that the man was a Strategos and over the region closest to his Kingdom, Berengar immediately became interested and began to question the man.

"So tell me, Palladius, which faction do you belong to? Who do you wish to see succeed the Emperor?"

As Palladius heard this, he smiled before telling a long tale about how he decided who to support.

"My entire life, I have spent in service to the Empire, ruling my family's dominion and striking fear into the hearts of our enemies. I cared not for the politics of the palace, only in fulfilling my duty. Others have tried countless times to involve me in their conspiracies, yet to no avail.

I humbly admit, though I have achieved much in my tenure as a Strategos, it fails to compare to the mighty Arethas Maniakes. I have always considered myself his greatest rival, even if he never thought of me as such.

Though he was my rival, I never despised him; when I heard of his death in Egypt, I was beside myself; it was as if I had lost all meaning in life. That is until I accidentally discovered a little detail about his death. As you may be aware, I believe Decentius is responsible for the end of my old friend. 

After learning the truth of the matter, I instantly became furious and even attempted to persuade Quintus of his brother's betrayal. Yet the boy lacks any sense of fury; when he told me he would not bring this matter to his father's attention until I had received absolute proof of his brother's misdeeds, I knew then and there that the Empire was doomed. 

For the first time in my life, I realized why the older men of the court fought and killed behind the scenes to place the candidate of their choice on the throne. Though Quintus is a great administrator and can lead the Empire to future prosperity, he is a coward and a pacifist. His refusal to engage in violence would be the end of our Empire. 

Decentius, on the other hand, is the exact opposite; he has martial prowess and a mind for warfare, yet he has not a single thought within his mind dedicated to anything other than bloodshed. His solution to all problems is to fight someone else. After his betrayal was revealed to me, I knew he, too, was not a viable candidate for the throne. 

As for Aurelius, the boy is beyond useless and is too far gone to mold into a proper ruler. He has neither the wit of Quintus nor the strength of Decentius yet comprises all of their worst qualities. Cowardly, treacherous, quick to anger, and stubborn as a mule. Luckily he is more interested in drinking wine and fornicating with women than ruling the Empire. 

As for Honoria, she is a woman, and I would never be able to convince the old fools who operate behind the scenes that she is remotely capable of ruling the Empire. When I heard of her disappearance, I initially did not care in the slightest; after all, she was a young, naive girl who had been locked up her entire life, how could such a person preside over our realm?

Yet after concluding that her brothers were all failures, my only hope for the future of this Empire would be in her progeny. Unfortunately, she was declared dead after being missing for two years. Imagine my shock when I uncovered the truth that she was in Kufstein and was the lover of the young Duke of Austria. 

A man born to a line of lowly Barons had risen from his minor position through cunning and military prowess to become a Duke. A man who was not afraid to fight on the front lines of war and was winning a war for independence against the second strongest power in the West, the Holy Roman Empire. 

I began to think that maybe, just maybe, the son between this King of Austria and the sole Princess of Byzantium might be worthy to rule our Empire. After all, if your future son is half as talented as you are, he is already vastly superior to any other potential heirs to the throne. 

With this in mind, I quietly got to work on building a new faction. I made use of the many contacts I had made over the years and acquired the man from the Empire closest to you, aside from Arethas himself. It was relatively easy; I just had to inform him of the actual reason for his master's death.

After that, he was more than eager to approach your spymaster and convince her to aid our cause. You asked which faction I belong to; the answer is simple, I am the mastermind behind the mysterious section that supports you. So tell me, King Berengar von Kufstein, after spending time with the Imperial Family, what are your opinions on the three princes?"

Berengar listened to the elder's long tale with great interest; in the end, he had come to the same conclusion as the man before him. None of the three Princes were worthy of ruling the mighty Byzantine Empire, and as such, Berengar smiled and nodded before responding to the man's praise.

"I agree with you; all three of them are pathetic and unworthy. You were correct to place your hopes in my bloodline, for I guarantee you that my son with Honoria will be raised as a proper ruler. By the time the Emperor croaks, my son will be the best candidate from the Palaiologos Dynasty to rule your Empire!"

Palladius smiled when he heard this response; after doing so, he asked the second question on his mind, one which he believed was necessary. 

"Allow me to ask the question if you don't mind? Have you thought of a name for this child?"

Berengar smiled with a smug expression as he gazed upon the elderly Strategos standing before him; with confidence, he boldly declared the name he had long since come up with for his firstborn son with Honoria. 

"There is only one man in Greco-Roman history, fit for my son to be named after. Mark my words, Alexandros Palaiologos will be the greatest Emperor in the history of your realm, a true successor to his namesake."

Upon hearing this, Palladius smiled and nodded his head before revealing his thoughts on the choice of name for a child who was not even born.

"A truly fitting name; I only hope he will live up to your claims."

With this said, the Strategos of the Balkans left the gardens in silence. He had many matters to attend to now that he was certain Berengar was on board with his plans for the Empire. As for Berengar, he was happy about two things in particular. Firstly, the people that were backing him and his plans to place his future son on the Byzantine Throne were not some minor figures. 

As for the second reason, he was quite pleased knowing the man in charge of the Balkan Army, who would be the first to come to his aid in the upcoming crusade, was someone who could be considered an ally.

As such, Berengar began to sing in Latin to the lyrics of a famous grunge song from his past life as he walked through the gardens by his lonesome. It was about time for him to return to the loving arms of his newest wife. 

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