Tyranny of Steel

Chancellor Otto was standing within the confines of the Royal Palace; one might think he would be visiting his daughter the High Queen of Austria; however, if one were to observe his actions, they would be surprised to see that instead, he was meeting with the Second Queen of Austria Linde von Kufstein. 

The reason for his visit to the Second Queen was entirely because of her job as the Director of Austrian Royal intelligence; recently he had received a letter from Duke Dietger von Wittelsbach about the willingness of Bavaria to submit itself to the Austrian Crown, and some valuable intel about what the other German realms were planning. 

While Berengar was away at war, it was up to his Uncle and Father-in-Law to run the country. Thus far, he had done an exemplary job of it; therefore, as this essential matter came to his attention, naturally, he desired to verify the contents of the document. With this task, there was only one person he could trust who was his daughter's greatest rival in love.

Linde read through the contents with a stern expression on her face as she paid attention to every little detail, checking to see if anything was written in code. Oddly enough, it was a relatively concise letter without any encrypted content. After coming to a conclusion she sighed heavily as her substantial bosom heaved in the air before revealing her thoughts on the document in her hands.

"According to my spies in the Luxembourg Royal Court, everything on this document is legitimate. Luxembourg's forces halted Bavaria's mercenary army within Brandenburg. As a result, Duke Dietger attempted to rally the German Realms against us while Berengar was at war in Iberia. They rejected his notions, and he likely realized that any hope of getting his vengeance on his was null. 

He may be an incredibly proud and short-tempered man. Still, he is not a fool; he likely realizes that we will decimate the Peasant's Crusade to Iberia and annihilate the more professional force that marches on our borders in the next few years. Thus, I think his willingness to submit to our rule is an attempt to avoid Berengar's wrath when he finally brings the German World to heel.

For now, I will task my agents in the Bavarian Royal Court to keep an eye on Dietger and his confidants. This is just my advice, so take it with a grain of salt; however, I suggest you write back to him informing your intent to work alongside Bavaria for the near future and that we will accept their payments in installments as was initially agreed upon.

Remind him that the only reason Berengar hasn't marched upon his Realm with the full might of the Austrian Army at his back is that there is still some time left on the treaty until he is forced to pay the Reparations back in full. After doing so, hint to the Duke that such a deadline could be extended if the Bavarians were to begin paying their installments immediately.

If they start paying their reparations in installments, it can be seen as a sign of their sincerity towards Austria and its King. Rest assured, if Dietger tries anything foolish, Royal Intelligence will be aware of it, and I promise you we will stop it before it becomes a problem. So, by all means, proceed as you see fit."

Otto bowed his head in response to the Second Queen. Though he was never a fan of Berengar's polygamous lifestyle or the fact that the King had cheated on his daughter with this woman, the Chancellor must admit that Linde was a fearsome and intimidating woman. The look in her sky blue eyes brought chills to his spine as he watched her read the contents of the letter with a severe expression on her flawless face. 

After listening to Linde's opinion on the letter, Otto sighed in relief before taking it back. He only raised his head from the bow after Linde had seemingly permitted him to do so.

"I thank you, my Queen, for your guidance; I will be sure to negotiate a favorable alliance with the Duchy of Bavaria and pave the way for Berengar's annexation of their realm shortly..."

Linde nodded her head in response to this before commenting on his statement.

"Be sure that you do... Now, if there is nothing else, I have things that I must attend to. I am sure that you know your way out of the Palace..."

Otto bowed once more before bidding; Ithe Second Queen farewell.

"I thank you for your time, your majesty; I will be taking my leave, I pray that you and your children are healthy and happy."

After saying this, Otto left the area and returned to his Chateau to get to work. As for Linde, she returned to the main bedroom and sprawled out on the bed while sniffing the scent Berengar had left behind on his spot. 

As she did so, she noticed one of Berengar's other wives' approach; it was none other than Honoria. The Byzantine Princess had a slightly worried expression on her face as she asked the question on her mind.

"Have you heard?"

Linde stared at Honoria with a mocking expression before making fun of her.

"I hear lots of things it is part of my job; you are going to have to be specific..."

The purple-haired beauty immediately began to pout as she clarified what she meant.

"Did you hear that Berengar executed the King of Castile and his family? He plunged the entire Kingdom into Chaos!"

A wide smile spread across Linde's face as she sprawled out on the large feather mattress. As she did so, she spoke playfully. 

"Oh yes... that! Yeah, I heard about that? What of it? Castile is our enemy; who cares what happens to their monarch and his pitiful family?

Honoria scoffed as she crossed her arms and began to complain to her rival. She could not believe that Linde was so lax about the whole ordeal.

"Who cares? Berengar has broken international etiquette; for centuries, every King has known not to outright massacre a rival monarch and his family, what if the Catholic World does the same to us!?!"

The strawberry-blonde-haired vixen spread across the bed further exemplifying her curves, though she was visibly pregnant she was as beautiful as ever; as she did so she began to laugh at Honoria's comment. After a few moments of collecting herself, she finally revealed how foolish the princess of the Byzantine Empire was being.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, you might not be aware, but as Director of Royal Intelligence and Berengar's favorite wife, I have access to the weapons designs he and the Research and Development team of the Royal Armory have been working on.

Let's just say that in a few years, the entire Catholic World and all of its residents could unite against Austria, and the Royal Austrian Army would still massacre them before they ever step foot in our land. Not to mention the secret border defense project our husband is working on..."

Honoria stared at Linde in disbelief; since when did she have access to such top secret information? More importantly, did she just claim that she was Berengar's favorite? Honoria instantly began to pout as she questioned the Second Queen on this part in particular.

"Who says you are Berengar's favorite? If that were so, wouldn't you be the High Queen!?!"

Linde immediately got up from the bed and walked over to Honoria with a coy smile on her face; after a while, she kissed the Byzantine Princess on the lips slightly before whispering in her ear.

"You are cute when you are jealous! Unfortunately for you, I don't have time for this..." 

Honoria's cheeks began to flush with embarrassment as she endured Linde's harassment; after the Second Queen began to walk towards the door, the Byzantine Princess and Third Queen of Austria began to call out to her.

"Where do you think you are going!?! This isn't over!"

Linde merely turned around and smirked before responding to Honoria's question.

"I am going to review some important information at the Headquarters of Royal Intelligence. Some of us have more important roles to play in Berengar's life than merely appealing to his fantasy of a Pirate Queen."

After saying this, Linde left Honoria behind to steam in her inner fury. Sometimes that woman knew just how to get under her skin. As such, she sat down on the bed and began to pout. She refused to listen to that vile woman's words of provocation. As she thought about this, she decided to visit Adela and inform her of just what Linde had said. After all, as High Queen and Linde's greatest rival, she would indeed have something to say about all of this.

As for Linde, she did exactly as she said she would; Despite the fact that the Department of Intelligence had essentially become self-sufficient without a need for her input. She was still technically its Director. Thus Linde intended to oversee some ongoing issues in the three regions of interest which were Iberia, France, and the Baltic. 

As for the rest of the Western World, Though Austria had long since spread its web of agents across it, there was little concern over those regions for the time being. Thus while Berengar was away at war, things within Austria continued to advance at a steady pace. 

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