Tyranny of Steel

Within the city of Kufstein was a group of Byzantines allegedly within the borders of Austria for the purpose of trade. If there was one thing that the Austrian Government had come to be successful at, it was none other than border security.

Even with their cover identities that were thoroughly prepared by the powers behind the Second Prince of the Empire, these men, like any other visitors to the Kingdom, had gone through a thorough vetting process. 

At the moment, they were hawking wares in the form of wine and silk at the trade district of Kufstein City. However, behind the scenes, these alleged merchants were here for a far less noble purpose. For three weeks now, they had watched and waited in the trade district for the opportune moment to assassinate Princess Honoria. 

Yet, despite this, the Byzantine Princess had never entered the streets of Austria. Instead, she spent her entire time within the safety of the Royal Palace, so much so that these men were beginning to lose all hope of completing their mission. Because of this feeling of despair, one of these men finally had enough and immediately began cursing at the other in Greek.

"For Christ's sake, we have been here in Austria for three fucking weeks, and we still have not even gotten the slightest glimpse of the Princess!"

Immediately his compatriot slapped him across the back of the head and began to chastise the man for making such a foolish comment.

"Quiet, you fool, that redheaded bitch has spies everywhere in this damned country. The fact that we have remained undiscovered so far is a blessing from the Lord God almighty!"

The first man immediately scoffed at his companion's behavior before scolding him for his actions.

"You're being paranoid! I doubt any of these barbarians even speak Greek! Yet you assume we are being watched every moment of the day!"

However, unbeknownst to this man, there was indeed a spy nearby at the next stall keeping an eye on these men from the Byzantine Empire. As a safety precaution, for any visitors to the Kingdom who were staying for longer than a period of a week, there was an agent of Austrian Royal Intelligence sent to observe them and their actions multiple times a day. 

This spy was trained in five different languages, one of them being Greek, and thus she immediately heard the mention of the Princess and the hushed conversation that followed. It quickly became apparent that these men were not ordinary merchants. Therefore, she had the urge to report this to her superior right away.

However, she did not do such a thing. Instead, she fulfilled her duty and closely observed these men for a bit long in an attempt to gain any more valuable information about their reason for being in Kufstein.  The first man immediately poured himself a cup filled with the wine they were hawking and began to speak once more, albeit in a slightly lower tone.

"Once that bitch is dead, we can return to the Empire and get paid! I can't wait to buy a nice villa within the city of Antioch!"

The more cautious of the two men looked around to see if anyone was listening before approaching his more wild counterpart and began to give him a stern talking. 

"If you say another word of this in the open, I swear to God I will cut your throat myself!"

The vicious glare and the bold threat by his ally immediately caused the man to shut his mouth; the only sound to escape his lips was an unintelligible mumble. However, the Internal Security Agent nearby had received all the intelligence she needed. Thus, she paid for the vase in her hands from the nearby merchant's stall and scurried off into the crowds of nearby people. 

Before long, she rounded the corner, where she placed an envelope filled with actionable intelligence into a dead drop. After doing so, she left the area and surveyed the following targets on her list. As for the document, it remained in its location until a man came and collected it not five minutes later.

A week had passed, and a fully detailed report was in the hands of Linde as she stood before Berengar and Honoria who were gathered in the Office of the Royal Palace. By now, every detail about the men, including the aliases presented on their travel documents and their actual identities, were within the hands of Austrian Royal Intelligence. 

If not for the telegraphs built between Kufstein and Trieste and the high speeds of the Clippers in service to Berengar's Intelligence Network, then there would be no feasible way for them to gather such vital information in such a short time. 

However, in a week, Austrian Royal Intelligence had cross-referenced all of the information they had gathered about these men with Palladius' intensive spy network. In the end, the potential assassins had been identified as freelancers employed by a client known as Dalmatius Kerularios, who was a Strategos within the Byzantine Empire and a well-known backer of the Second Prince. 

After spreading this information out in front of Berengar and Honoria, Linde waited patiently for their response. Honoria had a sad expression on her face; she could hardly believe that her brother would try to have her killed. However, Berengar was the first to pose a question about the intelligence that had been gathered.

"Where are these men now?"

Linde put on an amicable smile, as she stood at attention. Though the man in front of her was her husband, he was also her boss and her King. Thus she acted like a professional as she answered his question.

"Currently, the two men, as well as the three other operatives involved in this conspiracy are under constant surveillance. We have teams on standby to arrest and interrogate them at a moment's notice. However, since we already know their identities and their purpose, I suggest we silently eliminate them and send their heads back to their employer as a message."

Berengar had a vicious grin on his face; for whatever reason, he always got excited whenever Linde expressed a cruel plan of action; as such, he nodded his head in response before giving her permission to enact this plot.

"Very well, we will handle this your way. I also will approve of further funding to counter espionage. I am surprised to see that these men went so long without being detected; if Honoria had in fact left the Palace and visited the Trade District, something could likely have happened to her."

The Second Queen of the Kingdom of Austria smiled upon hearing this; she would never turn away more funding for her organization. As such, she bowed respectfully before her husband before thanking him for his generosity.

"Master, I am pleased to serve you, and am thankful for this gift!"

Upon hearing this, Berengar dismissed his second wife; it was only after she had left the office did he grab ahold of Honoria and hugged her in an attempt to comfort her.

"It must have been a bit of a shock knowing that your brother had tried to kill you. If there is anything you wish to discuss, just know that I am here for you..."

The Byzantine Princess gazed up at her husband with her mint green eyes; a small tear dripped from her cheek as the young King wiped it away. Honoria struggled to find the words to express her thoughts for a few moments before speaking with a voice filled with trepidation.

"How did you feel when you found out that your brother tried to kill you?"

The Austrian King sighed heavily in response to this question before revealing his feelings on the matter.

"Bitter, vengeful, hateful, depressed, and honestly quite confused. I only had one brother in this life, and he tried to kill me on multiple occassions. I kept asking myself why he would do such a thing; in the end, he simply wanted the inheritance. Obviously, I made him pay with everything he had before I took his life."

A bitter smile formed on Honoria's face as she nodded her head after hearing about Berengar's experience with a similar situation. After several moments of deep introspection, she came to a conclusion. A stern gaze appeared in her eyes as she voiced her thoughts on the situation she found herself in. 

"Very well... Since my brother wishes for me to die, so be it, I have no choice but to retaliate, I will bring him to his knees so that he begs me for my mercy, and once he does, I will deny him it, and end his pitiful existence once and for all!"

A cruel smile curved itself upon Berengar's lips as he heard this; he pushed the woman's hair to that to his side as he kissed his wife upon her graceful neck; as he did so, he menacingly expressed his thoughts.

"And I will be right here by your side, aiding you in every step of your journey as the Devil on your shoulder..."

Honoria nodded in silence as the villainous couple began to plot their revenge against the Second Prince of the Byzantine Empire and all the men who supported him. Thanks to the Agents within the Internal Security Branch of Austrian Royal Intelligence, the plot against Princess Honoria had been thoroughly squashed. Though the Prince would not know it for some time, he had invoked a monster within the heart of his little sister, one that the devil on her shoulder constantly fed. 

---

If you want to support me so that I can commission art of the characters in my novel, as well as maps, coat of arms, and other vital illustrations, please visit my Patreon page at 

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7947078

All of the art will be released within my discord server for free.

https://discord.gg/nMWVhMaukT