Tyranny of Steel

Dessert arrived at the table, and it was in the form of various cakes, pastries, and cookies. Berengar was delighted to see such a large variety of sweet foods to snack on. The only problem was that he missed his favorite chocolate dishes from his past life due to a lack of access to the new world.

Nevertheless, he quickly dug into the cake prepared for him and enjoyed the bite. As for those around him, they were somewhat tense; after all, the King's mother was not exactly fond of Berengar's multiple wives, nor was she in the best relationship with her daughter.

Thus, Berengar and his father were left to smooth things over between their family. Of course, Berengar knew there was no conceivable way to get so many women to come together for an extended duration of time. Where there were multiple women; there was bound to be conflict; it was simply in their nature. 

Nevertheless, after a few bites, he began to speak up and try to mend the gap between his mother and sister; at the very least, he could fix their relationship. Thus with a heavy sigh, he gazed fondly upon his sister before speaking the words he had been meaning to tell her for some time.

"Henrietta, Mother, it is time you learned the truth..."

After saying these cryptic words, the two women gazed upon him with confusion in their blue eyes. They did not understand what he was referring to, and Gisela was the first to speak up on the matter. 

"What are you talking about?"

Sieghard gave Berengar a cold glance; he knew exactly where this was headed and quickly placed down his fork and knife as he mentally prepared himself for the conversation that was about to be had. As for the Austrian King, he immediately began to clarify what he meant.

"Lambert didn't die on the Eastern Front in service to the Teutonic Order; he returned home to Tyrol with an army in one final attempt to claim my life and exact vengeance upon his family. He and I fought at Oberstdorf, where he claimed my right eye with his blade. In retaliation, I shot him through the chest with my pistol.

Henrietta, you should not blame our parents for Lambert's death; they gave him an act of Mercy by sending him away to the Teutonic Order. It was his own vengeful heart that caused him to meet his end so soon. After all, what he did warranted a death sentence.

On numerous occasions, the boy attempted to claim my life so that he could have my position as heir to the Barony. At least twice he damn well nearly succeeded. If he had achieved this, he would have sold our home to Linde's father; in doing so, Lothar would have used our mines to overthrow Duke Wilmar. 

Lambert was a traitor to his family and his people until the very end; Father and I have hidden this from the two of you to spare you some grief. However, I have seen what this secret has done to you, my dear little sister, and I have decided you are now old enough to know the truth."

Henrietta was amazed by this revelation; the very idea that her two brothers had fought each other to the death was simply unbelievable. However, when she reflected on the past, she immediately began to piece together some information and thus quickly concluded. Immediately the young woman asked her brother for clarification on a particular issue.

"Then your affair with Linde was..."

Berengar smiled bitterly and nodded his head as he admitted to the truth behind the origins of his relationship with Linde.

"You could call it an act of revenge on Lambert; after all, he had poisoned me to the point of death. It is a miracle that I survived. Hell, if not for Linde and her actions, Lambert most likely would have succeeded on his subsequent assassination attempts."

While Henrietta appeared to be processing the information by thinking it through to its logical conclusion, Gisela was in tears. She had known that her sons had been in a bitter battle of intrigue, and that was one of the reasons she convinced Berengar to agree to exile instead of execution as punishment for Lambert's crimes. Yet, to find out that her baby boy had returned to Austria with an army in an attempt to enact vengeance on his family indeed sent her heart into the depths of despair. 

Sieghard immediately comforted his wife, he had lived a life filled with grief and guilt these past few years, and one of the primary reasons for this was the continued lies he had told his wife about Lambert's demise. Now that the truth was in the air, the family could properly mend their grievances. 

As for Berengar's wives, they were all aware of the story of how Berengar had killed Lambert; aside from Yasmin, she stared in awe at her husband. Indeed, he and Hasan had many similarities; it was no wonder that Berengar and her brother had become such good friends, despite massive differences in culture, religion, and heritage. 

Berengar continued to eat his dessert as his mother and sister worked through their feelings. While a significant point of contention in Henrietta's heart towards her parents had been dissolved, she still had to deal with the fact that they abandoned her during her youth. Thus she immediately raised her tone of voice as she began to yell at her mother.

"Fine, Lambert's death is not entirely your fault, but the fact remains that you two abandoned me! I was ten years old, and you left me to live with my big brother and his mistress! Do you have any idea the kind of effect that had on me! Even then, if you two were better parents, perhaps you could have prevented Lambert's treachery! 

Hell, even as grandparents, you are making the same mistake, mother! You are isolating Berengar's kids with his other wives because you disapprove of his relationships! How do you think they will feel growing up with their grandmother despising them for being the product of secondary marriages! They will grow to hate the children of Adela!"

Berengar was surprised when his sister addressed this point, as were his wives. None of them wanted to say it out of respect for their husband's mother, but Henrietta was right; if Gisela continued to treat their children as if they were unrelated, it would indeed affect them as they grew. Up."

Hans immediately looked over at the conversation and towards his grandmother as he felt a bit confused. He curiously raised his brow as he asked his sobbing grandmother the question on his mind.

"Grandma? Do you hate me?"

The accusation of being responsible for Lambert's fate combined with knowing how he passed away, how she had abandoned her daughter during her grief, and the problematic question asked by her grandson immediately caused Gisela to have a mental breakdown. She continued to sob in her husband's arms as Sieghard attempted to soothe her. 

Berengar did not have words to say about this situation; after all, Henrietta was right, and he was growing sick of his mother's behavior towards his wives and children. Instead of consoling his mother during her grief, he looked upon his sister and smiled while giving her a thumb's up. Somebody needed to say something to the woman, and he was glad it was not him.

Hopefully, now that all of these grievances had been addressed, Berengar's wives and sister could repair their relationship with his mother. Thus they waited for a while for the old Baroness to calm down. Afterward, Berengar would have his wives, sisters, and grandchildren spend a significant amount of time with his mother, talking through their differences. 

As for him, he eventually walked away with his father towards his private bar, where the two began to drink together. After all, men don't talk about their feelings, at least not in the presence of women. They drink away their sorrows and confide in their brothers. However, Berengar was severely lacking in the department of having friends his age, and thus he had to share his grief with his father. 

Sieghard pounded a shot of whiskey before sighing heavily; as he did so, he immediately began to chastise his son for his behavior.

"While I know it was good for them to hear the truth, I can't help but feel like breaking your mother's heart was not the most appropriate course of action..."

Berengar chuckled before responding to his father's complaint.

"Don't blame me; Henrietta was the one who was harsh with mother; I had no intention of seeing her in such a state. Hopefully, they can move past this and begin to mend their relationship. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with a group of wives, a sister, and a mother who all despise each other. I have enough on my plate as is!"

Sieghard laughed as he heard this before responding casually.

"Well, what did you think was going to happen when you married four women? Did you actually think that they would live together in harmony? Are you really that naive, my son?"

The Austrian King took a shot of whiskey before responding to his father with a wide grin on his face.

"Hell, if you were in my position, can you honestly say you would make a different choice?"

His father did not respond to this question. Instead, he merely downed another shot before placing his hand on his son's shoulder and staring at him silently. This gesture was enough for Berengar to know the answer within his father's mind.

With this, the father and son would continue to drink and complain about their lives, while the various women of the von Kufstein family hashed out their problems over a rather fierce debate. For now, some semblance of peace among women had been established within the dynasty, though for how long it would last, Berengar was uncertain. 

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