Tyranny of Steel

Chapter 704: Afternoon Tea

Weeks had passed since Dharya and his sister first arrived in the Royal Palace of Germany. The two siblings had been well looked after during their stay, and Ewald had recently discharged Priya from the infirmary. Currently, the two siblings were sitting in the dining room enjoying afternoon tea.

Priya was engorging herself on a variety of german sweets like a little glutton. The girl was particularly fond of black forest cake, which was recently added to the list of german cuisine after cocoa beans were transported en masse from the colony of Berenstadt to the Fatherland.

Since Tlexictli returned to the Empire after her trip to her homeland, she had continued to oversee the constant influx of cocoa beans across the atlantic, as well as the processing of the beans into chocolate. It was a massive trade, as chocolate had begun to dominate the sweets market.

As an ambassador to the reich, the Aztec princess now resided in her own chateau located within the palace district. Where she would occasionally visit the Royal Palace and speak to Berengar about important matters of diplomacy.

At the moment, Berengar was seated across from the two Indian siblings with a smile on his face. Priya seemed to enjoy the sweets and tea that he provided, and devoured them as if she had not eaten in months. Which was mostly true, as Priya had suffered from malnutrition long before she was poisoned.

Because of her uncle’s cruelty, the poor girl had been severely underfed throughout most of her life. Naturally, when she was poisoned, it became difficult for her to even stomach the paltry portions she was served. Because of this, she had become borderline emaciated.

However, now that Priya was living in the city of Kufstein, she would never go hungry again. While Berengar understood the need to feed the girl so she could get to a healthy weight, he was concerned with the speed that she consumed sweets, and quickly lectured her about her unladylike behavior.

“Priya, slow down! Trust me when I say the food I serve you will not disappear anytime soon. Take your time and enjoy the snacks. There is plenty more of it.”

The young Indian princess was slightly embarrassed when she heard this, and wiped her chocolate-covered mouth with a napkin. Having realized her mistake, she bowed her head and apologized for her uncouth behavior.

“I am sorry. It is just that I haven’t had so much food available to me in years. I fear as if you’re going to take it away from me if I don’t eat it all now!”

Berengar felt pity for the girl. Her uncle had starved and poisoned her, and he still did not know the reason for it. She appeared to be a sweet and innocent girl who was no threat to the man’s power. If anything, Dharya should have been the man’s target. Of course, Berengar didn’t speak a word of this, knowing it would be inappropriate to ask the siblings about the difficulties they had endured until now.

As for Dharya, he took several glances at Berengar every few seconds. Though he thought he hid it well, Berengar noticed these strange gestures and was even more curious. He had no way of knowing that he intimidated the boy emperor of India. Not because of his actions. In fact, Berengar had been nothing but generous with his guests. The reason Dharya feared Berengar on some instinctive level was because of his appearance.

Berengar was a one eyed man from the west, just like the ridiculous prophecy that had driven Dharya’s uncle Chandra to madness. The boy feared that by bringing Priya here to Kufstein; he had inadvertently made the prophecy come true. Thus, despite Berengar’s kindness, the boy could not help but suspect that he had ulterior motives.

Obviously, Berengar had no way of knowing Dharya’s thoughts, and just assumed that the boy was socially awkward. He tried to bridge the gap by wearing a pleasant smile while snacking on some wurst and sauerkraut.

The truth was, Berengar’s sweet tooth had long since been diminished with age, and he only enjoyed eating sweets on rare occasions. He was much happier eating sausage or jerky as a snack. Priya took notice of this, and immediately inquired why Berengar was not eating the tasty treats that she was so thoroughly enjoying.

“Your majesty? With such tasty treats around, why are you eating meat?”

Berengar chuckled when he heard this. The girl was too young to understand that sweets were a delicacy that one should enjoy on rare occasions. He responded to the girl’s question with a tone that sounded as if he were imparting ancient wisdom.

“When you get to be my age, sweets don’t seem to hold the same sort of sway over you as they once did… These days, I prefer the savory taste of meat over the sweets that a child like you would enjoy.”

Priya had been locked up most of her life and was not very sociable. Because of this, she immediately asked Berengar the question that was on her mind without thinking about manners.

“Oh really? How old are you?”

Berengar did not conceal his age and quickly answered the girl’s question with a pleasant smile on his face.

“I’m currently twenty-eight.”

The girl did not respond to how he had expected. She had a shocked expression on her face as she uttered her true thoughts without thinking.

“Wow… So old…”

Berengar struggled to maintain a smile as he heard this. Old? How was he old? He had yet to even reach the prime of his life! This girl had seriously wounded his pride by calling him old. Did he appear as if he was some feeble old man? Preposterous!

Dharya could tell that Berengar was displeased with his sister’s comments and started laughing. This only further made Berengar’s brow twitch with further displeasure. He simply took a deep breath to calm himself before informing the kids about their itinerary for the day.

“After you finish your snacks, my subordinates will take you on a tour of the city. There are many sights in Kufstein that might catch your eye, and I figured if you’re going to be living here in exile, you should get to know the city and all it has to offer.”

Priya was excited when she heard this, nearly jumping out of her seat as she spoke her thoughts once more without a care for etiquette.

“Really!?! We get to go out into the city?”

Berengar smiled and nodded his head before commenting further on the plans he had for the two kids.

“Of course, I won’t keep you cooped up here in the Palace. Naturally, you will have a proper escort to ensure your safety. Not that Kufstein is unsafe. In fact, you will not find a city in the world that is more secure than this one. However, for guests of your position, I would be remiss not to take certain measures to ensure your safety.

Don’t worry, the guide will take you wherever you desire, there is no set tour in place. I want you to experience this city on your own terms, not some pre-planned itinerary. So after the two of you have finished your treats, go out and enjoy yourselves. I am certain that you will find Kufstein to your liking.”

Even Dharya found himself excited at the prospect, at first he was expecting Berengar to have a very strict path set in mind, to show off the better points of his civilization, but since he was free to dictate the course of his tour, he would make sure that he saw the true state of the city. Though he had seen many technological marvels since he first entered the borders of the Empire, he doubted such things were truly as widespread as the rumors said.

As for Priya, she was overwhelmed with anticipation. Now that she could walk on her own, she wanted to stretch her legs and look at some of those pretty dresses she had seen in the windows of the shops. She wanted to taste the food from the street vendors, to see how it compared to that which she had been served in the palace. There were so many things she wanted to do now that she was no longer confined to a small room.

She could not help but look at the golden-haired emperor of Germany as if he was an exceptionally kind man. He was allowing her to go out and enjoy the city, something she had never been able to do back in her homeland.

Truthfully, Berengar did have ulterior motives. He wanted to show off just how glorious life in the Reich was, to help foster the idea of building an alliance in the mind of the exiled emperor. The best way to show this was not some strict tour of the wealthiest areas, but to show just how prosperous the life of the average german citizen was.

Naturally, the prosperity of Kufstein was spreading across the reich at a rapid rate. As the years passed, more and more cities were developing into cultural hubs as they became connected via the national railway project. However, Kufstein had the virtue of being the Capital, and because of that, it was still the most impressive city in the Empire.

The two Indian siblings quickly finished their treats and prepared themselves for the tour of the city. They planned to have a good time and enjoy the trip. As for Berengar, he had an Empire to run, and couldn’t take the time out of his busy schedule to personally guide the children. Thus, while Dharya and Priya were enjoying a tour of the city, he would be overseeing a mountain of paperwork.