Tyranny of Steel

While the war for Austria's Independence was ongoing within the Kingdom of Italy and the Swiss Confederation, another battle was beginning to intensify as the Granadans fought against the Iberian Union. Due to Austrian military aid, the Granadan forces had multiplied and were relatively well trained, at least compared to their enemies.

While Hasan's soldiers were engaged in a bloody conflict at his borders defending the last vestige of Al-Andalus. He was busy entertaining himself with women and wine.

At the moment, Hasan was back at his palace in Granada. Unlike Berengar, he had no desire to lead from the front lines; the few battles he waged were enough to last him a lifetime. Instead, he left the war effort to his commanders with the aid of the Austrian military advisors.

The young Sultan enjoyed himself on a sofa while his wives attended to his needs, feeding him a bowl of grapes while he sipped on his fortified wine. During Hasan's purge, Berengar's guards had killed one of his wives who attempted to take his life, and he had eliminated another who was loyal to the fundamentalist faction.

As such, the young sultan currently had no more than two wives. Despite this, he was looking to expand his harem. However, he would not accept just any woman, he wanted a harem of beautiful young women to take care of his needs as Berengar had obtained.

While basking in hedonism, a gorgeous young woman approached the young Sultan. This woman was quite tall and had an exceptionally curvy figure, one could say her measurements hit the perfect ratio, and her bust was even more significant than Linde's. Her tan skin glistened with sweat from the heat of the arid climate that surrounded the city of Granada.

This woman was dressed in a traditional silk kaftan style dress dyed purple and had golden embroidery on it; she wore a matching face veil made of sheer silk, giving it a semi-translucent appearance.

Her dark hair was tied up into a ponytail, and her glistening amber eyes were enough to intoxicate any man who gazed upon the vivid gemstones that were her irises.

This woman was not one of Hasan's wives. Instead, it was his older sister Yasmin; when she saw her little brother lazing about with his wives, instead of leading his armies, she crossed her arms beneath her heavy bosom and began to chastise the young Sultan as if he were a mere child.

"My my, What do I see here? If it isn't my sweet little brother, here you are lazing about in Granada while you send your soldiers to die on the frontlines against our enemies. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are afraid of battle..."

When the princess said this, the wives of the Sultan glared at her viciously; they were aware of the way she pampered her little brother and were also jealous of her natural beauty. Despite their skimpy attire resembling that of a belly dancer, they still could not captivate a man's interest while Yasmin was in the room. Sensing their hostility, Yasmin smiled cruelly beneath her veil before shooing the pesky vixens away.

"If you don't mind, I have some proper business to discuss with my little brother..."

Though Hasan's wives continued to glare at her, Hasan ultimately sighed before dismissing his women.

"Go! As Yasmin has said, we have a business to discuss."

With this said, the two wives begrudgingly left the room; It was only after Yasmin made sure the two women were out of earshot, that she further began to condemn Hasan's actions.

"Honestly, little brother, I know there are no women at the front lines, but as Sultan, it is your job to inspire your troops on the field of battle, even if you do not directly participate! I can hardly think of a Monarch who actually stands toe to toe with his soldiers on the frontlines.

If word gets out that you retreated from the war effort so that you could bask in the arms of your wives, what will your soldiers think of you? Would they consider you a Sultan worth dying for?"

As Hasan heard these harsh words, his expression sank; after doing so, he stretched out his body on the couch and yawned in exhaustion.

"I'm just not fit for warfare; I nearly died in the last battle I fought, I almost had my head taken off by one of my cannons! I've decided to leave war to the men best suited for it. Besides, with the Austrian's support, there's no way we can lose this war!"

Seeing Hasan's relaxed composure, Yasmin sighed before sitting down next to him, stroking his dark hair, which matched her own as she pampered the young Sultan like he were a mere child. As she did so, she offered words of wisdom.

"I only criticize you because I care about you. You rely on your allies too much and not enough on your own power. What if the Austrians have ill intentions towards our Emirate? After all, they are Christian, and though they may be Reformists, that does not mean the centuries of hatred between our people can be eroded so easily..."

Despite her warning, Hasan did not seem concerned. Instead, he shifted his attention and gazed into his sister's gorgeous amber eyes with a look of affection on his face.

"That won't happen, I know that Berengar intends to use us as a means to stall the Catholic Church, but we need him if we wish to survive this turbulent era. So I have decided, the next time I see him, I will do my best to convince him to take your hand in marriage and cement this fragile alliance of ours for the foreseeable future."

The moment Yasmin heard her brother's plans for her, she withdrew her hand and in shock and looked the other way as she struggled to come up with the words to convince him otherwise.

"Hasan..."

However, before she could finish those words, Hasan raised his hand to silence her before speaking over her thoughts.

"Yas, you just turned twenty-six in June; you are well past the age of marriage; if you do not get married soon, you will never have a husband or a family. The only reason you aren't married already is because our father doted on you too much and was never able to find a man he approved of for his precious little daughter."

The Granadan princess continued to stare away as she lightly murmured the words.

"What... what if he says no?"

In response to this, Hasan grabbed ahold of Yasmin's veiled face and dragged it over into his sightline as he responded with a severe expression.

"I will not allow him to say no; he's already discussed the desire to have multiple wives, and if he doesn't respect our alliance enough to take my beautiful sister as his bride, then he can consider it over.

Obviously, I won't pressure him so seriously at first. The next time I see him, I will float the idea and judge his general reaction. Then I'll continue to pester him until he says yes."

Yasmin began to sigh heavily upon hearing this before shaking her head, which was still grasped by Hasan's firm hand.

"Dearest brother, you have actually thought something through for once in your life..."

Hasan feigned offense as he pulled his hand back and began to criticize his elder sister's choice of words.

"What do you mean for once in my life? I think things through all the time!"

With that said, Yasmin began to giggle before she grabbed ahold f Hasan's head and stuffed it into her bosom while stroking his hair while speaking to him in a condescending tone.

"Of course you do!"

being treated like a child once more, Hasan began to pout. No matter how old he grew, his sister would continue to treat him in such a manner. Thus he sighed heavily as he enjoyed the embrace. After a while, Yasmin released him before approaching the exit.

As she did so, the gorgeous princess called out to her little brother once more with a stern gaze hidden beneath her veil.

"You would do well to remember that you are the Sultan of Granada and that your soldiers need you..."

With those words spoken, the beautiful Granadan Princess departed from the room, leaving the young Sultan to himself as he grinned with a smug expression on his face. Afterward, he picked up the bottle of wine that he had obtained from trade with Austria and began to pour its contents into a crystal glass, where he swirled the red liquid around before taking a sip from it.

After doing so, he exhaled deeply before he thought aloud.

"I wonder how Berengar will react when he sees my beautiful sister for the first time..."