Tyranny of Steel

The golden-haired and one-eyed King of Austria sat upon his throne, gazing down at the newest arrival to his court with a smirk on his face. Though he had estimated this outcome was inevitable, he still did not believe it would happen so soon.

As word spread about Austria's continued victories against the Eastern Coalition, and the destruction of Krakow, fear and panic had followed it into the hearts of Austria's neighbors. Dietger, the Duke of Bavaria, had long since realized that a sleeping Lion dwelled on his southern borders, and had taken various actions to counter it.

In fact, for the past year, he had taken an option of appeasement. Unfortunately for him, Austria's power continued to rise like a soaring eagle, and thus, additional difficulties presented themselves. After witnessing the entirety of Eastern Germany, annexed by the southern State, Dietger had realized any attempt to keep his sovereignty was moot.

Thus, without speaking to his allies in Saxony and Wurttemberg, he had traveled to Kufstein with a single purpose in mind. At the moment, the once proud Duke of Bavaria, who until now had fought tirelessly to be crowned King of Germany, was kneeling before the Self-Proclaimed King of Austria.

"Your Majesty, King Berengar; I have come to Kufstein to declare my allegiance to you, and submit myself and that of my lands to the authority of the Austrian Crown. If you would have me as your vassal, it would honor me to serve you and your dynasty for perpetuity."

Berengar gazed upon the aging Duke of Bavaria with a cruel smile etched on his immaculate features. This was exactly what he wanted. With Dietger's support, other German regions would follow suit and swear fealty to him in the coming days. Allowing himself to proclaim the formation of the East German Confederation, he would elevate these Dukes to the status of Kings, and proclaim himself the leader of this new faction.

It was only after he had united Germany under the banners of Austria that the young king intended to declare the formation of the German Empire and crown himself Kaiser. Such a thing had long since been the goal of Berengar. Dietger played a pivotal role in this vision, and thus Berengar was more than happy to accept the man who had once been a bitter enemy in his service.

"Dietger, I accept your vassalage, and declare the annexation of the Duchy of Bavaria into the Kingdom of Austria. You and your dynasty may preside over the land of your ancestors, as you have done for centuries. However, the laws of Austria will henceforth apply to Bavaria and all of its people."

A sigh of relief escaped from Dietger's lips as he heard the mercy the young king of Austria had given him. After doing so, he nodded his head thrice before responding to Berengar.

"Thank you, your Majesty, I promise to be a filial servant of the Austrian Crown until the day I die..."

Upon hearing this, Berengar smiled and nodded his head. He then stood up from his throne and approached the Duke of Bavaria, where he placed a hand on his shoulder.

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"Be sure that you do... Come, let us feast, and enjoy the union of our two realms!"

After saying this, Berengar departed from the Throne Room with the Duke of Bavaria in pursuit. Eventually they arrived in the Dining Room where Berengar instructed a servant to bring his family down to eat. While the two noblemen waited for the Royal Family to arrive, they quenched their thirst with fortified wine and talked about trivial matters.

Linde was the first among Berengar's wives to arrive. She was clutching her youngest daughter Isla to her chest, whereas Hans and Helga followed by her sides. The busty young redhead seated her children first, before taking her place by Berengar's side on his left.

Berengar immediately introduced his second wife to his guest, Dietger, who gazed in awe at the beauty of the young mother.

"This is my second wife, Queen Linde von Kufstein. She is the daughter of the late Count of Innsbruck Lothar von Habsburg, and the love of my life."

Linde immediately smiled gracefully at the Duke of Bavaria and introduced herself.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Dietger. I am glad to hear that your visit to Austria this time is for more peaceful reasons."

Naturally, as the Director of Austrian Royal Intelligence, Linde was aware of Dietger's purpose for visiting Kufstein the moment he set out from Munich. Dietger had remained silent with an enamored expression since the moment he first laid eyes on Linde. Ultimately, he could not help himself from complimenting her appearance.

"I had heard there were three heavenly beauties of Austria, and I must say that you are much more beautiful than the late Duke Wilmar von Habsburg's daughter Agnes, who is said to be chief amongst them. If I had known that such an angelic woman existed in Austria, I would have claimed you instead of her as the bride of my eldest son."

In response to this claim, Linde giggled in a rather sadistic fashion. In doing so, she responded in a manner that the Duke did not expect.

"I highly doubt that, by the time you wiped out the main Habsburg line, I had already dedicated my life to Berengar, and he would never allow you to take me from him. A man of your caliber would have died trying."

Though this was a direct insult to Dietger's prestige, one that wounded him greatly, he knew better than to invoke the ire of King Berengar, especially after he had just sworn subservience to him and his dynasty. Berengar merely sat back and drank his wine as his wife unleashed her venomous tongue towards his newest vassal.

Before long, Adela arrived with her kids in tow. She gazed upon the awkward scene with a curious glance before introducing herself to her husband's guest.

"I am the High Queen, Adela von Kufstein. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, and you are?"

Dietger stood up as he bowed before the High Queen of Austria, before introducing himself.

"Duke Dietger of Bavaria, I have just sworn my allegiance to your husband. I look forward to working with you and your family soon."

Adela nodded her head and sat down beside Berengar on his right. As she did so, she noticed the expression on Dietger's face. He could hardly believe that Berengar had two of such beauties by his side. He understood Linde. After all, she was one of the three heavenly beauties of Austria, but he was unaware of who this young blonde was. It was at this moment he remembered something important and immediately inquired for clarification about it.

"You wouldn't have a sister named Ava, would you?"

Upon hearing her eldest sister's name, Adela's smile turned upside down, and she glared at the man before silently nodding her head. Upon seeing this odd expression, Dietger felt confused, but ultimately smiled before complimenting the High Queen of Austria.

"Then that makes sense. You are the younger sister of the third member of Austria's legendary trio of Heavenly Beauties. Who knew that her younger sister was every bit of a looker as she was? I feel you need to update your fables and include the High Queen as the fourth member of this elite group."

Adela merely scoffed in response to these vein compliments and took a sip from her wine. She had no desire to be lumped in with her elder sister in a reputation based solely upon appearance. Shortly after this minor incident, the other members of Berengar's family made their way to the dining hall, where they enjoyed their meal.

It surprised Dietger to see that Berengar had collected so many beautiful women from different parts of the world, and was becoming envious. However, a thought suddenly entered his mind as he witnessed this: if Bavaria was now a part of Austria and had to obey its laws, didn't that mean he now could marry a few more beautiful young women too?

Thus, Berengar had unknowingly inspired his newest vassal to work hard to get a lifestyle similar to that of the Austrian King. Perhaps one of his children or grandchildren could even marry into the von Kufstein line. Such a thing would surely bring prestige to the house von Wittelsbach. After all, it was becoming apparent that Berengar would achieve far greater feats in this life than he had already done.

Thus, the Bavarian Duke had got a new life goal, as he sat and dined with his new King. As for the ramifications of Bavarian submission to the Austrian Crown. The folding of the Bavarian Duke and his claim on the vacant German Throne would allow the House von Luxemburg to claim that they were, in fact, the true German Kings. Something that was in a direct conflict with Berengar and his goals of a unified German Empire.