Tyranny of Steel

Today was a rare day for Berengar. He had taken some time off from his never ending work to spend time with his family. Currently, all four of his wives and his mistress, Henrietta, were pregnant with his children. Most of the girls already had at least one child with Berengar, with the princess of Germany being the odd one out.

Rather than stay inside the Palace all day, Berengar had taken his family into the hills above the capital for a picnic. There were ample amount of Imperial Guards present to ensure the security of the Royal Family.

Berengar sat in the center of the large blanket which was sprawled across the grass where he dined on a few sandwiches which Linde had prepared for the group. By his side was not only the busty redhead, but Adela as well. The two women fawned over their husband as their children played in the field. Hans was currently bullying his little brother Kristoffer while teaching the boy some wrestling.

By now, Kristoffer had grown from an infant child into a young toddler and struggled to prevent his big brother from bringing him to the ground. Adela gazed in shock at the violence that was occurring between the two boys and was quick to intervene, however before she could do so, Berengar raised his hand with a smile on his face.

"Let the boys be. They're just playing around. If they were really fighting, Hans would have thrown some hands already."

Hans had neither thrown any strikes, nor had he used any submissions. He knew well that the small child was too young to practice such things, and instead bullied the boy with his size and strength. Despite putting the boy into a front headlock, he did not execute any attacks, merely holding his brother to the ground, encouraging him to escape the position.

"Come on, Kris, get out of this! You can do it!"

The blonde-haired boy struggled to escape Hans' grasp, as he was pinned to the ground, with his brother's arms wrapped around his neck. Ultimately, the second Prince tried to break free of the headlock, however, in doing so he had presented his back, where Hans spun around, and sunk his hooks in, putting the boy in a body triangle as he succeeded in taking his brother's back.It was at this time Berengar had seen enough and interrupted the two of them before things went any further.

"Hans, let your brother go. He hasn't even begun training yet. You're just bullying him at this point."

Hans did as he was instructed and released his little brother with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Yes, father..."

Linde could not help but smile as she saw her son dominate Adela's child on the ground. Hans was turning into a fine young warrior, just like his father. As for Adela, she hurried over to her son, who was crying, and picked him up into the air.

"There, there, Kristoffer, one day you will be big and strong, just like your father. When that day comes, you will be able to beat your brother at his own game..."

Berengar also walked over and comforted the child. Unlike Hans, the boy was not an exceptional genius. At least he had not showed the near superhuman intellect of his older brother. However, there were clear signs of being mentally gifted even at his young age. Upon seeing his father also coming over to comfort him, the boy smiled wickedly towards his older brother.

Hans immediately realized that the brat was acting up just so his parents could fawn over him. This made the boy slightly enraged by the little brat's guile. Clearly, he had underestimated his little brother. Linde also noticed the boy's challenging stare towards her son and immediately competed by grabbing hold of Hans and stroking his silky, strawberry blonde hair.

Berengar was forced to choose between his two sons on who he wanted to spend time with, putting him in a precarious situation as both of the boy's mothers competed for his affection. Ultimately, he took the safe bet and walked over to his eldest daughter, Helga, who was in the process of painting the scene of the picnic.

"What are you up to, my baby girl?"

Helga did not shift her focus from the painting, and instead continued her practice. Over the past few years, her talent had showed itself as she was now painting at a level vastly superior to a girl her age. Even Berengar was stunned when he first glimpsed the painting. The girl was diligent not only in her studies, but in her hobbies as well. She was constantly improving her craft as if she were a professional.

When the princess noticed the expression on her father's face, she smiled. It was perhaps the first time Berengar had ever seen the girl smile in her life. Unlike her previous paintings, the current artwork included all of Berengar's lovers and their children, as well. With a pretty smile on her lips, the girl confidently described her work to her father.

"It is such a beautiful scene that I could not help but paint it!"

Berengar gazed up from the painting and towards the scene where the four beautiful women played with their children. In the painting, he was in the center of the family, proudly gazing upon his wives and offspring. He had always known that the girl had talent in the arts, but he was now starting to believe she had an intellect on par with her brother's. Ultimately, the Emperor smiled as he pat the girl on the head and encouraged her to continue working hard.

"I look forward to the finished product!"

Helga merely nodded her head, continuing to smile as she painted the scene of the Royal Family at its picnic in the hills above the city of Kufstein. Berengar then returned to his family, where Henrietta shoved a sandwich in his mouth. The scene was so endearing that Helga edited the painting to include it. Henrietta had a radiant smile on her face as she commented on Linde's cooking skills.

"Linde has gotten so good at cooking. These sandwiches are delicious!"

The sandwich in question was a tuna melt. Because of advancements in maritime technology, as well as food preservation. The business of catching and farming tuna had been booming in Trieste and Malta. As a result, Tuna had now become a popular food item and had been experimented upon in many ways by the German populace.

The tuna melt was made with toasted sourdough slices, melted german butter cheese, and a tuna salad mix containing onions, mayonnaise, mustard, among other things. Being a huge fan of tuna sandwiches in his past life, Berengar obediently took a bite from the delicious sandwich before washing it down with a lager. He nodded his head in agreement with Henrietta's evaluation as he gave his compliments to the chef.

"That has got to be the best sandwich I have ever had. Well done, Linde, you have truly mastered your craft."

Linde flushed slightly red as she heard her husband's compliments before taking a bite of her own creation. She had to admit, it truly was a delicious sandwich. Of course, without the technology Berengar had brought to the world in terms of food preservation, creating such a delicious snack would not be a simple task. Thus, she complimented the man for making the tuna melt possible.

"It is all thanks to your inventions that we can sit here and enjoy such delicacies."

Yasmin was shocked that Linde had found such a way to prepare the canned tuna that lied in their food storage. She was not the biggest fan of the product, but after tasting Linde's creation, she desired to learn how to cook it herself.

"Linde, you must teach me this recipe when we return home!"

The redheaded beauty merely smiled and nodded her head in response to the Moorish princess' request.

"Sure..."

Honoria also complimented Linde's work while looking after her own son in her arms.

"It really is delicious Linde, you should make these more often!"

Berengar was truly in a state of bliss as he gazed upon the scene of his family coming together and getting along so brilliantly. He was beginning to think he was in a dream, and pinched himself to see if this was really reality. After confirming it was, he took a sip from his lager before making a promise to his family.

"This is really nice. I think I should take some time off from work every once in a while, and enjoy time with you all like we are doing now."

Immediately, all eyes were on Berengar as he said this. His entire family had assumed this was a one-time thing, and he would be back to his usual workaholic self the moment he returned home. To their surprise, he was acting as if he desired to make this a regular occurrence.

Berengar did not bother wasting time waiting for their responses. Instead, he ran off with Kristoffer and Hans and wrestled with the two of them on the grass. He would continue to play with his children for several hours before returning home.

When the Royal Family finally returned to the palace, they were relieved to know that Berengar planned to continue these family outings in the future. After all, there was quite some resentment in the hearts of his children for the lack of time he spent with them. Surely the time spent with his family would create wonderful memories and comaraderie among them all.