Tyranny of Steel

In the dead of night, a storm gathered above the city of Stockholm, blanketing its streets with a torrent of snow and ice. It was in these white streets that a middle-aged man with a blood-soaked tunic ran through an alleyway while pressing one hand to his open wound. Yet it was not enough to stop the bleeding, and thus a sanguine trail followed behind him, marking his every move. 

Despite the wound in his gut, he did not stop for a single second of rest, for the sound of snow crunching beneath a man's boots echoed throughout the alley, closing in on him with each passing second. Like a bat out of hell, the man ran for the nearest safe house. 

Upon turning the corner, the man found his destination. At the end of the alleyway was a small building whose door he frantically knocked upon, calling out to whoever was on the other side. 

"Olaf, open the fucking door. It's me Anders. Hurry, someone's after me!" 

The door opened in the next second. However, when the man named Anders gazed upon who stood behind it, he fell on his ass into the frozen streets with a look of horror on his face. It was not Olaf who awaited him in the safe house, but a stranger, who held a bloody knife in his hands. 

It immediately dawned upon Anders that Olaf was dead, and he was next. Before he could cry out for help, the man behind the door lunged forward and cut his throat. Anders bled to death in the streets of Stockholm while his killer cleaned up the scene of his crime, leaving behind not even a hair of evidence for the authorities to find. 

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Contrary to what one might believe, this violent scene was not the least bit uncommon, at least not for the last two weeks. Thousands of men lie dead in this brief window of time. Some were petty criminals, while others were high-ranking members of the Danish Army. However, most peculiar were the deaths of the Swedish Royal Family, who were covertly assassinated in a single night by an unknown force. 

For the people of the Kalmar Union, it was as if the apocalypse had begun. Everywhere they looked, bodies were piling on the streets. Naturally, the entity responsible for these deaths was none other than German Imperial Intelligence. Who in Berengar's absence had identified and eliminated every single member of the Catholic conspiracy to overthrow King Alvar and his reformist government. 

Currently, King Alvar was sitting in a room alone with Linde. There was a stern expression on his fat face while he demanded answers to this encroach on his sovereignty. 

"Who gives you the right to commit these heinous acts on my sovereign soil? You have gone too far! Thousands of men lie dead and in only two weeks' time. The people are asking questions, and only now am I finding out the answers. 

You say that there was a conspiracy, which sold women and children as sex slaves across my realm, and whose profits were spent on funding a catholic uprising! What evidence do you have of these wild claims?

The Swedish Royal Family has been murdered. The only surviving members are a bunch of small children! Do you have any idea what this means for the stability of my realm? It will be an all out war between Denmark and Norway to see who can gain the upper hand! This is utter madness!"

Despite the man's rude tone, Linde had a completely calm expression on her flawless face. She continued to sip her tea as if none of this information bothered her in the slightest. It was only after she had finished her cup that she pulled out a document and handed it over to King Alvar. 

The folder was filled with photographs, written testimonies, and nearly every form of damnable evidence imaginable, and this was just the dirt that Linde had on the Swedish Royal Family and their involvement with the conspiracy. Alvar read through the folder and could not come up with a single word in response, which Linde took advantage of to insult the man.

"Is that enough to convince you? Or do you want to read through the literal pallets of boxes which contains the evidence we have collected on this case thus far? Under your reign, anywhere between two and three thousand children from Iceland has been sold into slavery! This does not include the number of adult women who have also been trafficked throughout the borders of your Empire.

My husband has allowed you to reign over your Nordic states without interfering in your affairs because he judged you capable of doing so. However, all you have managed to do is stuff your face while a civil war was brewing within your realm without you being the slightest bit aware.

Do you have any idea how outraged my husband will be when he finds out about all of this? He is currently gearing up to fight a war with a near peer on the other side of his globe, and his ally, which sits on his northern border, is on the verge of complete and total collapse! Incompetent would be too kind of a word to refer to your rule as High King.

So, Here's what's going to happen. You are going to cede Iceland to the Reich as payment for the monumental expenses and labor that went into uncovering and eliminating this conspiracy. Then, you are going to take your bitch of a daughter and go home to get your house in order.

Ingrid is no longer welcome here, nor is she worthy of my son. You can consider the engagement between the two of them to officially be null and void, though good luck finding her another fiance as my son has already taken her purity."

It was bad enough to have to cede Iceland to the Reich, but when Alvar heard about the scandal between his daughter and the German Prince, he could no longer contain his rage, and was quick to raise his voice. 

"He what? Impossible, your boy is only thirteen! You're telling me that my Ingrid has slept with the little prick already? I don't believe you!"

Despite having her precious baby boy insulted in front of her, Linde did not frown. Instead, she wore a sadistic smile as she added salt to the wound that had appeared in Alvar's heart.

"Hans is a charming young boy, and he is at that age. Is it really that hard to believe? In truth, it was easy for my son to convince your slut of a daughter to spread her legs for him. Though Ingrid is not worthy of being his wife, I must admit she has been excellent practice for the boy. It's a shame she has to leave so soon. I can only imagine the incessant whining Hans will make without his plaything around to entertain him."

Linde had been looking forward to this moment for years. She could not stand Ingrid, and had been patiently waiting for her son to take the woman's chastity so she could kick the bitch to the curb. It was only recently that she found out the things Hans was doing with Ingrid in private.

Perhaps the boy could only tolerate such a bitch if he was plowing her. Whatever the reason behind his actions, it came as a great surprise to Linde when she learned that her eldest son was already sexually active. She could only sigh and recognize the fact that Hans was indeed his father's son. As for Alvar, he was practically boiling with rage, and demanded that Hans take responsibility for his actions.

"If what you say is true, and they have already *ahem* slept together. Then your boy must take responsibility for his actions and marry my daughter. After learning such a scandal, there is no way I will let you weasel your way out of this engagement!" 

Despite the man's harsh tone, Linde was as calm as ever. Her sky-blue eyes were oozing malicious intent as she made her next threat, one Alvar could not ignore.

"You are aware of the Reich's punishment for child molestation, right? Your daughter is an adult, one who took advantage of my teenage son and had her way with him. If you refuse to nullify this engagement, I could easily have her sterilized and sent to a labor camp for the rest of her life. Would you prefer such an alternative?"

Alvar was at a complete and utter lack of words. Regardless of whether this scandal was true or not, he knew that Linde most definitely had the means to fabricate sufficient evidence against his daughter. It was clear as day that the redheaded beauty sitting across from him hated Ingrid with every fiber of her being, and would stop at nothing to break this betrothal. 

After grinding his teeth in a fit of rage for nearly a minute, Alvar finally took a deep breath to calm himself, before making a move, one that Linde was already expecting. 

"Bring my daughter here. I want to speak with her..."

A Satisfied smile appeared on Linde's face as she called out to a nearby servant who was quick to fetch the Danish Princess. Ingrid arrived in the room with a wide smile on her face. She was in a particularly good mood after recent events. 

From Ingrid's perspective, she had made a bold move and taken a head start on the teenage boy's developing sexuality, securing Hans for herself, before he could play with any of his other fiancees. It was her belief that this would help convince the boy to adhere to a monogamous lifestyle with her as his only wife. 

However, when Ingrid saw that her father was sitting across from Linde with a furious expression on his face, she froze instantly, barely managing to get out the question in her mind. 

"D...Daddy, what's wrong?" 

Alvar immediately rose to his feet, and in doing so, his belly jiggled slightly with the shift of gravity. He walked over to his daughter and grabbed hold of her shoulder with a tight grip before staring into her eyes while blatantly asking the question on his mind.

"Tell me the truth... Did you sleep with the boy!?!"

This question shocked Ingrid to the core. She looked at her father, and then at Linde and was able to piece two and two together. She thought she had been covert in her actions, but she was naïve to think she could put one over on Linde.  Ingrid looked away from her father, no longer willing to look the man in his eyes as she stammered out an answer to his question.

"Y...Yes... But-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, her father had backhanded her across the face. An act which left the girl stunned in disbelief. In the next moment, Alvar had grabbed hold of Ingrid's wrist and led her away while screaming commands at her. 

"Get your things! We're going back to Copenhagen!"

Ingrid tried to protest, but she could only say so much before her father responded to her.

"But daddy, I-"

Rather than another slap, Alvar simply stared at his daughter with disgust before shaking his head and expressing his thoughts.

"I'm disappointed in you..."

After saying this, Alvar was quick to help Ingrid gather her belongings, and it was only right before he stepped out of the door to the Kufstein Palace that he gritted his teeth and accepted Linde's terms. 

"Iceland is yours, and you can consider the betrothal between Hans and my daughter to be annulled... You can laugh all you want, but I promise you this, I won't forget this insult to my house..." 

Despite the man's vague threats, Linde continued to smile as she saw him walk out of her door. She left one last comment before shutting it behind him. 

"If I were you, I would worry about getting your house in order, before you go challenging others. Just a friendly reminder. The betrothal between Astrid and Kristoffer still stands. So you should remember your place the next time you come to visit..." 

With this said, Iceland officially fell under the Reich's direct control. Hans and Ingrid's betrothal was broken, and the relations between the Kalmar Union and the German Empire had temporarily soured. All the while Berengar was on a brief honeymoon with his newest 'wife'. 

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