Tyranny of Steel

Since the death of Lambert, Berengar had hidden it from his family. The reason being he was afraid of the effect such news would have on his loved ones. More importantly, he did not want them to figure out that he had personally killed his brother in battle and claimed his skull as a drinking cup. This barbaric act was Berengar's final revenge on his little brother for the boy's wicked actions.

However, he could not keep the secret forever, and thus Berengar had been hatching a scheme to inform his mother, father, and little sister of Lambert's death. He had just been too busy up until this point to do so.

However, with his schedule free for the next few days, Berengar knew the time had come to announce Lambert's death and allow his family to have a good image of their lost loved one in their hearts and minds.  As such, he had recently sent out a summons to his parents so that they may appear in Kufstein.

It was on this day that they had finally arrived, and when they did so, they were amazed to see the changes that had occurred to their once humble Barony. The last time they were in Kufstein, it was little more than an agricultural town. Now it was a thriving city, protected by mighty walls made of steel-reinforced concrete bricks.

The sturdy star-shaped walls that bore dozens of cannons facing in all directions were an intimidating sight to the couple who had never thought that Kufstein would grow so rapidly in the year since their departure.

Like all visitors, they had to wait in line until the city guards could vet them; Sieghard was quite impatient as he waited within his carriage. Eventually, he and his wife arrived at the city gates, where the guards flagged them down.

The guard overseeing their arrival was a refugee from Saxony and had fled to Kufstein with his family during the initial outbreak of the war. Having no skills to speak of, he could only enlist in the Army and hope for a spot in the garrison which he was lucky to receive.

Because of this, the man was entirely unfamiliar with Berengar's parents and did not immediately recognize them. Thus he uttered the words he had said a hundred times on this day alone as if he were speaking to any commoner who wished to enter the city.

"State your names and your purpose for visiting the city of Kufstein."

While Sieghard had waited impatiently up to this point, he quickly began to scowl when the guards of the territory he once ruled did not even recognize his identity. Thus he proudly declared his position.

"I am Sieghard von Kufstein, father of Berengar von Kufstein! This is my wife Gisela von Kufstein, mother of Berengar von Kufstein."

Hearing this, the guard's eyes opened with shock; he was not aware that Berengar's parents were still alive; His first instinct was to allow them to pass quickly. However, as a diligent guard, he knew he could not allow someone into the city just because they claimed to be related to the Duke; therefore, he quickly gave them an order.

"Wait right here while I get someone to verify your identities..."

After saying that, he left the area; shortly after that, he returned with a man equipped with brass-trimmed blackened plate armor; this man was an officer in the ranks of the garrison. The moment he arrived and noticed the former Baron and Baronness sitting in their carriage at the gates with an impatient expression, the man quickly slapped the grunt who had made Berengar's parents wait upside his helmet before bowing respectfully to Sieghard and Gisela.

"Apologies, your Grace, some of the members of the garrison are new to Kufstein and are unaware of your identities... You can quickly head to the Castle; I will make sure you are unobstructed on your journey."

This officer was a veteran of Kufstein's forces, dating back to when Sieghard ruled over the region. Thus he knew the appearance of his old liege like the back of his hand. On the other hand, Sieghard was greatly bewildered when he was referred to by the honorific "your Grace" and quickly questioned the term as if his hearing had failed him.

"Your Grace?"

Sieghard and his wife were unaware of just how much progress Berengar had made in the past year; after all, they had retired to the countryside and maintained a peaceful life, they did not bother to check in on the current affairs of the realm.

The officer looked befuddled; it took him a few moments to realize that the couple was unaware of the changes made to Kufstein and all of Austria during their seclusion, and thus he merely smiled before saying.

"It appears your son has many things to inform you about. Welcome home!"

with that, Sieghard nodded in confusion before ordering the servant who drove his carriage to press forward.

"To the Castle, it appears there is much I have to speak about with my son..."

With this, the carriage rode forward and up to the Castle, where Sieghard and his wife departed; at the gates, Berengar, Linde, Henrietta, and Hans were present to greet the couple. Gisela stiffened when she Berengar's appearance; the scar was above and below the eyepatch that covered his right eye made her feel a sense of overwhelming dread.

As such, Gisela quickly walked over to Berengar and grabbed his face into her hands.

"My poor baby! Who did this to you?"

Berengar felt awkward as he heard this and coughed as he released himself from his mother's grasp.

"I was injured on the battlefield, but rest assured, I am fine."

Though Gisela did not believe that Berengar was fine after being blinded in one eye, she accepted his words; for the time being, Berengar did not want to talk about it. Thus she quickly looked over at Henrietta, where she hugged her little daughter.

"My sweet Henrietta! It has been so long, and you have grown so much during this time!"

Henrietta was sheepish as usual and was silent as her mother grabbed ahold of her. After embracing her darling little daughter for a while, Gisela turned her gaze to Linde, where she stared at her coldly. That is until she saw the child in her arms; at that moment, the former Baronness's icy demeanor immediately melted, and tears of joy began to form in her eyes as her maternal instincts took over. She quickly reached out to Hans, where Linde begrudgingly handed her son over to his grandmother.

"Is this my grandson?"

Linde nodded with a warm smile on her face before declaring her thoughts.

"Yes, his name is Hans! He is an incredibly gifted child!"

Berengar smiled when he saw his father and mother for the first time in a year. The last time he had seen his father, the man was lean and worn; to put it simply, he was a husk of his former self. Yet during this past year, he had filled out his muscular body once more, and though he had aged quite a bit since Berengar first reincarnated into this world, the man had a healthy aura about him, as if he had recovered his lost vigor.

Berengar approached his parents with a broad smile on his face.

"Father, Mother, it is great to see you; I am glad to see that you are both healthy! I wish it were under better circumstances that I could summon you."

Berengar had been deliberately vague about the reason for requesting their appearance in Kufstein, and when he said these words, a hint of worry flashed across his father's face. On the other hand, his mother was too enamored with her grandson to notice Berengar's words and had approached Linde, where she took Hans into her arms and spoiled the child.

Having seen this Berengar sighed before leading his parents into the Castle.

"I am sure you are both tired and would like some rest; please follow me to the Dining Hall; I will have some food prepared for you.

Sieghard and Gisela nodded and followed Berengar and the rest of the family into the Dining Hall, where they shared a pleasant meal. After it was over, Berengar tapped Linde on the shoulder and spoke his mind.

"Linde, why don't you take Henrietta, my mother, and Hans away for a bit? I am sure you all have some catching up to do."

Linde immediately understood Berengar's intent; as such, she nodded politely before leading Gisela and the others to a different section of the Castle.

"If you will follow me..."

Though Gisela was hesitant to leave her husband and son, Sieghard silently nodded, signaling her to follow Linde and their daughter. Once they had disappeared from earshot, Berengar asked his father a simple question to break the ice.

"Should I get you something to drink? We have made significant progress with alcoholic beverages; I am sure that you will love whiskey."

Hearing this, Sieghard nodded, and Berengar brought out a pair of glasses where he poured the precious substance into them before handing one to his father. Berengar proceeded to take a sip before expressing his thoughts to his father.

"I see you have a lot of questions on your mind. You don't need to be so hesitant; ask away."

Hearing this, Sieghard took a sip from the whiskey; in doing so, he began to cough up a storm; he had no idea that the liquid would have such a burning sensation. He had taken a big gulp and immediately began to regret it. After doing so, his cheeks began to flush, and he could feel his head spinning.

Berengar chuckled at sight, and after a few moments, Sieghard collected his thoughts before asking the first question on his mind.

"I was referred to by the term "your Grace" when entering the city. Since when do I hold such a prestigious position?"

Berengar's joyful expression came to a halt, and a solemn gaze was cast upon his father before answering the question.

"Truthfully, it was not too long ago. To make a long story short; The Austrian armies were defeated in Bavaria, where Duke Wilmar died in battle. After crushing our armies, the Bavarian troops marched into our lands, where they raped, pillaged, and burned a large chunk of it. In the process, they successfully laid siege to Vienna, where they executed Wilmar's sons and married off his daughters to God knows who.

Only Conrad escaped, where he fled to my lands. In the process, I was named Regent and helped him take back the Duchy from Bavarian control; however, shortly after, the boy fell into a deep depression and took his own life, leaving me to clean up the mess. Some nobles rebelled, which I put down with ease, and Liutbert, the closest male relative of the late Duke Wilmar, acquiesced his claim to the Duchy onto me."

After summarizing the recent events, Berengar took a sip from his whiskey once more while waiting for his father to register the news. Sieghard was in shock; all of these things had happened to Austria while he was living a peaceful life in seclusion. He had no idea how Berengar had so adeptly moved his way up the feudal hierarchy from Viscount to Duke in such a small time frame. For the first time in his long life, he began to fear his son.