Tyranny of Steel

A mature and beautiful lady was sitting across from a handsome Lord within the Duchy of Luxembourg, this man by the name of Hilmar Von Senheim and was a prominent Count within the Ducal Court of Luxembourg. The Lady across from him was an agent of Austrian intelligence, and had approached the Count to gain his support for the various Rebels that were being trained in his territory. 

Hilmar was a cautious man, and he knew the winds of change were blowing, Berengar von Kufstein had risen through bloody conquest to become King over half of the German States, The armies of Austria were indomitable, and unfortunately for the count, his liege had provoked the tyrant of steel. 

He was looking for a way out from the violence that he knew was about to occur, thus when an agent of the Austrian Crown approached him, he was more than happy to entertain her in his home. At the moment they were eaten some rather bland mutton, with a side of watered down ale. Despite his wealth and power, it had become incredibly difficult to get his hands on Austrian ingredients.

After all, Austria held a stranglehold over trade with the East via their byzantine connections, and with the attack on his life, he had moved to isolate luxembourg from many facets of trade that had once made their lands wealthy. Hilmar was no fool. He could tell by the displeased expression on the Austrian beauty's face that she was rather displeased with the bland food, and thus apologized for the lack of spice. 

"My lady, I must apologize for the lack of taste in this food. As you should be aware,Berengar has set up several embargos against us after my Liege's foolish attempt to claim the man's life. With your master shutting down his black market and calling on his allies to sanction us, it has become rather difficult to get my hands on the spices necessary to make a good meal."

Despite the bland mutton, the woman did not stop eating it, a free meal was a free meal, and even if it failed to meet her tastes, it would at the very least fill her stomach, thus she sighed heavily before expressing her thoughts on the matter. 

"Your master is a fool for attacking my King. If you think Berengar is being merciful by not invading the North, guess again, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but since you have taken pity on little old me, I guess I will give you a hint about what is going on behind the scenes...

As we speak, Austria's special forces are training the common people to rise against your master. They are being equipped with sufficient arms, munitions, and the tactics necessary to bring your transportation and logistics to complete and total halt. Assassinations of nobility, and ambushes on your troops, are about to become a common occurrence. If I were you, I would think well about where your loyalties lie. 

I understand you to be a man of refined taste, and I can promise you that so long as your loyalty lies with the bastard of luxembourg you will not be able to get your hands on the luxuries that you have taken for granted."

<br/>Hilmar halted, frozen in his tracks as he heard this comment. He was already having a hard enough time getting by without salt, pepper, and any other number of spices from the east. Now he was being told that all the other luxuries he enjoyed from trade with Austria and its allies such as coffee, fine wine, beer, glass, textiles and any other number of items that made his life more glamorous were all about to be taken away. 

On top of this, Austria was raising an army composed of his own people in his backyard, such a thing concerned. If he were any other lord, he would have the woman sitting across from him taken to the dungeon and interrogated on what she knew. However Hilmar was not so naïve, the detainment of an Austrian Agent was something that would easily provoke Berengar, especially since she had been so open about her position. 

In anything, this woman was acting as a delegate rather than a spy, and thus Austria would argue that the rules of diplomacy protected her. Thus, attacking her in any way was an attack on Austria itself, and that could only end badly. The gears turned in the Count's head as he considered his options. When he suddenly realized about the reason for this woman's visit, he placed his fork down, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves before responding.

"I understand... What does the King request of me?"

When the female agent heard this positive response, a sultry smile appeared on her face as she took a sip from her wine chalice before teasing the man.

"Good boy..."

She did not immediately respond to his question with the answer he was looking for. Instead, this beautiful mature woman took her time eating her meal, before relaying the orders Linde had given her.

"The Austrian Crown knows the Duke favors you. Contrary to what you might believe, it is not as easy as you might think for us to infiltrate his inner circle and spy on him. The man is more careful around his servants than other noblemen. It is because of this that we need you to be our eyes and ears within the Ducal Court. I want to know everything that the Bastard of Luxembourg says, and does regarding anything remotely associated with the upcoming war, his allies, and most importantly, the Kingdom of Austria."

Hilmar gulped the saliva that had been pooling in his mouth as he listened to every word the woman spoke. After several seconds of silence, he nodded his head before responding. 

"I understand. How will I contact you when I come across such information?"

At this point, the beautiful mature spy's brow raised and her expression shifted to one that feigned confusion.

"What do you mean? I will stay right here with you, in your castle, as your personal liaison with the Austrian crown? I am sure such a thing would please you, would it not?"

A smile formed upon the count's face as he heard this. Such a rare beauty would stay in his castle and be his contact? This was like a dream come true. However, the next statement she said nearly made him pass out from excitement. 

"As long as you behave yourself like a good little boy, I am sure I can find some way to reward you for your efforts. So what do you say? Will you do this for me?"

Without hesitation, the Count nodded his head like a trained puppy

"Yes, of course, my lady. I would be more than happy to host you in my home for as long as you need. Anything you desire, so long as it is in my capabilities, you need only ask!"

Upon receiving such a loyal response from her newest pet, the Austrian spy giggled before revealing her thoughts.

"Good boy, now tell your servants to open the gates so that my people can bring in some much needed materials. This mutton is truly horrific..."

Hilmar did not hesitate to do as he was instructed. He immediately ordered the gates to be opened, and when they were several merchants from Austria, brought in spices, wine, beer, and distilled spirits so that the Lady could enjoy a proper meal. The sight of these luxuries practically made the count burst into tears. He was now fully prepared to sell himself to this woman so long as she pampered him. 

If there was one thing Austrian Intelligence was good at, it was identifying those who could be made use of, and fulfilling their desires in order to gain their loyalty. This agent was a specialist in dealing with pampered masochists, and had been deliberately sent to this Count because of her skills in that regard. 

Everybody had a price for their loyalty, and Wilmar's was to be pampered and abused by a beautiful older woman. True loyalty was a rare quality in humanity, and the agents of the Austrian Crown knew how to make use of human greed better than anyone. While this spy gained the loyalty of one of the favored counts within the Ducal Court of luxembourg, others were dispatched to secure similar loyalties across the Northern German States. 

By the time Austria launched its invasion, Berengar would have compromised his enemies within every facet of their societies. Commoners, nobles, merchants, and the church alike would fall prey to the whims of Austrian Intelligence.

Future generations would learn about the extensive campaign of subterfuge that Austrian Royal Intelligence undertook in coordination with the Royal Military. In doing so, historians would later dub the German unification wars as the first instance of Hybrid Warfare in human history, and attribute it as an act of brilliance on Berengar von Kufstein's behalf.