Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was enjoying his time with his wives on a private island estate, his children were left at home with two caretakers. One of these was Berengar's mother Gisela, and the other was Adela's eldest sister Ava. The reason for Ava being present was simple: she acted as the wet nurse to Berengar's younger children. 

At the moment, she had both Kristoffer and Katherine clutched to her massive breasts as they fed upon their aunt's milk. When Adela had approached her for this position, she could hardly refuse. If it meant proving she could be a trusted asset to the Imperial Family, then she would do anything asked of her.

Luckily she had given birth to a fourth child recently, and because of this her udders were filled to the brim with breastmilk.  The young woman gazed upon the two children, who looked like infant versions of their parents and sighed heavily in defeat.

"To think these two beautiful babes could have been mine. Oh Berengar, is there no place left in your heart for me?"

The truth of the matter was, Berengar's memories of his life in this world were not as complete as those from his past life. While Julian may have had a photographic memory that transferred over with his consciousness, the original Berengar was not only of low intelligence, but had a pathetically brief memory.

Thus his memories of his childhood years as Ava's fiance were entirely lost.  It was at this time that Gisela entered the room with Hans in hand. When she heard Ava's remark, she merely scoffed before lecturing the girl.

"To think you could have been an empress, and you threw it all away for that disgrace of a husband of yours. I truly pity you. I am honestly amazed that my son thought you would be the ideal candidate for a wet nurse to his children, considering he seems to have no recollection of your history together. Just know that I am observing you, and if a single hair on those kids' head is disturbed, I will ensure that you are removed from your position and never allowed near the royal family again!"

Ava knew why Gisela despised her so much, and she did not blame her. Instead, she sighed and nodded her head, not even bothering to protest such cruel remarks, knowing fully well it would do her no good.

"I understand, and I look forward to proving myself worthy to the Royal Family. I assure you, I will allow no harm to come to Berengar's children."

In response to this, Gisela nodded her head before departing. Leaving Hans in the woman's care.

"Be sure that you do... I have a meeting with some old friends I must attend to, so I trust you can look after the boy in my absence."

Ava smiled and nodded her head in response to the Emperor's mother.

"It would be my honor..."

Gisela merely sneered in disgust before departing, leaving Hans in the hands of his aunt. While technically distantly related to Ava via Berengar's bloodline, Hans thought of all of Berengar's wives as his mothers, and thus he spoke to Ava with an endearing tone as he asked the woman to feed him."

"Aunty Ava, I'm hungry!"

Ava smiled as she gazed upon Berengar's first born and nodded her head before responding to this statement.

"Be patient, Hans, and I will make you a sandwich after I have finished feeding your siblings."

Hans sighed heavily as he waited for Ava to finish her job. After doing so, she grabbed hold of the boy's hand and wore a pretty smile before asking him a question.

"Hans, where is your sister? I'll make the two of you a delightful meal for lunch. How does that sound?"

Hans smiled as he heard this before hugging his aunt.

"Sounds good! I think Helga is in the library..."

When Ava heard this, she smiled before picking the boy up and taking him to the library where she spotted the young Princess of Germany painting as she normally did in her spare time. The woman quickly called out to her niece in a friendly tone.

"Helga, it's lunchtime!"

When Helga heard this, she sighed heavily before putting down her paints. Though she was often quite timid around strangers, these past few days Ava had treated her well enough that the princes could tolerate her existence. Thus, she quickly dashed after her brother and aunt as the three of them entered the dining room.

After seating the children, Ava quickly prepared some basic sandwiches where she brought them out to the kids. After placing their meals in front of them, Ava was about to sit at the head of the table when Hans glared at his aunt and chastised her for her insolence.

"Aunty? What are you doing? That is mommy's spot!"

When Ava heard this, she froze in her tracks. The thought didn't occur to her that sitting in the Empress's seat during her absence might be considered ill mannered. She quickly bowed and apologized to the boy as she begged for forgiveness.

"Forgive me, your highness, I was merely acting on instinct."

Hans smiled when he heard this and pulled out a seat next to him for Ava to sit at.

"It's okay, you can sit next to me!" 

Ava quickly did as she was instructed and sighed in relief. For a second there, she had almost put herself into a precarious situation. The woman gazed at the pristine oil painting of Berengar in his kingly attire that sat upon the dining room wall and sighed in defeat.  Hans immediately noticed the love-struck expression on her face and thought of a devious idea. He quickly asked about Ava's feelings for Berengar in a deliberately childish manner.

"Aunty, do you love father?"

Such a blunt question immediately caused Ava to blush in embarrassment as she stared at the boy in front of her in disbelief. Despite asking such a loaded question, he had a completely innocent expression on his face, leading her to believe that he was simply a child unware of the weight of what he had asked. Because of this innocent appearance, Ava had failed to realize that the boy was testing her. After all, she was completely unaware of the boy's keen intellect.

"Once upon a time, the two of us were engaged. Unfortunately, I made some poor choices and have come to lament it. I don't even think your father remembers our time together... So if anything, I guess you could say I feel regretful."

Hans was astonished to learn this, and immediately hatched a devilish plot in his mind as he put on another innocent facade.

"I could always put in a good word for you. I know father loves beautiful and busty women, and I think you would make a great mommy!"

Ava had bitten into her sandwich the moment she heard this statement and practically choked on it in shock. After coughing for several moments, she stared at the boy in disbelief. Was he trying to kill her? Eventually, she forced a bitter smile and shook her head.

"That won't be necessary. I am already married and have several children. I doubt your father would even be interested in used goods like me..."

Hans could clearly tell the woman still had feelings for his father, but now was not the time to press the issue. Instead, he merely sighed and nodded his head with a smile.

"Okay, if you say so..."

After saying this, he bit into his sandwich and exclaimed in excitement.

"This is really good, aunty!"

Such compliments from the Imperial Prince brought a smile to Ava's face. As for Helga, she simply ignored the ongoing shit show her brother was trying to provoke and ate her food in silence. She knew all too well Hans's personality and was aware that he was likely trying to instigate drama between Ava and her sister. This was something she had no desire to be a part of, and thus, she just watched her brother's masterful charade with disinterest. 

Ava petted the boy's strawberry blonde hair with a smile on her face, but in reality her heart was filled with regret and questions. Was it really too late to rekindle her love with Berengar? She was already in a loveless marriage. Would it really be so bad to become the Emperor's mistress?

She could only think of one major roadblock in the path to achieving such a thing, and that was her little sister. Adela would never allow her to even come close to Berengar. Thus, she merely sighed in defeat as she thought of her life's choices. 

As for Hans, his intentions were exactly as Helga had thought. He planned to provoke a conflict between Adela and Ava simply for entertainment. However, if Berengar actually ended up taking Ava as a mistress, he supposed it wouldn't be too bad. 

Thus, while Berengar was enjoying his time with his harem, unknowingly his son was planting seeds for another member to join. Whether they would come to fruition had yet to be seen. After all, the history between Berengar and Ava was not exactly the most cordial.