Tyranny of Steel

It was an average day in the city of Kufstein. The Kaiser was hard at work, maintaining the growth of Germany's industry and civil structure. While his family were all engaging in their personal responsibilities, whether that be work or school. 

However, there were two distinctive individuals sitting across from one another in a room of the Imperial Palace. These two women had pleasant smiles on their pretty faces as they discussed matters of the heart.

Linde took a sip from her elaborately painted bone china teacup and savored the flavor of the eastern delicacy. While coffee had revolutionized German society and was served to every economic class as a common beverage. Tea was imported from the Ming Dynasty at considerable expense, making it something that was almost exclusively consumed by the middle and upper classes. 

After swallowing the dark liquid, Linde's sky-blue eyes lit up with an intense focus as she gazed upon her guest for the day. The young girl that her husband had taken in as a ward nearly ten years ago was now a fully grown woman. Her beauty was in a class that only the wives and lovers of the Kaiser could compete with.

However, if there was one thing that Linde personally found enviable about Veronika, it was her youth. After all, the redheaded beauty was now in her thirties, and though her man showered her with the same amount of love and affection that he always had, she felt a bit sore about her age. 

Veronika's natural platinum blonde hair flowed from her delicate ivory shoulders and down upon her hefty bosom, concealing her cleavage, which was exposed from her unusually tightly fitted dress. She was, after all, competing with many women for a teenage boy's affection, and as a result she typically wore rather revealing clothing around the house, even when Hans was not present. With the grace of a princess, the heterochromatic beauty sipped on the tea, and expressed her delight to the woman she thought of as her own mother.

"I am grateful for the treat. It is not every day I get to taste such a delectable flavor of tea."

A pretty smile emerged upon Linde's immaculate face as she nodded her head, and responded by pouring herself another cup. She expressed her lament over the fact that she did not get to share such a delicacy with the man she loved. 

"I'm glad to hear that someone enjoys my personal stash. Berengar can't stand the stuff. I don't know what is wrong with his palette but he only enjoys that common swill known as iced tea. Even then, he only really drinks the stuff when it has lemon juice mixed in with it."

A slight giggle erupted from Veronika's mouth as she heard this. There were truly only a few things that could get a woman like Linde to sigh in such a way. The Bohemian princess found the relationship that existed between the redheaded Kaiserin and her husband to be an inspiration, and she was quick to voice this thought.

"I truly admire the love that exists between you and Berengar. I hope that one day Hans and I can share a fraction of what exists between the two of you."

Upon hearing this, Linde smiled once more while she nodded her head in contemplation. Her thoughts drifted back nearly thirteen years ago, when she and Berengar had first met. Looking back, she could say with certainty that the very moment she laid eyes on the man, it was love at first sight. 

Of course, being the spoiled and sadistic brat that she was at the time, her concept of love drifted to a rather unhealthy place. However, with the experience she now had, Linde could confidently say that although it was a perverted image of love, her desire for Berengar to be hers and hers alone was genuine. 

After so many years with her man, Linde understood that her initial desire to control and dominate him was naivety at its finest. Berengar was a man destined for greatness, more than she had ever anticipated. Naturally, he would not settle for one woman by his side.

All she could do was carve herself into the very depths of his soul, so that at the end of the day, she was the woman he loved most, and that was something she had done successfully. After coming back to reality, Linde decided to impart some of her wisdom on the young woman in front of her. 

"If you want to have a similar relationship with Hans that I have with Berengar, then you must understand a few things. Firstly, Hans will grow up to be a man like his father. He will become of man of focus, commitment, and sheer will. A man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. 

You cannot control a man like that. In fact, any attempt to do so would be seen as an offense by my son. So give up any notions you might have of doing so. What you need to focus on is how you can support him and his goals better than any of his other women.

For example: Adela handles propaganda, Henrietta controls the nation's finances, while Honoria and Yasmin secured the thrones of Berengar's greatest allies for his progeny. Meanwhile, I built the intelligence network that has allowed my husband's Empire to grow so rapidly, and secures him from the threats in the shadows. I also control the other women in his harem, to make sure there is not any unecessary drama. 

Put yourself in charge of your rivals, learn to manipulate those bitches so that they stay in line, and become someone irreplaceable to Hans, and you will become his favorite. You have made progress in some of these areas, for example Natalia, and Noemi seem to be open to the idea of following you. However, there is one mistake you made that my baby boy has yet to forgive. Something that you need to make up for, or else he will always question your loyalty."

This shocking revelation caused Veronika to choke on her tea. As far as she was aware, there was nothing she had done to make Hans so angry at her. Everything she had done in the past that had visibly upset the boy had been forgiven already. She was very curious about what she could have possibly done to offend him to such a degree, and naturally asked Linde what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're referring to. Why would Hans hold such a grudge against me?"

Linde sipped from her tea once more and sighed heavily before revealing what she knew about her eldest son. 

"I understand what you were thinking at the time. Berengar has done much for you. He saved you from your abusive mother, raised you as if you were his own child, and given you everything you needed to succeed in this world.

He has even made your peculiar condition something that is revered by the German people rather than shunned. It is no surprise that you approached him and asked him to marry you when you were young and confused. 

You may not know this, but Hans heard what you said at that time, and for the past few years he has always considered himself second in your eyes, even though you are his fiancee. Unless you do something to ease his worries, he will always fear the possibility that you love his father more than you do him. 

If this continues, it is likely that this new girl, Anne, will become his favorite, and will become the mistress who presides over you, and the others, even if she doesn't want to. So, your objective in the coming years should be to mend this rift, and find some skill that makes you irreplaceable in my son's eyes. Then you can have your fantasy..."

Upon hearing this, Veronika had a serious expression on her face. She did not know that Hans harbored such thoughts towards her for all these years. It was true that at the time; she had strong feelings for Berengar, but those feelings were misplaced, to say the least. 

Veronika's relationship with her biological parents was turbulent. Her mother had abused her, and her father did not even recognize her existence. It was because of this that she confused familial love with romantic love.

Now that she was older, Veronika understood that Berengar was the father figure that she never had growing up, and was extremely embarrassed that she had asked him to marry her when she was in early adolescence. 

After several moments of reflection, Veronika swallowed her embarassment and nodded her head. A serious glint emerged in her mismatched eyes as she stared towards the woman she thought of as a mother and made a proclamation to her. 

"I understand. I will do everything I can to make up for that moment of youthful indiscretion, and ingrain myself in Hans's heart so that I am his number one from now until the end of days. Thank you Linde for this advice. It has helped me understand what I need to do." 

Linde merely smiled when she heard this and nodded her head silently as she sipped from her tea once more. Among all of her son's fiancees, Veronika was her favorite. If it were any of the other girls, she would not have bothered giving them such advice. It made her happy that the girl was intelligent enough to take her words to heart. Thus, the two of them continued to have a tea party until lunch time came around. 

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