Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat in the dining hall of his royal palace. Seated across from him were both the Byzantine Emperor and the Princess of the Golden Horde. Despite the treaty that both sides had agreed to, neither of them had ever actually spoken in person, and simply relied on the Kaiser to draft and organize the event.

In the wake of the Vienna Peace Accords, Berengar ensured that both Dharya and Vetranis had stayed behind, and followed him back to Kufstein for two separate reasons. While the Indian Emperor was off visiting his sister and catching up on their lives. Berengar sat down with these two rivals to settle their affairs once and for all.

Khorijin had a cold expression on her beautiful face. She did not seem to care for Vetranis in the slightest, nor recognize his authority as the once mighty Byzantine Emperor. Whereas Vetranis sat across from the mongol princess with a stoic expression and a graceful facade. 

Upon witnessing the atmosphere that was created when these two rulers came together, Berengar felt as if the air had gotten colder. Thus, with a heavy sigh, he expressed his thoughts on the treaty that he was practically forcing the two monarchs to sign.

"As I have already informed the both of you, the terms of this treaty are that the Byzantine Empire will make their best effort to help relocate the scattered Golden Horde back to their previous holdings. Any ground gained in this war by the Golden Horde shall be forfeit and returned to their previous owners.

The Golden Horde will pay reparations to both the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia in the form of silver and gold. Which they are obligated to pay within the next fifty years in an amount that is worth roughly ten times the damage they have caused in their conquest. 

As for the Reich, by virtue of brokering this agreement, the Golden Horde recognizes our right to mine wherever we see fit in the borders of their new kingdom for the next hundred years. In exchange for these liberties, I, Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein, hereby pledge to invest in the creation and development of your new state for the foreseeable future. As a token of my sincerity, I will start with a sum of five hundred billion marks. How does that sound?"

Vetranis nearly choked on his own spit when he heard this figure. Five hundred billion marks? His entire Empire in its current state wasn't even worth such a massive fortune. All of a sudden, he felt like he was the one being cheated here.

After all, he had to invest his own money into the reconstruction of his Empire. Yet Berengar was going to invest five hundred billion marks into the creation of a semi-modern state in the middle of the Caucasus, all in exchange for mining rights? Just what natural resources was the Golden Horde sitting on? 

Despite the Byzantine Emperor's expression of utter shock, Khorijin did not seem the slightest bit phased. This was largely in part because she had no idea just how much five hundred billon marks were worth. However, judging by the Byzantine Emperor's reaction, it seemed to be a lot. Thus, she nodded her head in silence, signalling for Berengar to continue. Which he was quick to do so.

"Alright, since we have all agreed on these terms, then if you would sign your name on the dotted line, we will be able to wrap things up shortly."

Having said this, Berengar took the initiative and signed away his own name on the document before handing the treaty over to Emperor Vetranis. The man had barely recovered from his shock, perhaps if he was in a more coherent state he would have tried to re-negotiate his part of the agreement, but because he was so stunned by this news, Vetranis mindlessly signed his name away on the document while still thinking about everything he would do if Berengar had given him such a vast fortune. 

Khorijin made use of her interpreter to make sure everything was in order and was just about to sign her name when she realized something important was missing. Her brow raised slightly as her cold black eyes shifted over to Berengar's handsome face. There was a rather stiff expression on the woman's plump lips as she struggled to find the resolve to voice her complaint. After taking a deep breath, she went all out and boldly stated her problem with the treaty.

"Where is the stipulation that demands I carry your child?"

When Vetranis heard this, his eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. Did Berengar seriously force this woman to agree to such a thing? He could hardly believe his ears. The Kaiser already had four beautiful wives and three stunning concubines, which Vetranis himself was aware of. Yet the man so shamelessly wanted another foreign beauty added to the list? Just what kind of sex drive did this man even have? 

What was even more shocking was that Berengar did not deny this, and simply smiled politely before responding to the woman's concern. 

"Pardon me, but I genuinely did not think such a thing needed to be written into law. You can imagine the trouble I would be in if such an agreement came to light later in life. It would be quite the scandal. So I have decided to leave that particular stipulation to your own discretion. I am sure you will live up to your promise when the time finally comes. Now, would you just sign your name so we can be done with all this mess?"

Vetranis was practically gawking at his son-in-law when he heard the man so openly admit to this accusation. He thought for sure that the mongol beauty would fly into a fit of rage when he rejected her cause for concern, but instead she simply sighed in defeat before doing as she was told. 

"There, I have signed your treaty. Now you have to fulfill your end of the bargain!"

Berengar smiled and nodded his head in agreement, before responding to the woman's curt behavior. 

"Oh believe me, I always live up to my agreements. After your people have been rounded up and returned to their lands, I will send my men and their equipment to begin the construction of a proper city. Perhaps somewhere close to the black sea, so trade between our realms is easier. 

We will teach your people proper agriculture and begin the construction of our mines. Which, as agreed, will be leased to the Reich for a period of one hundred years, after which you and your people will have full rights to whatever remains. You have my word."

Khorijin didn't entirely trust the golden eyed man. If she could trust him, the spirits would not have warned her about him. However, they had been oddly quiet ever since she was first taken into captivity, and thus she could only rely on her instincts to navigate the complex relationship that had been forced upon her.

As for Vetranis, he was still in disbelief. No matter how he thought about it, he could not comprehend why Berengar was investing so much into the development of an Empire in the Caucasus. Naturally, he would feel this way as the man was completely unaware of the rich deposits of oil, natural gas, uranium, and other critical resources that lied across its vast landscape. 

With the treaty signed, Berengar felt like he had more important matters to take care of, and thus he stood up from his seat and bade his guests farewell for the time being.

"I will speak to the both of you at a later time. For now, I have some affairs to settle with the Indian Emperor and his little sister. Until we meet again..."

Having said this, Berengar exited the room, leaving the Princess of the Golden Horde and the Byzantine Emperor alone together in awkward silence. 

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