Steel Empire
Escape From Vienna

Weeks had passed since the siege of Vienna began, and Bavarian forces had broken through the city gates. They almost achieved what Lothair had failed to achieve during his lifetime, and that was to seize the City of Vienna and overthrow the main Habsburg line. Duke Dietger smiled from afar as his impeachment smashed into the city castle gate. Soon, he will become the ruler who rules in Austria and unites the Austro-Bavarian Kingdom; he will no longer be a mere Duke but a proper King! At least that was his ambition in life, and he almost made it happen.

As the battering ram broke through the sturdy gate, the remaining defenders did their best to defend, but eventually, the gate fell. With that, Bavarian troops stormed into the Castle trying to claim it for themselves and gathered the family of the late Duke Wilmar so that they could be dealt with properly. The clash of steel resounded throughout the stuffy air on the castle walls. Although Duke Dietger himself did not lead the attack on the invaders, the same could not be said for Gautbehrt, who bravely defended his family home until his last breath.

The young duke, who had not been properly recognized for his title, bravely fought against a Bavarian Knight, who was, as the two men wielded their swords with excellent skills in a display of fantastic medieval power. All around them were soldiers from both sides thrashing about in a great melee, trying to win in the conflict. As their swords bound to each other, Gautbehrt unleashed a violent blow with his steel fist, which hit the Knight's pig-faced basket; but the damage was not severe; the damage was not; that gave Gautbehrt enough time to point his sword at the gap in the enemy's shoulder, which was not sufficiently protected by the rondel. Because of this, the knight staggered from the high-tempered carbon steel that found its way through the mail armor, the gambeson beneath it, 

However, at this moment, Gautherbert was startled by the attack of a nearby opponent, who only glanced at his mighty steel armor. Nonetheless, such a blow forced him to redirect his energy to defend against a second opponent; thus, the Knight whose shoulder was pierced was allowed a reprieve when another warrior took his place on the front line. Gautbehrt and his allies quickly found themselves in the back, slowly retreating into the hallway, while their numbers dwindled to an overwhelming display of violence. 

While the Bavarians slowly break into the castle, the boy Conrad hides in his room, frightened by the events unfolding. His father had just been killed, and the city had fallen, his family's enemies had come to take their lives, and as the men of the family, his fate had been determined. Although his sister may have been spared and married to a member of the von Wittelsbach family, she was a threat, and he knew with Duke Dietger's reputation she would definitely be doomed to die. However, as the boy began to lose his mind due to the sound of screams echoing in the hall, he felt a hand grab him and drag him from his hiding place. The boy was in no condition to observe his surroundings and quickly began to rebel as he struck the person who had caught him, shouting for his life.

"No! I don't want to die! Please let me go!"

However, the result was not what she expected as she felt a petite and feminine hand slap her face, which dragged her to her senses. In front of him, clasping his arm, was one of his servants, named Elma. He looked at her sharply, with a level of determination he had never witnessed before. He quickly threw a set of peasant clothes at Conrad and ordered it in a stern voice.

"Wear this! Do it quickly if you want to live!"

Hearing that there was hope for survival, the boy quickly took off his clothes and put on clothes; despite the fact that there was a beautiful woman in front of him after he had put on such clothes, it was not until now, Elma pulled the hood over her head and gave her further orders.

"Come with me!"

He quickly dragged his arm away as the two fled the Castle into the secret corridor leading to the city below. Conrad, of course, was very confused by the sudden change in events and began to ask questions in his mind.

"Where are we going?"

However, Elma simply glared at him and gave him further orders

"Don't ask, and keep quiet."

Conrad might be a rightful and foolish brat, but he was at least able to understand his current situation, and because of that, he nodded and obeyed Elma's orders. After the two of them exited the secret tunnel, they entered the city below, where they started acting like a pair of peasants trapped in the city. As they slowly navigated the chaotic scene that was displayed by themselves in the city, they finally stopped at the City gate, where they are interrogated by the gunmen left behind to guard the entrance of the city and ensure that no significant person escapes the city. . Unlike the Lothair army, the Bavarians behaved with some form of dignity. As such, they did not wander about looting, raping, and burning down the city, at least not yet. The guard on duty quickly stopped.

"Stop! No one is allowed to leave the city; you must return to your home!"

Elma had already prepared an excuse beforehand and was holding a fake identification paper to allow her to enter through the city gate. Therefore, he quickly reached into his robe and received a letter, containing the seal of Prince Sigismund of Bavaria; the letter informs him that he is a spy stationed by the Prince of Bavaria at the request of Duke Dietger, and he has an urgent matter to report to his subordinates, seemingly having the proper mark of Prince Siegmund, who is the one of the two, and thus, the Guard accepted it as an appropriate identification. He had no way of knowing that it was a fake made by Berengar after his spies intercepted one of Count Siegmund's letters. They had mostly replicated the handwriting and seal of the Count through great effort, at least in such a way that someone not too familiar with such a thing would believe it.

"Who is that boy? Why is she with you?"

"Who is this? It's just my sister who's slow; she doesn't know how to talk. He was sent with me as part of my disguise. He's not important. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you would allow us to pass by; after all, Liege I expect me. Since we both serve Duke Dietger to some extent, I am sure we will meet in the future, and when we do, I will owe you a favor ... "

Elma was a relatively attractive woman in her late twenties, and because of that, the man quickly bought her charms before giving orders to her troops to let her pass.

"Open the gates; both work for Count Siegmund; they have proper authorization!"

After the gate was fully opened, letting the two pass by, Elma put on a sultry face and kissed the man's cheek, which looked full from the basket of his exposed face. 

"Until we meet again..."

With that said, Elma and Conrad fled outside the city limits, and when they were far enough away, they changed direction from the main road where they entered the nearby forest. Luckily for Elma, she had long since prepared an escape route, like her orders from Linde, and she was about to meet with another agent from the Berengar Intelligence Department, who was a member of the Berengar Intelligence Department, who would wait outside the city gates with carts to take the group away to the Kufstein border. As such, Elma and Conrad quickly rejoined Agent Berengar's other vast spy network, where he sat in a cart sitting for two, the back of the cart was filled with straw, and Elma quickly gave Conrad another request.

"Hiding in the hay, we'll be safe when we get to our destination!"

However, at this moment, Conrad could no longer contain his curiosity, and of course, his concern for his safety. Therefore, he removed his hand from the woman's grasp and started yelling at her.

"Not until I get some information! For example, who are you, and why are you helping me?"

Elma sighed as she watched Conrad's match, they didn't have time for this, but she knew the way Conrad acted, he would probably flee the other way and get himself killed if he did not tell the truth, therefore he quickly explained his reason for his actions. 

"We're going to Kufstein, Count Berengar has asked us to escort you to his territory to keep you safe."

Conrad was surprised by this news, he thought he must have made Berengar really angry at Adela's birthday celebration, yet the man had gone through the trouble of escorting her to safety. He begins to reevaluate the man his father had praised so much in the past. Then again, his father was also wary of Berengar's rise to power and often spoke of the man in a cautious tone. Conrad doesn't know how to act at the moment. However, another thought quickly surfaced in his mind, and he could not help but ask.

"What about my brothers?"

Elma quickly shook her head as she urged Conrad to get into the back of the carriage and hide in the hay.

"We don't have time for this, quickly do as I say, Duke can realize that you are missing every minute, and if he sends a search for us, we will be arrested. If you care about your own life, you'll do as I say and get into the hay!"

Although Conrad was confused and a little worried about Berengar's goal, in the end, he was more concerned about his safety than his brothers and did as he was told, jumping behind the Caravan where he hid in the hay. With that, the group flees the city of Vienna during the darkness, completely without Duke Dietger or his troops realizing that the youngest son of the late Duke Wilmar is missing.