Steel Empire
Taking Advantage of the Crisis

After Berengar shared an awkward meal with his in-laws, he and Count Otto eventually moved into the old Count's study, where they could communicate about the problems at hand. Count Otto was aware that Berengar was mainly here to see Adela, but officially the young Count was in Graz to discuss business; therefore, the two men quickly resolved the problem at hand, count Otto is in charge.

"So Count Berengar, tell me what's so important that you'll cross the battlefield just to talk to me directly?"

Berengar smiled seeing the way his uncle called out to him, in a formal atmosphere like this, calling Berengar by his noble title was a way to show respect to his position; berengar followed in a suit as he gave his answer.

"Count Otto, I'm here to address the ongoing crisis on the Austrian border, now the Bavarians have taken Vienna, and occupied most of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and so on, and Carinthia, the only three remaining districts that are remote. intact is our territory, and Vorarlberg. Therefore, I have come to ask for your help in fighting against the Bavarian Tyranny."

Count Otto narrowed his eyes at Berengar, he had not realized that Vienna had fallen, nor its consequences; after all, he had no spies on Duke's Court. So he didn't realize what had just happened. Therefore, he tried to clarify his confusion.

"When did Vienna fall?"

Berengar was aware that his uncle was unaware of the latest developments in the war for Austria. Therefore, he quickly informed the mighty Count of the information he knew.

"Vienna Castle fell a few days ago. If everything goes according to plan, then my agent can smuggle one of the heirs of the late Duke Wilmar before the other is executed, thus saving the Habsburg main line from the Duke's brutality. Dietgers. When he arrives in Kufstein, I plan to establish a government in exile so that we can fully resist the oppression that Duke Dietger and his Bavarian forces are putting up!"

Count Otto noticed that Berengar was convinced of the outcome, though he did not provide any substantial evidence; thus he questioned him further.

"Do you have any proof of this claim?"

In response to this, Bernegar only chuckled before responding to his Uncle's interrogation, he was confident enough in his spy network that they had succeeded in their efforts. After all, he was traveling to Graz while they were working on saving Conrad from the Bavarians, so he didn't know for sure if everything was going according to plan. 

“Acknowledged at this time I lack evidence, however, I am confident in the abilities of my subordinates. In the coming days, I believe my claim will become public knowledge. So until you can confirm my own words, why don't we act as if it's the truth, and make a plan accordingly?"

Although Count Otto was unsure about whether Berengar's claim was true or not, the sheer conviction the young man had of making a plan based on the assumption that everything had gone his way was enough to convince Otto that the probability of such an outcome was high. . He therefore sighed in response to this news and voiced his deepest thoughts.

"So my worst fears came true. Tell me who's the Wilmar heiress you saved?"

Berengar grinned as he revealed the name of the heir he had specifically chosen to save from the wrath of the Bavarians.

"Conrad..."

Soon, Count Otto's face changed when he heard those words; he was well aware that Conrad was completely unsuitable for ruling the Duchy of Austria. As a wise man, he could already guess what Berengar was planning; therefore, he immediately began to protest.

"You saved Wilmar's youngest and most incompetent heir so that he could be your puppet when you had the true power behind the throne?"

Berengar did not deny the allegations. Instead, her lips curved into a sinister smile before she pleaded guilty to the man who questioned her.

"I'm afraid that I'm, in fact, guilty of the charges you've given me. But let's be honest with ourselves here. Do you really believe that around the world, there are people better suited to lead? Our duchy of myself during these darkest days?" 

Count Otto had difficulty believing that Berengar would instantly acknowledge his plans, but it seemed that the young Count was not afraid of the consequences; after all, he knew that his uncle would not reveal his plans, either, or side with him.

The two men had a blood relationship. They also had the same goal: to reunite Austria; if Otto opposed Berengar's wishes, he would create a civil war between the Austrian nobility who remained free from the Bavarian occupation.

In such an event, Otto knew that Berengar would eventually be the victor and would likely succeed in his attempt to drive out the Bavarian invaders. Either way, Berengar would install a puppet on the Austrian ducal throne and claim power for himself. Rejecting such inevitable results is a futile act.

So Count Otto let out a heavy sigh before accepting the result; he realized that by not taking the opportunity to break the Bavarian siege of Vienna, he had played right in Berengar's hands, he had played right in Berengar's hands, let the young man seize the power of the Duchy for himself.

Indeed his nephew was an ambitious and ruthless man. Nevertheless, by marrying his youngest daughter to Berengar, Otto ensured that his dynasty would also rise with the von Kufstein Dynasty. Therefore, Otto had no plans to ruin the efforts of his young nephew. After agreeing to Berengar's scheme, he quickly asked the question in his mind.

"So, what do you need from me?"

"It's simple; I want you to support me openly; I'm worried that even though I warned loudly, Conrad might still be a little upset by the fact that I'm engaged to a woman he likes. All I need from you, the father of the woman is to help convince Conrad that I am the best choice for the regent position. There was little doubt in my mind that he would try to choose you to fulfill that role, even if it was out of spite."

Count Otto nodded in agreement; berengar's worry was a possible outcome if left to their natural events. If that was the case, he would do his best to convince the spoiled brat that Berengar was the best person for the job; however, another worry immediately surfaced in Otto's mind as he thought of Berengar's scheme. Therefore, he voiced his concern.

"What about Count of Vorarlberg? Surely he would be a potential candidate for the position."

However, Berengar's reaction shocked Count Otto as the young man simply laughed at his worries before replying with an arrogant expression.

"Don't worry, the Count of Vorarlberg owes me a great debt for sending troops to help him; there is also the fact that as long as my troops are on his land defending his land, he will never go against my will. The consequences of doing so would be dire, to say the least ..."

Count Otto was not a fool; he soon realized the threat Berengar had hidden behind his words. If Prince Vorarlberg vied for the position of regent, Berengar would convert his troops defending the Vorarlberg frontier to attack his capital.

The middle-aged count instantly realized that letting Berengar's troops access his land was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they are strong enough to defeat the power of a potential attacker and can be a great ally. However, in the next minute, they could become enemies and inflict far greater damage to their land than any other army in the world. 

Upon realizing this, Otto nodded in agreement and said nothing more; he would do as Berengar wished. After all, as long as Adela was set to marry Berengar, they would remain allies, and Berengar was a powerful ally to have.

After thinking about Adela's position, Otto immediately recalled his worries from breakfast. He quickly began to shift the subject so that he could figure out the true nature of Berengar's relationship with Ava.

"So now that we've finished it, I've got a question I'd like to ask you do you not mind?"

Berengar was caught off guard by this and raised his eyebrows in response, realizing it had nothing to do with his plans, his curiosity peaked, and thus, he comforted Otto's questions.

"Please; I'm not hiding anything."

After receiving his nephew's approval for interrogation, Otto quickly asked the question in his mind.

"What exactly happened between you and Ava, until she was acting weird this morning while we were having breakfast?"

Berengar immediately burst into laughter upon hearing such comments; Otto was unlike his own father; he had a critical view of social issues and quickly realized something was amiss; however, Otto was not like his own, the man thought too much about it, due to such confusion, Berengar decided to clarify the matter before it became something serious.

“Trust me, Uncle, I have no interest in Ava; this is a misunderstanding. He forgot to lock the bathroom door, and I accidentally walked over it; of course, I immediately retreated when I saw such a thing. However , she then came to find me in my room and tried to seduce me, where I actually rejected her. She's in a bad mood because I'm implying that I'm not interested in a used woman."

A giant frown formed on Otto's face; if one looked closely, one could even see veins appearing on his forehead. Although he was not Angry for the reason Berengar was thinking about, only when the man revealed the reason for his anger in the form of a question did Berengar truly understand why his uncle was so angry.

"He did what?"

Berengar had anticipated the man to be angry at him for walking over his daughter while she was bathing, but instead, he was more concerned with the actions of his eldest daughter. So Berengar decided to add fuel to the fire to punish Ava for acting so arrogantly.

"He tried to seduce me. To be honest, I can't believe he has any interest in me personally. Instead, I think he was jealous of the relationship between Adela and me and was just trying to make a drama. For a woman who was married and had three children, she acted like a child..."

Upon hearing this news, Otto sat in the chair next to him; he needed a breath; why were so many of his children trying to upset him to death earlier? After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Otto quickly replied to Berengar.

"Thank you for being honest with me; I will take care of this matter so that he does not cause you or his sister further insult." 

After which, the man walked out of the room angrily. Berengar only grinned at the sight while thinking to himself.

'You've brought this upon yourself Ava, if you weren't a whore trying to seduce your sister's fiancee, you wouldn't be in such a position.'

Thus the meeting of Berengar and Otto for future events was completed; all that was left for Berengar's visit to Graz was to spend time with his beloved little fiancee.