Steel Empire
Surprise

While Berengar and Linde were preparing for another possible war, the Byzantine Princess had an important guest visit her. Although at this moment, Honoria was amusing herself in the courtyard with her pet, Eagle Heraclius, completely unaware that her fiance would see her.

Ever since Honoria was five years old, she raised the eastern imperial eagle as her pet, and to be honest it was her only friend. She was the only daughter of the current Byzantine Emperor, and said that her relationship with her strained brother could be considered an understatement. 

From a young age, he was very protected by his parents, to the point that he never even left his palace or grounds. The only men he met outside of his family were his father's subordinates or various suitors who had heard of his legendary beauty and traveled a long way to meet him.

Despite this, she finds every man who is trying to get his hands on a wedding completely unbearable. So she had rejected them all cruelly, to the point where she was now fifteen years old and approaching the age of marriage without a fiancee. It was until relatively recently where his father, against his wishes, was engaged to him by the French Crown Prince.

Honoria smiled sweetly and giggled as she played with her pet eagle. Its majestic wingspan revealed itself as it took off into the sky and floated in the air, like the watchful guards of its friend and master. However, seeing an unknown man approaching around Honoria, the eagle immediately swooped down and blocked the man's path.

This man was Aubry de Valois, Crown Prince of France and fiancee of Honoria. He had traveled a great distance to meet the beautiful young princess who was engaged to him. However, the moment Honoria saw the man in front of her, a frown instantly spread on her beautiful face, and she simply insulted the man.

Aubry is by no means a masculine man, though he is said to be a talented fighter. The young man was very feminine not only in his facial features but also in his body shape. She was petite, slender, slender, and had the skin of a woman. She has a long dirty middle blonde hair that drops down to her waist and emerald green eyes. If one did not know her identity, they might think she was a woman at first glance.

This was one of the reasons Honoria disliked the man; another was that she was a famous pillow-biter. Although the Catholic Church and society as a whole are intolerant of homosexuality, it still exists. Sometimes, there are instances of men like Aubry who, though notorious for such inclinations, hold high positions and are not subjected to Church abuse.

Seeing his fiancee in front of him and an eagle blocking his way, Aubry smiled sweetly as he kept his distance, a sight that instantly disgusted Honoria at the very core of his being. Afterwards, Aubry spoke in a voice so feminine that it was almost indistinguishable from a female voice.

"Honoria! I'm finally happy to meet you! I am Prince Aubrey de Valois of the Kingdom of France! Dad says you're beautiful; he doesn't seem to lie; how do you make your skin so pale? So pretty! I wish I had fair skin like yours."

The man did not even try to hide the fact that he had no interest in Honoria at all as a woman. The way she complimented her as if she was another girl looking for beauty tips. Honoria is convinced that if cross-dressing is not a gross violation in Europe, this man will surely walk around in women's clothing, and no one will be more thoughtful about his actual gender. 

Therefore, Honoria simply harassed the man and raised her arms before shouting out orders.

"Heraclius, come!" With that, the eastern imperial eagle flew to his forearm and alighted above it, where the young princess continued to walk away from her fiance without noticing him in the slightest. 

Seeing his fiancee fleeing in the opposite direction, the young man tried to approach Honoria. However, as he approached it, the eagle known as Heraclius, quickly flapped its wings and cocked at the Prince of France.

Although Aubry was a formidable knight in battle, the overly protective nature of the eagle gave his spine goosebumps as he could clearly sense his killing intent. He soon realizes that with the eagle protecting Honoria, he will have no way of approaching her and achieving the goal his father has set for him, which is to get her help.

The Kingdom of France needed a strong ally. Currently involved in the war with England. Their neighbors in the East are currently embroiled in a civil war, with a deeply troubled individual rising to power amid the Chaos. If France wanted to maintain its dominance over European affairs, they needed to cultivate an alliance with the major Mediterranean powers, and that was the Byzantine Empire.

However, before he could even begin completing such a task, the princess had insulted him as if he was nothing more than ordinary trash. Aubry quickly sighed, and seeing that he was the only one around, he immediately started to frown as he expressed his thoughts.

"If only I could marry one of his brothers, it was much easier to seduce a man than to befriend a woman, and no man could resist my charm!"

After leaving Aubry with her thoughts, Honoria ran to the palace with Heraclius clinging to her arm before taking him to her room, where she quickly closed him behind her. After which, the eagle flew to a perch pole and rested on it while staring at its master with a mocking expression. 

The eagle was brilliant and basically made fun of the fact that Honoria would be forced to marry someone who was more female than male. Seeing the grin-eating grin on Hercalius' face, Honoria threw a pillow at the bird before punishing him.

"What are you laughing at!?!"

Heraclius, of course, dodged the attack and landed on the bed in front of Honoria, where he lay and pouted. He gripped one of his silk-coated pillows and started shouting with all his might. Of course, his voice was muffled, and no one but him and Heraclius could hear such a thing.

After letting go of her pent-up frustration, Honoria felt a little better about the whole situation, and she began to think hard, as she often did when she was alone.

"Am I destined to be sold to the effeminate Prince of France and live out the rest of my days as a trophy wife to that fairy?"

Honoria instantly started biting her beautiful pink lips as she continued to frown over the situation she was in.

"Will no one save me from this marriage?"

At that moment, he heard a knock on the door and a worried tone from a familiar voice came from outside.

"Daughter, are you here? I heard you ran away from a meeting with your fiancee. Are you all right?"

Honoria instantly began to frown once more before shouting at the door.

"Go!"

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

shortly after saying these words, Honoria realized something; she was curious about Arethas' conversation with her father not long ago in the royal garden and thus quickly ran to the door and opened her latch. The actions that shocked Arethas and his subsequent actions made him even more confused.

Honoria blushed lightly and looked away from Arethas before muttering in a low tone.

"Come in... There are some questions I want to ask you!"

Hearing that she was accepted, she accepted the princess' offer and entered her room, where she quickly sat in one of her chairs. The princess herself sat on the bed and stared awkwardly at the man who had acted as Uncle for her growing up.

Arethas was one of the Emperor's best generals and was a close friend of the family. Although she has gone on campaigning for the past few years, she usually acts as a confidant for the princess during her childhood as she has no friends other than her pet eagle. 

After a moment of silence, Honoria finally cleared her throat and uttered a question in her mind.

"I'd like to ask you about a man named Berengar ..."

Arethas grew even more confused when he heard this question; where had the girl heard that name before? and why would he be interested in a lowly Count from across the sea? Nevertheless, since he had asked, he had no choice but to answer to the best of his ability.

"What do you want to know about him?"

Hearing that Arethas was willing to answer her question, Honoria became very confused; she had yet to think of the question she wanted to ask, so she took a while to consider before the first question came to her mind.

"What's he like?"

Arethas thought about this question for a few minutes before giving an honest assessment of the man.

"Heard was a ruthless and ambitious man who would do anything and offend anyone he wanted as long as he was able to achieve his goals ..."

Hearing this, Honoria almost lost interest; although she wanted to be the wife of an ambitious and capable man, she did not care about cruelty. However, before he fully succumbed to the matter, Arethas continued his evaluation.

"Despite this, he is very kind to friends, family, and people under his protection. Every time I went back to the city he built, people seemed happier and richer than ever before. He has spent a lot of money to build a wall that rivals our Theodosian walls around his city to protect his people and has even developed an enhanced system of waterways and sewage disposal to ensure the health of its citizens. 

From the interactions I saw with her family, she seemed to care deeply about their safety, health, and happiness. If I were to evaluate that person, I would say he was kind and generous to his allies but cruel and tyrannical to his enemies. He will stop at nothing to protect his loved ones, no matter how heinous his actions are or how powerful an enemy he makes. Berengar von Kufstein was undoubtedly a formidable man, someone who was destined to be great... Assuming he lives long enough to achieve it."

Hearing Arethas, the mighty General of the Byzantine Empire, praising the man intently further sparked Honoria's astonishment at Berengar. A huge twinkle appeared in his mint green eyes as he flashed the next question in his mind.

"Is he handsome?"

Arethas was surprised by the statement, though he never wanted to admit it; berengar was very handsome and charming; both aspects added to his natural charisma. Something that Arethas was very envious of the man.

However, when the princess was the one to ask the question, she had no choice but to answer honestly. He nodded in agreement rather than throwing away the words that described Berengar's appearance. 

Hearing that Berengar was handsome over his outstanding character made Honoria even more interested in the man. So the last question was one that was very important to him. So she started to blush lightly as she thrust her index fingers at each other without looking into Aretha's eyes.

"Is he married?"

Arethas took a while, but he finally understood why this girl asked about Berengar; therefore, he started laughing before giving her an honest answer.

“I wouldn't expect too much if I were you, my dear daughter. Not only was she engaged to a very caring young woman, but she also had a lover in addition who was equally outstanding. Her beauty is not inferior to your own; they also have children together. I'm sorry to say it, but it will never work out between you and him.

Even if Berengar was a valuable trading partner of the Empire, and one day became the ruler of a significant power. Your father will never let you be a mere concubine, and I doubt Berengar will break off his marriage to the girl he will marry. I hate to say it, Honoria, but you have to face the truth. You are now engaged to the crown prince of France, and although you object, that will not change."

Hearing this news, Honoria's fragile heart nearly explodes, she feels she has found the perfect partner, but she is already engaged and has a lover, which means there is no place for her in her life. Moreover, Arethas had reminded her of her frightening engagement. Therefore, his expression immediately deteriorated, and he nodded his head with lifeless eyes. 

Seeing the princess's depressed state, Arethas felt a broken heart, but there was nothing he could do for such a thing. Therefore, he decided to let her have the time to think for herself. After leaving her room and closing the door behind her, Honoria slowly cried. He would spend the rest of the day moody about his future.