Steel Empire
The Unforgettable Night

A few days had passed since Berengar initially learned that he would soon become a father, and so far, the couple had not told anyone. At this time, Berengar was having breakfast and was hosting his guests with Adela. It was the day of her Engagement Ceremony, and all the invited nobles had arrived safely at Kufstein. Over the past few days, Berengar has been conspiring with Linde to make her fiance an official father to her son. The plan will take place tonight. Lambert's 16th birthday is almost a month away, and he will push for marriage as soon as possible to hide the fact that her pregnancy was out of wedlock. Something where his father would go to great lengths to hide. If successful, the only person who will know the true pedigree of the child will be the parent himself.

Berengar had become quite an expert in maintaining his social elegance among the Austrian elites gathered on his family's estate. Now, all the unwanted rumors about him began to fade in the minds of the people at the party; they had gotten used to the new and better Berengar. All this time, Berengar had not stayed silent and had only entertained his guests. He has arranged several transactions for steel and textiles. That would bring quite a lot of wealth to his family. This trade agreement will eventually develop into a friendship and perhaps even an alliance someday. With the days passing, his father looked upon him better; berengar was convinced that the day until he officially declared the regent over his family's land was near.

Currently, he is in discussion with his future father-in-law about the state of his steelmaking industry.

“Keep, Count Otto, we are working on increasing the level of steel production. We have started to implement a second production line in our industrial area. Soon, we'll be able to produce double the amount of steel we have. currently able to manage."

Basically what Berengar meant was that more beehive ovens, blast furnaces, and Bessemer converters were currently being produced. With the reduction of farm laborers needed, many unemployed farmers are actively turning to factory work or skilled trades. Every day, Kufstein City changes from a small farming town to an actual city, which is filled with a vast diversity of professions.

The count smiled as he heard the news; he would continue to buy steel from Berengar; after all, the quality and quantity of steel Berengar produced far exceeded anyone he knew. Although Berengar had plans to use steel in many aspects, he still sold the excess to those interested, and there were many who wanted a piece of the cake. The Count now decided to move on to a more personal topic to make sure Berengar was fit for his youngest daughter.

"Are you interested in my daughter?"

Berengar did not expect such a question. Nevertheless, he could not honestly say that he was too young for him to be excited. Otherwise, Adela might have taken the wrong path, and she carefully observed her reaction. For some time now, she suspected that Berengar thought of her as a child, or worse, a younger sister. She never looked at him like she saw him staring at Linde on the night of their first meeting, and it bothered her.

"She is a beautiful young woman, with many years to come she will be the mature girl in her body."

Berengar's response to Count Otto's question was satisfactory for the old noble, but to Adela, he could tell what he really meant and frown at his answer as he muttered softly.

"Sounds stupid..."

Although no one heard her disgruntled statement, Berengar could tell from the young girl's facial expression that she was sulking. It became clear to him that he had understood the hidden meaning in the statement. Count Otto, on the other hand, nodded his head slowly and accepted his words.

"Good, it's important for couples to be attracted to each other. I knew I would definitely never marry my wife if she was a dog-faced woman."

Berengar almost laughed at the statement and look on the face of his wife, who was sitting next to the Count when he heard her husband's words. Count Otto was a thin man in his forties; he had short golden blonde hair and a clean shaved face. However, unlike her daughter, she had emerald green eyes. It was from the Countess that Adela inherited her deep sapphire eyes. A trait usually shared by Berengar and the two of them. After all, Adela's mother was Berengar's aunt and therefore came from the same gene pool as Berengar and his family.

Aunt Berengar was named Wanda and had been married many years ago, like her daughter, she was also very young when she was engaged to her husband, and she was much older than him. So she was in her mid-thirties, and like all members of the Berengar family, she was quite attractive.

Families will enjoy their meals and entertain guests until noon. After that, Berengar managed to escape the many guests who were in Kufstein with the aim of visiting him. He tried to relieve the stress of talking to so many unknown people for hours. Only at the beginning of the feast did Berengar finally rise again from his solitude. The party was held outside in the city center, it was a beautiful spring night, and the gentle breeze in the air enhanced the healthy atmosphere.

There was a gated area that contained various tables and dishes on it. Many nobles and women enjoyed their food, wine, and beer as they engaged in conversation. It was not until Berengar stood up from his chair and took Adela to the large dance floor set up under his orders. She was wearing extremely dazzling clothes for the night, and standing beside her was Adela, who was also dressed luxuriously. Berengar held the girl's hand and asked a question he did not expect. In front of the audience, which caused him to be a little embarrassed.

"May I ask you to dance."

He did not know how to respond and nodded his head in curiosity. Because of this, Berengar took her to the dance floor in front of all the nobles who were watching with curious gazes. Their eyes were on Berengar and Adela as the couple danced together following the music playing in the background. Although Adela was unaware of the intricacies of the waltz, she quickly caught on as Berengar guided her through the steps. As the sun began to set, the two danced together throughout the early evening under the illumination of a thousand candles and a full moon above it.

Although the men in the audience initially scoffed at seeing the dancing couple, the women were instantly inspired by the incredible scenery and quickly became envious of Adela. Soon, they asked their partner to invite them to dance as well. Although they do not know the waltz, they still follow the traditional dances of their home region. From the sidelines, the peasantry looked at the various feudal powers of the regions as they engaged in new traditions with various expressions. Some were envious, others were confused, and some were completely disinterested. Although one thing is certain for the residents of Kufstein, Berengar did it again with his crazy ideas.

Berengar, on the other hand, had just started his tactic of trapping his younger brother; therefore he brought a few cups of beer and ordered the servants to keep coming.

"Come, Lambert, let's have a drink to celebrate the upcoming unification of your dear older brother."

Lambert's eyes instantly narrowed as he looked at Berengar with suspicion. Now, Berengar was fully aware of the plan against him. Yet he so cheerfully offered to drink with her in public. What angle? Nevertheless, Lambert could not resist and carefully sipped his beer; when he made sure that it was not poisoned, he began to drink more. After all, these past few days had been extremely exhausting for him, as Count Lothar had constantly berated him for his failure.

Before long, Lambert finished his drink, as Berengar did, and thus the young master gestured for two more drinks to be brought to the table as he pushed his younger brother.

"Do you want to bet, little brother?"

Lambert's cold gaze landed on Berengar as he wiped the rest of the beer from his mouth before asking what Berengar implied.

"What kind of a bet is that?"

Berengar took a sip of beer in his hand and placed his cup right next to his first cup.

"It's simple; we drink; the first person to come down must run around the page by the end*ng at dawn."

Lambert scoffed at Berengar's childish behavior, but he knew his brother was not a drinker, which would make this a good opportunity to humiliate him. Thus Lambert foolishly accepted the terms of gambling and began to compete with his brother in the game of drink. Old Berengar may not have been a drinker, but as a soldier in his past life, who was often stuck in the barracks doing nothing, Berengar had become a fairly experienced drinker. He had no doubt he would beat Lambert, although whether he won or lost really did not matter to him. Berengar's main goal was to have Lambert wasted so that he could not remember the night before. In the worst-case scenario, Berengar had to undress and run around the castle grounds at dawn; what was the old saying? Who would dare to win?

Thus, the brothers began to drink beer like there was no tomorrow, which did not escape the attention of the other party-goers who began to encourage them. Both of them were consuming alcohol. Berengar had a calm expression on his face; he was a veteran drinker who could drink more than a dozen beers and still be able to function properly the next day. Lambert, on the other hand, was much lighter than he expected. By the time Lambert reached his sixth beer, he had practically spoken his words. Berengar could not prevent his lips from curling into a grin when he saw the sight, which only acted as an encouragement for Lambert to drink more. By the time they reached 15 beers, Lambert had almost fainted, and most of Berengar's cognitive abilities were intact.

Seeing the state of Lambert, Linde finally urged the two boys to stop their contest.

"Call this a series, okay? It's late."

Lambert was completely hammered at this point and could barely form a sentence.

"Daz .. true ... Drawing?"

Berengar chuckled slightly before he accepted the terms

"Well, we'll call it a series. Rest, little brother."

With that, he stood up from his chair and went with Adela towards the castle; he trusted Linde to take care of the rest. Linde, of course, instantly helps her drunk fiance and drags him into her room. Where he quickly fainted, by the time he woke up, he would have had a terrible hangover and had absolutely no memory of what had happened the night before. He would also face a serious crisis, as Linde did exactly as Berengar asked and made it seem like the two of them slept together. In reality, nothing happened between the couple.

As for the other nobles who enjoyed the celebration to the fullest, this would be a night that they would remember for the rest of their lives. One in which they could not thank Berengar enough for providing. After tonight two traditions were born in the Duchy of Austria, throwing lavish parties to celebrate one's engagement, and ballroom dancing ...