Steel Empire
Expanding Influence

While Berengar was talking to Adela and discussing his plans to establish the Demi-Lancer Company, Linde toiled as the ruler of Berengar's elaborate spy network. What begins as a small group of peasants who watch and listen to a potential threat and report it to Berengar turns into a massive cobweb that infiltrates every noble house inside the Barony of Kufstein under Linde's management. Say what you want against Berengar's lover, but he has a brain for intrigue and is crucial in the fight against Lambert and his allies.

The beautiful young woman divides the tissue into various cells located in every major inhabited region of Barony. Through a combination of courier use, carrier pigeons, direct interaction, smoke signals, and other communication methods, Linde was able to make sense of everything that was happening in the Kufstein region. A complex hierarchy was established to allow the freedom of local cells to engage in espionage, propaganda, and murder at will, without ever being traced back to Berengar's doorstep.

The hierarchy is as follows, at the top of the organization is Berengar; he is referred to by those who know his existence as the Ruler. Under the Sovereign is the Listener, this is Linde's job. He would listen to Berengar's command, if he had, and pass it on to the Speaker, who was the leader of every cell. The speaker will then pass this work to the Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Hands. Each is assigned with a different specialization in Intrigue. Eyes and Ears are commonly used for espionage and intelligence gathering. The mouth is used to spread misinformation and engage in propaganda efforts, and the hands are used for practical work, especially murder and sabotage. Below all of these are Associates. They are not official members of the organization but are essentially pawns who unwittingly help Berengar's spy network. The only members who knew that Berengar was the ruler were the Listeners and Speakers. The rest were only led to believe that they were acting in the interest of the kingdom, and therefore, if arrested and interrogated, could not blame Berengar.

Currently, Linde is expanding the network throughout Tyrol, starting with building cells inside Innsbruck. He knew exactly the person who filled the speaker position, someone who could be trusted and completely loyal to him. When he writes a letter to his personal servant informing him of the task he is about to assume, the young woman took extra precautions and wrote the letter in a code that only the two understood. Linde's maid is actually her half-sister, the family scoundrel, and her name is Adelheid. If anything, Adelheid was the closest thing Linde had to a friend growing up; after all, Linde's cold, sadistic, and domineering attitude had distanced many from him. Those who persevered were generally men who were fascinated by her physical beauty, like Lambert. Unfortunately for them,

So Linde wrote the letter truthfully to Adelheid, telling him about everything she had experienced in Kufstein and the change in her character. The only reason he took the risk of doing so was because he knew Adelheid would support him no matter what he did or who he was. The letter contained some very personal information, including that she was pregnant with Berengar's child and had framed Lambert for being considered a father. After writing about past events, he concludes a letter asking for Adelheid's help to establish a network of spies throughout Innsbruck. There was a considerable salary on offer, which was clearly kept on the ledger, but more importantly, it was a personal request from Adelheid's older sister and best friend.

After sending a letter with a confidant to her home in Innsbruck, Linde sat down and sighed as she drank from a glass of pure water where Berengar had made sure to make plenty for her consumption. After all, she could not drink alcohol during her pregnancy, and Berengar would never allow her to drink water without a filter. Linde rubbed her stomach as she thought of the child growing inside her. Every day he prays to be a boy so he can inherit Berengar's position someday. Having complete confidence that he would become King, he wanted his son to be legitimized and replace his father more than anything else. Of course, if he knew that Berengar had planned a large number of political reforms for the future, one of them was crucial to the succession law, he said,

He thought Berengar was in his room eating snacks with Adela and talking about his plans now. She scoffs at the little girl's sweet tooth and thinks that one day she'll come back to bite her. Nevertheless, he wished it was him with Berengar now. However, she could not interfere with their personal time well; after all, she would have much to herself later, and even though she was competing with Adela to gain Berengar's affection, she would have a lot to herself, he had no plans to monopolize it for himself. She has become quite accepting of her role as her lover.

Meanwhile, she tries on the dresses Berengar made for her; they are all in the color of her house, which she takes as a sign that she really thinks of her as family. If anyone asked where he got it from, he would answer that he bought it from Berengar. No one needs to know that the Baron's son and heir showered him with gifts, ranging from fine jewelry to beautiful dresses and shoes. Berengar ensures that both girls enjoy the most luxurious clothes and accessories available.

She looked in the mirror to gauge her appearance and knew that Berengar would be pleased with her stunning beauty. She can't wait to show him how he appears in the clothes he made for her. But it has to wait. For now, she spent time mixing and matching her clothes and accessories until she found the perfect appearance for each of the clothes.

...

Berengar was sitting in his room eating snacks with Adela; for whatever reason, the young girl decided to feed him herself. He found the idea a bit silly, but fortunately there was no one nearby to see the embarrassing scene. Therefore, she closed her sapphire eyes and accepted the treat her young fiance had given her. For some reason, he could not help feeling like he had reached the peak of his current life. Of course, a moment later, he quickly realized that such a thought was absurd, and his fiery ambition took control of his mind once again. However, he enjoyed the time spent with Adela. Finally, she had to stop the girl's actions; unlike her, she couldn't eat so much candy without feeling nauseous. Adela pouted after seeing him reject the snack she tried to force to feed him, but eventually, she accepted that he was too old to eat anything other than the desert. Berengar, on the other hand, finally had to express his concern about the young girl's eating habits.

"You know it's bad for your health if you keep eating large amounts of candy like you do right now.You should really eat more meat and whole grains."

Once again, the teenage girl started to frown upon hearing his words; her facial expression was too sweet. Berengar couldn't help but tease her.

"What if I feed you? Do you want to?"

Adela could not help but become confused by her statement as her cheeks became as red as apples. Finally, he nodded, and Berengar could not help but laugh.

"Wait, here, I'll pick up some of my favorite foods, and we'll split them up, okay?"

It was not that Adela did not like the myriad of recipes that Berengar introduced to the world. He preferred the desert, which as a responsible adult, Berengar could no longer allow him to snack constantly throughout the day. Therefore, he walked into the kitchen, where he found the chefs working hard. Upon seeing the young master approach, they all greeted him.

"My lord! What brings you to the kitchen?"

Berengar smiled at the cooks when he saw their excited expressions; he came here with a purpose in mind and immediately revealed it.

"Do you guys have any Rouladen Pork I can eat?"

A very young chef walked in with a plate filled with fairy tale dishes and brought it to him.

"I just finished cooking this; it's an honor for you to taste it."

Berengar smiled, took out a juicy piece from the plate, and put it into his mouth, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Good, it turned out to be delicious! Do you mind if I take the whole plate from you?"

The cook shook his head with an excited smile on his face.

"Absolutely not my Master, all this is yours and your family!"

Berengar quickly accepted the plate. The only other thing he stopped by was a bottle of beer to wash it off. After which, he walked towards his private room after leaving a message.

"You did a very good job; keep up the good work!"

With that, he disappeared into the hallway while the Chefs looked at him with excited expressions. They had just been praised by the man who discovered all these recipes! Obviously, they are doing their job right.

"Say ah!"

Adela's face reddened in embarrassment, but eventually, she closed her eyes and did as she was told.

"God...."

finally, food entered his mouth, and he could not help but exclaim for joy; it was much tastier when fed by the man he loved.

Finally, he devoured everything, and before he knew it, Berengar said something to him, which he did not record because he was moving too fast.

"There's something on your face, stupid girl."

With that said, Berengar stretched out his index finger and wiped the rest of the sauce from the roulade from her pretty pink lips, and put it in her own mouth; after licking her finger for a while, it was only after a few moments, one word came out of his lips.

"Lezat"

After that, she started snacking on a piece of herself while Adela almost fainted from embarrassment. Berengar could not help but laugh at her timid expression. He decided to tease her a little more.

"You want more?"

Despite her awkwardness, Adela nodded her head while her face was practically tomato-colored. Therefore, Berengar repeated the process with the girl, after which he asked a question that surprised him.

"Is that beer?"

Berengar could only nod his head; he was quite proud of the beer produced by the village and practically drank it all the time. With his alcohol tolerance, he did not need water. In addition, she needs calories because she is still trying to add. He finally asked that question in his mind.

"Why are you asking?"

Adela turned her gaze left and right before speaking her mind.

"For dong?"

Berengar was in a moral dilemma, although it was common for children to drink at this period, as there was no drinking age. Inevitably Berengar has a disturbing voice behind his head from a 21st century memory telling him that supplying alcohol to minors is illegal. However, his medieval mindset eventually won the debate, and he held out an urn for Adela to drink.

After sipping a beer, the more the girl drank, the more her face started to become red from drunkenness. He was not used to consuming alcohol, and thus quickly became drunk. Finally, Berengar cut him off, but at that moment, his little head started to swing as he placed it on Berengar's shoulder. Finally, he looked at her with a drunken gaze filled with desire and pressed his lips against hers, which surprised the young master. Although it was another childish kiss on the lips, the expression on his face made Berengar believe that he had let him drink too much. So he backed out of his grasp. As she did so, tears began to form in the teenage girl's eyes as she asked a question that worried her.

"Didn't you like me?" he said he was drunk.

Berengar sat down next to her and hugged Adela tightly as he calmed her down.

"It's not like that; you're too young now. In the few years when we got married, I promised we could spend more time together... But for now, I think you should sleep." Therefore, despite the girl's drunken protest, Berengar took Adela into the daughter's sling and dragged her into his room. After placing her on her bed, the girl quickly fainted, and Berengar could not help but think as he looked at Adela, who was lying on her bed drunk.

"This girl is too sweet ..."

With that said, she left Adela's room and returned to her own room, where she resumed working on her plans for Demi-Lancer's equipment and tactics; before long, she heard a knock at her door, which she had heard, and he could already guess who it was. When she finally opened the door, she saw Linde wearing one of the many dresses she gave her; she was adorned with the fancy jewelry she gave her and wore a pair of black leather sandals. He looked at her with a slightly confused expression and asked the question that had been on his mind for the past hour and a half.

"How do I look?"

Berengar could not help but smile as he pulled her into the pel*nya, closed the door, and kiss*mnya with ga*rah. After more than a minute of romance, Berengar let go and gave her the answer she hoped for.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met in my life!"

Her heart almost jumped from her d*d because of the praise her lover had given her. Berengar was honest when he said that, in his entire two lives, the only woman he had ever met who approached his natural beauty was Adela, and she was still a child. Perhaps one day he could rival Linde, but for now, the young lady before him was the only woman on his mind.

After spending a lot of time stripping Linde off, Berengar finally took her to his bed, where the two spent the night together, enjoying each other's warm p*lukan. Although it was already h*mil, Berengar tried his best to make her another child that night. After a night filled with ga*rah bc*nta, the two finally fell asleep in the morning. It won't be for a few hours before they wake up once more and start their daily routine.