Steel Empire
The Discussion That Seems Civil

Within the fertile valley, surrounded by the Alps, lies the inhabited territory of the Barony of Kufstein. A large tributary to the Danube river flows through the valley, clear blue water providing life for all the creatures in the region. As dawn broke in harmonious territory, the roosters' cries woke up the peasant class to begin a long day of hard work.

Although the nobility tended to sleep longer than the commoners in which they led, a young master had risen up simultaneously when the peasants to exercise in the morning. If Berengar wanted to overcome his natural weakness, then he would have to work twice as hard as the average knight in terms of physical fitness, and he did.

The night before, he had already discussed with Ludwig to create a set of weightlifting and kettlebells to help with his daily practice. Ludwig was highly respected in the local town and had contacts in every trade. So, he helps his new friend and sends the design to a local blacksmith who will make the exercise equipment at a reasonable price at which Ludwig is responsible for negotiating.

Although the equipment had yet to be made, as the technology of this feudal world was still far from developing, it was only a matter of time before Berengar could increase his strength training even further. Nevertheless, he still did everything he could do with his limited resources.

After another morning of hard training, Berengar found himself bathing again; his bathing habits began to provoke the curiosity of the servants within the Castle. He would shower once in the morning after exercising and once before going to bed at night. He tried to persuade his family to adopt the practice, but they were stubborn people who were set in their old traditions. Although they would bathe relatively frequently for a period of time, they still could not match Berengar's limit germophobic tendencies.

However, he has ordered the entire staff to wash their hands whenever they use the restroom or do any activity that can contaminate the hands. She became famous for scolding cooking staff when she found their cleaning habits to be against her will. Although Baron did not punish Berengar for his behavior, he became concerned about the boy's new habits.

Henrietta was the only exception in the family; as the obedient younger sister, she accepted all Berengar's hygiene advice. She even started taking a shower right before she went to bed. This made Berengar very happy, as his younger sister's chances of developing a serious illness were significantly lower if he practiced good hygiene.

The more he thought about it, the more he knew he had to build a public bath. It will take quite a long time on the path of industrialization for the entire population in its family domain to be able to purchase a private bathroom. The ancient Romans were far ahead of the medieval period when it came to things like cleanliness.

After finishing his first bath for the day, Berengar styled his hair as best he could; he currently had no means of obtaining a pomade, which in his previous life he had used a lot to tidy up his hair. He considered it a dignified appearance, suitable for an officer in the military and even more suitable for a young noble. For the time being, he had only made it into the side with his brush. The next time he visited the city, he would definitely buy some lard which was the main ingredient for the manufacture of pomade.

After styling her hair and wearing fashionable clothes that were in style, she left for the Dining Room. To be honest he preferred 16th-century fashion, especially the Tudor style in England. He would definitely implement such a culture in time; for now, he would wear the clothes of the early 15th century German nobility.

After entering the Dining Room, he saw his family all sitting around waiting for him; this had become a recent habit as Berengar usually spent some time enjoying the bath, taking a bath, quite a long time for a man with memories from the 21st century Earth. However, in this dirty era, he had never felt more comfortable than when he had taken a bath.

After sitting at the table and saying grace, he noticed that Lambert was looking at him with malicious intent once again. It was subtle, and if not for the experience of twice a lifetime, Berengar would not have known the secret of such a gaze. But that behavior was too frequent for Lambert. He would speak gracefully with a smile on his face, while his eyes were filled with hatred and killing intent.

Berengar begins to suspect that the frequency of his illness has something to do with Lambert. It's not uncommon for siblings to kill each other for inheritance at a time like this. The more he examines Lambert's behavior, the more he begins to question his motives.

Unfortunately for Berengar, he had been exiled from the palace and had no true friends among the nobility. Instead, they were all in the corner of Lambert. In any case, up to this point, Lambert had always been a shining star in the von Kufstein family; he was gifted with a sword, relatively intelligent, and extremely charismatic. Lambert even managed to win the heart of Prince Tyrol's eldest daughter and convince his father to agree to their engagement.

Berengar could think of the half-dozen nobles in Tyrol County who would side with Lambert if he asked for their help in the murder of his elder brother. The more he thought about it, the more Berengar knew he had to be careful in the future. He decided to spend some of his time building relationships with the nobility in the region.

However, his main focus was to win the hearts of the people. He was convinced that with his plans to advance agriculture and industry, people would never want to see him replaced as their ruler. While the nobles looked down on the commoners as if they were just slaves incapable of rising up against their masters. Berengar has a memory of Julian, and Julian's timeline history proves that the commoners' anger is something all Tyrants should fear. With the military innovations he brought with him the rise of power, the era of knights would become a thing of the past.

Henrietta looked at Berengar with a hint of caution in her beautiful blue eyes. He was well aware that his beloved older brother was acting strangely ever since his fever broke out. He had even considered the feasibility of possession, even though he had never acted maliciously; the sudden change in his personality had shocked him. Yet despite all this, he still obeyed every single one of his suggestions. If he knew of Lambert's efforts in Berengar's life, he might have killed the poor boy in his sleep. Luckily for the family, his betrayal has not been revealed, nor has anyone else other than Berengar been suspicious of Lambert's behavior.

As the family ate, Sieghard broke the silence; curious about Berengar's conversation with Ludwig the night before; he decided to ask.

"So Berengar, son, how was your discussion with Ludwig last night?"

Berengar gracefully ate the grilled fish in front of him; after wiping his mouth with his napkin, he looked at his father with a dignified expression as he recounted the events of the previous night.

Sieghard heaved a sigh of relief before a satisfied expression spread across his face. He is relieved that his son's sudden change in behavior is not just a fad and is excited about the prospect of this new technology. The news only saddened one person in the room, and that was Lambert. The cunning youth quickly put on an innocent mask of confusion as he investigated the details.

"Project? What project? Did something extraordinary happen?"

Everyone at the table had bought into the plain facade of the cunning youth. Everyone except Berengar, that is, in his past life, had been deceived by too much deception and had developed a sixth sense to detect such a lie over time. Although Lambert was a good actor, it was not enough to fool Berengar's sharp eyes. This brat, who was not even sixteen yet, was truly cunning.

Sieghard was pleased that his second son was also interested in royal affairs and happily shared plans to build a better blast furnace and Bessemer converter.

"My son, your older brother, has attracted your father's attention for some interesting plans to develop the steel industry in our region. With this new technology, we will be able to develop steel much more efficiently!"

A proud expression emanated on Sieghard's face as he revealed the plan Berengar had made without the slightest thought. Although lamber smiled at the news, he was furious.

'Where did Berengar find such technology? Why wasn't I told about this? Goddamn it; I have serious plans for iron ore in my mountains!'

These were just some of the thoughts that flashed through the young man's mind as he looked at his elder brother, who had always been so foolish. Though what he did not expect was that Berengar returned his gaze with narrowed eyes. The gaze was cold; although it did not kill, it had a hint of savagery in it. The eyes of a man who is aware that he has been plotted and will definitely return the favor at the first opportunity.

A very scary sight for Lambert, this was not the eyes of the carefree and naive older brother who grew up with him. However, before he could investigate further, Berengar had finished his meal and stood up from the table; after wiping his mouth with his napkin, Berengar had finished his meal, Berengar averted his gaze from Lambert and put on an equally convincing face to their father.

"Dad, would you excuse me? There's an urgent matter I have to deal with with Ludwig."

A friendly smile spread across Sieghard's face as he did not know the rivalry that was going on between his two sons.

"Of course, my son, go. Your father wishes you all the best with this effort."

Berengar bowed before leaving the dining room, leaving Lambert and the family with various expressions. Lambert's right hand, which was holding the eating knife, began to tremble as his mind could not see Berengar's narrowed eyes, which seemed to have looked past his facade and peered deep into his soul. The trembling of her hands did not go unnoticed by the family when her mother, Gisela, spoke with a hint of worry on her face.

"Lambert, your hands are shaking. Are you all right?"

Lambert looked at his hand and noticed it trembling for the first time; as he examined it, Berengar's cold sapphire eyes once again entered his vision, and his hand instinctively dropped a knife. As he reached for his hand to calm down, he spoke to reassure his family.

"I'm fine; I just feel a little unwell, that's all. Excuse me, I think I'll lay down for a while."

After being forgiven by his family, Lambert gracefully left the dining room, though when he was no longer in sight, he frantically ran to his room and locked the door behind him. After entering the large stone room, he collapsed onto the door that protected his eyes with his hand muttering softly.

"What demon possessed my brother so that he knew my plan?"

The trembling young man felt that his plan to kill his elder brother had been successful and invited the demons into their midst.