Steel Empire
Burglary

Over the next few weeks, Berengar was assigned to incorporate Kitzbuhel into his family's domain and through the necessary procedures to declare his father Sieghard as Viscount Kufstein. News quickly spread about Berengar's rapid conquest of the neighboring Barony, and the other feudal lords were left scratching their heads wondering how Berengar managed to effectively force Baron Kitzbuhel to surrender in less than a week. Of course, in accordance with the conditions of surrender, Baron Guntrum and his surviving men were unable to divulge information regarding Berengar's advanced weapons and tactics to anyone. Thus, many theories arose about how Berengar achieved such a feat.

Count Lothar, who was Berengar's subordinate, was unhappy with the news; with Berengar's conquest, he had lost Vassal outright. However, there was not much he could do about the situation since he was aware of his daughter's relationship with the young Viscount and had no way of punishing her without getting her disapproval. As a man who was tightly controlled by his desire to please his daughters, he was afraid of such an outcome. Because of this, Prince Lothair quickly recognized the outcome of the war and recognized Sieghard as Viscount Kufstein, even if he was currently still formally exiled in penance.

Berengar was inundated with work; not only did he have to provide decent compensation to the families affected by his men's war crimes, but he also had to incorporate much of his agricultural technology into the new land. In addition, he spread his propaganda to the people of Kitzbuhel who already had a fairly positive image of him after he executed the criminals in his ranks.

While Berengar was managing the affairs of the two Barons now, Linde worked hard expanding the spy network. He did not laze around as Berengar went to war; he had made some progress in building new cells throughout the nearby County. She refuses to be a pretty face for her husband to make love to and instead supports Berengar in the best way she can.

Currently, he was in a teahouse where he usually did business with local speakers, who happened to be Ludolf, the local Church Deacon. The man was almost a fully ordained priest and was embarking on his path to church reform.

"So, how is that sovereign?"

Linde drank from the tea in her cup as she entertained the small talk of her subordinates.

"He's fine. However, he is currently busy overseeing the incorporation of new territories, and because of that, I am a bit lonely."

Although Ludolf suspects Berengar and Linde's relationship, he really doesn't ask, because he doesn't want to know Berengar's personal life, which he views as a complicated man, as he is, he was blessed by God and destined to lead the German people to a bright future but had a fair share of the evil he felt uncomfortable with. One thing is certain, Berengar was not a saint.

Ludolf passed a letter on the table that he had copied from the Priest head file before speaking in a soft tone.

"The Church officially condemned Berengar's actions to attack and annex Kitzbuhel. They called on the local ruler to form a defense pact; if he made another move, he would be attacked from all sides by his enemies."

Linde sneered as she put down her teacup and looked at the letter in her hand. After reading it, he put it down in disgust. The Church really wants to make things difficult for Berengar. In this letter, the Church publicly demands that the assets seized by Guntrum be handed over to the Church as promised by Guntrum, and as far as they are concerned, be legally confiscated.

This created an area of conflict with the Berengar trade route, as they encouraged other regions to do the same; it was not as if Berengar had the power to wage war with every region that stole the work of its people. Linde let out a heavy sigh as she came to an unwanted conclusion on how to solve this troublesome problem.

Ludolf looked at Linde with a puzzled look as he heard the annoyed tone in his voice. Although he felt he should not interfere in his affairs, his curiosity controlled him.

"What little girl?"

Linde snorted unhappily; she felt uneasy just by thinking about it, but now the Church instigated the theft of Berengar's supplies, he had no choice but to make his father and the father of his rival work together to counter the influence of the church.

"Berengar's adorable little engagement... If I could get Adela to convince her father to condemn the church's actions, the two Counts would openly oppose the Vatican and their open support for theft. The threat of an army of two Counts would be more than enough to deter anyone foolish enough to try to seize Berengar's resources."

Ludolf nodded in agreement; what he said made sense; he could tell from Linde's frustration that he didn't like Adela too much, and therefore, he felt his suspicions were evident. Nevertheless, he decided to try to mediate their conflict and suggested alternative options.

"Why not ask Berengar for help? That way, he'll be more obedient."

Linde shook her head as she expressed her concern.

"Heard would never ask Adela for help; she was too proud to ask her father for help on this matter. This is something I have to do personally. I just wish she'd read my letter instead of burning it once she saw it. My family seal on it."

Ludolf decided to avoid conflict between these girls and just drink his tea; he could tell from the statement alone that the two girls would most likely never meet in person. Of course, in his eyes, it was clearly Berengar's fault for being greedy and wanting two beautiful young women by his side. Nevertheless, he was somewhat envious of Berengar, but as a man dedicated to God, he quickly crushed such ideas before rising from his seat.

"I'll leave the rest of the work to you. I have to go back to the church..."

With that, Ludolf disappears into the crowd, leaving Linde with his loneliness as he thinks of the best words to beg Adela for help.