Steel Empire
Conspiracies

Linde sits in her room inside Kufstein Castle; she receives a letter written from her sister; in this letter, it describes the scene in which Adelheid has witnessed and the betrayal of their father. The girl twirled around her strober blonde hair boredly as she read those words. He suspected sooner or later his father would betray his lover; it was only a matter of time before the Church offered him something he could not refuse.

After reading the words contained in the Letter, Linde set it on fire before leaving her room, looking for Berengar to inform her of the important matter at hand. Shortly thereafter, he found Berengar in his father's workspace reviewing a ledger on his major infrastructure initiatives. When Linde arrived at the study room with a worried expression, she could guess that her sister had reported some troublesome news, and because of that, she immediately asked for the details.

"Well, don't make me wait ..."

Linde immediately closed the door behind him and told Berengar about the things reported to him.

"The Bishop of Innsbruck has promised my father the Prince-Bisophric of Chur as long as he assists in the invasion of your territory when the time comes. He has accepted this requirement, and thus, betrayed you."

Berengar pondered what this meant for a while; the Teutonic Order would definitely send a large army to enter his land, but with the Prince of Tyrol, on the other hand, would at best send a small punitive task force. He had greater ambitions than obtaining the city of Chur, and by the time the Teutonic Order could muster the strength to attack Kufstein, the Kingdom would be on the brink of civil war or fully involved in it. It really doesn't change Berengar's plans much. In fact, this could be considered a blessing in disguise; by betraying Berengar and the alliance they had formed, Prince Lothar gave him a justifiable reason to attack his territory like that, instead, Berengar decided at the time his plan to seize Tyrol County from Linde's father. An evil grin spread across his face as he thought of such things,

"Why are you smiling? Isn't this a serious matter?"

Berengar could not help but smile further at Linde's response, but eventually he decided to tell her about the change in his plans.

"It's actually the opposite, it's great news!"

Linde looked at her lover and master as if she was a lunatic before expressing her doubts.

"How can this be considered to be such amazing news?"

Berengar got up from his seat and approached Linde, where he began rubbing his shoulders as he explained the depth of his plot.

"Your father will at most send several hundred men to honor the alliance with the Church. The reason for that was because he couldn't afford to lose many people here in Kufstein, he had threatened me once, and I easily dismissed that bluff. Kufstein's security will be guaranteed in any way. Instead, it gave me a reasonable reason to march on Innsbruck and seize his title when he went to war trying to seize the Duchy!"

Linde's gaze went from staring at a madman to seeing genius. He struggled to believe that Berengar came up with such a diabolical scheme directly after hearing about the news that he thought was disastrous. This was why he was the man he had chosen, gentle but firm to his loved ones while being completely cruel to his enemies as a true man!

However, not long after he heard a knock on the door interrupting his pleasure, therefore Berengar stopped his activity and opened the door where he saw Eckhard's figure; the man soon realized that he was distracted by Berengar's cold gaze, and a blushing expression on Linde's cheek. However, since he was already here, he decided to try giving his report.

"Sir, may I have a minute?"

Berengar nodded and allowed Eckhard into the room, where he proceeded to sit in front of the table and pour a few glasses of wine. After taking a sip from the trophy, Berengar gestured for Eckhard to continue.

"Continue..."

therefore, Eckhard stood tall with a proud expression on his face.

"My lord, we have so many recruits joining our forces from the Kitzbuhel region that we have filled an artillery battalion, he said, therefore I need direction where should I focus on the training of the troops next?"

Berengar thought about it for a moment before issuing his decree.

"We must focus on forming a full battalion of Cuirassier, at least 800 men; each additional man must begin to form the 2nd Infantry Battalion. Send me the expense report when it's drafted, and I'll approve it."

Upon hearing his Master and Command's orders, Eckhard hit his chest to salute and walked away after receiving the terms.

"Okay, my master!"

Linde seemed shocked to realize that Berengar's military might was about to expand rapidly; 800 Cavalry wasn't a small number, even by viscount standards, fortunately the population had doubled recently, and he was able to recruit so many people into his army. Knowing the technological superiority his troops possessed, Linde could not help but think that Berengar's forces would soon become the most capable in the world.

Berengar, on the other hand, was satisfied with the results of his recruitment efforts. He was confident that before the Teutonic knights arrived, he would have 2 full infantry battalions, roughly a total of 2400 men, a full cavalry battalion numbering between 800-1200 men, he said, and a full artillery battalion of 450 men, and 18 field guns. Overall, his troops would be able to defeat whatever force the Teutonic Order had dropped on him, as long as it was not a full army, which he doubted they would do given their position with their neighbors.

Just like this, a counter-conspiracy against the Church's plan was made to destroy Kufstein's enemy completely, and furthermore, it was the Regent.