King of the Sea

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

With Adela's departure, Berengar quickly found himself thrust into his work once more. He had to find an instructor to replace her as the teacher for Kufstein's children with her absence. Unfortunately, implementing his public education system was proving to be a slower endeavor than initially estimated. Because of this, he was currently interviewing a prospective candidate for the position Adela had left behind.

The young man in front of him was one of the Children of the late Marshal. Despite being responsible for the assassination of Marshal Friedhelm von Thiersee, Berengar had successfully shifted the blame for the man's death onto his little brother. Thus gaining the von Thiersee family as a valuable ally. Currently, the second son of the family was sitting before Berengar. At the same time, the young regent conducted a thorough interview on whether or not the man could instruct the region's children in basic education.

The first matter of importance was determining whether or not the man understood the basic material. Over this past hour, Berengar had given the young man a basic arithmetic and language test, which the man passed with flying colors. Afterward, Berengar gave him the booklets that contained the learning materials that had been distributed to the students to see if he could thoroughly understand its content.

The young man went by the name of Frederick, and he was relatively average-looking in all aspects. He was a studious and quiet man who perfectly exemplified the ideal of the noble scholar. Frederick shared the same dirty blonde hair and emerald eyes as his elder brother. The young man looked at Berengar with a passionate smile as he repeated a part of the Social Studies that contained Berengar's p********a.

"The German people are a distinct ethnic group among the Germanic Peoples who reside within the German-speaking regions of Central Europe. It should be the aim of every German to unify under a single cohesive Empire free from foreign influence. Only by uniting with each other can the German people pursue their destiny of Global Hegemony."

It was quite honestly a p********a piece taken from the teachings of a certain regime from Berengar's previous life, yet if he was going to build an Empire, the Fatherland should be united as the core of it. Berengar had distributed a map for visual reference, which contained the regions he wished to incorporate into his future Empire. This map was essentially an exact copy of the idea of a Greater Germany from a certain Austrian Art student, with the addition of the Adriatic Littoral and the Alpine foothills.

After confirming that Frederick could teach the Children, Berengar approached the man with a smile on his face and shook his hand.

"It seems you are more than qualified to teach the children; you start tomorrow. I promise you will be paid a fair wage."

The young man nodded his head in agreement and spoke his inner thoughts."

"I'm just glad to be of service to the realm, My Lord."

Hearing such words, Berengar decided to celebrate and pulled out a flagon of beer while pouring it into two mugs he offered to the young man in front of him.

"If you know anyone else who would be a good fit for the position, let me know. I want to expand public education across the entirety of the Barony and need qualified instructors."

Frederick smiled at Berengar and took out a list of names he had come prepared with for this very topic and handed it over to the young Lord. Berengar was perplexed by this action, but he took a sip from his mug of beer while reading over the list of names. Most of the names written on the sheet of paper were from the younger generation of nobility, many of whom he had met at his engagement ceremony.

Frederick smiled as he shared his thoughts with Berengar

"Many of the children of the nobility within the realm are fully educated and are inspired by your actions. They want to support you in any way they can, and since they are idling about in their s wasting their lives away, I figured I could convince a few of them to take up teaching as a way to stem their boredom and be productive."

Berengar's smile grew wider as he clasped Frederick on the shoulder and thanked the man for making such a list.

"You have no idea how important this list is to me; I have had a challenging time trying to convince people to take up the position of a teacher. With this list and your aid, I can greatly expedite the process!"

Frederick grinned as he reveled in the compliments from the young Lord. Now that Lambert was removed, those previously aligned against Berengar were either living in fear of his retribution or trying to suck up to him. Being from the family of one of Berengar's supporters, Frederick had received substantial benefits due to his elder brother's service. For starters, he was given priority in the field in which he desired to work. As a studious young man, Frederick was more than willing to teach his knowledge to the children and further his own studies from the materials in which Berengar provided.

The two men continued to drink and chat for some time about Berengar's plans for the education of the realm. However, Berengar left out his imperial aspirations; it was evident by the map he had drawn and the p********a in his social studies curriculum that he desired to be Emperor. Knowing about all of the revolutionary innovations Berengar had invented and his benevolent character, Frederick could not help but support the Young Regent on his quest for power.

Frederick had no way of knowing it at the moment. Still, one day he would become the Minister of Education for Berengar's grand Empire, and it was at this moment that Berengar had gained another loyal and competent supporter. Together the two men would accomplish great things on the path to power. Berengar spent the remainder of his allotted time chatting with Frederick and building a valuable friendship, however it would not be long before his duty called and he was forced to get back to work. For a Tyrant there is never a moment of respite in his busy life.

: Border Conflict

: Border Conflict

: Border Conflict

Ingbert was currently overseeing the transport of a shipment of steel and textiles to the Count of Steiermark, who resided in the city of Graz. He had just recently departed from the Barony of Kufstein and he was now sitting at the entrance of the town of Kitzbühel, the capital of the Barony of Kitzbühel, which was the Barony which lay directly to the east of Kufstein and shared its border. The moment he had come close to the town of Kitzbühel while flying the banners of House von Kufstein, he had been stopped by the Town Guard with who he was currently engaged in a fierce debate.

"Under whose authority do you dare to stop this trading Caravan?"

The man who had stopped him was dressed in a brigandine breastplate and wore an iron bascinet helmet on his head. He currently had several archers and spearmen nearby holding the Caravan captive. They all looked as if they were ready to unleash their fury at any moment. Clearly they were holding a grudge against the Barony of Kufstein. The man in charge sneered in disdain at Ser Ingbert as he answered the young man's questions.

"Under the decree of Baron Guntrum von Kitzbühel, anyone who enters through the Barony of Kitzbühel through its western border shall be investigated for Heresy. I hereby order you to stay within the confines of Kitzbühel until after the investigation is complete. In the meantime, we will be seizing all assets in which your caravan carries as potential evidence. If you a determined to be innocent of the charges, then all items seized shall be returned to you at the time of your departure."

Ingbert was furious at the blatant disregard for his identity and lashed out at the guard.

"This is outrageous!"

The guard grinned wickedly at Ingbert and lowered his spear threateningly as he proceeded to taunt Ingbert.

"Any resistance will be considered a recognition of guilt, and thus we will be forced to execute you as a Heretic. I suggest you hand over your weapons peacefully and come with us."

Though Ingbert wanted to fight his way out, the town guard greatly outnumbered him and his caravan guards; as such, there was not much he could do about the current situation. All he could manage was to inform Berengar's spy network set up in Kitzbühel of this matter and have them relay the message to Berengar. As such, he was placed under confinement in the local tavern, where he quickly met up with the bar wench who worked for Berengar in secret and gave her the message. It would not be long before Berengar heard of the egregious actions of the Baron of Kitzbühel and demanded a response.

...

Berengar sat upon his seat of power where Linde was kneeling before him, informing him of the events that had transpired to Ingbert and his caravan within the Barony fo Kitzbühel. He slammed his fist on his armrest in a fit of fury and rose from his seat as he yelled at Linde.

"Preposterous, the Baron of Kitzbühel has no right to interfere with my trade. Clearly, he's doing this at the behest of the Church as retaliation for my execution of those f*****g inquisitors. That God damn pious cunt, I swear to God I will get back to him for this!"

Though Berengar was screaming in anger, Linde did not mind; she liked this tyrannical side of Berengar. However, she kept her mouth shut and let him vent his anger. Berengar paced around the Great Hall as he contemplated on how to proceed.

"I want an envoy sent to Kitzbühel to mediate this grievance. I will not allow my business to be interrupted by that self-righteous prick!"

Linde frowned in dissatisfaction at Berengar's inaction and tried to goad him into violence as she approached his side and poked his chest tenderly.

"Why don't you send your armies? With the power of your forces, the Baron could not refuse your demands!"

Berengar knew what she was trying to do and pet her silky strawberry blonde hair before pulling her in close to her.

"You are a little vixen; you know that? No, I will not resort to violence over such a small matter. Besides, it would be just the justification your father needs to bring his armies down upon me if I did so. I would prefer to avoid war with the entirety of the Tyrolean forces if I could; there are too many of them; at best, I could withstand the siege until they yield, but by then, my businesses would be destroyed, and my people slaughtered. I will avoid violence until he gives me a proper Cassus Belli."