The war between the German Empire, and the Rus states was over before it even really began. Within twelve hours the German banners were raised above the smoldering cities. And though the world did not know it at this time, the new Kaiser had already begun enacting plans which would eliminate the Rus Bloodline from this world's history.
As for Hans himself, after his first war as the Kaiser of the German Reich was well and over, he felt as if all the anxiety which he had been enduring over this past year had suddenly disappeared. He did not even know why he was so worried to begin with.
With this swift victory, without even a single death among his forces who were deployed. Hans's popularity immediately shot through the roof with the German people. Even his naysayers were chanting his name in their toasts within the Reich's many beer halls. He had proven himself capable of presiding over the German Reich during a time of conflict, and that was good enough for most of the German people.
Currently, the man's father sat on a beach with a beer in one hand, and a newspaper in the other. Though the tried and tested form of media was coming to an end, he still preferred to have a physical copy of his news.
Of course, as the man who had ruled over a massive propaganda machine for several decades, Berengar could immediately spot what was bullshit, and what was reality. The German media was in overdrive, exacerbating crimes against humanity which the Russian population allegedly committed against one another.
Although, from what Berengar could see, these incidents were likely the result of the German Armed Forces, and they were merely shifting the blame on their adversaries. After all, he was already aware of his son's plan to wipe out the Russian male bloodline, and to integrate the female bloodline within the German Reich.
After taking a sip from his beer, Berengar felt the warm hands of one of his many lovers wrap around his back and grab onto his broad and muscular chest. Which he quickly grabbed onto and kissed. Judging by the skin tone, there was only one woman who these hands belonged to, and thus he was quick to call out the woman's name as she interrupted his reading session.
"Linde, my love, is there something in particular you want, or are you just feeling horny?"
The redheaded beauty simply scoffed as she heard her husband's shameless words before speaking about the matters which bothered her.
"How long do you think Hans will be able to keep his actions concealed from the rest of the world?"
Berengar simply sighed before taking off his sunglasses, where he then looked deep within his wife's sky-blue eyes.
"That depends. theoretically, he could hide the extinction of the Russian male bloodline from the world for at least a century. But if he slips up, and allows people without a proper security clearance to record what is happening, then it could be exposed at any moment. How he handles this matter will determine his reputation for the rest of history.
Eventually, we are all judged for our actions in life. And though I have fought hard to create a society that puts its own needs above those of the rest of the world. It is not impossible that such weak and naive ideals, such as human rights, eventually infiltrate our society. If that were to occur, then Hans would be despised by future generations even more so than myself."
Linde's brow raised as she heard the phrase "human rights". It was a concept entirely alien to her, and she was quick to ask for further information about it.
"Human rights, what are those?"
Berengar simply scoffed when he heard this question, before answering Linde's question with a particular hint of disdain in his voice.
"A concept from my past life. One which evolved from enlightenment thinking, and by extension liberal values. Essentially, the argument was that all human life is of equal importance, and that human beings have certain inalienable rights which their governments can't strip from them.
Obviously, this notion was complete and utter bullshit, but nearly everyone in my country believed it. The truth of the matter was that by the time I died, the overwhelming majority of humans were utterly worthless. A significant minority of them contributed nothing to society, and instead relied on the aid of others to survive. Fucking parasites!
Hell, I guarantee you that when I died, nothing changed in that world. Society moved on without me, and only a few people mourned my death. The sad reality of this world is that only the lives of a handful of extremely capable men actually fucking matter.
These men are the only ones capable of making any real change in the world, and if they die prematurely, then the fate of the world would be forever changed. But those men are one in a hundred million at least. In my past life, I was not one of these men. But in this world, I was the most important of them all."
Linde listened to Berengar's every world and dwelled on it carefully. She knew very little about his past life, as he did not like to often speak about it. But every time she learned about what the world was like, she felt as if it were inferior to the one that Berengar had created in this life.
After listening to this rant, about how much Berengar hated the world he had initially come from, Linde asked the immediate question on her mind, one which she felt needed an answer to.
"Assuming this concept of human rights eventually develops in our society, how do you think you will be remembered?"
Berengar simply scoffed once more than he said this. He took another sip of his beer before actually bothering to respond to the question. But Linde could tell by the tone in his voice, and the look on his face, that he really did not want this to be the future of the world he created.
"If society eventually progresses in the direction that was the norm in my previous life. Then future generations of Germans will refer to me as by terms like that of murderer, warmonger, war profiteer, colonizer, racist, et cetera. None of which really has any meaning to me.
But if the foundations of German society which I have built stand strong, then I will be known as the father of the German Nation, and the man who built the world's greatest Empire.
Which, if you ask me, is worth all the effort I have gone through in this life to build a thriving society."
Linde nodded her head in understanding of Berengar's words. What would decide how he was remembered by his people was whether the beliefs that Berengar had instilled with them all stood the test of time. Or if somehow the ideals which he despised emerged in a world where the enlightenment never developed.
Needless to say, Berengar was fairly confident that imperialism and monarchy would last much longer in this world, then it had in his previous life. But the future was not set in stone, and could be changed at any given moment.
Still, he did not worry about such petty matters. As far as he was concerned, he did what he felt needed to be done, and would not care if, in the distant future, when Germany was on the verge of collapse, the common people thought poorly of him and his actions in life.
After all, he was fairly certain now that the Germanic pantheon were regaining popularity in followers, and because of that, they were growing in strength. That they would be able to prevent the world from following a similar path which it had in his past life.
Thus, Berengar continued to spend each day in absolute hedonism. Until his dying breath, he would enjoy the retirement which he had worked hard to deserve. As for the future of this world, that was not his problem.
He had done everything he could to set it on the right path, and that was all he could do as a mortal man. After all, he was not an immortal god emperor who could sit on the throne for eternity, and guide humanity as its eternal leader.
