Eckhard sat back on his leather sofa, drinking wine from a gilded chalice. His years of service to the von Kufstein Dynasty had finally paid off. He was now the Grand Duke of Prussia and had a sizeable estate within the boundaries of Marienburg. The former headquarters of the Teutonic Order was now his personal abode, and he very much enjoyed it.
At his side was a young woman no older than eighteen. This woman was blonde-haired and blue eyed, with fair skin and natural curves. She was quite beautiful. So much so that perhaps her appearance could even rival that of Berengar's many brides.
This eighteen-year-old girl was Martha von Hohenzollern, and she was the eldest daughter of the Margrave of Brandenburg. In Berengar's past life, the House of Hohenzollern unified Prussia and later the German Empire, acting as its imperial dynasty until its collapse in 1918.
However, in this life, the family's destiny to become a mighty imperial dynasty was stolen by Berengar, and instead they were now subordinated to Eckhard, who had renamed his surname and dynasty to von Marienburg after the Teutonic Castle, which now acted as his home.
After becoming the Grand Duke of Prussia, Eckhard immediately sought a wife. This was an opportunity he did not have as a vagrant knight, nor was he able to fulfill this desire while in service to Berengar.
Now that he was finally free from a lifetime of war and had established his own royal dynasty, it was time to marry a good young wife. Though Eckhard may be a middle-aged man, he still had a few good years left to sire a proper successor.
Naturally, the Margraves of Brandenburg were more than willing to marry off one of their daughters to the Royal Family of the newfound Prussian State, even if there was a massive age gap between the two.
Thus the young woman sat loyally by her fiance's side as she met the man for the first time. Her father, Johannes von Hohenzollern, had an excited facade as he introduced his daughter to his newfound liege.
"Your Grace, I must say I have long since admired your military record. You truly understand the warrior spirit of the German people. It is the highest honor for me to marry my daughter off to such an esteemed General as yourself!"
Despite saying such pleasantries, Johannes was far from cordial in his heart. In fact, he despised Eckhard. In truth, the Margrave of Brandenburg had been plotting for some time to take advantage of the Teutonic State's collapse and annex their territory.
Unfortunately for him, Berengar acted first, and after being victorious against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, gave the ownership of the region to his greatest General. Because of this, the man was now subordinate to a foreigner of low birth.
Eckhard nodded his head in silence as he drank from his cup, carefully eying the Margrave and his beautiful daughter. A single phrase filled with disdain entered his mind.
What a couple of vipers you two are...
After a lifetime of experience, it took the veteran Field Marshal one glance to tell that this dynamic duo inwardly despised him. To think that he had found himself such a beautiful young woman to marry, it was such a shame that she was a two-faced bitch. As if he could read minds, the woman put on a loving facade as she grabbed ahold of his hand and flattered him with needless pleasantries.
"My father is not alone in his thinking. I, too, have greatly admired your meritorious service to the Austrian Crown over the past few years. It is a dream come true to marry a man as strong and capable as yourself."
Despite knowing what these two were up to, Eckhard had no choice but to engage in their little masquerade, thus he placed down his cup and wore a warm smile as he grasped ahold of his fiancee's hand with both of his own.
"I assure you, my lady, war is not as admirable as you think it is. Still, it warms my heart to know that such a young and delicate flower like yourself cares so much for an old man like me."
The young woman smiled gracefully as she accepted Eckhard's compliment.
"You flatter me, your Grace. I know I am not as beautiful as the King of Austria's brides, but I will make up for it in loyalty, I assure you. Besides, though it may not be appropriate to say, I have a thing for older men..."
If Eckhard was a less experienced man, he may have scoffed at that very moment. Such a conniving vixen not only declared her loyalty to him but also claimed she was attracted to him, as well. It was truly laughable.
Luckily for Eckhard, he had spent many years in the Austrian Court by Berengar's side. After all this time, lying was second nature to the man, thus rather than sneering in disdain, his smile lightened to a caring and kind expression.
"You honor me, my lady. I promise to be a good husband to you!"
Johannes gazed upon the "couple" with contempt concealed within his eyes. Truthfully, if he felt he could contend with Berengar's armies, then he wouldn't have bothered wedding his daughter off to this up-jumped Knight.
However, he was wiser than others. After learning about Berengar's many victories and the capabilities of his armies, he knew conflict was not a viable option to get what he wanted. Thus, if he wanted his dynasty to rule over this newfound Prussian state, he would have to play the long con, no matter how much he despised it.
Of course, that did not mean he would simply sit by and watch his daughter pretend to flirt with this lowly knight, instead he intervened and shifted the subject to a more pertinent conversation.
"Your Grace, I will have you know I am having a bit of a difficult time convincing the local noblemen to surrender their rights and privileges as lords. There are many of them who are too stubborn to accept your political, economic, and military reforms. They assert that they have the right to rule their lands as they see fit."
Once more, Eckhard had to prevent himself from scoffing. He knew full well that the noblemen in Brandenburg were all united behind the will of the Hohenzollern Dynasty. Especially now that Eckhard had come to power in the region. In the eyes of the noblemen of Brandenburg, he was a foreigner of low birth, and was an illegitimate ruler, placed on his seat of power by a foreign occupier.
If the noblemen of Brandenburg were resisting Berengar's reforms, then there was only one man responsible, and that was Johannes von Hohenzollern. Thus, by raising this point, the Margrave hoped to use it as leverage to gain some further benefits from the newly appointed Grand Duke of Prussia, or perhaps he was simply testing Eckhard's resolve.
This was a foolish move on Johannes part. He was messing with a man who had, for the past 30 years, led men into battle. To Eckhard, the solution to this problem was simple, and thus, he finished the wine in his chalice before slamming it down onto the glass table next to him. As the glass shattered, so too did his kind facade.
"You tell those incompetent fools that the age of Knights and chivalry has long since passed. You have all been living on borrowed time in your primitive ways. I am in charge now, and I assure you, I will not tolerate such insubordination. You tell your Bannerman that they have a choice. They can either day in the ancient world, or live in the modern one. There is no third option!"
After saying this, Martha gazed at Eckhard in genuine shock. Her father had assured her that the old man would be an easy to manipulate. As for Johannes, he glared at Eckhard with fury in his eyes. He had truly underestimated the Austrian General. He never expected after retiring, Eckhard would so quickly resort to violence as a means to solve his political disputes.
Martha immediately tried to placate her fiance
"Sweetheart, there is no reason to be so brash, I am sure that-"
However, before she could finish her sentence, Eckhard slapped away her hand and stood up before chastising the father and daughter.
"Be gone, both of you. I do not want to see either of you until you have decided whose side you belong to. The future, or the past, because I assure you, whether you like it or not, these reforms are going to happen."
After saying this the Margrave and his daughter left the room in silence, they were completely outraged by the humiliation they had suffered on this day. It was only after they were alone in their carriage did either of them speak up.
"Father, what are we going to do now? It appears he is not as easy to manipulate as you thought..."
Johannes frowned, as he glared out the window of his carriage onto Marienburg Castle, where Eckhard still stood. After several moments of silence, he revealed his plans to his eldest daughter.
"I won't lie to you. This definitely complicates things. His violent response to our ploy was not within my calculations. I genuinely believed he would try to maintain peace in his life now that he had finally achieved it. It would appear that this old dog still has some bite left in him. Apparently, my informant provided me some misinformation about the old Field Marshal's mental state.
I believe he suspects I am responsible for this little insurrection, and rightfully so. We have no choice but to tread lightly from now on if we wish to accomplish our goals. Make no mistake, my baby girl, one day we will rule this land."
Martha remained silent, gazing out the window of the carriage towards her old fiance. She thought he would be a feeble old man on his last limb in life. Yet, despite her father's probing, he so quickly resorted with a show of force. Perhaps marrying this old geezer wouldn't be so boring after all.
As for Eckhard, he stood on his balcony gazing at the departing carriage. A single thought crossed his mind as the Hohenzollerns vanished from his sight.
Berengar, you sly bastard! You promised me a retirement, and instead you threw me into a nest of vipers! Very well, if this is a test of my loyalty, then you shall have a satisfactory result! This I swear to you...
