The trade caravan that Elma, Conrad, and the other agent were hiding within finally pulled up to the city walls of Kufstein. Conrad gazed out from the back of the wagon and onto the magnificent city walls. Though they were not as tall as conventional castle walls, they were far thicker and designed in a way that he had never seen before.
Despite the glory of Kufstein's mighty city walls, Conrad was by no means an architect or even knowledgeable in tactics. Thus the boy did not have an overwhelming sense of inspiration for their brilliant design. Instead, he looked mockingly at the short walls, believing they would be easy to scale over with ladders.
Of course, this was not the case, as the wide moat surrounding the walls, making it nearly impossible to do so while exposing any would-be attackers to fire from every angle. Despite this reality, Conrad was blissfully unaware of such a thing, and as such, looked at Berengar's mighty city walls with contempt.
However, one of the merchants traveling with the caravan quickly exclaimed upon seeing the walls
"Boy, you should do well to remember that these walls are mightier than they appear. In all of my life, I have never seen nor heard of such a large army repelled so quickly by the defenders."
he had been present in Kufstein during Theodoric's invasion. The sight of what remained of the man's army would never leave his memories, and as such, he had decided to voice his thoughts on the matter after noticing the expression on Conrad's face.
Conrad was unaware of what had happened during the war for Tyrol, and as such, was utterly ignorant of the fate of the late Viscount Theodoric. Instead, he merely thought the ordinary merchant was exaggerating. Thus he dismissed the man's claims completely.
After arriving at the gates, the city's garrison inspected every caravan to see if they carried dangerous materials or enemy agents. After getting to the wagon, which contained Conrad, Elma handed a document to the City Guards, where they immediately waved them through. Much to the surprise of the rest of the caravan, who was stuck in the process of being vetted.
Conrad was not surprised as he knew that Elma worked for Berengar and must have had some means to enter the city directly. However, when he finally entered the city walls and got to the habited region, the boy became astonished by what he saw.
The sprawling tenements, the large chateaus, the construction of the grand projects, all of these things were a sight which Conrad had not expected upon entering the city, which was not much more than a typical town but a year ago.
After taking in the sights, Conrad was eventually led to the Castle where Bernegar currently resided. As he stepped off the wagon, he was immediately greeted by Berengar, Count Otto, and Count Audegar of Vorarlberg, who had arrived in Kufstein not long before Conrad himself. These three men were the leaders of the few counties which remained completely unoccupied by the Bavarians.
Upon stepping off the wagon, Berengar instantly greeted Conrad with a degree of respect that the boy had previously not been afforded.
"Your Grace, I apologize for the accommodations you suffered through as you traveled to my lands, but I hope you can understand the need for secrecy."
Considering Conrad was the last remaining heir of the late Duke Wilmar, Berengar had to at the very least put on a facade of respect, especially if he wanted to win Conrad over to his side, and appoint him the Regent.
Though Conrad was upset due to the conditions he had found himself in the last few days, he was just thankful to be alive. Thus he dusted himself off before approaching Berengar and the other Counts while making demands.
"I need to bathe and bring me a change of clothes while you are at it, something befitting a man of my position! We will talk after I have made myself presentable."
Berengar smiled and nodded before allowing the boy access to his Castle. He struggled to contain his laughter when the twelve-year-old child proclaimed himself a man. Luckily Berengar had a solid poker face and merely acquiesced to the boy's demands.
"Of course, your grace, you will find my accommodations most fitting."
Thus Conrad was led to the bath where he cleaned himself from the filth accumulated on his body over the last few days before changing into a luxurious set of attire fit for a Duke that Berengar had long since prepared for Conrad from his textile factories. After doing so, they met up in the Dining room, where Berengar brought out his finest cuisine to treat the boy.
Linde, Adela, and Henrietta were not present for the meeting at the dining table; aside from the three counts, only Liutbert was present as Chancellor of Tyrol. As the group dined on their lunch, Otto began to voice his concerns to Conrad.
"Your Grace, I assume you are aware that the Bavarians have captured Vienna, your brothers have all been executed, and your sisters have been taken away by Dietger to be married off to his sons. You are the last remaining heir of your father. This means you are now officially the Duke of Austria and potentially the last remaining heir to the Kingdom of Germany, considering your late mother was the King's only daughter."
Conrad was too busy stuffing his face with the delicious meal presented to him as if he had not eaten in days, which was far from the case. However, all he managed to eat was bread and beer during his travels, and as such, he was glad to have some meat in front of him finally. Even though the boy had not answered Count Otto, the man did not hesitate to continue his train of thought.
"Considering you are still underage, you will require a Regent to act on your behalf, and I recommend Count Berengar for the position. He has proven to be an exceptional battlefield commander and efficient statesman. With him aiding you with your responsibilities, we will be sure to recover the land stolen from us by those dastardly Bavarians!"
Hearing this, Conrad immediately looked up from his plate and stared at the lords in front of him for a few moments before a devious plot formed in his head. Now that he was Duke, he could make any demands he wanted. Thus he quickly set forth his conditions.
"You are saying I am Duke now, is that correct?"
Count Otto nodded his head silently in agreement. Thus a wicked grin curved upon Conrad's lips as he stated his demands.
"Good! If that is the case, you will break Adela's betrothal to Berengar and engage her to me! It would be best for a woman like Adela to marry someone of my prestige instead of a lowly Count like Berengar!"
Hearing this ludicrous ultimatum, Otto clenched his fists and teeth in rage, noticing how he was appearing Berengar patted the man on his shoulder in comfort; however, what followed surprised everyone present for the meeting, rather than being visibly outraged, Berengar put a pleasant smile on his face and began to negotiate with the small boy, despite being the true power within the room.
"Conrad, It is best to give up on your obsession with my fiancee and find someone more suited for your position. You are now the Duke of Austria, and if you decide to press your claim, potentially one day you could be the King of Germany, you should marry a princess, not a lowly countess as you have previously referred to the status that Adela has."
Conrad was shocked when he heard this; it is true that he greatly desired Adela to be his bride, but what Berengar said had resonated with him, he was now a Duke and potentially one day could be a King; he really should marry a princess of another Kingdom, and allow Adela and Berengar to remain in their lowly position.
Besides, even if Berengar did become his Regent, one day he would be old enough to need one no longer, and at that moment, he could use his authority to force Berengar to give his wife to him for entertainment. Or so Conrad thought, in reality, Berengar had plans to get rid of the boy before that day could ever become a reality. However, Conrad did not know this, and with these thoughts in his head, he instantly agreed to Berengar's suggestion.
"Very well, I will do as you suggest; you can forget about my earlier request. As for my Regent, I suppose Berengar has shown that he can fulfill such a position. Thus I will consider it as an option for the time being. I will announce who I have decided to be my Regent after getting accustomed to the current situation that has occurred in my lands."
While Conrad presented such an amicable tone, in his mind, he was secretly thinking to himself.
'Even if I am compelled to make you my Regent, one day your fiancee will be mine! You just wait, Berengar; I will show you who is truly worthy of being with such a woman.'
Berengar could easily guess what the foolish boy was thinking, and while Conrad was scheming in his head to steal Adela from him, Berengar was thinking in his mind.
'Fat chance, kiddo, you will be dead before you even turn sixteen. Enjoy your few years left as my puppet...'
As such, the two noblemen plotted against one another, all while smiling as if they were the greatest of friends and allies. The sight of which sent chills down the spines of the other three noblemen who were present, who could easily guess what both Berengar and Conrad were thinking behind their friendly facades.
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