Chapter 26: The Count's Daughter Returns

Days turned to weeks as time flew by; during this time, Berengar had been primarily overseeing the growth of the militia. By now, he had met his minimum infantry goals four companies of 100 men each. The Artillery Battery was properly taking shape as well, with 80 men and 5 guns. It would not be long until he had reached his minimum goal, but in his mind, that was not good enough. He now desired a full-sized Battalion and two artillery batteries before the war began.

Though their training continued, it was done in such a manner that, when observed by outsiders, highlighted the limitations of the weapons. As such, Lambert never once felt the need to report the mass use of hand cannons and field guns to his allies, and Sieghard had no desire to conscript Berengar's forces into his standing army, which all played perfectly into the young lord's hands.

Berengar was in a perfect mood today, as today was the day in which Adela returned from her trip to her homeland. Not only did he miss the company of his little fiancee, but he also desired the gold and silver hoard she would bring with her in payment to the ten tonnes of steel he had sold to her father. With it, the next phase of expansion could begin to take place. Berengar, alongside his family and Linde, had stood outside in their courtyard to greet the young lady's arrival.

After a long while, the banners of house von Graz appeared in the distance. Her family's coat of arms was a divided field of azure and sable in per bend division. On it, an or swan with argent beak, feet, and eyes was emblazoned. It was a truly magnificent and detailed coat of arms, unlike that of the house von Kufstein. Their coat of arms was rudimentary in comparison. It consisted of a per bend division in sable and or, with an argent bend across its center. It was remarkably similar to the black, white, and red shield decal seen on German helmets in World War I and II during Berengar's previous life; with the exception of the red being replaced by gold. Despite House von Graz's far more complex design, Berengar felt a certain sense of pride in his own family's banner. It reminded him of his great grandfather from his previous life, who served in trenches of the Great War as a soldier in the Kaiser's army. After the German Empire's collapse, his family fled the fatherland for greener pastures in America.

As Berengar reminisced about his past life, Adela's caravan had arrived inside the courtyard, the moment her luxurious carriage stopped in front of the family, its doors swung open, and the little girl jumped out of the carriage and into Berengar's arms, wrapping around his waist like a spider monkey. The young lord barely had enough time to stabilize himself as he caught ahold of his fiancee, who pecked him on the cheek with her precious lips.

"I missed you! Did you miss me?" was the first thing the girl said as she clung to her fiance in front of his family. While the family was stunned by the outburst, Linde had a pouting expression on her face. Now Berengar's fiancee had arrived, she would have less time with her lord and master to herself. Luckily everyone was too stunned by Adela's actions to notice Linde's sulking guise. She would have a hard time explaining the look on her face if her fiance had caught wind of it.

After Berengar had pried himself away from the young girl's grasp, he asked her the question which was on everyone's minds.

"So, is it all here?"

Adela quickly recovered and realized the degree of affection she had just showed Berengar in public; as such, her cheeks quickly flushed with embarrassment. Nevertheless, like a proper noble lady, she calmed her heart and pointed to the servants carrying large crates filled with silver and gold. It was not until all of them piled up did she boldly declare

"My father is a man of his word; the agreed amount of our transaction is in these crates in the form of gold and silver ingots. Count Otto von Graz wishes to express his thanks for supplying such a large amount of steel and looks forward to future cooperation."

Berengar smiled as he ordered a few of his family's servants to check the authenticity of the crates. Though he trusted Adela's words, he was still a cautious man and had each ingot inspected; only after its worth was confirmed was the mass of gold and steel transferred to the treasury. He now had the ability to invest in the textile industry, expand the capacity of the mines, and by extension, his steel surplus, which would come in handy for the many inventions he had planned. Once the irrigation system was fully in place, he would have many unemployed farmers who could begin work in the mines or the factories. Things were truly going according to his plans.

After Adela's arrival, the family threw a feast to celebrate her return; she thoroughly enjoyed the lavish cuisine she had so desperately missed during her absence. Berengar found the young girl's appearance as she devoured the food with a satisfied expression on her doll-like face to be incredibly cute. However, Linde could not help but glare at her rival. Even if she would never be the wife, Linde still did not like to see Berengar show his young fiancee such a different side of himself that he showed to her. Her menacing gaze did not go unnoticed by Adela; she could not understand why Linde disliked her so much. It must be the fact that the two brothers were feuding; after all, it's not as if they were currently fighting for the affection of the same man.

After the meal was over, Berengar immediately got to work; though he wanted to spend the day with Adela, pockets needed to be filled with coins to ensure his engagement ceremony was well supplied, his forces well equipped, and his factories manned. His father would normally handle the investiture into the mines, but the Baron had been delegating more and more responsibility to his son and heir recently. As such, Berengar quickly found himself managing the mines, which worked perfectly for his plans. It also meant that his father was testing him; if he could handle such a monumental task efficiently, he might be able to earn the title Regent. Maybe his father was also aware of the upcoming war and was beginning to make his preparations.

For now, Berengar could not know the truth of the matter. Thus he handled his business as best as he could. Supplies were brought in to improve the mines, and blueprints were drafted by mining safety standards and improvements from the industrial era. The last thing Berengar wanted on his hands was a collapsed mine. As such, he practically overhauled the system in place overnight in which the mines had used for centuries.

One of these critical inventions was the safety lamp which would provide adequate lighting in volatile areas where other lamps and candles could be hazardous. Mining was dangerous and backbreaking work; the least Berengar could do was apply safety standards and equipment and an adequate paycheck to compensate the workers for the work hazards that may appear. What would really speed up the process of mining was dynamite. Though he knew the chemical equation to create such a thing, he lacked a knowledgeable chemist and a production facility to manufacture it. He seriously needed to get his hands on an alchemist which he could personally tutor in chemistry, but unfortunately, there was none within a small region like his family's.

However, he decided it was better to have a chemical laboratory he could utilize within his spare time than to have no ability to produce chemicals whatsoever. As such, he put aside a small portion of the mining funds to construct a chemical laboratory and the equipment necessary to outfit it. As long as he requested the funding under the guise of "Miscellaneous Mining Innovations," his father would approve it. Thus the young lord quickly drafted the plans necessary for such production. Though he had limited spare time nowadays, he needed to produce supplies that required basic chemistry. It was better to have a system in place before he had a proper chemist than a proper chemist and no means of production.

While he was in the middle of his work, he heard a knock on his door, which he quickly responded to; after opening the door, he saw his darling little fiancee dressed in a pastel pink velvet gown and a tray of snacks in her hands. She knew her fiance was busy with work, but she still desired to spend some time with him, even if it was just watching him a snack while he was hard at work. A large German Cheesecake sat on the tray which the young girl had begun to divide up into pieces for the couple to consume.

After taking a bite from the delicious cheesecake, Berengar could feel a tear forming in his eyes; it was exactly as his mother used to make. After all, it was her recipe that he remembered; nevertheless, he could not help but feel a sense of longing for his old home. He started to wonder how his family reacted to his death. He had been too busy with work and school in his adult life to visit home often. Eventually, he drifted apart from his family; he began to lament that he had not spent more time with his parents before he passed. It was a shame he was an only child and had perished in Afghanistan; his parents were sure to regret that he had never produced grandchildren for them. As he began to think about his grieving parents with no grandchildren to comfort them, the tears in his eyes began to produce more rapidly, which did not go unnoticed by his loving fiancee, who sat next to him.

Adela noticed the tears streaming from Berengar's eyes and tried to comfort him; she had no idea what would cause such a strange reaction.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Berengar wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled; he felt ashamed of himself for crying in front of a little girl like Adela.

"Yeah... I'm fine. The taste brings back memories."

Adela did not know what memories he could be referring to; as far as she was aware, these recipes were his inventions; they had never been seen before. At this moment, Berengar finally realized he had not answered the girl's question from when she first returned and looked softly into her eyes as he spoke truthfully with her.

"I did miss you, Adela; I'm sorry I wasn't able to say so earlier."

The young lady immediately began to blush as she heard his words; she was not expecting him to say such a thing. For the next half hour, she shared the snacks with Berengar, and by the time they were finished, she was satisfied with the small-time she spent with her fiance. She was finally able to figure out if he felt anything during her weeks of absence. The young girl thought that she was lucky to have such a loving fiance; if she knew he was cheating on her with his brother's fiancee behind her back, she probably would not have such thoughts. However, she did not know, and Berengar intended to keep it that way; it was best not to have your wife find out about your concubine if you could avoid it. Who knows what reprisal he might face if she were to become aware of his complicated relationship with Linde. So he continued to lie to his little fiancee, and she continued to believe him.

After some time, Adela had left Berengar's chambers, and Berengar focused on his work. All of his plans for the mines and the industry he had drafted were either delivered to Ludwig for implementation or sent to his father's desk for approval. The engagement ceremony's plans had been put into action by competent people beneath his father's command, and the family's coffers were filled to the brim. With it, another day's work had come to an end. He sighed heavily as he sat back in his comfy leather chair and watched the moon in the sky above. Any minute now, Linde would knock on his door and beg for attention, and he would spend the rest of his waking hours disciplining her for being so obviously jealous at Adela's arrival. It was good to be a noble scion, even if he was merely a Baron's son...