Chapter 528: The Princess Awakens From Her Slumber
Having completed the executions of the one hundred and three individuals who were guilty of criminal acts that led to the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on his life, Berengar returned to the Royal Palace. This past week he had been hard at work ensuring that he had purged the corrupt and criminal elements of his society.
With a show of absolute authority, the Crown of Austria had made a thorough example of such behavior. What the people didn"t know is that Royal Intelligence"s department of Internal Security had now turned its attention towards infiltrating the gangs hiding in the shadows and gathering evidence on crooked politicians.
The era of Martial Law was far from over. Berengar was certain that there were more gangsters and corrupt officials hiding in the shadows of his society, and he would not relent on his stranglehold over the Kingdom until after he had eliminated every last one of them.
Despite this longing for justice, Berengar had far more pressing concerns at the moment. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d of Luxembourg had attempted to claim his life, and in doing so, had grievously injured his sister. This action had to be met with an appropriate retaliation, and in Berengar"s mind, there was no more valid response to an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt than outright warfare.
Thus, he was prepared to gather his generals and plot an invasion of Northern Germany, that is, until he stepped foot into his palace. The moment he entered his home, Adela approached him with an excited expression. Before Berengar could ask what had happened, she blurted out the good news.
"Henrietta is awake! It is a miracle!"
Upon hearing this piece of information, Berengar did not pay the slightest attention to his wife, and instead sprinted towards Henrietta"s quarters. When he opened the door, he saw the girl sitting up in her bed, with the physician checking on her condition. The young Monarch struggled to choke back the tears in his eyes as he rushed over to his sister and hugged her tightly.
"My sweet little sister, I am so happy you are alive!"
The princess of Austria was far from in the best condition and winced in pain as her big brother embraced her with every fiber of his being.
"Big brother... you"re hurting me!"
When Berengar heard this remark, he quickly released the girl, and instead smiled as he petted her hair.
"I"m so sorry Henrietta, this is all my fault. I should have been more focused on internal security!"
Henrietta smiled bitterly as she saw her brother"s worried expression. She could only imagine the difficulties he had gone through since her injury. Before they could fully reunited Ewald dragged Berengar to the side and updated him on his sister"s current condition.
"The princess is an incredibly lucky girl. The projectile missed all of her major arteries or organs and instead embedded itself in her muscle. It"s almost as if G.o.d himself s.h.i.+elded this girl from death. Still, she will be weak for some time, and need careful care if she wishes to fully recover from this injury. Though, I am sure that is not a problem for a man such as yourself."
Berengar smiled as he heard this news. It was better than anything he could have hoped for. Thus, he placed a hand firmly on the physician"s shoulder as he rewarded him for his efforts.
"Ewald, you have served my family well all these years, and you have saved my sister"s life. Whatever you want in this world, so long as I can provide it, it is yours."
The Physician smiled softly as he removed the King"s hand before responding to his generosity.
"I thank you for your generosity, your majesty, but I was just doing my job. However, if you are truly insistent on rewarding me for my efforts, perhaps you could expand the funding for my department.
As you know, this is the first surgery we have done within the Kingdom of Austria, and it turned out better than I expected. Imagine what we could achieve with hundreds of surgeons and thousands of researchers studying this field full time!"
Berengar nodded his head in agreement as he heard these words. Truly, Ewald was a man dedicated to his craft.
"Of course, I, too, look forward to the future of Austria"s medicine. You have my full support. Whatever you and your team need, send an expense report to me, and I will approve it. Just don"t take advantage of my kindness..."
Ewald responded with a slight chuckle as he heard this remark.
"I wouldn"t dream of it, your majesty. Now if you will excuse me, I think you have some catching up to do with your sister..."
After saying this, the physician and his nurses left the room, leaving the two siblings alone. Berengar sat next to Henrietta"s side on her mattress and held her hand. When Henrietta noticed this, she began to blush as she remembered the words she said when she was shot.
"Big brother... I want you to know what I said back then-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Berengar raised his finger and pressed it against her lips, silencing her in the process.
"Shh. Don"t speak, I understand everything, and I want you to know, while you were on the verge of death, I had some time to think, and I have realized that I feel the same way... Besides, father has told me something that helped me overcome the taboo of such a relations.h.i.+p..."
The princess was shocked when she heard this news, and flushed red in embarra.s.sment as she gripped the covers to her bed tightly in her dainty hands. Did her brother seriously just respond positively to her "dying" confession?
However, in the next moment, she recalled the last words he spoke and quickly s.h.i.+fted her gaze to his one good eye with a curious expression on her face.
"What did father tell you?"
A bitter smile formed on Berengar"s lips as he kissed his sister"s hand before revealing the big family secret to her.
"That you"re actually my aunt... You"re not father"s child, but grandfather"s. After my grandmother pa.s.sed away, he had consoled himself in the arms of one of his servants. You were born from this union, unfortunately your mother pa.s.sed away in childbirth, and your father pa.s.sed away shortly after. Leaving my father to adopt you as his own daughter."
This revelation was deeply shocking to the young princess. It took her a few moments to process it. After a brief silence, she raised her head with a quivering expression before asking the most important question on her mind.
"So, does this mean that you are not my big brother?"
Berengar chuckled when he saw his sister in tears over this. He responded by grabbing hold of her head and stuffing it into his chest while kissing her forehead.
"Of course, I am your big brother. I always have been and always will be. However, it just so happens that I am also your nephew..."
Henrietta sulked as she felt her brother"s loving embrace. She had a million questions on her mind, and not enough answers. Eventually, the princess responded with a single comment.
"That is so lewd..."
At this point, Berengar could no longer contain his laughter. He never expected his little sister to make such a response to his comments. Henrietta immediately pouted as she witnessed her big brother laughing at her remarks. She was about to chastise him when Berengar pressed his lips against her own, forcing his tongue into her mouth and entertaining it with hers.
At first Berengar"s actions shocked Henrietta, but almost immediately after she lied back on to her bed and let her brother take control. It wasn"t until the King began reaching through the covers, and grabbed ahold of his sister"s substantial b.r.e.a.s.t.s that the girl felt a slight tinge of pain, and reacted with a cry.
Noticing that he had hurt the girl, Berengar released his grip and noticed the st.i.tches on her belly. Evidently, he had applied pressure to the wrong area. Seeing that he hurt the girl, Berengar let go of Henrietta entirely and laid down by her side before commenting on the situation with a smug grin.
"It appears you"re going to have to get better before I can formally make you my mistress."
Henrietta broke out into a fit of giggles when she did so, however she noticed this caused her severe pain, thus she calmed herself before latching ahold of her brother and dragging him under the covers. With a wide smirk on her face, she whispered something in his ears.
"Well, at the very least, you can stay by me as I rest, can"t you?"
In response to this, Berengar smiled and nodded his head before disrobing himself while under the covers and tossing his clothes to the side. Though they couldn"t make love, the least they could do was cuddle.
Thus, the King began spooning with his sister while stroking her silky golden hair. Shortly thereafter, the couple fell to sleep.. It would be a long road to recovery for the Princess of Austria, and Berengar intended to be there for her every step of the way.