Tyranny of Steel

A few more days passed, and Itami had been directly avoiding Berengar during this time. Despite the overwhelming size of the Kaiser's palace, it was impossible to avoid the man forever. Thus, Itami was quite surprised when she saw the man sprinting down the halls with an anxious expression on his face. 

If there was one major fault Itami had, it was never knowing when to give up on her curiosity, and thus she swiftly followed the man through the halls, wondering what could have gotten him so panicked. In the end, she found Berengar running into a bedroom, where a beautiful woman lay on a mattress with a wet towel over her forehead. 

This woman was obviously not German. One could easily tell by the color of her skin that she was not of European descent. However, when her amber eyes caught a sight of Berengar's entrance, a warm smile appeared on her gorgeous face. 

While this mature and exotic beauty lied beneath the covers of her bed, an older man was in the act of taking her temperature. Berengar waited patiently for the man to finish, but it was clear by the sweat on his brow that he was quite anxious about the results. After a rather swift examination, Ewald looked up at Berengar and sighed in relief before giving him the good news.

"Your wife will be fine. You have nothing to worry about. She is just suffering from a common cold. All she needs is some rest, and some warm soup. Though I suggest picking up something to help with her congestion, you can send out any of your servants to the local drugstore and they will be able to acquire some over-the-counter remedies, which will work fine enough in this regard."

Berengar sighed in relief, and wiped the sweat from his brow, as he kissed Yasmin on the forehead before thanking the physician. 

"Thanks Ewald, you have always been there for my family. I will do as you suggest. You can take the rest of the night off. If something comes up, I know how to contact you."

A gentle smile emerged on Ewald's face. He had been the von Kufstein family physician since before Berengar was even born. The man had watched Berengar grow up from a petulant and sickly child, to the man he is today, and had learned quite a lot from the Kaiser in regards to the field of medicine. 

He could hardly believe how different the world had become in a short fifteen years, and looked forward to his retirement years, when he could live a luxurious life in the peaceful and prosperous society that Berengar had built. Thus, there was an enormous sense of humility in the man's tone as he shook his head and assured Berengar that he was just happy to fulfill his job.

"Believe me, your Majesty, that fact that I can continue to work for your family, even in this era of modern medicine, is a testament to the faith you have in me. The honor is all mine..." 

After saying this, Ewald departed from the room, leaving Berengar and Yasmin alone together. As he passed by Itami on the way out, the Japanese Empress was utterly dumbfounded by the way Berengar's subordinates treated him.

It was one thing for the man's family to love him to such an extent, but the look in Ewald's eyes as he assured Berengar that Yasmin would recover without incident, and that he was grateful to be in the Kaiser's service was one of pure reverence. This was something that she had never experienced from her own staff. While Itami was slowly climbing her way back to reality, Berengar grasped hold of Yasmin's dainty hand, and smiled gently as he assured her everything will be alright. 

"Don't worry, the doctor says that you will be fine. Just get some rest. I'll look after the twins until you get better." 

Yasmin chuckled, but coughed as she did so. During her last pregnancy, she had conceived and given birth to twins. Which was the happiest moment of her life, as she was able to give Berengar five children, despite her age. This made her on par with both Linde and Adela, who had given birth to the same number of children. 

Despite this, the very idea of Berengar himself going out of his way to look after two infants while she was mildly ill was simply laughable in Yasmin's eyes. The man had never been good with newborns, and she would honestly prefer if Linde or one of his other women were the ones to care for her newest babes. As a result, she placed her palm on Berengar's cheek and shook her pretty head gently.

"Don't worry about it. I will just ask Linde to look after the twins in my absence. Allah knows that you are dreadfully busy with managing the Reich, especially now that we are in a time of war. I can't possibly keep you from your responsibilities. If Linde is incapable of looking after Nizar and Safiyya, then I will have Priya look after them. Though I think she's a bit overwhelmed with little Arun..."

Arun was the name of Priya's son with Berengar, and like Nizar and Safiyya, he was an infant child, born not too long ago. As a first time mother, Priya had been gaining a lot of pointers from Yasmin regarding motherhood. Thus, Yasmin did not want to pile too many worries onto the young woman's plate. 

Berengar smiled as he heard Yasmin's decision and respected it. He kissed her once more on the forehead before responding to her statement.

"Very well, I will inform Linde to look after the little ones. In the meantime, I will go and order the kitchen to prepare some fresh kohlsuppe for you. I know it's your favorite."

Yasmin smiled and tucked herself further beneath her covers as she nodded her head in agreement with her husband's words. 

"Sounds tasty..."

With this said, Berengar kissed Yasmin on the forehead one final time before departing from the room to make the preparations. It was only now that he saw Itami staring at him with a stunned expression on her face. She struggled to find the words to speak, but ultimately she managed to voice her disbelief. 

"Aren't you in the middle of a war? How could you take the time out of your busy schedule to look after a pair of twins and a sick wife? Isn't that what servants are for?"

Berengar looked slightly offended at first, before an appearance of pity and understanding formed on his handsome face as he shook it slightly and clicked his tongue. 

"Tsk...Tsk...Tsk... Oh Itami, I'm guessing you have never been in love, have you? I would move mountains and split the seas themselves if it meant I could make my loved ones happy. I'll have you know that since I first establish this Empire, I have created a very robust government that is more than capable looking after my country while I am indisposed.

Why would I not spend time with my family when they truly need me? It might be a common cold, but my presence comforts Yasmin, so I will gladly take some time off to help her get better. Now, if you need me, I have some things to take care of."

Itami stood there in disbelief as she watched Berengar run off and take care of the three errands he had promised to fulfill. Before long, he was back with a bowl of steaming cabbage, potato, and pork soup, as well as a bag of cold medicine. Which he personally fed to Yasmin as she relaxed in her bed. 

Itami did not leave until Berengar had closed the doors behind him, insisting that his wife Yasmin get some proper rest after she had her fill of soup. It was only after he had done this did Berengar get back to his work for the day.

Before long, Yasmin would get better. As the sickness passed, however, this incident had changed Itami's perspective of Berengar entirely. The Kaiser had always claimed that he genuinely loved and cared for each of his women, and on this day, Itami had witnessed that to be true. 

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