Tyranny of Steel

The car ride home was especially difficult for Itami, as Berengar remained utterly silent with a cold expression on his face. Every attempt that the Japanese Empress had made to hold the man's hand was quickly rejected, causing her to feel quite glum.

But what exactly was going through Berengar's mind at this moment? Well, it was a complex web of issues. Although Berengar's agents had written the speech that Itami made to rally her people, one that he personally stamped his approval on. He still had a difficult time listening to the woman pin all the blame for her past actions on her latest political rival.

In truth, nothing really changed regarding Itami's character, or so far as Berengar believed. While she had revealed herself to be a rather innocent and shy woman in private. The reality was that she was completely incapable of taking accountability for her actions, which was something that Berengar found both disgusting and repulsive. 

Thousands of German soldiers lie dead as a result of Itami's past actions. Could he really accept sweeping that under the rug for the sake of a marriage of political convenience? While Berengar was silently brooding over these issues,Itami noticed that something was terribly wrong, and was quick to inquire about it.

"Did I do something wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"

Berengar, however, did not respond, and merely rolled down the window, where he pulled a cigarette packet out of his coat pocket and lit one flame before taking a long drag from the nicotine. He continued to smoke in silence for the rest of the drive home.

Once the car had pulled into the driveway, Berengar had quickly entered his home without even bothering to help Itami out of the vehicle, who stood by the wayside with an expression of utter shock on her face. 

After Berengar had entered his palace, he rushed to his war room, where he saw Linde was currently overseeing the latest reports from the field. When she noticed her husband enter the room, her face lit up with a pretty smile. The redheaded beauty hugged her man and kissed him passionately before giving him a brief summary of how effective Itami's broadcast had been. 

"While we only have information regarding the citizens of Little Kyoto at the moment, I expect that once we send these videos into the field, they will prove equally effective. I must say, Itami did an excellent job pinning all the blame onto Shiba, and announcing the formation of her new government in exile. 

We are already receiving reports from Little Kyoto that many talented individuals who have received a german education are flocking to her cause. Within the next few weeks, we will be able to officially declare that the legitimate government of Japan is currently in exile here in Kufstein. This will have an enormous international effect on Shiba's regime." 

Berengar had seemingly not heard a word that Linde had said, and instead stared at her with a cold gaze. Linde could count the amount of times on one hand that Berengar had been so distant with her, and because of this she immediately knew that something was wrong with him. 

Thus, Linde grabbed hold of Berengar's hand and led him to his office, where she then shut the doors behind him, sealing off the room from any would be eavesdroppers. Once the royal couple were alone together, Linde was quick to inquire about just what had come over her husband.

"What has happened?"

Berengar sighed heavily as he sat down in his chair, before expressing what dread had overtaken him after witnessing the speech that Itami had made. 

"I know it was your idea to pin all of Itami's past mistakes on Shiba as a way to restore her people's faith in her reign, but I am having a hard time even looking at the woman after hearing the speech she just gave.

This is it? Thousands of German lie dead as result of Itami's actions, and we are just going to treat the woman as our honored guest, and pretend that nothing she has done to our nation ever happened?"

Until now, Linde had been surprised with how forgiving Berengar had been to Itami, especially after everything the woman had done in the past. But it would appear that the man had been forcing himself for the sake of political necessity. 

To Berengar, the lives of his soldiers were worth more than the entire nations of his enemies. It was why he had specifically sought out to establish international law regarding the treatment of civilians and, more importantly, prisoners of war. 

And while Japan had abided by this treaty during the duration of their conflict, the fact still remained that Itami had been responsible for thousands of dead German soldiers, and tens of thousands more wounded.  Despite knowing how Berengar felt about this whole situation, Linde gave him advice that was counter to his nature. 

"The reparations that Japan will pay to the Reich will go towards the families of those brave soldiers who have perished in this war. Itami will pay for everything she has done, however she will do so financially rather than with her life. 

What the Reich needs now is for you to continue to get along with the Japanese Empress. I don't care what you have to do, but you must keep courting her until she decides that she is ready to be your wife. Do I need to remind you what is at stake here?

By having Itami sit upon the Japanese throne as our puppet, we are providing stability to the region. If Shiba is not taken care of soon, the Samurai clans will rebel against him in a bid for power, and in the ensuing chaos every scientist, and engineer will flee the country, who will most likely end up in places like the Ming Dynasty where they will use their knowledge to kick-start the industrial revolution. 

Such a thing would be disastrous to the world hegemony you have built. Especially in the long term! So suck it up and continue building your relationship with Itami, for the sake of the Reich and our dynasty!"

Berengar looked up at Linde and saw the serious expression on her face. Just a few hours ago, she was still acting rather territorial with Itami, and now she was saying that it was a matter of national security for him to marry the bitch. Just how temperamental could a woman be? 

Naturally, Berengar knew that Linde had always intended for him to marry Itami. Her standoffish attitude these past few weeks was just her way of establishing dominance. However, the moment Berengar began displaying second thoughts, the redheaded beauty was forced to place her foot down.

It would be a disaster if the Japanese scientists and engineers who Itami had fostered ended up in the hands of another nation. However, despite knowing this was the logical conclusion, Berengar still had a hard time coming to terms with marrying a woman with so much of his people's blood on her hands. What he needed was some time to think through his emotions, and thus he sighed heavily before voicing this thought aloud. 

"I need some time to think. You should get back to the war room, and continue to help orchestrate Itami's government in exile. Once this recording ends up in the hands of the Japanese people, it will be sure to spark a rebellion against Shiba's regime. By then we will need a plan on how best to arm and supply these loyalists."

Linde saw that Berengar was conflicted, but she had already given her advice, and thus nodded her head obediently before leaving her man behind with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. 

Berengar would spend the rest of the day thinking through just what he should do with Itami. There was no doubt that had been some form of budding romance between the two of them, but the blood that stained the woman's hands had caused him to grow rather cold towards her. 

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