Tyranny of Steel

Berengar and Itami did not wake until midafternoon, and when they did, they were both happy to see that what they experienced the night before, in their act of intimacy, was not some fever dream, but was in fact reality. The two of them had been so enamored with one another after learning the truth behind their identities that they did not have time to ask any questions.

Thus, while lunch was served to the newly married couple while they lied in bed, Itami began to ask the questions she had been meaning to ever since she learned that Berengar von Kufstein was in fact none other than Julian Weber. The man she knew and secretly loved during her past life. 

"Julian, I don't mean to pry too much, but you really haven't told me much about your early days in this world. I mean, I have heard stories, but I want to hear it from you. Just how the hell did that dense boy I fell in love with manage to succeed in conquering the hearts of so many beautiful women?"

There was definitely a hint of envy in Itami's sanguine eyes as she asked this question, and while Berengar was swallowing some noodles, he nearly choked for a second before answering his newest wife. 

"Honestly, you probably won't believe me, but it was honestly all because of Linde. When we first met, she was the fiancee of my little brother in this world, but the moment we laid eyes on each other there was a mutual attraction. As a result, rather than follow her father's orders and poison me, she instead wanted to drug me and turn me into her sex slave...

I figured she was up to something, and reversed the drugged wine, and in doing so, turned the situation around. It was an enormous confidence boost. To know not only was I extremely good looking in this world, but enough so to convince a girl as beautiful as Linde to become my lover. 

After that, I gained more and more experience, with both Linde, and by flirting with Adela, who was named my fiancee by my parents, until it just became second nature to interact with women. I have had my ups and downs with my relationships, but over the years, I have built a solid foundation with each and every one of my wives. As for my concubines, aside from Henrietta, those relations began, and in many ways continue to exist as matters of either political convenience, or in the case of Tlexictli, a friend with a benefits situation."

Itami accepted this explanation with a stoic expression on her face. Despite nodding her head in agreement, one thing in particular stuck out to her, which she was quick to condemn the man for doing. 

"I still can't believe you groomed your sister, seriously what is wrong with you?"

Berengar's face immediately became aghast, as he defended his actions while denying the accusation Itami had just made.

"I didn't groom Henrietta! While it is true that I became a paternal figure to the girl after my parents retired to the countryside. I did not raise Henrietta with the intention of taking her as my concubine. Nor had I expressed any romantic interest in her. It was only after she kissed me, and quite literally took a bullet for me, did I begin to see my sister in a different light. Her feelings of affection for me were entirely her own until that moment. 

Besides, Henrietta is not my sister. I mean, not really. At least not according to my father. In reality,  she is my half aunt, which makes her as closely related to me as a first cousin, like Adela, which is perfectly acceptable.

Although... Sometimes I have my doubts about my father's explanation of Henrietta's origins. After all, it is a family secret with only my father's word to give it any legitimacy. So sometimes I think the man lied to make it easier for Henrietta and me to be together... But after everything that has happened between the two of us, I refuse to investigate any further. I don't think I could handle the truth if the old man really did lie to me..." 

If there was one thing Itami had noticed when living with Berengar for the past few months, it was that the man really cared about all of his wives and the families he had created with them. In all honesty, such a thing had made her incredibly jealous.

Until now, that is, after all, Itami was no longer an outsider, but an actual legitimate wife of Berengar's, and their relationship had shockingly transcended both time and space. If anything, after learning that Berengar was Julian, Itami no longer found it within her heart to blame him for any of his questionable actions during this new lease on life. As for Berengar, he also had some questions for Itami specifically regarding what happened after he passed away in his old life, and was quick to inquire about them.

"Okay, I have answered your questions. Now tell me, what happened to my parents after I died in Afghanistan? Surely you lived quite a bit longer after my death. You can at least tell me that much, right?" 

Itami bit her lip with an anxious expression on her pretty face while she struggled to come to terms with whether or not she should tell the man the truth, but since he had been honest with her, she could only do the same, thus after taking a few deep breaths she sighed heavily before revealing what she knew. 

"I was at the funeral, in case you are wondering. It was an extremely depressing affair for all of us. But your parents were absolutely devastated. Their only son had perished in the final days of a war that turned out to be completely pointless. You may not know this, but the month after you died the United States fully withdrew from Afghanistan, and it was a complete, and total unmitigated disaster.

I mean, I don't want to go into too much detail, but you weren't the only US serviceman who lost his life in those final days. We pulled out of Afghanistan without even alerting our allies in the field, and as a result, all hell broke loose.

Within less than thirty days, the Taliban had completely taken control of the country once more, and had taken every piece of military hardware that the US Military left behind. It was billions of dollars' worth of equipment! 

For you to die, with only a month left before we were completely out of the region, I think that was a special kind of misery for your parents to endure. Sadly, your mother passed away shortly after from a broken heart, and the last I heard, your father had retired and moved to Thailand, where he took a local bride who was half his age and started a new family. 

I lived for little more than a year after you died, and during that time I had never felt quite the same. I regretted more than anything not telling you how I felt for all those years we were together and never even came close to getting over you.

Like I said before, after over a year of suffering from depression, my friends and family basically nagged me until I started seeing someone else. He was my superior officer, and in all honesty, I didn't even really like the guy. I guess I can consider myself lucky that before we could even kiss; I was murdered by another man in my unit, who had become obsessed with me. 

It feels like a dream come true, that after so many years, we have been reunited in this world. I feel so stupid and selfish. If I had only made contact with you when I first learned of your existence and asked you about who you were in your past life, we would never have had to fight such a stupid and pointless war. I don't know if I will ever truly be able to forgive myself for being so foolish..."

Berengar simply hugged Itami, and kissed her on the forehead while assuring her that everything would be alright. Though his heart bled after learning of what happened to his parents in his past life, there was truly nothing he could do about that now, and thus he simply sighed before forgiving his newest bride for all the trouble she had caused him over the last few years.

"Everything will be all right now... We can't change the past, but together we can move forward and build a better future for our two nations. At the very least, you and are together at last, and nothing in this world will ever be able to separate us now that we have been reunited. I have said this before, but I'll say it again: you have the rest of your life to make up for your past mistakes. Now that we are married, I will be by your side every step of the way..." 

Itami began to cry tears of joy once more, as she had done in the previous night, and immediately pushed Berengar down onto the sheets where she passionately embraced him. While whispering a single phrase between her pants. 

"Oh Julian, I love you so much!"

With that said, just like the night before, the two lovebirds had begun to make love as if their very lives depended on it. 

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