Tyranny of Steel

Berengar did not check up on Linde for the next hour, as he hosted the meal for his son's wedding. Instead, Henrietta had taken the woman's place at his right-hand side. As for Hans, he was quite concerned about his mother's outburst, but had decided to leave this matter to his father, who was more experienced in dealing with the redheaded beauty. 

The meal continued for some time, as everyone present seemingly forgot about the incident between Linde and Itami, until finally Hans and his three brides went back to their room to retire for the night. As for Berengar, he did not immediately make his way to his room. Instead, he took a shortcut to the room where Linde and Honoria usually slept when they were absent from his bed. 

With a brief knock on the door, Berengar could hear the sobbing on the other end, and rather than request entry, he simply forced his way inside. Where he witnessed Honoria comforting Linde, whose makeup had completely run down her face. 

Berengar did not put on a calm facade, or even a loving smile. Instead, he stood in front of his wife and looked down at her, as if the very sight of her appearance offended him. The words that escaped his mouth only further pierced the woman's already wounded heart. 

"You fucked up... You let your jealousy get the better of you, and made a scene on the night of your son's wedding... How disgraceful. After all these years of being together, and you would still dare to believe that my heart would drift away from you. Your lack of faith in me is disgusting. Can I even call you my soul-mate when you behave so atrociously?"

For the first time in a long time, Honoria got visibly upset with her husband. She immediately stood up from beside Linde and glared at Berengar while responding with an equally vicious tongue. 

"This isn't entirely Linde's fault! You knew exactly how she felt about Itami, and yet you kept something so critical to your relationship with that woman hidden for so long. Do you even care how any of us feel?" 

Berengar simply clicked his tongue in disdain as he responded to the byzantine beauty with the same furious gaze that he was giving to Linde. 

"Of course you would side with her. After all, the two of you are so close... No, the fault does not lie with me. I was waiting for the right time to tell Linde. After all, I know the fears that torment her mind. I was waiting for a day where she would be happy enough that such news would not upset her. Yet, even on the day of her eldest son's wedding, she still responded so viciously when the truth was revealed. 

You want the truth? Fine, I'll give you the truth. I discovered Itami's real identity the night of our wedding. Yes, she is Mizuno Ai, a woman I once cared for deeply in my past life. And yes, she and I share a bond that transcends lifetimes. But that does not mean that I have entirely forgiven her for the actions she has taken in this life, something she deeply regrets and tries to atone for each day. 

However, I didn't think I would need to remind you both that I only knew Ai for four years in that miserable life, and we never developed a relationship that came close to what Linde and I have built in this one. In that entire time, were nothing more than friends who secretly harbored feelings for one another. It is not like I was reunited with the mother of my children!

Seventeen years! Seventeen years, you and I have been together, Linde. And during that time, you have learned everything there is to know about me. I held no secrets, and I expected you to do the same. Until today, have I ever shown you anything but love and affection? I spoil you in every way imaginable, and in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have. 

But let's not forget what you have done! You have supported me when I took other women into my bed and even coerced me to do so in certain circumstances. So imagine my surprise when you suddenly behaved so hostile towards Ai, especially when you consider the fact that you were fine with all the others. 

It turns out your instincts are far beyond what is humanly possible! Because deep down you knew that there was something between myself and Ai from the moment you first met her. Something neither of us realized. 

So, after we got married, you became increasingly bitter about the time we spent together. And would voice this sentiment every time I was around. It was not as if I was oblivious to this fact. No, rather I was intimately aware of how you felt.

So naturally, I wanted to make things up to you before I told you the truth, which I know would cause you some heartache. I was even going to take you out on a trip, just the two of us like I had done with Adela, in order to ensure that you were in the best mood possible before you heard the truth come from me. However, I have become far too accustomed to calling Itami by her previous name that I slipped up today, and in doing so, you behaved exactly how I expected you to. 

I'm disappointed in you, Linde. I thought that what we had transcended the cardinal sin of envy. Yet, here we are... You do realize that you are behaving no better than Adela, when she was envious about the relationship you and I shared. Something she has since moved on from, and learned to accept.

You know how much I hate a woman's jealousy. So, I will give you two options: relinquish your envy and return to my side as my most beloved. Or get the hell out of my fucking house! I will give you tonight to thoroughly consider your options, but I expect your answer first thing in the morning..."

The moment Berengar turned away and began heading towards the door, he felt a firm yet delicate hand latch onto his wrist. As he turned back to look upon which of the two women had stopped his departure, he saw Linde on her knees. The look in her eyes was no longer one of envy, jealousy, anger, or hatred. Instead, it was filled with desperation as she pleaded with her husband not to leave her. 

"Please... Don't leave me! I'll behave! I promise you that I will behave! If you abandon me, I swear to the gods that I will kill myself! I can no longer live without you! Please, I will do anything you ask... just don't leave me!"

A twisted smirk appeared on Berengar's handsome face, as he kneeled down, and hugged the woman tightly into his chest, while she wept out the last remnants of her envy and hatred. If it was between quelling her possessive nature, or being abandoned by the man she loved, Linde knew what she had to do, and would stop at nothing to achieve it. The words Berengar used to coo the woman into submission slightly intimidated Honoria as she watched the scene from afar. 

"Oh my sweet, lovely, stupid Linde... How could you allow your emotions to control you like this? You know that I love you more than anything in this world, right? No matter who I choose to sleep with, nothing will ever change that fact.

If you had only used that logical part of your brain that I love so much, you would have realized that nothing Ai could ever do in this life would ever steal the position you hold in my heart. Stop crying. You already look pathetic enough already. Come, I think a nice warm bath will help calm you down, don't you agree?" 

Despite being told to stop crying, Linde could not prevent herself from letting her tears out. Throughout the past seventeen years, Linde had never been able to anger Berengar into the state that he was in today. And as a result, the fear of losing the man she loved more than anything was enough to overwhelm both her heart and mind. 

However, even without the strength to rise to her feet, Berengar simply lifted Linde up into the air like a Princess, and carried her to the bath. The entire time, Honoria watched until the royal couple had disappeared from the room.

What Honoria had just witnessed shocked her to the core of her entire being. As much as she loved Berengar, and respected his will, Honoria had always believed that Linde was the most manipulative person in the world.

So much so that Linde had managed to wrap the most powerful man on earth around her pretty little fingers. Even though Linde called Berengar master in private, Honoria truly believed until this moment that the redheaded vixen was actually the one pulling the strings. 

Yet, if anything, what Honoria just saw proved just how much Berengar had conditioned Linde into being his obedient pet. Berengar had witnessed his wife display an unpleasant side of herself, and in doing so, she had not only embarrassed herself, but her husband as well. As far as the man was concerned, this behavior clearly needed to be corrected.

So what did Berengar do? He presented his wife with two options: bend to my will or kill yourself. After all, everyone who was in the room to witness this scene knew that Linde was serious when she claimed that she would take her own life if her husband had abandoned her.

But the most terrifying thing about what Honoria had just witnessed was just how quickly Berengar was capable of shifting from the role of a domineering tyrant to a loving husband once his wife had chosen to conform to his standards. Going so far as to reinforce the conditioning with the reward of his love and affection. 

Thus revealing to the Byzantine Princess that everything she had previously believed about the complicated relationship that existed between Berengar and Linde was false. Berengar was the true master, just as Linde so often professed him to be, and Linde was nothing more than a love-stricken slave, unwilling to live without the intimacy of her man. 

As for Linde, she did indeed conform to Berengar's desires, and immediately squashed the jealousy and hatred she felt for Itami, while enjoying the rewards of her sudden shift in personality. Whether or not Berengar would actually abandon the woman that he loved more than anything for making such a disgraceful scene, only he knew the answer to that question. 

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