Tyranny of Steel

The next morning was awkward for Itami, as Linde had completely done a one eighty in personality. She was no longer cold or outright hostile, but instead had become friendly and cooperative. As much as Itami wanted to compete with the woman for Berengar's affections during breakfast, Linde would not do so. 

This sudden shift in personality triggered something in Itami that made her feel as if something just wasn't right. As for Berengar, he behaved as if nothing had happened the night before. Instead, he showered Linde and all his other wives with his love, including Itami. This simply did not make sense to Itami, and she was not alone in this thinking. 

Hans could count the number of times on one hand that he had seen such a furious look in his father's eyes. As much as the man tried to conceal the wrath he felt deep within his heart during dinner the previous night, Hans and the rest of his children could detect an oppressive aura. Yet, that was no longer present today. 

The crown prince was deeply confused by this and immensely concerned. However, his thoughts were distracted by his own wives, and fiancees, who were behaving just as lovey dovey with him, as his parents were. And then it suddenly hit him right when he was in the middle of being fed by Veronika. The words his father had spoken to him right before his wedding. 

"Hah, love at first sight. Is that what she told you? Perhaps lust at first sight, but your mother did not love me until I properly drilled such a foreign emotion into her pretty little head."

The moment Hans thought of this, he choked on his food, which brought concern from the entire table. However, before he could face any harm, Hans coughed up whatever was lodged in his throat while panting for air. Not only did his wives immediately check to see if he was alright, but so did his mother, who appeared as worried as she normally did whenever the slightest bit of misfortune befell her child. 

"Hans, my precious baby boy, are you okay?"

The worried look in his mother's eyes only further intensified the dread that Hans felt as he thought of what the woman must have endured to so quickly overcome the complicated emotions she visibly displayed the night before, and without thinking he quickly asked his mother something he shouldn't have.

"Mother... What did father do to you last night, after I went to bed? Are you okay?"

This question immediately caught the interest of Itami, who also felt that something bad had happened after everyone returned to their rooms. After all, she too found it strange that Linde was behaving so differently towards her after the fight they had gotten into the night before. 

However, Linde had a strange look on her face, as if she did not understand what her son was asking at all, and after a few seconds of dreadful silence, she smiled as her expression shifted to one of sudden enlightenment. 

"What do you mean? Oh, I know! After you all went to bed, your father and I took a long bath together so that I could properly calm myself. There's nothing to worry about, my baby boy. I just had a bit too much excitement from the day's festivities and behaved rather poorly. It's so embarrassing when I think back on how I acted that night. Please forgive your mother for being so unsightly!"

Linde then turned around and set her sight on Itami. The way that the redheaded beauty looked at her albino counterpart was completely different from their past interactions. So much so that Itami believed perhaps Linde had been replaced with a doppelgänger. Naturally, the apology that came from Linde's lips was just as eerie to those who knew of Linde's proud personality. 

"I'm terribly sorry, Empress Itami, please do forgive me for how I behaved towards you. It was entirely unbefitting of me..." 

Itami felt awkward now that all eyes were on her and instead sighed in exhaustion before nodding her head. 

"It's fine... I think we all had a bit too much excitement after the ceremony. I myself behaved rather poorly. Allow me to apologize as well."

While the two women seemed to have come to an understanding, Berengar carefully eyed his son, fearing that he may have said too much regarding how he disciplines the boy's mother. It was a passing comment on his part, but only now did he realize that Hans might be suspicious regarding the relationship between his two parents.

If Hans did come to learn of the ultimatum that his father had given his mother the night before, then it was entirely likely that he would never forgive the man for being so cruel. After all, the boy would never quite understand the kind of woman his mother was, even if he had some inkling of the truth, nor the drastic measures that were needed to be taken in order to keep Linde in her place. 

Linde had a bad habit of trying to dominate and manipulate her man, and every so often would get out of control, like the night before. In those rare cases, Berengar needed to react with a firm hand to remind his wife who was in charge. It was simply the nature of their relationship. 

Luckily, Hans seemed to have bought into his mother's words. After all, he had never witnessed his father be cruel to the woman, and the love the two of them shared was something he aspired to emulate in his relationships with his wives. Thus, the prince was more willing to believe that his father reacted to his mother's outburst with compassion, rather than cruelty. 

However, Itami was not fully convinced. She was still trying to uncover what kind of man Julian had become after living another life in this unforgiving world. When she really thought about it there were also some worrying rumors about Berengar's cruelty towards the native populations in the colonies. 

Though Itami had not personally witnessed exceptional cruelty by the man towards his loved ones, there was no doubt that Berengar was not the same person as Julian, at least not personality wise. Something had indeed changed within the man she once loved.

Perhaps, he too could be a bit cruel towards his wives if they stepped out of turn. After all, Itami did, in fact, witness Berengar absolutely smack the shit out of Linde the night before, something she never thought would have been possible from Julian. 

Thinking about such a thing, Itami felt a deep sense of fear manifest in her heart. Was Berengar the domineering tyrant that she was led to believe so many years ago? After meeting the man in person, she believed these to be false rumors spread by his enemies to taint his image, but the sight of the man backhanding his wife in the previous night, and the furious look on his face when he did it, remained within her mind. 

However, after several moments of reflection, Itami sighed and shook her head. After the shit that she pulled last night, Linde deserved the punishment that she received, and so long as Berengar did not further inflict violence upon the woman later that night, then she could find his actions acceptable. After all, if she were ever to act in such a disgraceful manner, she, too, would expect to be slapped like that. 

Thus, any worries that Itami had towards Berengar being a man of cruelty passed in an instant, and instead, Itami decided to play along with the happy-go-lucky atmosphere that had overtaken the room. After all, everyone sitting at this table was now a member of her family, and she did not often get to interact with them due to the distance between their two homes. 

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