Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was preparing to invade Lower Austria and march on Vienna, Linde was back in Kufstein looking after the family, including herself, Henrietta, and Hans. She was also keeping a close eye on Conrad, who had begun to act out; the longer the war went on, the more impatient the boy became.

At the moment, Conrad, Henrietta, and Linde were sitting at the dining table enjoying breakfast. As an act of disrespect to Berengar and to assert his authority while the man was away, Conrad sat in Berengar's spot next to Linde, which caused the woman to lash out at the youth instantly.

"Conrad, that seat is reserved for the head of this household and belongs to the Count of Tyrol! You should show some respect to people's positions and sit elsewhere!"

Despite Linde's protests, Conrad responded with a sharp tongue as he verbally attacked Linde in an attempt to shut her up.

"If this seat is reserved for the Count of Tyrol, then the seat you are seated in should be reserved for the Countess. Tell me, are you the Countess of Tyrol? Or are you merely the Count's mistress?"

At this point, Linde was outright furious at Conrad's behavior and stood up from her seat before slapping him across the face. The moment she did so, Conrad stared at her in disbelief before attempting to protest.

"What do you think you are-"

However, before he could finish his statement, Linde had slapped him once again. The moment she did so, Conrad raised from his seat with his fists curled and yelled at Linde,

"I am the Duke!"

The strawberry-blonde-haired youthful beauty with the appearance of a goddess merely smirked smugly at Conrad before chastising him.

"Then act like one!"

This statement irritated Conrad's nerves, and he raised his hand in an attempt to strike Linde for her actions, yet there was no fear in her eyes. Instead, a steel-clad hand latched ahold of Conrad's arm, preventing him from swinging his fist.

The boy quickly looked over and noticed a tall and strong man glaring at him with his denim blue eyes. The man had a musket slung around his shoulder and wore a blackened steel three-quarters plate armor set, with a german style three ridge burgonet. He was one of Berengar's house guards and was tasked with protecting the young Count's family from any potential harm.

Thus the moment Conrad took an aggressive stance, the guard acted and approached the young Duke before he could pounce on the woman. The boy who would be Duke nearly wet his pants when he gazed into the fierce eyes of the house guard, who tightly clenched onto his wrist. The guard spoke in a stern tone as he began to lecture the boy.

"Your Grace, her excellency is correct. That seat belongs to Count Berengar, and you would do well to remember that..."

After being lectured so thoroughly by the intimidating guard, Conrad lowered his head and clicked his tongue before leaving the table and storming off to the quarter's he was provided. After he was out of earshot, the guard looked over to Linde and fulfilled his duty by inquiring about her condition.

"Are you okay, My Lady?"

Linde smiled gracefully and nodded before responding to the man who had come to her aid.

"Yes, thank you for your assistance."

the guard smiled and bowed respectfully to Linde

"I am merely fulfilling my duty."

With that said, he returned to his post and began to watch over Linde and Henrietta as they continued their meal. Conrad would have to go hungry for the time being. Conrad, had ran off to his room, and on the way there, he walked past a door that had two armed guards in front of it. Many rooms in this castle were off-limit to the boy Duke, as Berengar did not want him messing around with his stuff.

This room, in particular, was Hans's room, where the infant child was protected around the clock by Berengar's most elite guards. Thinking about Berengar and Linde's bastard child, Hans muttered under his breath.

"This asshole has Adela as his fiancee, and yet he so blatantly allows that woman to occupy her seat; what an ass! If I were engaged to Adela, I would treat her far better!"

Though he said it quietly, his words did not go unnoticed by the guards. They took note of Conrad's discontent. Such hostility towards their Lord and Lady needed to be taken seriously, and they would later report Conrad's outburst to the Commander of the house guard when they were relieved later in the day.

As for Conrad, he returned to his room for a while, though eventually, he left the confines of his quarters and entered the Great Hall, where he gazed from afar at Linde and a Byzantine Nobleman discussing business with one another.

It was not Arethas who had arrived this time, but a man under his employ who represented his interests in Berengar's current trade agreements. This man was named Andronikos, and he was responsible for making sure the shipments of silk arrived in Kufstein within the agreed period. Thus, he was accepting payment from Linde, whose servants carried a large chest out for him to inspect.

Andronikos made small talk with Linde as his servants inspected the supplied amount of silver coins to ensure that it reached the formal agreement.

"Tell your husband that my liege looks forward to doing business with all of Austria after he returns from this war. The Empire greatly values its trade agreements with the Count of Tyrol."

Linde smiled gratefully at Andronikos' compliments before responding on her own

"I will be sure to inform him!"

however, shortly after saying that, Conrad approached the scene and interrupted, resulting in Linde's menacing glare.

"Why wait for Berengar to return? I am the Duke of Austria; if you want to discuss trade agreements within my land, you can do it with me!"

Andronikos looked over at the boy and closely observed him before coming to a decision. He quickly snubbed Conrad and returned his attention to Linde.

"As I was saying, my Liege greatly appreciates the business between Tyrol and the Empire; your husband should visit Constantinople when he gets the chance."

Outraged that he had been overlooked, Conrad quickly revealed Linde's status in the household in a fit of fury. Surely this would embarrass the woman, he thought to himself before speaking his piece.

"Linde is not Berengar's wife; she is merely his mistress. She does not hold such a valuable position, and you should not be conducting trade with a woman of her status!"

Andronikos was shocked by this news, though neither Berengar nor Linde had outright said they were married; they also never denied the charge, thus questioning Linde on this reality.

"Is what the boy says true?"

Rather than be embarrassed about the truth or outraged by the accusation, as Conrad had expected, Linde put on a smile and acted with perfect grace. She bowed respectfully to the Byzantine nobleman as she offered her apologies for misleading him.

"I apologize if there is a misunderstanding; while it is true that I am not Berengar's legal wife, and he is engaged to another woman, I do consider myself his wife in a deeply spiritual sense. Thus I never corrected you or your liege when referred to as his wife..."

Conrad was shocked by Linde's behavior, it went completely against the plan he had in mind to get revenge on her for slapping him twice this morning, and instead, Andronikos merely chuckled lightly at Linde's response before addressing her.

"Then Berengar is a lucky man to have a woman such as yourself so dedicated to him, despite not being his lawful wife; it is truly inspiring! Well, regardless of your actual position in the household, I will not look down on you; after all, you have been tasked by Berengar to oversee the matter of our trade while he is away and you have proven yourself relatively competent in that regard."

A gorgeous smile spread across Linde's immaculate lips as she thanked the man for the compliment.

"I appreciate it; I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your understanding!"

After the Byzantine servants had confirmed that the proper amount was in the chest, Andronikos bid farewell to Linde while completely ignoring Conrad.

"Well, your excellency, I must bid you farewell, it is a long journey back to the Empire, and I have to prepare the next shipment!"

Linde nodded and smiled as she led the man to the entrance of the Castle.

"I will pray for your safe travels! Tell your liege when you see him that we greatly appreciate the business and will continue to invest in the Empire!"

After hearing this, Andronikos smiled and left the Castle. As for Linde, the moment the doors were shut, she approached Conrad with a chilling smile before lecturing him.

"When I am speaking to guests with matters of importance, you would be wise to be a good little boy and stay far away from matters of the State. Do you understand?"

Conrad did not know why but he felt his spine tingle when he saw such a frightening yet, beautiful smile. He immediately became wary of Linde; the boy's impression of the young woman immediately changed from a brainless bimbo to a dangerous femme fatale. He thus became frightened of Berengar's lover and understood deeply that he should not provoke her in the future.

Thus all he could do was bow his head to the terrifying presence in front of him and return to his room in shame. Linde, on the other hand, had been significantly perturbed by the boy's actions and planned to poison him ahead of time; she refused to allow this brat to live a second longer than necessary. After all his antics had already become tiresome, she could not imagine living with such things for another three years.