Tyranny of Steel

The light of dawn shone into Berengar's room, exposing the scene of the young Count and his lover entangled in each other's arms. As per usual, this was the signal for Berengar to awaken; as for Linde, she would continue to sleep for some time. The days of her waking up early to sneak back to her temporary quarters were long passed. These days, Everyone knew of her relationship with Berengar, and she openly slept in his room; as such, she could sleep in as long as she wanted, and Berengar never complained. 

Thus Berengar skillfully climbed out of bed, without awakening Linde, and got dressed in his athletic attire. As per usual, his morning was filled with a five-mile run, followed by lifting weights and sword practice. When he was finally done with all of those things, hours had passed, and he had entered the bath to get rid of all the sweat on his body. When he opened the door to the tub and entered the pool of water, he found Linde already enjoying herself within. A large smile appeared on her face as Berengar sat down alongside her and enjoyed the steaming water. After a prolonged workout, soaking in a hot tub was something that Berengar had come to enjoy immensely. 

After fooling around in the tub with Linde for some time, the couple left the bath and tidied up their appearance while fulfilling daily hygiene like brushing their teeth and flossing. Afterward, they got dressed and headed to the dining room, where they shared a meal. As per usual, the only other person present at the table was Henrietta, who had long since grown accustomed to Linde being present, and though their relationship had improved, she still supported Adela in her little rivalry with Linde. Adela of course had not been back to Kufstein since she left so many months ago. 

Berengar had yet to inform Henrietta of Lambert's death at his hands in the Battle of Oberstdorf; of course, when he did finally tell her of such an important matter, it would be an entirely fabricated story about the boy dying in the glorious crusade against the Golden Horde. After all, Henrietta had always cared for both of her brothers, and she was still not fully aware of the evil in which Lambert had done in his life. Being a young child, it seemed unfair to Berengar to reveal to the girl the truth behind Lambert's misdeeds and the cause of his death. Thus he chose to allow his little sister to remember Lambert in a good light, at least until she was old enough to properly understand the depth of his actions and his wicked character.  As such, Berengar drank out of the skull chalice, which was fashioned from his little brother's skull, while talking to Henrietta about how she spent her time recently.

"So Henrietta, how have you been lately? I have been so preoccupied with work that I have been unable to check up on you."

Henrietta had been attending classes at one of the public institutions which had been set up in the City of Kufstein to educate the young generations; after all, if she stayed cooped up in the Castle of Kufstein with no contact with children her age, she was bound to have some issues properly socializing later in life. Thus Henrietta had a giant smile on her face as she devoured the delectable omelet on her plate. The omelet itself was filled with spinach and cheese and had become one of the girl's favorite breakfast dishes. However, the moment she heard this, her expression soured slightly which did not go unnoticed by Berengar and Linde.

"I am fine..."

Henrietta was a rather shy girl, and as such, she did not like revealing too much about her personal life. However, Berengar was persistent and made sure to pry into the girl's life; as such, he asked another question.

"Are you enjoying school? Does everyone treat you well?"

Henrietta nodded as she snacked more on her breakfast; she did not say much other than

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"mhmm"

Despite her answer, Berengar did not believe that to be the case; after all, he knew his little sister reasonably well and, as such, became deeply concerned. It was not simply a matter of being shy; ever since Berengar got his eyepatch and began drinking from a skull chalice, he had an aura of intimidation around him, which made Henrietta subconsciously afraid of him. As such, she acted as an obedient little lamb and merely nodded her head and answered Berengar's questions. 

Noticing such behavior, Linde put a gentle smile on her face and questioned the girl on Berengar's behalf. She was a far less frightening character in Henrietta's eyes, and as such, the girl was more open to talking to her.

"It is okay; why don't you tell me if you have any concerns?"

Henrietta's gaze switched between Berengar and Linde for a few moments before she finally opened up about her problems with her school life. Due to being cooped up in the castle most of her life, Henriettas was, as previously mentioned, a timid girl, and as such, she did not know how to interact well with others. Berengar's worst fears about her upbringing had already become realized, and as such, Henrietta revealed her difficulties at school. 

"I don't have any friends..."

With this information revealed, Berengar was not entirely surprised; he had deliberately put her in his public education program so she could socialize and become accustomed to the common populace, but she was still the Count's little sister, there was a natural air of intimidation that surrounded her, at least as far as the ordinary people were concerned. The parents probably instructed their kids not to do anything to upset her; when combined with her naturally shy and docile personality, she most likely sat alone in a class all day and simply went over her school work. 

It seemed Berengar's guesses were correct as Linde further questioned the young girl.

"Well, have you tried talking to anyone in your class?"

Henrietta merely shook her head in response to this question, causing Linde to put on a warm smile once more.

"Well, maybe you should try it out?"

Henrietta's response was quick and filled with dejection.

"It won't matter..."

Linde tried to dig to the root of the problem, and as such, further questioned Henrietta's response.

"Why not?"

Henrietta's expression turned gloomy, which was rather adorable on her cute little face, at least as far as Berengar was concerned; however, she muttered in a hushed voice

"Because I am the Count's little sister..."

Though she was quiet, the large dining room was virtually silent aside from her voice, and Berengar and Linde both heard her complaint. Now it was Berengar's turn to cheer her up, and he finally voiced his opinion on the matter.

"It sounds to me like the other kids might be a little bit intimidated by your position, I'm willing to bet you don't voluntarily interact with any of them, and you simply sit there in class with an indifferent expression on your face. Am I right?"

Berengar knew his sister all too well, and he had guessed correctly; Henrietta squeezed her favorite doll that she carried with her everywhere into her arms and pouted, Berengar was right on the money, and she felt like she was being scolded. However, what he said next gave her some hope.

"Why don't you try introducing yourself to your classmates? I know you are shy, but if you make a sincere effort, they might stop thinking of you as a little ice princess who should not be offended and instead treat you as part of the class. I am sure the girls in your class would love to talk about your cute dresses!"

Hearing this, Henrietta continued to pout until finally, she uttered a single phrase.

"I doubt that..."

Berengar laughed at the little loli's cute expression and decided to counter her words.

"Is that so? Then what are the girls in your class interested in talking about?"

Henrietta's face slightly flushed as she recalled the subject the girls in her class were constantly talking about and immediately looked away from Berengar, which deeply confused him. As for Linde, she had a general idea of what the popular topic was among the little girls of Kufstein and merely smiled as Berengar tried to wrap his head around it. After a few seconds of contemplation, Berengar could not figure it out and promptly asked again.

"Henrietta, what are the girls in your class interested in?"

Hearing the authoritative voice of the Count speaking to her in such a forceful manner, Henrietta nearly jumped out of her seat from fright. However, she merely turned her head to look back between Berengar and Linde before muttering a single word.

"You..."

Berengar did not believe he heard correctly, and as such, he asked her one more time.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Henrietta was already thoroughly embarrassed by the conversation and shouted out what she had said in a fit.

"You! The girls in my class always talk about you!"

Now it was Berengar's turn to be embarrassed; this was not exactly a demographic he wanted to be popular with; as such, he turned to Linde looking for advice, who was merely smirking at his misfortune before teasing him.

"My oh my, to believe my man is so popular with little girls!"

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Hearing that phrase, Berengar immediately wished he was a turtle so that he could hide in his shell. It was indeed something he had never expected in life. Though he was popular among the women of Kufstein, for many reasons, chiefly among them were his good looks, his charismatic personality, and the fact that he had achieved so much in life despite being only twenty-one years old. He never thought the girls Henrietta's age would be talking about him as if he was some form of prince charming. As such, Berengar merely cleared his throat before putting on a professional act and began giving Henrietta some advice.

"Well, you should fit right in then! I mean, after all, who knows more about me than my precious little sister? Surely you must know some juicy details that the girls of your class will be interested in? Use that as an icebreaker, and then try to find some common interests."

Linde laughed faintly at Berengar's reaction; despite being embarrassed by the situation, he still managed to turn it around in Henrietta's favor. After pondering about it for a moment, Henrietta realized Berengar was right; if the girls in her class all treated her brother like he was a dashing prince, then she could talk about him to gather their interest, and from there, they could talk about other things. As such, she no longer felt embarrassed and smiled gratefully at Berengar.

"Thanks, big brother!"

Despite his more intimidating appearance nowadays, he was still the kind and caring big brother she had grown up with, which made Henrietta happy. Now that she had a way to make friends at school, Henrietta and the others enjoyed the rest of their meal in peace. As for Berengar, he was cursing his luck for being so popular with girls of all ages. The last thing he needed was another reason for Linde to tease him, and she would indeed never allow him to live this down...