Tyranny of Steel

Weeks had passed, and finally, Adela's birthday was nearing the corner as such Berengar had already left the Castle in Kufstein. Much to his surprise, Linde was invited to come with him; he supposed his two women were beginning to get along, which was a good sign.

He had no idea that the reason for this was because the two women had conspired behind his back to meet up and convince him together to end his newly formed relationship with Honoria. As such, he was in a good mood as he sat in his carriage, which drew him closer to Graz, with his arm wrapped around his lover, holding her tightly.

Linde was frowning heavily at the moment; despite the affection Berengar was showing her, there was an unwanted person in this carriage, and it was not Henrietta. Though the little girl was also present, the person who had so thoroughly ruined the mood was none other than Honoria.

To be Frank, Berengar did not trust the girl by her lonesome; she was a spoiled, entitled brat, and though he was beginning to take measures to correct this behavior, he had ultimately decided to take her with him to Adela's birthday, rather than allow her to cause trouble in Kufstein while he was absent.

Even though Honoria had apologized for her rude behavior, Linde was still unhappy with the girl's presence. Though she was aware that Berengar's intentions for the girl mainly were political at this point, she was still worried that Berengar might fall for the young, naive princess.

Thus there was an awkward silence in the carriage as Berengar, and his companions waited to arrive in Graz. After most of the day had passed, the caravan finally arrived in Graz, and they were not the only visitors. 

Count Otto held an esteemed position in Berengar's government; he was on the Duke's Council and, as Count, was the de facto governor of Steiermark. This was thanks to his daughter, Adela, who was Berengar's fiancee. However, Otto had made a name for himself in Berengar's campaign against the Bavarian occupation and, as such, was held in high esteem by the other Counts.

As Berengar and his carriage entered the Castle's courtyard, they were greeted by Count Otto and his family. Berengar was the first to step out of the carriage, followed by Linde, then Henrietta, and finally Honoria. 

Adela needed one glance to tell that this beautiful young girl was her competition and highly likely to be Princess Honoria. Ava, who was well aware of Adela's grievance, had a wide smirk on her face; she could tell instantly that the girl harbored feelings for Berengar by the way she glanced at him. 

Count Otto also noticed this and felt slighted; Berengar had not just brought his lover but another young woman to his fiancee's birthday celebration. Regardless of this, Bernegar approached the Count and greeted him.

"Uncle! It is good to see that you are still in such good health."

Count Otto merely nodded, his gaze never shifting from Honoria's presence. Henrietta, on the other hand, sheepishly greeted her uncle.

"Uncle..."

The little girl hid behind Berengar as she said this; she was shy by nature, and though she had begun to make friends, often at the expense of her brother's reputation. She was still nervous around unfamiliar people; after all, Count Otto was seldom a part of her life.  Finally, Count Otto could not contain his curiosity and asked the question on his mind.

"Who might this beautiful young woman be?"

To this, Berengar glanced over at Honoria before returning his gaze to his uncle. He smiled while answering his question.

"This is Lady Valeria; she is from the Byzantine Empire and is a guest at my court for the time being. I did not trust her to behave herself by her lonesome in Kufstein, so I brought her along with me."

This was the truth of the matter, but for some reason, Count Otto expected there to be more to their relationship than this. As for Honoria, she pouted when she heard this; she was not necessarily a troublemaker, aside from getting on Linde's nerves for the fun of it.

However, after being threatened with removal from Berengar's court, she had halted such actions in fear that Berengar would go through with his threat and ship her back to the Byzantine Empire. As such, she had been behaving herself for the last few days. Honoria greeted Count Otto by bowing respectfully.

"I thank you for your hospitality, Count Otto."

To this, Otto merely nodded before shifting his attention back to Berengar 

"Welcome to my home, your Grace; I trust that my daughter's birthday celebration will be to your liking!"

Berengar nodded when he heard this and followed Count Otto and his family inside. While doing so, he approached his little fiancee and grabbed ahold of her hand. However, to this, she merely ripped it away from his grasp and pouted. 

She was already displeased that Berengar had taken a liking to yet another girl, yet he had the gall to bring her to her birthday celebration? To this, Adela felt insulted. Seeing that his fiancee was upset, Berengar sighed heavily before expressing the thoughts on his mind.

"You look beautiful, Adela; it has been some time since we last met. Did you miss me?"

Adela pouted in silence, not bothering to speak with Berengar. After seeing both Linde and Honoria clinging onto her fiance, Adela had grown quite self-conscious. Not only in regards to her position in Berengar's life but also in terms of her appearance. 

Though she was still growing, she felt as if her charm did not match that of an exotic princess from the East like Honoria, nor did it match the sex appeal of a buxom beauty like Linde. As such, she simply sulked for the time being. 

Eventually, Berengar was led to his quarters, where Linde was separated and given her room. It would be disrespectful to Count Otto and his daughter for Berengar to have carnal relations with his lover while under their roof. 

After a while, Linde regrouped with Adela and hugged the girl before stuffing her into her bust, nearly suffocating the girl in the process as she stroked Adela's golden hair.

"Oh sweet little Adela, I understand how you feel; if you need to cry, let it all out. I am here for you!"

An unlikely alliance had formed between Linde and Adela, who were usually at each other's throats. For the time being, they were united against Honoria in this awkward trio that had been formed around the man they loved.

As women, they naturally needed comfort when they were upset. Thus they provided it for one another. Adela began to break down in tears as she tried to break free of Linde's large bust and sobbed heavily while expressing her thoughts.

"I didn't expect him to bring the girl here! I am so envious!"

To this, Linde sighed as she tried to comfort Adela

"Berengar doesn't love the girl, at least not yet. He sees her as a political tool to be used against those he deems his enemies. For whatever reason, he is confident he will be fighting France in the future and wants to do everything in his power to break the alliance between them and the Byzantine Empire. 

Besides, now more than ever, he needs a powerful ally, and as such, he will likely enact Polygamy to marry the three of us. Despite this, he wants to make you Empress, so that should show you how much he cares for you and your position as first among his future wives!"

Upon hearing this Adela began to wipe the tears from her eyes as she slowly sniffled. After she had calmed herself down, she questioned the legitimacy of what Linde had just said.

"Really?"

Adela did not know how to feel about this, her worries about her spot as the wife being taken had become realized, in the sense that Berengar intended to become a Polygamous Monarch, but she still held the position of his Empress, and first wife, which meant that Berengar still had feelings for her.

Linde nodded her head and smiled as she stroked Adela's hair. To this, Adela replied with a bitter smile as she came to a sudden realization.

"There's no convincing him otherwise, is there?"

Upon hearing this, Linde's smile also turned bitter as she shook her head. Though the two had initially conspired to bring an end to Berengar's budding relationship with Honoria, Linde had realized during the time since then that Berengar would not be dissuaded because he knew that neither Linde nor Adela were willing to leave him over such an issue.

Thus, instead of convincing Berengar otherwise, Linde decided to convince Adela that it was simply not worth the effort and that Berengar still considered her first among his women. After all, Linde had gotten what she wanted in all of this, she would one day be an official wife of Berengar, and that was enough for her.

Seeing the look on Linde's face, Adela sighed before she broke away from Linde's grasp and expressed her acceptance of the predicament she found herself in.

"Fine... I accept it, but that does not mean I will not fight for his affection!"