Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was off on a grand adventure in a distant foreign land, Henrietta was left behind in Kufstein. Unlike all the previous times her brother had departed from home, she was now exceptionally depressed. If it were a simple war, she would not be concerned; after all, her precious big brother was invincible in her eyes.

However, he would be traveling across the Atlantic in an attempt to wrestle control of the unknown. Such a thing terrified her; what if his ship sunk on the journey and he drowned in the depths. What if he faced a strange Empire of overwhelming might, who captured him and forced him into slavery?

Worst of all, what if he had entered a mysterious land filled with giants, and he was squashed beneath their heels? All kinds of fantastical scenarios entered the young woman's mind as she feared for her brother's safety. Her anxiety was so bad that she had not left the confines of her room since he had departed.

It was initially punishment for her taking advantage of the situation to kiss her big brother in front of his wives. Yet, she was now sealed away in her quarters entirely by choice. She spent most of her day lying on her bed, with her head buried in the pillows and her body concealed by her covers. 

Her heart constantly ached as she worried about many things that could have gone wrong with Berengar's journey to the mysterious foreign land known as Vinland. As she was locked away in her room, her suitor had attempted to visit her on three separate occasions only to be turned away by the young princess. She had no time to entertain the man who acted as cover for her relationship with her big brother. 

As she reflected upon this, she cursed herself for not forcing Berengar to be more intimate with her while he was still within the bounds of the fatherland. Now more than ever, she was more confident that she would finally become one with her beloved brother when he eventually returned home from his journey across the Atlantic. 

While she was thinking about this, a knock resounded from the thick wooden door that acted as the entrance to her room. The mysterious identity on the other side of the door was other than Linde, who called out to her sister-in-law with a hint of worry in her tone.

"Henrietta, my dear. It has been over a month since Berengar has departed; I know you are worried for his safety; we all are. However, you must come out from seclusion eventually!"

Henrietta did not budge despite the voice of concern from the other end of the door; Henrietta did not budge. Instead, she yelled out to Linde with a voice filled with inner fury.

"Go away!"

The proud Queen did not budge; instead, she ultimately pulled out a small brass key and unlocked the door, forcing her way into the princess's room. Though Henrietta heard this intrusion, she remained as still as the dead, as Linde eventually approached her and sat down upon the edge of her bed. The strawberry-blonde-haired beauty sighed heavily as she began to confront the most significant issue that she and the others had been avoiding for some time. 

"You truly love your brother, don't you, Henrietta?"

Henrietta's cheeks flushed red beneath her covers as she was asked this question; until now, Berengar's wives had been avoiding stepping on this land mine, and yet the princess's seclusion had forced Linde's hand. Thus Henrietta eventually spoke in a meek voice to confirm the Queen's words.

"Yes..."

Linde nodded her head in silence as she began to inquire more about Henrietta's feelings towards her flesh and blood.

"You do know why you and Berengar can't be together, right? Society will never accept that kind of relationship between a brother and sister. If anyone found out about it, it could easily cost your brother everything he has worked so hard to achieve. Despite this, you still want to be with him, don't you?"

Henrietta was dead silent as she listened to this lecture; after all, she knew very well that she was being selfish and that there was substantial risk behind what she desired. However, she believed that one does not choose who they love, and thus she was still determined to be with Berengar. Upon witnessing the young princess's silence, Linde sighed heavily before speaking.

"If you know the risks, and are still willing to be with your brother despite them, then that means one of two things. Either you are an incredibly selfish girl who does not care who you hurt so long as you get what you want.

Or your feelings for your brother are not mere infatuation and instead are the genuine article. If you truly love Berengar in the same way that myself and the others do, then I am left with only one choice..."

Henrietta felt a slight chill down her spine as Linde said these words, she had always had an instinctive fear of the woman, and now she felt that she was being threatened. Despite this, the princess threw off her covers as she began to bark back at the spymaster like a rabid dog who had been cornered. 

"If you're going to kill me because of my love for my big brother, then make it quick; I'd rather die than live without him!"

Linde was shocked upon hearing this; after all, she would never harm a hair on Henrietta's head, but the determined expression on the girl's face told her that her feelings were the real deal. There was an awkward silence that filled the air for a few moments before Linde broke out into uncontrollable laughter. 

This reaction immediately confused Henrietta, who perked a brow as she gazed upon her brother's second wife with a look of confusion. Eventually, Linde calmed down and regained her composure as she informed Henrietta of the decision she had come to.

"Henrietta, if I harmed you in any way, your brother would never forgive me. I was not threatening you; I was going to say that I will support you behind the scenes to make sure that your scandalous relationship with Berengar is never leaked beyond the confines of this Palace..."

Henrietta's azure eyes glowed with excitement as she heard this response; she quickly crawled over to Linde and grabbed ahold of her hands with a pleading gaze while she questioned whether or not her ears were working correctly.

"Really? But what about Adela? She has made it clear that she would never approve of our relationship..."

Linde's expression immediately sank as she heard that name; she and Adela had never been on good terms. In fact, their relationship was now worse than ever; this was a direct result of the actions Linde had taken to coerce Adela into enjoying a foursome with their husband. With this in mind, the veteran spymaster vented her frustrations in confidence to the young princess. 

"Fuck that bitch! She is a massive prude and a hypocrite. For starters, she is Berengar's cousin; if anyone should be sympathetic to your plight, it should be her. Besides that, she is not exactly as innocent as she has led the Kingdom to believe. If you have seen the stuff she does with our husband behind closed doors, you would call her a whore!"

Henrietta felt her heart sting as she heard this; she and her cousin had always been close, especially since Adela had been first engaged to Berengar, and yet over these past few months, as Henrietta made her feelings more apparent, there had become an unbridgable divide between the two cousins.

Upon seeing that Linde was on her side, the princess immediately felt herself growing closer to the second Queen of Austria. Of course, even without Adela's approval, there were still two other women she had to worry about; thus, Henrietta voiced her concerns. 

"Okay, but what about Honoria and Yasmin?"

At this moment, Linde let her sister-in-law in on a little secret about the politics of the Royal Harem. With a smirk on her pretty face, she began to educate the princess on these critical matters.

"Honoria is a wild card; she doesn't care about anything other than having fun and enjoying life. That girl is a true hedonist and wholly disregards what is considered morally right or wrong. She also enjoys the company of men and women alike and is quite the pervert. She would probably get off on the idea of having a threesome with a pair of siblings, so I am sure that I can convince her to keep quiet about your little affair with our husband. 

As for Yasmin, from what I can gather, she is just going along with the rest of the girls right now to blend in. She has yet to show her true colors and instead appears utterly faithful to Berengar. Whatever her husband desires, she is likely to agree to it without incident. Even if she did something so foolish, I could easily prevent that news from spreading, so you have nothing to worry about.

With my support, you are free to pursue your heart's desires; however, convincing Berengar to engage in an incestuous relationship with his little sister will be tough. You have a lot of work cut out for you, but I am confident with enough tenacity you will be able to get through to him."

Upon hearing this, Henrietta reflected intensely on Linde's words; she knew that Berengar had reservations about their so-called secret relationship; however, with Linde supporting her behind the scenes, she was confident that she could convince him to go all the way. It was just a matter of time. Thus the young princess had a newfound resolve to make her fantasies become a reality.

As for Linde, her reasoning for supporting Henrietta was far from benevolent. It was no secret that the power struggle among Berengar's women was a real thing, and because of this, she had decided to take advantage of Henrietta's feelings so that she could convert the girl to her side.

After all, Henrietta could never marry Berengar, and they would likely never have children. Still, if the two siblings truly loved each other, Linde could use this as an advantage to get the young princess to convince her brother to support Linde's offspring in the right to rule the future German Empire. Thus the Spymaster of Austria and the Princess had formed an unholy alliance in the fight against the High Queen and her progeny. 

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