Tyranny of Steel

As the war in Japan reached a new intensity, Itami found herself alone and isolated within the Kaiser's Palace. During this time, she struggled to understand the reason behind Berengar's sudden shift in behavior towards her. The fact of the matter was that the albino beauty could not get over the fact that the first man she had liked since Julian's death now hated her guts. Or so it would seem.

The reality of the situation was that Berengar did in some way care for Itami, and he could not deny that there was a genuine bond that had formed between them, especially after their first date. However, after witnessing the woman reprise her role as the Japanese Empress once more, he could no longer deny that she was the enemy who had killed so many of his citizens. 

Itami did not know this, and had assumed that she had been dumped so shortly after her first date with Berengar. Thus, she was in her room crying her eyes out while self medicating with whiskey. Ultimately, the sound of a knock on the door interrupted her sobbing, as she cried out towards the intruder with a rather shrill tone in her voice.

"Go away! I want to be alone!"

Contrary to what Itami had expected, the door seemed to unlock itself from the other side. Standing in the middle of the doorway was the redheaded beauty, who Itami knew to be Berengar's most favored wife. As a result, she immediately felt bitter and envious over this fact and was quick to scream at Linde for intruding upon her sorrows.

"I said go away!"

However, Linde did not obey this command, and instead shut the door behind her and locked it. Once she had done so, she slowly approached the Albino beauty before slapping her across the face. There was a genuine look of fury in Linde's eyes as she scolded Itami for behaving like a child. 

"It is hard to believe that the enemy I spent years preparing to fight against is nothing more than a selfish and immature little girl! You have gotten accustomed to commanding inferior men with that shrill tone of yours and have lost any sense of respect you have for others. You should be well aware by now that this is not Japan, and Berengar is not your subordinate. 

After everything you have done, did you really think that Berengar would fall for you so easily, and not have any conflictions within his heart? Did you forget that you are responsible for the deaths of thousands of his men, and that you have shied away from taking the responsibility which you owe to their families? 

Here's a bit of advice: if you want to repair the broken bond between yourself and Berengar, then you might want to take some time out of your busy schedule of lazing about and actually visit the victims of your policies. Perhaps if they can find it in their hearts to forgive you, then Berengar will no longer be ashamed when he thinks about being intimate with you." 

Linde did not wait for a response to her scolding, and instead walked out the door without saying another word. The door slammed behind her, leaving Itami alone with the words she had just heard. 

Not long after Linde's departure, another knock appeared on Itami's door. This time, it was followed by a familiar voice. Momo spoke up as she tried to gain entry to Itami's bedroom. 

"Onee-chan, please open up. We need to speak to you.

Itami sighed, as she swallowed down another swig of her whiskey before flinging the door open, where she witnessed not only her little sister but also her mother looking at her with pitiful eyes. The last thing Itami wanted was to be pitied, and thus she scoffed before falling back to her bed, where she laid down with a bottle of whiskey in one hand, and the white fox plushy that Berengar had previously given her in the other.

Momo was quite surprised that her elder sister had suddenly resorted to her usual depressive self. For the past few weeks, Itami had been nothing but happy. Momo could not imagine what had caused her sister to so suddenly fall off the wagon, and was quick to ask about this matter.

"Onee-chan, what happened? I thought everything was going well between you and Berengar-sama?" 

Itami broke out into another fit of sobbing as she explained between her tears what had happened. 

"Berengar broke up with me!"

While Momo reacted with shock to this news, Mibu simply grabbed hold of her daughter and hugged her with a pitiful expression on her gorgeous face. 

"Oh my dear little Riyo, I feared this would happen. He is having a hard time overcoming the fact that you were both once mortal enemies. Am I right?" 

Both Momo and Itami gazed upon their mother with startled expressions. Momo because she had not anticipated such a roadblock to occur in her sister's relationship with the Kaiser, and Itami, because her mother was right about everything she had just said. The albino beauty gazed up at her mother with her sanguine eyes and was quick to voice her disbelief.

"How did you know?"

Mibu sighed and stroked her daughter's snow white hair as she held the young woman in her arms while comforting her daughter with her wisdom. 

"I've spoken with Berengar-sama enough to get a good grasp on his character. He has a soft spot for damsels in distress, which is probably why he became so fond of you so quickly. Because at the time, you were no longer the Japanese Empress who rivaled him, but was instead a beautiful young maiden in need of assistance. 

However, as chivalrous as he can be towards women, Berengar is also a man who is ruthless towards his enemies. That much is clear by what he did to the island of Tsushima... I suppose his views on you shifted the moment he saw you in that Jūnihitoe, once more reclaiming your place as the Japanese Empress.

You suddenly went from a pitiful young woman in need of his help to the mortal enemy he had spent years fighting against. It's not easy for a man like him to overcome such a sudden shift in his perspective. Especially when he takes into account how many men he lost in both the proxy wars against your Empire, and the actual war itself..."

Mibu's words were enlightening to both her daughters. However, Itami had a hard time buying her mother's perspective. Especially when she thought about how many deaths Berengar had been responsible for. 

"Why does he act all high and mighty when it comes to the blood on my hands, while he practically bathes in an ocean of the stuff? In this war, he has killed over a hundred thousand of my men. Yet he acts as if the few thousand deaths his army has suffered are worth so much more than that!" 

Mibu looked upon her daughter with a sense of pity, not because of her daughter's situation, but because of the girl's ignorance. She wiped the tears from Itami's eyes before lecturing her further.

"I suppose that is because Berengar-sama cares more about his citizens than you ever have ever felt for your own. To you, a couple hundred thousands casualties are nothing more than a statistic. But to him, the losses he has suffered in this conflict are a tragedy. Especially when you take into account that he most likely blames you for the war to begin with. 

It was your aggressive stance towards Germany that led to this conflict, thus Berengar-sama probably justifies his actions as defensive in nature. And the deaths of aggressors are nothing to weep for. It is true that the Reich has killed far more of your men, then they lost in this war. But I need to remind you that you are the one who started it. Thus, you will never be blameless in the Kaiser's eyes. Not until you truly atone for your sins..."

After hearing her mother's words of wisdom, Itami suddenly reflected on what Linde had told her not long before. That if she wanted things to go back to normal between herself and Berengar, then she would need to work hard not only to prove that she was remorseful for her actions, but to also earn forgiveness from those affected by her mistakes. 

Thus, the tears immediately ran dry, as Itami's blood-red eyes were filled with resolve. She could never undo her past mistakes, but she was now living in the Reich, where the families of her victims dwelled. Including those who had been forced into exile because of her policies. With this in mind, Itami spoke with fierce determination as she made her decision to move forward. 

"Thank you, Okaa-san. I think that I now have a better understanding of what Berengar is feeling. It would appear that I have a lot to make up for. Perhaps I will start to atone for my sins by visiting Little Kyoto and help those who have been forced into exile as a result of my past mistakes."

A warm smile appeared on Mibu's face as she hugged her daughter once more, before congratulating her on growing as an individual. 

"That's my little girl!"

---

After re-reading chapters 1111 and 1113, I have decided to partially rewrite them to better clarify the reason for Berengar's sudden shift in perspective. You can read the edited versions of chapters 1111 and 1113 at https://www.webnovel.com/book/tyranny-of-steel_20627562705133205.