Tyranny of Steel

Yi Min-Ah stood in the German embassy within the city of Beijing while waiting for the Japanese Empress to arrive. Over the past year, the young woman had been through a rough time. First, she was tasked by Empress Itami Riyo to spy on the Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein, where she was immediately discovered and taken to a black site.

After intense psychological torture, Min-Ah revealed many of Japan's state secrets to the agents of the Reich. Where she was kept in solitary confinement for many months. During this time, her only human interaction came in the form of her conversations with the interrogator.

Eventually she learned of her foster family's deaths, and in her depression agreed to join the ranks of German Imperial Intelligence for the sake of getting vengeance upon her previous employer, who she blamed for this tragedy.

Now, after several months of intense training in the field of espionage and covert operations, Min-Ah would finally return to the Japanese mainland. As one might think, her nerves were completely on edge, as she felt an intense desire to dispatch Itami to the afterlife the moment she got alone with her. The only thing which kept her sane were the words of her lover, Agent Friedrich Ziegler, which resounded in her mind over and over again.

"Do your job, and we will ensure your step-mother faces justice. Itami cannot give you what you want. Not with German agents protecting the Joseon Royal Family."

Thus, as Min-Ah calmly waited for Itami's arrival, she only managed to suppress her killing intent by remembering her true enemy. The one who had forced her from her home in the first place. If not for that woman, she would currently be basking in the luxury of the Joseon Royal Court without the slightest care in the world.

Eventually the doors to the embassy opened, revealing the Albino beauty who was the Japanese Empress along with her royal guard. Gerhard stood by Min-Ah's side, and along with his own security detail, and was quick to introduce himself to Itami in a voice filled with sarcasm.

"Empress Itami Riyo, as always, it is my foremost pleasure to see you in the flesh. Some congratulations are in order. After all, I had previously stated that you were never allowed to step foot into this building again, and yet here you are, a guest of the Kaiser. I trust you have brought the agreed-upon amount."

There was a hate filled gaze in Itami's blood-red eyes as she snapped her fingers. The moment she did so, her guards brought forth several chests filled with solid gold bars. The men quickly opened the crates to reveal the treasure inside, where Gerhard gazed upon the bounty with avaricious eyes.

It took the man a moment to calm himself before he ordered one of his own men to weigh the the gold. While the German marines were ensuring that the proper weight of gold was in order, Gerhard made small talk with the Japanese Empress.

"1814.369 kilograms of gold is no small amount. Tell me, Empress Itami, were you forced to empty your treasury in order to pay this ransom? You must care for this girl quite a bit, huh? Are the two of you perhaps romantically involved? I won't judge if you are..."

It was evident by the look on Itami's flawless face that she was not the slightest bit amused by the German ambassador's words. Instead, she chose to ignore the man, as she interrogated her chemist on the spot.

"Did they hurt you?"

Contrary to what Itami was expecting, Min-ah shook her head before briefly summarizing what she had been through.

"No, the germans didn't hurt me physically, but they attempted various types of psychological torture."

Itami narrowed her gaze towards Gerhard, who had a smug smile on his face. The man was quick to retort to this statement, in a way he knew would further provoke the Japanese Empress.

"Who do you think we are? A bunch of savages? The Reich has plenty of more efficient means of getting the information we want than to just start cutting into a prisoner's flesh. Something I'm sure you have no understanding of."

Itami wanted nothing more than to scream at Gerhard in her loudest possible voice, but she forced herself to remain calm. Before the man could taunt her further, a German marine approached him and whispered something into his ears. In doing so, a wicked smile appeared on Gerhard's face as he walked over to the scale, and dropped his pistol onto one end. Which immediately imbalanced the amount.

When Itami saw this, her eyes nearly jumped out of her skull. She could not believe the man was so shameless. However, before she could retort, the man responded in a way that infuriated her beyond belief.

"Hmmm? It appears you are a little short..."

Itami could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had properly measured the amount multiple times to ensure pinpoint accuracy. Obviously, the only reason the scales were off was because the man had placed his pistol on one end, adding more weight. The Japanese Empress could not believe the shamelessness of this man and immediately lashed out at him for it.

"We had an agreement Gerhard! 4,000 pounds of gold was the ransom for Min-Ah, just what do you think you are doing?"

There was a smug smile on the German Ambassador's face as he stared down the Japanese Empress with the utmost confidence.

"What was the Latin term again? Oh right, Vae Victis. If you can't make up for the imbalance, then I'm afraid that Min-Ah will remain in the hands of the reich."

Itami could hardly believe her ears when she heard this. Earlier, when Gerhard had asked her if she emptied out her treasury to afford this ransom, he was completely correct. Almost all of Itami's gold was on this scale, and in order to compensate for the loss of such a fortune, she had begun printing banknotes operating under the concept of fiat currency.

If Germany wanted more gold, she had none to offer. All she had were banknotes whose intrinsic value was worth nothing more than the paper they were printed on. She was so outraged by this turn of events that she wanted to attack the man for his sheer audacity.

However, in the end, Itami calmed her heart with a few deep breaths before reaching around her neck and pulling off a gold pendant which she wore. She then began to strip her rings and bracelets off of her body, and even her earrings before placing them on top of the scale. Which she hoped would counterbalance the pistol.

Unfortunately, she was short on gold, and thus she bit her lip in dissatisfaction, before glaring over towards Gerhard, who wore a smug smile on his face. Just when Itami was about to curse the man out, he withdrew his pistol from the scale and placed it in his holster. All while chuckling as if this entire offense was nothing more than a joke.

"Itami, you are far too serious. If you keep furrowing your brows like that, you will get some wrinkles. Which would be a shame, considering your legendary beauty. I assure you, I was simply playing a prank. For the Japanese Empress to sacrifice her jewelry for a mere prisoner, it is a bit unbecoming of your position, don't you think?"

Having fallen into such a trap, Itami wanted to scream at this man, but once more calmed herself with a few deep breaths before retrieving her jewelry. After she had done so, she looked over towards Gerhard and chastised him..

"Enough games, you have your ransom, now free Min-Ah!"

Contrary to what Itami expected, Gerhard simply smiled and unlocked Min-Ah's bindings, before pushing the girl towards the Japanese host. With a graceful bow, he made one last remark, knowing that it would irritate the woman.

"As always, it has been a pleasure, Empress Itami Riyo. I know it may not seem like it, but I always enjoy our dealings. You have the most expressive emotions and they are simply adorable. You are free to leave the Embassy, and return to your home with your little pet. Thanks again for the gold..."

In response to this, Itami merely snarled before dragging Min-Ah off towards her ship which was docked in the Bohai Bay. Once they were safely onboard, Min-Ah asked a question with a hopeful look on her pretty face.

"Before we leave for Japan, may I go see my family? I missed them very much."

A remorseful expression twisted itself upon Itami's face as she looked away, incapable of exchanging eye contact with the Joseon Princess. Naturally, Min-Ah picked up on this and quickly inquired about the Japanese Empress's attitude.

"What is it? What happened?"

Itami found it difficult to speak the words and struggled to express them. There was a very clear, painful expression on the woman's face, as she clutched her chest in agony before revealing the truth.

"I'm sorry, but your adopted family has perished in a terrorist attack..."

Although Min-Ah had already known about this for some time and wept for her family's loss, in this moment she began to break out into tears once more, as she grabbed ahold of Itami's kimono and demanded answers from her.

"What do you mean? You didn't attach a security detail to my family? You send me into the lion's den, and you don't even bother to protect my loved ones? What is wrong with you?"

Itami immediately grabbed hold of Min-Ah's hand, and tried to calm the woman down, as she explained what had happened from her perspective.

"Of course, I attached a security detail to your family! I even kept them in the most secure area of Busan! However, the Joseon terrorists launched several attacks across the region. They even bombed the Kempeitai headquarters in Busan.

In those dire circumstances, it would appear that the soldiers tasked with protecting your family were recalled to deal with the attacks, which gave the terrorists an opportunity to assassinate your family.

I'm sorry Min-Ah, I know I promised to look after your family, and I failed you. However, I won't make that mistake again. I vow to do everything in my power to bring those who have wronged you to justice. This is the fault of those damned Germans. They are the ones who armed the Joseon rebels with machine guns! And I will make sure they pay for their crimes!"

Even though what Itami had said was absolutely true. Min-Ah was operating under a bias and could not find herself to believe the woman's words. After all, humans were likely to cling to the first source they heard information from especially in regards to tragedies. The Germans had laid out a perfect story to turn the Joseon Princess against the Japanese Empress, and after months of brainwashing, she no longer doubted their words to be true.

Thus, even though she was working for the architects of her family's assassination, Min-Ah believed with her whole heart that Itami was the true culprit. However, despite wanting nothing more than to kill Itami on the spot, Min-Ah remained calm.

After all, she would never get her vengeance on that woman if she acted out of turn here and now. Thus, Min-Ah secluded herself in one of the cruiser's bunks, not willing to speak with Itami until after they had returned to Japan.