Tyranny of Steel

It had been nearly a month since Itami first entered exile, and found herself living in the home of the man she once considered being her most bitter enemy. In this time, she had seen and experienced quite a bit of things that had changed her perspective on how she viewed the Kaiser.

Berengar was much more than Itami had ever believed him to be prior to actually meeting him. He was not the monster she had originally expected him to be. In fact, all the rumors she heard from various sources turned out to be false. The Kaiser was not some vicious warlord who drank blood from a skull chalice. Nor was he a rapacious fiend who took advantage of young girls.

If anything, Berengar appeared to be the opposite. He was a loving husband and father, and a caretaker of his people. The way the common man treated their monarch within the boundaries of the German Empire was nothing like Itami had ever seen before. Whether it was this life, or the one prior.

Each day, Itami grew more intrigued with her host, and had begun silently stalking him through the halls in an attempt to gain a better perspective of his character. And while Berengar noticed the presence of the Japanese Empress, he ignored her and continued with his daily life.

By now, Itami was thinking about Berengar, more than she thought about Julian. No longer was the albino beauty sulking in her bedroom, talking to a pillow as if it were a living being, and as time passed, her delusions about her non-existent love interest seemed to become less frequent.

However, this blissful existence did not last long. When Itami realized that Julian had faded from her mind, at least temporarily, she felt a great sense of remorse. As if she had done something horrible to the man she yearned for. Thus, today, after nearly a month of general happiness. The Japanese empress entered a state of solitude and depression.

Berengar did not take notice of this unusual behavior. After all, he worked an average of fourteen hours a day, sometimes more, and when he wasn't in the office, he was spending time with his family. Thus, it came as a sudden surprise when he had two uninvited guests show up at his office.

Itami Momo and Mibu Saya stood outside Berengar's office arguing with his receptionist, who was following the orders she had been given by her boss. Which was that he should not be disturbed under any circumstances. Eventually, the conflict became so loud that Berengar's voice interrupted the heated debate via the intercom.

"Just let them in..."

The receptionist had a bit of fear on her face, suspecting that she might be fired for allowing her boss to be interrupted by these two foreign bitches, but she ultimately did as commanded and allowed Momo and Mibu access to the Kaiser's office.

Contrary to what the women expected, there was a gentle expression on Berengar's face as he invited his two uninvited guests inside.

"I'm guessing there is something troubling the both of you? How about I pour the three of us some drinks, and we discuss it in private?"

After saying this, Berengar closed the door behind him, where he proceeded to pour some wine for himself and his guests. Though Momo appeared more anxious than her mother, she still accepted the gift, and sat down in one of the two seats across from the Kaiser's desk. Once the alcohol had taken the edge off of things, Berengar broke the ice by responding with a kindhearted tone in his voice.

"Now that you two appear to have calmed down, how can I help you?"

Mibu and Momo looked at each other as if they did not believe they ever would have gotten this far, before the eldest of the two finally spoke with a heavy sigh.

"It's about my daughter..."

Berengar naturally took this to mean Itami Riyo, and not Momo, who was sitting in front of him right now. And was thus quick to follow up with a question of his own.

"I'm assuming you mean Itami-chan. What about her?"

Even though Momo and Riyo shared the same surname, Berengar usually only referred to the elder of the two sisters by that moniker. Especially after Momo had insisted he call her by her first name. Seeing that they were on the same page, Mibu sighed once more before explaining her request.

"My daughter is very... temperamental. Every once in a while she enters a state of depression, and secludes herself away from the world where she tends to drink heavily. Right now she is going through one of these phases, and I was hoping that you could cheer her up."

Berengar's mind immediately went straight to mental illness. If Itami was having frequent mood swings that resulted in severe depression, it was entirely possible that she was suffering from a psychiatric disorder such as Bi-Polar disorder. However, the world of psychology was still in its infancy, and he was by no means an expert, thus he was not in a position to make a diagnosis.

Instead, his question was one filled with concern, something that neither Mibu nor Momo had anticipated.

"How frequent are these mood swings? When did they begin? How long do they last? Do either of you know what could have triggered them?"

Mibu and Momo looked at each other for a second, as if telepathically communicating their thoughts, before Momo finally spoke up with an answer.

"This has been going on for a few years now. I will say that onee-chan was never like this prior to her ascension as the Empress. For a while, we did not live with her in the palace, so we don't really know what could have caused these sudden bouts of depression, but they were definitely what you might call debilitating. These mood swings can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. We have tried everything to cheer her up when this occurs, but nothing has ever worked."

Berengar's expression was grave, as if he had assumed the worst about Itami's mental health. Perhaps the stress of the job had gotten to her, and she had suffered a mental breakdown. It was impossible to tell, since all he knew about the field of psychology was the result of self study from internet sources during his past life. However, it was the last thing that Momo had said which caused Berengar to raise his brow in curiosity.

"If nothing has ever made your sister feel any better, then what exactly do you expect me to do?"

This time it was Mibu who spoke as she looked at Berengar with a pleading gaze before telling him something he had already suspected.

"Honestly? My daughter seems to be most happy these days when she is spending time with you. I have never seen her grow so attached to another human being before who wasn't a member of her family. We were hoping that at the very least you could try to cheer her up for us."

Berengar contemplated this for several seconds before sighing heavily, as if the very idea had exhausted him. However, his response was contrary to what the two women were expecting.

"Very well, I won't make any promises as to whether I can actually help your daughter through her depression, but at the very least, I will make an attempt to do so."

A look of glee appeared on both Momo's and Mibu's faces as they hugged Berengar and kissed him on the cheek as a means of thanking him. However, Berengar simply ignored these gestures and departed from his office with haste. Leaving the two women behind to speak about their conspiracy in silence.

"If Riyo doesn't react to even this, then I'm afraid she will be single forever..."

Momo smiled and shook her head towards her mother before speaking of her hopes with bright eyes.

"I have a good feeling that even onee-chan won't be able to resist such a kind gesture!"

Thus, Berengar had, without even realizing it, been manipulated by Itami's loved ones into pursuing her. By having Berengar help Itami overcome her depression, it was in the hopes of Momo and Mibu that she would fall head over heels for him and finally be able to move on from whatever weighed so heavily in her heart.