Tyranny of Steel

After Conrad's horrific actions, the Castle was entirely on lockdown. Like Berengar had ordered, nobody was allowed in or out of the Castle, and the castle garrison immediately was put to task in looking for every clue available. While Berengar and his forces were piecing together what had happened, Conrad had fled to his room where he was currently hiding behind his door, breathing heavily.

The adrenaline and excitement that filled his veins after committing such a heinous act and getting away with it filled his mind with joy. Adrenaline and endorphins pumped through his blood in a way that he had never felt before.

He could get used to this. Or so he thought. However, when he appeared in front of the mirror, he noticed his clothes and hands were stained with blood, and he was still holding onto the murder weapon. He immediately began to panic and stripped his clothes before wrapping them around the murder weapon and tossing it out his window.

Conrad was not exactly the smoothest criminal; not only had he left a massive trail pointing in his direction, but he tossed even more crucial evidence such as the murder weapon and his blood-stained noble clothing outside the window, directly into the bushes below. With the way he had handled this act of cruelty, it was only a matter of time before Berengar found out he did the deed.

Of course, he had no way of knowing this, and thus he grinned in the mirror; he could not wait to kill something else that Linde loved, but the only thing she loved other than those cats was Berengar, Henrietta, and Hans. It would not be easy to inflict harm upon either of those three individuals.

Berengar had for some time suspected Conrad might do something to his son, and thus he had the infant's room constantly under lockdown; only he, Henrietta, and Linde were allowed into the room. Since becoming a father, he had grown paranoid and did not even trust his staff to take care of his infant son.

As for Henrietta, there was no way Conrad could harm her; the little girl was incredibly skittish and would never get near enough to Conrad for him to hurt her; even then, guards followed her around the clock to ensure her safety. If Conrad even attempted to harm the girl, a bayonet wall would be placed in front of him, and he would be killed on the spot.

Thus, for now, he had to wait until Linde found something else she loved, then Conrad would make sure to torment her by taking it away! He could already feel the excitement of doing such a thing. It was just a shame he did not get to see Linde's disturbed face, but her scream was enough for him to enjoy; it replayed itself in his mind on repeat, thinking about such things brought a wicked grin to his face.

As for Berengar, while his forces led an investigation, he had personally buried the three cats that were Linde's dear pets and brought his lover into the bath, where he scrubbed her clean. She was incredibly distraught by the barbaric display that somebody had made out of her pets, and she could not stop sobbing.

Berengar was in the middle of comforting her in this crisis as she held him close and stroked her silky strawberry blonde hair.

"I swear I will find whoever did this and end their miserable existence!"

Berengar was not exactly the best at comforting others; the best he could do was be there for Linde and promise to avenge the cats. Though Linde was sobbing, she managed to make out a phrase.

"Why... why would someone do this? What did I do to deserve this?"

Berengar instantly grabbed ahold of the girl and wrapped her into his embrace as he tried to comfort her once more.

"This is not your fault; if anything, it is mine. I have made too many enemies, somehow they must have gotten to someone in the Castle, and this is their way of warning me! When I find out who plotted this, I will raise their Castle to the ground and butcher their family in front of their eyes!"

Berengar was thoroughly outraged; this act had pressed on three of his reverse scales. First off, it challenged his authority and control over his own home. He would not sleep easily at night knowing that his enemies could so easily accomplish something like this.

Secondly, this was a threat to him, and his loved ones and Berengar did not tolerate threats. To do something like this meant someone was confident enough in their ability that they believed Berengar could not harm them even if he found out their identity, and for that degree of arrogance, he could not abide by it.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the son of a bitch responsible for this savage act had crossed the line in the worst way possible, he had made one of his women cry, and for that, the penalty was death. Berengar did not care who was responsible for making Linde scream; they would face the full might of his wrath!

After a while, the couple finally got out of the bath, where Berengar sent Linde to their room; he also got Henrietta to sleep alongside her. The room was under constant guard by his most elite and loyal units. Men who had served beside him in many battles, and would risk their lives to protect him and his family, men who would never betray him.

After settling these affairs, Berengar sat on his seat of power, where he consumed copious amounts of alcohol, he would sit here until the perpetrator was revealed, and then he would have his vengeance. An entire night passed before all the evidence was gathered, the head chef, the maid in the hallway, as well as the blood trail, and the blood-stained clothing wrapped around the murder weapon.

All of these things had been gathered before Berengar while he drank from his skull chalice with an ice-cold expression on his face. The Captain of his guard approached Berengar after bringing the evidence before him and began to make his accusation.

"Your excellency, all signs point to Conrad being the perpetrator; there is a blood trail leading to his room. We found his tunic stained in blood and wrapped around the weapon that was used in the killing in a bush below his window. We even have an eyewitness reporting that they saw him enter the courtyard shortly before the crime. The head chef and his entire staff can also testify that Conrad has ordered him to give up a knife earlier in the day without explaining the reason for it."

At this point, Berengar was consumed with rage; however, his rationality told him he couldn't very well kill the legitimate Duke for murdering a few house pets. Nevertheless, something needed to be done, and as such, Berengar asked the question on his mind.

"Where is the boy now?"

The Captain of the guard quickly offered his knowledge in response to his lord's request.

"He is currently contained within his room; we have guards posted outside the door to ensure he does not escape. What do you want us to do with the young Duke, your excellency?"

Berengar thought about it for a few moments before making a shocking declaration.

"Nothing... I will speak to the boy myself. As for the rest of you, swear upon pain of death that you will not reveal the contents of this conversation."

After seeing the murderous glare in Berengar's eyes, everyone in the room who had witnessed the conversation pledged a vow of eternal silence on the matter.

"I swear by the pain of death that I will never reveal the contents of the conversation that has taken place here."

Afterward, Berengar signaled for the people to be dismissed. He then sighed heavily before getting up off his chair and strolling towards Conrad's quarters. When he finally arrived, the guards saluted him, and Berengar gave his command.

"Open it!"

with that, the guards nodded and opened the door that led to Conrad's room; they were about to follow him in when Berengar raised his hand and halted them.

"Stay outside, and make sure nobody enters."

One of the guards immediately protested the decision

"Your excellency, I don't think this is a good idea..."

Yet all he got in return for his warning was a hateful gaze that burned with the fury of a thousand suns; upon seeing that, he quickly shut his trap and did as he was told. Afterward, Berengar proceeded into the room and closed the door behind him, latching it in place.

Upon entering, Berengar saw Conrad staring at him with a nervous expression. He did not realize how he managed to get caught so soon. Berengar was as cold as ice and slowly approached the window where he opened it, allowing the cold breeze of the summer dawn to waft upon him.

After a few moments of silence, he leaned on the wall next to the window and crossed his arms before breaking the silence.

"Conrad, enlighten me if you will because I am dreadfully confused... Are you so arrogant that you believed even after figuring out who was responsible for such a heinous crime that I would not punish you? Or are you simply the most unbelievably stupid criminal in the history of mankind? Did you really believe I would not find out you did it?"

Conrad immediately played dumb and looked away from Berengar as he did so.

"I have no idea what you are talking about..."

With this, Berengar sighed before raising his tone to that of an oppressive Tyrant.

"There is a blood trail that leads directly to your room, your tunic soaked in the blood of the victims was found wrapped around the murder weapon in the bushes below your window, and there were eyewitnesses who can put you within the vicinity of the crime scene shortly before it happened.

On top of all of that, my entire kitchen staff can testify that you showed up and took the murder weapon from their hands. So cut that act, and answer my questions. Why on Earth would you do such a thing? Are you that unsatisfied with the way I am managing the realm that you must resort to threatening me by killing my lover's pets?"

Realizing that he had been caught red-handed, Conrad began to laugh until finally, he asked a question to Berengar that he did not expect.

"Do you have such a glorious image of yourself that you believe I did this to threaten you? This has nothing to do with you, Berengar!"

Berengar was astonished when he heard this; he could not think of another reason why the boy would behave in such a vile manner, and as such, Berengar inquired about the boy's reasoning.

"Then why?"

Conrad immediately gritted his teeth and ground them in a fury before screaming at the top of his lungs.

"To teach that bitch a lesson!"

Hearing that the target of Conrad's attack was not himself but his lover, Berengar's mind immediately became engulfed in fury. He could no longer contain his anger as it quickly consumed all rational thought. If there was one thing that could destroy his logic and reason, it was someone targeting his loved ones.

He was fair game, but those he cared about were strictly off-limits. Despite his devouring rage, he looked at Conrad with a cold and indifferent expression, leading one to believe he was perfectly calm. In doing so, here turned his attention to the light of dawn that slowly began to reveal itself, and as such, he beckoned Conrad over to his side.

"Conrad, come here. I want to show you something..."

Conrad was confused as to why Berengar was so calm, but in his naivety, he did not feel a hint of danger, for Berengar would never kill him off so abruptly. After all, if he had a sudden unexplainable death, it would cause the other lords of Austria to rise against him. As such, he humored Berengar and walked next to him, standing in front of the open window, gazing upon the beautiful sunrise.

After arriving next to Berengar, the young Count of Tyrol began to speak to Conrad in a chilling tone.

"Conrad... Tell me something. Do you know what the punishment is for harming my loved ones?"

Conrad immediately shifted his gaze from the sunrise to Berengar's calm and stoic look before putting on a shit-eating grin; he was extremely confident Berengar would not kill him and as such arrogantly challenged Berengar.

"No, what?"

At that moment, a murderous aura erupted from Berengar and displayed itself through his eyes; the moment it did so, Berengar revealed the penalty for Conrad's crimes.

"Death!"

before Conrad could even react to this statement, Berengar had pushed him over the windowpane, and the boy fell headfirst into the stone courtyard below. The moment his head came into contact with the hard surface, he died on the spot. Conrad was truly and utterly dead, and with his death, the mighty Habsburg Dynasty was brought to an end.

As for Berengar, he gazed coldly upon the scene of his crime for but a moment before leaving Conrad's chambers with an apathetic expression on his face and a murderous glint in his eyes.