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 none other than Linde, who called out to her sister-in-law with a hint of worry in her tone.