Steel Empire
Cause Problems

While Berengar prepared to invade Lower Austria and march on Vienna, Linde returned to Kufstein to guard the family, including himself, Henrietta, and Hans. He also watches over Conrad, who starts acting up; the longer the war goes on, the more impatient the boy becomes.

Currently, Conrad, Henrietta, and Linde were sitting at the dinner table enjoying breakfast. As an act of disrespect to Berengar and to assert his authority as the man left, Conrad sat down at Berengar's place next to Linde, causing the woman to directly attack the young man.

"Conrad, that seat was reserved for the head of this household and belonged to the Count of Tyrol! You have to show respect to the position of the person and sit somewhere else!"

Despite Linde's protests, Conrad responded with a sharp tongue as he verbally attacked Linde in an attempt to silence her.

"If this seat is reserved for the Count of Tyrol, then the seat you are sitting on should be reserved for the Countess. Say, are you the Countess of Tyrol? Or are you just the Count's mistress?"

At this point, Linde is furious at Conrad's behavior and stands up from his chair before slapping him in the face. As he did so, Conrad looked at him in disbelief before trying to protest.

"You think you're what" 

However, before he could finish his statement, Linde had slapped him once more. As he did so, Conrad got up from his seat with clenched fists and shouted at Linde, 

"I am the Duke!"

The strawberry blonde young beauty with the appearance of a goddess only smirked in satisfaction at Conrad before punishing him.

"Then act like that!"

This statement irritated Conrad's nerves, and he raised his hand in an attempt to attack Linde for her actions, but there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, a armoured hand restrained Conrad's arm, preventing him from swinging his fist.

The boy quickly looked up and saw a tall and strong man glaring at him with his denim blue eyes. The man had a musket draped over his shoulder and wore a three-quarters set of blackened steel plate armor, with a burgonet of three German-style ridge. He is one of the Berengar house guards and is assigned to protect the young Count's family from potential danger. 

So as Conrad took an aggressive stance, the guard acted and approached the young Duke before he could pounce on the woman. The boy who was about to become the Duke almost wet his pants as he stared at the sharp eyes of the house guard, who tightly grasped his wrists. The guard spoke in a stern tone as he began to lecture the boy.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is right. That chair belongs to Count Berengar, and you'd better remember it..."

After being thoroughly lectured by the intimidating guards, Conrad lowered his head and clicked his tongue before leaving the table and storming to the place reserved for him. After he was out of hearing range, the guard turned to Linde and fulfilled his duty by asking him about his condition.

"Are you okay, Madam?"

Linde smiled gracefully and nodded before responding to the man who had come to her aid.

"Yes, thank you for your help."

the guard smiled and bowed respectfully to Linde

"I'm just fulfilling my duty."

With that said, she returned to her post and started keeping an eye on Linde and Henrietta as they continued eating. Conrad should be starving for now. Conrad, having run to his room, and on his way there, he walked past a door that had two armed guards in front of him. Many of the rooms in this castle were off limits to the Duke, as Berengar did not want him to tinker with his things.

This room, in particular, was Hans's room, where the little baby was protected round the clock by Berengar's most elite guard. Thinking of the bastard son of Berengar and Linde, Hans muttered softly.

"This bastard had Adela as his fiancee, yet he blatantly let the woman occupy his chair; what a donkey! If I get engaged to Adela, I'll treat her a lot better!"

Although he said it calmly, his words did not escape the attention of the guards. They noticed Conrad's dissatisfaction. Such hostility towards their Master and Madam needed to be taken seriously, and they would then report Conrad's explosion to the House guard Commander when they were released at a later date. 

As for Conrad, he returned to his room for a while, although eventually, he left the confines of his room and entered the Great Hall, which he had been waiting for, where he gazed at Linde from afar and a Byzantine Noble discussed business with each other.

It was not Arethas who arrived this time, but a man under his employer who represented his interests in the current Berengar trade agreement. This man was named Andronikos, and he was responsible for making sure the silk shipment arrived in Kufstein within the agreed time frame. Because of this, he receives payment from Linde, whose servant brings a large crate for him to check.

"Tell your husband that my subordinates want to do business with the whole of Austria after he returns from this war. The Empire greatly appreciated his trade agreement with the Prince of Tyrol."

Linde smiled thankfully at Andronikos' praise before responding to it herself

"I'll definitely tell him!"

however, shortly after saying that, Conrad approached the scene and interjected, resulting in Linde's menacing gaze.

"Why wait for Berengar to return? I'm the Duke of Austria; if you want to discuss a trade agreement on my land, you can do it with me!"

Andronikos looked towards the boy and observed him closely before making a decision. He quickly insulted Conrad and returned his attention to Linde. 

"As I said, Liege I really appreciate the business between Tyrol and the Empire; your husband should visit Constantinople when he gets the chance."

Enraged that he was being ignored, Conrad quickly revealed Linde's status in the household angrily. Surely this would humiliate the woman, he thought inwardly before speaking.

"Linde is not Berengar's wife; she is just his mistress. He doesn't hold such a valuable position, and you shouldn't trade with a woman of his status!"

Andronikos was surprised by this news, although neither Berengar nor Linde directly said they were married; nor did they ever deny the accusation, thus questioning Linde about this fact.

"Is what the boy said true?"

Rather than be ashamed of the truth or angry at the accusation, as Conrad had expected, Linde smiled and acted gracefully. He bowed respectfully to the Byzantine nobility as he apologized for misleading him.

“I apologize if there is a misunderstanding; while it is true that I am not Berengar's legal wife, and he is engaged to another woman, I consider myself his wife in a deep spiritual sense. So I have never corrected you or your master when referred to as his wife ..."

Conrad was surprised by Linde's behavior, it was completely against the plan he had in mind to take revenge on her for slapping him twice this morning, and vice versa, Andronikos only chuckled lightly at Linde's response before speaking to her.

“Then Berengar is a lucky man to have a woman like you who is so dedicated to him, even though not his legal wife; it is truly inspiring! Well, regardless of your true position in the household, I will not underestimate you; after all, anyway, You've been commissioned by Berengar to keep an eye on our trading problems while he's away and you've proven yourself relatively competent at it."

A beautiful smile spread across Linde's immaculate lips as she thanked the man for his praise.

"I appreciate it; I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your understanding!"

After the Byzantine servants confirmed that the right amount was in the crate, Andronikos bid farewell to Linde while ignoring Conrad altogether.

"Well, Your Majesty, I have to say goodbye, this is a long journey back to the Empire, and I have to prepare for the next shipment!"

Linde nodded and smiled as she led the man to the entrance of the Castle.

"I'll pray for your safe journey! Tell your boss when you see him that we value this business very much and will continue to invest in the Empire!"

Upon hearing this, Andronikos smiled and left the Castle. As for Linde, as the door closed, she approached Conrad with a cold smile before lecturing him.

"When I speak to guests with important matters, you would be wise to be a good little boy and stay away from State matters. Do you understand?"

Conrad did not know why, but he felt his spine tingle when he saw such a frightening yet beautiful smile. She soon becomes wary of Linde; the boys' impression of the young woman soon turns from a brainless bimbo into a dangerous femme fatale. Thus she became afraid of Berengar's lover and understood very well that she should not provoke him in the future. 

So all he could do was bow his head to the frightening presence in front of him and return to his room in embarrassment. Linde, on the other hand, had been deeply disturbed by the child's actions and planned to poison him earlier; she refused to let this boy live a second longer than necessary. After all his antics became exhausting, he could not imagine living with such things for another three years.