Guilliman sat quietly in his office. All the personnel of the City of Perfection had been handed over to the Word Bearers. These mortals who were previously temporarily living in the Ultramarines' ship harbor would be taken to their new homes by the Word Bearers.
On the wall opposite Guilliman's desk, the double-headed eagle hanging high up, shining with a cold light, looked at the Primarch expressionlessly.
He... he wanted to see Luo Jia, which was an emotional and irrational need.
But Guilliman slowly recalled the moment he had given the order, recalled those innocent mortals, who had been taught those things since birth, who did not know where they were wrong - and now they were being punished for the daily lives they took for granted, their homes burning.
Guilliman remembered the desperate and earnest roar of the Word Bearers in the previous communication.
He was just one step away from fratricide, but this was indirect, ordered... This was not...
He suddenly thought of Russ, the executioner of the empire. What was the Wolf King thinking when he raised his huge axe
So this was what Russ had faced before - no, he was a thousand times more miserable than Guilliman.
Guilliman might understand the Emperor and what the Empire did. He knew that sometimes there would be some problems in a country and someone was needed to correct them. This was necessary and essential, but from an emotional point of view... no, he could not accept it.
Perhaps at some point in the Perfect City, Guilliman had given up the race for the position of Warmaster. With his armor covered in the ashes of the Perfect City, he could no longer be as glorious as before, and he felt that he had done something wrong.
Guilliman let his thoughts wander, remembering how Malcador had looked at him with a worried expression when the Emperor left for the City of Perfection - was that an act, or was it a casual revelation from the wily politician
The old man sighed and spoke.
"You think too much, Guilliman. You are too empathetic, too emotional - that's not a bad thing, but you need to control it."
Guilliman did not think that this evaluation was objective and rational. Emotional? No, emotion was the first factor that needed to be eliminated in decision-making.
As for empathy, if a king cannot truly understand the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of his people, then he is not a qualified king.
Guilliman thought of his adopted father, King Konor.
Perhaps he was being too serious, or perhaps he simply did not want to focus his thoughts on the Perfect City, Guilliman discussed this with Malcador, but in the end neither of them was able to convince the other.
…
"Guilliman always claims to be rational. He rigorously cites data and examples to refute me, but in fact, he cannot quantify his inner feelings. Guilliman will never be able to quantify the various emotions in his heart. The method he has always relied on for survival is not applicable to the soil in his heart."
Malcador took a sip of tea leisurely. Hades, who was sitting opposite him, had no food left, so he had to hold his chin and chat with the old man in a disjointed manner.
Hades looked at Malcador nonchalantly and spoke,
"Hmm... Let me think about it. It's not like you talked to him about how to manage emotions, and then he talked to you about data and reality."
Although he was reluctant to acknowledge Hades, Malcador nodded heavily.
“He’s idealistic, I suppose that’s the influence of Guilliman’s emotions, his high empathy—but beyond that, the way he deals with his emotions is highly dependent on the habits he developed in his old days… on Macragge.”
Hardy paused.
"Malcador, you are thoughtful, but I want to ask - will the Emperor really realize this? Or to put it another way, will he... will he use these comments of yours to persuade Guilliman?"
Malcador shook his head heavily, and Hades immediately perked up and patted the armrest of the sofa.
"You are cheating me, Old Ma. Then I will not let the finger bone point to the emperor. It will be useless for him to go."
Makado's face was gloomy.
"Hades, first of all, my name is not Lao Ma, and secondly, his persuasion effect is far better than any of us."
The old man looked helplessly at Hades's strange expression of disgust - as if realizing that he was still useful and that the Emperor and Malcador were not serious people, Hades began to slowly and gradually test their bottom line.
But this trick really worked, and Malcador sadly discovered that he had indeed lowered his bottom line towards Hades.
"I don't believe it, Malcador."
Malcador was silent, he composed his words, and spoke again.
"He is not ignorant. On the contrary, he knows more than we do. Hades, words are not always reliable, and temporary performance is not always reliable. Too many betrayals happen after vows are made. People are not always the same. If they change, then all the previous words are just empty talk."
Hades looked thoughtful, and Malcador hoped that he had really listened to him, rather than thinking about asking the servitor to bring in a few more trays of snacks - God knows why he would stupidly put these two options together one day!
Malcador took another sip of his tea and continued.
"When we look at a person, we observe his expression, posture, and words. He is observing this person's past, his projection in the warp, his possible future, and what he should do to make the waves of the warp reach the direction he expects."
"so,"
Malcador paused.
"He is not what you think, Hades. Don't look at him from an ordinary person's perspective. His wisdom far exceeds that of others."
Hades's dull eyes rolled around, then refocused on Malcador.
"Okay, then from a normal person's perspective, what would the Emperor say to Guilliman?"
Malcador was stuck. Finally, the old man said slowly,
"I cannot fathom my Lord's thoughts... but I imagine that he would... command Guilliman to remain strong and loyal."
Hades, who was sitting opposite him, once again had a look of finished defeat on his face.
…
"You are doing the right thing, my child, there is no need to question your heart."
The Emperor sat casually on a side chair next to Guilliman's desk. Although it was not in the center of the room, the Emperor's arrival made this single sofa chair obviously the main seat in the room.
The Emperor's sudden arrival caught Guilliman off guard. His biological father was always mysterious and difficult to approach. He would always leave after leaving orders, as if there were always more important things waiting for him - although this was indeed the case.
…and… a small corner of Guilliman whispered that, compared to the Luna Wolves, compared to the Emperor's Children, compared to the Imperial Fists, the Emperor's thoughts on the Thirteenth Son were clearly less focused on him.
Although Guilliman was also enjoying himself in his own Five Hundred Realms, Guilliman devoted his attention to the Ultramarines. He was not one of those Primarchs who liked to seek credit in front of the Emperor. For Guilliman, perhaps a prosperous Five Hundred Worlds was his best treasure.
Guilliman was silent, choosing his words carefully, even if he might offend.
[My Lord, forgive me for being so presumptuous, but if possible, I would like to be allowed to know the mistakes of Lorgar and the Word Bearers, or the words you said to Lorgar in the Perfect City - even if I need to undergo amnesiac surgery afterwards.]
He needed to know why, he needed to know what kind of fault could offset the sin of destroying a civilization.
The Emperor looked at him, frowning slightly. Guilliman's heart skipped a beat. Just before he was about to open his mouth to make amends for his words, the Emperor spoke,
“I did not think you had a good relationship with Lorgar, Guilliman.”
The unexpected answer hit the point of self-blame deep in Guilliman's soul.
[I... really cannot agree with his religion. Religion represents ignorance. People do not choose to stand, but instead rely on some kind of illusory existence for their own existence. If a civilization needs to progress, it must first get rid of the idea of relying on other things...]
[Although I have a bad relationship with him, from my personal perspective, from the perspective of being your offspring and brothers, I still feel a certain sadness for what he went through.]
Guilliman took a deep breath, and he suddenly realized that he had said it all. His biological father, the Emperor, always had a kind of magic. He was taciturn, always stood straight, and was always right. In front of such an existence, Guilliman always felt that he was still a child, a child who had made a mistake and was standing in the corner in panic.
The Emperor looked at him with calm eyes.
"I am comforted by your concern for your brother, Guilliman, even if you disagree politically."
Then the Emperor fell silent, and a stifling silence once again enveloped the room.
The Emperor sighed softly, which was particularly noticeable in the quiet room.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Guilliman could clearly see the fatigue in his eyes.
"I would hate to discuss this with you, but Guilliman, you have shown me your brilliance."
"As a warning, the perfect city must be burned."
The emperor said calmly,
"The Word Bearers' faith is laced with poison. It corrupts Lorgar and his brood. I must save him."
Guilliman paused for a moment before he spoke again cautiously.
[You mean... some of the Word Bearers do not believe in what Lorgar created... but... something else...]
"An even more blasphemous existence."
The Emperor casually took over Guilliman's words.
"Guilliman, you may know that before Lorgar launched the Unification War on his home planet, the faith on that planet was a cult and believed in witchcraft."
"It was thanks to his awareness as a Primarch that Lorgar avoided the fate of being corrupted by the evil cult on his home planet, and successfully overthrew the evil cult on the planet and established a religion centered on me, even though I personally did not want to see this."
The Emperor said nothing. He looked at Guilliman, and that was enough for Guilliman to piece together the truth.
Guilliman thought wildly in his mind. What was more difficult for him to accept than the Word Bearers' establishment of a religion was that the center of that religion was some kind of evil being. If they believed in the Emperor, then Guilliman could understand it, but they didn't even believe in -
No, it is also difficult to believe in the Emperor... Guilliman just felt that both sides were enough to make him sick and difficult to accept!
[Father, what is happening to Lorgar and his legion now? ]
Guilliman spoke first, and in an instant he realized that he had spoken disrespectfully, but the Emperor did not seem to care about his change of address, or rather, Guilliman was allowed to call the Emperor father.
The Emperor shook his head slightly, but he still looked at Guilliman calmly and confidently.
"It was very bad. I pointed out and punished his mistakes."
Guilliman could not imagine that if he saw the ruins of Macragge, everything he had done before would be considered a mistake...
He couldn't imagine Luo Jia's current state. It was too cruel, too... inhumane.
Guilliman looked back at the Emperor.
[…Only from my personal perspective, as Luo Jia's brother, I am very worried about him. Can he and his legion stand up again after this setback? ]
To Guilliman's surprise, the Emperor stood up and prepared to leave, with a faint smile on his face.
"He will. He is my son, Guilliman."
The emperor paused.
"But he's still not at your level, he needs some encouragement and support—"
"So I allowed his previous opinion of me for the time being."
The Emperor disappeared behind the door, but his last words still echoed in Guilliman's ears.
"Robert Guilliman, I am glad to see your awakening. Civilization needs to progress, and I have devoted my life to this."
Guilliman stood up abruptly after a brief moment, and the things on his desk shook as he stood up.
He looked towards the door, and the Emperor's figure seemed to still be there. His brain was dizzy and confused - his point of view was confirmed by the Emperor, which was... this was unimaginable.
All in all, the Emperor didn't even stay in Guilliman's office for half an hour.
Guilliman would never have thought, nor would he have known, that the Emperor who had spoken those words that made his heart leap with joy came to him because he had failed in his attempt to cheat.
Hades in the reception room sneezed suddenly. He rubbed his nose and looked at Malcador who looked disgusted with him.
"Someone is cursing me, Malcador. My bet is it's Neos. He must have finished his conversation with Guilliman, and it was a disastrous failure."
"No, Hades, I never fail."
The Emperor suddenly appeared behind Hades, still confident and smiling.
Frightened by the sudden appearance of the Emperor, Hades almost spilled the tea in his hand. He quickly picked up his own tea and retorted,
"So who was the one who failed in cheating just now, Neos?"
The emperor's smile did not fade at all, and he naturally sat back in his previous position.
"That was my plan, Hades."
Hades exclaimed loudly,
"So,"
Hades said loudly,
"I imagine your conversation with Guilliman went well, didn't you, Neos?"
"nature."
The Emperor drank his tea slowly, remaining indifferent to Hades' provocation.
"Because I am the Emperor."
4k! No more today! By the way, the previous two updates were also 4k!
I'll take a day off tomorrow. I need to catch the train.
Remember, I owe you 11 more chapters.
(End of this chapter)