Ryan had no idea what Teresa and Aurora were discussing. The count returned to his study in the winery, sitting down to organize some documents.
The large desk was piled high with various papers. Ryan exhaled softly; he had drunk quite a bit at the banquet. After it ended, everyone went to their rooms to rest, but as the count, he still had to review documents and prepare for a midnight meeting with the Lady of the Lake at Lily Island in Chalon Forest.
Preparations for the attack on Mousillon were in full swing. Ryan, as the count, had to personally review many documents. The extra drinks made him somewhat irritable, but he had no choice but to be hands-on. Unlike the Empire, where each Elector Count had a mature bureaucratic system to maintain their rule, Bretonnia's nobles had to handle these troublesome tasks themselves. Ryan often felt grateful for his wife, Sulia, who was not only talented in internal affairs but also gentle and considerate, always managing things efficiently.
Reviewing documents, Ryan thought that while a bureaucratic system could be tiresome, it was essential. It ensured efficient administration, handling daily affairs and resource allocation more effectively than Bretonnia's relatively backward feudal system.
For example, if Emperor Karl Franz in Altdorf wanted a crate of oranges, he needed only give an order. An hour later, bureaucrats would deliver a crate to the palace, and the emperor would not need to worry about it further.
In Bretonnia, if King Richard wanted a crate of oranges, he would need to send someone to check the warehouse. If none were found, he would have to dispatch servants to the market. If still unsuccessful, he would issue a requisition order to orchards. This process could take days, with King Richard needing to issue orders at each step.
This exemplifies the differences between the two systems.
With a bureaucratic system, Emperor Karl Franz could focus on military and governmental matters or personally lead troops, without worrying about palace affairs falling apart in his absence. Routine tasks would be handled by others, allowing the emperor to concentrate on important matters.
Bretonnia's lords, on the other hand, were forced to handle many mundane tasks daily. If they left their territories, they had to appoint regents or deputies.
However, Bretonnia's system wasn't without its benefits. Because of the feudal system, knights funded their own military expenses and supplies, meaning they wouldn't embezzle their own money.
In the Empire, the more troops there were, the longer the supply lines became, and the more opportunities bureaucrats had for corruption. When King Richard's servant delivered a crate of oranges, it genuinely came from his territory. But when Emperor Karl Franz enjoyed his oranges, bureaucrats might have requisitioned two or even four crates in his name, with three crates disappearing through various layers of the system.
No one knew where those crates went, yet everyone knew.
Moreover, over time, the bureaucratic system would become more bloated, decaying and corrupting further. It was like a precise gear system, functioning today to maintain rule and continuing to operate seamlessly tomorrow, with inertia gradually taking hold.
After musing for a while, Ryan buried his head in paperwork again. The study door opened.
Sulia, wearing a white fox fur low-cut light pink ruffled satin dress and a brown coat, entered with a silver tray. Her golden curly hair shimmered, and her face radiated endless gentleness. She approached Ryan, placing the tray on the desk. "My husband, you've worked hard. Here's a snack."
The tray held a cup of hot milk and a mille-feuille pastry, made of three layers of brown multi-layer cake and two layers of sweet cream cheese. Though simple in ingredients, the pastry's complex preparation required repeated folding to ensure deliciousness.
Ryan looked up from the piles of scrolls, recognizing the intricate craftsmanship of the pastry. "Did you make this yourself?"
"The Lady taught me," Sulia smiled. She then squealed as Ryan scooped her up, placing her on his lap. The knightess was startled. "Ryan! You rascal!"
"My lady, you are the best!"
"Of course, I am your wife!" Sulia gently tapped Ryan's forehead with her finger, her breathtaking beauty glowing with happiness. "Alright, eat while it's hot. Do you have to go to Lily Island tonight?"
"Yes, the Lady's oracle. What we've been preparing for is finally coming to fruition." Ryan nodded but didn't let Sulia go, holding his wife's body on his lap. "Sulia, is there anything else? Stay and talk with me."
"Of course." Sulia looked out at the snowy landscape, leaning into Ryan's embrace. "Ryan, I've noticed you've been somewhat distant with Lady Aurora today."
"How so? I led my men to greet her outside the winery and even clapped," Ryan said, smiling.
"That's not what I mean. You've followed the formalities, but it's like you're treating her as a mere acquaintance despite knowing her for over ten years. There's a noticeable distance," Sulia pointed out her concern.
"I did it on purpose," Ryan's fingers played with Sulia's golden curls.
"On purpose?"
"Yes. My relationship with Lady Aurora and Teresa is quite complicated. You know Aurora once saved my foster father Norman during a war," Ryan explained, enjoying the hot milk and delicious pastry while recounting the story. "I used to speak to her very humbly."
"Ryan, you're not one to hold grudges," Sulia teased. "You're not like King Belegar."
"I'm not holding a grudge. It's just that my status has changed, but Lady Aurora might still see me as the young man who had to bow and speak humbly before her," Ryan said with a wry smile. "If I act too familiar, she might think she still holds that high position. I just want equality, that's all."
"So you acted distant to make her realize that you're no longer the easily manipulated young knight?" Sulia quickly grasped Ryan's intention.
"Sometimes a bit of distance is not a bad thing," Ryan nodded. "I can't let my subordinates think I'm weak. Besides, I'm the Lady's chosen champion."
"Yes." Sulia relaxed in Ryan's arms, the couple savoring the warm moment. "As long as you're clear about it."
"Unlike Veronica, most sorceresses look down on weak men, but they... well, you understand," Ryan's expression grew complex. "I've repaid many of Aurora's and Teresa's favors over the years. I don't feel I owe them anything. Teresa is indeed my courtier, but if I lower my stance, Aurora might take advantage and make numerous demands. Refusing them all would seem too harsh, and that's not chivalrous."
"No wonder you favor Veronica," Sulia remarked, uninterested in Aurora's issues. She thought if Ryan couldn't refuse some demands, she would step in as his wife. She had no fondness for the Garland Council's elder.
After a while, Ryan finished the last document and stood up. "I'll be off then."
"Yes, I'll wait for your return." Sulia knew Ryan was going to meet the Lady of the Lake at Lily Island.
Ryan gently kissed Sulia for a few seconds before leaving the room, leaving Sulia alone.
Looking at the snow outside, Sulia picked up a pen to write something.
Suddenly, an inexplicable wave of nausea surged in the knightess's throat. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.
Then, she seemed to realize something, and a blush spread across her pale face.
***
In the depths of Chalon Forest, at the holy site of Bretonnia, Lily Island, beneath the lake's surface.
In a vortex formed by the Lady of the Lake's divine power, ten boys in their teens lay quietly. Most were confined within mysterious devices, surrounded by a pure psychic vortex, with the Lady's golden power flowing around them.
The Lady of the Lake, holding a golden grail, walked ahead. "These are the last of your offspring. Only ten survived. The rest either failed the trials and died, couldn't withstand the energy explosions, or were consumed by the chaos realm and turned to ash."
Today, the goddess wore a silk dress with a high elven pattern, slit to reveal her long legs wrapped in black tights. The long skirt was tight around her ample bosom, and her ankle-length golden hair flowed like a waterfall. She wore a golden iris flower crown and was adorned with various jewels, especially a set of platinum jewelry she had obtained from Sulia, which was her favorite.
The beautiful goddess frowned, stepping with her black-stockinged feet in red high heels. She said somewhat resentfully, "Ryan, you better ensure your offspring are strong enough. This experiment has cost us greatly."
"The survival rate for Grey Knights has always been extremely low. Even with me here, having ten survive out of three hundred is a miracle," Ryan followed the Lady of the Lake, checking each boy's pod. "My lady, I remember asking for your assistance in modifying these boys, not for you to infuse them with your divine power."
"My champion, do not doubt my motives!" The Lady of the Lake turned and pinched Ryan's face with her platinum bracelet-adorned hand. "Without my divine help, maybe only one or two boys would have survived."
Ryan's frown deepened at the Lady's words. He opened his mouth but said nothing more.
The secret project to create Grey Knights in this world had begun years ago. Last Winter Veil, the Emperor and Clarkson had brought several Grey Knight gene seeds to Ryan, along with the technology to cultivate new Grey Knights.
Ryan had immediately started his recruitment plan.
Through the Lady of the Lake's channels and assistance, Ryan had secretly gathered three hundred boys with sufficient psychic talent over the years, keeping them in the
deepest part of the lake's vortex on Lily Island, using ancient facilities left by the Old Ones for gene seed implantation and incubation.
However, the success rate was appallingly low. Within the first month, more than half of the boys died during the transformation experiments.
This was the cost of creating new Grey Knights. The Grey Knights were the Emperor's last genetic legacy, their powerful spirits and sacred bodies the Emperor's most precious gifts to the Grey Knights. Even with the improved technology developed by the Mechanicus Archmage Belisarius Cawl using Ryan's blood, and Ryan's psychic abilities to protect and guide the boys' minds, making them more resilient and tenacious, the boys with psychic talents still died in large numbers.
This highlighted the enormous cost of training new Grey Knights without a primarch.
By the way, the Emperor had taken another nearly a thousand milliliters of blood from Ryan before leaving, which took him several days to recover from.
A year later, only ten of the original three hundred boys remained. These last ten would have Grey Knight gene seeds implanted and grow in the pods until the seeds fused with their bodies and souls.
These boys would become the Grey Knights' honor guard.
They would fight alongside the primarch until the end of the world.
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