"I don't eat beef."
Old Winter's smile froze. Eddy closed his eyes; he didn't have the courage to watch what happened next.
Geth drew his bolt pistol from his waist and pressed the muzzle against Old Winter's forehead.
"You... who are you?!" Old Winter's voice was laced with panic.
"Me?" Geth's grin widened. "I am a subordinate of that 'dog Governor' you were just insulting. I am the adjutant to that 'beast among beasts' you mentioned."
Old Winter's eyes bulged, filled with terror. "No... it's impossible! Eddy! Eddy!!!"
Eddy sat slumped on the sofa, uttering not a single word.
BANG.
The bolt was fired, and Old Winter's head exploded. Blood and brain matter splattered onto the bowl of beef noodles that was still wafting steam. The corpse fell straight back, thudding against the floor.
Geth sheathed his gun and looked at Eddy. "Now, let's talk about your family assets."
Ten minutes later, Geth walked out the door while wiping his hands. "Leave no one alive," he said coldly.
Gunshots and women's screams erupted simultaneously, continuing throughout the night before finally falling silent.
By the time Geth's transport pulled up to the gates of the Hostein Estate, the sky had already darkened. This estate was significantly larger than the Winters', with high walls and tightly shut iron gates. Two men in Hostein family private security uniforms stood at the entrance. Seeing the vehicle approach, they immediately gripped their rifles warily.
"Who goes there?!"
Geth leaned his head out of the window, waving a document in his hand. "Special Envoy from the Governor's Mansion. Ordered to seize the assets of the Hostein family."
The guards exchanged glances, and one took the document to inspect it. It bore the dual seals of both the Governor's Mansion and the Ecclesiarchy.
The gates opened.
The vehicle drove into the estate and stopped in front of the main building. Geth stepped out and straightened his collar. There were still bloodstains on his formal attire, but he didn't change; he walked into the hall wearing that very outfit.
The hall was empty, save for one person. A woman.
She sat in a chair below the main seat, dressed in black mourning clothes, her head bowed. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, revealing a face that was excessively beautiful. Her features were deep and carried a heroic air; she didn't look like those pampered noble ladies, but rather like a soldier who had seen the battlefield. However, at this moment, her eyes were red and swollen, and tears were still flowing.
Stella Farrell.
The wife of Alumi Hostein, daughter of a military lineage, a former PDF combat hero, and now a fresh widow. Her husband had just been taken away by the Governor's men. She had heard rumors about this new Governor. Now, the entire family believed her husband was already dead.
Geth walked up to her, looking down from above. "Mrs. Stella?"
She didn't answer, merely turning her head away to continue weeping. Geth sat opposite her, crossed his legs, and stared at her. She was voluptuous, beautiful, heroic, and possessed a stubborn streak of defiance. He found himself unable to look away.
"I am here to inventory the property. Please cooperate."
Stella continued to ignore him. Geth waited for a moment, then stood up and began pacing the hall. Portraits of past patriarchs hung on the walls. One was of a young Alumi Hostein in a PDF General's uniform. Beside it was a portrait of a woman in power armor, clutching a chainsword, full of spirit. That was the young Stella.
He stopped before that portrait and looked at it for a long time. "You used to fight?"
Stella finally spoke, her voice thick with a sob. "It has nothing to do with you."
Geth turned to look at her and smiled. "Indeed, it has nothing to do with me. I'm just curious why someone who has fought in wars would sit in a place like this and cry."
Stella snapped her head up, glaring at him. Geth had already turned and walked away.
After returning to the Governor's Mansion, the first thing Geth did was pull the Hostein family archives.
Alumi Hostein, the current patriarch of the Hostein family. A PDF Admiral who had performed exceptionally in campaigns against the Great Enemy, earning numerous battle honors. He retired at fifty and was granted noble status in the Upper Hive.
Spouse: Stella Farrell, eldest daughter of her family. The Farrell family had served in the military for generations; her elder brother died in a Xenos war. She herself joined the army at sixteen, was promoted to company commander at twenty, and participated in "Operation Frost Fang" at twenty-three. She successfully led three hundred remnants to break through an encirclement and was awarded the Brevis Cross.
Geth's finger stopped on that line. The Brevis Cross was an honor granted only to those who had truly been on the battlefield and achieved significant merit.
He continued reading. The records stated that Stella married Alumi at twenty-five. Shortly after the wedding, she resigned from her military commission and moved to the Upper Hive with her husband to become a "noble lady." Since then, there were no further combat records.
Geth closed the file and leaned back in his chair. How did it feel for someone accustomed to the flash of blades to be suddenly locked in a delicate cage? How did it feel for someone who could slay enemies on the battlefield to suddenly only be able to attend banquets, drink tea, and gossip with other noblewomen?
He recalled Stella's red, swollen eyes and the spark of suppressed fire deep within her gaze. He smiled.
Three days later, Geth appeared at the Hostein Estate again. This time, he wasn't wearing the bloodstained formal clothes, but a brand-new noble uniform. His chest was covered in medals—some from before, and some earned while following Raynor at the Forbidden Wall. He had shaved clean, revealing his naturally handsome face.
Stella sat in the hall, still in her black mourning clothes, but this time she looked up and gave him a glance. Geth walked over and sat opposite her.
"Back again?" Stella's voice was cold.
Geth didn't respond directly, merely letting out a sigh. "This Governor is truly a piece of work. He doesn't care at all whether my conscience hurts for doing these things."
Stella was stunned for a moment, her eyes filled with suspicion. "You're insulting him?"
"What if I am? He can't hear me."
Stella stared at him for a while before taking the initiative to speak for the first time. "What is your name?"
"Geth. Geth Griffiths."
"Griffiths? The adjutant from the Hymn of Offering?"
"You know of me?"
Stella nodded. "I heard Alumi say it. A strawman Governor who relied on his wife to rise, followed by a strawman adjutant who relied on brown-nosing to rise."
Geth laughed. "That's right, that's me."
"You are certainly honest." Stella's gaze became more complex.
"Honesty is one of my virtues. Another is that I know I'm a strawman, so I learn from those who are formidable." He paused, his tone becoming somewhat dejected. "Unlike some people who are born as strawmen but believe they are naturally meant to be superior to others."
Stella didn't speak, but the vigilance in her eyes lessened slightly. Geth began to tell his story. He spoke of his military lineage, how glorious his ancestors were, and how mediocre his father's generation had become. By his generation, nothing was left but an empty title; all power had been carved up by distant relatives.
"When I was twelve, I wanted to learn swordsmanship, but I couldn't even afford a decent sword. Before my mother died, she wanted a piece of synthetic protein; I begged for three days and got nothing in the end."
Stella's eyes grew moist. "And then?"
"And then? Then I learned to brown-nose. I learned to flatter the powerful. I learned to be a 'strawman adjutant.' Because that was the only way to survive, the only way to climb up."
He looked at Stella. "Do you hate me?"
Stella remained silent for a long time. "I don't know."
Geth nodded, knowing he had made progress. He poured two glasses of wine and pushed one toward her. Stella took the glass, staring at the red liquid inside for a long time. Eventually, she began to sip slowly. After a few drinks, a faint light flickered in her eyes, and she began to slowly recount her past.
She spoke of her father, the old general who was always stern. She spoke of her brother, the young man who took a bullet for her on the ice plains. She spoke of the fear and excitement when she first stepped onto the battlefield at sixteen. She spoke of the despair and persistence when she led three hundred remnants to break through at twenty, crawling through the snow for three days and nights.
"When I received the Cross, I thought this was it for my life. Fighting, earning merit, fighting again, and earning more merit. Until one day I would die on the battlefield, just like my brother."
Geth listened quietly.
"Then I met Alumi. He had just come off the battlefield then, covered in blood, but his eyes shone like stars. He said he loved me, that he wouldn't let me die on the battlefield, that he had prepared a home for me." She picked up the glass and drained it. "And then I was trapped in that home. Alumi... he grew tired of the life on the battlefield. And my father feared I would follow in my brother's footsteps, so I gradually grew distant from the war."