"Recruit, you look... terrible."
With a teacup in hand, Curze stared at Bruce, who was sprawled flat across the table, her expression full of confusion. There was concern in her eyes, but also the helpless frustration of a parent whose child simply refused to shape up.
You're the acting commander of the Legion, for crying out loud. Everyone's gathered here for a meeting, and yet you're the one collapsed on the table. What kind of example is that supposed to be?
"Father... I... I..."
Bruce turned his gaunt face toward the primarch who was worried about him, and in that moment all his grievances turned into misery.
It's not like I wanted this!
But the problem was that for several days straight he had been chugging transformation potions while helping Lion roleplay—praise here, headpats there, granting her the title of Warmaster, one absurd little theatrical scene after another.
Even if Bruce were made of iron, he still had limits.
"Sigh... do you really hate the idea of going to the Davin system that much?"
Curze sighed helplessly. "If that's the case, then let Sevatar go in your place. You stay here in the Scarlet Devil Mansion and keep me company."
In Curze's eyes, Bruce was a playful little brat who lacked the nerve to back up his talent—someone gifted, yes, but still far too green.
Sending him off on such an important mission... she simply could not rest easy. What if he died?
Seeing him this scared, perhaps it would be better to keep him at her side for a while longer and toughen him up. Later, when the time was right, she could push him forward as the face of the Legion.
"Hm?!" The members of the Night Haunter Council abruptly stopped their discussion.
They all turned in unison toward Curze, stunned by what sounded like weakness coming from her lips.
F-Father?! What are you saying?!
Just because the acting commander is afraid of battle, you're willing to let him stay behind? If word of that gets out, won't it make us a laughingstock?!
And yet...
Ah! Such a gentle father! We adore you!
"But the Dark Angels have already arranged their side of the operation. Swapping him out midway could cause major complications," Krulu said with a frown.
As one of the two senior officers being sent out on this mission, Krulu understood Curze's concerns perfectly well. She had already prepared herself to cover for Bruce if everything went wrong.
I can shoulder the hardship myself, but the credit must go to this acting commander. But if Bruce doesn't even go, then what's the point of all my preparations for sacrifice?
"I have no objections. I'll follow whatever you decide," Sevatar said, looking at Bruce's utterly deflated state with pure disappointment.
Damn it, Bruce! Do you have any idea how much trust the primarch has placed in you?!
"Forget it. Bruce is obviously terrified. Forcing him to do something he hates isn't right either."
Curze hopped down from her chair, walked over to Bruce, and gently stroked his head.
"You've worked hard these past few days. My brother has rarely been this well-behaved, and the Dark Angels are actually willing to cooperate with us. I know that."
"This is all your doing."
"So even if you don't go to the Davin system, you'll still be the greatest contributor."
If the plan to assassinate Erebus succeeded and Warmaster Horus was saved, then when the merits were tallied afterward, Bruce would still be the undeniable MVP.
He was the planner and the executor. His inability to do one thing he wasn't suited for should not erase everything else he had accomplished.
"..."
The members of the Night Haunter Council gazed at Curze, positively overflowing with maternal warmth, and were deeply moved—even though they desperately wanted to curse Bruce for backing down at such a critical moment.
But... but...
This was the primarch's will!
If the primarch didn't want the acting commander taking risks, then they would step up in his place!
Primarch, we adore you!
"No," Bruce said, half laughing, half crying as he refuted her. "I never said I didn't want to go. I'm just exhausted. Let me rest for a bit."
"Exhausted? Why?" Curze first looked curious, then suddenly seemed to understand.
Don't tell me... this recruit has been undergoing some kind of hellish training under my brother?
Well then, that explains everything. If that's the case, then his condition makes perfect sense!
Curze still remembered what she had seen a few days ago when she had secretly used her precognition to spy on them. Lion had been panting, flushed, clearly looking like she had just gone through an intense battle.
To push my brother to that point—just as expected of the recruit I took notice of!
"In short... a lot happened..." Bruce said weakly, looking utterly hopeless.
He couldn't exactly say that he'd been sullied, that the Lion had almost gone to town on his "chicken wrap," and that the transformation potion had been drained dry in the process.
It was proof, if any was needed, that every gift comes with a hidden price. The Emperor's power, bestowed upon him as a blessing, was not a fortune he had the luck to enjoy. It had directly turned him into a substitute meal for a primarch.
"Very well then. Are you still willing to go on campaign to Davin for the sake of the Legion?" Curze leapt onto the table and asked with a serious look.
"I am! For the Legion! And for you!" Bruce shot upright at once and looked at Curze. "Let me be the one to shatter those terrible prophecies you've seen!"
"Good!"
Curze nodded in satisfaction, then sat down on the edge of the table. In that posture, she had her back to the members of the Night Haunter Council and faced Bruce directly.
"As a reward, I'm giving you a warship. It used to be that traitor Shavok's flagship, but I've already ordered the Mechanicum to refurbish it inside and out."
"From this day forward, it belongs to you. You may name it whatever you like."
During the Battle of Chagualsa, while the rebel fleet had been beaten into scrap in the void war, Shavok's flagship—the strike cruiser Brown-Robed Prince—had miraculously survived intact.
On top of that, loyalist elements inside the ship had started an uprising during the battle, which allowed Krulu's boarding force to seize it without taking losses.
Since the ship's performance was excellent in every category, and even its crew structure was still intact, Curze had thought it over and decided it could be given to Bruce.
The acting commander of the Eighth Legion, and he doesn't even have a flagship worthy of the title? What kind of joke is that?!
Surely he couldn't keep hitching rides aboard her Nightfall forever. Children had to grow up eventually. Nightfall could always keep a room for him, but it could not remain his home forever.
"Then let's call it the Remilia," Bruce replied with a perfectly composed expression, barely suppressing his ecstasy.
If this hadn't been a formal meeting, Bruce would already have been cheering. Having a warship of his own—do you know what that meant? It meant he had finally made it!
The simplest way to judge an Astartes' standing and status was to ask whether he had a personal warship. Because that was the equivalent of a landed domain; aboard that vessel, he was the Emperor.
A few months ago he had been a prisoner and a recruit. Now he was an acting commander with a warship to his name. That kind of promotion speed was so ridiculous that not even being personally fast-tracked by a primarch should have been enough to explain it.
"You want to call it that? Are you sure?" Curze had not expected Bruce to choose such a name.
"Yes. I'm sure. If you can't accompany me on campaign, then let it carry your will in your place."
"And more importantly, this used to be a traitor flagship. Now it has repented and turned over a new leaf. Calling it the Remilia is only fitting," Bruce said, offering an extremely reasonable explanation.
It was both his honest feeling and an obvious act of flattering his superior—but effective was effective.
"Sigh... honestly, what am I supposed to do with you?" Curze considered it seriously for a moment, then found that his reasoning actually made sense and agreed.
She raised a hand happily. "Sevatar! Inform the Mechanicum to rename the recruit's flagship!"
"Yes!"
Sevatar committed the order to memory.
Then Curze shifted closer to Bruce, wrapped an arm around his head, and guided him down until his head rested on her lap.
"If you're tired, then sleep a little longer. That privilege is mine to grant you."
Then her voice abruptly turned sharp.
"The rest of you, continue your reports! Do not waste my time."
"Yes!"
The members of the Night Haunter Council all trembled—and at the same time felt a bitter stab of jealousy.
Ahhh! We want the primarch's love too! Acting Commander, why you?!
Meanwhile, with his face buried in the softness of her thighs, Bruce broke out in a cold sweat.
Sleep...? How am I supposed to sleep?! What if I fall asleep and never wake up again?
If Curze's hand stroking his head hadn't been so gentle, and if she hadn't been humming so softly under her breath, Bruce would have thought this was all some elaborate setup—that the primarch was deliberately trying to have him die by assassination.
But she genuinely wanted him to get some rest.
This hurts. It hurts too much. This love... it's too much to bear.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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