Marriage Alliance

Kasgar, who had transmigrated into the Warhammer World, might not have had a cheat.

But he had a gold ring.

A Centaur gold ring.

That was enough.

"I was thinking..."

Fulgrim happily raised her left hand, now adorned with the ring, and took it all in.

Why?

Why could she perceive a beauty she had never experienced before?

As Primarchs, the greatest weapons and tools through which the God-Emperor of Mankind carried out his will, they were born able to master the technology, wisdom, philosophy, and arts accumulated by humanity over countless years.

Yet Fulgrim's genetic database offered no explanation for why that still somewhat crude Centaur ring could evoke such powerful feelings within her.

Inspiration, art.

Beauty.

And that indescribable flutter in her heart.

A violet flower bud bloomed and burst open in her mind, staining all darkness with brilliant, wild colors.

She wanted to show it off, wanted to tell everyone. She wanted countless nobles and commoners alike to celebrate for her and envy her.

Endless thoughts surged wildly forth. Countless dramas, literary works, and cinematic arts intertwined within her mind, appearing and rising in an instant.

"I was thinking."

"Perhaps in the future, once Chemos is truly liberated, this scene might be immortalized in the greatest of plays."

Like a stage actress, Fulgrim elegantly lifted her chin.

"And it will be sung throughout all of Chemos, and even the entire human world that follows!"

"Perhaps, in the not-so-distant future, Centaur gold rings will surpass those clichéd diamond rings and become the finest symbol of proposals between lovers!"

At that moment, she seemed to see a future where Centaur gold rings were chosen by romantics all over the world.

But Kasgar did not seem to like that outcome.

Holy crap, no!

He hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head frantically from side to side.

Wait, this was wrong!

If Centaur gold rings really became proposal rings, then when the Emperor named Horus Warmaster, wouldn't that mean... wouldn't that mean—

!

Kasgar did not dare think any further!

But Fulgrim seemed to have misunderstood him.

"Shaking your head?"

"You mean this isn't a confession, but merely an ordinary gift?"

Fulgrim giggled, crouching down to pinch Kasgar's face, which had reddened with anxiety.

The boy's blush said more than any love confession.

"Since you refuse to admit it, then let me be the 'bad guy.'"

With that, she returned to her workbench, took out a gold ingot, and began carefully hammering it.

Since Kasgar was too shy to say it aloud, she would forge the most exquisite and perfect gold ring to bear witness to this mutually affectionate political marriage alliance.

In the future, she would use it as the basis for the most artistic play in the world, for hundreds of millions to enjoy!

Fulgrim firmly believed that one day, everyone would use Centaur gold rings to propose!

This was bad.

Watching Fulgrim move as swiftly as the wind, Kasgar sank into despairing silence.

Years later, when faced with the Emperor taking out a Centaur gold ring on Ullanor, Kasgar Sherlock, Chief Lord Commander of the Third Legion, would recall that distant afternoon when inspiration had struck him.

Several days later.

Wasn't this progressing a little too quickly?

Kasgar thought so for no particular reason as he was finally allowed out of the Manor in an official capacity.

But it made sense when he thought about it.

Among the twenty lost Primarchs, Fulgrim's story of conquering her homeworld could practically be considered the stuff of wish-fulfillment fiction.

After displaying her talent and charisma, she successfully won over the powers of several fortress-cities on Chemos. Without deploying a single soldier, she effortlessly gained the love of nearly everyone.

For the next thirty years, until the Emperor arrived, she lived a happy, leisurely life of farming and development.

As a Primarch who embodied perfection, it was only natural that her progress in reclaiming her homeworld had gone so smoothly.

The details of the marriage alliance were discussed very smoothly by both sides.

The Sherlock Family did not know how Fulgrim had learned the name of this youngest son of the family, nor why she had passed over the other outstanding young men of the Sherlock family and instead insisted on the obscure youngest son, Kasgar.

But that was no major issue.

At the end of the day, it was only a political marriage alliance.

It was a union between the Sherlock Family, a traditional noble house within Karax Fortress, and Fulgrim, a rapidly rising new force.

After the marriage alliance, the Sherlock Family would naturally gain a renowned and beloved expert in mechanical technology, while Fulgrim could, as she had envisioned, enter Karax's upper circles and acquire a noble title and name.

From a higher step, she could display her talents and ambitions.

Everything was the result of calculated interests and transactions between both sides.

For the sake of the family's interests, it did not truly matter which son of the Sherlock Patriarch Fulgrim had ultimately chosen.

But... did it really not matter?

Kasgar Sherlock warily looked around the venue.

The Engagement Ceremony was held at a Manor in the Upper Fortress. The decorations were luxurious, with lush, neatly trimmed shrubs surrounding the grounds. Ribbons used as decorations were tied to two ancient trees at the entrance, displaying several lines of characters written in ornate High Gothic Calligraphy.

Although Karax Fortress suffered from a shortage of supplies, that shortage seemed to apply only to the workers.

The old patriarch was currently chatting with other nobles within the Manor. As for the family's other children, especially the eldest son, Herod Sherlock, Kasgar did not see them present.

Something was not right.

Kasgar thought that, logically speaking, there was no way they would be absent from such a solemn and crucial occasion.

Karax Steel Fortress was divided internally into upper and lower levels.

The upper level was where Karax nobles like them lived.

After Fulgrim became an engineer, she successfully repaired the fortress's power and air circulation systems, which had been damaged for countless years.

She had even obtained some plant seeds passed down from ancient times from the fortress's old Eco-pods, allowing her to establish the beginnings of Indoor Vertical Farming and the Green Garden within the barren fortress.

Even within the sealed forest of steel, new shoots could sprout.

Seeing dishes made from crops appear on the dining table for the first time, along with the crowd gathered around it carefully tasting those novel delicacies, Kasgar could not help but sigh.

Fortunately, because this political marriage alliance was of great importance, even the workers who labored in the factories all day benefited from it and were granted a day of rest.

Several leading worker representatives were even given the right to attend the banquet.

Crowds filled the inside and outside of the Manor, many of them guests who had come to glimpse the legendary Goddess of Water.

Naturally, most of their gazes fell upon the perfect female Primarch.

Today, she had abandoned the engineer's uniform she usually wore and attended the event in a magnificent Violet Stola Roman Robe.

Countless splendid and intricate golden patterns were embroidered upon the robe, displaying its owner's elegance and nobility. Combined with her flawless beauty and nearly three-meter, godlike height—

Every guest present marveled at the return of a goddess to the mortal world.

As for the groom, Kasgar Sherlock?

Unfortunately, Fulgrim's Primarch-level height made Kasgar, who was not short himself, look especially tiny beside her.

Unless someone deliberately looked for him, he would likely be overshadowed by her radiance.

Tch.

Kasgar was a little annoyed.

When the time came to undergo Space Marine enhancement, he had to remind the Apothecary to make him bigger!

Kasgar took a reluctant sip of the newly brewed Wine Liquid and silently made up his mind.

But now was not the time to think about that.

Fulgrim did not need war to conquer the planet.

For the next thirty years, he would accompany Fulgrim in governing the planet, accumulate experience in internal affairs, and prepare for the future Great Crusade.

He firmly believed that everything would unfold exactly as he expected.

Until he heard shouting from afar.