Guilliman Betrayed Us

Phicris's words interrupted Guilliman's thoughts, leaving him stunned for a moment. Only after a while did he raise his head and question Phicris.

"Is this a rebellion?"

"No. They are merely refusing your reforms and recognizing only the system established for them by the Holy Emperor. They have expelled the reformers sent by the New Council and declared that they will obey only orders from Holy Terra. They have also issued notices to other worlds, demanding that they join them in refusing. Several families have already responded. They say that unless you can obtain the Emperor's approval, they will not acknowledge your reforms," Phicris said.

"Obtain the Holy Emperor's recognition?" Guilliman paced a few steps, then looked up at Phicris again. "Did they say anything else? Did they make any demands?"

"That is all the information we have received for now." Phicris spoke with barely concealed anger. "Should we send troops to punish these families, my lord? This is disrespect toward you."

"No, this is not disrespect toward me. They are testing me, Phicris. They are trying to determine how forcefully and resolutely I intend to carry out these reforms. Wait for now. I suspect other families will speak out as well. Send people to gather evidence of their crimes. We will settle all accounts at once."

Guilliman saw through the true purpose of this declaration at a glance.

They had not rebelled. In fact, they had positioned themselves at precisely the right line.

Neither the Inquisition nor any other institution could seize upon evidence of treason.

The Imperium's current situation was exceedingly delicate. By rights, the awakened Guilliman should have gone to Holy Terra, obtained authority from the Council of Terra, and only then issued his various orders.

Yet Guilliman remained in Ultramar, issuing all manner of orders from Macragge.

He was the Imperial Regent, personally appointed by the Emperor, the Imperium's rightful ruler.

But for ten thousand years, the Imperium had followed the orders of the Council of Terra. An ingrained understanding had long since formed: the Imperium's core authority lay on Terra.

On the surface, loyalty to Guilliman and loyalty to the Council of Terra were both loyalty to the Imperium.

"Why would these people step forward at a time like this? Are they truly so foolish that they cannot see that what you are doing is an attempt to save humanity?" Phicris said indignantly.

"They oppose me precisely because they can see it." Guilliman looked toward a Cherubim flapping its wings through the air. It circled as it delivered information to a crewman, then flew elsewhere to continue fulfilling the duty granted to it by its programming.

"Why do you say that, my lord? If they can see it, why would they oppose you? Have they all abandoned the Imperium and ceased to be loyal?"

Phicris asked in confusion.

"There are many kinds of loyalty, Phicris. Loyalty to ideals, loyalty to individuals, and the loyalty of the greedy to power and authority. They are loyal to the Imperium as well. They simply are not loyal to me, nor to the future I am trying to create."

"I do not understand. Does loyalty not mean offering up everything?"

Confusion appeared on Phicris's broad, resolute face.

Guilliman withdrew his gaze, refusing to look at that loathsome technological creation.

"That is how you see it, Phicris. Most people think: if I am loyal to this person, what will I gain? If I gain nothing, why should I be loyal? They hope I will compromise in exchange for their loyalty. That is what they truly think. House Glaus is merely the first. Countless other families are watching."

"For generations, they have been rulers, enjoying wealth and luxurious lives unavailable to ordinary people. They believe that because they are loyal, they have received rewards, and those rewards are rightfully theirs. I should continue using such rewards to maintain their loyalty; otherwise, it is my fault." Guilliman smiled. "As for the greater cause of saving humanity, they believe they have already been loyal enough. If humanity is heading toward crisis, there is nothing they can do about it."

"Making them sacrifice their own interests to preserve humanity's greater cause is utterly impossible."

"What should we do, then?" Phicris asked.

"I will go to the Natal System, declare House Glaus Excommunicate Traitoris, execute every member of that family, and announce to the entire Imperium that the reforms must proceed. Anyone who refuses to recognize them is a Chaos heretic attempting to destroy humanity."

Guilliman's voice was full of indifference. He did not care in the slightest for those about to be executed.

House Glaus was vast, with extensive businesses and its own fleets.

It would not be excessive to call it a dynasty spanning a star system.

This family had produced no traitors. They had remained loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium.

But Guilliman did not need that sort of loyalty.

What he needed was loyalty that obeyed him and accepted his reforms.

Many families had produced figures loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, but that could not erase some of their sins.

These families were willing to be loyal to the Imperium and the Emperor because the Imperium and the Emperor could bring them immense benefits.

They could use the Emperor's authority to rule a world legitimately.

And when rebellion broke out on that world, they could request the protection of the Imperium's Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy to suppress those who resisted.

Loyalty to the Emperor meant that they only needed to answer to the Emperor and the Imperium.

They could use any system they wished to rule their worlds and squeeze out every scrap of wealth they could extract.

The reason House Glaus had publicly issued such a declaration was undoubtedly that Guilliman's reforms had shaken the foundations of their power and wealth.

To defend their power and wealth, they had issued this declaration.

The meaning was clear: unless Guilliman compromised, they would not remain loyal to him.

Unfortunately, the passage of time had made them forget how the Primarchs and the Emperor had built the Imperium.

The Primarchs had reduced every dynasty and Xenos empire unwilling to submit to ruins, building the Imperium of Man atop the remnants of those civilizations.

They had never relied on deceitful political maneuvering.

House Glaus sought to probe Guilliman's bottom line, to secure the greatest possible benefits, even to force Guilliman to withdraw his reform decrees.

Guilliman's bottom line was allowing those nobles who cooperated with the reforms to live.

If House Glaus wanted more, then it should prepare to face a Primarch's wrath.

Guilliman would not yield. He would respond with the harshest possible stance.

Natal Planet.

Hive City Nike.

The Hive City was divided into upper, middle, and lower levels.

The lower level belonged to poor farmers and gangs, the middle level belonged to the working class, while the upper level, with its pleasant environment and fresh air, belonged to the nobility.

The nobles possessed ninety-nine percent of the Natal System's wealth, monopolizing pharmaceuticals, medicine, machinery, shipping, and many other industries.

They enjoyed luxuries beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

In an industrial Hive City, greenery and healthy food were exceedingly scarce.

Ordinary people ate either nutrient blocks or polluted foods such as ant-cattle and groundworms.

Ninety-nine percent of the populace went their entire lives without knowing what flowers and grass looked like.

The Hive City's air was circulated and purified by Adeptus Mechanicus equipment.

It was entirely normal for commoners living in the Hive City never to have seen greenery.

Naturally, the nobles' lives were completely different.

Their estates held Gardens created from plants brought from countless worlds.

They ate harmless grain from Agri-Worlds.

Even the fruit they enjoyed was specially transported from other star systems. The value of every single piece was enough to equal a commoner's lifetime of labor.

The gap between rich and poor in the Imperium was beyond anything ordinary people could imagine.

For some long-established Rogue Trader Houses, their accumulated wealth was an astronomical figure.

A dozen or more star systems were their property.

Unless they were declared traitors by the Imperium, there was no possibility of decline.

At the summit of Hive City Khaine.

Numerous nobles had gathered at a lavish banquet.

"This is betrayal! Guilliman betrayed us! We serve the Imperium, we are willing to die for the Emperor, yet he wants to strip us of our rights!" an elderly noble shouted indignantly.