Round Table Viewing (VII)

"You are very dissatisfied with me," said the Emperor.

As he spoke, he stared directly into Roboute Guilliman's eyes. Guilliman had no desire to be drawn into such a confrontational situation, but for some reason, a fire burned in his heart. It drove him to meet the Emperor's gaze head-on.

"Yes," Guilliman admitted readily. "A little."

"A little?"

The Emperor repeated the emphasis Guilliman had deliberately softened, then turned away thoughtfully and gazed at the towering, undulating Himalaya Mountains.

Today, he was not wearing his iconic golden armor. Instead, he wore only a plain robe, its hems stained with dust.

And his hands were filthy, with even black ash packed beneath his nails.

Guilliman spent those few silent seconds rapidly analyzing these details, arriving at a conclusion he was not especially willing to admit.

To test it, he took the initiative to change the subject.

"Just now, you were—"

The Emperor turned back swiftly, so swiftly that Guilliman was caught off guard.

"—working," he immediately replied.

Guilliman paused, then asked, "What work?"

"I was building a road."

As he spoke, the Emperor casually removed the laurel wreath from his head, allowing his black hair to flutter in the wind.

"You cannot yet understand its nature. None of you can, except Magnus, though he will need much longer to study before he can do so. Now, to business, Roboute. You are very dissatisfied with me. The assistant I hired explained the matter to me in full, and even offered some suggestions that required payment."

Guilliman's thoughts were in utter turmoil. On one hand, he wanted to understand this matter of the road, for any project that required the Master of Mankind to work on it personally was surely spectacular. On the other, he was deeply dissatisfied by the claim that "only