I don't eat beef.
Old Winter's smile froze.
Eddie closed his eyes; he didn't have the courage to watch what was about to happen.
Gus drew Bolt Pistol from his waist and pressed the muzzle against Old Winter's forehead.
"Who, who are you?!" Old Winter's voice was filled with panic.
"Me?" Gus laughed even harder.
"I am the subordinate of that 'dog governor' you just cursed, the adjutant of that 'beast among beasts' you mentioned."
Old Winter's eyes widened, filled with fear.
"No, impossible, Eddie! Eddie!!!"
Eddie slumped onto the sofa, saying nothing.
Bang.
The bomb was fired, Old Winter's head exploded.
Blood and brain matter splattered on the still steaming bowl of beef noodles.
The body fell straight backward and hit the floor.
Gus put away his gun and looked at Eddie.
"Now, let's talk about your assets."
A dozen minutes later, Gus walked out the door while wiping his hands.
"Leave no one alive," he said coldly.
Gunshots and women's screams rang out simultaneously, lasting all night long.
It was already dark when Gus's car stopped in front of the Hostinson Estate.
This manor was much larger than the Winter House', with high walls and tightly closed iron gates.
Two men dressed in the uniforms of the Holstein Family's private army stood at the door. As the carriage approached, they immediately gripped their guns warily.
Who goes there?!
Gus leaned out of the car window, waving a document in his hand.
"A special envoy from the Governor's Office has been ordered to take over the assets of the Holstein Family."
The private soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them took the document and looked at it.
It bears the dual seals of the Governor-General's Office and the Ecclesiarchy.
The door opened.
The vehicle drove into the manor and stopped in front of the main building.
Gus got out of the car and straightened his collar.
His suit still had bloodstains on it, but he didn't change and walked into the hall in it.
The hall was empty except for one person.
A woman.
She sat in a chair below the main seat, dressed in black mourning clothes, with her head bowed.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up, revealing a face that was excessively beautiful.
Her features were deep-set and she had a heroic air about her, unlike those pampered noble ladies who looked more like soldiers who had been on the battlefield.
But at that moment, her eyes were red and swollen, and tears were still streaming down her face.
Stella Farrell.
Arumi Holstein's wife, daughter of a military family, a former PDF combat hero, is now a widow.
Her husband had just been arrested by the governor's men, and she had heard about the new governor.
Now, the whole family believes that the husband is dead.
Gus walked up to her and looked down at her.
"Ms. Stella?"
She didn't answer, but simply turned her head away and continued to cry.
Gus sat down opposite her, crossed his legs, and stared at her.
Plump, beautiful, spirited, and with that stubborn, indomitable spirit.
He found himself unable to look away.
"I'm here to take inventory of my assets, please cooperate."
Stella still ignored him.
Gus waited a moment, then stood up and began pacing around the hall.
Portraits of past heads of the family hung on the wall, one of which was a young Arumi Holstein wearing a PDF general's uniform.
The image next to it depicts a woman, wearing Power Armour, wielding Chainsword, and exuding confidence and pride.
That was Stella when she was young.
He stood in front of the portrait and looked at it for a long time.
"Have you fought in wars before?"
Stella finally spoke, her voice trembling with tears. "It has nothing to do with you."
Gus turned to look at her and smiled.
"It really has nothing to do with me. I'm just curious why someone who's been through war would be sitting and crying in a place like this."
Stella looked up abruptly and glared at him.
Gus had already turned and left.
Upon returning to the governor's mansion, Gus's first action was to access the Holstein Family archives.
Arumi Hosten is the current head of the Holstein Family.
General PDF had distinguished himself in the battles against the great enemy of Chaos, earning numerous military exploits.
He retired at the age of fifty and was granted the title of Uptown Noble.
Spouse, Stella Farrell, eldest daughter of the family.
The Farrell Family has a long history of military service; his elder brother died in the Xenos Wars.
I joined the army at sixteen, was promoted to company commander at twenty, and participated in Operation " Fang of the Icefield " at twenty-three.
He led three hundred remaining soldiers to successfully break through the encirclement and was awarded the Brevis Cross.
Gus's finger stopped on that line of text.
The Brevis Cross is an honor awarded only to those who have actually seen combat and distinguished themselves in battle.
He continued reading.
According to the records, Stella married Arumi when she was twenty-five. Shortly after the marriage, she retired from the military and moved to the Uptown with her husband, becoming a "noble lady".
After that, there were no further combat records.
Gus closed the file and leaned back in his chair.
What does it feel like for someone accustomed to violence to suddenly be locked in a sophisticated cage?
What would it feel like for someone who could kill enemies on the battlefield to suddenly only be able to attend banquets, drink tea, and gossip with other ladies?
He remembered Stella's swollen, red eyes, and the suppressed flame deep within them.
He smiled.
Three days later, Gus reappeared at Hostinson Manor.
This time, he didn't wear the blood-stained dress, but instead changed into a brand-new noble uniform.
His chest was covered with medals, some from before, and others earned while fighting alongside Lynn at the Forbidden Wall.
His beard was clean-shaven, revealing his already handsome face.
Stella sat in the hall, still dressed in black mourning clothes, but this time she looked up and glanced at him.
Gus walked over and sat down opposite her.
"Here we go again?" Stella's voice was cold.
Gus didn't reply, he just sighed.
"That governor is a real scoundrel; he doesn't even consider whether my conscience bothers me when I do these things."
Stella paused for a moment, then her eyes filled with wariness.
"You insulted him?"
"What's wrong with scolding him? He can't hear you anyway."
Stella stared at him for a while, then spoke for the first time, "What's your name?"
" Gus, Gus Griffith."
" Griffith, the first officer on the Song Offering?"
You know?
Stella nodded.
"I've heard Arumi say that the incompetent governor who rose to power through his wife had an incompetent adjutant who rose through flattery."
Gus laughed, "That's right, it's me."
"You're certainly honest." Stella's expression became even more complicated.
"Honesty is one of my strengths, and another is that I know I'm not very good at things, so I learn from capable people."
He paused, his tone becoming somewhat dejected:
"Unlike some people who are born incompetent but think they are born to be superior to others."
Stella didn't speak, but the wariness in her eyes lessened slightly.
Gus began to tell his story.
He recounted his family's military lineage, highlighting the brilliance of his ancestors and the ordinariness of his father's generation.
By his generation, only an empty title remained, as all the power had been divided up by distant relatives.
"When I was twelve, I wanted to learn swordsmanship, but I couldn't even afford a decent sword."
"My mother wanted to eat a piece of synthetic protein before she died. I begged her for three days, but in the end, I got nothing."
Stella's eyes reddened.
What happened next?
"Later? Later I learned to flatter, to fawn over the powerful and influential, and to be a 'good-for-nothing adjutant'."
"Because only in this way can we survive and climb the ladder."
He looked at Stella.
Do you hate me?
Stella remained silent for a long time.
"I have no idea."
Gus nodded, knowing he had a chance.
He poured two glasses of wine and pushed one towards her.
Stella held her wine glass, staring at the red liquid inside for a long time.
Then I slowly savored it, taking a few sips.
A glint appeared in her eyes, and she began to slowly recount her past.
She spoke of her father, the perpetually stern-faced old general, and her brother, the young man who shielded her from bullets on the icy plains.
She spoke of the fear and excitement she felt when she first went to the battlefield at the age of sixteen.
She described the despair and perseverance of leading three hundred remaining soldiers to break through the encirclement when she was twenty years old, crawling through the snow for three days and three nights.
When I received the Medal of Honor, I thought that was how my life would be.
Fight, earn merit, continue fighting, continue earning merit.
Until one day I die on the battlefield, just like my brother.
Gus listened quietly.
"Then I met Arumi. He had just come down from the battlefield, covered in blood, but his eyes shone like stars."
He said he loved me, that he wouldn't let me die on the battlefield, and that he had prepared a home for me.
She picked up her glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"And then I was trapped in this house. Arumi... was tired of life on the battlefield."
"My father feared I would suffer the same fate as my brother, so I gradually distanced myself from the battlefield."