-Grief is the Price, Part 6-

I prepared myself for a heated discussion, knowing that my initial draft of this decree may enflame the masses, who were used to Republic's way of things.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so, the older Church members—those who had refused to stand as Hanna called the room to order—did a complete turnaround. They embraced the return to draconian-style law and outvoiced the minority that was displeased.

Karina led my devotees in a new majority faction, so any dissent there had been non-existent or already quashed. With the hardliners, both the liberated and newly appointed Grand Magisters, also in my corner, the Church itself had no choice but to come together as one after that.

Some resistance came from the mid-ranking officers that had been liberated, but it was about matters related to overseeing conscripts and misuse of strategically viable fortifications.

With the Church's blessing, there was a compromise that the southern harbor and its infrastructure would be annexed by the Imperial Army and excluded from the sacred grounds classification.

I had overlooked the district because the reports I had were limited. No mass of enemy troops had been noted in previous scouting, and the whole of the harbor had already been secured by a minimal force.

Operating a naval garrison north of Tolin would be a welcome asset in rehabilitating the Commonlands, especially as a transit port to send matériel and foodstuffs to Tolin. At least until we had rebuilt new workshops and expanded the farmlands.

Many villages and towns on the outskirts of Axio had been ravaged by the Renaultians, but some were still functional—like Brookshaven.

"Point two has been accepted with the added amendment," Hanna recounted, "With points one through four now being resolved, we move onto five. Those with contention, please lift your veto marker and we'll hear you out one at a time."

Three yellow paddles were lifted into the air. One from the Church, one from a liberated group of officers from the Republic's Second Division, and the last was held by Hailey.

I expected her to raise an objection, but it still made my chest tighten.

"I will hear from the Knight-Protector first. Tell me your grievance in as simple of terms possible."

The man stood and saluted, "Yes, Your Majesty. I am Zachary Taylor, acting commander of the Second Division. I am concerned about the language used, specifically where it states all military officers of the former Republics. Are we meant to interpret this to include Vanixian Republic officers?"

"That is correct," I stated flatly, "Your issues with this are…?"

"I find the perceived untrustworthiness of our commissioned officers worrisome. Myself and many of my own take offense."

He spoke evenly, without any heightened emotion that could be easily associated with guilt.

"It is meant to be worrisome, Knight-Protector Taylor. In fact, it was one of your very own who made an attempt to overthrow me in Tolin. Right after we renewed our pact with the Aestori and were to make ready for war on Axio. An officer of the Second Division, Knight-Lieutenant Cadrin, and his men turned traitor with the Minister of State, Ridwan Bashir. After interrogation, it was revealed that Bashir was already in the pocket of the Renaultians before the coup."

"…"

Expressions of shock spread through the gathered officers behind him, and Knight-Protector Taylor couldn't bring himself to respond.

I continued, moving the meeting along, "Your offense is noted, but it is not a justifiable objection. Next, the Magister from the Church."

The Second Division officers led their interim commander back to their seats, and a young priest stood.

I recognized him immediately.

Exarch Anathalo bowed, "I greet the Brilliant Sun and Light of the Empire, thank you for hearing my petition. We of the Church only seek to confirm whether our delegated role as arbiters over such investigations by the Crimson Seekers and Scarlet Wing still applies."

"It does. I continue to rely on the Church's unwavering will to ensure our crusade against the Void's corruption remains fair. The Seekers will determine if an arrest is necessary, but investigations will be done as they have been since the orders were organized in Tolin."

"We are honored by your grace, thank you, Your Imperial Divinity."

Anathalo had returned to his seat, and I motioned at Hailey. I took a deep breath and readied myself for whatever grief she might cause me.

"Lastly, I will hear from High-Commander Brooks."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"Thank you, A—Your Majesty. I am bringing up a proposal for amendment to clarify set limits to imprisonment terms and to define staggered groups to be investigated. Arresting all officers and politicians at once will invite chaos and put a strain on many operations civilian rely on."

I wanted to rub at my forehead, but I refrained to keep up my image.

We both knew the arrests were already taking place, and this was a formality on paper. Waiting a week to issue this decree and then beginning would only give time for the perpetrators to destroy evidence or flee.

Hanna and Luke had stationed Specter teams along known routes from the city, and a number of sketchy people trying to flee under the darkness of night had already been captured.

What does Hailey want to gain from this…?

Was it just to twist the words so that the other Republics' citizens wouldn't panic?

I didn't believe that it would trick any of the people actually guilty into a false sense of security and net us extra time. If the offenders were really dumb, maybe.

"I will approve the proposal. Work together with Grand-Inquisitor Vynn to ensure that any limitations do not negatively impact the Seeker's work. If an agreement cannot be reached by the time we go to print, the proposal will be defaulted and the point will be printed as presented here."

Hailey accepted, and the anxiety in my chest settled.

That was all? Seems too easy.

Hanna confirmed with the assembly that there were no others who had input on the fifth point, and we moved to the last one.

Aside from some grumblings at the start, none of the officers raised their markers in objection to the conscription order. With that, the decree was ratified by the Church and a majority of army officers, subject to the fifth point's amendment by Hailey and Hanna, and would be distributed within seven days.

Hanna continued pushing the agenda along.

"Next pressing item is the mass issuance of Warrants of Seizure for the Order of the Scarlet Wing, the request is signed by both co-commanders and presented by Commander Adaemus."

"I will hear the warrant request."

Julius stood from his seat opposite Hailey and gave a quick formal greeting for the officers unfamiliar with our changes post-coup. He moved onto the request without offering more than the briefest of summaries.

"We need to seize all documentation from the Republics, specifically maps and family registries. I believe there have already been cases when a known perpetrator has doctored records to appear unrelated to the treason committed by the Maarins. It is imperative that knowledge be limited until things stabilize in Tolin."

I had no clue where his train of thought was heading. The Seekers would already gather evidence and dig into records to identify falsified information.

"Can you explain the rationale for directing the focus to be placed on maps and vital records?" I asked, then added, "Or even a reason your Order should be the ones heading this over the Seekers. Without more concrete details, I'll have no choice but to veto."

He nodded.

"As we're discovering, there are discrepancies between our known and recorded histories. Between the Vanixian side of things and the Renaultians, even the Maarins, very few key details line up in terms of the divine."

Julius paused, passing out a list of bulleted notes to high-ranking officers, myself included.

"During the era of Apocalypse—please review these at your leisure—refugees from Rena and Maar were mostly nobles and mid-society commoners. Whereas the founders of the Vanixian Republic were those few nobles who survived alongside the Crown Prince and populations of the northern territories that were housing the Rena and Maarin refugees."

My head ached as I tried to follow along.

I did a quick scan of his list, and it did call out a number of suspicious things. I imagined many of which were supplied by the Aestori, or even Aisling herself. At best, we could frame it as conspiracy. It was not enough to support the mass withholding of knowledge from the conquered citizens.

I told him as much and was met with a deepened frown.

"If there is nothing else?" I prodded.

"We have faulty surveys of the former imperial territories. There is a higher than zero chance that several people involved in the assassination of the Regent-Lord will have made proper enough alterations to records to sow doubt they committed the crimes. With detailed surveys of former imperial lands and they could make their own plans and abscond with matériel months from now and become a rotted thorn in our side."

Ah. I get his play now.

Corrupt nobles from any of the republics could put on a show of loyalty until it's too late. They could use their more accurate maps to convince others to follow them in false reclamation efforts, leading to armed conflict with our own citizens.

"I approve of the warrant issuance, but I believe the Seekers can oversee the expanded list of items to seize. Grand-Sentinel Mitchell can request help from the OSW if they need more bodies."

Julius mouthed, "You won't regret it," at me with a thumbs up, and returned to his seat. Just before he sat, he added one more thing.

"I'd also like an ex post facto approval for having the Order acquire supplies and armaments from both the Maarin and Renaultian districts."

I sighed, "You are aware that under Imperial Law it is a war crime to steal an enemy's resources and re-appropriate them into our army?"

"We didn't steal anything." He waved his hands in denial, "All I did was strategically transfer abandoned equipment to a secure location. We can hardly be blamed if those items were suddenly incorporated into the main supply by an uninformed civilian militia."

"And who are these so-called militiamen?"

"Just simple prisoners, banded together under the tyranny of the Renaultian Republic and set free by an unaffiliated warrior-angel. They took up those arms, but were promptly welcomed into our forces as refugees. Then, whoops, an accidental mix up occurred between our main stockpile and a temporary one."

Julius wore a trademark smirk, and I fought desperately to stop myself from yelling in frustration.

"If there is nothing else," I said through gritted teeth, "We can let the majority of the assembly go, and start addressing the individual issues."

"No, but that approval?"

Hanna cleared her throat, "Ahem, we're moving on! Officers whose names are called, please stay behind. Tori, Alcotts, Hirota, Baker, Taylor…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.