blogombal Chapter 6 Steel and Roses
Chapter 6 Steel and Roses
Luo Wei followed the woman out of the dormitory.
It's very windy outside.
A small, black shuttle was parked in the shadows.
There were no signs, no lights.
Lowe climbed the gangway.
Just before the hatch closed, he glanced back at the enormous grain silo.
I glanced in the direction of Case's office.
Goodbye, Manager Case.
When I come back, we won't be superior and subordinate anymore.
The hatch closed.
The shuttle took off like a ghost, flying toward the towering Governor's Spire.
……
The shuttle travels through the clouds.
There are no windows.
Only the red emergency lights were flashing overhead.
Lowe sat on the cold metal seat, the seatbelt digging into his chest and making him feel suffocated.
The female head guard opposite him sat like a statue, her hand never leaving the grip of the grenades.
Luo Wei didn't say anything.
He counted in seconds.
He was calculating the flight altitude and distance based on perceived gravity and engine vibration frequency.
Rise for five minutes.
Ten minutes of level flight.
It's starting to drop now.
This is the upper section of the Governor's Palace spire.
"arrive."
The female head guard stood up and pressed the hatch switch.
The pressure balancing valve emitted a hissing sound.
The hatch slid open.
A cold wind blew in.
However, the air here didn't carry the sour smell of the lower levels; instead, it had a faint, expensive incense scent.
Lowe stepped down the gangway.
This is a private helipad.
The building is surrounded by towering Gothic columns, each covered with intricate reliefs.
"Stay close to me," said the captain of the guard. "Don't look around. Don't wander off. Keep your mouth shut unless the governor asks you a question."
Luo Wei nodded.
He kept his head down, his gaze fixed only on the pair of black military boots in front of him.
They walked through a long corridor and passed through two heavy doors equipped with gene-scanning locks.
Then they stopped in front of a carved mahogany gate.
The head guard knocked on the door three times.
"Come in."
The voice was young and calm, yet it carried an air of authority born of someone who had long been giving orders.
The door opened.
Lo Wei went inside.
This is a spacious and solemn study.
Portraits of past governors are displayed on the wall.
Faces were frozen in the shadows, lost in thought.
Several battle flags hung tattered, their fabric torn.
The edges were charred black, still carrying the astringent smell of past gunpowder and dust.
The bookshelves were stacked to the ceiling in the dark corner.
The booklets and data boards stood coldly and silently pressed together.
In the center of the room.
The heavy, black obsidian table dominates the visual center.
The woman was sitting behind the table.
Alicia van Valentius.
She removed her heavy power armor.
He was left only with an ivory silk shirt and dark riding breeches.
The shirt was ivory-colored, clinging to the contours of her skin, loosely covering her fair shoulders and chest.
The riding breeches were dark in color and clung tightly to her waist and legs.
The lines are so clean, like a blade yet to be drawn.
Her silver hair was not carefully combed.
He simply gathered his hair behind his head and tied it up.
A few strands of hair came loose and fell softly down her cheeks.
Her face was delicate, but lacked luster.
It felt as if we had been living under the dome and stone walls for a long time, rarely seeing the true light of day.
She sat there.
It is both relaxing and fully alert.
Deep within those purple eyes lay something heavy—
That's not childishness.
It is not pure authority either.
Rather, it is the profoundness and weariness unique to those who shoulder great responsibilities too early.
Her beauty is like the room itself.
It is a heavy silence, quietly invaded by countless memories of the past.
However, in Rowe's eyes, she was more dangerous than when she was wearing power armor.
Because she was playing with that finely crafted dagger in her hand.
He was quite certain that it was the knife that had scraped out the coded message.
Luo Wei walked to a spot five meters in front of the table, stopped, and knelt on one knee.
"Lo Wei, a fourth-level clerk, greets Your Excellency the Governor."
Alicia did not let him get up.
She twirled the dagger in her hand, its blade reflecting a cold light.
"You dare call yourself a clerk?"
"You're a liar, Rowe. You lied to my tax officer. You falsified data. You also colluded with the Cult of Mechanics to tamper with relics."
Alicia stood up and walked over to Rowe.
"According to the Imperial Law, any one of these laws would be enough to send you to the stake and burn you for three days and three nights."
She used the tip of the knife to lift Lo Wei's chin.
Rowe was forced to raise his head.
He saw those purple eyes.
There was no murderous intent in it.
It's like looking at a product waiting to be sold.
"Give me a reason not to kill you," she said.
Loewe looked into her eyes.
He was neither humble nor arrogant, and spoke at a steady pace.
"Because I saved you 270,000 tons of grain."
Alicia smiled.
"Saved? That was stolen by Case. You just cleaned up his mess."
"If I don't clean it up, the 270,000 tons will be a bad debt. The tax officials will find out, and Case will pin the blame on you."
"He would say it was due to mismanagement by the Governor's Office that led to corruption at the lower levels."
"At that time, you will not only have to make up for this deficit, but you will also face accountability from the Ministry of the Interior."
Luo Wei paused.
"At that time, your uncles will jump out. They will say you are too young to be governor. They will use this as an excuse to force you to step down."
Alicia's smile vanished.
The knife tip pressed down slightly, piercing the skin on Rowe's chin.
A drop of blood flowed out.
"You understand my situation very well?"
"I checked the records in the archives," Rowe said.
"The power structure of the Abundance II is not complicated. Although you have inherited the title, real power is held by the three family branches and the Executive Yuan."
"You lack money, you lack food, and you lack people. Especially people who are both capable and absolutely loyal."
"Then how can you prove you're that kind of person?"
“I left the code with you,” Lowe said. “I didn’t give the evidence to the tax officials, nor to the court. I gave it to you. This means I’m betting on you.”
Alicia put away the dagger.
She turned and walked back behind the table, where she sat down.
Get up.
Luo Wei stood up.
His knees hurt a little, but he stood very straight.
"You're smart, and you're bold too." Alicia took a file from the drawer and threw it on the table. "Do you know where the last person who spoke to me like that is?"
"Probably at the fertilizer plant," Rowe said.
“That’s right.” Alicia pointed to the document. “This is your new appointment letter.”
Luo Wei glanced at it.
Special agricultural advisor.
There are no grades.
They have no real power.
Directly under the Governor-General's Office.
"It's a nominal position," Alicia said.
"You can use it to do whatever you want in the Executive Yuan, or you can use it to allocate some resources. But that's all."
"If you want to live longer, you have to prove your worth, not just by falsifying accounts."
"What do you need me to do, Your Excellency?"
"food."
Alicia tapped on the table.
"The tithe amount for the next quarter will increase by 20 percent, according to the latest order from the Ministry of the Interior."
"Because the fighting on the other side of the Great Rift is intense."