Atreus looked at the corpse of the former governor, then casually wiped his fist clean using the cape of the fallen noble.
He had smashed the old man's head with a single punch.
Santanas stood beside him. At that moment, he was already regretting having brought those women and his descendants.
"Did I make a mistake in judgment?" he thought briefly, then immediately dismissed the idea.
Even if he had not cooperated, Santanas considered the old governor's death inevitable.
Worse still, he did not believe the capital's defenses could have stopped Atreus alone.
As for twenty Space Marines? It was ridiculous to even think about it.
Atreus paid no attention to Santanas's expression and observed all the nobles present with a critical eye.
Finally, he spoke in the local language:
"We will now take control of this world. Who is against it?" he asked in the same calm tone as before.
He received only silence in response.
At that moment, no one dared to answer; no one even dared to raise their eyes toward the being who presented himself as a former angel of their god.
"Very well. Let us move on to the next step. Those who speak High Gothic, stand on the left. Those who do not speak it, stand on the right," he ordered as he returned to the throne.
The crowd immediately began to move.
They had already seen the fate of the former governor and absolutely did not want to be next.
About five minutes later, the crowd had divided into two groups: five to six hundred people on the left, and more than three hundred on the right.
Santanas and his family exchanged glances, trying to understand the situation.
Everyone was bewildered, uncertain of their fate.
"This will be the last time I speak to you in the local Low Gothic," he declared to the crowd of nobles.
With that, Atreus ordered the departure of the nobles who could not understand High Gothic.
"I do not have time to wait for them to learn it. From now on, you are the true nobles of this world," he informed them in a firm tone.
Most of the people present were disconcerted by this sudden promotion; they had not expected such an act.
Among the nobles displaying various expressions, one young girl stood out.
She remained motionless, staring at Atreus with an unusually intense gaze.
The young girl wore an antique-looking white dress.
Her brown hair was cut at neck level, and she had a decent-sized chest.
It rose and fell continuously, as if she were angry.
"What are you looking at?"
Atreus had actually noticed that the girl had been staring at him insistently for a while.
"Perhaps she had some connection with the former governor?" he assumed while looking back at the young girl.
This possibility could explain the child's strange behavior toward him.
At Atreus's question, she understood that her fate would be decided by her next words.
Thus, the inexperienced young girl began to tremble.
She was afraid.
"My lord," Santanas stepped between Atreus and the tanned-skinned girl.
The Space Marine raised an eyebrow, signaling him to speak.
He was already annoyed by the girl's behavior; Santanas's intervention irritated him further.
"This girl is the child of my deceased sister. Her name is Olivia. It so happens that she is the illegitimate child of the former governor and she has a disability," he explained quickly.
Olivia was deaf.
Santanas did not want to see another relative perish after the butler's death.
If he had known Atreus's true nature back then, he would have spoken differently.
"Deaf?" Atreus understood.
This young girl was actually terrified, but she did not dare look away.
Atreus approached the teenager.
With each step, the marble tiles — the work of countless artisans — cracked under the weight of the Space Marine.
The other nobles hurriedly retreated, leaving Santanas alone beside the illegitimate daughter of the former governor.
Atreus leaned down and gently pinched her chin with his fingertips, turning it slightly left and right to better observe the teenager.
"You read my lips, don't you?" he asked after satisfying his curiosity about the girl's ears.
The young girl nodded.
"I remember saying that those who do not speak High Gothic should stand on the right," Atreus continued, slowly increasing the pressure of his hand, preparing to crush the head of the girl who had dared deceive him.
Feeling the growing pressure on her jaw, the young girl trembled and opened her mouth, answering in perfect High Gothic:
"I can speak it, my lord."
Upon hearing her answer, Atreus stopped and released the girl.
"Interesting. A deaf person capable not only of speaking High Gothic but also of reading lips," Atreus muttered as he completely released the pressure.
The young girl was still trembling, but she continued:
"My mother taught me that knowledge of High Gothic is an essential quality for the elite of high society."
Atreus glanced at Santanas nearby, then nodded in approval.
The man certainly had a worthy family.
Atreus let out a light, amused laugh as he stepped away from the terrified girl.
"Olivia, I will heal your hearing. However, you will become my chronicler. You will call me your lord, and your uncle will be the governor of this planet," he announced as he returned to his throne.
Even though her uncle was less than a meter away, Atreus gave the order while looking straight into the young girl's golden eyes.
At that moment, Olivia understood.
Santanas would indeed govern, but she would bear the heavy task of conveying the will of both sides.
If she did not carry out this task properly, then her people would pay the price.
"Besides that, I want the militia and the army to assemble quickly," he ordered after a short reflection.
"I need to secure this planet rapidly, but it would be a shame to use overly advanced ammunition to colonize this world," he thought, remembering Roboute's Codex.
In the Codex Astartes, the Primarch of the Ultramarines did not divide the power of the mythical Space Marine Legions only for security reasons.
The goal was not only to prevent another Horus Heresy, but also to provide tactics for effectively using 1,000 Astartes within a Chapter.
One of them was the use of minimal force when a large force was not necessary.
The Imperium of Man clearly did not have the time or energy to waste on long wars when a rapid conquest with few resources was possible.
That was also why Atreus had judged that a single tactical squad would suffice for the conquest of Limnos III, but had added another purely out of caution.
He had long planned to use the authority of the planetary governor thanks to his status as an "angel" of the Emperor.
His plan had been effective, as he had not needed to force his way to the governor.
Now, he could use the resources of that position to crush any form of resistance within Limnos III.
Thus, he wasted almost none of his ship's resources.
"As you command, my lord," Olivia replied, bowing resolutely before Atreus.
As soon as he received her confirmation, he turned and headed toward the immense door of the council hall.
He still had a few formalities to handle.
The other Angels also began to move, their steel boots striking the marble floor with a dull thud.
"Little Olive, are you alright?" Santanas asked worriedly as he stepped forward, concerned for his niece.
Olivia did not answer immediately. She simply stared at the back of her new master as he walked away.
From now on, she knew her fate was closely tied to this legendary being.
…
"Haha, you're still as gentle with mortals as ever," Anthony mocked as they walked through the streets of the capital.
The city had also become lively in their presence.
Atreus's group had stirred the curiosity of the ignorant humans, almost all of whom knew nothing of the Imperium.
"Mom, are those the angels from the temple?"
"Yes, my treasure."
"Dad, look!"
Atreus ignored the gathering crowd and continued walking with his brothers toward the second ruling body of the planet:
the Temple of the God-Emperor.
"Am I too gentle? Possibly. Nevertheless, I do not want to create animosity with our future brothers out of misplaced pride," Atreus replied while observing their mortal escort clearing the way.
The nobles had offered the Space Marines their guards to help them navigate the city after leaving the council.
"Pride?" Anthony muttered in confusion.
Barnaby spoke at that moment.
"You mean you want to avoid treating our future recruits the way our gene-father did," he said while looking at Atreus's back.
Perturabo.
The Primarch of the IVth Legion.
That man was undoubtedly an undeniable genius, according to Atreus's understanding of the taciturn warrior.
Yet he had one major flaw that could eclipse his extremely brilliant mind: pride.
Perturabo's pride was so immense that even Fulgrim could rival it, despite the latter being an extreme perfectionist.
He could not tolerate imperfection or criticism of his works.
This view was also applied to his sons.
The Iron Warriors had been trained and conditioned to follow orders only.
In case of failure, Perturabo never admitted his own share of responsibility to his subordinates.
One could say the Primarch did not like to consider the possibility that he might be wrong.
"The only 'human' trait in that guy is his awareness of his own shortcomings; that's also why he despises people like Angron and focuses so heavily on the flaws others point out in his work," Atreus thought as he opened his mouth to answer Barnaby.
"Indeed. However, they will have to prove themselves worthy of being called our brothers," he said in a calm tone.
A faint smile formed on the Astartes' face.