Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 981, 08.980: 'Brave girl, become a leader!'

“Wait, let’s sort this out.” Horatio’s voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet office as he tried to untangle the tangled mess of information. “In other words, Baron Bayar’s sister is your mother. Therefore, Baron Bayar is your uncle.”

“That’s right.” The female colonel sighed heavily, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, and then blew her nose forcefully.

“I haven’t seen any of my family members for many years. I don’t know… how sad and furious they will be after hearing about my mother’s tragic end.”

"Because after your mother was married into the family, she was imprisoned in that tower, far removed from politics and the military, and even from her family."

That's why Baron Bayar and Baroness Ambis believed that the High Princess herself had simply disappeared.

Horatio's voice was filled with suppressed rage. He slammed his fist on the table with a dull thud. "By the Divine Emperor! What kind of marriage is this? Isn't this blatant illegal house arrest and...and continuous rape?!"

"They held a wedding ceremony under the law of Sintila and as the witness of the God-King."

Yadwiga's voice was filled with weariness and helplessness, "In Sintira, the status of women... is just like that."

Therefore, I hate political marriages and this kind of barbaric union that is purely for the purpose of procreation.

"My mother is the most bloody lesson. I will never repeat her mistakes..." She paused, her voice trembling as she added, "If I die too, the people of Pola Belleia will truly have no hope left."

Her tone betrayed a hint of panic and tension, as if she were afraid that she would suffer the same fate.

"According to the inheritance law of the Polaberia Knights family, you and Brigadier General Lana should still have the right to inherit the knight family."

So, you and Brigadier General Rana are the last royal heirs of the Wadsław Knights family, is that right?

“Legally speaking, that’s correct. My brother is more like an ordinary human in terms of physical characteristics, so he was raised from a young age with a Cintira-style aristocratic education to become a professional military officer. He represents the part of our two families that is closer to Cintira.”

Furthermore, the Wadsław family has historically followed a system of primogeniture, so if we must trace the lineage back to the first son, I possess the first-order right to the High King.

"That settles it?" A glint flashed in Horatio's eyes. "Perhaps you should take the initiative to revitalize the family. The knights of Polaberia are not all dead. They are just waiting for a leader."

“However, there is a legal obstacle that I cannot overcome.” The colonel’s expression turned serious, and she shook her head slowly as if she had suffered a great setback. “I have not undergone the ‘Ritual of Becoming’ as a knight’s trial.”

I have not undergone neural plug modification surgery, nor have I accepted my own Knight Mech. According to the "Scripture of the King's Chosen," I... am not qualified to inherit the position of the Supreme King.

Horatio certainly knew about the Knight's Trial that Jadvig had mentioned.

That "qualification ceremony" is the necessary path for every squire or prospective knight who wants to become a true knight.

As a complex and sophisticated ancient mechanical assembly, the Knight Mech contains a machine soul with independent intelligence, similar to that of an imperial warship.

However, it is not as advanced as the souls of warships and Titans.

Therefore, in the long process of establishing a neural connection with the driver, it will continuously replicate the driver's personality attributes, thus infinitely converging with and imitating a person's character.

Gradually, as the mechs aged, they experienced more and more pilots, and the memories of their ancestors' personalities were replicated and preserved within them.

When a noble member from a knightly family turns eighteen, they must undergo this 'qualification ceremony'.

This event was imbued with immense honor and treated with the utmost solemnity by all the knights.

Within the family's sanctuary, they would be connected to an empty mechanical throne and then left alone, usually for an entire night.

These typically ambitious young people must contend with the powerful energy within the mechanical throne, attempting to deeply imprint their mental imprint upon it without being overwhelmed by its complex brain-computer interface structure.

It is said that during this process, they will see the spirits of their ancestors from dozens of generations ago.

Under the constant questioning and interrogation of their ancestors, these young people will experience unprecedented mental pressure and spiritual torment.

This process is enough to drive weak-willed young people mad on the spot, and some may even be killed on the throne by the powerful mental shock—a process the knightly families coldly refer to as "failure to be chosen." Those who survive will be forever changed.

Their childhood was left behind, and the heavy burden of their knightly identity would forever remain on their shoulders.

She's right. To become the Supreme King, one must first become a knight recognized by all knights.

This is the most important and indispensable prerequisite.

If even her own knight mech doesn't recognize her as a knight, how can the other proud Imperial knights possibly obey her commands?
"In other words, you must first become a pilot of an Imperial Knight mech before you are qualified to be accepted by the knights of Polaberia and become their supreme king."

"That's right. But our family's knight mechs were either completely destroyed by those greenskins during the first Great Tooth Disaster, or defiled by these aliens."

I heard that my mother once had her own mecha, but since she was imprisoned in Sintira, no one has known its whereabouts.

"Perhaps your father hid it?" Horatio deduced. "Since he didn't want your mother to be involved in any more military conflicts, this magnificent and expensive war machine certainly wouldn't be easily destroyed. The relic protectors who maintain it would definitely fight to the death to protect it. Do you have any relevant clues in your memory?"

"When I was a child, I tried to explore it."

But I was too young at the time, and my father accidentally discovered my motives.

From that time on, everything that might be related to the knight was erased from the place where I lived. He treated me like his own mother, not wanting me to come into contact with anything related to battle.

"Do you know where that tower where your mother used to live is? Perhaps the clues are inside."

"It's possible. After her mother hanged herself, the servants who served her were immediately transferred away."

Although my father never visited her, he did not want anyone to disturb her peace.

That tower was then completely sealed off, guarded closely by the family's most elite guards, who kept vigil for her.

“A female citizen of Jadviga,” Horatio suddenly called her name in an extremely serious and earnest tone.

Do you want to become the Supreme King?

The two girls with horses ears were quite surprised to hear this.

She looked up at the man, meeting his deep eyes.

“We are now a republic, there is no 'king' anymore. I… I cannot accept becoming a new privileged person.” She refused, slightly flustered. “I must set an example; I cannot betray my citizens.”

"So, do you want to save the people of Polaberia?"

“Yes. I want to save them.” This time, she quickly recovered from her panic and replied in an unquestionable tone of seriousness.

“From Sir Bayar’s words, I could sense that perhaps for the Polaberians, the word ‘Supreme King’ was less about a monarch enjoying privileges and more about a spiritual leader, a military leader, and a symbol of identity for the entire nation.”

“You’re right. During the First Great Turmoil, it was at the call of the High King of Knights that all the Polaberia united to fight the Greenskins and defend every inch of their land to the death.”

"You may not want to be a privileged 'king,' but you must take on the responsibility of being a leader and rekindle the fire in their hearts."

Only by rekindling their national identity and memories of battle can you lead them to resist tyranny and allow the name of Polaberia to once again stand tall among these brilliant stars.

He gazed into her eyes and reached out his hand to her.

"We all share a common goal: to rebuild humanity's strength so that it can survive the increasingly severe 41st millennium apocalypse crisis."

"We can make a pact, citizen of Yadviga. I will help you liberate the people of Polaberia; and you, in turn, will help me fight against the endless terror that has arisen in the fortieth millennium and threatens all of human civilization."

(End of this chapter)