Traveling through time, I'm making pancakes in Warhammer

Chapter 540 Rewards and Punishments

Two days later

USS Wide-Range Silence, Captain's Office

Day after day, Liavid, the captain of the spaceship who can awaken the ship with her bloodline and also the head of the Helivinson family, continues to handle her seemingly endless official duties in this small room.

Liavid's illustrious and noble status brought her unimaginable wealth and power, along with formidable military might. The fates of multiple worlds rested in her hands within this room; often, the slightest shift in her pen could alter the rise and fall of an entire world.

She has the power to order an industrial planet to pay a 120% tax rate, and the power to bring judgment upon a world. She can even use her influence to persuade the sector's military commissioner to launch a localized war against a particular power.

She possessed so much, each of which was beyond the reach of ordinary people, but at the same time she lost what every mortal is born with.

Time, freedom.

Even with full mechanization and the highest-level life-extending surgery, her life would not be long under the pressure of endless official duties, and in that short life, the time she could leave this house would be even less.

However, the woman behind the seat never complained or slacked off; she voluntarily imprisoned herself in the cage of power, never to be stopped.

“Madam.” The Tyrannosaurus Rex emerged silently from the shadows and came to Liavid’s side: “Cecil requests an audience.”

Liavid didn't answer. Instead, she finished reviewing the documents at hand, stamped them with the insignia, and handed them to the Servo Skull before saying, "Let him in."

The Tyrannosaurus Rex nodded and retreated into the darkness.

Soon, the clear sound of boots tapping on the floor came from outside the corridor, and then the already dim environment in the office became even darker—the newcomer had blocked the light shining in from the doorway.

Cecil stood outside the door, his figure almost blocking the door frame.

Today, Cecil wore a white outfit with many very light gold patterns embossed on it. These patterns would not be visible in the dark, but in the light, they would reveal complex textures as the light changed.

Cecil stood, looking directly at Liaved, who was sitting not far away. At this moment, Cecil was on higher ground, his gaze fixed on his mother, his eyes filled with complex emotions he couldn't express.

But this condescending gaze didn't last long. Soon, Cecil took a step back, bowed to his mother, and only spoke after his gaze had fallen below Liaved's:

"Mother."

Liavid still didn't get up, but instead raised her hand to gesture to the person opposite her:

"Please come in."

At Liavid's signal, a chair rose from the shadows and appeared opposite the table.

Cecil seemed unfazed by this. He thanked Liaved, then walked into the center of power and calmly sat down in the strangely rising chair.

“Mother, I discovered some unusual and beautiful plants on Julan Star, and I’ve collected some seeds.” Cecil took a delicate little box from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Liavid: “These plants would be perfect for your garden.”

Liavid pressed down on the box, only slightly opening it to peek inside before closing it again and placing it aside.

“I really like it; you’ve been very thoughtful,” Liavid said. “You did a great job on this mission. What reward would you like?”

“I didn’t do well,” Cecil admitted. “I didn’t think things through and left some loose ends.”

“No one else could do it better than you, don’t feel pressured.” Liavid looked at the child who was her blood relative: “You look a little tired, how about taking a break and resting for a while?”

“Absolutely not.” Cecil flatly rejected his mother’s suggestion.

“You are extremely confident in some areas, but extremely sensitive in others.” For the first time, Liavid smiled at her child. “It’s just a vacation. What you have learned won’t be lost. Your abilities are the source of what you have. Don’t doubt it. Even I can’t take them away from you.”

“I don’t need rest, Mother,” Cecil refused again. “My work excites me, I love it, and work is my rest.”

“Hercules Shipyard’s newest Luna-class cruiser is nearing the final blessing stage, and I’m giving it to you as a reward,” Liavid said. “I’ll have an officer contact you, and you can decorate it to your liking. What do you say?”

Cecil accepted Liavid's reward this time.

“You seem to have been in close contact with my special advisor lately,” Liavid said after Cecil accepted the reward.

“That is indeed the case.” Cecil acknowledged this: “Since you did not issue an order prohibiting me from contacting Mr. Howard, and even sent Christina to his side, I do not believe that my contact with him violated the prohibition.”

“What do you think of this special advisor?” Liavid asked next.

“It’s all a mystery,” Cecil said. “I can’t see his origins, motives, or purposes at all. He cares about everything but also seems indifferent to everything. The only thing that’s certain is that he’s better as a friend than an enemy, and if he can get enough power, his destructive power might be beyond my imagination.”

“So now I suggest you keep your distance from him,” Liavid said.

Cecil: "Mother, please tell me your thoughts."

“He has his mission to complete, and we have our own things to do. Our paths only cross briefly,” Liavid said. “If he actively seeks you out, I don’t object to your interactions, but unless absolutely necessary, I don’t want you to have any more contact with him.”

Cecil was about to say that Howard had actually taken the initiative to find him, but then he realized that Howard was able to find him because he had found the mole he had planted on the Mackerel, and this was something he definitely couldn't tell Liavid. So, removing this premise, it would seem to others that Cecil had indeed approached Howard first.

“And what about Christina? Why did you send your sister to him?” Cecil asked.

“Because Christina was an outsider,” Liavid said. “However, she is no longer one now.”

Cecil knew exactly what his mother meant. After a moment of silence, he took out a box the size of a fingernail from his pocket, opened it, and found a chip inside.

“This is the evidence I’ve gathered, Mother.” Cecil pushed the chip toward Liavid: “Based on this information, I’ve concluded that Uncle Alex’s continued existence poses a greater threat to our family than his death.”