My Seven Wives Are Beautiful Saintesses-Chapter 231 - 230: Protection Must Be Enforced

Resistance never really starts with a loud shout or someone waving a rebellious flag. Instead, it dresses itself up to look like a concerned friend. It speaks in a very calm, measured voice about things like sustainability, historical precedent, and being prudent with money. It hides its defiance behind stacks of paperwork, long delays, and objections that are worded so carefully they sound totally reasonable to anyone who isn’t looking too closely.

​Astralis learned this lesson the hard way just three days after the new doctrine was announced.

The first sign of trouble reached the Core World in a very quiet way. It was just a routine update from the Helior Verge sector. This was a middle-frontier region that was already part of the Empire and was supposed to be getting its full defense parity within the next year.

On the screen, the report looked perfect. It said the orbital shields were one hundred percent operational and that the rapid response fleets were all confirmed and ready to go. It even noted that there were plenty of law enforcement officers on the ground.

​On paper, Helior Verge was the model of a perfect, compliant sector. But in reality, every single line of that report was a flat-out lie.

​Celestine stood in the Imperial Oversight Chamber, which was kept dim so all the glowing holograms could be seen clearly. She didn’t call for the full council yet. She wanted to read every single line of the data herself first.

​"This looks way too clean," she whispered to herself.

​Minister Sariel was standing right next to her with his hands folded behind his back. "I was thinking the exact same thing, Your Majesty. Their numbers match our perfect projections exactly. There isn’t even a tiny bit of variance."

​Celestine looked over at him. "Nothing in the real world ever matches a projection exactly, Sariel."

​"No," Sariel agreed with a nod. "And definitely not out on the frontier where things are always a bit messy."

​She flicked her fingers across the air, and the holograms shifted. She started pulling up the data that people usually don’t look at, like energy consumption logs, personnel transfer lists, and even the records for civilian evacuation drills. When she layered that data over the official report, tiny little cracks started to show. It wasn’t enough to make someone fail a normal audit, but it was enough to make her suspicious.

​"Who is the one in charge of Helior Verge?" Celestine asked.

​Sariel knew the answer immediately. "That would be House Rennault. They are an old-blood family with huge trade interests. They have always been very cooperative with the Empire in the past."

​"Historically cooperative," Celestine repeated softly, her voice sounding a bit cold. She straightened her back and looked at the map. "Send an inspection team out there. Do it quietly."

​Sariel looked a bit hesitant. "Under what authority should I send them?"

​Celestine met his eyes with a very firm look. "Under mine."

​The inspection team left within the hour. It wasn’t a group of soldiers with guns; it was a team of auditors, architects, and engineers. These were people who were trained to look past a fresh coat of paint to see if the walls were actually standing. They showed up at Helior Verge without telling anyone they were coming.

​House Rennault acted like they were thrilled to see them. They were almost too nice about it. Lord Rennault himself met the team in the planetary capital, acting like a perfect host with a practiced smile.

​"Your visit is such a great honor for us!" Lord Rennault told the team while smiling. "We are so proud to be one of the very first sectors to fully follow the new doctrine. We have worked very hard on it."

​The lead auditor just gave him a polite nod. "We are just here to verify that everything is actually implemented according to the rules."

​"Of course, of course!" Rennault said smoothly. "Being transparent is the only way to build trust, after all."

​The inspection started right away, and it only took about six hours for the ugly truth to come bubbling up to the surface. The orbital shields were there, sure, but they were only running at seventy percent power because the generators were old and broken. The report said they were at one hundred percent.

The rapid response fleet looked good on a list, but when the auditors actually checked, half of those ships were still sitting in repair yards thousands of miles away. The law enforcement units were there too, but they didn’t have enough people or gear to actually do anything.

And while someone had drawn lines on a map for evacuation paths, they had never actually bothered to test them to see if they worked.

​The parity that Vahn had demanded was just a simulation. It was a fake.

​The auditors sent their findings straight back to the Core World. Celestine read the report in total silence. When she finished, she just closed her eyes for a long moment.

​"This is only the first one," she said quietly. "It won’t be the last."

​Sariel nodded. "They think the new doctrine is just a big bluff, Majesty. Or they think it’s just a temporary thing you’ll get tired of."

​"They think if they just stall and lie for long enough, we will eventually soften the rules," Celestine replied. She opened her eyes, and they looked like ice. "Summon Lord Rennault to the Core World. And do it publicly. I want everyone to see him come here."

​Sariel looked surprised. "Publicly? You don’t want to handle this behind closed doors?"

​"No," Celestine said. "No more closed doors."

​The summons was sent out under the Empress’s official authority. House Rennault tried to push back immediately. Lord Rennault sent messages asking for more details. Then he asked for a delay. Then he tried to ask for a private meeting to negotiate. Celestine said no to every single one of his requests.

​Two days later, Lord Rennault was standing in the middle of the Hall of Convergence. The room was packed with people. Every noble house was there, along with the Sect leaders and the top military generals. Everyone was watching with very careful interest. Celestine stood all by herself on the high platform. Vahn wasn’t there, and that was something she had decided on purpose.

​Lord Rennault stepped forward. He looked calm, but you could see the skin around his eyes was very tight. "Your Majesty," he said with a bow. "I have to say I am very surprised by this. My house has always acted in good faith with the Empire."

​Celestine just looked at him with a steady gaze. "Then this meeting will be very short."

​A wave of tension went through the room. She waved her hand, and the big holograms clicked on. First, everyone saw the report House Rennault had sent in. Then, Celestine overlaid the actual findings from the secret inspection team. The lies flared up in bright red contrast for everyone to see. People in the audience started whispering immediately. Lord Rennault’s fake smile finally started to slip.

​"These are just different interpretations of the data!" Rennault said, trying to stay calm. "Building these things takes time! We have to be smart about how we spend our resources."

​Celestine’s voice stayed very flat and even. "The doctrine is very clear, Lord Rennault. No system is allowed to be under Astralis influence unless they have full parity. There is no middle ground."

​"We are working toward it as fast as we can!" Rennault shouted back.

​"You are faking it," Celestine said. "And you are doing it while you keep making money off the Astralis trade corridors."

​The murmurs in the room were getting louder and angrier. Rennault’s jaw was clenched tight. "My family has ruled Helior Verge for generations! We know what that sector needs way better than some group of auditors from a distant world!"

​Celestine leaned forward just a little bit. "Then you clearly understood," she said, "that your own people were left completely vulnerable to attack."

​The whole room went dead silent. Rennault just spread his hands out. "Risk is just a part of life. You can’t avoid it entirely."

​Celestine’s eyes got very hard. "The people of Khaldris Reach thought they were safe, too."

​When she said that name, it was like a cold blade hitting the room. Rennault took a sharp breath. "Your Majesty, that is not fair! Helior Verge is not Khaldris Reach!"

​"No," Celestine agreed. "It isn’t. It is much closer to the Core World. It makes much more money. And it is much more politically protected than the frontier ever was." She looked around the whole room. "And that is exactly why this matters so much."

​A noble lord stood up from the crowd. "Your Majesty, Lord Rennault is right about one thing. Doing all of this at once is just not realistic for every sector. It’s too much."

​Celestine looked at him. "Tell me your name."

​"I am Lord Varec of House Myr," he said, sounding very stiff.

​"Lord Varec," Celestine said, "does your house actually rule any of the frontier systems?"

​"Well, no," he admitted.

​"Then you are speaking from a place of comfort," she said calmly. A few people in the room actually started to laugh at that.

​Rennault stepped forward again, and his voice was getting a sharp edge to it. "You are forcing us to choose between our economy crashing or some theoretical protection that might not even happen! That isn’t how you govern a star system! That’s just being an idealist!"

​Celestine didn’t yell. She just said, "You chose making a profit over actually protecting your people. That isn’t governance. That’s just negligence."

​Rennault’s eyes flashed with anger. "House Rennault will not accept being talked to this way!"

​Celestine just gave him a single nod. "Then House Rennault is officially rejecting the Astralis doctrine."

​People were actually gasping out loud now. "Are you accusing us of being in defiance?" Rennault demanded.

​"Yes," Celestine said. The hall went silent again. She raised her hand high. "House Rennault, as of this moment, you are being stripped of your authority to rule over Helior Verge."

​It felt like a thunderclap hit the room. Rennault just stared at her like she had grown a second head. "You... you can’t do that!"

​"I can," Celestine said. "And I am doing it right now."

​Rennault’s voice was shaking. "By what right? How can you justify this?"

​"By the law," Celestine said. "Specifically the imperial law that was updated under emergency authority." She showed a new hologram titled ENFORCEMENT STATUTE: DOCTRINE COMPLIANCE.

"The law says that failing to reach parity while taking the benefits of the Empire is a crime of endangerment against our citizens. And that crime means you lose your power."

​Rennault looked like he was going to fall over. "You would destroy my whole house for this?"

​"No," Celestine said. "You are the one who destroyed your own credibility." She didn’t stop there. "All of your house’s assets in Helior Verge are being seized. The Empire is taking over the administration of the sector immediately."

​The whole room was frozen in shock. Rennault whispered, "This is going to cause a massive backlash from the other houses."

​Celestine looked him right in the eye. "Good," she said.

​Guards stepped forward and grabbed him. Rennault didn’t even try to fight as they led him away. He just looked pale and broken. Even after he was gone, the tension in the room didn’t go away; it just got sharper. Celestine looked out at the rest of the nobles and leaders.

​"This is not just a warning," she told them. "This is how things are going to be from now on. This is the precedent."

​A representative from one of the Sects stood up slowly. "Your Majesty, there are many sectors that are having a really hard time meeting these deadlines. What happens to them?"

​"Then they will be reviewed just like this one," Celestine said. "And if we have to, Astralis will withdraw from those systems entirely."

​The word "withdraw" made people jump. A governor shouted, "You would actually just abandon our territory?"

​Celestine’s look was cold as ice. "I would much rather abandon a piece of territory than abandon the actual people living on it," she said.

​Nobody had an answer for that. Another noble stood up, looking furious. "You are just turning Astralis into one big fortress!"

​"No," Celestine said. "I am turning Astralis into a promise that actually means something. And a promise doesn’t mean anything if you don’t enforce it."

​The meeting ended after that.