"That's reassuring," Anton said blandly. Kelgarde wasn't planning to make a martyr out of Florian then. At least not any time soon, or if so without Brenner's knowledge. He didn't bother sharing his thoughts, figuring that these were things that the Lysanrin almost certainly already knew and simply did not convey. And if he was wrong, well, it wasn't as if the lordling's word was particularly valued by the Undersecretary anyway.
"Yes, polarizing. We both well know enough that that there are many in the city who believe that there is a place for every man, and that you are not in yours. Trade offs. I suppose the only thing I can do is hope she is correct," he said, leaving the statement open enough for correction if there was indeed something he could do. Volunteering did not seem the best course of action at the moment, for several reasons.
A part of him felt guilty for being so conflicted. If Kelgarde was genuine, then she was going to tear down some of the most regressive power structures in the city and benefit those who had suffered the most under Zaichaer. That should be something that he supported, if for no other reason than he happened to like Florian. But, without knowing the why, the full picture, any change was fraught with peril. Fighting in the streets, conspiracy among officers, pogroms in nonhuman districts were all possible outcomes of blowback - to say nothing if she succeeded. A Zaichaer that had shed one of its sins would be more powerful, and more adept at persecuting its other undesirables. But was that even what the Grand Marshal wanted?
Or was this all simply borne from a desire to make the Kalzasern legions look less appealing to the toiling masses who suffered under human domination? Florian would be a symbol, but a symbol of what? Resilience? Continued loyalty to a State that had only ever used and despised him? And he was still being used, that much was clear, and Anton did not trust anyone who donned the title Grand Marshal to have good - or even neutral - intentions.
But this was not the time for such musings, and he doubted he would be welcome to share them. Besides, there was still business to attend to. "In light of all of this, are there any policy changes that we should be aware of?" He emphasized the we with a gesture at the mansion around them, referring to the tangle morass of land and stock holdings that the Michaelis dynasty had accrued in order to maintain power after their titles became worthless anachronisms. "I will do what I can to ensure that they are followed." There were two layers to that promise, the simplest one being that Anton simply assumed he would agree with most any changes the Undersecretary decreed anyway, while on a more politically minded level neither he nor his family were keen on being seen as opposed to the new administration.
It was well known that the Michaelis were among the last gasps of the city's old guard, and probably the only thing that had saved them from the purges following the coup was the fact that the family patriarch personally loathed Kane. Anton's father had always raged about what a bloviating fool he was, more concerned with marching in parades instead of winning battles. Many who had been in the same social circles by virtue of their pedigree did not share such distaste, and they had not been seen or heard in over a week. This close to oblivion, it was best to be ignored by remaining quiet and diligent.
"Yes, polarizing. We both well know enough that that there are many in the city who believe that there is a place for every man, and that you are not in yours. Trade offs. I suppose the only thing I can do is hope she is correct," he said, leaving the statement open enough for correction if there was indeed something he could do. Volunteering did not seem the best course of action at the moment, for several reasons.
A part of him felt guilty for being so conflicted. If Kelgarde was genuine, then she was going to tear down some of the most regressive power structures in the city and benefit those who had suffered the most under Zaichaer. That should be something that he supported, if for no other reason than he happened to like Florian. But, without knowing the why, the full picture, any change was fraught with peril. Fighting in the streets, conspiracy among officers, pogroms in nonhuman districts were all possible outcomes of blowback - to say nothing if she succeeded. A Zaichaer that had shed one of its sins would be more powerful, and more adept at persecuting its other undesirables. But was that even what the Grand Marshal wanted?
Or was this all simply borne from a desire to make the Kalzasern legions look less appealing to the toiling masses who suffered under human domination? Florian would be a symbol, but a symbol of what? Resilience? Continued loyalty to a State that had only ever used and despised him? And he was still being used, that much was clear, and Anton did not trust anyone who donned the title Grand Marshal to have good - or even neutral - intentions.
But this was not the time for such musings, and he doubted he would be welcome to share them. Besides, there was still business to attend to. "In light of all of this, are there any policy changes that we should be aware of?" He emphasized the we with a gesture at the mansion around them, referring to the tangle morass of land and stock holdings that the Michaelis dynasty had accrued in order to maintain power after their titles became worthless anachronisms. "I will do what I can to ensure that they are followed." There were two layers to that promise, the simplest one being that Anton simply assumed he would agree with most any changes the Undersecretary decreed anyway, while on a more politically minded level neither he nor his family were keen on being seen as opposed to the new administration.
It was well known that the Michaelis were among the last gasps of the city's old guard, and probably the only thing that had saved them from the purges following the coup was the fact that the family patriarch personally loathed Kane. Anton's father had always raged about what a bloviating fool he was, more concerned with marching in parades instead of winning battles. Many who had been in the same social circles by virtue of their pedigree did not share such distaste, and they had not been seen or heard in over a week. This close to oblivion, it was best to be ignored by remaining quiet and diligent.
