Rationality is screaming, so I might as well indulge myself
A Prince who has been granted a title needs to go to his assigned territory to gain experience, and he is entitled to have a large armed force of his own. Because of the many matters following his coming-of-age ceremony, Leslie had not yet finished assembling this team. Moreover, the Insect Emperor and the Empress were, out of selfish concern, not yet able to accept the fact that their baby was going to travel far away from home, so they had not yet finalized the location of his territory.
This gave Leslie ample time to investigate the various legions and select the personnel he needed.
The First Legion was originally commanded by Casper. After Casper was suspended, it was temporarily taken over by the Empress, and no new commander had been appointed since. The Second Legion was under the rule of Lefiya; its personnel were few but elite, mostly of noble birth, and specialized in mechanical warfare. The Third Legion was stationed on the Capital Planet year-round, loyal to the Imperial family; initially, Leslie’s personal guards were selected from there. The Fourth Legion was originally the private army of the Mattia family. They only survived by choosing the right side during the succession struggle, after which they were absorbed by the Empire and reorganized into the Fourth Legion, currently commanded by Senville Mattia.
Leslie tapped his head in frustration. In his previous life, after he brought Casper out of prison, not only was Casper’s mental state on the verge of collapse, but his own mental state was not exactly good either. Memories from that period, when recalled, were like images from a damaged projector, mottled and incomplete. He vaguely remembered that Senville had been seriously injured in a battle in Star Calendar 4039, the entire Fourth Legion had suffered heavy losses, and a large number of Mattia family members had died in that battle.
This was very unusual. The Mattia family had superior genes and should have possessed greater strength and higher sensitivity on the battlefield. However, among the fallen soldiers, the proportion of those with Mattia bloodlines was as high as 68 percent. It was as if it were a precision strike, with the enemy specifically hunting for Mattia blood on the battlefield.
Taking a deep breath, Leslie pulled up the deployment map of the Imperial Legions. His fingertips slid across the light screen, finally tapping lightly on a gorgeous and beautiful nebula: the Butterfly Cloud Star System.
The space environment there was complex, with many meteorite and asteroid belts, and there were very few habitable planets. It was a beautiful graveyard located on the edge of the Empire. A large number of Mattia family members were stationed in this beautiful yet desolate star system, far from the center of power, guarding it loyally, only to eventually lose their lives there. The natural insulating asteroid belts made it difficult for reinforcements to arrive.
Leslie’s fair fingertips traced the light screen, circling this beautiful graveyard. From now on, this would be his territory. As a Prince’s territory, it certainly could not be left to the original Fourth Legion to defend. Future garrison work would be carried out by elites selected from the First and Second Legions. He wanted to see how the enemy would win this time after the Mattia bloodline was replaced.
Leslie submitted his territory application to his femme parent in the last second before leaving work, then quickly turned on “Do Not Disturb” mode and left the study with happy steps.
Casper, who was guarding the door of the study, was momentarily dazzled by the bright smile on the Prince’s face. Unlike other arrogant and haughty noble male insectoids, Leslie loved to laugh, and Casper could often glimpse smiles on that exquisite face. Even after seeing it so many times, he could not build up an immunity to it.
Casper took his hand as usual, and they walked toward the restaurant together. Along the way, Leslie’s joy almost turned into tangible bubbles, happily floating and popping in the air.
Casper swallowed the question that rushed to his throat, quietly guarding the side to prevent his Highness from falling. He did not have the qualifications to ask about his Master’s private affairs, nor should he have such curiosity.
It was not until they sat down to dine that Leslie finally digested the joy of having “trapped” his femme parent. This kind of happiness was comparable to when he was a child and braided his femme parent’s hair, tying it with a big pink silk bow. At that time, his masc parent laughed until tears came out, while his femme parent carried him with a helpless expression, but because of his masc parent, he did not dare to get angry.
Perceiving the low mood of the female insectoid beside him through their mental bond, Leslie paused his knife and fork and turned his gaze to him. His breathing, expression, and the tension of his muscles were all the same as usual; there was nothing unusual. If it were not for the mental bond clearly sensing the other’s depressed mood, no one would be able to tell that Casper was in a bad mood.
Seeing Leslie turn his head toward him, Casper quickly set down his tableware and turned his head to wait for instructions. Instead, he received a hand placed on his thigh.
For an instant, Casper subconsciously held his breath, his thigh muscles tensing and then immediately relaxing.
Is he going to do it here?
The warm-lit restaurant was cozy and chic. Only the mechanical insectoids waited on the side, ready to clear the plates at any time, and no other insectoid would come to disturb them at dinner time. The bright roses and soothing fragrance seemed to fill the air with romance, gradually heating up in the warm yellow light, making the insectoid even more intoxicated. It was indeed a good location.
But the restaurant was still too far beyond Casper’s bottom line. The sitting female insectoid did not dare to move, but his heart was beating faster and faster. The fast-flowing blood dyed his frost-white cheeks with a crimson hue. If his Master insisted, he would not be opposed to it.
Feeling the emotional changes transmitted back by the mental bond, Leslie blinked in confusion. Wasn’t he just very lethargic and depressed? Why did he suddenly become nervous and excited? Not understanding, Leslie continued to coax him according to his original plan. Although he felt there was no need to coax him now, since his hand was already out, it would be too strange not to finish what he started.
“You have been standing for so long, are you tired?”
The hand resting on the female insectoid’s thigh began to knead, attempting to give the muscles a massage to help them relax. Feeling the numbness coming from his thigh, Casper secretly gritted his teeth, swallowed the sound that was about to escape, and tried his best to remain calm: “Not tired.” With this intensity of work, he was far from being tired; doing another thousand squats would be completely fine.
“Oh…”
Knowing that the female insectoid was not depressed because he was tired, Leslie did not stop his hand. The feeling was quite good, so he continued to knead. If he were not separated by trousers, it would probably feel even better.
Part of his mind was distracted thinking about strange things, while his main focus remained on analyzing the reason for Casper’s low mood. It was not because he was tired, so was it because the work was too boring? After all, standing outside the study for several hours at a time, motionless, with nothing to look at, was indeed quite dull. Female insectoids always had some combative factors, so it was better to increase his activity level.
The hand on his thigh moved upward, supporting the female insectoid’s clearly defined chin, while his index and middle fingers clamped the thin earlobe and gently rubbed it. Leslie leaned in, and the smile on his face was so sweet that Casper’s blood sugar soared.
“Tomorrow, we will go to the First Legion. You can pick some insectoids to spar with.”
Claws that are not used for a long time will rust. It just so happened that he had to go to select soldiers; what better way to understand their strength than a fight? In any case, the insectoids of the First Legion had basically been beaten by Casper, so there was no need to worry about any bad influence.
After saying this, Leslie withdrew his hand and picked up his cutlery to continue dining. He hadn’t finished his soft cake, and it would get cold if he did not eat it.
He left Casper alone, struggling to think with his burning brain. Why did he suddenly pull back? Was he not interested? Then did he need to take the initiative?
Messy thoughts flashed through his mind, and finally, the important information arrived. Oh, he was going to the First Legion tomorrow.
Hm? Casper was shocked, and he turned his head to look at Leslie in disbelief: “Your Highness, why are we suddenly going to the First Legion?”
Leslie swallowed the food in his mouth and spoke as a matter of course: “Of course, to pick your future colleagues. My private army hasn’t been set up yet, so I have to pick some insectoids from the First and Second Legions. If your former subordinates perform well, maybe you can work together again.”
Casper had never thought that he would have the day to see his former comrades-in-arms again. He never thought it would be at the First Legion’s station, rather than in a cold prison cell. For a moment, his heart was a mixture of five flavors, and he did not know what to say.
Rationally and coldly analyzing, Leslie needed to select soldiers, and since he happened to be a personal guard, following him was his duty; there was nothing to be moved by. But his emotions stubbornly insisted that this was a special arrangement by Leslie. He could have chosen based on the rankings of military competitions, yet he insisted on exhausting himself to go to the scene. Why? It was nothing more than the hope that he could meet a few of his rare good friends and tell them he was safe. This feeling of being held in the heart and surrounded by care and protection from all angles made his heart ache and swell.
The things he forced himself not to care about, someone else cared about for him, doing their best to make up for his regrets. The fire burning from his heart spread to his entire body in an instant. Different from the panic and trance brought by the boiling blood of being provoked to fight, his challenged rationality issued instructions, forced a lockdown, and maintained stability.
Rationality was screaming, trying to break through the lockdown of reason to declare love.
After dinner, Leslie was carried back to the bedroom by Casper. The female insectoid’s skin was very hot, but the overly rich pheromones brought a strange coolness. Caught between ice and fire, Leslie, who was already confused by Casper’s actions, found it even harder to maintain his sanity. He hadn’t planned to do anything initially; after all, he still had to go to the First Legion to investigate tomorrow, which was a huge project that consumed a lot of energy. However, since his femme consort had been so proactive, he could not just kick Casper out of bed and lecture him, could he?
Looking at Casper above him, ripping his clothes open with one hand, his full chest muscles rising and falling rapidly with his rapid breathing, Leslie swallowed silently.
“Well, I might as well indulge myself.”
The result of the indulgence was that Casper was soaked in a scent of wild roses that exceeded the sweetness limit. Having not exerted much effort all night, Leslie was still in good physical condition, but Casper had already fallen into a deep sleep. Leslie traced the deep eyebrows with his fingertips, touched the high bridge of the nose, and finally landed on the colorful lips of the hand resting on his wrist, which was still stained with light pink.
“Are you that happy just because I am taking you to the First Legion?”
Leslie pillow-talked against Casper’s heart, listening to the steady and powerful heartbeat, and slowly closed his eyes.