The moonlight tonight is beautiful, the evening breeze is gentle
The male insectoid behind him was quiet. Even his breathing was extremely light and long, as if he had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Casper silently activated his insect-pattern energy, raising his body temperature further to create a warm and comfortable environment for rest.
He did not regret his answer just now.
Even if he could do it all over again, he would still say “no.”
They were not a match in status or standing, and he was truly not a suitable partner.
A noble male insectoid should sit high in the palace, his hand held by a wealthy and powerful noble female insectoid, rather than stepping into the dust to reach down and lift up a hand covered in blood, filth, and scars.
The frozen, barren earth could not nurture a delicate rose; therefore, one should not have picked the branch in the first place.
“My dear officer, you only have this chance today. If you miss it, there will be no more.”
Leslie whispered into Casper’s ear.
For the first time, he was so desperate to hear a refusal.
The heartbeat beneath his palm did not change its frequency. It was stable, powerful, without hesitation, and without struggle.
“No.”
“Even if your Highness asked me a thousand times, ten thousand times, I would still give the same answer.”
Just as his initial refusal was to avoid breaking the delicate rose, it remained so now.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; even the Empress was at a loss for a solution. Casper dared not imagine how high a price Leslie would have to pay to achieve his goal.
If the price were to be paid by himself, he would gladly accept the opportunity. Whether it required assassinating an enemy commander or agreeing to genetic experiments, he could accept it.
However, reality was clearly not like that.
He could claw his way to the position he wanted, but he would not rise by stepping on a ladder built from the flesh and blood of his own master.
Leslie lay quietly on the warm, broad back, where the rhythm of the heart under his palm faithfully reflected his thoughts.
Casper had refused him again, but this time, he was very happy.
He suddenly had an inexplicable craving for a Mojito.
It was a drink infused with a large amount of mint, clear enough to see the bottom of the glass. Mixed with lemon soda, fine, round bubbles detached from the glass walls, floating upward briskly, and shattering the moment they touched the surface, emitting a crisp, cheerful sound.
Ice cubes bring chill, but they also bring refreshment.
Exquisite, small teeth bit into his neck, grinding gently. A moist, soft tongue tasted the dissipating scent of mint bit by bit, satisfying a suddenly rising appetite.
The steady, powerful gait paused for an instant, and along with his breathing and heartbeat, he missed a beat, throwing off his rhythm.
When he resumed his stride, his pace was clearly faster, revealing a touch of haste.
The gentle layer of air was disrupted by his hurried steps. As they collided, they stirred up a breeze that brushed gently past his hair tips.
The moonlight tonight is beautiful, and the evening breeze is gentle.
The next day, the training room was in a shambles, with a pile of female insectoids lying about in pain, wailing.
Many military females knew they were no match for him, yet they lined up one after another to challenge their former commander.
It was so infuriating!
How could one insectoid be so unreasonable!
Mental suggestions caused the military females who attended last night’s party to experience a certain degree of memory confusion. They could not clearly remember when the Prince left, but they were certain they had no contact with him. Combining this with Casper’s hurried departure yesterday and his body full of sweet pheromones today, the simple-minded group of military females concluded that Casper had monopolized the Prince for the entire night.
It must have been the whole night!
Otherwise, how could he have left such a rich, sweet scent!
Although they had not really expected anything to happen at the party, it was like wanting to admire a beautiful and expensive mech in a shop window, but then a temporary guard pushed the entire mech away, leaving them not even a shadow. The next day, he was even showing off photos of himself sleeping in the mech’s operation room.
They could not take it! They could not take this at all!
The culprit was currently lying comfortably in his bedroom, watching the tournament-style battles in the training room.
His femme consort was doing the screening work for him, so the lazy male insectoid, who would have expended huge amounts of physical energy, was content to rest nestled in the blankets.
He could have recovered completely with a dab of repair solution, but looking at the faint red marks left on his body after Casper’s intense restraint, Leslie chose to let them heal on their own.
This was a medal, a medal of his victory.
The military females on the light screen lined up in an orderly fashion, circling the field, rubbing their hands and preparing to take the stage to get beaten up.
Casper, in the center, did not feel that anything was wrong; he was in high spirits as he disciplined his former soldiers, and when he encountered someone with decent strength, he would even offer guidance.
Therefore, even though wails filled the training room, the fighting spirit of the military females remained high, and even intensified.
Leslie rested his chin in his hands, watching this scene with confusion and resignation.
Ah, this was truly something he could never understand, no matter how many times he saw it.
Female insectoids were such strange creatures.
His fair, tender feet swayed in the air, tracing a graceful arc with the movement of his calves.
Although he did not understand it, it did not stop him from enjoying the show.
The surging, sweat-covered muscles presented an extremely tempting color under the cold light, and the muscle groups that expanded and contracted with his breathing looked quite chewy.
Just like he had tasted last night, they were quite delicious.
A special notification sound rang out, and thin, slender tentacles formed of mental power tapped on the pop-up window. The reply from the Empress appeared on a new screen.
[Femme Parent: You may.]
His territory application had been approved.
The message that followed was an additional condition.
[Femme Parent: However, the Fourth Legion cannot be entirely withdrawn.]
[Femme Parent: As the Butterfly Cloud Star System is on the Imperial border, it requires a large number of troops to garrison it. Your small force of garrison troops is completely insufficient.]
[Femme Parent: An equal-number rotation is acceptable.]
The corners of Leslie’s mouth, which had been raised, slowly flattened. His pink, full lips pursed tightly, so hard they turned white.
It was not entirely unexpected.
But it certainly was not happy news.
He did not have a presentable reason to persuade his femme parent. He could not exactly say, “I have been reborn and know what will happen in the future,” could he?
That was too ridiculous.
Moreover, he could not guarantee that if the entire Fourth Legion were withdrawn from the Butterfly Cloud Star System, the original attack would still happen.
If the enemy changed their direction, it would be a major disaster.
A tragedy in the Fourth Legion, regardless of where it happened, would be a major loss for the Empire.
As it stood, a partial rotation was a fairly good result.
[Got it, femme parent~]
He attached a cute cat emoji with its hands tucked in obediently.
In the Imperial Palace on the Capital Planet, inside the Empress’s office, Egbert looked at the reply from his son and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
His son, having just reached adulthood, was about to run off to a remote area. Even though he was worried, he knew he could not restrict his child’s growth too much.
The future heir of the Empire could not be a flower living in a greenhouse; he would always have to face some realistic storms.
However, the Butterfly Cloud Star System was truly a place with harsh conditions.
After thinking for a moment, the Empress waved his hand and allocated a batch of brand-new military equipment, as well as daily necessities, to the garrison in the Butterfly Cloud Star System.
When the supply ship arrived, Leslie should be almost there as well.
Although he could not build a safe house for his son, he could at least hold up an umbrella for him.
The cold Empress issued the order and returned to his serious work state, with not a shred of doting affection to be seen.
After replying to his femme parent, Leslie lost interest in watching that heated tournament.
He gave direct remote instructions to the training room, providing a list of allowed challengers; the rest of the military females not on the list would have no chance to challenge Casper.
Honestly.
It was one thing for an A-rank female insectoid to challenge him, but why were the B-ranks also joining in the fun?
Although he could knock them down with one punch, knocking out a punch still consumed physical energy.
His femme consort was getting exhausted in the training room, and he was the one who had to go and pick him up, right?
Leslie poked Casper’s blank-looking face on the light screen with his fingertip in a foul mood.
Hurry up and finish so you can come back and hold me! Don’t waste your energy on that bunch of military females anymore!