【Claire's condition looked serious.
Xi'an instinctively activated the room's pheromone purification system.
Naturally, it had no effect. Once a Male Zerg bit someone, the pheromones entered the bloodstream directly rather than lingering in the air.
In this situation, only mating with a Male Zerg or an inhibitor injection could calm it down.
Thoughts flashed through Xi'an's mind as he quickly searched for a solution.
Claire resisted him with every fiber of his being. Forcing it would only make him suffer even more.
And after witnessing the miserable state inside Claire's mental landscape, Xi'an couldn't bear the thought of using inhibitors either.
Grinding his teeth, Xi'an bent down, picked Claire up from the floor, and carried him into the bathroom.
The moment he touched him, the Female Zerg trembled and struggled. The second his feet touched the ground, he tried to run.
Xi'an planted one hand against the wall and blocked him with his knee, trapping the escaping Female Zerg in the corner. He turned on the shower, and icy water poured down over them.
Even amidst the rushing water, Claire's ragged breathing remained painfully clear.
His legs kept giving out, causing him to slide downward. Xi'an wrapped one arm under his armpits to support his body and raised his pale, drenched face with the other hand.
“Feeling more awake?”
Claire's breathing remained heavy, his body trembling uncontrollably. His unfocused eyes gradually regained clarity as he stared blankly at Xi'an's face.
“...Xi'an?”
“Mm.”
Xi'an answered softly, somewhat surprised.
Expecting cold water to calm a Female Zerg in heat was unrealistic.
Yet Claire had actually regained his senses.
Thinking about how Claire had cultivated such terrifying self-control made Xi'an's chest ache.
This Female Zerg was harsh with himself to an almost cruel degree.
The bathroom fell silent. Only the sound of running water and their mingled breathing remained.
They were too close.
Moisture clung to Xi'an's eyelashes.
Beneath the cascading water, the Male Zerg lowering his eyes toward him looked so beautiful he seemed unreal.
His training uniform regulated temperature, so he didn't feel particularly cold. Instead, the icy water made his mind exceptionally clear.
Confusion and lucidity alternated in Claire's eyes. His gaze drifted across the Male Zerg's dripping bangs and wet eyelashes. Gradually, he remembered everything he had done, and his face grew even paler.
He had rejected the Male Zerg again.
No Male Zerg could tolerate repeated rejection like this.
This wasn't what he wanted.
It was as if his own body was deliberately fighting against him.
He was obsessed with Xi'an's pheromones. He desperately wanted to be invaded and possessed by him.
Yet the moment that scent spread around him, he instinctively resisted and even feared touching him, as though it would bring consequences he couldn't bear.
No Male Zerg could endure such repeated offenses.
“Male Lord... please inject me with muscle relaxants... Then I won't offend you anymore...”
Claire pleaded through trembling breaths.
This wasn't coercion from the Male Zerg. It was his own request. The Male Zerg wouldn't have to bear any guilt.
Xi'an hesitated.
He understood what Claire meant.
Claire intended to fulfill the duties of a Female Lord in this way and allow himself to be possessed.
But Xi'an obviously didn't want to hurt him with something like that, and besides...
“If you use muscle relaxants... wouldn't it become really loose?”
Xi'an asked awkwardly.
Claire's mind went blank.
His whole body froze.
Really... loose?
The Male Zerg's voice echoed in his ears.
Unable to endure the humiliation, Claire averted his gaze. He bit his lip tightly, his complexion dark and ugly. Even the heat raging inside him was extinguished instantly.
After that, he never mentioned that medicine again.
......】
#Claire Loose#
A maliciously amusing topic climbed onto StarNet's trending list.
Female Zergs gleefully fanned the flames.
[Oh dear, what's wrong with Claire? His Male Lord already dislikes him on the second day of marriage.]
[Male Lord said Claire's very relaxed~]
[Don't worry. Lord Xi'an is Super A-Class. You know, super huge and super capable. Even if a Female Zerg is loose, he'll still be completely filled anyway.]
[Holy crap, now I'm even more jealous of that guy.]
[I'm drooling. I want Male Lord to **** me too. I'm better than Claire.]
On his way to work, Speaker Cassian stared at those vulgar comments on StarNet with the bewildered expression of an old Zerg abandoned by the times.
He first connected to StarNet's intelligent administrator and used his authority to delete every comment lusting after his younger brother's lower half.
Only to discover they were impossible to delete completely.
In the end, he became so angry that he directly locked the entire topic.
“Contact that author and tell him to be more careful. Stop writing nonsense.”
Although the Federation enjoyed freedom of speech and entertainment regulations were even more relaxed, anything with a seriously negative impact could still be shut down.
Cassian handed the matter to his secretary.
The answer came quickly.
The author used a temporary military identity and couldn't be contacted, but there was nothing wrong with the book itself.
Compared to the Zerg novels overflowing with pornography, violence, and gore, Author An's Instructor was practically a breath of fresh air.
Conclusion: The book wasn't the problem.
The problem was the brains of those Female Zergs.
Cassian: “......”
As a Female Zerg who had firmly chosen a low-ranking Male Zerg as his own Male Lord, he genuinely couldn't understand the almost fanatical obsession other Female Zergs had toward high-ranking Male Zergs.
After discovering the topic had been locked, the Female Zergs reluctantly returned to the comment section.
StarNet moderation never bothered with such trivial matters, so a sudden ban was suspicious.
They unanimously concluded that “Claire's book spirit had unleashed its power.”
......
【Inside the training room, Claire maintained a stern expression while doing basic exercises, looking no different from usual.
But Xi'an felt as though black smoke was pouring off him.
Clearly, that single word had dealt too much damage.
Xi'an regretted blurting it out and felt incredibly guilty.
He wanted to make up for it.
But he couldn't exactly run up to Claire and say, You're actually ridiculously tight, so tight it makes my scalp tingle.
He hadn't even slept with him yet.
Xi'an shot a resentful glance at Claire's back and silently criticized him in his heart.
Besides, saying something like that would probably get him beaten up.
Thinking about other things distracted him.
The lapse in concentration was obvious.
Claire set down his equipment and walked over. One hand pressed against Xi'an's back to support him as he said deeply,
“Straighten your back. Lean slightly farther backward. Tighten your core. Use your waist.”
Xi'an: “...Yes, Instructor.”
When he heard “Instructor,” Claire didn't find anything strange.
Even after Xi'an finished his training and headed to the adjoining bathroom, he still didn't think anything was wrong.
It wasn't until he stepped out and saw the furnishings around him that he suddenly froze.
This wasn't the military.
He wasn't Xi'an's instructor anymore.
He was his Female Lord.
An icy chill ran down the back of Claire's head.
What should a Female Zerg do if he accidentally treated his Male Lord like a soldier at home?
Should he be thankful he hadn't ordered Xi'an to do another set?
“What is it?”
Xi'an emerged behind him and asked curiously when he saw him standing still.
“M-Male Lord, just now I...”
Claire quickly turned around to explain.
“I know. You were in great condition just now.”
Xi'an interrupted him lightly.
“That's good enough.”
Ever since returning from the expedition, Claire had always given him a lifeless feeling.
It was as though his soul had been hollowed out and he'd lost all hope for life and the future.
Only just now had Xi'an seen some vitality return to him.
As for being lectured...
Well, so be it.
Claire had always been both his instructor and commanding officer.
It wasn't like this was the first time he'd been scolded.
He was already used to it.
Claire couldn't understand what the Male Zerg meant by “good,” but Xi'an had already grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs.
Claire's gaze fell upon the hand holding his.
Xi'an had discovered that as long as he didn't release pheromones, Claire wasn't as resistant to physical contact.
In fact, he was better than before the expedition.
Ever since Claire rescued him from the Tianga pursuit and then disappeared for three months, he'd become unusually cold and couldn't tolerate Xi'an getting close.
That had always remained a knot in Xi'an's heart.
He thought he had become Claire's burden, that he'd held him back and made him hate him.
After that, he trained desperately and pushed himself twice as hard, wanting to become stronger and prove himself to Claire.
Only to have his expedition request mercilessly rejected, with no room for negotiation.
He had stormed up to Claire for the first time in his life and argued with him passionately, yet failed to change his decision.
Claire departed on the expedition himself, taking almost everyone in the unit with him.
Except for Xi'an.
He had been abandoned once more.
But after learning what had happened inside the mech, new thoughts and suspicions began to emerge in his mind...
Downstairs, Claire looked at the empty table and said automatically,
“Male Lord, I'll cook.”
“You can cook?”
Xi'an snapped back to reality and looked doubtful.
Claire answered,
“I took cooking as an elective in school.”
Cooking was an optional course in the Federation.
Almost every Female Zerg chose it.
Even though smart machines handled meals nowadays and ordinary Zergs rarely cooked themselves, culinary skills were considered bonus points in the marriage market.
With the severe gender imbalance and competition, marrying a good Male Zerg was about as difficult as getting into a top university.
Female Zergs had to compete desperately and seize every possible advantage.
Society had become so twisted that even military academies offered cooking classes.
Back then, Claire hadn't thought much about it.
Everyone around him had chosen the course. Refusing would only make him stand out.
Without a sufficiently powerful background, being too different wasn't a good thing for a Female Zerg.
Xi'an looked surprised.
“How were your grades?”
Claire fell silent.
For the first time, he felt utterly lacking in confidence.
“...Passing.”
At this moment, he deeply regretted thinking the course was unimportant and slacking off while everyone else studied seriously.
If he'd known he would marry Xi'an one day, he would have treated cooking like a tactical challenge and devoted himself completely.
Xi'an wore an expression of “Just as I thought,” but still waved him toward the kitchen.
When Claire arrived, he discovered the robotic butler had already finished preparing everything and was currently plating the dishes.
Eight mechanical arms moved in orderly coordination.
There was nothing for him to do.
After looking around awkwardly, he finally made a glass of juice, proving he hadn't done absolutely nothing.
Feeling guilty, Claire brought the juice out.
Xi'an didn't seem to care and smiled while inviting him to sit.
Claire's ice-blue eyes moved over the table.
Instead of the enormous dining tables used by ordinary Male Zerg households, this was a privately customized small table.
Such a table wasn't suitable for a Zerg family.
It was made for couples.
But Xi'an only had one Female Zerg right now, so it was enough.
Xi'an held his juice and sipped it happily.
It was only ordinary strawberry juice, yet his eyes curved with satisfaction.
“I'll get up earlier and make breakfast in the future,” Claire said carefully.
He reminded himself that he was a married Female Zerg now.
He couldn't live casually like before.
Everything should revolve around his Male Lord's needs.
Xi'an already had a poor impression of him, so he should perform well.
But Xi'an replied,
“No need. We have the smart butler.”
Male Zergs were usually picky eaters.
Xi'an had been the same.
But military life had cured him.
The military cafeteria was a miracle doctor. It made Zergs abandon desire, achieve inner peace, and lose all primitive cravings for food.
Now he was perfectly content eating meals made by machines.
Besides, with Claire's barely passing skills, he probably couldn't cook better than the robot.
Rather than competing with the smart butler for its job, Xi'an would rather have Claire stay in bed with him a little longer and let him cuddle him.
Rejected once more, Claire naturally concluded that his cooking wasn't good enough for his Male Lord and quietly said no more.
After dinner, he stood to clean the table, only to be stopped again.
“Forget that. Come sit with me for a while. Let's talk.”
Xi'an pulled him onto the sofa while leaving everything to the smart butler.
Claire sat ramrod straight.
So it had finally come.
Recalling everything he had done after marriage, as well as all the disasters before marriage, he understood.
Xi'an was settling accounts.
He might become the first Female Lord in history to be demoted to a female attendant or female slave on the second day after marriage.
Xi'an looked him over from head to toe.
Seeing how stiff and tense he sat, he hesitated before cautiously asking,
“Can I lean on your shoulder?”
Claire blinked and nodded carefully.
“Yes.”
“And your chest?”
“...That is also fine.”
Claire's expression went blank.
His eyes were filled with confusion.
......】