Constant could not spare a thought for Bai’s reaction. Instead, he propped his body up and prepared to walk out.
“Your injuries haven’t healed yet. Where are you going?” Bai had been immersed in grief over the injury of the general he admired, but seeing Constant about to leave snapped his thoughts back. “We live in the same apartment building; I can take you back.”
“No need.” This time, Constant rejected the hand Bai extended. As he limped toward the exit, he tapped his terminal, attempting to wake it from its self-protection mode. “I’m fine now. Thank you for looking after me during this time.”
“Al Lex!” Bai watched the other man’s hobbling figure. Though full of doubt, he still called out a reminder: “The news says this leave will last about a month, but we have to wait for the official notice.”
I don’t know where you’re going, but since you’re unwilling to say, I will respect your choice.
Constant turned and gave Bai a nod before heading out the door.
Nate, I’m still moving too slowly…
Once inside a hover-taxi, his terminal finished its repairs. A flood of notifications popped up, and Constant sifted through the mountain of mail to find the most critical ones.
Imperial Command: Mr. Constant, due to the effects of the war, your Female Sovereign, Major General Nathaniel, is currently recovering at the Imperial Sanatorium. If you wish to visit, please proceed to Ward 0613, Building C. If you have other matters to attend to, please ignore this message.
Male Rights Court: We shall uphold your noble rights as a Male.
Ward: The General forbade me from telling you, but I hope you can come and see him.
Bai: Contact me anytime if you need help.
As a Male, Constant understood perfectly that he held the power of choice once his Female Sovereign was injured. He could choose to abandon him or keep him; these were his rights as a Master. No matter what he chose, he would face no censure.
In the current social climate where Males are exalted and Females are lowly, if a Female suffers any physical injury after marriage, the Master can use it as a pretext to apply to the Spouse Protection Association to dissolve the marriage. The Female would then be burdened with all the Master’s expenses until he finds a new partner.
After confirming Nathaniel’s location, Constant told the driver to push the speed to the absolute limit. Three hours later, he finally arrived at the Imperial Sanatorium.
The moment he pushed the car door open, Sass—who had been squatting at the entrance smoking while monitoring this Male in secret—spotted his General’s Master.
Sass dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his boot to suppress the bitterness in his heart. Even so, as he grabbed Constant by the back of the collar, he couldn’t push down his rage. He knew visiting was a “right,” not an obligation, but this was his General! He couldn’t stand this piece of trash who had left the General alone for three whole days without a word.
However, when he saw the peek of bandages on Constant’s shoulder, the strength in his grip instantly slackened.
Startled by the sudden restraint, Constant looked up at the man in uniform. Before he could speak, the tension in the other’s hand vanished.
“I am Sass, Adjutant to Major General Nathaniel of the Third Legion. It is an honor to meet you.” Although he didn’t know why a Male would be wrapped in bandages, the priority was his General. “Are you here to visit Major General Nathaniel?”
“Take me to him.” Hearing Nathaniel’s name caused a fresh pang in Constant’s heart. “I was… in an accident, so I have difficulty moving. Use whatever method is fastest.” He knew he couldn’t walk quickly, so to see his Nate sooner, he could only ask for help.
Sass’s first instinct was to assume this was a lie crafted to deceive him, but combined with the bandages on Constant’s shoulder, his skepticism faded.
On the way to the ward, Sass glanced down at Constant in the wheelchair more than once. He found it hard to believe that a Male would rush out of a healing pod, ignoring his own injuries, just to see his partner.
Such things only existed in the fairy tales told to Zerg larvae.
“The General finally woke up, where did you go…” Ward started to bark at Sass the moment he saw him, but when he saw the person in the wheelchair, his expression shifted to instant respect. “You… you beat the General’s Master into this state and brought him here?”
Sass didn’t even look at him. He pushed Constant to the door of the ward. “The General lost an eye.” The implication was clear: Constant had to decide for himself if he still wanted to go in.
Once a Female’s body is marred, it affects the Master’s attitude toward them. Since the Female is the Master’s property after marriage, even if the Male brought him home and beat him to death, no one would dare say a word.
For a Master, an injured Female is a disgrace…
“Mm.” Constant used one hand to support himself as he stood up from the wheelchair. Because his shoulder wound hadn’t fully closed, the journey here had exhausted much of his strength.
He pushed open the door. Entering the room, he saw Nathaniel lying on the bed, his head turned away, staring blankly at the white wall.
The left side of his face was hidden in shadow. Even the sound of the door didn’t pull him out of his trance.
My eye is gone… If Al sees this, will he still love me?
Fortunately, he had told Sass to block all news of his injury from reaching Constant’s terminal.
“Nate.”
The sudden voice made Nathaniel shudder. His eyes snapped open, and as he started to turn his head, he realized his mistake and raised a hand to cover the injured side of his face.
Just then, Constant caught Nathaniel’s hand. When the General tried to flinch away, Constant barked a sharp command.
“Look at me!”
At this tone laced with anger, Nathaniel froze. How long had it been since Al had spoken to him like that?
As I thought. My Al won’t love me anymore.
Constant looked at Nathaniel’s injured eye. The once-amber eye had lost its luster; the pupil that used to hold the stars was now hollow, lacking any focus.
Even in this state, the man still refused to trust him, refused to face him.
That was why Constant felt angry—angry enough to use that tone.
The commotion in the room was clearly heard by Ward and Sass outside. Just as Sass was holding back a furious Ward who was ready to burst in and fight, the door was pushed open from the inside.
They watched as Constant rushed out of the room and ran off toward an unknown direction.
Nathaniel looked toward the door, the despair in his eyes so profound that Sass let go of Ward and reached for the sidearm at his waist. He was going to shoot the fool who had broken his General’s heart.
But before they could take more than a few steps, they saw Constant charging back toward the ward, dragging a figure in a white lab coat behind him. Because of his own injury, he was using only his left hand to pull the man along.
Before they could even process their worry, Constant had dragged the man into the room. It was Nathaniel’s primary physician, Adams, the man hailed as the “Imperial Sacred Hand.”
“I told you, I’ve done my best!” As a top-tier physician, Adams had never been “invited” to a ward in this manner in his entire life. When he saw the person on the bed, he opened his mouth as if realizing something, but then shook his head.
“You have a way.” Constant stared at Adams, who was getting up and dusting off his lab coat. “I know you are Nate’s friend, and the only Mental Healer in the Empire.”
“Even if there is a way, you wouldn’t use it.” Adams had heard of Constant back at the research institute: a profligate, a wanderer of the world. Those titles fit Constant as perfectly as his own face and voice!
What could such a Male do for his Female Sovereign? Moreover, he had never seen a Male capable of meeting that condition. Even if they could, they would value their own safety too much to try.
Adams had thought Nathaniel had been blinded by love and would eventually see Constant’s true colors, but who could have expected the man to appear like this and treat him so roughly?
“Zerg Scum”—that was exactly what Constant was!
While cursing him in his mind, Adams pulled a small comb from his pocket and fixed his hair in the room’s mirror. “Saving his life was hard enough. Even if the eye could be restored, the scar on his face cannot be removed.”
“And you, a noble Male, how could you not care about the scar on his face? It is your disgrace.”
Adams said this with a smile, looking at Constant with eyes full of irony. “Could it be… that you are willing to give your life for him?”