Chapter 67

Knock knock——

But before they could be intimate for long, there were two gentle knocks on the door of the lounge and Adelaide's voice was heard.

"Your Majesty, the ball has entered the second half. Are you available to join us now?"

"Wait a moment."

Yael responded loudly, then patted the female insect in his arms and motioned him to get up, "Let's go, I need to get dressed."

Unexpectedly, he got stuck at the first step. When he took it off, he pulled it off all at once like a sweater. When he put it on, he found that the clothes were very complicated.

"Let me do it."

Caesar took over, untied the knots, shook the clothes straight, and put them on Yael.

"Are you tired? If you don't want to participate, go home and rest."

The female insect's fingertips stroked the sensitive Adam's apple, and occasionally rubbed the neck and chest, bringing a slight itchy sensation.

Yael pursed his lips when being touched, "It's okay, I'm just not used to staying up late."

"Among the nobles who came to greet us just now, most of them are on the side of the eldest prince, and a small number are neutral. No A-level male insects have come yet, so they are probably all waiting and watching."

He briefly explained the situation to Xi Ze, then remembered something and frowned slightly.

"I could feel a male insect watching me secretly. His sight was different from the others. I remember he seemed to be calling..."

"Vito?"

Xize paused, not looking surprised at all.

"Some aristocrats have emerged in recent years. Although they are not taken seriously by the old aristocrats, they have actually become a very strong force and are one of the breakthrough points for reform."

"Should I do something? Like pull it or something."

Yael rubbed his cheek and asked for advice somewhat embarrassedly.

After fixing the crooked brooch, Caesar bent down and kissed the tip of his nose.

"No, they need to think hard about how to please the Lord."

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the eldest prince and other nobles who are close to him."

…

This emperor of the empire reigned longer than the previous one, but his political achievements were extremely mediocre. He had few children in his life and only successfully raised two princes, Augsger and Felix.

The second prince perfectly inherited the emperor's appearance when he was young, arrogant and domineering, with a head full of weeds. On the contrary, the eldest prince, who was unfavored since childhood and raised by a wet nurse, looks more like a king.

In this regard, Yael can only comment that good bamboo shoots grow out of bad bamboos.

Opposite him, the "good bamboo shoot" was looking at this side with a smile on his face, but for some reason there was a hint of mockery mixed in with his seriousness.

"Your Majesty, I have long heard of your great name."

After a brief greeting, the three parties looked at each other briefly and sat down in tacit understanding.

The servants around Ogsger stood at a distance, like a layer of protection.

Yerben thought that he would be a little reserved. After all, the outside world commented that the eldest prince had a strict personality, and after losing his only female child, he became even more moody and difficult to get along with.

But the feeling the female insect in front of him gave him was actually similar to that of Xize at the beginning, except that she had the temperament of an elder who had experienced the world, gentle and steady.

"Your Majesty probably doesn't know that I met Hillzer when he was very young. At that time, he was not as tall as he is now, nor as fierce as he is now. He was like a little kid..."

The topic of this conversation was very casual, basically talking about whatever came to mind. Yael took a sip of the strawberry milk handed to him by the female worm and listened to the female worm's "dark history" with great interest.

"But I first came into contact with him when I was a teenager. At that time, several military universities jointly held a mecha competition. He suddenly appeared and slapped the elite players to win the championship, and even led by a large margin in points."

He was a young man who wanted to display his talent and had the ambition to reorganize the empire. After the game, he helped Xize solve some of the troubles he had and pulled Chong into his own camp.

"The name that Hilzer used at that time was "Xize". He also used this name during the few years he spent on the desolate planet before winning the championship. However, when he later joined the military and was awarded a military title, he had to use his official original name again."

Hearing this, Yael slightly widened his eyes and turned to look at the female insect, "So you didn't just make this up, what's the meaning of this name?"

Xi Ze was stunned for a moment, "Didn't you read that information?"

Because of the issue of concealing his identity, he compiled all his life experiences from childhood to adulthood into data and transmitted it to the male insect's optical computer.

Later, Yael occasionally expressed doubts, but he thought the male insect just didn't look closely, but it seems that it is very likely that he didn't look at all.

Yael felt a little overwhelmed, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and whispered in the female insect's ear.

"I haven't seen that information. It's enough to know your real identity, but the rest is your privacy."

"It's okay, you can look at it as you like."

As expected, Yael said calmly, "Forget it. What's the point of reading it myself? It's more fun to listen to you or other insiders."

Xi Ze sighed and explained, "As I told you before, after breaking up with my family, I went to live on a remote planet for a long time to protect myself. This was the name I used during that time."

"It doesn't have any special meaning, but from now on this will be the Lord's exclusive nickname."

Ogsger watched them whispering quietly, with a gentle smile in his eyes from beginning to end, as if he was looking at them, or perhaps thinking of something through the scene before him.

But they didn't chat for long, as the night was already very dark, and soon another kind of music began to play in the hall, indicating that the party had entered a special program.

Yael knew nothing about this.

Many female insects who did not have male masters and did not want to play open games had already retreated voluntarily. Ogsger also rubbed his eyebrows, revealing a bit of fatigue.

"I'm a little sleepy, so I'm going to go downstairs and rest first. Have fun, you guys."

After saying goodbye, Yael looked at the time and realized that it was already very late at night. Just as he was about to take Caesar back to catch up on some sleep, he was stopped by a strange voice.

"Your Majesty?"

When he turned around, he found that it was a strange male insect who had been in Kano's circle before, although he didn't know if he was protecting him.

"Your Majesty, do you want to play with us?"

Play? What to play?

Yael frowned slightly, looking at the embarrassed male insect with some surprise, and glanced past him at the scene in the hall.

There were fewer insects in the hall, and the lights had been changed to dim, ambiguous warm lights. The atmosphere of the entire dance party was luxurious and decadent, and there was even a noticeable sound of water mixed in with the music.

The noble male insects scattered around looking for places they liked to sit down, while the female servants and slaves they brought with them were kneeling on the ground, lowering their heads and serving them diligently. Among them were some noble female insects wearing evening gowns.

Yell immediately understood what he meant and frowned subconsciously.

"Well, it's about the various ways of playing with the female servants and female slaves. Previously, His Highness Kano was the leader. There are all kinds of ways of playing. Do you want to try them out?"

The male insect hinted vaguely, and said that he had recently acquired several powerful female slaves who could be exchanged with him for play.

He had just witnessed the ruthlessness of the male insect in front of him, but at this moment he saw a trace of incompatible purity in those dark eyes, which was completely different from what was about to happen.

"That was just your Majesty's formal meeting. This is a special meeting in the male insect circle. Every male insect who has been promoted to A-level or squeezed into the upper-class circle has experienced it. Are you really not coming?"

Yael turned to look at Cize. The female insect had a calm expression and nothing could be seen, but it was obvious that she knew the unspoken rule and even tacitly agreed that he could do that to her.

"Your Majesty, don't be embarrassed! This is only a very normal thing. If you want to enter the circle of high society in the future, you will inevitably have to attend such social events."

This society has become accustomed to these things, but no matter how "open" they are, they do it directly on the seats in the hall, or even several male insects exchange female servants and slaves to play with.

It is still relatively "restrained", playing alone in the room on the second floor of the dance hall, the nature is actually almost the same -

They all treat female insects as objects that they can own and play with at will, rather than as partners who need to be respected and loved.

He suddenly became angry, not only because of this abnormal custom, but also because of the female insect's tolerance and acquiescence.

"I won't go. You guys can do whatever you want. Just don't invite me to these activities again."

Yael said in a cold voice, ignoring the stunned expression of the male insect in front of him, and directly grabbed Caesar's wrist, pulling him towards the hall exit with some force.

"Let's go."

So what if it is the default rule of society, and so what if it has potential implications in the male circle.

I don't belong here, and I'm not a bug, so why should I obey these disgusting things?

He couldn't change the environment of the entire Zerg race, nor did he want to waste his energy trying to change anything. The most he could do was to avoid getting involved, and to protect Xize from suffering such humiliation.

The male insect was stunned for a moment, but before he could try to stop her, Yael took the female insect out of the hall.

"What's the matter? Your Majesty is unwilling to come?"

A familiar voice rang in his ears, and the already irritable male insect looked even more irritated. He turned around and saw Vito, and said unhappily.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on. It's so annoying."

"Even Marshal Monte can ride on me. I don't believe he doesn't understand these things. Maybe he is just too arrogant and looks down on us. He is so naive. He will cry when he is excluded in the future..."

The male insect went back to the female slave to vent his anger, mumbling something. Vito was left standing there, looking in the direction where Yael had left, with a thoughtful look on his face.

*

It was a dark night. The moon and stars were hidden behind the clouds and their details could not be seen clearly.

The cool night breeze outside finally woke Yael up, and his anger subsided a little.

他抿了抿唇，轉頭詢問旁邊的西澤道，“現在回家嗎？還是去哪裏？”

西澤看了眼周圍的景象，突然道，“難得會到這裏來，我帶您去皇宮的後花園看看吧。”

舉辦舞會的地點是最大的一處宮殿，而在金碧輝煌的舞會大廳外，周圍還有很多建築和景色，最漂亮而且比較透氣的地方當屬後花園。

從正門拐到側邊一條鵝卵石小徑，就好像瞬間從奢華進入了幽靜的森林，繁茂的枝葉擋住了身後透出的燈光，周圍一片昏朦。

簌簌——

走在面前的雌蟲幫他撥開橫生的枝杈，開出一條路讓他進來。

“這條是快速穿過的捷徑，會難走一些，雄主跟緊我。”

走了大約百米，耶爾嗅聞到了一縷玫瑰的清香，夾雜在微涼的夜色中，讓困倦的精神頓時一清。

“……感覺我們好像在私奔。”

他已經不怎麽生氣了，用力握了握雌蟲的手，轉眼去看周圍花園裏靜谧的景象。

那些樹木和花草在月光照耀下泛起大片淺淡光影，像進入了一個沒有蟲知道的夢幻之境。

而他們是撇開一切，逃亡到這裏的一雙旅鳥。

西澤将雄蟲肩膀旁的一節枝杈撥開，聞言轉頭看他，神色在模糊的昏暗中看不太清楚，但耳尖卻明顯地泛起了紅。

他低低地嗯了一聲，把拉着手腕改成了十指交扣的姿勢，帶着耶爾進入了後花園中。

眼前豁然開朗——

耶爾瞳孔猛地微縮，失神了一瞬。

“我偶爾會到這裏來，不過不是因為觀賞景色，而是和殿下會面商議一些事情，不過那都是五六年前的事了。”

西澤的聲音平靜中帶着一點懷念，沉默半晌後又輕嘆了一聲，“這裏的變化倒是不太大。”

團團簇簇的植物和花卉中放着一張有靠背的藤椅，是用藤條挂起來可以搖晃的類型，剛好夠兩個蟲一起并排坐。

“吱呀——”

陳舊的椅子發出吱呀輕響，耶爾下意識拉住了藤條，生怕椅子一下子塌了。

雌蟲伸手扶住他的側腰，輕拍了拍後低聲道，“不是藤條，裏面是擰成股的金屬絲，很牢靠的，不會掉下去。”

這個位置顯然是專門設計好的，處在不算高的緩坡上，可以一覽無餘地俯瞰下方的景象。

安靜坐了一會後，從大廳中帶出來的燥熱慢慢散去，額前的發絲被微風吹起。

遠處的花海盡頭連接着天空，清亮的月慢慢從雲後露出一角。

“剛才我說以後都不會參加那些活動是真的，不會因為時間的改變而改變決定。”

耶爾突然開口道，而後認真地看向雌蟲。

“所以如果別的蟲和你說什麽，比如我去亂搞了之類的，都是挑撥離間，不要信知道嗎？”

雌蟲不确定自己會不會被當衆逗弄，會不會被交換出去，只是因為被一貫的風俗裹挾，倒不如一開始就說清楚來。

“我知道的，若您真的把我交換給其他的雄蟲，我也會拒絕的，并不是完全無條件順從。”

西澤神色柔和，深深地凝視着耶爾，

如果讓其他雄蟲聽見這一句話，必然會勃然大怒，甚至會覺得雌蟲的順從度不夠，需要狠狠調教過一遍。

但耶爾愣了愣後，非常簡潔利落地應了一聲好，而後嘴角難以抑制地上揚，顯然心情很好。

畢竟他一直喜愛着的，并不是雌蟲被社會束縛出的那份溫順，也不願看到那份自困于牢籠的奉獻。

任何違背天性的強迫，都只會磋磨掉健康而熱烈的情感，而不會滋養出新的生命活力來。

“你有拒絕的意識就好，別什麽不合理的要求都無條件服從，要是以後我變壞了，你也要記得不要被欺負。”

雖然他想不到自己被污染或者同化會是什麽樣子，但想也知道不是什麽好東西，而且并不畏懼下狠手。

西澤愣了一下，低聲道，“……您不會的。”

“我知道您不會的。”

雌蟲下意識又說了一遍，卻不知道想到什麽，神色突然有些微變，但很快就壓下了那份隐約的憂慮。

氣氛似乎有些沉重了，耶爾低咳一聲，随便轉移了一下話題，“話說，S級雄蟲的具體作用是什麽呢？”

他順着想了想露面之後可能會帶來的問題，突然真情實感蹙起眉來。

“總不會叫我去聯姻，然後和什麽基因優質的雌蟲結合，為帝國繁衍大業添磚加瓦吧？”

不是沒有這個可能。

耶爾神情嚴肅地想了一下，最終看向一旁的雌蟲，語氣沉重，“我應該不會被迫賣身吧。”

西澤剛回過神來就聽見這一句，有些無奈地寬慰道。

“不會的，但是可能會定期采樣，送去帝國研究所研究您的基因，近些年來研究有了很大的進展，您的到來說不定能突破最後的阻礙。”

想起來一直給雄蟲講解勢力分布，還有那些貴族的産業和關系等等，真正需要耶爾了解并實施的卻一直沒說，西澤暗道失策。

“高級雄蟲的職責一個是負責提供高濃度信息素，稀釋和複制過後大批量生産出信息素藥劑，供給最為緊缺的醫院或戰場。”

“還有就是給瀕臨狂暴的貴族雌蟲做精神疏導，但不是像您給我做的那樣。”

見到耶爾神色仍然困惑，他繼續解釋道，“一般B級以上的雄蟲就能實現無接觸疏導，甚至能一次梳理多個，整個過程非常迅速。”

耶爾的精神力似乎同時具有治愈和控制兩種功能，強大到可怕，如果能最大程度地開發利用，甚至能堪比一支精英機甲部隊。

但……那麽強大的雄蟲，此時卻安靜地坐在一張藤椅上，正聽着他說種種規則禁忌，神色溫和而專注。

“不用擔心，您慢慢來就好了。”

西澤的神情柔和了些，話音漸漸低了下來。

那麽難得，幾乎千年難遇的，兼具了強大和溫柔的S級雄蟲，居然會陰差陽錯出現在那場戰役中，繼而成為了蟲族的一員。

又在一年前來到艾塔爾，仿佛從天而降的神靈般對他伸出援手。

西澤從來不相信虛無缥缈的命運，卻也在這一刻忍不住懷疑，耶爾是不是被那慈悲的存在選中，來拯救這個腐朽不堪的帝國和他的。

如果真的有命運存在的話，希望祂不要那麽嚴苛，耶爾已經經歷了太多艱難困苦，才終于從黑暗走到這無邊月色裏。

那些深切的苦難，已經足夠換取往後一路光明坦蕩。

耶爾原本正在默記這些東西，耳邊的聲音卻突然停了。

他有些疑惑地擡了擡眼，“怎麽不說了……”

一抹溫熱卻恰好印在了臉頰上，讓他微微睜大了眼睛。

那一抹璀璨的金在迷蒙夜色中熠熠生輝，倒映在耶爾的眸底，讓那烏黑溫潤中陡然亮起一點灼灼的光，仿佛互相成就的黑夜與繁星。

他後知後覺地臉熱起來，開口時甚至磕絆了一下。

“怎麽突然……你怎麽了？”

西澤被抓包偷親，但卻沒有一點遮掩的意思，唇瓣在那臉頰上磨蹭了好一會，才啞聲詢問道。

“沒怎麽，只是想親一下您，可以嗎？”

耶爾擦了下臉上的口水，沒有理會胸腔處撞擊的鼓噪，抿了抿唇吐槽了一句馬後炮。

“您臉紅了。”

雌蟲的聲音在耳邊響起，溫熱的呼吸間帶着一點促狹笑意。

耶爾用手背擋住了臉，好半晌才悶聲道，“你看錯了。”

西澤眸底的笑意更深。

之前雄蟲總喜歡逗他玩，一看到他羞澀敏感的樣子就心情大好的樣子，雖然沒有造成什麽實質性傷害，但也曾讓他困擾過一段時間。

後來他放松了很多，偶爾也會逗逗耶爾，才知道……那真的很好玩。

西澤清了清嗓子，熟練地将有些過速的心跳壓下去，再次開口時已經恢複正常——

如果忽略那同樣泛紅的耳尖的話。

西澤輕嘆一聲，想起耶爾一開始說的私奔言論，又覺得這宮殿确實太悶。

就算是能自由在主星行動，對雄蟲來說也仍然束縛居多……只是終究無可奈何。

“等這些事塵埃落定後，我就把之前攢的年假都請了，帶您去其他星球放松一下，我記得有很多星球都很有意思……”

他聲音舒緩，沒有很正式地拿出光腦查詢，只是閑聊一樣，左一下右一下地說着記憶裏比較好玩的點，偶爾問一下雄蟲喜歡什麽。

耶爾也漸漸消去了臉上的熱度，往後放松地靠在藤椅的椅背上，小腿悠閑地輕晃。

“嗯……你喜歡花嗎？我還行吧，每次養都養不活。”

“以烘焙面包聞名的星球？感覺這個好好玩，不過我喜歡蛋糕多一點，面包其實還好，只要做成正常的形狀就行。”

不吃大蟑螂和大蜘蛛是他的底線，另外一些類似于甲殼蟲等等的，他還勉強能忍受。

“盛産毛絨絨小羊羔的星球？星球上的草地肯定很遼闊，應該挺好玩的……”

Yael hesitated for a moment, "We can't go out now, but we can play around. What is the most famous thing about the main planet?"

Xi Ze was stunned for a moment and hesitated for a while.

"As for the main planet... I remember a report was submitted before saying that the amount of metal waste produced by the main planet every year is hundreds of times that of other planets."

The food is not famous, the scenery is not famous, and apart from the highest level of technological development and the best geographical location, there is nothing outstanding about it. Oh, it is even criticized for producing a lot of garbage.

Yael and Cesar were both silent.

The topic was cut short, and the quiet night returned. Although the breeze was cooler than before, I could only feel a comfortable warmth all over my body.

Yael took a deep breath, and the last bit of sleepiness disappeared.

He unconsciously lowered his eyes to look at his fingertips placed on the bench, which were not far away from the female insect's fingertips.

Yael moved his fingers subconsciously, but still didn't touch it.

But the next second, the back of my hand felt warm. The female insect's hand was long and broad, covered with a thin layer of cocoon, which always gave me a warm and reassuring feeling.

"Look, it's caught."

Xi Ze's eyes curved slightly, and he looked at him and chuckled.

"...Yeah, I'm holding it."

Yael's eyelashes trembled and he repeated softly.

He gazed at the female insect's face in the moonlight, and in that instant, he felt an indescribable thrill.

How amazing.

A year ago, he could never have imagined that he would be sitting in a quiet garden in the middle of the night, looking into the eyes of a female insect at a distance, just like Luo Ou and Zhu O Ye.

But the moonlight, thick as milk, flowed around me, melting away all the noisy external sounds.

In this unusual silence, in the intertwined shallow breaths, it seems as if we can touch each other's souls——

They have the same purity and luster, like two sides of a mirror reflecting each other.

...No, they are still different, and the difference will always exist.

Yael thought silently, facing this problem for the first time.

It is a difference that spans an entire universe and a long period of time, formed by the sedimentation of countless histories, and has long been melted into the flesh and blood, hidden in every breath.

And he finally came to terms with himself, admitting that he could not give up the part of himself that was human until his death.

But if you can never go back, you might as well just live like this, which is also good.

What if I can never go back?

This thought flashed through his mind like the light fluttering of a butterfly's wings, bringing a strange tingling sensation for a moment, leaving Yael a little stunned.

The strange feeling was fleeting and soon melted into the moonlight and the female insect's gaze.

So Yael stopped thinking about it, pursed his lips and smiled, and for the first time asked in a very formal way.

"Excuse me, can I kiss you?"

Then, he really heard a soft and indulgent chuckle.

"Of course."

"If you like."