Chapter 91
Tsk.
Yael paused for a moment and stopped in the middle of the living room.
His eyes swept over the tea table beside him, and indeed he saw an extremely subtle stream of light hidden among the clusters of flowers.
"Why are you standing here? Didn't you say you were going to receive the guest insects?"
015 put the little turtle into the water tank and turned around to look at him strangely.
"It's OK."
Yael walked around the living room without deliberately stopping his eyes, but he had already figured out the locations of the surveillance cameras.
He sighed.
Sometimes, having overly sensitive senses is not a good thing, at least when faced with the crazy behavior of female insects, you cannot be blunt and completely ignore it.
Forget it, at least for this period of time...
Yael sat on the sofa, opened the materials he would need later, and then thought about his future plans in a casual manner.
015's welcome voice soon came from the door, followed by Vito's polite thanks, and soon, the young male insect appeared in sight.
"Long time no see."
Vito coughed softly, smiled after getting a response, and sat on the sofa next to him.
"Yes, it's been more than two months. A lot of things must have happened during this time."
He had already taken a rough look at it last night. The current situation was better than he had imagined. The only thing worth worrying about was——
"Anto, Lance and Ganuo, are they still being secretly imprisoned, still suffering from lynching instead of exile?"
When he first saw it, Yael was really surprised for a long time. After all, he knew that the female insects were very honest and even if they were injured, they would just kill the enemy insects cleanly and efficiently.
He would not return all the pain he had suffered bit by bit in such a cruel way. Although he had no objection, it was not Xi Ze's usual style.
Vito smiled bitterly.
"Yes, and the longer it is delayed, the worse it will be. It will definitely give the media and political opponents a handle, and they may use this as a reason to attack us in the future."
"Did your majesty not advise him?"
Yael was looking through the new news brought by Vito, and frowned slightly when he heard this.
"Your Majesty has tried to persuade him, but it was ineffective. Perhaps only your persuasion would be effective... After all, it was because of your coma that Marshal Monte completely lost control."
After hesitating for a long time, Vito finally said frankly that he was not sure whether His Majesty would feel offended or would find it troublesome and not want to care.
Yael paused for a moment, and then he let out an inaudible sigh, "I understand."
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty..."
Vito hesitated to speak, unsure whether his question was inappropriate, since it was another male insect's family affair.
"Um?"
"Have you always been living under such high-intensity surveillance? Don't you feel uncomfortable?"
As soon as he entered the room, he felt a strong sense of being spied on, almost like a shadow following him. It sent a chill down his spine and made him wonder how many surveillance cameras were installed here.
Because male insects have stronger mental strength, their senses are generally more acute than those of female insects when not in a fighting state, and they are more likely to feel uncomfortable.
"Although it's not nice to say this, no matter how much you pamper the female monarch, it's best to have a limit, otherwise it's easy for her to invade your insect space or even interfere with your insect freedom."
Seeing Yael raise his face and look a little unhappy, Vito quickly raised his hand to show weakness and said a few more words.
"I'm not a very feudal insect. I won't be full of praise for the majesty of male insects. But if the female monarch wants to install surveillance cameras at home to spy on my whereabouts at all times, I definitely can't stand it."
Seeing that the male insect seemed to be thinking about something, he lowered his voice and continued to persuade him.
"Besides, countless eyes are staring at you and the Marshal right now. If you are discovered, I don't know how those unscrupulous media will make up stories."
“It wasn’t like this before.”
Yael closed the file and scanned the hidden dark lights everywhere, but he did not feel unhappy because of Vito's exposure, nor did he avoid talking about it directly.
Normally male insects would not tolerate this, because in their eyes female insects are subordinates and property, while they must always maintain their dignity and right to speak. Such behavior would only make them furious.
But Yael is calm now.
He even kindly reminded Vito not to talk so much, "The surveillance here can pick up any sound, so you should talk less."
The young male insect suddenly looked embarrassed as if he had been caught saying bad things behind someone's back, and he adjusted his sitting position and turned his body to the side.
"Well, the Marshal probably won't hold a grudge like that..."
Yael had an expression of "who knows?" on his face, but he quickly stopped joking and said seriously.
"He is not my property, or even my female lord or female insect. Whether in terms of identity or emotion, in a sense, we are on an absolutely equal footing."
Knowing that Vito was not a traditional male insect, but still ahead of his time with his words, he simply stated his attitude without making a long speech to try to convince him.
"I respect all his decisions, but of course, I will inevitably have some preferences."
Vito looked as if he was eating dog food. "Uh, so?"
That’s getting off topic.
Yael stopped talking in time with a low cough and briefly explained the reason.
"If it was normal, I would have a good conversation with him, but now he is sick, so everything is excusable, and this is what I allow."
If he is sick, he has the privilege to be tolerated for some excessive behavior, and those behaviors are out of love and anxiety, not out of a desire for imprisonment or cruelty.
If it weren't for the two months of delay due to the time travel, Xize wouldn't have become like this. After getting sick, he felt even more wet, like a snow leopard with all its fur wet.
Yael is very soft-hearted and doting about this.
"S-sick?"
Vito let out a surprised cry, with an expression that said "How could I know this?" He suspected that the Marshal was going to set a trap for him in the next second.
"No, the information I gathered is that the Marshal was still killing people in the training ground this morning, demonstrating how to tear apart monsters with bare hands..."
His voice got lower and lower as he spoke, and he suddenly realized that it was all a trick played by the young couple, and he was just a passerby who had accidentally entered the set.
And because of talking too much, he has already received a double blow of dog food, he deserves it.
Vito closed his eyes and said with a fake smile, "...Okay, Your Majesty is aware of this. Let's continue to talk about the latest situation."
They talked for a while.
Near the end, Yael suddenly closed the data, looked at the male insect and whispered, "Can you help me customize something? I'll send you a message later."
Vito didn't understand why, but he agreed anyway.
After he left, the living room returned to silence again, with only the occasional sound of the little turtle stirring the water. Yael sat back on the sofa, staring at the scene outside the balcony in a trance.
His face looked somewhat solemn, as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he got up and returned to the study.
*
The next morning at half past six.
Before he even opened his eyes, Yael reached out to touch his side, and found that the other half of the bed was already cold.
“…”
He frowned, and soon came to his senses. He could vaguely hear some movement outside the door, but he did not rush to get up. Instead, he curled up in the quilt.
Xi Ze didn't sleep well last night, and today he had to get up early to prepare for something important.
Although he knew that the female soldier had great energy and endurance, it did not stop Yael from feeling tired for him.
And there is one very important thing -
His departure really left a huge psychological shadow on the female insect.
Even though I accepted the reality that he had returned and knew he would never leave again, the subconscious fear did not lessen much, and I even became a little neurotic because of losing and regaining him.
Yael recalled that last night he was just turning over and was grabbed into the arms of the awakened female insect. When he wanted to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, he saw the female insect staring at him as soon as he opened his eyes.
This can't go on.
He wanted to stay in bed for a while, but then he remembered that he had an important press conference today, so he forced himself to get up, wash up, and after he was ready, he opened the door and left the living room.
"morning."
When Caesar came to his senses, he saw the male insect leaning against the wall, greeting him lazily. His pajamas were a little messy, and looked soft and warm.
His expression softened, he raised his hand to stop the designer from chattering, and walked over to Yael in two or three steps.
"You're awake. It's still early. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
"It's getting late. Aren't you going to hold a press conference at 8 o'clock? It must be very important to you. I have to prepare in advance as well."
Feeling the small kisses on his face, Yael looked over the female insect's shoulder at the designer with shining eyes not far away and chuckled.
After not seeing for a long time, the designer's eyes flashed with a wolf-like green light, and he reached out and brought over all the new clothes he had designed during this period.
"I heard that you have already finalized the prototype! Looks like I can design a special dress for you. What kind of dress would Your Majesty like..."
A few days ago, they went to the hospital for a checkup and did not avoid other insects during the period. The news spread quickly, but the specific data is still kept confidential.
The biggest topic of discussion is who is the prototype of His Majesty Yell?
"We'll talk about this later. Let's prepare for the press conference first. It should be something formal. Beauty is secondary."
Cizek was wearing a military uniform with no medals on it, but he was still very serious.
Yael's fingertips brushed across the crisp collar and looked at himself in the mirror.
"It will be a very important occasion later."
…
The purpose of the press conference was to reveal the truth about the Battle of Lemire.
The press conference invited several of the most authoritative media outlets and was broadcast live across the empire.
The Battle of Lemuth was the fastest and most costly defeat for the Empire.
帝國之光隕落，甚至淪落到屍骨無存的下場，而那道號稱堅不可摧的防線，也被敵軍全然攻破，無數星球因此淪為火海地獄。
當年受害的民衆聯名想要一個解釋，帝國皇室卻選擇了暴力鎮壓，将這一樁慘案掩埋于塵土之下。
後來軍部将領職位變遷，将曾經第一軍團剩餘的軍雌全部遣散，秘密處理掉了仍在提出徹查的聲音，這件事便成為了最大的不可言說。
“咔嚓！”
“咔嚓咔嚓！”
發布會現場在國會大廳裏舉行，上面是特制的演講臺，下方的場地十分開闊，前十排已經坐滿了特邀來的蟲。
再往後就是皇室請來的權威媒體，正十分專業地進行準備工作，現場除了低聲的交談，就是搬動高精密儀器的聲音。
“……等會陛下要是出來了，1號機就負責準備拍面部特寫！”
耶爾坐在第一排的正中間，左邊是皇室大臣，右邊是軍部上将，雙方都各種穿着統一的制服，只有他格外顯眼。
直播已經開啓，此時正對準了下方的位置，無數彈幕在直播間劃過，就連枯燥的發布會都讨論得熱火朝天。
【是耶爾冕下！！冕下我愛您啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊！！！】
【有沒有網管啊！能不能把上面那只尖叫雞叉出去？？】
【不怪他，冕下真的！蟲神下凡的絕美嘤嘤嘤……話說冕下還有沒有雌侍啊？我願意開豪車住豪宅進冕下的房間！】
【樓上你……一點委屈都不想吃是吧，能不能嚴肅一點，這是蒙特元帥的新聞發布會！冕下已經是那位的雄主了！】
正觀察情況的導播嘴角抽了抽，但還是順應網名的心意，給下方的雄蟲冕下來了個近距離特寫。
耶爾似有所覺地擡起頭，看向快要貼到臉上的金色小精靈球，神情困惑一瞬。
這是壞了？怎麽貼這麽近？
那小精靈球撅着屁股、睜着溜圓大眼的樣子格外可愛，耶爾輕笑了一聲，伸出一根手指将它戳開，“回去吧，小心被碰壞了。”
那一聲低笑溫潤而清朗，帶着冕下特有的輕柔氣音，像是潺潺的溪水流過耳側，一瞬間幾乎半邊身體都麻了。
導播眼看着收視率飙升了好幾個點，眼不見心不煩地關掉了彈幕，不想見那到一茬又一茬的尖叫雞轉世。
倒是一旁的雷契爾注意到什麽，投來不同尋常的注視，“您已經和希爾澤成婚了，但是你們的婚姻狀态怎麽還沒變？”
“什麽？”
耶爾順着軍雌的視線，看到了左手無名指的戒指，又聽到他的疑惑，有些無奈地笑了笑。
“事出有因，到時候再去匹配中心綁定關系了。”
他原本想着等戒指做好就求婚的，沒想到被戰争橫插一腳，後來又陷入昏迷，戒指直接被西澤發現了，等醒來又是很久之後。
……驚喜什麽的完全沒有了啊。
耶爾嘆了口氣。
雷契爾卻摸了摸鼻子，有些刻意地道。
“那就好，外面有蟲傳您和元帥貌離合神離，看似恩愛其實根本就是希爾澤的一廂情願，畢竟這麽久了還沒有綁定雌君什麽的。”
耶爾眉心緊蹙，神色逐漸淡下來，“這種傳聞很盛行嗎？我沒有聽說過。”
“還好，并沒有形成主流的聲音，但是從您公布S級的身份後，就一直有流傳，最近您的聲勢水漲船高，這些聲音也大了起來。”
“好，我知道了。”
耶爾簡單道，下意識轉了轉無名指上的戒指，看向臺上的側門，仿佛能透過去看到正準備發言的軍雌。
不管是為了給西澤安全感，還是為了堵住那些奇怪的聲音，那件事都必須盡快提上日程了。
不等他繼續思忖，奧格斯格已經從門口出來，踏上了演講臺，場內氣氛為之一肅。
“想必大家都知道這場發布會的目的，但說得再多也沒有親眼去看直觀，大家請看。”
例行的開場白過後，奧格斯格沒有長篇大論多餘的廢話，直接開始播放搜羅到的一系列罪證。
“為這次發布會我們準備了很久，所幸當年的栽贓陷害并不是天衣無縫——”
屏幕上清晰地展現出了萊米爾戰役的始終，也緩緩揭露了當初“蒙特元帥判斷失誤導致慘敗”背後的真相。
一張張染血的照片觸目驚心，都是從塵封已久的檔案中挖出來的。
它們被無數勾結的不懷好意的手銷毀、掩埋，企圖抹去那些鮮血淋漓的罪行，想要在蟲神的眼皮底下偷天換日。
卻還是被察覺不對的蟲保留了下來，暗中搜查真相，然後拼死将線索傳遞了出去，最終等到了真相大白的那一天。
“……”
耶爾的神色嚴肅又凝重，看着當年戰争留存下來的，滿目瘡痍生靈煎熬的影像資料，難以抑制地微微紅了眼眶。
那些苦難沉沉地壓迫在心上，不再是一段傳聞，也不是星網上無奈又無力的404，而是一段終于被正視、被撥亂反正的歷史。
所幸一切都已經過去，罪孽深重的已經锒铛入獄，而被栽贓陷害的一步步往上爬，終于再次回到了灑滿陽光的神壇。
直播裏，刷屏的少了很多，原本摻雜的一些不好的聲音，似乎也被這一幕所感染，只剩下一片無聲的默哀。
嗒。
嗒、嗒、嗒……
視頻已經播放到了尾聲，恰好這時，一道堅定的腳步聲由遠及近響起。
硬底軍靴叩擊着光滑的地面，發出有節奏的輕響，一身軍裝挺括的西澤終于出現在所有視線之中。
耶爾凝視着他一步步往前，步伐穩定而堅毅，路過那五年的黑暗與痛苦，将所有艱難坎坷踩在了腳下，最終來到高臺之上。
他利落地轉身，站定，無比坦然地接受着所有視線的打量，顯得平靜而強大。
奧格斯格神情嚴肅至極，手中的權杖敲擊了一下地面，發出沉重的聲響。
他環顧了場內一周，一字一頓，擲地有聲。
“希爾澤·蒙特元帥，受到了叛國重罪犯安托等蟲的加害，拼死血戰到了最後一刻，從始至終，沒有判斷失誤也沒有臨陣脫逃——”
“他是當之無愧的将領、元帥！不負帝國之光的贊譽！”
低沉的聲音在空曠的廳內環繞，同時也在每一個正觀看着直播的蟲耳邊響起，無形之中，一點點挽回了這些年破碎的皇室形象。
因為情緒的翻湧，奧格斯格平淡的表情破裂了一瞬，他的臉頰因為隐忍而抽動着，眼眶一點點變紅。
“召開這場發布會，不是想祈求那些逝去英靈的諒解，不論怎麽說，萊米爾戰役是帝國慘痛的教訓，不管是皇室還是軍部，我們立正挨打！”
“但是，我們仍然渴望着，仍然生活在這一片宇宙上、生活在帝國轄區內的所有臣民的信任。”
“相信我——剛剛上任的新皇，會帶領帝國走向更光明的未來！”
“相信你們的蒙特元帥，能再次築起那道堅不可摧的防線，贏得一場又一場巨大的勝利，開疆擴土，所向披靡！”
耶爾恰好和西澤對視了一眼，見到那雙極亮的金眸裏劃過鋒芒，仿佛拂去塵埃悍然出鞘的刀鋒，綴着一點驕傲的笑意。
軍雌擡手敬禮，國會廳內頓時響起一片掌聲如雷，潮水般一陣接着一陣，蔓延到了帝國的每一個角落，久久不絕。
【好！！！】
【嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚原本覺得這個帝國已經沒救了，但現在看來，還是可以期待一下的嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚……】
【我就知道！當年的事必然有蹊跷，那可是蒙特元帥！不是安托·艾德卡那種只會玩弄權術的軟腳蝦！】
【說得好！鼓掌啪啪啪啪啪！！！】
終于從震撼中回過神，導播看了一眼直播的情況，活躍的網友又開始刷起屏，這一次卻大多是積極正面的了。
這次發布會的效果真的很好，連他這種歷經好幾代帝王的老油條，都忍不住心潮彭拜了起來，對帝國的未來滿懷期待。
将最重要的東西講完，奧格斯格清了清嗓子，開始演講這些時日制定的新國策。
“這些年，腐朽的皇室和貴族做了不少壓迫、剝削底層的爛事，我們承諾加強國家機構上下的監察，不斷自省不斷改進，一步步鏟除那些毒害帝國的毒瘤……”
……
發布會終于在三個小時後圓滿落幕。
直播停止，國會廳內的特邀嘉賓紛紛起身，卻沒有着急離席，而是邊走邊開始寒暄和交際。
耶爾着急去找西澤，便沒有搭理那些湊上來的蟲，但在和維托擦肩而過時，手裏卻被塞了一個東西。
“您昨天拜托我的東西。”
一道低聲傳入耳中，他怔了一下，随即抿唇笑了笑，“好，謝了。”
交接的過程悄無聲息，沒有被任何蟲察覺，耶爾很快就到了後臺，見到了正往外走的西澤。
The female insect had a hurried look on her face, as if she was in a hurry to meet someone, but the moment she saw Yer, her expression couldn't help but soften.
"Now that you're here, are you tired of sitting for so long?"
He was held in his arms all of a sudden, even in the background where insects were buzzing around. Yael still felt a little embarrassed, so he reached out and patted the female insect on the back.
"That's fine. Let's go back. I've prepared something for you, and..."
He mumbled and didn't finish the sentence.