Chapter 19
◎You seduced me in the first place◎
“That’s really unfortunate.” Lan Hua shrugged, expressing his regret. He thought for a moment and then asked, “Have you thought about what will happen after we destroy the last Philosopher’s Stone? We can’t go back.”
Regas asked Lan Hua, "What do you want to do?"
In the Silver Glow Empire, bound by his status, he was often powerless to act as he pleased, forced to consider many things. He could only live as a crown prince, not as an individual named Regas. But now, there is no Silver Glow Empire, no Crown Prince; he is simply Regas.
"I don't know." Lan Hua smiled, suddenly feeling a little lost. It was like having been holding his breath for so long, suddenly achieving his goal, and then being told he had to retire. He had considered countless possibilities, but his imagination seemed to be less outrageous than reality.
“No rush, you can think about it slowly,” Regas said.
“Anyway, there’s plenty of time, right?” Lan Hua added at the opportune moment.
“It’s my fault for dragging you into this,” Regas said.
Lan Hua nodded. "It's good that you know. Remember to make it up to me."
“Okay.” Although it was just one word, Regas’s reply was very solemn.
"When you're bored, it's not bad to find some handsome guys to relieve your loneliness," Lan Hua muttered to herself.
Regas: "..." He couldn't do anything to Lan Hua, but he certainly wouldn't hold back when dealing with the others. But he wouldn't say it out loud; sometimes it's better to do things without saying them.
Just as Lan Hua and Regas were talking in front of the palace ruins, Regas's computer bracelet suddenly activated. Regas answered the call request without trying to hide it from Lan Hua.
"Your Highness, Luo Ying has sensed the last Philosopher's Stone." Borene's voice was filled with undisguised joy. Borene was the chief guard of Regas, always calm and composed. Even for this mission, which was destined to be a one-way trip, he had prepared himself for a silent sacrifice. And now, with the last Philosopher's Stone found, his mission was nearing completion. Even if he could never return, he would not have failed His Highness's orders and expectations.
Regas could clearly hear the overwhelming emotions in Borenne's voice. Even if they couldn't return once the Philosopher's Stone was truly destroyed, he would make arrangements for those who had come with him. But for now, he couldn't say anything, because no one knew what changes might occur before things were truly finished.
“Send me the coordinates,” Regas said.
"Yes," Perrine replied respectfully. After the call ended, Regas received the coordinates from Perrine.
"Would you like to come with me?" Regas asked.
“Of course, I also want to see what this so-called philosopher’s stone looks like,” Lan Hua said.
Lan Hua boarded the spaceship with Regas.
"Did you bring this spaceship from Silvershine?" Lan Hua asked. Although small, this spaceship was comparable in sophistication to the black hole probe he had used to explore the Hela black hole, representing the Empire's most advanced technology. This backward Cali Federation certainly didn't have one.
“Yes,” Regas explained, “When we came here, we didn’t know if we would succeed, but we made the necessary preparations.”
"Were you injured when you came here?" Lan Hua asked.
“Those who came with me, apart from Luo Ying, are all the most outstanding talents in the Empire in terms of physical strength and mental power. Although they are injured, they will all recover in a month or two.” Regas answered all his questions without reservation. He was the fastest to recover, having fully recovered in about a week, but an injury that required a week of recovery was already quite fatal.
Lan Hua's physical and mental strength were comparable to his, and even though her injuries healed quickly, she would still need to rest for a few days. He had examined Lan Hua when he first saw her; although Lan Hua said her injuries were basically healed, they weren't fully recovered. Her physical condition was still quite different from her peak.
“Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet, so you still need to be careful,” Regas said.
"Hiss~" Lan Hua suddenly swayed, touched her forehead, and groaned, "My head hurts."
Amused, Regas helped Lan Hua up and played along with his act, saying, "If you have a headache, just sit down. There's water next to the seat."
"Tsk, what a boring man." Lan Hua waved away Regas's hand that was supporting him, sighed, and said, "How could I have fallen for you in the first place? No, wait, you were the one who seduced me."
He looked Regas up and down. "I really miss you back then." Back then, Regas was the epitome of uniform fetishism—slim waist, long legs, and handsome face. The key was that gentle mask that made you want to tear it off and see his true face.
"Is there any difference between me now and me before?" Regas asked.
“You know in your heart what changes you’ve undergone, but maybe this isn’t a change, maybe you’ve never changed at all.” Lan Hua lazily rested his chin on his hand. He wasn’t sure before, only had a vague feeling, but after arriving on planet LM68, he was completely certain.
After speaking, Lan Hua fell silent, squinting her eyes as if dozing. Regas looked at Lan Hua with complicated emotions. He knew Lan Hua was intelligent, but he didn't know she was so perceptive.
The sound of the spaceship arriving at its destination broke the silence between the two.
"We're here," Regas asked. "Shall we come down with me?"
“You don’t need to be so cautious,” Lan Hua suddenly laughed. “The reason I was attracted to you in the first place was naturally because I liked your temperament. If you weren’t pretending, I might like you even more. I’m the kind of person who likes dangerous things.” Truly kind and gentle people held no appeal for Lan Hua.
"I thought you liked Regas like this." Regas curled the corners of his mouth, his gaze losing its gentleness and taking on a hint of aggression.
“Outsiders might like it, but as for me—” Lan Hua laughed, “I don’t like mediocre and boring things. Even if it’s fake, it’s still too boring.”
He stood up and met Regas's eyes. "Regas, it's one thing to pretend in public, but if you keep acting so gentle in front of me, I'm going to dump you."
After saying that, Lan Hua took another step forward, bringing the two even closer, close enough to feel their breaths mingling. "It's still you—"
He stretched out his finger and slid it down Regas's shoulder to his chest. "You've really fallen completely in love with me, so you—are you afraid?" Fear makes people cautious, fear makes people try hard to restrain themselves, and dare not show the slightest edge.
"Since you already know, why bother to spell it out?" Regas gripped Lan Hua's chin, his gentle facade crumbling, his gaze now intensely aggressive and oppressive. "I long to control my feelings as I used to, but—"
His lips pressed against Lan Hua's. Unlike his previous gentle demeanor, Regas's lips were cold. Lan Hua licked Regas's lips, then pulled away, laughing, "Your lips are as cold as your heart." He touched Regas's face with a hint of lingering affection, "Your disguise is as perfect as your face."
“But I still can’t fool you,” Regas said with a faint smile.
“You regret it now,” Lan Hua laughed. “So you’re scared, how strange.”
“Nothing surprising,” Regas chuckled. “Actually, I regretted it a long time ago.”
“I know,” Lan Hua said, “before you came here.”
"So you knew all along."
"Do you really think I would have come to you if I hadn't known you were sincere before?" Lan Hua scoffed. "I just didn't expect you to be even more deeply involved than I am. Should I be honored?"
“You were already dazzling,” Regas said, so dazzling that he had fallen so low that he abandoned everything he had planned.
“So, I don’t need a cautious Regas; he’s too vulgar,” Lan Hua commented. “Boring.”
“I didn’t expect this either,” Regas said. “Maybe, feelings really can make people weak.” More than two years was enough for him to truly see his own feelings. So when he faced Lan Hua again, he couldn’t help but be cautious. If he lost her again after regaining her, he didn’t know what he would become.
“Perhaps we should have a proper talk after everything is over,” Lan Hua said as she walked towards the cabin door.
“As long as you don’t leave,” Regas said.
"That's not necessarily true," Lan Hua said with a light laugh.
Regas walked to the hatch with Lan Hua. "I can't do anything about you." But to others... Regas's smile was cold.
The two disembarked from the spaceship, where Borenie and the others were already waiting. Upon seeing Regas and Lanhua, she took the lead in bowing and saying, "Your Highness, Lord Lanhua."
Regas nodded in acknowledgment and then said, "Lead the way."
"Yes." After receiving the order, Borenie led the way for Regas and Lanhua.
The four Philosopher's Stones weren't actually concentrated on one planet, but rather distributed across four different planets. Over two years, they traveled between these planets, destroying three of the stones. As for the last one, Luo Ying vaguely sensed it was in the North Gate system while on other planets, later confirming it was on planet LM68. Detecting the Philosopher's Stones was extremely taxing on mental energy; after detecting the three stones, Luo Ying rested for over half a year to recover.
Loying was also in Borenne's entourage. He lowered his head, trying hard to conceal his expression, and it took a lot of effort for him to appear nonchalant. But he couldn't help but clench his hands tightly.
Clearly, His Highness had already given up on Lan Hua; the two were separated by different universes, while he remained by His Highness's side every day. If Lan Hua hadn't appeared, even if His Highness still had no feelings for him now, he believed that with time, feelings would develop, and one day, his silent companionship would move His Highness—after all, His Highness was so gentle…
But why did Lan Hua appear? Wouldn't it be better for him to be the ruler of the Southern Region? Lan Hua has everything: looks, status, wealth, position... Why would he want to compete with him for the title of Prince?
Luo Ying's hands clenched into fists, trembling slightly with excitement. He thought he had concealed it well, but he couldn't hide it from the two people walking ahead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
