Chapter 23
"What? His Highness the Third Prince has arrived?"
The mastermind behind the manor received the news immediately. Hesen frowned slightly and said, "Of course, you can go. Your Highness can go wherever you want."
The composed female soldier made arrangements in an instant: "It's raining heavily now. I remember His Highness is not feeling well. Arrange for a female soldier to escort His Highness."
The communicator was switched off, and Hessen's brow remained furrowed. Brandon stepped forward and asked, "Wasn't His Highness the Third Prince supposed to be recuperating in the Holy City? Why did he suddenly come here?"
The Third Prince was born at the end of the Insect Emperor's reproductive period. His congenital deficiencies led to a weak body, and he has not appeared in the capital's social areas for many years. It is said that he will have difficulty passing the second advancement.
Normally, male insects of this age should have completed their second advancement. The Third Prince is already eighteen years old, but there has been no news of him successfully advancing. There have been rumors on the capital planet that this mysterious male insect prince may perish at the critical moment of his second advancement.
Whether His Highness survives or not has little to do with Hessen, but if something happens on his estate, no one can escape responsibility.
"General, shall we go out to greet him?" Brandon asked.
“This banquet is the Marshal’s domain, why should we overstep our bounds?” Hessen said gently, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Go and ask the Marshal for instructions.”
The Third Prince has come from afar to attend the Marshal's victory celebration banquet. What an honor this is! The Marshal should personally go out to greet him.
“But Marshal…” Brandon hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
It was obvious that the marshal was unable to go out to greet them; it was a miracle that he had managed to endure the entire banquet tonight.
Hessen simply looked out the window gently, and Brandon immediately understood that he should carry out orders; this was not something he needed to think about. He quickly lowered his head and made arrangements.
Dick answered the call, a hint of anxiety burning in his brow. He knocked on the door: "Marshal, the Third Prince has arrived at the manor. You should go down to greet him."
He stood outside the door, partly to shield the marshal from any unwanted insects that might come at any moment, and partly because the marshal's pheromones were too strong, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder, and the air thick with the scent of killing and war. Any insect would have to temporarily avoid his sharp edge.
Celtic continued his rough, stroking motions, his voice particularly hoarse and concise: "Ten minutes."
How can a pheromone craving be suppressed for ten minutes? Without a male, this would be a bottomless abyss.
But there's no way to find another male insect now? No, it has to be a male insect you recently cuddled with.
The Marshal's fiancé, Prince Sirius, was in a room not far away, and no insect dared to take the risk.
Dick hurried down the stairs, preparing to greet the mysterious Third Prince.
The eldest and second princes have always been active in the public eye, and the other two female princes have always been in the army and often appear in public, but this one seems to have never appeared.
It seemed to be targeting the marshal from the moment it appeared. Is this the struggle between royal male insects?
The downpour continued, the sound of rain pattering in his ears. From a distance, Dick saw a black umbrella embroidered with roses open, striding quickly through the manor.
A dozen or so female guards stood in front of and around this distinguished gentleman, their figures barely visible through the gaps.
The black umbrella provided a strong shield, revealing only a pair of straight, slender legs beneath it, with beautiful lines. The legs, hanging limply, appeared pale and thin, making the woman look like a small boat in the storm, as if she might capsize at any moment if the rain intensified.
Just by looking at his upper body, one can imagine that this is a handsome male insect.
"Your Highness, I am honored by your arrival on behalf of the Marshal. However, the Marshal's old injury has flared up again, and he is temporarily unable to come to greet you. I know this is impolite, but..."
Before Dick could say anything more, His Highness gestured for him to stop. Dick noticed a deep blue gemstone ring on His Highness's hand, which shimmered faintly in the downpour.
"No need."
His Highness's voice was young and husky, like the song of a mermaid in the night, possessing a captivating and eerie charm.
But for some reason, Dick felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Perhaps it was because the Third Prince's voice was slightly similar to the Second Prince's, Dick deduced.
The black-haired man, holding an umbrella, strode over, bowed, and joked, "Your Highness arrives quite late; the excitement has already passed."
Bright stood calmly, one hand in his pocket, and nodded to Dick with the haughty air of a male insect: "Your Highness came to see me. Lieutenant General, you may return now."
He seemed a bit arrogant, as if he thought Dick wasn't perceptive enough, but this was exactly what Dick wanted to hear.
He made a gesture of respect, and the noble prince, who had already turned to leave in the pouring rain, suddenly raised his hand to the side of the umbrella, revealing a strand of platinum-haired hair.
A deep blue diamond entwined around his pale, slender fingers, like a sea serpent coiling around the moon that had fallen into the water.
"Please give my regards to the Marshal. I have been wanting to express my gratitude to the Marshal ever since the rescue on Nuka five years ago, but it seems that the Marshal has never been willing to accept my visit."
At this moment, such a sentence was enough to send chills down Dick's spine.
This is a statement that sounds like a condemnation; though it sounds light, it seems to contain the prince's dissatisfaction.
Dick immediately bowed and apologized: "You flatter me. Marshal had no such intention. It's just that Marshal is very busy with official duties and rarely stays in the capital. Marshal will prepare a gift to apologize to you later."
The prince nodded slightly, as if in agreement, and then the umbrella moved, as if a floating boat was drifting away. Dick stood up two seconds later.
Some even found it hard to believe that this sudden crisis would be resolved so quickly and in such a short time.
Bright and the prince were talking quietly, seemingly complaining that the third prince had arrived too late, and promising to take the prince to another place to have fun.
It seems to have truly been an accident, something the marshal just happened to encounter.
Dick walked back with an incredible sense of luck when he suddenly heard rustling sounds coming from the bushes. He was now on edge, and his instincts as a female warrior made his palms quickly transform into insects in preparation for an attack.
Suddenly, a head popped out from the bushes.
Her short, golden hair clung wetly to her cheeks, and her clothes were completely soaked, making her look like a drowned cat. Her emerald eyes had a clear, watery sheen.
"Lieutenant General Dick, it's me."
The drenched cat emerged from the bushes, and for some reason, Dick instinctively looked at his hand.
Her fingers were also fair and slender, but they were undecorated, and there was no expensive sapphire blue ring on them.
How did he get in when the manor was heavily guarded?
However, this question only lasted for a moment, and he immediately realized that no matter how he got here, he had arrived at the perfect time.
As the night deepened and time lengthened, the emptiness and pain that seeped into my bones intensified.
Even the most brutal actions seem to lack something, the most crucial element—the male insect.
Once a female has tasted the male insect and experienced the feeling of being embraced by pheromones, she will find it hard to leave. The presence of the male insect is both poison and antidote for the female.
If a male insect is separated from you for a long time, it will become terminally ill, and this is before it is marked. But what if it is marked? Then it will become the male insect's slave.
Since they've given him this drug, they'll probably expose him soon, and he won't have much time left.
He needed to hurry. He began to recall the fresh, youthful pheromones of the young male insect, his wet eyes, and how he softly opened his lips in the closet, obediently licking and kissing his finger.
Snap—
The door was opened, and Celtic opened his eyes abruptly.
Those were terrifying eyes, dark, cold, and filled with burgeoning ambition. They looked over coldly, giving the insect a chilling feeling that it might kill it at any moment.
However, outside the door was the adjutant who had rushed over. He was strangely holding an umbrella inside. At that moment, the umbrella was pushed open by a hurried hand, and the little male insect inside, like a wet gift, ignored the chilling murderous aura emanating from him and walked towards him.
A refreshing, sweet bergamot pheromone, dispelling gloom, swept over and enveloped you.
Dick didn't say anything more, but before closing the door, he said, "Marshal, I will do my best to stop them."
So please do it as soon as possible.
The marshal's collar was violently ripped open, and there were bruises on his chest from pent-up frustration.
The marshal wore a formal military dress today. Unlike the coldness and strictness of military uniforms, the dress was covered with medals, which made it look more precious and powerful.
He spread his legs and commanded, "Come here."
It was rare to see a marshal dressed like this. For some reason, he felt that it gave off the feeling of an ancient noblewoman commanding her male lover.
It's a bit embarrassing, but I can't help wanting to go. It's not the kind of power that comes from being at the top of the combat force, but rather a kind of dominance in the arena of power.
Hill's eyelashes fluttered; he dared not look, yet could not look away, and could only obey the marshal's order to walk over.
The little creature's pheromones are spreading, from faint to strong, according to universal standards.
The male insect was aroused.
The answer that he was incredibly attractive to the little creature seemed to bring a gentle breeze to Celtic's gloomy mood that night.
Hill approached step by step, and just as he reached the desk, Celtic suddenly reached out his hand, but instead of embracing him.
A hot, powerful hand gripped his neck, instantly taking his breath away, and the fear of death loomed over him.
"Hmm..."
The murderous intent terrified him; he had witnessed this kind of murderous intent before.
Five years ago, in the Long Star Forest of Nuka Star, the Marshal carried him through the wilderness, where countless star beasts chased and hunted. Whenever this murderous intent arose, it would not be long before a massacre would occur.
The 3S female soldier was a true war machine, and at that time he was in the marshal's arms, in a safe haven, but now this killing intent was directed at him.
He was afraid, but he also felt that the marshal would not kill him, so his spirit, which should have resisted, softly lay dormant.
Celt looked at the male insect, which was beautiful and harmless, its pale neck in his hand. In two more minutes, or perhaps with a little more force, the fragile male insect would die.
He couldn't even put up an effective resistance. His eyes were unfocused as he was being choked, and his hands were weakly wrapped around his arms, as light as the torrential rain outside the window.
He must have walked a long way; his long arms were still marked with thorn wounds, his short golden hair was still dripping with water, and his beautiful face was flushed with a damp red from suffocation.
Combined with the bloodstains on her body from the thorns, she resembled a rose on the verge of withering.
Fresh blood also carries the scent of pheromones, enticing female insects.
Seeing the male insect on its deathbed, the marshal's eyes grew even more intense, and his movements suddenly quickened.
In the moment before death, the Marshal released his grip, and Hill lost his support and plummeted to the ground.
He fell onto the marshal's lap, bracing himself with his hands on the ground, and made a groan.
Something splashed all over him.
Perhaps it's the heavy rain outside the window.
The miraculous escape caused him to experience tinnitus, and the world seemed to fall silent for a moment. But soon, the marshal's rough, hard knuckles forcibly pried open his mouth.
"Who sent you?"
"Um... I wanted to come myself..."
He thought to himself, "I only came because I was worried about the Marshal. If the Marshal hadn't come today, who would he have gone to? Sirius?"
"I want to help the marshal..."
He didn't continue thinking about it, because the marshal wouldn't allow him to.
“Help?” Celt repeated the word coldly.
He came from a commoner background and served in the military for over twenty years. Throughout his long life as an insect, he had to solve all his problems on his own; no insect could ever offer to help him.
Moreover, it was just a low-level male insect.
"Then help me properly." A ruthless glint flashed in Celt's already cold eyes.
“Ugh…” Hill was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck outside the window, illuminating the small area.
"Marshal, His Highness Nathaniel and His Highness Sirius have departed from the east side of the manor and will arrive in about ten minutes." Dick knocked on the door again.
It's impossible to stop the male insect prince, especially since one of them is the marshal's fiancé.
"Hmm..."
My brother is coming.
Hill was completely stunned, feeling a mix of fear, apprehension, and a vague sense of anticipation.
Will the marshal take this opportunity to clarify his stance to his brother and end the engagement? Or—
But no matter what, it shouldn't be like this.
We need to help the marshal first; we can't have such an undignified meeting.
The little thing was unusually well-behaved. Even though it had just almost died, it still struggled to move quietly in the cramped space, its hands loosely embracing the Marshal.
The torrential rain pounded relentlessly against his heart, footsteps drew ever closer, and ten minutes felt like a countdown, sounding an alarm bell in the male insect's mind.
He tried so hard, his hands were shaking and it hurt a lot, but he kept enduring it.
"Knock knock knock—"
"Marshal, please forgive my intrusion, but—" came General Hesen's gentle voice from outside the door.
"What's the point of wasting words with him?" A haughty sneer interrupted Hesen's gentle voice.
That belonged to his elder brother, the eldest son of the Emperor, Nathaniel.
“Scared?” Selt grabbed the little thing’s chin, forcing it to open. Warm liquid kept flowing from its green ghost-like eyes, showing that it was indeed scared.
Hill shook his head with difficulty. He wasn't afraid. If he was facing it with the Marshal, he wouldn't be afraid of any predicament.
Is the Marshal planning to confront his brother? He'll explain things clearly to his brother; his brother doesn't like the Marshal and won't make things difficult for him.
No matter what happens, he will stand firmly in front of the marshal.
He turned his head and kissed the bulging veins on the inside of the marshal's arm with the corner of his broken lips.
"Bang—Damn it—"
The hot-tempered Nathaniel tried to break down the door, but he overestimated the male insect's fighting ability.
The door remained motionless, and just as Nathaniel was about to kick it a second time, his female insect, Hersen, gently stopped him.
"My lord, let me do it."
Otherwise, even if the male insect injures itself with its strength, it might not succeed.
Although Hesen had a gentler appearance and seemed less powerful than the average female soldier, that was just an appearance. His left hand quickly transformed into an insect, and the door frame trembled violently with just one strike.
The little male insect's eyes were so bright. Outside, the rain was pouring down. He leaned against Celt's leg. The insect was a mess, but there was an almost tangible expectation overflowing from those eyes, making the insect dazzled and willing to give everything for it.
Celtic's burning palm covered his forehead, his thumb stroking his eyelids as if caressing his burning heart.
"Hmm—"
The pounding on the door continued, and on the third pounding, Hill was suddenly pulled up from under the table.
Hmm, does the Marshal want to acknowledge our relationship?
It seemed as if countless stars were rising in the eyes of this little male insect, and a beautiful dream within reach was about to come true.
Bang--
The door was smashed.
A powerful burst of gunpowder pheromones erupted, and Hesen blocked Nathaniel, who was trying to rush in.
The male insects present all instinctively covered their noses. The rumors were true: 99% of male insects who prefer gentle and pleasant things would not like the Marshal's pheromones, and might even find them torturous.
No insect would enjoy the smell of killing and gunpowder, except for Hill.
Once the intense pheromones had dissipated slightly, Nathaniel pushed Hessen's arm away and looked excitedly into the room.
The air was filled with a strong scent of pheromones, from both female and male insects, just as expected.
“Sirius, this is your unmarried queen—” Nathaniel turned to look at Sirius with a cold smile.
Sirius walked far away from the door, and only then did he chuckle lazily as he slowly entered the room. He ignored Nathaniel, who was even angrier than him, and merely glanced at the not-so-small room with amusement.
Strolling around the room as if on a tour.
"A very refreshing pheromone scent. Is it a good male?"
Finally, he slowly walked to his desk, placed one hand on it, tapped it leisurely, and twitched his nose as if he were sniffing.
"It seems the pheromones are strongest here?"
“Marshal,” Sirius leaned closer, his azure eyes glancing almost imperceptibly under the table, a knowing smile playing on his lips, “aren’t you going to explain?”
This high-ranking female insect marshal, who had experienced countless arduous battles, indeed possessed a strong mental fortitude, remaining completely calm even in the face of such a scene.
He stood up and said calmly, "I don't understand what Your Highness is talking about."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Where can insects hide here?" Nathaniel, in a fit of temper, was about to come over and overturn the table.
Indeed, this is the only place where insects can hide.
“Hey,” a hand tentatively stopped him, Sirius’s eyes filled with disapproval, “Isn’t this my betrothed queen? Why are you so agitated, brother?”
Nathaniel looked at him with a cold smile, pretending to be unwilling to accept the marriage, but in fact, he wanted to protect it more than anyone else. His intention to use this female insect to control the military and oppose him was obvious.
Nathaniel was furious.
Fortunately, Hesen stepped forward in time: "Marshal, at this banquet, some female insects vying for favor secretly added the 537 drug, causing some of the female insects to go out of control. Hearing that you were not feeling well, His Highness Sirius came to check on your safety."
His words were extremely eloquent, befitting his noble female insect heritage; they were impeccable.
Those unaware of the situation might assume that the Marshal was favored by Sirius and thus came to the rescue.
Sirius suddenly raised his hand to interrupt: "I have a genetic disease that needs to be treated, and I have never had any close contact with the Marshal."
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he deliberately raised his voice slightly when saying the words "intimate contact".
A potion that requires close contact to activate, coupled with the unmarried male insect's firm denial, left all the remaining reasons for everyone present to turn their attention to the marshal.
Celt remained silent and serious, his expression almost unchanged. Upon hearing this, he calmly unbuttoned a few buttons, revealing a strong body wrapped in a shirt beneath his military uniform, with three terrifying red stains showing.
Even through a layer of clothing, the cracked wound made the insect shudder, demonstrating that his discomfort was indeed a recurrence of an old injury.
"The injuries left by the Star Beast?" Hessen was not so easily fooled and asked gently, "The repair pod should be able to heal them in time. Since the Marshal is injured, why did he have to force himself to attend the victory celebration banquet?"
What appears to be gentle concern is actually a gradual and forceful pressure.
Celtic's hawk-like gaze swept over Hessen, a powerful pressure. Hessen, whose rank was lower than Marshal Celtic's, had no choice but to lower his head slightly under this pressure.
"The new virus on Planet Ticas. If General Hesen can develop an antidote, it can be submitted to the military now." Celt's voice was deep, his gray eyes pressing down on Hesen.
Hessen paused slightly: "The military should indeed increase research into antidotes."
Nathaniel, however, lacked such composure and, pinpointing the core issue, asked directly: "What about the male pheromones?"
A single female insect with a fiancé opens a room and pheromones from a strange male insect spill out.
“In the absence of antidotes, male insect pheromones can serve as a substitute for analgesics to some extent,” Marshal Dick explained, as he walked in and opened a drawer. Inside were several male insect pheromones, two of which were already empty.
It's not exactly a glorious thing for an unmarried female insect with a fiancé to use other male insect pheromones. It might displease the male insect, but it's not a big deal. It's more appropriate for him to bring it up than for the marshal to do so himself.
Dick fixed his gaze on Sirius: "After all, the Marshal does indeed lack pheromones."
His unmarried male ruler, however, delayed the marriage under the pretext of a genetic defect and instead indulged in pleasure on the capital planet.
Sirius raised an eyebrow slightly; Dick had already lowered his head, which was also a subtle form of offense.
"Let's lift the lid and see if that's really the case," Nathaniel tried to rush forward again.
“Nathaniel!” Sirius’s voice was slightly cold. “Enough!”
Although Nathaniel was much older than Sirius, his years of indulgence prevented him from breaking through Sirius's blockade. Female insects usually couldn't participate in the subtle tension between the male insect princes, and even Hesen only got slightly closer to Nathaniel to prevent him from being taken advantage of.
Sirius tapped the table a few times with interest with his long, slender fingers, then smiled as if he had just remembered something.
"Where did you place the Third Prince? That insect has claustrophobia, you know. It's raining so hard and it's so dark. Since there's nothing else here, I think we should go find that little male insect."
Bright, who had appeared at the door at some unknown time, immediately spoke up: "His Highness the Third Prince is waiting at the manor."
Nathaniel was unwilling, but he couldn't be as forceful as Sirius. Just as the insects reached the door, the usually gentle Hersen suddenly turned around, his hands transforming into insects in a flash, and suddenly slammed them onto the desk.
"Herson—"
It was Sirius who spoke, his gaze immediately fixed on the desk.
Celtic had time to stop it, but he simply watched the blow fall.
The Zerg's powerful attack shattered the desk into pieces, but to everyone's surprise, there was nothing underneath.
—There was only a vast emptiness.
Outside, the rain was still pouring down, and under Gust's protection, a male insect scurried through the downpour.
Some of the manor's surveillance cameras malfunctioned, which was ultimately attributed to being destroyed by the torrential rain. They were walking through the gaps between the damaged cameras, which was also the area where the rain was heaviest.
This day seems to be the day that Hill experienced the greatest downpour of his life.
The prince, who had been pampered and born into the highest nobility, had never experienced such a torrential downpour. In the past, all the heavy rain had only passed by his window.
He realized how heavy the rain was outside; his clothes were soaked through, and the rainwater slid down his ankles, making him shiver slightly from the cold.
The marshal was born on a remote planet that was damp and rainy all year round. At the age of five, he awakened to be an A-level star in an orphanage and had S-level potential. The marshal spent ten years getting away from that desolate, rainy, remote garbage planet.
Was the rain that the marshal experienced back then as cold as this?
He thought the marshal would admit it, but he was only sent away immediately after the problem was resolved.
There was no time for any tenderness.
Yes, he shouldn't be there.
Does the marshal want to continue his marriage with his brother? Or is he just hesitant or feels that this way of meeting is not dignified enough?
His heart felt as if it had been drenched by the heavy rain, so wet that it would burst with water if wrung out.
He breathed out gently, as if that would allow him to feel the warmth, but the breath cooled down quickly after he exhaled.
The aircraft was already waiting on the lawn. He walked up the metal ladder that the aircraft had lowered, and just as he was about to step onto it, he couldn't help but look back.
The roar of the aircraft whipped his short, wet hair and completely soaked clothes; in the darkness, the little male insect possessed a unique vulnerability.
At this moment, dawn was breaking, and the distant sunlight made his figure appear even thinner. There were also bluish-purple marks on his neck, the only marks left on him by the marshal.
Major General Gustème sat in silence for a moment before finally asking, "We need to leave as soon as possible, Your Excellency. What's wrong?"
Hill shook his head, his gaze lingering on the distant manor.
"I was wondering, how serious is the Marshal's injury? Is it in a lot of pain?"
To fake his injury, the marshal personally tore open the wound with insect claws and then sprinkled it with deadly poison.
Is the marshal still in pain?
It must hurt, right? Because my heart aches so much.
It must be because it feels sorry for the marshal, right?
It must be.
Gust was speechless. He suddenly had a strange thought: perhaps the Marshal had missed something.
What did we miss? It's certainly not just this morning's sunrise.
——
"His Highness the Third Prince has disappeared?"
“Yes, we received the Third Prince, and then Lord Bright accompanied him to Building B6. After that, no one saw the Third Prince again, nor is there any record of him leaving the manor,” Brandon reported in a low voice.
"General, the Third Prince's arrival and subsequent mysterious disappearance are suspicious. Should we immediately launch a large-scale search?"
Hesen tapped his index finger lightly on the table, behind which lay an unhealed wound—a punishment from Marshal Celtic for his offense.
"Wait a minute."
After a moment, Hessen suddenly spoke up: "I remember that Marshal Celt had a retired mech on display at the military headquarters. Later, it was bought by a mysterious insect. We tracked down the insect that came to pick it up, and it seems that it was using a royal aircraft."
"Didn't the Lord say that it was bought by His Highness the Second Prince?" Nathaniel was particularly interested in these matters.
“Your Highness,” Hessen chuckled slightly, “if Sirius had such thoughts, he wouldn’t have deliberately delayed the wedding for a year in an attempt to drive Marshal Celtic to his death.”
"Investigate whether any cargo ships that have traveled to the Holy City in recent years have exported more than 10,000 tons of goods. Even if the royal family has its own ships, it is impossible to completely conceal such a large amount of cargo."
There will always be traces left.
Author's Note:
The marshal missed out on a truly unique heart and little Hill, whose heart belonged only to him. [Please!]
I was originally planning to give out red envelopes, but I was reminded that giving out red envelopes after becoming a VIP member might be considered data manipulation and affect the rankings by JJ (the platform), so I'm too timid to do it. Instead, I set up a celebratory giveaway [please], my darlings, please forgive me, sob sob. If any familiar faces didn't win, you can leave a comment and I'll send you a small red envelope separately [droopy-eared bunny head].
Soon, probably in the next few days, baby Hill will give up hope. The heartbroken baby who was never chosen but still held onto that hope [crying emoji]
My brother was trying to tease Hill on the table, but unfortunately Hill had already been sent away, so he didn't succeed. What a pity! [doge emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com