Chapter 69
"What are all these female insects doing?" A blond male insect quickly climbed the stairs, his suit jacket billowing in the wind.
For some unknown reason, Sirius's eyes darkened: "From now on, seal off the entire manor and forbid any insects from entering or leaving."
A female insect hurriedly entered the living room, and an aircraft made an emergency landing on the lawn outside the window.
"Your Highness, the Male Insect Protection Association has arrived."
The Male Insect Protection Association wields immense power and is fully responsible for issues concerning male insects. When Hilgard, an S-class male insect, was injured in broad daylight, causing a huge uproar on the StarNet, the Male Insect Protection Association arrived as quickly as possible.
Sirius clenched his fist tightly: "Hill is currently undergoing treatment and should not meet with any guest insects. No insect may enter without my permission."
He placed one hand on the railing: "Isidore—"
Isidore immediately bowed in obedience: "Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, no insects will enter..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sirius could no longer contain himself and strode toward the bedroom. Isidore instinctively wanted to chase after him but forcibly stopped himself.
Without the lord's order, he could not go in; he needed to shield the lord from these invading insects.
A female insect knelt before the bedroom door, her back straight, her military uniform impeccable, her arms hanging taut at her sides, her lines taut and fluid, staring motionlessly at the closed bedroom door.
--Celtic.
Sirius's heart tightened and then suddenly relaxed a little. He was guarding this spot, and even if Isidore couldn't hold out, no insect could get in.
As he passed by, Celtic's cold eyes turned to him, and Sirius, for reasons unknown, nodded slightly at him, their eyes briefly meeting.
He immediately pushed open the door, and as soon as he entered, Sirius knew the situation was bad; the low-decibel instruments emitted anxious beeping sounds.
The handsome, pale male insect was placed on the bed, with two medical insects busy nearby. Hill was connected to various tubes, and his breathing was slow with weak chest rise and fall, requiring the assistance of a breathing device. Only the female insect stood by his bedside.
Sirius's eyes suddenly narrowed—it was Celtic.
“Hill—” Sirius had no time to care about any of that. He took two steps to Hill’s side and took over from Celtic to hold Hill’s hand.
His hands were icy cold, chillingly cold, as if an endless stream of life force was draining from his body.
Hill did not fall into a coma; he remained painfully conscious, his hand weakly squeezing back at Sirius's hand, as if to reassure himself that he was alright.
The force was so light it was negligible, but Sirius felt as if his heart was being gripped by it. He immediately turned to the medical insect and said, "Extract my pheromones and inject them into Hill."
The medical insect, a sub-female serving the royal palace, did not immediately agree upon hearing this. Instead, it hesitated and said, "But Your Highness Sirius, you just had your pheromones extracted two days ago. Even if you are an S-rank male insect, you cannot withstand such a short period of time..."
Sirius frowned and said in a deep voice, "You only need to obey my orders."
Sirius, who was usually a good-tempered male insect, still surprised the medical insect when he suddenly turned cold.
Hill's pale fingers reached out to touch him, as if to stop him, but Sirius firmly grasped his hand: "Hill, this should be my decision."
"Whether or not to extract pheromones to save you is something I should be considering," Sirius said in a slightly hoarse voice as he looked quietly at Hill. "But what you need to consider is simply to live well."
Nothing is more important than your life. You must live on, live on at all costs.
Pheromones need to be extracted from liquid. The medical insect inserts a needle into Sirius's arm, and bright red blood is drawn out and then immediately put into the instrument for purification and extraction.
Blood was drawn out multiple times in a short period of time, and Sirius trembled slightly the moment the needle pierced his skin.
Hill's eyes widened slightly, as if in disbelief.
A clear tear slid down the pale cheek of the young male insect, shattering at his temple. His lips parted slightly but no words came out; his throat felt like it was on fire, and he unconsciously gripped Sirius's arm tightly.
"you......."
You said it wouldn't harm the body, that it's extracted from bodily fluids like tears and sweat, in small doses like giving a female insect a treat—very easy. But how could it be extracted from blood...?
Was it because Sirius looked too relaxed, or did you actually have a premonition that your life was being used to overdraw Sirius's life?
Hill closed his eyes tightly, his hand gripping Sirius trembling slightly.
He would not and could not betray the sacrifice Sirius made for him.
"His Highness Hilgard suffered heart damage due to a sudden crisis. His Highness's pheromones are depleted, and his physical condition is rapidly declining. Any slight disturbance could cause problems with his bodily functions."
The medical insect adjusted his glasses, took out a stack of documents, and flipped through them: "Please forgive my sins, Your Highness. His Highness Hilgard's body has reached its limit, and I am no longer able to provide effective treatment."
The medical insect handed the data to Sirius: "His Highness is only barely maintaining Rank A now because of His Highness Sirius's pheromones. If His Highness Hilgard doesn't advance successfully within half a month, his rank will rapidly drop, from A to B, then to C, and finally to the lowest Rank E. After that, His Highness will..."
He didn't cruelly utter his last words, yet the unspoken meaning was so clear.
Hilgard will face death.
This young, pampered male insect will lose all its potential at such a young age.
Sirius gripped Hill's hand tighter, his throat bobbing as Hill slowly opened his eyes and looked out the door. For a moment, he felt a sense of relief, as if he were about to receive an answer.
He didn't look at Sirius, but calmly gazed at the starry dome: "He knows."
When his physical condition suddenly deteriorated, the so-called S-level pheromones he was pretending to have dissipated. Celt took him away immediately, preventing the other female insects from discovering this.
But Celtic was so close that he must have noticed something was wrong.
At one point, Sirius wanted to tell Hill to end his unease: yes, the female insect already knew, and he came to you willingly.
But he didn't say it in the end. Hill was such a kind male insect. He had liked Celt so much. What if he softened after finding out?
Cyrus admits that he is a selfish insect; he wants Hill to live, and he no longer cares about the lives of the other insects.
“Brother, notify the guards to deploy the annihilation weapons,” Hill slowly released his grip, a pale smile appearing on his face. “If he doesn’t want to, let him stay here forever.”
Only Celt can save him. If Celt is unwilling, then even if he dies, he will drag Celt down with him to fall into the embrace of the insect god.
Before embarking on his dream, eighteen-year-old Hill begs his brother to save his beloved female insect should he fail.
Nineteen-year-old Hill is on the verge of death. His only plea is to take Celtic with him. If he cannot survive, he wants to end Celtic's life with his own hands before he dies.
When Hill was eighteen, he was passionately and obsessively in love with a female insect named Celt, and was willing to humble himself for her.
Nineteen-year-old Hill had only ever hated one insect in his life, and that insect's name was Celt.
With a click, the door was pushed open.
Sirius came out, and Celtic stood up to meet his gaze. Their eyes met for a moment, but Celtic didn't linger and quickly went inside, eager to check on Hill's condition.
The door closed, and Sirius leaned against the railing. Bright, who had been by his side, asked anxiously, "Your Highness, why didn't you give the order?"
The manor's guards alone are no match for Celt. To kill this terrifyingly powerful 3S female insect, the only option would be to use the power of a warship.
"You promised Hill you would fulfill his last wish, are you going to go back on your word?" Bright lowered his body, his eyes red. He couldn't save Hill, but he would at least fulfill his wish.
Sirius placed his hands on the railing and replied softly, "No need, he will agree."
He would have agreed before even participating in the selection process, but even for Celtic, Hill's chances of being promoted again were pitifully low, perhaps less than 5%.
His chances of surviving Hill are less than 5%.
Thinking of this, he was consumed by grief.
——
It was a bright spring day, and countless tiny flowers were blooming outside the window. These unnamed white flowers climbed up the balcony and dispelled the strong fragrance of Sophie Rosa in the room.
The strong floral scent has completely disappeared, leaving only a faint, light bergamot aroma in the room.
That was the original pheromone scent of Hill; the rich Sophirosa actually belonged to Sirius.
The sickly male insect sat in the sunlight. He wasn't lying in bed, but sitting quietly in the sun, his light-colored long hair floating in the wind, like a dream.
Celtic approached step by step, and just before reaching Hill, he knelt down and crawled to him on his knees.
Hill didn't look at him, her eyes slightly closed in the sunlight as if enjoying the long-lost sunshine, until Celt spoke and picked up the male insect's pale right hand.
"Your Highness, good day."
During the waiting period, he felt a burning pain in his internal organs, as if he were trapped in the six months since Hill left, unable to see any hope. But the moment he saw Hill, his mood became strangely calm.
Hill was alive and well, and he appeared before him, unlike six months ago when he had vanished without a trace.
This time, at least he was still by his side.
Hill slowly opened his eyes. Something seemed to float in his azure eyes, unable to settle. It was like fine dust, or like a planet adrift in the universe.
He watched quietly as Celt kissed the back of his hand; Celt's manners were impeccable, to the point of being rigid.
Hill suddenly raised her hand, her slender, cold fingers tracing the sharp contours of Celt's face. She chuckled softly, "You've failed to become marshal in the past few times. Why didn't you dare? Were you afraid I'd mark you? Or get close to me again?"
His fingertips were icy cold, yet they left a burning sensation wherever they touched.
Celtic looked up at him from his inferior position, but his eyes held a fierce ambition that gave the insect an untamable arrogance.
Hill's fingers slowly traced Celt's facial features; he didn't need to look closely, for this face had once left an indelible mark on his heart.
His smile grew colder and gentler: "Or is it because you already knew that I failed my second advancement?"
So you've left yourself a way out?
Author's Note:
Actually, Hill did try to seduce the Marshal a little, but she wouldn't give in, acting like it was all his fault. In reality, if Hill hadn't been willing, the Marshal wouldn't have gotten what he wanted. Hill tormented him until he was completely consumed by desire, then made him willingly become her dog [pitiful], and then retaliated [angry].
Celtic: Because you can't get up, baby.
Hill: [bursting into tears]
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