Chapter 165: He Had Always Been Blessed: What He Had Sought So Desperately Was Already His

An Ruo began performing Psychic Soothing for Ulysses.

Where should they do it?

Since they were already in the room, there was no need to make a special trip to the treatment room.

As for the room itself...

The previous times had all been on the bed.

An Ruo glanced back at it.

Lying down would certainly be more comfortable.

The only downside was having to tidy up afterward.

Still...

He liked the fragrant bedding afterward, too.

So An Ruo asked,

"Should we go over to the bed?"

Ulysses looked in that direction, visibly tempted.

But then he remembered that the male disliked having his belongings disturbed, and every time afterward, he insisted on cleaning everything up himself.

It felt like too much trouble to impose on him.

After thinking it over, he replied,

"No. Sitting in the chair is fine."

"Alright."

An Ruo stood and moved a little closer to Ulysses.

Being closer made it easier to control his Psychic Power with greater precision.

He didn't need to do this when treating other patients.

But facing an SSS-Class female Zerg, every detail mattered if he wanted to achieve perfection.

As he stepped closer, An Ruo accidentally bumped Ulysses' knee.

Ulysses paused briefly.

Then he spread his knees apart, making room for him.

An Ruo almost said there was no need to do that.

But the words felt unnecessary.

He simply focused on the Psychic Soothing instead.

His Psychic Power entered Ulysses' mind.

Then...

He became confused.

Ulysses was in excellent condition.

There was nothing that actually needed soothing.

Doctor An Ruo had entered fully prepared for a fierce battle against the illness.

Instead...

He found an exceptionally healthy patient.

Sword in hand, he looked around in bewilderment.

Still...

Since the patient had already come all this way, he couldn't very well send him back immediately.

So An Ruo could only dust here, sweep there, performing completely meaningless housekeeping inside Ulysses' mind while absentmindedly playing with Ulysses' little planets.

A low breath escaped Ulysses.

It sounded more like a heavy, restrained sigh than anything else.

An Ruo's lively Psychic Power froze for a moment.

He quietly opened his eyes and looked at him.

A faint flush colored Ulysses' face.

His eyelashes trembled nervously.

Sensing An Ruo's gaze, Ulysses suddenly opened his eyes.

Their gazes met.

For one fleeting instant, their breaths intertwined.

Then everything stilled.

Ulysses dug his fingertips into his palm, suppressing the breathing and gasps that threatened to escape before quietly saying,

"Please continue."

"Oh... alright."

Still somewhat bewildered, An Ruo responded before continuing to play with Ulysses' little planets.

At this rate...

He was practically polishing them.

After a moment, An Ruo quietly switched to another one.

Silence filled the room.

Ulysses' breathing remained unbelievably soft and restrained.

They were sitting too close.

Neither could hide even the slightest movement from the other.

An Ruo noticed that Ulysses was deliberately holding back his breathing.

He assumed it was simply because the Marshal cared about maintaining his image and didn't want others to see his genuine reactions.

"You can breathe."

An Ruo told him,

"That's a perfectly normal reaction. Psychic Soothing is supposed to feel very comfortable. You don't have to suppress yourself."

Ulysses' breathing halted briefly.

Instinctively, he searched the hidden meaning behind the male's words.

His mind had already been almost completely occupied by the male's Psychic Power.

After a brief moment of thought, and confirming there was neither disgust nor contempt in those words...

He slowly raised a hand.

Grasped the corner of the male's clothing.

Buried his face against the male's chest.

And released a deep, trembling breath.

As he inhaled, the faint fragrance lingering within the male's clothing entered his lungs.

His own breathing grew even hotter.

An Ruo froze for a moment.

Then he gently wrapped his arms around the female Zerg leaning against him and softly patted his back in comfort.

Ulysses' rigid back alternated between tensing and relaxing beneath the soothing strokes.

Through the plush doll's shared senses, he had experienced the male's caresses many times before.

But this...

This was the first time he had truly touched him.

The first time he had truly experienced it.

The unfamiliar yet strangely familiar touch gradually relaxed him.

By the time his entire body had gone limp in the male's embrace...

Ulysses nearly wanted to beg.

The longing inside him almost overflowed.

But...

What exactly did he want to beg for?

For the male to take responsibility for him?

Or...

To claim him right now?

Neither was something that should be spoken at this moment.

It was still too early.

Clenching his teeth, Ulysses forced those forbidden words back down.

His grip on the male's clothing tightened again and again.

Everything...

Had fallen completely apart.

Even the Psychic Mark he had carefully planned to ask for...

No longer had an opportunity to be mentioned.

Things had not unfolded according to his plans.

He had underestimated the influence the male had over him.

And greatly overestimated his own self-control.

Under the male's Psychic Soothing...

And gentle touch...

His defenses completely collapsed.

His composure was in ruins.

The first two times...

It hadn't been anywhere near this overwhelming...

Ulysses thought hazily.

An Ruo caught the scent of that quiet, cool pheromone.

The female Zerg buried himself in his embrace as though he had exhausted every last ounce of strength.

As though he refused to let go.

Only then did An Ruo suddenly remember.

Female Zergs were prone to developing temporary infatuations with the male Zergs who performed Psychic Soothing for them.

The military females who had written him letters were proof enough.

He had completely overlooked that before...

He had already soothed Ulysses three times.

So...

What exactly did Ulysses feel toward him?

Infatuation.

That had absolutely nothing to do with Ulysses.

This was someone who had once wrapped his hands around An Ruo's throat even while receiving Psychic Soothing.

The great villain Ulysses was always rational.

He didn't believe in emotions.

Nor would he be controlled by biological infatuation.

He could distinguish illusion from reality.

He would never lose himself in it.

With absolute confidence, An Ruo continued the Psychic Soothing.

When it came to Ulysses...

He trusted his strength, self-control, and reason more than anyone else.

More than any human.

More than any Zerg.

Pheromones quietly filled the room.

...

An Ruo withdrew from the Psychic Domain.

The female Zerg in his arms murmured hazily,

"More..."

"Hm?"

Looking around helplessly, An Ruo could only enter again.

There really wasn't anything left to soothe.

If this continued...

The only thing left for him to do would be planting flowers on Ulysses' planets.

Plant one rose.

Harvest an entire garden.

Ulysses gently shook his head, regaining a little clarity.

Realizing what he had just said, a trace of annoyance crossed his brows.

"Could you..."

"...give me a mark?"

Perhaps his mind was still muddled.

The words escaped without any concealment.

"A mark?"

An Ruo looked at him in surprise.

Ulysses slowly withdrew from the male's embrace.

Forcing himself to calm down...

To gather his thoughts...

To organize his words...

And to force himself not to linger in that embrace.

He spoke slowly.

"If I carried your mark, my mind would remain more stable."

"And I wouldn't have to trouble you with Psychic Soothing so often..."

An Ruo almost replied that it wasn't troublesome.

He genuinely enjoyed doing these things for Ulysses.

Every female protagonist in his novels had a male partner to care for his Psychic Domain.

Even supporting characters like Cassian, who couldn't receive Psychic Soothing because of their difference in rank, still had Aira by their side, doing everything he could to help.

Only Ulysses...

Had no one.

An Ruo believed he bore a certain responsibility toward him.

He ought to be responsible for Ulysses' mental condition.

But...

Ulysses wanted a mark.

A Psychic Mark.

That...

Was something An Ruo couldn't give him.

A Psychic Mark was an extraordinarily mysterious thing.

It required immense mutual trust.

Mutual affection.

Or perhaps...

Love.

Did he love Ulysses?

Of course.

He loved him as a character.

But...

Surely that wasn't enough.

The same was true for Ulysses.

A Psychic Mark required shared emotions and shared trust from both sides.

Seeing his hesitation, Ulysses understood.

He took the initiative.

"It doesn't have to be a deep mark."

"I simply hope you'll leave something behind."

"A portion of your Psychic Power..."

"...to help stabilize my mind."

That...

Was much easier.

In the center of Ulysses' inner mental landscape—

Upon that desolate planet—

An Ruo planted a single rose.

And then...

There was one more thing.

He quietly moved out the little candy planet he had secretly molded earlier and brought it from the corner where he'd hidden it.

He placed it beside the barren rose planet.

Now...

It was there openly.

Feeling the change, Ulysses looked up at the male in astonishment.

The truth was...

The male had already left behind a psychic creation to steady his heart.

He had simply failed to notice it all this time...

He had always been blessed.

The thing he had exhausted himself trying to obtain...

Had already belonged to him all along.