Chapter 173: Ulysses Wants to Kiss Him: So... Was That a Goodnight Kiss?

An Ruo was helped over to sit down by Ulysses. After resting for a while, he finally recovered from the lingering fear brought on by his deep-sea phobia.

While he was at it, he reached over and closed Ulysses' robe.

He had figured it out.

Ulysses was genuinely obsessed with that long black silk nightrobe of his.

The neckline hung all the way down to his waist.

It suited his complexion perfectly and looked incredibly good on him. Cold, imposing, yet somehow both seductive and ascetic at the same time.

But An Ruo couldn't handle that much visual impact.

Especially after having buried his face in that chest.

It was simply too much for his poor heart.

Ulysses, meanwhile, had no attention to spare for his own appearance.

All his focus was on the male.

Seeing his flushed cheeks and unfocused gaze, as though he were still dizzy, filled him with concern.

"If you're still uncomfortable, I'll take you back to the Military Region immediately."

If Ulysses had known the male feared the ocean depths this much, he would never have chosen Ocean Planet as their destination.

There was no point trading the male's discomfort for a little extra physical closeness.

It wasn't worth it.

"N-No, there's no need. I'm already fine," An Ruo hurriedly assured him.

As long as Ulysses was beside him, he actually felt completely at ease.

He wasn't afraid.

What had startled him earlier was simply that, without any clothing in the way, he'd fallen directly into Ulysses' bare chest.

His brain hadn't managed to react in time.

Even now, his face was still burning.

"I'll go take a shower."

Leaving those words behind, An Ruo hurried into the bathroom.

A faint fragrance still lingered inside.

Wherever Ulysses had bathed always smelled pleasant.

It was completely at odds with his cold, domineering image.

As An Ruo undressed, something occurred to him.

He glanced toward the bathroom door.

Frosted glass.

You... probably can't see through it, right?

From that distance, nothing should be visible.

Besides...

Who would pay attention to how someone else showered?

An Ruo successfully convinced himself.

Mainly because Ulysses was an exceptionally proper military female.

Unlike the overwhelming majority of female Zergs who longed for male Zergs.

If An Ruo had to describe him...

He simply didn't possess those worldly desires.

The Federation.

The military.

Power.

In Ulysses' heart, all of those things ranked above male Zergs.

Not to mention...

An Ruo wasn't even a real male Zerg.

Ulysses knew perfectly well what his actual situation was.

When An Ruo finished showering and stepped back out, he found Ulysses leaning against the headboard, reviewing documents on his light screen.

The Marshal really was busy.

An Ruo couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He climbed into bed from the opposite side.

At the same moment, Ulysses put away the light screen.

"Your military duties are already so demanding, and you still spent all this time accompanying me. I must've delayed a lot of your work."

"There was no delay."

Ulysses spoke quietly.

"Being able to accompany you is my honor."

Everything important had already been arranged beforehand.

Whatever remained wasn't significant.

"Today," Ulysses continued, "my time belongs entirely to you. You may do anything you wish with me."

An Ruo chuckled.

It was already bedtime.

What else was there to do?

The way he phrased it sounded oddly suggestive.

The Marshal actually had a sense of humor.

"Then let's just have a good night's sleep."

An Ruo lay down, pulling the blanket up to cover his chin.

Ulysses lay down beside him.

Yet his gaze remained fixed directly on the male.

The hotel's king-size bed truly was enormous.

Even lying side by side, they couldn't accidentally touch.

Ulysses wanted to move closer.

But he feared making the male uncomfortable.

An Ruo lay perfectly still on his back, completely unaware that the female beside him was watching him.

His attention gradually shifted toward the schools of fish outside.

Night had fallen.

Without sunlight, only the hotel's decorative lighting illuminated the sea.

The water looked darker and deeper than before.

Nearby schools of fish shimmered beautifully beneath the lights.

Farther away...

It almost felt as though abyssal monsters lurked within the darkness.

An uneasy feeling settled over him.

The room itself also seemed a little chilly.

Feeling slightly cold, An Ruo pulled the blanket higher.

Yet it still wasn't enough.

Then...

A warm body gently pressed against him.

Ulysses wrapped him in an embrace and whispered beside his ear,

"Don't be afraid."

The slight stiffness in An Ruo's body gradually melted away.

Sure enough...

Being close to Ulysses really did make him feel safe.

He allowed himself to relax completely within Ulysses' embrace.

Only by relying on that warmth did he dare continue looking at the underwater scenery.

The dark ocean.

The imagined abyssal monsters.

None of them seemed frightening anymore.

The room remained cool.

But Ulysses' embrace was warm.

Comfortably warm.

"Thank you for staying with me today."

An Ruo spoke softly.

His hand drifted down to his waist, brushing against the hand Ulysses had wrapped around him.

Ulysses' fingertips twitched.

He gently intertwined their fingers and lowered his gaze.

"I didn't do well."

His voice was quiet.

"I chose a destination that kept frightening you."

An Ruo shook his head.

"When you mentioned Ocean Planet, I was the one who agreed."

"You didn't know about my condition beforehand."

"To be honest... even I didn't expect it."

When An Ruo had written Axel and Enzo's underwater date, he'd imagined everything from Axel's perspective.

Was Axel afraid?

The answer had been no.

So he naturally wrote the story that way.

He'd never expected that when it happened to himself...

Things would turn out differently.

Perhaps...

That was simply the difference between writing something...

And actually experiencing it.

The visual impact was overwhelming.

Far beyond anything imagination alone could recreate.

"No matter what..."

An Ruo smiled.

"It was still a wonderful trip."

"I really liked this place."

"I got to see so many beautiful sea creatures."

"I even saw real merfolk..."

"And you."

"You stayed by my side °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the entire time and helped me overcome my fear."

"You're... really, really wonderful."

The great villain...

Was actually a very good Zerg.

An Ruo thought with certainty.

It was rare for the male to speak so much at once.

Even rarer for those words to include praise directed at him.

The male had said...

He was really, really wonderful.

Ulysses lowered his eyes.

If only the male knew what he was truly like...

No.

He already knew.

Since the male had written him into existence, he ought to understand him just as thoroughly as he understood every other protagonist he'd created.

Even knowing all that...

He still thought he was a good Zerg?

Ulysses wanted to kiss him.

The restrained kiss landed softly upon the male's forehead, brushing through his bangs.

An Ruo jolted in surprise and immediately looked up at him.

Suppressing the turbulent emotions surging within his chest, Ulysses swallowed hard before speaking in the calmest, gentlest voice he could manage.

"Good night."

So...

Was that...

A goodnight kiss?

Several seconds passed before An Ruo finally answered.

"Good night."

Silence settled over the room.

Only the steady thumping of a heartbeat echoed beneath their chests.

An Ruo hugged the blanket in front of him, still feeling dazed.

After quite some time, he quietly raised a hand in the darkness and touched the hair above his forehead.

He could still feel the faint warmth of Ulysses' lips.

Something felt...

Off.

Yet he couldn't figure out what.

All he knew was that his heartbeat had become strangely chaotic.

His thoughts were equally tangled.

He couldn't concentrate.

Eventually, drowsiness overtook him.

He yawned.

In the darkness illuminated only by the ocean's blue glow, he unconsciously rolled over and buried himself within the warm blankets...

And the warm embrace beside him.

Ulysses quietly opened his eyes.

He silently gazed at the male sleeping in his arms.

To him, the darkness beneath the sea was as bright as daylight.

Every slightly curled eyelash was perfectly visible.

Every rise and fall of the male's breathing.

Every tiny flutter of those lashes.

Everything about him was adorable.

Enough to keep someone watching all night without ever growing tired.

Especially the faint brushing sensation of those eyelashes against his chest.

Each tiny movement made his own heart tremble.

...

When An Ruo woke, it was already the following morning.

The room was slightly brighter than before.

Though only slightly.

Still half-asleep, he stared blankly ahead.

Right in front of him...

Was an impressively beautiful, magnificently sculpted chest.

Oh.

He remembered now.

He and Ulysses had come to Ocean Planet together.

They had slept in the same bed.

But...

He clearly remembered falling asleep in a perfectly proper position.

So why was he lying on top of the female now?

Still confused, he pushed himself upright, intending to move away.

Instead...

His hand accidentally caught the edge of the nightrobe.

The black gauze robe was hooked by his fingers.

As it shifted, the fabric became nearly transparent.

All eight perfectly defined abdominal muscles were revealed without reservation.

Even lower...

Something beneath was faintly visible.

An Ruo froze for a full second before realizing what had happened.

He hurriedly let go.

The robe snapped back into place, settling over Ulysses' chest again as the movement stirred a faint breeze.

An Ruo stiffly raised his head.

At that exact moment...

Ulysses opened his eyes.

Their gazes met.

"......"

I swear I didn't do it on purpose.

Do you believe me?

...Sob.