Chapter 228: Tianjia Prince × Mixed-Blood Military Female (13): It’s Time to Have an Egg with the Male and Let Him Incubate It

[Caleb said they could skip this mission.

How could he possibly let the Prince serve him? That would turn everything upside down.

Even if, legally speaking, he was the Prince's "Female Lord," the Prince was first and foremost his sovereign, and only then his Male Consort.

By all rights, Caleb should be serving the Prince as his lord.

Metis didn't see it that way.

There was no reason Caleb could serve him while he couldn't take care of Caleb in return.

After struggling with it for a long time, he ultimately decided to give it a try.

The game's requirements for "serving" weren't particularly demanding. Things like massaging shoulders and the like were things he could do for Caleb as well.

The Tianjia he needed to please was Caleb, after all, not some other female.

Once he thought of it that way, the awkwardness in Metis's heart faded.

Caleb held a unique place in his heart.

For him, Metis was willing to make an exception.

......

The outing took place in Central City. It was a jewelry exhibition where all kinds of rare and precious gemstones were displayed and sold.

The country they were currently in was Tianjia within the game.

And this particular planet was inhabited by both Tianjia and Zergs. There were even Zergs who traveled to Tianjia cities as tourists.

Good heavens. Zergs and Tianjia living together. Zergs traveling to Tianjia for tourism.

What incredibly niche concepts.

Metis couldn't imagine what the game's developers had gone through to create such an unbelievable world.

Apparently, this game was also connected to that novelist.

Thinking about Axel, then thinking about Ares, Metis suddenly felt like he could understand.

If it was that novelist, nothing seemed strange anymore.

Metis followed Caleb into the exhibition, staying beside him in the manner of a traditional male.

Specifically: he pressed close to Caleb, hugged Caleb's arm, acted extremely dependent on him, and looked curiously around with wide eyes.

Apart from the absence of an elaborate inhibitor collar around his neck, he looked exactly like a traditional Tianjia male going out in public.

And with a male depending on him like this, the Tianjia part buried deep within Caleb was awakened.

He proactively wrapped an arm around the Prince, his protective instincts surging as he guarded against everything around them—every female who brushed past them, and even every object the male might accidentally bump into.

At the same time, he constantly watched for every possible need the male might have. The instant the male's gaze landed on something at a stall, Caleb immediately waved his hand and bought everything there.

Metis, who had merely glanced over out of curiosity: "......"

Metis admired the newly acquired jeweled crown in his hands.

Although it was only an in-game item, it looked realistic and beautiful, glittering brilliantly beneath the lights.

Even if Caleb were a traditional Female Lord, he would be the kind who treated his male exceptionally well.

Even if the person he'd married had merely been an ordinary male, without the status of a Prince, Caleb would still have done everything in his power to give him the very best.

If Caleb hadn't married him and had instead married another male, that male would surely have been very happy too.

Metis felt somewhat wistful at the thought, then suddenly caught himself and hurriedly threw those thoughts out of his head.

No matter what, Caleb was already his. There were no other possibilities.

Caleb constantly watched the Prince's reactions. Thinking he had grown tired from walking around, he asked whether he wanted to sit in the rest area for a while or simply go home.

Metis glanced at the mission progress, which was only halfway complete, and chose the rest area.

Caleb led the Prince over to a sofa in the rest area and sat down. There were several other females and males nearby.

One male handed a cold drink to his female and was rewarded with a pat on the head, immediately revealing a delighted expression.

Metis watched them, hesitating over whether he should imitate them.

The core of this mission was "serving the Female Lord," and this scene seemed like a mission hint. Perhaps he was supposed to follow their example.

But to him, it looked too much like treating a pet. It felt strange.

The position of Tianjia males was awkward. They had been stripped of all power and depended completely upon their Female Lords, never truly treated as equals.

Females spent half their lives struggling to accumulate military merit, and when they finally managed to marry a male, they had no idea how they were supposed to interact with him. Most ended up raising and training them almost like pets.

In the end, Metis left the choice to Caleb.

He ordered drinks and food Caleb liked. When the robotic Tianjia brought them over, Metis took Caleb's drink from the tray and personally handed it to him.

Caleb hurriedly accepted it and thanked him. Then he took all the remaining food off the tray, arranged it on the table, and placed everything Metis liked to eat in front of him.

And that was it.

There was no pat on the head, no praise or reward. They simply ate together normally, yet Metis felt extremely comfortable.

For the rest of their time there, Metis and Caleb even fed each other like a couple.

Caleb was rather awkward about it, his entire body going stiff whenever he opened his mouth to accept food from the Prince.

Metis, on the other hand, became increasingly accustomed to it and naturally exchanged bites of food with Caleb. It was clearly the same food as before, yet somehow eating it this way made everything taste exceptionally sweet.

Before leaving, they also tried the exhibition hall's custom jewelry design service. Together, they designed and crafted a pair of matching rings—one gold ring set with an emerald, and one deep-black ring set with a blue diamond. Each fit perfectly on their respective fingers.

It had been an excellent gaming experience. Even after boarding the aircraft for the return trip, Metis still felt reluctant for it to end.

But when he remembered the mission, his mood sank slightly.

He expected that his mission rating wouldn't be particularly high. His "service" had been quite inadequate.

Metis glanced at the game interface. It showed that the mission had been completed, but the final rating hadn't appeared yet.

Caleb, however, had a peculiar expression. He was staring at his own game interface as though confronted with an impossibly difficult decision.

"What's wrong?" Metis asked.

"The game wants me to give you...... a reward."

Caleb struggled to force out the final word.

Perhaps because Caleb's troubled expression was rather amusing, Metis didn't feel resistant at all. Instead, he found himself looking forward to it.

"Then what kind of reward do I get, Female Lord~?"

Metis rested his chin on his hand and winked at him, deliberately using a form of address he'd never called Caleb before.

Caleb jolted.

An electric current seemed to shoot straight from his tailbone to the top of his head, and his entire body instantly stiffened.

"Please don't tease me......"

Caleb swallowed and spoke rigidly.

"I'm not teasing you. Aren't you my Female Lord?" Metis asked in return.

Of course Caleb was his Female Lord both legally and according to social convention.

They even had the marriage certificate to prove it.

Caleb had no way to argue against that.

He was deeply grateful for that marriage certificate, which had bound him and the Prince together in marriage. Naturally, he would never deny their relationship.

It was just that the words "Female Lord" sometimes felt far too heavy to Caleb, leaving him uneasy.

Caleb skipped over the subject and returned his attention to the reward options.

Basic reward: Pat the male on the head.

Intermediate reward: Kiss the male.

Advanced reward: Hold the male on your lap, touch him until he hums comfortably, and make him surrender his pheromones.

Special reward: It's time to have an egg with the male and let him incubate it.

Caleb stared blankly.

Were these really options he was allowed to choose?

Pat the Prince on the head?

Wouldn't that be grossly disrespectful?

Kissing him might perhaps be possible, but Caleb would have to obtain the Prince's consent first.

As for holding the Prince on his lap and touching him until he surrendered his pheromones......

Caleb felt that he might as well die first.

How could he possibly have the courage to do something like that?

Even imagining the Prince comfortably nestled in his arms and humming in pleasure felt horribly disrespectful.

The mere thought of it made Caleb's entire face turn red.

No.

Far too disrespectful.

As for the final, special reward—that was the one that truly left Caleb dumbfounded.

Was having an egg something you could simply decide to do on the spot?

Have an egg and make the Prince incubate it......

Good heavens. This was actually supposed to be a reward for the Prince?

Although males incubating eggs was a Tianjia tradition, Caleb still felt that there was something profoundly wrong with putting that option here.

The Prince was still looking at him expectantly, urging him to make a choice.

Caleb felt as though he were standing at the edge of a cliff, with a bottomless abyss waiting no matter which direction he stepped.

Choosing one of the earlier options would give the Prince a low score.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

But choosing one of the later options......

Caleb felt like he would lose his life.

He sucked in a cold breath, closed his eyes, steeled his heart, and made his decision.

"Your Highness, let's have an egg."

......]