Chapter 230: Tianjia Prince × Mixed-Blood Military Female (15): To Metis, Being Well-Fed and Warm Was Already Happiness

[His Majesty the Emperor personally putting an end to the incest route? (shocked)]

[I was wondering how this was ever going to get resolved, considering Caleb’s bottled-up, taciturn personality. It took him forever just to confess, and he nearly went completely off course and created some kind of “white moonlight” situation... If he didn’t say anything, the Prince wouldn’t know either. But His Majesty came back and dealt with it immediately, without the slightest hesitation. As expected of His Majesty the Emperor.]

[His Majesty is so perceptive it’s like he’s read the script.]

[Spread the word, An-shen slipped His Majesty a cheat sheet!]

[Or maybe Lord Carl questioned him about it, so he hurried back to clear up the misunderstanding.]

[That feels like the truth.]

[His Majesty must be worried about His Highness the Prince too. The awakening process for advancing to S-rank must be extremely dangerous.]

[Even an ordinary rank advancement is a major ordeal for a male. It leaves all the females in the family on edge.]

[I hope the Prince makes it through safely.]

[Don’t worry. Although An-shen writes science fiction, he still respects reality when it comes to certain things. For example, the Prince is married to Lieutenant General Caleb, and the Prince presided over the Autumn Festival... I’m starting to suspect An-shen has inside information. Anyway, as long as the real Prince is safe and sound, no matter how much science fiction An-shen writes, he still has to respect that basic fact. He won’t write the Prince to death.]

[True. I’ve just been stabbed numb by some authors (facepalm). Male Zergs have it better; authors don’t usually go too hard on them. But in traditional Zerg novels, they’ll even kill off female Zerg protagonists.]

A group of Zerg readers immediately felt a shared sense of dread.

In traditional Zerg novels, unless a female Zerg followed a purely career-focused storyline, he would usually suffer terribly.

Many female Zerg protagonists could crush everything in their path when the story focused on their careers, but the moment a Male Zerg became involved, they would be tortured until they lost all dignity and everything they possessed. Some even paid with their lives.

Every time female Zergs finished reading a novel like that, they would feel miserable and depressed. It would take them quite a while to recover—then they would click on another book, get tortured all over again, and repeat the cycle endlessly.

Among all those stories, An-shen’s novels were like candy in a pile of knives.

At first, female Zergs who were accustomed to licking blood from the edge of a blade didn’t know what to make of it. They weren’t used to such sweetness and constantly suspected there was something lethal hidden inside the candy. After nervously eating a few pieces, however, they became completely addicted and could never give it up again.

As time passed, whenever female Zergs gathered beneath one of his novels, their greetings gradually became:

“Hey, brothers, here to read science fiction again?”

Science fiction was simply much more comfortable to consume than the “realistic literature” those knife-wielding authors kept emphasizing. It made Zergs feel much more secure.

Come to think of it, that was rather strange. Several couples in An-shen’s novels had obvious counterparts in reality, and the similarities were so precise the stories seemed custom-written for them. Yet not a single Zerg thought An-shen was writing “realistic literature.”

Perhaps it was simply too beautiful.

So beautiful that it felt like science fiction even more fantastical than fantasy itself.

Although they knew perfectly well reality could never be so wonderful, and even the real-life counterparts of those protagonists might not have lives nearly as happy as the ones in the books, that didn’t stop them from enjoying it.

After all, this particular flavor of “science fiction” was exactly what they came for.

......

[His Highness the Prince hated those traditions of the former Imperial Family... All those evils had ended along with the lives of the old Imperial Family members.

In other words... His Highness the Prince and His Majesty the Emperor weren’t... and they had never...

Caleb returned to the room in a daze.

His Majesty hadn’t said it outright, but Caleb understood what he meant.

He was the Prince’s Female Lord. There was no other Tianjia in the Prince’s heart.

The day Caleb had told the Prince “I like you,” the Prince had been very happy. The Prince had even agreed to have an egg with him.

Caleb had simply understood it all far too late.

He came to the bedside and gazed sorrowfully at the Prince, who was still unconscious with a high fever. Taking his hand, Caleb pressed it against his cheek.

He would give up everything he had if it meant the Prince would wake up.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness swept over Caleb, and he collapsed headfirst onto the bed, still clutching the Prince’s hand.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the Imperial Palace gardens, still wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard.

Why was he here?

Caleb frowned in confusion and glanced down at his clothes, but he had no time to think about it.

The Prince was still waiting for him.

The moment he thought of the Prince, Caleb hurried toward the Prince’s chambers. Halfway there, however, he saw the enormous fountain standing in the center of the garden like a miniature lake.

No.

The palace fountains had already been removed.

Caleb sensed something and immediately rushed toward the center of the fountain.

Passing through a corridor formed by curtains of falling water, he saw the towering golden birdcage.

And the Prince curled up inside it.

Dark figures dressed in luxurious formalwear surrounded the birdcage, laughing wantonly. They held indistinct males in their arms and indulged themselves without a care in the world.

The instant Caleb saw the Prince’s deathly pale face inside the cage, he forgot everything else and charged forward. His wings tore through the birdcage, opening a breach.

The world seemed to fall abruptly silent.

Caleb strode forward, lifted the astonished Prince from where he was curled up beside a cabinet, and carried him away.

Numerous dark figures in guards’ uniforms surrounded them. The dark figure dressed in magnificent clothing flew into a rage, shoved away the slightly smaller shadow in his arms, and advanced toward Caleb. His body grew taller with every step, radiating tremendous pressure.

Only then did Caleb recognize that this shadow represented His Majesty “Chaos.”

His steps involuntarily faltered.

This “Chaos” looked less like an emperor and more like some twisted monster wearing the outward form of a Tianjia.

Caleb more or less understood what was happening.

If this wasn’t his own dream, then this was most likely the Prince’s Psychic Domain.

In that case, it made sense that His Majesty Chaos would appear like this.

There had never been a precedent for a female entering a male’s Psychic Domain.

Caleb didn’t understand how any of this was happening.

But he had to take the Prince away.

Even if the one standing before him was the monstrous former Emperor.

Caleb hoisted the Prince onto his back, tore strips from his clothing to secure him in place, tied a safety knot, then immediately charged toward the enormous shadow.

His speed was astonishing. In an instant, they exchanged hundreds of blows. Caleb attacked with everything he had, while his spread wings served as a shield protecting the Prince. His lowered bony tail supported the Prince and kept his body steady while simultaneously guarding against attacks from behind.

The gigantic shadow representing Chaos had limited combat technique. It didn’t behave much like a “military female” and seemed more like something born from a male’s imagination.

The troublesome part was that it could neither die nor be destroyed.

Caleb used the force of the shadow’s strike to retreat dozens of meters, steadying his breathing as he considered his next move.

“You can’t beat him...” the Prince whispered from his back.

Caleb froze for a moment, then declared firmly, “I can! No matter what happens, I’m taking you out of here!”

“Why?” the Prince asked in confusion, as though he genuinely couldn’t understand why Caleb would fight for him.

Caleb fell silent for a moment. Dodging the shadow’s attacks, he answered during an opening, “Protecting males is a female’s duty.”

And protecting his Male Lord was even more so the duty of a Female Lord.

The Prince said nothing. Caleb couldn’t tell whether he didn’t believe him or simply wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

“Because... I love you,” Caleb said again.

Only then did Metis look at him, his gaze passing over Caleb’s shoulder and settling on the military female’s profile.

Another female who coveted his body.

Yet for some reason, Metis didn’t feel the same revulsion toward this one that he felt toward other females. Perhaps having the worldview-shattering Chaos nearby for comparison made Caleb seem much better.

“You want to sleep with me?” Metis asked.

Caleb’s face flushed red, and he struggled to figure out how to answer.

Claiming he didn’t want to would obviously be impossible—even Caleb himself wouldn’t believe that. But he truly hadn’t come here just to sleep with him.

“It’s not only about sleeping with you. I want you to be safe, healthy, and happy,” Caleb said.

He wanted the Prince to successfully make it through his advancement and wake up safe and sound.

Although...

This version of the Prince didn’t seem to recognize him?

Did he possess only memories from long ago?

“You want quite a lot...”

Metis felt somewhat awkward. It was difficult for him to imagine words like that coming from a female.

Still, the other party hadn’t denied wanting to sleep with him either.

Hmph. Females.

Metis snorted inwardly, though he wasn’t particularly angry.

He had suddenly been taken out of the birdcage and enjoyed a brief taste of freedom...

So this was what it felt like.

Even taking a single step outside the cage made everything completely different. The sky became vast instead of being sliced into pieces by the cage bars. Even the air he breathed seemed incomparably refreshing.

At the same time, however, he now had to face Chaos’s fury head-on...

If they were caught, Metis wouldn’t die. At worst, he would be tormented badly.

But this military female might lose his life.

Since things had already gone this far, Metis simply gave up worrying and said of his own accord:

“Take me away. If you can get me out of here, I’ll give you whatever you want. I’ll marry you.”

Caleb’s blood instantly surged, as though he had just gotten high on male pheromones.

Although they were already married, that marriage had been bestowed upon them by His Majesty the Emperor.

This was different.

This time, the Prince himself had said that he wanted to marry Caleb!

Caleb focused on the dark figure ahead, searching for an opening...

There were openings practically everywhere.

Dealing with an immortal, indestructible shadow monster was troublesome, but if all he needed to do was escape from this place...

Caleb didn’t think it would be a problem.

His tail tightened around the Prince on his back, securing him firmly. The instant Caleb found his opportunity, he abruptly accelerated. His figure flashed past the shadow, broke through the encirclement, and escaped.

The dark figure reacted half a beat too late, then roared furiously and gave chase.

But Caleb was faster than all of them.

He carried the Prince all the way out of the Imperial Palace, hijacked an aircraft along the way, carried the Prince inside, and piloted it away.

He broke through every attempt to surround and intercept them and flew straight off the Imperial Capital Star.

Metis was completely dumbfounded.

They had just...

escaped?

If this had been the real world, naturally it wouldn’t have been so easy.

But clearly, the Prince had lowered the difficulty for him.

Caleb breathed a sigh of relief, opened the star map, and asked the Prince:

“Where would you like to go next?”

Metis still hadn’t recovered from his astonishment. Unsure what decision to make, he cautiously asked, “Where can we go?”

“Anywhere, as long as it’s where you want to go.”

Caleb gave him a few examples. “For instance, we could go to His Majes—Prince Ares’s army. Or another planet you want to visit. We could even leave Tianjia entirely, wander through interstellar space, and explore the universe.”

Caleb had only added that final option as an example to demonstrate that they could truly go anywhere. He never imagined His Highness the Prince would actually choose it.

But then he heard the male say:

“Then let’s go wandering!”

“Huh?” Caleb froze, never expecting His Highness to choose that.

“Don’t go looking for Ares,” Metis said. “That would only cause trouble for him. Without me beside him, there’ll actually be fewer things holding him back. Until all the chaos is over, I should leave Tianjia and keep myself safe. As long as he has nothing to worry about, that’s enough.”

Caleb indicated that he understood.

Although wandering through interstellar space sounded rather miserable, Caleb was a high-ranking Tianjia. He possessed formidable combat strength and extensive knowledge of mechs and advanced combat weaponry. No matter what happened, he would be capable ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) of supporting the Prince.

Even if he had to become a mercenary or an assassin.

The only problem was that he might not be able to provide the luxurious, privileged life befitting an Imperial Prince.

Metis had no idea what Caleb was thinking. Seeing his hesitation, he asked:

“Were you planning to take me to Ares and exchange me for military merit?”

“Of course not!” Caleb hurriedly replied.

“I’m just afraid... you’ll suffer if you stay with me.”

Caleb looked dejected.

Metis met the female’s eyes and realized that this military female genuinely thought that way.

“You probably don’t know what my days were like inside that birdcage in the Imperial Palace...”

Metis smiled and said cheerfully, “I’m not afraid of hardship. Hmm... I don’t ask for much. As long as I can eat until I’m full, that’s enough. And if the place we live in doesn’t let the wind through and isn’t cold, that would be even better.”

To Metis, being well-fed and warm was already happiness.

......]