Chapter 298: What If An Had Been the One Who Married Ulysses (4): Out of His Duties as the Female Lord, Ulysses Earnestly Worked with His Hands

At first, the male Zerg spent most of his time in the study. But as time went on, the male Zerg seemed to figure out when he came home. Whenever Ulysses pushed open the door, he would see the male Zerg waiting on the sofa or directing the robot Zergs in the kitchen as they made some new dish.

The male Zerg would smile and welcome him home, then walk over and help him take off his coat.

The first time the male Zerg did this, Ulysses thought he wanted to take him right there in the entryway. His body stiffened as countless possibilities ran through his mind, and he even thought he might need to brace himself against the cabinet for support.

Only afterward did he realize that the male Zerg had merely taken off his coat and casually put it away in the entryway wardrobe.

Ulysses stood frozen there until the male Zerg called him over for dinner, and only then did he start moving again.

There were many similar incidents.

When he left for Military Headquarters, the male Zerg would wrap a scarf around him according to the weather or tell him to take an umbrella.

Even though an SSS-rank Female Zerg could withstand the scorching heat of a planet's core and extreme cold, while outside it was merely a little overcast with a light drizzle, the male Zerg was afraid he might get cold.

He would worry about whether Ulysses had eaten on time at Military Headquarters, looking at him with an expression that clearly said, "I knew you'd forget to eat because of work." Then he would sigh helplessly, prepare food for him in advance, and tell him to put it into his spatial button and take it to Military Headquarters for lunch.

And so, one day Ulysses attracted countless sidelong glances by entering Military Headquarters wearing a red scarf, and the next day, at lunchtime, he found himself facing a lunchbox filled with food the male Zerg had prepared for him.

Even though Ulysses had never told any Zerg about his marriage, the military Female Zergs of the First Military Region still keenly noticed the changes in their General.

€€€€Since when did their General, who was as formidable as some vicious cosmic beast, come to Military Headquarters wearing a scarf? Was this some new trend?

€€€€But surely bringing his own food instead of going to the cafeteria at lunchtime couldn't be a trend too?

At noon, Morris had just finished reporting his work to the Marshal. Lieutenant General Morris was about to invite the Marshal to have lunch together at the officers' dining hall when, before he could even open his mouth, he saw the Marshal casually take a lunchbox out of his spatial button. The moment the lid was lifted, steaming-hot food appeared before him.

Morris had many little question marks floating over his head.

Surely the General hadn't become such a workaholic that he was now trying to save even the time it took to go to the dining hall?

But that food was far too exquisite. It didn't look like anything a Female Zerg would prepare at all. Even the meat had been cut into neat, unusual shapes...

Morris merely glanced at those unusually shaped pieces of meat before the General shielded the lunchbox and raised his eyes to look at him.

The General clearly hadn't said a single word, yet Morris somehow saw both vigilance and the protectiveness of someone guarding his food in those eyes.

Morris: "..."

Was he somehow lacking a bite to eat? Did the General think he was going to ask his superior to share his food?

Morris immediately took his leave.

When he arrived at the Military Headquarters dining hall and ate the same food he had long since grown accustomed to, it somehow seemed rather tasteless. He couldn't help feeling that... the food in his superior's lunchbox had looked more delicious.

Later, more and more rumors began circulating among the military Female Zergs. Some said the General had already gotten married, while others said that a certain Male Zerg Lord was courting him.

Whenever the subject came up, every last one of them was envious.

Only Morris remained somewhat worried.

But when he remembered the lunchboxes he had seen on the General's desk, different every single day and filled with endless varieties of food, he silently put his worries away.

He hoped his superior could find happiness.

Ulysses returned home once again, unusually getting off work early.

In the past, even if he had finished all the work at hand long ago, he would remain at Military Headquarters and find more things to do. "Going home" had never been among the options he prioritized.

Recently, however, things had become different.

He had begun to long for and look forward to returning to this house, to this "home."

There were many more things belonging to the male Zerg scattered around the house now: books, paper and pens, exquisite and beautiful cups, hand-knitted scarves, little tabletop ornaments...

Ulysses swept his gaze over them, startled by how much had changed during this period. He could barely remember what his model-home-like villa had originally looked like.

But this was simply what happened when there was a male Zerg in the house. Male Zergs brought all sorts of things with them, along with all sorts of trouble.

The male Zerg's belongings multiplied endlessly throughout his home, as though they had somehow acquired the ability to divide, becoming more and more numerous.

What surprised Ulysses even more was that his own belongings had increased as well.

He now had a cup matching the male Zerg's, a cushion specifically for himself... More equipment had appeared in the previously unused training room, allowing him to do his daily exercise before breakfast.

Sometimes the male Zerg would come in too. His physical potential was quite good, but he lacked any desire to become stronger. Rather than exercising, he seemed to be there to play around with the equipment and then watch Ulysses.

The male Zerg's eyes were filled with undisguised appreciation whenever he looked at him. It wasn't as though there had never been desire in his gaze, either.

Yet he never took Ulysses.

He never summoned Ulysses to serve him.

They still slept in separate rooms. Ever since Ulysses moved out of the master bedroom, he had never again had the opportunity to set foot inside.

Whenever they finished dinner, they would sit together on the sofa for a while.

In truth, it was simply because the male Zerg hadn't gone upstairs and hadn't given him any other orders, so Ulysses sat there with him.

The male Zerg would bring up a holographic screen and find a news channel or military channel, and the two of them would watch military news together for a while.

The male Zerg didn't actually enjoy watching such things. As he watched, he would gradually become sleepy, his head bobbing little by little. Sometimes he would browse StarNet on his terminal for a while to keep himself awake and force himself to finish watching. Other times, he would simply curl up on the sofa and take a nap.

But he always made sure to maintain a distance from Ulysses that was neither too close nor too far.

Only this time, perhaps because the male Zerg was too sleepy and muddleheaded, his head ended up resting on Ulysses's lap as he slept soundly.

Ulysses stiffly watched the entire news broadcast.

Only after it ended did he lower his eyes toward the male Zerg lying on his lap and stare at him for a long time.

He reached over, pulled the blanket from beside them, and covered the male Zerg with it, hesitating over what he should do next.

Should he remain exactly as he was and let the male Zerg sleep on the sofa with his head on his lap for the entire night?

Or should he carry the male Zerg upstairs and put him on the far more comfortable bed in the master bedroom?

For a Female Zerg to enter a male Zerg's room carried the implication of an invitation. If the male Zerg did not refuse, the Female Zerg could often naturally stay the night.

Ulysses couldn't decide.

The sofa was soft and supportive, and as far as sofas went, it was extremely comfortable. But compared with the large bed in the master bedroom, which was actually meant for sleeping, it fell far short.

Besides, the blanket was too thin. The male Zerg might catch a cold.

Fragile male Zergs were very troublesome when they got sick, and the Rules for Female Lords did not permit a Female Lord to stand by and do nothing while his male Zerg became ill.

Ulysses struggled internally before finally lifting the male Zerg into his arms.

An SSS-rank Female Zerg's control over his muscles allowed him to remain absolutely steady, light enough that he could move without disturbing even a feather.

The male Zerg's sleeping expression remained peaceful, completely unaware of what was happening.

Holding the male Zerg in his arms, Ulysses walked steadily upstairs, pushed open the door, and entered the master bedroom he hadn't visited in a long time.

He gently laid the male Zerg on the bed and tucked the covers around him. Just as he was about to pull away and leave, he was suddenly hugged.

"Ulysses..."

The male Zerg sleepily called his name, chasing after his warmth and burying his face against him.

That could be considered an invitation to stay the night.

Ulysses stared at the barely conscious male Zerg, looking at his sleeping face, at the eyelashes trembling lightly like butterfly wings...

Slowly, he lay down.

He stayed only at the very edge of the bed, nearly half his body hanging off it.

Leaving abruptly would wake the male Zerg. This was the best choice.

He would simply think of it as coaxing a male Zerg to sleep.

Ulysses convinced himself of this, repeatedly emphasizing in his mind that this was not true service. The male Zerg would not mark his reproductive cavity, nor would that marking allow the male Zerg to influence him and leave him unable to break free in the future.

The night was deep, and a male Zerg lay beside him.

The male Zerg had his arms around Ulysses's waist and was buried against his chest. A bewitching, subtle fragrance continuously emanated from him, carrying the male Zerg's warmth as it entered Ulysses's nose.

Even if he held his breath, that pheromone-like scent seemed capable of seeping through his skin and invading his body in every possible way.

Ulysses resisted with all his strength, yet in the stillness of the night, his silver eyes repeatedly lost and regained focus, almost revealing the vertical pupils of his Zerg form.

He stared at the male Zerg's long hair, flowing like moonlight, and breathed in its faint fragrance.

Slowly, he lowered his head, buried his face deeply in those strands, and took a deep breath.

Restrained yet greedy, he drank in that scent that was almost intoxicating to Female Zergs, but made no further move.

It wasn't until dawn, when the male Zerg gradually began to wake, that Ulysses forced himself back to full awareness and pulled away.

Remembering everything that had happened the previous night, an inescapable panic spread through his heart.

An Ruo wasn't fully awake yet. When he opened his eyes and discovered himself in a familiar embrace, he instinctively interpreted everything according to the situation he was accustomed to.

He wrapped his arms around Ulysses and rubbed himself contentedly against him, burying his face in Ulysses's ample chest.

They were clearly together every day and saw each other all the time, yet somehow it felt as though they had been apart for ages.

Perhaps the physical distance between them simply hadn't been close enough.

An Ruo tried even harder to squeeze himself into Ulysses's arms, habitually slipping one knee between his legs. At the same time, he tried to remember why he felt as though there hadn't been enough closeness between them lately.

Was it because they hadn't had much physical contact?

But why hadn't there been any physical contact?

Because he and the Ulysses of this time hadn't officially started dating yet.

The thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

An Ruo jolted.

He instantly woke up completely, his sleep-addled morning brain finally remembering everything.

He stiffly raised his head and looked at Ulysses, whose face was flushed red and whose expression was strained with restraint. An Ruo hurriedly tried to retreat, only for Ulysses to grab him beneath the covers.

He immediately became even stiffer.

Ulysses lowered his eyes. His hand, bearing the faint calluses left by firearms, rubbed over the male Zerg's awakening member, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

The male Zerg's waking movements and the way he had pressed himself closer had thrown Ulysses's mind into chaos.

Realizing that he might be about to be possessed by the male Zerg, his mind had gone completely blank. He had forgotten to move and simply waited in a daze for everything to happen.

But then the male Zerg suddenly tried to pull away.

Ulysses didn't know what had happened, but from the male Zerg's expression, he could tell that he had been badly startled and no longer intended to take him.

In an instant, he remembered how the male Zerg had deliberately or inadvertently kept his distance from him ever since their marriage, never once summoning him to serve. There was clearly desire for him, yet the male Zerg simply refused to take him.

It was also at that moment that he abruptly realized that if he allowed the male Zerg to retreat and missed this opportunity, there might never be another one.

Ulysses had always been skilled at seizing opportunities.

This time was no different.

His body's reaction was even faster than his thoughts. Before he himself had fully realized what he was doing, he had already reached out, seized the vital spot, and stopped the male Zerg from retreating.

The male Zerg stared at him with wide eyes, and Ulysses couldn't tell whether it was shock or accusation.

Ulysses himself didn't know how to face the male Zerg.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

And because he refused to let go, an indescribably delicate tension lingered between them.

An Ruo's mind had gone completely blank. Just as he was about to speak and negotiate with Ulysses to let go first, he felt Ulysses's fingertips rub against him, gradually beginning to move, slowly but resolutely.

His eyes widened even further.

He couldn't understand what was happening. His eyes blinked stiffly as he struggled to figure out how he was supposed to react, caught between advancing and retreating.

Ulysses pressed his lips tightly together and didn't dare look at the male Zerg.

He had also considered why the male Zerg had pulled away.

Perhaps it was because Ulysses had shown no reaction at all. He had been too stiff, too motionless, like a puppet. Naturally, that wouldn't arouse the male Zerg's interest.

He thought of the Female Zerg in the book.

That Female Zerg's technique had been equally terrible and clumsy, yet he still received endless patience and guidance from the male Zerg.

Of course, Ulysses couldn't compare himself with a protagonist.

That was a fictional story.

How could reality ever compare with fiction?

If every Zerg with a brain insisted on making that sort of comparison, reality would never measure up, and they would never be satisfied.

Ulysses clearly understood the difference between reality and novels. He wasn't the sort of Zerg who would lose himself in a romance story.

Therefore, he never extravagantly hoped to receive the male Zerg's special favor, nor did he expect his male Zerg to tolerate his awkwardness and dullness the way the protagonist in the book did. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But at the very least, he ought to take the initiative and do something to salvage his image and position in the male Zerg's heart.

Even if it was merely out of his duties as the Female Lord, he couldn't allow the male Zerg to leave in this state.

Otherwise, he would be far too much of a failure as a Female Lord.

Ulysses lowered his eyes and, stiffly but earnestly, continued the work of his hand.