Chapter 66: He Doesn’t Sell Himself: You Can’t Break Into a Male Lord’s Room and Use Him

“Come out!”

Ulysses barked in a low voice.

An Ruo: “......”

What kind of nonsense was this?

He was the one who had asked for Psychic Soothing, and after An Ruo had started, he was also the one who refused to let him continue.

What a difficult customer (bug).

Once the patient was on the operating table and the surgery had begun, whether it continued or not was no longer up to the patient.

“Please let go first.”

An Ruo suggested inside the female Zerg's mind.

His powerful Psychic Power enveloped Ulysses's Psychic Domain.

Like a divine decree descending from a higher-dimensional god.

Ulysses clenched his teeth so hard his eyes nearly split.

Yet, under his own gaze, his hand slowly loosened from around the male's neck.

A female Zerg who had been spiritually marked by a male Zerg could not disobey his commands.

But he clearly hadn't...

He hadn't marked him yet. He had only spoken a sentence, and Ulysses had already been unable to resist.

His eyes blood-red, Ulysses stared fixedly at the male before him.

As if he had finally revealed his true face and become some kind of monster beyond his understanding.

“Relax, Marshal. I'm performing Psychic Soothing for you. I'll be gentler...”

This was a female Zerg who had never undergone Psychic Soothing.

Until now, he had never opened his Psychic Domain to anyone.

He was far too sensitive.

An Ruo manipulated his Psychic Power and shifted those planets on the “sandbox” that felt unnatural to him.

In his eyes, the smaller planets were little more than grains of sand.

He had to maintain perfect control over his Psychic Power.

Fortunately, he was even more skilled at this than he realized.

Ordinary female Zergs' Psychic Domains were too simple for him.

Like copying words into a square grid.

There was no room for creativity.

Compared to them, Ulysses's Psychic Domain was much larger and more expansive.

Like writing an essay inside an eight-hundred-word composition box.

And the prompt itself was this entire starfield.

An Ruo liked it.

It wasn't as completely free as writing novels, but it still gave him plenty of room to work.

He would take good care of him.

Ulysses's eyes lost focus as he leaned against the headboard, unable to muster any strength.

A storm raged through his Psychic Domain.

The overwhelming Psychic Power casually shifted planets, adjusted orbits, and rewrote order.

His Psychic Domain was as vast as a galaxy.

But the intruder's Psychic Power was as immense as the universe itself, completely enveloping and controlling him.

That godlike force made bugs tremble.

It felt as though even his soul would be stripped away, and his very self erased.

Such power could destroy everything in an instant.

Yet what it brought was not destruction or deprivation.

But creation.

Life.

Order.

Never in his life had Ulysses felt so terrible.

Nor had he ever felt so good.

...

When An Ruo withdrew from the Psychic Domain, he found the female Zerg staring at him coldly.

The dark red in those eyes had already faded.

But the emotions inside them were incredibly complicated.

“We agreed beforehand. You can't hurt me.”

An Ruo raised a hand and touched his neck, still shaken.

He had almost had his neck broken on his own bed.

No wonder Uriel always stood guard during previous sessions, with heavily armed guards waiting nearby.

If a fanatic like this showed up, what doctor could possibly endure it?

Ulysses merely stared at him without moving.

His gaze slid over the red marks on the male's neck, and something flickered in his eyes.

For high-level Zerg bodies, such injuries meant nothing.

Zergs were bizarre creatures that could survive a long time even after losing their heads.

Male Zergs, however, recovered much more slowly.

Especially this one.

His body didn't match his overwhelming Psychic Power at all.

Only after a long time did the red marks fade.

In a hoarse voice, Ulysses spoke.

“You didn't mark me.”

An Ruo looked puzzled.

What doctor marked patients, seriously!?

Besides, spiritual marking wasn't that easy.

Their hearts had to understand each other.

There had to be love.

Although An Ruo felt leaving behind a strand of spiritual consciousness wasn't difficult, he absolutely wouldn't destroy his own setting.

“I have professional ethics,” An Ruo said sternly.

Oh.

What a pity.

Or perhaps he should be relieved?

Ulysses couldn't distinguish his emotions.

Female Zergs who had just undergone Psychic Soothing weren't clear-headed.

Perhaps the range should be expanded...

Not being a male Zerg didn't help either.

This unknown life-form was dangerous beyond measure.

And yet, all he wanted to do right now was sleep.

In every sense of the word.

Ulysses struggled against his instincts, his eyes constantly watching the male, guarding against any further actions.

It took An Ruo a while to realize something was wrong.

The commander-in-chief had been leaning against the headboard without moving for a long time.

He clearly wasn't savoring the aftereffects of Psychic Soothing.

He simply couldn't move.

An Ruo smelled a cool, dark fragrance filling the room.

It actually smelled pretty good.

Following the scent to its source, he looked at the vigilant female Zerg on the bed.

Only then did he realize—

This was Ulysses's pheromones.

His eyes widened.

Pheromones sounded so completely incompatible with Ulysses.

He looked like the sort of ruthless bug who had dug out his own pheromone gland.

...

With the Zergs' regenerative abilities, he'd probably have to dig it out regularly.

Shaking off those random thoughts, An Ruo cautiously asked in a small voice,

“Are you okay?”

Showing weakness in front of outsiders was unwise.

“Not really.”

Ulysses answered.

“Oh...”

Out of humanitarian concern, he ought to ask if he could help.

But An Ruo felt that it was better not to ask.

He knew exactly what female Zergs needed at times like this.

But he didn't sell himself...

Doing Psychic Soothing meant he didn't need to sell himself.

That was one of the unwritten rules of the Military Region Prison.

The cool fragrance lingered around him, making An Ruo restless.

Suddenly, he stood up.

The female Zerg's gaze followed him immediately, filled with vigilance.

It was like a sedated beast and a herbivore being locked inside the same cage.

Both were nervous.

Neither knew what the other might do.

An Ruo knew that the best thing to do now was to give him space and leave.

But he only had this one room.

And it was already dark outside.

He couldn't exactly wander around the garden in the middle of the night.

He was afraid of the dark.

An Ruo paced lightly beside the bed.

His eyes landed on the desk, and he immediately walked over.

At least he could get farther away.

The beast's gaze followed him like a shadow.

Sitting down at the desk, An Ruo adjusted the floating chair and turned his back to the female Zerg.

Only then did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

He opened the light screen, shrank it smaller and smaller, and activated privacy mode so only he could see it.

The cell fell completely silent.

An Ruo browsed StarNet.

In reality, his attention was scattered, and he had no idea what he was reading.

He constantly listened for movement behind him.

Thinking of something, he raised his eyes past the virtual screen and looked toward the surveillance camera.

Praying that Uriel would notice what was happening and rush over if he was in danger.

Instead, he found that the usually diligent surveillance camera was dark.

“......”

The expression on An Ruo's face cracked.

No way.

Wasn't he the most expensive instrument in the entire prison?

Wasn't someone always watching him and protecting him?

Why had they turned off the cameras?

Why had even the guards outside been withdrawn?!

An Ruo was dumbfounded.

Some movement sounded behind him, and his whole body immediately tensed.

If the other party betrayed his promise and repaid kindness with hostility, then he'd drag him down with him...

Just as he was thinking this, the room suddenly felt empty.

Turning around, he discovered that the female Zerg had vanished.

And he had taken the bed with him.

The middle of the room was empty.

Physically empty.

An Ruo completely broke down.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH???”

His bed was gone.

Where was he supposed to sleep?

He wandered in circles in the middle of the room in confusion.

His huge bed.

His incredibly comfortable hotel-style bed.

The pillows and blankets he had personally chosen.

His favorite things.

Gone.

All gone.

His wrist terminal suddenly lit up.

Uriel informed him that living supplies would be delivered shortly and asked him to wait patiently.

An Ruo was numb.

Something even more embarrassing than losing his bed—

The entire prison knew that the Marshal had come to visit and walked off with his bed.

Life was meaningless.

Let the world burn.

Not even the delicious food delivered by the little machine bugs could comfort his wounded heart.

...

Uriel was busy comforting the male while simultaneously calling the Marshal.

“Marshal, the Military Region Prison has regulations. You cannot break into a male Lord's room without an appointment and use him, even if you're his ex-wife!”

Major General Uriel was clearly furious.

He had even said something like “ex-wife.”

The Marshal's appearance had been too sudden.

Even though Uriel had immediately sent a warning, it had been too late.

Before the surveillance feed was cut off, he had seen the male open the door, panic, shut it again, and finally walk in despite himself.

“Every male Lord has a different personality. This Lord likes solitude and is very afraid of outside disturbances and intrusions. You'll scare him like this!”

Uriel, who truly loved his profession, sincerely cared for every male Zerg in the prison.

Especially this one.

After a long silence, Ulysses's voice came from the pitch-black screen.

“I know. It won't happen again.”

Uriel sighed in relief.

Then suddenly realized—

——There'll be a next time?!

The call had already disconnected.

The last thing he heard was splashing water.

The Marshal was taking a bath.

Uriel's face darkened.

He resigned himself to cleaning up after his superior.

First, he had machine bugs deliver a new bed and restore everything exactly as before, including identical pillows and blankets.

Then he needed to determine whether the male required psychological counseling.

He had never worried about things like this when he had served as the Marshal's adjutant.

Now he was making up for it.

...

Barefoot, Ulysses stepped out of the bathroom without even noticing the floor beneath him.

Everything today had exceeded his expectations.

His plans had been thrown into chaos.

The thing on the other side of those invisible threads had become slightly clearer.

Yet what lay behind the mist was even larger than he had imagined.

Just one more step would reveal everything.

But he hesitated before the fog.

Could he really bear it?

That power.

As vast and mysterious as the universe itself.

If everything were uncovered—

What would happen to the Zerg Federation?

To this starfield?

To the universe itself?

“What is he doing?”

Ulysses asked.

The answer came reluctantly.

“You frightened His Lordship badly. He refused to go near the new bed all night. He sat at his desk for a long time before climbing into the holographic pod.”

The bed...

Only then did Ulysses remember.

He had brought back a bed.

And a huge problem.

His head immediately began to ache.

No military crisis had ever troubled him this much.

What was he supposed to do with it?

Wash it and return it?

The other party wouldn't accept it.

And neither could he.

It felt like holding a red-hot branding iron.

He couldn't keep it.

Nor could he throw it away.

After tossing and turning all night, Ulysses contacted Uriel early the next morning.

“Help me arrange a visit tomorrow.”

Uriel finally couldn't hold back.

“You're coming again?”

“To apologize.”

“...That depends on His Lordship.”

Submitting an application was one thing.

Whether it was approved was another matter.

...

An Ruo lay inside the holographic pod until morning.

Just as he was about to log out, one of his game friends lit up.

Ah.

Bro Hatchling.

Did he finally get vacation time?