Chapter 69: Less than two percent.

Lorcan agreed, but he still seemed hesitant. "Of course, we’ll get married, but..."

There were still many things he couldn’t change.

Oisín gently placed one finger against Lorcan’s lips and smiled. "It’s fine. That’s enough."

It was already more than enough.

Oisín had known how his story would end long before this. Even before the false accusations, his conflict with the First Prince, and his discovery of the secrets hidden in the 23rd District, he had already seen this ending coming.

This was the path he had chosen, and he had to accept whatever came with it.

From the moment Oisín arranged to meet the drunk Third Prince and climbed into Lorcan’s bed, he had already expected most of what would happen next. He knew he would drink the cherry-pink drug and that he might end up locked inside the Third Prince’s basement.

What he hadn’t expected was for the drug to be replaced with sweet wine, for the chains in the basement to be covered with soft fur, or for him to develop such a strong desire to kiss the person standing before him.

Compared to the future he had imagined, these past few days had already felt like a wonderful dream.

Lorcan finished applying the ointment, covering the general’s neck with it. He then picked up some gauze from the tray.

Perhaps because he was in a bad mood, he wrapped it around Oisín’s neck rather roughly.

"We’ll get married before the judgment day to help you receive a pardon, but you’ll still have to attend the trial. There’ll be ten days of hearings before the actual trial, and you’ll have to stay in the courthouse prison, which is controlled by the First Prince. I can’t say what might happen there."

Oisín simply replied, "It’s fine."

His blue eyes remained fixed on Lorcan. There was no forced affection in them, only calmness and composure.

After a moment, Oisín asked, "Can I ask you something rather personal?"

Lorcan stopped moving his fingers. "Go ahead."

"Does the Third Prince want to become the ruler?"

It was an unusual question.

Lorcan was a prince. Once the old Zerg Emperor died, he would either become the next Emperor or lose the fight for power and meet the same fate as the original protagonist.

Of course, there was another possibility. He could simply return home.

When Oisín noticed that Lorcan wasn’t answering, he paused briefly before smiling and asking more directly.

"Or let me ask differently, Third Prince. Do you want to become the Zerg Emperor?"

His expression remained peaceful, and his voice was light, as though he could simply place the Emperor’s crown in front of Lorcan if he received a single nod.

The current Emperor had three princes. Among them, the First Prince held the highest position in the line of succession and possessed the greatest influence.

Unless something unexpected happened, he would eventually inherit the throne.

Lorcan’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

He had only been in the Zerg world for a few months. Before this, he had always followed the rules and acted according to the original storyline. He had never seriously considered fighting for the throne.

However, an important question suddenly appeared in his mind.

*If the First Prince becomes Emperor, will he allow Oisín to live?*

At present, Tadhg and Lorcan held equal positions. Yet Tadhg had already pursued him all the way to his residence, constantly putting pressure on him and looking for an opportunity to kill Oisín.

What would happen if he actually became Emperor?

And what would happen if Lorcan completed his mission, left this world, and returned home?

As these possibilities crossed his mind, the hand holding the ointment jar trembled slightly.

System 016, which had been resting on the balcony, immediately sat up and floated towards them. It circled Lorcan twice before speaking.

"Host?"

By now, it had become quite understanding about such matters. Its previous host had chosen to remain in a small world, so having another host make the same decision wouldn’t be surprising.

"Officially, I have no right to interfere with your decisions, Host. However, I still need to warn you about something."

System 016 spoke more seriously than usual.

"If you decide to challenge the First Prince directly, your chances of taking the throne are extremely low."

As a highly advanced integrated system, it possessed an excellent probability calculation system.

It had studied countless cases of successful attempts to seize the throne in its database and compared them with the situation in this world.

Unfortunately, Lorcan had very little advantage.

Lorcan calmly asked, "Is that so?"

System 016 landed on his shoulder. A huge screen appeared before them, displaying countless lines of information.

"Host, the age difference between you and the First Prince is simply too great. When the First Prince held his coming-of-age ceremony, the Third Prince had only just been born. He has spent almost twenty more years building his influence and gathering supporters than you have."

System 016 then changed to a steady electronic voice. Its tone became cold and emotionless as it continued explaining.

"According to my information, the First Prince’s mother’s family, the Lawlor Family, is also one of the Empire’s oldest noble families. It even has an admiral who became famous before Admiral Doherty and currently commands the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Armies."

"As for the First Prince’s consort, he is the second son of the director of the Pheromone Research Institute. That director has held his position for almost seventy years and also owns the largest synthetic pheromone company in the Empire. The company practically controls the entire pheromone production industry."

"The two families are closely connected. Their interests are tied together, and neither can easily survive without the other."

"Furthermore, the First Prince possesses an enormous amount of wealth, almost equal to the Empire’s national treasury. Among the famous companies on the capital planet, I estimate that at least one-third are directly or indirectly connected to him."

System 016 let out a sigh.

"The old Emperor’s health is declining, and most of his power has already been transferred. The First Prince has controlled a large part of it for quite some time. That’s also why the Major General ended up in his current situation."

"To put it simply, based on my calculations, your chances of defeating the First Prince in a direct confrontation are extremely low."

Lorcan asked, "How low?"

"Less than two percent."

Both of them fell silent.

The chances were incredibly small, almost like trying to draw an extremely rare card in a game.

The difference was that failing to get the card would only mean losing one attempt. But making the wrong decision this time could cost someone their life.

As he thought about it, Lorcan frowned without realising it.

After a moment, he calmly said, "I’ll contact Admiral Doherty and discuss the situation with him. We’ll talk about the risks and come up with a plan. If there’s a way..."

System 016 asked, "If there’s a way?"

"I’ll give it a try."

While Lorcan was talking to the system, Oisín couldn’t hear their conversation. He could only see the frown on Lorcan’s face.

The Major General sighed softly.

He raised one finger, gently touched Lorcan’s forehead, and smoothed out the crease between his eyebrows.

"Don’t frown. This isn’t something worth worrying so much about."

His voice was relaxed, as though he already had everything figured out.

He casually changed the subject.

"Your Highness said we would get married, but there wouldn’t be a wedding, right?"

Lorcan lowered his eyes and answered in a slightly unhappy voice.

"Yes..."

Oisín smiled. "Then can I ask for something else in return?"

"Of course. You can ask for anything."

"Anything?" Oisín pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm... Before the wedding, can we sleep together?"

Lorcan: "...?"

That night, Oisín, the silver-haired Major General, sat comfortably on the edge of the large bed in his silk pyjamas before lying down.

Lorcan was still trying to understand what was happening.

His thoughts were all over the place. He couldn’t figure out how their conversation had gone from fighting for the throne to sleeping together.

However, when Oisín looked at him with his deep blue eyes, seemingly wondering why he hadn’t come to bed, Lorcan finally gave in.

He reached over and switched off the light before slipping beneath the covers.

He moved closer to Oisín, feeling the warmth of his body through their thin pyjamas. Then he wrapped an arm around the Major General’s slim waist and moved even closer.

It was really warm.