Chapter 70: He died...

From that night onward, they slept together every day, just like an ordinary couple.

Whenever he had free time, Oisín would move a lounge chair into the garden and sit there enjoying the sunlight. Sometimes, he would bring along a few books.

Lorcan had originally assumed they were books about military strategies. However, when he became curious and took a look, he discovered that Oisín was actually reading about garden designs, travel photography, and philosophy.

The Major General seemed to regard the peaceful days before judgment day as a rare holiday. He enjoyed his free time and made the most of every moment.

At night, he would hold Lorcan in his arms as they slept, almost like a seal preparing for a long winter sleep.

As judgment day approached, Oisín asked Cathal to deliver a military training pod.

He registered a new identity as a military academy student and spent two hours online every night.

Lorcan secretly went to check on him one day, only to discover that Oisín wasn’t participating in battles or practising how to pilot spaceships.

Instead, he was simply shooting at stationary targets.

Shooting at stationary targets was the most basic training exercise. It was something even new military recruits had to practise.

System 016 secretly hacked into the training system and watched for a while. It then shared the footage with Lorcan.

Oisín’s shooting skills were incredibly accurate. Almost every bullet landed directly in the centre of the target.

Even the heavy sniper rifles designed for extremely long-distance shooting in space seemed like ordinary toys in his hands.

System 016 couldn’t help wondering.

"Why is the Major General practising something like this for no apparent reason? He doesn’t need this kind of training at all."

It was like using a powerful cannon to kill a tiny insect or asking a university mathematics professor to solve simple primary school questions.

Even if every answer was correct, what was the point?

Lorcan watched from the side, feeling an unexplained sense of uneasiness.

He tried bringing it up with Oisín a few times, but the Major General always dismissed his concerns with a casual wave of his hand.

Eventually, Lorcan stopped asking.

His Major General was a calm and sensible person. He understood his choices and knew exactly where he wanted to go.

Whatever Oisín decided to do, Lorcan wouldn’t stand in his way.

Ten days before judgment day, they finally signed the agreement and completed their marriage contract.

The marriage system automatically prepared the official document and sent it directly to Oisín’s inbox.

The contract was cold and formal, without any warmth.

The Major General simply clicked the agreement button, provided his electronic fingerprint, and officially gave up all his natural rights as a convicted person.

From that moment onward, he became the Third Prince’s personal vassal.

At the same time, the enormous wealth belonging to the Collins Family was transferred completely into the Third Prince Fionn’s name.

The announcement of their marriage immediately caused a huge commotion across the star network.

Almost every forum was discussing the news.

Some people were more interested in the changes within the Third Army, while others wondered whether the Collins Family had changed its leadership.

However, most of the discussions were about Oisín himself.

Nobody could understand why a Major General famous for his honesty and strong principles would agree to such an arrangement instead of choosing to die with honour.

While people expressed their disappointment and discussed the matter among themselves, they were also curious about what his married life would be like.

After losing everything and being confined to the mansion, would the Major General of the Third Army really be able to endure a life filled with suffering and mistreatment?

At that very moment, Oisín and Lorcan were sharing a long kiss.

Since Oisín was a convicted person, he wasn’t allowed to leave the mansion. Therefore, everything had to be done inside their home.

That afternoon, the Major General was unusually cheerful. He insisted on showing Lorcan his cooking skills.

Lorcan remembered Admiral Doherty once mentioning that Oisín was terrible at cooking.

As a result, he watched nervously from the kitchen while the butler stood behind them, looking even more worried.

However, it seemed the Major General had secretly practised beforehand. He managed to fry a small steak, and surprisingly, it turned out quite well.

After seeing this, Lorcan rolled up his sleeves and announced that he could cook too.

He then took the spatula from Oisín’s hand without giving him a chance to refuse.

The dish he decided to prepare was one of the simplest meals every home cook should know: scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

This time, even the usually composed Major General couldn’t remain calm.

Oisín stood there with his entire body tense, looking ready to snatch the spatula away at any moment.

The butler watched from the kitchen entrance, looking as though he might faint.

Fortunately, although Lorcan often ate instant noodles, he was actually quite good at making tomato scrambled eggs.

He hadn’t forgotten how to prepare the dish even after coming to this world.

In the end, they managed to prepare two dishes that were at least edible.

It was probably the simplest meal Lorcan had eaten since becoming a prince. As for Oisín, a Major General, he rarely ate such ordinary food unless he was on a military mission.

Yet, surprisingly, both of them were very happy after finishing their meal.

Before going to bed, Lorcan pushed a small box towards Oisín under the soft light of the bedside lamp.

He handed it over and said somewhat awkwardly, "Open it and take a look."

Inside were two rings.

They had been specially made for them.

Lorcan picked up the ring with an iris design engraved on it and gestured for Oisín to take the other one.

They might not be able to hold a proper wedding, but they could still exchange rings.

Among the Zerg, rings were quite rare and were mostly considered something left over from ancient times.

According to an old legend, lovers in that era would exchange rings before a witness and promise to remain together for the rest of their lives.

Oisín’s eyes brightened slightly.

He genuinely didn’t mind missing the wedding, but there had still been a small feeling of regret in his heart.

Now that Lorcan had prepared rings for them, that regret had been reduced considerably.

Unfortunately, when Oisín picked up his ring and examined it carefully, he couldn’t figure out what the engraving meant.

There were four simple letters on it. A "W" was placed at the top, while "ASD" appeared underneath.

Oisín raised an eyebrow and teased him.

"I thought you would have engraved a little orange on it."

The kind that was sweet and crunchy.

Lorcan immediately replied, "...Get lost. You’re the one who should have engraved a little orange."

He then explained, "Those are four keys from an old keyboard."

Before brain-connected computers became popular, keyboards were the main tools people used to enter information into computers.

Oisín had heard about that ancient period, but he had never actually seen a keyboard. They had completely disappeared by the interstellar era.

He held the ring up towards the light, watching its simple silver surface shine.

"A keyboard? Then what do those letters represent?"

"They’re... the keys people used most often when playing games back then."

WSAD were the movement keys in *Star Warfare*.

During countless live streams, Lorcan had used those keys to control a beautiful silver-haired character, travel through the stars, fire weapons, and eventually climb to the top of the national rankings.

He wasn’t the original Third Prince.

Those four letters represented his past and reminded him of the world he had come from.

Although Oisín didn’t understand why Lorcan had chosen to engrave ancient gaming keys on their wedding rings, he still accepted the gift with a smile.

"Thank you. I really like it."

He slipped the ring onto his ring finger before watching Lorcan put on the other one.

The carefully carved iris design wrapped around his finger like a clear declaration.

*This male belongs to me. Nobody else is allowed to claim him.*

Surrounded by the familiar citrus scent, Oisín leaned forward and kissed the person wearing the iris ring.

...

That night, Oisín was unusually passionate.

He seemed unwilling to let go, constantly pulling Lorcan closer, kissing him, holding him, and asking for more.

It was as though he wanted to enjoy every remaining moment of happiness.

By midnight, both of them were covered in sweat. Their pale skin glistened like fine porcelain.

Oisín let out a quiet groan before collapsing beside Lorcan.

Lorcan was so exhausted that he couldn’t even speak.

He gently ran his fingers through the Major General’s silver hair, stroking it softly.

Oisín closed his eyes and moved closer to him.

"Little Prince..."

Over the past few months, the way he addressed Lorcan had gradually changed.

He had gone from calling him "Third Prince" and "My Prince" to using whatever affectionate nickname came to mind.

Lorcan responded with a quiet hum.

Oisín turned to look at him.

"Little Prince, I have to leave tomorrow."

He was going to the courthouse for his trial.

Lorcan replied, "Mm. Don’t worry. I’ll bring you back."

It would only be ten days. After that, Oisín would return home and sleep in this very bed again.

Oisín softly said, "After the trial, I have one more request."

"I want to take ten days off and visit the planetary cemetery in the 23rd District. I want to pay my respects to the comrades from the Third Army who lost their lives."

Lorcan knew about that place.

It was connected to one of the most painful wars the Zerg had experienced in recent years.

During the operation against the cosmic black market, the border troops had suffered terrible losses. Many of those who died had belonged to the Third Army.

When Lorcan first visited Oisín, he had seen the terrible aftermath of that battle displayed in the exhibition room.

He answered casually, "Go ahead if you want. I’m not keeping you locked inside the mansion. You can leave whenever you like."

Oisín asked, "The 21st of the month after next. Would that be all right?"

Lorcan suddenly froze.

At that moment, he remembered something from the original storyline.

In the original plot, Oisín had been unable to endure the torment caused by the pheromones.

Eventually, he injected himself with a serum and went to the border battlefield.

And he died there on the 21st of the month after next.