SGT CH199

199 Zerg: Major General X Falls into the Hands of a Malicious Mental Groomer 5

◎”The way we are right now, it feels just like an illicit affair.”◎

Doing that kind of thing to X, he was in the wrong after all.

Even if X had abandoned him in the past, the moment he committed the same acts to hurt another bug out of revenge, he had degenerated into a bug just as excessive as X.

It wasn’t that Mu Si refused to accept X’s “blackmail.”

As long as X’s demands fell within reasonable bounds, he would agree to all of them.

Even if X demanded that he marry him as his Female Monarch.

Mu Si quietly observed the tall, cool female beside him.

If X truly became his Female Monarch…

“No, Your Highness misunderstands. I truly harbor no intention of blackmailing you, much less forcing you into anything.”

X attempted to explain.

Mu Si did not believe him in the slightest.

X was the type of bug who, once a companion lost their utility value and became a burden, would abandon that companion without hesitation.

And he, the imperial heir, an A-grade… now an S-grade male, held immense utility value.

How could X possibly harbor no designs on him?

Mu Si closed the distance with slow steps, pressing practically against X’s chest.

“Only the two of us are here. There is no need for you to disguise yourself; you can speak your genuine thoughts freely.”

Mu Si’s hand rested against X’s chest, suddenly sensing that the texture felt somewhat off.

Was he pressing against a button or a medal?

Soon, from X’s slightly ragged breathing, he realized it wasn’t a button or a medal at all, but the accessory he had personally pierced onto X.

“You’re still wearing it?”

Mu Si was rather surprised.

He had assumed that given X’s temperament, the moment he regained his mobility, he would erase these traces representing humiliation.

Sure enough, deliberately keeping these marks was meant to blackmail him with them later, wasn’t it?

He could certainly endure.

Mu Si pinched the accessory without letting go, leaving X, who originally wanted to step back, nowhere to retreat.

“I merely… forgot to remove it,” X said with difficulty.

Upon returning to his residence, he had been busy washing away the pheromones on his body, replying to colleagues’ messages, processing military affairs, familiarizing himself with his fully restored mental realm and upgraded constitution, as well as contemplating how to meet the Marshal and the matter of the little male…

There were far too many matters, causing him to overlook the accessory on his body.

Yet this oversight was truly inexcusable.

Even X himself felt his explanation was feeble and pale.

Mu Si believed it even less.

“Forgot? How is it that the Major General didn’t forget me along with it?”

Mu Si toyed with his beloved accessory through the fabric, while his other hand naturally settled around X’s waist.

Faced with such a question, X did not know how to respond, simply giving up in resignation.

“Your Highness is dazzling like a star. Any bug who has seen you could never possibly forget you.”

Mu Si lifted his eyes to glance at him, his gaze complicated.

It sounded like sweet words of confession.

Yet X had forgotten him after all.

X remembered the male who had claimed and tormented him, remembered the noble imperial prince, yet could not remember the little male he had abandoned in the Dark Star Region.

Truly excessive.

As expected, he shouldn’t harbor the slightest pity toward X.

He ought to carve deep marks onto X’s body, ensuring he would never forget him until death.

Shoving X back, Mu Si made his back collide against the trunk of the massive tree behind him, immediately unfastening X’s uniform buttons.

X froze, and realizing what was happening, called out in slight panic: “Your Highness?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Mu Si gave the accessory a vengeful twist, saying, “Do you want to draw the guards over to see how you bare your chest in the garden to seduce a prince?”

X lost his voice.

It was clearly the Prince unbuttoning his clothes, yet he accused him of seduction.

X understood that this was the “fact” acknowledged by every bug; no one would listen to his defense.

A newly adult male and a long-matured military female having something transpire in the garden at night—naturally, it would be framed as him seducing the Prince.

X found it difficult to resist the Prince’s touch. Even though he strove to rein it in, pheromones still diffused outward.

“A female who smells cold as ice, yet his body is unexpectedly scorching,” Mu Si muttered under his breath, burying his head.

Turning his head aside in shame, X leaned his body against the tree, rendered speechless.

Faint footsteps of patrolling guards drifted over.

X jolted in alarm.

Quickly grabbing the uniform coat the Prince had discarded, he draped it over the Prince’s head, shielding the male in front of him completely.

Suddenly covered, Mu Si looked up blankly, “X?”

“Your Highness, make no sound.”

X lowered his voice, striving to suppress his ragged breathing, shielding the male in his arms, his expression tense as he watched the direction of the approaching footsteps.

Mu Si’s expanding psychic perception caught the patrol squad drawing near, understanding what X was nervous about.

He looked up at the military coat draped over him.

Even at a time like this, X had actually chosen to shield him, who was fully dressed, giving zero thought to his own bared chest.

Mu Si found this very amusing.

Lowering his head, he rubbed his cheek against X’s chest.

While shielding him, X looked down in distress.

“X, you shouldn’t conceal me. You should let every bug see what I am doing with you in the imperial garden. Then, you could marry me and become my Female Monarch.”

Leaning in X’s embrace, Mu Si was unusually patient as he analyzed it for him, instructing him on what he ought to do.

X, however, merely pressed his lips tight, raising a hand to smooth down the coat over his head, covering him even more thoroughly.

The patrolling military females caught the scent of cold female pheromones.

The grade was exceptionally high, carrying immense deterrence.

No matter how high the grade was, going into heat in the palace garden was forbidden; did he think the palace was his own backyard?

The lead guard captain’s face darkened, leading the military females forward with broad strides, preparing to drag that brazen female out.

Before they drew near, however, the military females suddenly caught the scent of male pheromones, sweet as floral and fruity honey wine.

In an instant, every military female’s expression shifted, halting their steps in a hurry.

A female going into heat alone in the palace garden was an entirely different matter from a female accompanied by a male.

If it were just a female, that was flouting discipline, disrupting palace order, and humiliating royal dignity.

Intimacy between a female and a male, on the other hand, was irresistible passion, a wonderful deed promoting the fertility rate that should never be disturbed.

Although… the location was a bit inappropriate, when paired with such a high-grade male, it was not incomprehensible either.

The male in the garden was clearly of an exceedingly high grade; merely from the slight trace of leaking pheromones, they had almost lost their composure.

The patrolling military females exchanged glances, choosing to withdraw, sealing off this area to prevent other bugs from trespassing by mistake.

“That lad got lucky,” the guard captain grumbled sourly.

What formidable male pheromones.

Even leaking just a wisp, it was vastly more potent than any male pheromones he had encountered before, setting one’s imagination running wild.

He wondered which noble Excellency visiting the palace it was, and whether he would ever have the fortune to meet him in the future.

“Should we report this to the Marshal?” a military female asked.

“Beat it. Why report such trivialities? Do you think the Marshal is as idle as you?”

Behind the massive tree in the depths of the garden.

Mu Si leaned against the female’s embrace, his head thoroughly hooded beneath the military coat.

Looking up at X, he chuckled softly:

“The way we are right now, it feels just like an illicit affair.”

X had never experienced anything like this.

As a military female who strictly adhered to regulations, such an out-of-line occurrence right now was far too stimulating for him.

Yet the Prince showed zero intention of sparing him, so he could only resign himself to propping the coat properly, concealing every inch of the Prince without letting even a single strand of hair show through.

Only upon receiving a message from his Female Father did Mu Si somewhat reluctantly let X off.

Standing to the side, he watched X adjust his attire with keen interest.

Pondering in his heart how to bind himself completely with X, making it so X could never get rid of him again.

“Three days from now, His Majesty the Zerg Emperor will host an adulthood ceremony for me in the palace. You will attend, right?” Mu Si asked.

Though phrased as an inquiry, he was completely certain in his heart that X would definitely come.

X’s movements fastening his uniform paused slightly.

A male’s adulthood ceremony was typically also a matchmaking banquet for the male.

Or directly an engagement ceremony.

For males from grand noble families like this, most had long settled on their Female Monarch candidates, which would be officially announced during the adulthood ceremony.

X lowered his eyes deeply.

It was difficult for him to articulate where the bitter sorrow in his chest originated.

The Prince was wicked and excessive, yet he found it hard to truly resent him.

Perhaps it was because the Prince had granted him the finest mental soothing.

Or perhaps because that chaotic week with the Prince was the first and only time he had indulged himself in the decade-plus since the little male had vanished from his life.

Forced to cast aside his agonizing past, emptying his mind, needing to think of nothing, considering nothing, abandoning himself to drown in desire.

He had never felt so relaxed before.

Therefore, developing a morbid love toward this male was not difficult to understand either.

Yet he and the Prince were destined to be impossible.

It had nothing to do even with that targetless hatred of his.

The Prince choosing the underground district for his physiological awakening, concealing his identity to claim him, signified that the Prince had zero desire to take responsibility for this relationship.

Just like tonight, it was merely fleeting pleasure and amusement.

The Prince would soon have his own Female Monarch, his own family.

While he, just as in the past ten-plus years, would remain entirely alone, gaining nothing.

“Apologies, Your Highness.”

Enduring the bitter ache in his heart that bordered on sharp spasms, X murmured in a low voice:

“I plan to apply for border garrison duty, so I am afraid I will be unable to attend your adulthood ceremony.”

That one-sided love of his, which should never have arisen in the first place, would dissipate alongside the moonlight after tonight.

Mu Si looked at X in astonishment, almost suspecting he had misheard.

“What are you saying? Border garrison duty? Why? You just finished an expedition, you are a prime candidate for the next Admiral, and you have a bright future ahead of you in the Capital Star!”

Mu Si could not comprehend what X was thinking at all.

Because this defied all common sense.

Over all these years, he had seen with absolute clarity how hard X had clawed his way upward.

Which made him all the more bewildered as to why X would abandon everything within arm’s reach.

X was surprised that the Prince knew of these matters.

Though thinking about it made sense; while a male, the Prince was also the imperial heir, so it was completely normal for him to understand military affairs.

Yet the Prince’s question was difficult to answer.

Because there was no particular reason.

He had simply lost the motivation to continue living.

His obsession for surviving all these years had been searching for the little male and avenging him.

Now, learning that the artillery fire that killed the little male had come from the mentor who had nurtured him personally.

And having chosen to abandon revenge for the sake of the Marshal and the Prince’s happiness.

X had lost his will to live.

Now, the last male he cared for was about to be engaged as well.

Every bug would attain happiness.

As the sole unfortunate bug, it was time for him to depart.

“There is no reason, I merely wish to do so,” X said.

He could not tell the Prince that he was going to await the arrival of death.

Nor could he fabricate lies to deceive the Prince.

He could only brush it off in this manner.

“You—”

Mu Si was practically infuriated to death by him.

Clearly shielding him beneath his uniform just moments ago, being as intimate as lovers in an illicit affair.

Yet now he rejected him so rigidly, determined to leave him completely.

“I forbid it, I forbid you from leaving!”

Mu Si would never accept X’s departure.

Even though he held neither justification nor standing to stop him.

Males, however, had always held the privilege of throwing unreasonable tantrums.

Yet such “unreasonable tantrums” were only effective before a female who loved him deeply.

Mu Si looked sorrowfully at X before him.

Clearly, X did not love him.

Mu Si felt so miserable he wanted to cry, yet his pride would not allow him to shed vulnerable tears before X.

Although the male shed no tears, those reddened eyes were enough to shatter any female’s heart.

“Your Highness…”

X let out a quiet sigh.

Not understanding why the noble Prince insisted on keeping him behind.

Perhaps he wished to keep him in the Capital Star for convenience to amuse himself whenever desired.

Or perhaps it was the male’s instinctive attachment and reluctance toward his physiological awakening guide.

“Very well, I will stay until your adulthood ceremony concludes…”

Meeting the Prince’s exceptionally persistent, stunning heterochromatic eyes that inexplicably reminded him of the little male, X ultimately could not utter any words that would make him unhappy, his bottom line retreating step after step.

“Once you have thoroughly grown weary of me… I will leave,” X said.

So, did this mean he wasn’t leaving?

Mu Si blinked his sore eyes in bewilderment.

Feeling both fortunate, yet also lingering dread and grievance.

He stepped forward, tentatively wanting to embrace X.

X’s expression shifted abruptly, dodging his outstretched hand, stepping forward to shield him behind his back.

His body tensed as he looked ahead.

Shi’an, who had come looking for him out of worry for his cub: “?”

Shi’an faintly sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat unusual.

His cub poked his head out from behind Major General X, his eye rims noticeably reddened.

While Major General X… the military uniform on his person did not appear as neat and crisp as before.

“Did something happen?” Shi’an asked in confusion.

Sensing X’s tension, Mu Si rubbed his eyes, stepping out from behind him, spouting nonsense without missing a beat:

“Nothing, nothing at all. I just got flower pollen in my eye, and the Major General was helping me blow it out.”

Deceiving his Female Father to this extent did not weigh on Mu Si’s conscience in the slightest.

“How did it get into your eye? Let Female Father take a look.”

Shi’an leaned in worriedly to inspect.

“It’s already fine.”

Fearing his Female Father might detect something, Mu Si dodged aside with feigned bashfulness.

“As long as you’re fine.”

Shi’an could not resist nagging a little more:

“You’re not a cub anymore, stop diving into flower bushes all the time. You’ve made a fool of yourself in front of the Major General.”

X stood rigidly to the side, at a loss for how to reply.

Mu Si peeked at him secretly.

Thinking to himself that X would never mock him.

Since childhood, no matter how many times he had crawled into flower bushes and rolled around in seas of blossoms before X, X had never once laughed at him.

“How was the viewing of the evening primroses? Shall we head back?” Shi’an asked.

“Mm.”

Mu Si nodded, chiming in absentmindedly:

“The moon is very big.”

Big and white.

Very soft.

Shi’an looked up at the moon in the sky, agreeing:

“It is indeed very bright.”

Immediately recalling something, Shi’an cautioned:

“You cannot run out to sleep under the moon in the middle of the night anymore, though.”

“I wouldn’t…”

While hastily refuting, Mu Si secretly glanced at X from the corner of his eye.

Shi’an remembered X still waiting to the side.

“It is already very late, Major General X…”

“Why doesn’t he just stay overnight in the palace!” Mu Si blurted out first.

_

[Author’s note]

Shi’an: “?”