SGT CH21: Suspected of Showing Off Affection

◎I have a female consort, my female consort is pregnant with an egg, and I love them very much◎

The floor-to-ceiling window was made of one-way glass. This building was the office space for military officers of all ranks, handling top-secret military affairs. Privacy and concealment were of the utmost importance, so it was impossible that they would use ordinary glass.

Aix knew this. But after being left dazed by the Prince and led before the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to the words the Prince whispered into his ear, Aix forgot everything. He subconsciously believed the zergs outside could see them. Aix wasn’t even sure if the Prince had used some form of mental suggestion on him.

In short, when the military females in the open-air training ground turned around, he instinctively began to struggle, trying to use his body to shield the Prince. At first, he just wanted to stand up. He was tall and muscular, enough to block the Prince behind him. But the Prince pressed down on his shoulders, not letting him move, and shifted his full body weight onto him. If he forced himself up, with a male’s fragile constitution, the Prince would definitely fall and hit his head on the glass.

Aix could only turn around, press the Prince into his arms, and hold him tightly. The Prince’s pheromones had affected his body, making even simple movements difficult. This was especially true since he and the Prince were still connected; turning around like this was torture.

With his back to the window and his eyelashes trembling, Aix still steadfastly shielded the struggling Prince in his arms. After realizing what he had done, Aix felt a bit chagrined. It wasn’t enough for the Prince to film him with his terminal; he had to bring him to the window to let all his subordinates see his disgraceful state, causing him to lose all face.

When the military females looked over, the strongest thought in his mind was not his own dignity and honor, but the need to protect the Prince, to not let the Prince be seen. Although he was somewhat annoyed and disgusted with his subconscious actions, Aix did not regret what he had done. If it happened again, he would probably do the same thing. After all, the Prince was a male, and outside were all military females… and royal family members were always more concerned with their reputation. As for his own reputation, he didn’t have the energy to consider it. It was already… what it was. The moment the Prince captured his posture on camera, there were no other possibilities for him; it was just a matter of sooner or later.

Aix thought of the other zergs in the Blood Blade unit, and of his adjutant. The adjutant still mistakenly believed the Prince was very fond of him. He wondered what he would think when he learned the truth.

“Don’t get distracted, Aix. Are you hiding me properly?” Mousse complained unhappily, secretly exerting force and making Aix bump solidly against the glass.

Aix let out a muffled groan and sighed inwardly. He then reached out to embrace the male on top of him, letting him bury his head in his chest. “You are hidden. I will not let you be seen.”

Even having fallen to such a state, he found it hard to be truly angry at the Prince. His resentment was pitifully small. Even though the other was malicious and excessive, he would always find the Prince cute at such inappropriate times. It was as if he was cute even when he was deliberately hurting another zerg.

Military officers’ offices all came with a private rest area. Inside was a bed, a wardrobe, and a bathroom, convenient for workaholic military females working overtime. In very rare cases, it was also convenient for a male who visited on a whim.

Mousse finished his shower and emerged from the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. The bathrobe, prepared for a military female, was a bit large on him. Fortunately, he was tall and a natural-born model, so he looked good in anything and didn’t appear out of place. On the contrary, that slight ill-fit made him look exceptionally alluring, making zergs want to personally remove that robe.

Aix only glanced once before silently burying his head in the pillow, banishing the overly presumptuous thought. Mousse walked to the bedside, glanced at the motionless Aix lying prone, and lifted the corner of the quilt. He adjusted a pillow and leaned back against the headboard.

The bed was a standard two-zerg size, so with Mousse sitting on one side and Aix lying on the other, there was still a large space between them, their bodies not touching at all. Having gotten used to the small, narrow bed at home, Mousse felt a little uncomfortable with this standard size, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

Mousse pushed the strange feeling aside and put the terminal bracelet he had taken off back on his wrist. He activated the terminal, opened the virtual screen, and went into his photo album, searching for what he wanted. Beside him, Aix sensed the movement and slightly turned his head. His gaze fell on the Prince’s active terminal, and he paused, pursing his lips and lowering his eyes. He remained silent, not saying a word, as if he had long been prepared to welcome his determined fate.

Mousse edited the video, added a brief caption, and posted it to his public StarNet account, setting it for a timed release. After finishing, he looked down at the female on the other side and saw he was still in the same position. He finally couldn’t help but say, “You’re not lacking pheromones right now. Is it necessary to wait for them to be completely absorbed every time?” Wasn’t lying prone like that tiring?

Aix maintained his position, only shifting his gaze slightly upward to the belt of the Prince’s bathrobe dangling in front of him. He said flatly, “I dare not waste Your Highness’s pheromones.” Just a moment ago, he had been holding him, letting him do as he pleased, and tolerating everything. Now he was so cold. Mousse propped his chin on his hand, thinking. For the excellent experience the female had given him today, he decided not to argue with him.

Mousse extended an arm, pulled the quilt open slightly with his other hand, and said, “Come here. Lie on my lap.” If he really wanted to lie prone, that was fine, but he could do it in a different spot.

Aix paused, but still moved, crawling over to the Prince’s side and gently resting his head on his lap. Although the bathrobe was large, it bunched up when sitting, only covering a portion of the Prince’s legs. The rest was dazzlingly white. Aix stiffly turned his head to face the Prince. But doing so, he seemed to be able to smell the male’s pheromones, so close at hand. He was caught in a dilemma. Aix’s throat bobbed, his body growing even stiffer.

Mousse, completely oblivious, reached out and ruffled Aix’s hair while his other hand swiped across the virtual screen. “Want to watch something? A movie?” Mousse asked.

Aix felt a bit resistant toward the terminal at the moment. Aside from the first glance, he hadn’t looked at the screen. Hearing the Prince’s words, he closed his eyes in despair and said, “It is all up to Your Highness’s arrangement.” Even if he was to be made to watch his own degrading videos, he could only comply.

Mousse didn’t have any particular idea. It was just that if two zergs were lying together doing nothing, it would be too boring. So he opened the list of recently released movies, picked the most popular one, and played it. He thoughtfully adjusted the angle of the virtual screen and held the female lying on his lap to watch together.

It was a zerg-style romance movie. Or rather, a family movie. It began with the protagonist, a commoner female, being noticed by a noble male and taken in as a female attendant, moving into the noble’s estate. With no foundation, the female protagonist was immediately suppressed by the other female attendants, and was despised and hurt by the male, suffering both physically and emotionally. The female protagonist endured everything without complaint or resentment. He took the initiative to help the other female attendants when they faced difficulties, sacrificing himself and finally gaining their acceptance. He even caught the eye of the high-ranking and powerful female consort, helping to manage some family affairs. Finally, after countless hardships, he regained the male’s affection, conceived an egg, and at last earned a seat at the dining table. The final scene showed the family eating dinner happily together, with the male announcing he would go to the female protagonist’s room that night, earning him a host of envious and jealous looks.

Throughout the entire film, only a tenth of it was about the female protagonist and his male. The other nine-tenths were all about the female protagonist’s conflicts, reconciliations, and cooperation with the female consort and other female attendants. This was a typical zerg-style family. The male was just a symbol, a sign, a thread that connected the other zergs. The female spent very little time with his male; more often, it was the female consort and attendants living and working together.

Males had strong spiritual power and could browse content very quickly. At first, Mousse could patiently watch slowly with Aix, but later he grew irritated by the plot and watched the rest of the film at eight times the speed. After finishing, he was even more annoyed. It was probably because the female protagonist, with his raven-black short hair, reminded him of Aix.

He couldn’t accept the idea of Aix being bullied by a group of random females, being grateful just to get a seat at the dinner table, and having to compete with other zergs for the male’s affection. Aix could only be bullied by him and him alone. If any other random zerg dared to touch Aix, he would make them evaporate from the world. Aix also didn’t need to compete with other zergs for anything. There was no room for any other zerg between them. Aix’s gaze could only ever be on him.

“Utterly boring.” Mousse turned off the terminal, somewhat regretting his suggestion to watch a movie. If that thing could be called love, then he and Aix could be crowned as true love. At least, Aix was his female consort, wasn’t he? But this was precisely the “love” that most females pursued. That one-tenth, or even one-hundredth, of attention from a male was the entirety of a female’s imagination of love.

Aix looked up in confusion, not understanding why the Prince was angry. Even though the Prince kept fast-forwarding, he could see that the movie’s plot was well-designed, full of twists and turns, and not at all boring. There was a reason it was so popular. Moreover, the protagonist’s male was ultimately very good to him, giving him an egg, as well as regular pheromones and companionship—a good male by popular standards. However, it was a movie after all, and the ending was overly beautified. An ordinary commoner female could never gain the acceptance of a female consort and attendants from prominent families, let alone regain the male’s favor after being rejected. Just like him, he could never… and would never dare to hope for the Prince’s affection. To exchange everything he had for a sliver of the Prince’s mercy was already his greatest extravagance.

Mousse was not happy. Especially since Aix was just staring blankly and not joining him in cursing this stupid movie and its stupid characters. Mousse angrily ruffled Aix’s hair into a mess. But just ruffling his hair wasn’t enough to improve his mood. However, Aix had been tormented enough for one day; he needed some time to recover.

Mousse mercifully let him go. He patted Aix’s rear, signaling him to get up. “I’m heading back first. Finish your work at the military department and come back early.” After saying that, he felt the words sounded a bit off, as if he was looking forward to seeing Aix. So, Mousse added fiercely, “You’d better not get any other ideas. If you dare to take this chance to escape, I will definitely catch you, lock up your limbs, and imprison you for a lifetime!” Mmm, an Aix with his limbs locked up sounded super appealing. But Mousse didn’t actually want that to happen.

Aix touched his stomach and lowered his head. “Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will not do something so foolish.” He couldn’t let his cub become the child of a wanted criminal, following him without a home and facing danger. He had once thought that after laying the egg, if the Prince didn’t want the cub and wouldn’t let him go, he would secretly send the cub away to be raised by retired comrades who wanted to adopt a youngling, or to the Imperial orphanage. He himself would stay behind and appease the Prince’s wrath with his life. The best-case scenario would be for the Prince to be willing to keep the cub, raise it in the Prince’s mansion, and allow him to see the cub. Then he could offer his cub some meager protection as it grew up. In zerg families, there were always some unloved females and the unloved cubs they bore. As long as a cub could successfully grow up, it could leave home and start a new life. If he could live to see that day, he would be happy for his cub. And then… he could be free. However, Aix was uncertain if he could last until that day, given the Prince’s unpredictable moods and his own poor mental state.

Mousse changed his clothes and turned back to see the once again lifeless Aix. To be precise, ever since he had put on the terminal bracelet in front of Aix and posted something, Aix had become like this, but it was particularly obvious now. Pregnant females were supposed to maintain a cheerful mood.

“Want a sweet date?” Mousse asked.
Aix, kneeling on the bed, looked up with a puzzled expression.
Mousse reached out and pinched his cheek, offering a hint. “You might find one on the StarNet.” With that, he left, leaving a completely bewildered Aix behind.

Aix did not log onto the StarNet. He still had a lot of work to finish. After a quick wash and changing into a fresh uniform, Aix sat at his desk to handle the final tasks. While he worked, his terminal vibrated constantly. In the bottom-left corner of his virtual screen, many avatars were flashing. Many zergs were contacting him: Lieutenant General Aorui, Lieutenant General Roger, as well as his former comrades and colleagues… Among them, the one sending messages most frequently was his adjutant.

The video the Prince posted on the StarNet must have already spread, Aix thought indifferently. His reputation was ruined. This might be his last time sitting in a Lieutenant General’s office. Aix didn’t open any messages, focusing his energy on his duties. It was his first day on the job, and possibly his last. At the very least, he had to finish the tasks at hand. And the Blood Blade unit… he hoped that after he was gone, the Prince would arrange for a responsible zerg to take over.

Aix’s thoughts were a mess, and he found it difficult to truly concentrate. He had underestimated the impact this event had on him. Especially since the desk in front of him was the very spot where the Prince had pressed him down for the filming just a short while ago. The image of the Prince pinning him to the desk would flash before his eyes from time to time. This made it even harder for Aix to concentrate, severely affecting his work efficiency. What shamed him even more was that his body had started to secrete pheromones just from recalling what the Prince had done to him.

It was his first day, and the workload was already heavy. With his efficiency greatly reduced, it was late at night before Aix finished everything. The good news was that there were very few zergs in the military department at this hour, so he wouldn’t have to leave under the gossiping stares of everyone. The bad news was that he hadn’t returned on time and would probably be punished by the Prince again.

Aix changed out of his pheromone-soaked pants, tidied up everything in his office, and then opened the door to leave. Just as he was about to go downstairs, a figure rushed up. “Sir!” The voice arrived before the zerg.

Aix’s body stiffened. His adjutant rushed up to him holding a box, but his gaze wasn’t on his face. Instead, it was on his lower body, his expression filled with reproach. Aix stood still, his lips pressed together. His gaze fell on the box the adjutant was holding, and he couldn’t help but wonder. Was he about to have something thrown at him? Motor oil? Corrosive liquid? Or some other filth? If his consistently loyal adjutant did something like that, it would surprise him. But it wouldn’t be incomprehensible.

“Sir, why are you working so late when you’re pregnant? You didn’t even eat dinner, you won’t respond to messages, and your office’s ‘do not disturb’ was on, so I couldn’t even deliver your meal…” the adjutant grumbled, handing over the box in his hands.

Aix then realized it was a thermal lunch box. He numbly took the box, his thoughts starting to spin again as he processed what the adjutant had said. The office ‘do not disturb’ was on? He had no knowledge of that. It must have been turned on by the Prince when he entered the office. As the lord of White Night Star, the Prince had the highest authority over every place on it. No wonder no zerg had visited the office since the Prince had told him to take off his clothes. Not even a visit request had appeared.

But… “How did you know I was pregnant?” Aix asked. He hadn’t told any zerg about his pregnancy.
“His Highness the Prince posted it. Didn’t you see it, sir?”
“What?” Aix was astonished.

The adjutant then opened his terminal and shared the virtual screen with him. The screen displayed the Prince’s main page. The Prince rarely shared his private life, at most posting a few photos with the zerg Emperor, the Marshal, and the Second Prince on major holidays or at royal events. Today, however, was an exception. On an ordinary day, he had posted a new entry.

[Are all military females this fierce? Participating in dangerous battles while carrying an egg. It really makes a zerg worry. Fortunately, my female consort and the egg are both safe.]

Below the text was a video. It was not the scene from the office that Aix had expected. Instead, it was footage of him in the simulation battlefield, piloting the “Feathered Serpent,” sweeping through the enemy and leading his unit to victory. At the end of the video, a picture was attached: Aix’s physical examination report. The physical data of a general-rank military female was equivalent to a military secret, so most of the data was censored. Only a very small part was revealed. Among them was the word “pregnant.”

Aix stared at the content, his mind blank. “The Prince posted this? Only this?”
“Yes, only this. His Highness rarely posts private content. This one post shows just how much he cares about you, Lieutenant General,” the adjutant said. Not just caring, but with a hint of showing off their affection. This was the first public content the Prince had posted after four months of seclusion due to his physiological awakening.

The post really had only three main points: “I have a female consort,” “My female consort is pregnant with an egg,” and “I love them very much.” At least, that’s what the vast majority of the Empire’s citizens believed. Now, Aix had become the most envied female in the Empire. And also the number one love rival.

Aix’s feelings were complicated. He couldn’t tell if he felt more relief or more confusion. At least the Prince hadn’t actually released those humiliating videos. But why hadn’t he? Why did he post such a text instead? It was as if… he cared a lot about him and the egg in his belly.

Returning to the Prince’s mansion, Aix’s mind was a mess. One moment, he was thinking about the video. The next, he was thinking about how to apologize to the Prince for being late and what kind of punishment he would have to endure. And then he thought… since the Prince had publicly announced his pregnancy, did it mean he would keep this child, raise it in the Prince’s mansion as the Prince’s eldest child?

Aix habitually started walking towards the basement but was stopped by the butler waiting at the top of the stairs. The butler bowed and said, “Greetings, female consort. His Highness is in the garden.”

Aix stopped, unsure of the butler’s meaning. Was the Prince making him go to the garden for punishment?

“His Highness is captivated by the moonlight and sometimes falls asleep on the swing chair when he gets lost in it. This old man can’t persuade him, and the dew is heavy in the deep night. I must trouble the female consort to carry His Highness back.”

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