SGT CH29: Me? Forcibly take? You?!

◎”Since you’re twisting black and white like this, I’ll reenact it for you, and we’ll see who forcibly took whom!”◎

Aix looked helplessly at the cracked stone slab beneath his knees.

He really wanted to say he would pay for it.

But his personal Zerg terminal was still in the Prince’s hands.

He could log into his account with his current work terminal, but Aix had long since considered all his property to belong to the Prince.

Although he held the title of “female consort,” Aix’s self-perception had always been that of a Zerg surviving in the Prince’s hands.

If he had to be specific, he should be considered a slave, a female slave…

Everything a female slave owned belonged to their Male Master.

Private property did not exist.

In fact, the Empire’s treatment of military females had always been generous, especially for a military female like Aix who had risen through the ranks purely on military merit.

Aix had no expensive hobbies. The only thing that cost money was his mecha, which was maintained by the military.

The fortune he had accumulated over the years was not insignificant.

It was even enough to make a noble family from the Capital Star like the Russells take notice.

But compared to everything the Prince had given him, and the harm he had brought upon the Prince… that wealth really amounted to nothing.

The former Aix was willing to offer everything to the Prince for the sake of his cub.

Now he found that everything was too little, not nearly enough to make amends.

He just didn’t understand. He had been a complete stranger to the Prince, so why would the Prince choose to help him?

“Your Highness, why… why did you take me away from the Second Prince’s banquet back then?”

Aix couldn’t help but ask the question that weighed most heavily on his mind.

“Why else could it be?”

Mousse was unhappy just thinking about it.

“I couldn’t just let you make a fool of yourself at my younger brother’s banquet, could I?”

Indeed, if Aix had caused a scene at the Second Prince’s banquet, the Second Prince’s reputation would have been affected to some extent.

But in reality, when he found Aix, Aix had already moved far away from the crowd.

Aix had probably also realized that something was wrong with his body and was trying to save himself.

But in his state at the time, he couldn’t have supported himself long enough to reach a safe place.

Even if he had managed to reach the military headquarters or a hospital, a Lieutenant General being induced into heat by an illegal drug was in itself a huge scandal.

A female Zerg with a good family background would not fear such things.

But for Aix, who had climbed up from the bottom step by step, even a small scandal like that could destroy his career.

For various reasons, Mousse had been, intentionally or unintentionally, paying attention to Aix. No Zerg knew better than him how difficult Aix’s journey had been over the years.

By the time Mousse realized what he was doing, his mental tentacles had already knocked out the male Zerg who was tailing him.

And he himself was standing in front of the disheveled Aix.

Perhaps it was for his brother’s reputation, perhaps it was to watch Aix’s humiliation, or perhaps it was for some other reason that Mousse himself didn’t know or didn’t want to admit.

In any case, he took Aix away.

Mousse didn’t want to recall what happened next; it would make him look like a joke.

He should have just let Aix fend for himself.

At most, he could have thrown the Zerg onto a starship, set it to autopilot to the other’s residence, and then had his trusted private Zerg doctor pay a visit.

The problem was, Aix, a dignified Lieutenant General, had actually bought a house in a bustling urban area with such poor privacy.

If his starship had really sent the Zerg back, Mousse could imagine what the news headlines would be the next day.

There was simply no optimal solution.

The more Mousse thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to kick the kneeling female Zerg in front of him.

But the female Zerg’s slightly bulging belly made him unable to do it.

Beating a female Zerg was no big deal. After all, female Zerg had high defense and thick blood, comparable to a mecha.

But beating a pregnant female was a bit beyond Mousse’s level of acceptance.

Perhaps it was because mechas don’t get pregnant.

If mechas could get pregnant, Mousse would know that a pregnant mecha would still have high defense, thick blood, and be able to fight.

His foot, with nothing to kick, discontentedly ground against the crack in the stone slab that the female Zerg had knelt on.

A male Zerg’s sensitive and fickle mind was something a military female like Aix could never comprehend.

Just as Aix watched the Prince’s foot grinding on the stone slab, he couldn’t for the life of him imagine that the other was thinking, “Why can’t mechas get pregnant?”

His thoughts were still on the Prince’s words.

To prevent him from making a fool of himself at the Second Prince’s banquet. This was the reason the Prince gave, and it was the only reason Aix could think of.

Because it was the Second Prince’s banquet, the Prince had taken him away out of consideration for the Second Prince.

It was just that no one had expected the Prince to happen to go through his physiological awakening and need a female Zerg as a guide.

So, the Prince used him.

Such a series of coincidences.

His forced heat was used to help a male Zerg get through his physiological awakening. Aix couldn’t describe how he felt.

But at least, it was much better than being drugged and forcibly taken.

And that male Zerg was the Prince…

Aix looked up at the male Zerg before him, the emotions in his chest both sour and painful.

He finally didn’t have to bear the pain of falling for the Zerg who had forcibly taken him. He finally didn’t have to struggle anymore and could let himself sink.

He finally had the ability to love the Prince.

But he had also lost the qualification to be loved by the Prince.

Because it was he who had pierced the Prince’s chest with his own hands.

Causing that heart, which was not strong to begin with, to nearly stop beating in his hands.

“What’s with that expression?”

Mousse was made uncomfortable by the stare.

He liked to see Aix in pain and derive pleasure from Aix’s suffering, a pleasure akin to revenge.

But he hadn’t even done anything yet.

And what was with the guilt and sorrow in the female Zerg’s eyes?

Isn’t it too late to feel guilty now?

Even if a female Zerg was slow, he shouldn’t be so slow as to only come to his senses five months later and feel guilty for attacking his own lifesaver, right?

Aix looked at the Prince sadly.

He eagerly wanted to do something. Even if it couldn’t make up for what he owed, at least it could make the Prince a little happier.

Except for that one time he had his wings severed, the Prince had never really used any form of punishment on him, seeming to be uninterested in it.

The Prince’s interest in him was only in torturing and playing with him for amusement.

And after every time he was amused, he would give him pheromones.

The Prince was truly an excellent male Zerg.

He had once wished to beg for a bit of the Prince’s mercy.

Looking back now, the mercy the Prince had shown him was far too much.

“Your Highness, do you want to play with me?”

Aix grabbed the blood-stained corner of his clothes and said apprehensively:

“My clothes are a little dirty. I can change immediately.”

Mousse: Huh?

“…Now? Here?”

Mousse looked around.

This was the garden near the banquet hall. There were no other Zerg besides them, and it was quite quiet.

But that didn’t change the fact that a hundred meters away was the brightly lit and bustling banquet hall.

Before, he had only asked Aix to serve him for a bit at the entrance of a deserted underground corridor, and Aix had been so shy, embarrassed, and nervous that the breath that fell on him was trembling.

How dare he now, in a place like this, voluntarily ask to be played with?

Of course, Aix knew how risky it was here.

But he was eager to do something to make the Prince happy.

And he couldn’t think of anything else the Prince was interested in.

It seemed this was the only thing he could offer to please the Prince.

And, he found that he actually didn’t mind serving the Prince outside as much.

He had resisted before only because he would feel uneasy and care more about other things.

Now, nothing was more important than pleasing the Prince. Not being able to satisfy the Prince was what would make him uneasy.

“I can hold back from making a sound. If any Zerg comes over, I can protect you.”

As for himself, he was no longer within Aix’s consideration.

Mousse imagined it, and was shamefully moved by the suggestion.

In the garden, under the moonlight, playing with Aix… it was very attractive to a Zerg.

Aix’s self-sacrificial attitude was also very interesting.

But Mousse was more interested in the reason for Aix’s change in attitude.

Mousse reached out, grabbed the female Zerg’s collar, and pulled him closer.

Then he lowered his head and kissed the corner of the still-kneeling female Zerg’s mouth, with a rewarding tone.

“Tell me, why are you being so obedient today?”

Mousse guessed: “Afraid I’ll expose your attempt to murder the Russell family head.”

If it was for that, Mousse would have helped him smooth it over anyway.

And he really hated that male Zerg too.

He had been busy with other things before and hadn’t paid him any attention. That male Zerg actually dared to show up at his coming-of-age ceremony, he must be tired of living.

Mousse was even considering whether he should watch some fireworks again.

But Mousse wouldn’t tell Aix these things.

If Aix cared about these things, he would use them as leverage to coerce Aix into doing this and that.

“No…”

Aix wasn’t worried about that.

Even if the Prince sent him to the tribunal, it would be what he deserved.

And even if a pregnant female committed a great crime, they would not be executed immediately. They would wait until after he had given birth to the Zerg egg.

As for his cub… whether it was taken away and raised by the Prince or entered an Imperial welfare institution, as long as it could live, it was a good enough ending.

Besides, what the Prince had done before was clearly already covering for him.

Whether it was because he was the Prince’s nominal female consort, or for the unborn cub, or for some other reason, the Prince had clearly protected him.

Just like back then, when he had severely injured the Prince, yet the Prince chose to forcibly match with him as his female consort and lock him in the punishment chamber as his Male Master, rather than hand him over to the tribunal.

The latter would have clearly been more in the Prince’s interest.

If he had used illegal drugs on a female Zerg and forcibly taken them, the Prince would still have received some light punishment.

But if he had just happened to save a drugged female Zerg and, happening upon his physiological awakening, used the female Zerg.

The Prince would not have suffered any loss and would even have been sympathized with and pitied by the entire Empire.

And the wrath of the Imperial populace would have fallen entirely on Aix, who had harmed the Prince.

To this day, Aix did not understand why the Prince chose to protect him.

“It’s not for the Russell family head. It’s because of myself…”

Aix lowered his head deeply, his lips trembling. “I had always thought that it was Your Highness who drugged and forcibly took me.”

“What did you say?”

Mousse raised a hand to his ear, suspecting he had misheard.

But the way the female Zerg didn’t dare to meet his gaze clearly told him he hadn’t misheard.

Anger suddenly surged.

Mousse had never felt so angry.

He suddenly stood up, grabbed the female Zerg’s collar, and forced him to rise as well.

His multi-colored eyes, spewing fury, met the female Zerg’s.

He said, almost word by word:

“Me? Forcibly take? You?!”

Perhaps it was too absurd, or perhaps he had lost his reason to anger, Mousse actually laughed out loud.

He laughed until tears came out.

“I was too dull. It was only today that I understood the truth…”

Aix sensed that the Prince’s mood was off and looked at him with concern.

The Prince’s tear-filled eyes made his heart ache, and he suddenly couldn’t say anything.

Mousse couldn’t hear anything either.

“No, you don’t understand at all.”

Mousse grabbed the female Zerg’s arm and dragged him out, heading towards the starship hangar.

“I didn’t want to recall that day. Since you’re twisting black and white like this, I’ll reenact it for you, and we’ll see who forcibly took whom!”

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