Just as Sakdi was frantically brainstorming excuses to slip away, fate suddenly pelted him with a basket of "sweet dates"—an unexpected windfall.
"Confirm the time and the meeting location."
The Supreme Ruler, her expression cold, looked at her exhausted old friend. She remained utterly indifferent to his terrible complexion, which suggested he was on the verge of dropping dead from overwork.
"I thought the bodies of those bugs would be more dur—sturdier."
The Core Species member could have sworn that the woman before him had initially intended to say "more durable under a blade."
However, Evelyn was an expert in the art of the one-hit kill. Rather than the wide-swinging, rabid-dog style of combat, she excelled at biding her time. After a long period of strategic deployment and lurking, she would strike, tearing out the enemy's throat in a single bite.
This trait was equally evident in her penchant for kicking a man while he was down.
The green-eyed woman sat in her armchair, her tall, upright frame resembling a silent claymore thrust into the steel throne that represented the pinnacle of power.
"It seems love hasn't made you any more high-spirited or invincible," she said with a faint smile.
Sakdi: "..."
A perfect critical hit. As expected, only a former teammate knew exactly how to punch their own ally where it hurt most.
The former heir to the Holman family, who always kept every account settled to the last cent, was unceremoniously taking her revenge for the last time he had boastfully flaunted his partner.
"I'm curious as to what suddenly changed your mind."
Taking a deep breath, Sakdi reminded himself to maintain his smile. In the verbal sparring between him and Evelyn, the first one to lose their composure was the loser, and her competitive streak was even stronger than his.
Showing a face of humiliated rage was the mark of a novice; a true master used sincerity as their finishing move.
"Previously, you were quite decisive in your rejection of the trade zone proposal."
This time, however, the person across from him fell silent for a moment. That wordless gaze made Sakdi’s skin crawl.
"I wasn't the one who pushed this forward. I still maintain an attitude of vigilance and negation toward all Zerg—including you. From a personal standpoint, I can understand and trust you, but a ruler should not use their own emotions as a basis for judgment, spreading risk equally across all of humanity."
Her voice, clear and cold as striking stone, stated calm facts without a hint of irritation or resentment.
"Perhaps you can briefly constrain them for ten years, fifty years, or even a hundred—but what about a hundred or two hundred years from now? The human skin they've donned will eventually be easily torn away. From your own standpoint, you've mapped out the most suitable path, but that isn't necessarily the route that maximizes human interests."
"I cannot use the future of humanity to gamble on an uncertain possibility."
Her long red hair was like a flame. This woman, born of an old-money aristocratic family, possessed both a savage aura and elegant manners. Time had polished her sharp edges into a more stable temperament, blending these contradictory traits into a profound and razor-sharp whole.
Her olive-green eyes looked over, resembling both a passionate cat and a heartless leopard—a predator lying in wait.
"But someone else stood up and spoke on your behalf."
"Who?"
Now, even Sakdi was confused.
He truly didn't think anyone besides his two close friends would have a good word to say for him at this stage.
Evelyn looked at him, still as a statue.
"It was Marshal Ye Ci," the woman said.
There was a look of sighing lament in her eyes.
"It was difficult for Klein and me to hide things from him. I think you understand that better than I do."
This answer caused the black Core Species member to fall into silence. Evelyn did not stop speaking because of it; their personalities always dictated resolving the most difficult parts with the greatest speed, never avoiding them.
"Even if you didn't want him to know everything, his keenness—which far surpasses anyone else's—was enough for him to glimpse the clues. Do not underestimate the Empire's Marshal. After the Golden Crow Fleet, and before you ascended to your high position, he sat firmly at the head of the five great legions for nearly sixty years. He has purged countless remnant xeno-species, lived through several of the Federation's wars of secession, and resisted endless Zerg tides. To this day, no one has broken his record of tenure."
If possible, Sakdi least wanted his former teacher to learn any more news.
As a student who had barely achieved a passing grade, he had "died" as a human; that should have been the final period on his story.
"So, he had Klein provide an answer," the current Emperor's voice was very calm. "Don't worry. His level of acceptance is far higher than ours, and he didn't act out of personal sentiment. None of the things you're concerned about will happen."
"After repeated weighing of the options, he believes the establishment of a trade zone offers more benefits than drawbacks. If all the Core Gene groups can stabilize, humanity will gain a sufficiently ample period for development, and the acute shortage of stellar core energy supplies will be alleviated to some extent."
"Furthermore, the Marshal expressed a desire to meet your partner."
That was why the stalled trade zone plan was finally moving forward.
This rare occurrence caused even the thick-skinned Core Species member to feel a burning spark of guilt.
"I'm sorry," Sakdi said.
He had once forced his teacher to watch a student depart, and now he was making the man expend vast amounts of energy to coordinate and promote a plan related to the future.
This toil was something he, having changed his stance and identity, could never repay.
"Save your apologies," the Emperor said, unappreciative. "Read the documents, then go through the procedures with my secretary to set the time and place for the meeting. A cross-species conference of this level requires too much formalistic red tape, and afterward, I'll have to argue with those chirping ministers for days."
"Save the apologies for when you see him in person. Let's see if he doesn't beat you with his cane."
A beast-like mirth danced in her green eyes.
"The price of making a deal with me is high. Be prepared to have your flesh torn away."
"I hope you've found a good enough diplomat."
***
"That's the gist of the situation. Sa has already explained it to me in detail."
Arthur was half-crouched, teasing a little Zerg cub that had been squeaking for a long time. His eyes were curved with a smile.
It had to be said that after returning to his human companions for treatment, the young man’s complexion looked much better than before.
"He wants to designate Kamran as the trade negotiation zone. This is more reassuring for the Empire, as that sector strictly belongs to the human race."
"..."
*He still managed to find an excuse.* For a split second, the Sub-King’s expression clearly conveyed this thought, his face darkening.
"I really should wring his head off."
"So, I'm going to ask you quietly and privately." Seeing that the larva was tired of playing and had automatically burrowed into the blanket, adopting a posture that refused communication, Arthur finally stood up.
Those lake-blue eyes looked at the elder female, his smile impossible to hide.
"Aren't you coming?"
A classic move—revealing the dagger only at the end of the map.
"It's an important negotiation regarding the stabilization of trade routes. I thought that as a Sub-King, you would attend the meeting as well."
As soon as the human sat down, his fosterer subconsciously backed away a little, only to reluctantly shuffle back a few seconds later under the other's sorrowful gaze.
The young man offered no comment on this series of small movements. He merely looked at the cold, silver-grey female with a beaming smile, never averting his gaze from start to finish, and tried to take the other's hand with a perfectly natural expression.
Clark almost swatted away that arm that was reaching everywhere, but even against a false light-particle projection, he couldn't bring himself to strike hard.
"Even if I am as far away as Kamran, you are still so firm in your rejection of me."
The human, whose emotions transitioned seamlessly, even began using formal honorifics. A hint of "about to cry" appeared in his beautiful blue eyes, showing absolutely no self-awareness that his accusation was a case of the villain suing first.
While his mouth expressed sorrow, the young man’s hand held the other’s firmly, with no intention of letting go.
"It is I who have placed you in this dilemma. This is my fault for not restraining my own selfish desires."
"Don't use honorifics."
The language mastered by the Core Gene groups was subtly different from the Zerg Common Tongue. The high-level groups had their own system of conversation, which was more elegant and obscure. In this linguistic system, the difference between the informal "you" and the formal "You" was significant—it was almost a title that established a superior-subordinate relationship.
The young man's "retreating to advance" words made the battle-hardened Sub-King feel numb all over. They had never distinguished such strange hierarchical levels between them; even when the human was a cub, he usually called the high-level species by their full names with affection.
This act of ceding power felt more like a quiet form of flirting in this context.
Clark instinctively felt something was wrong. Backing away awkwardly, he tried to persuade his beloved son... his human, to use a different form of address.
"...Don't speak to me in that way."
In fact, those silver-grey scales were slowly beginning to stand upright along his powerful, low-slung tail.
The entire whip-like tail was pressed tightly behind him, hidden away with what the Sub-King thought was careful secrecy.
Sensing this, the young man smiled.
In a long war of attrition, someone always had to be the first to surrender. He was willing to be the one who admitted defeat first, gently catching the other who was stiffly attempting to jump into the river.
Avoidance is the beginning of emotional transformation. People are always open and candid before friends and children, but only before a lover do they become fretful over gains and losses due to shame and anxiety.
His fosterer was an eternally silent snowfield; even the hot blood of an enemy could not melt that frozen, heavy layer of earth. Yet now, he was restless because of an insignificant form of address.
The human embraced the tensed Sub-King, his fingers lingering at the other's cheek in a touch so light it was almost a kiss.
"Come to Kamran to see me, my love and my stars. Every minute and every second since we parted, I have missed You beyond measure—"
The Sub-King, who had decapitated far too many of his own kind, had turned completely into a cold, hard statue, standing motionless.
But the human holding his arm had already sensed that those out-of-control fingertips were trembling slightly. While the young man used sweet words to make the walls of morality crumble, he simultaneously used formal honorifics to add weight to the scales of transgression. This scene, which had never appeared in his imagination, caused the female to almost turn pale with fear and unfamiliar emotion.
"To me, gender, age, species, the nature of our relationship... these things given value by others are not important. I will always love You more than I love myself; nothing in this universe can compare to You."
However, the young man would not allow the other to sink into fear. Arthur's eyes held a tender smile as he whispered in the other's ear in a coaxing tone.
"I hope to die by Your side in the distant future, feeling Your heartbeat in harmony with mine. I want to wake up pillowed between Your wings at every dawn and sunset, to look at those wastes and mountains, and listen to the tides washing over the cliffs—just as You rest in my arms with the same emotion."
Love is like an unrestrained bird, arriving and departing easily, lingering briefly by window frames and in shadows. From morning until night, it cycles countless times, like the tide gently lapping against stubborn reefs.
The human's blue eyes were this continuous tide. He leaned down, tenderly kissing those pale grey eyes that were firmly closed, refusing to meet his gaze out of tension.
"Come see me," Arthur whispered again.
His fosterer was trembling—trembling so violently it was impossible to hide. Even if the other pretended to be deaf and blind by closing his eyes and covering his ears, there was no way to escape from an embrace as light as nothing.
"When that time comes, I will whisper 'I love you' in your ear a thousand, ten thousand times."
The human said, "In every language in this world."
***
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