Chapter 88: On the Precipice

Chapter 88: On the Precipice

"General Ludwig, while we all understand that your future consort hails from a third-class star and is likely unfamiliar with the capital's etiquette, the Prince's private box is not to be trespassed upon by any unwelcome male. Please see to it that he is better disciplined."

On the second floor of the grandest auction house in Heiz City, a cluster of military females had gathered, inadvertently dividing into two factions. The atmosphere was tense, verging on hostility.

Housekeeper Hati, who had served His Highness the Third Prince for many years, his pudgy yet aged face was usually endearing, rarely showing such sharpness. After his words, he clapped his hands, and the guards behind him brought forward a male, drunk beyond coherence, pushing him towards the opposite side. Without anyone reaching out to support him, he stumbled and fell onto the floor with a thud, promptly falling into a deep sleep.

General Ludwig looked down indifferently, slowly turning the iris ring on his ring finger, showing no intention of assisting him. His face was flawless under the light, his platinum hair dazzling, but the words that came from his lips, more beautiful than roses, were often less than pleasant: "Housekeeper Hati, may I ask what happened?"

Housekeeper Hati said through gritted teeth: "Your fiancé, Mr. Amber, just barged into the Third Prince's box!"

"Oh, that sounds terrible."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow coolly, his gaze sweeping over the well-trained military females opposite him, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "But Housekeeper Hati, I am truly concerned for the safety of His Highness. Five A-grade military females, unable to stop a mere low-ranking male? It seems they should indeed be sent to serve on a barren planet."

Housekeeper Hati said sternly: "General Ludwig, you must understand how important a female's reputation is. If Mr. Amber hadn't come under your name, how could the guards have let him in so easily!"

Ludwig nodded as if realizing something, then smiled and gave a shoulder-touching salute: "I see. But regardless, please convey my apologies to the Third Prince. I will certainly make amends in person another day."

Housekeeper Hati said with a grim face: "Apologies are unnecessary. Just discipline your male properly."

With the matter resolved, Housekeeper Hati finally left with the guards, but there were still many nobles peering over the railings upstairs and downstairs. They held delicate wine glasses, the swaying colors of the wine mirroring their curiosity. When the rich, slightly bitter wine flowed into their mouths, their sighs and sympathies for Ludwig were tinged with ambiguity.

"In the name of the God of Insects, I never thought the famous Ludwig would choose such a disgraceful male as a partner. He must have lost his mind."

"The news will break the hearts of those military females who idolize him."

"There's nothing to be heartbroken about. After all, Ludwig's previous two fiancés died under his influence. Now, which male in the capital dares to marry him... except for that low-ranking male from the lower stars."

Various voices flooded into his ears, then gradually faded away.

Ludwig turned around, the smile on his lips fading, his expression darkening, making it clear to everyone that his mood was abysmal.

Lu Suti looked at the drunken male on the ground, stroking his chin and tentatively asked: "Ludwig, what do we do now... I mean, with your future consort. You know, males are always weak. We can't just leave him on the ground."

Ludwig said irritably: "Throw him on my spacecraft."

Lu Suti pointed at himself in surprise: "Who will do it? Me? Isn't that inappropriate?"

He exaggerated his posture, deliberately dragging out his tone to mimic Housekeeper Hati: "General Ludwig, you must understand how important a female's reputation is."

His companions burst into laughter at his words, staggering and barely able to stand.

Ludwig loosened his tie expressionlessly: "I can carry him too, but I don't guarantee I won't strangle him on the way."

The last sentence was spoken in a chilling tone, leaving little doubt about its sincerity.

Hearing this, Lu Suti immediately raised his hands in surrender, resignedly bending down with several military females to lift the sleeping male off the ground: "Ludwig, for the sake of our comradeship, I can't bear to see you appear in the military court for killing a male."

They clumsily carried the male onto the silver-gray spacecraft parked at the entrance of the auction house. It was seven o'clock in the evening, and the outermost star network screen was still broadcasting the news. The sweet voice of the female host finally eased the tension in everyone's minds:

"Recently, due to the outbreak of wildfires on Planet Bonick and the chaos caused by space pirates controlling the return routes, leading to the entrapment of many passengers, the Empire has dispatched a team led by General Ludwig to rescue them. As of yesterday, a total of three hundred and fifty-one passengers have been rescued, and the pirate group has been completely annihilated... General Ludwig is the youngest general officer currently serving in the Empire's military, hailed as a rising star in Heiz City, with potential for a position in the Alliance core in the future... He has become a national idol..."

If it were before, hearing the star network news broadcast his glorious record, Ludwig might have poured half a glass of Mengjue Blue Gold wine, grilled half a piece of cherry foie gras, and enjoyed dinner while admiring the night view from his flat in central Heiz City, with the news serving as the perfect accompaniment.

But his current mood was abysmal, so bad that he didn't even want to use the rigid and slow autopilot system, instead pushing the throttle to the limit and speeding toward the residential area as fast as possible.

"Mr. Amber Klinz,"

Ludwig caressed the steering wheel, his voice icy,

"This is the third and final warning. Don't cause me any more trouble. I don't care about your grandfather being one of my grandfather's old subordinates or any other messy connections. If this happens again, pack your things and get back to that godforsaken third-class star immediately, do you understand?!"

Ludwig, the current head of the Lai family, unlike his brothers with uniform blond hair and blue eyes, was born with a pair of pale amber eyes, hence being called a bastard. But it was this bastard who had established a glorious military record, fighting his way up to become the Empire's youngest general, and firmly holding the position of family head, a true legend.

It's not an exaggeration to say that 99% of the females in the capital idolized him, and 99% of the males placed him at the top of their marriage list—

Beautiful appearance, illustrious military achievements, powerful background.

What? You say his bloodline isn't pure? Haven't you heard that rarity is valuable?

Although the Lai family viewed blond hair and blue eyes as symbols of noble blood, rules are written by the victors. Perhaps General Ludwig is the one with the purest bloodline, and those with blond hair and blue eyes are the bastards.

In short, Ludwig is truly envied by females and adored by males. But like the Venus de Milo, the gods seem to enjoy adding flaws to overly perfect creations, making them even more "perfect".

General Ludwig has reached the age for marriage. Before this, he had been engaged to two noble males, but unfortunately, both of these gentlemen met their ends due to various accidents.

Considering the declining birth rate of males, the loss of two relatively excellent noble males was undoubtedly a painful blow to the Empire. Over time, rumors began to circulate about General Ludwig's ability to bring misfortune to his partners.

Although the military had once refuted these rumors, their matchmaking system never again arranged dates for General Ludwig. Clearly, not only were males afraid of being cursed to death, but the military was even more fearful.

Duke Bach was anxious, wondering why his outstanding grandson couldn't find a match. Seeing that General Ludwig was getting older and couldn't afford to wait any longer, he had no choice but to contact an old subordinate far away and hastily arrange an engagement for Ludwig—

A crude and rude male from a third-class star.

He had no distinguished background, no extensive education, and no substantial wealth. The only thing he could boast about was perhaps... his resilience?

Low birth, easy to control. This way, after marriage, you won't have to bow down like other females.

These were Duke Bach's exact words, but he clearly underestimated the destructive power of this male from the lower stars. Upon arriving in Heiz City, he went on a wild ride in a new spacecraft, accidentally hospitalizing General Leica. During a shopping spree at the mall, he emptied three luxury stores, but because his gold card was stolen and he had no money to pay, he was taken away for investigation by the police...

Such incidents were countless, providing the capital with a year's worth of laughs. But nothing was as absurd as today.

Ludwig attended a charity event at the auction house with his colleagues, and this male actually barged into the Third Prince's box while drunk—

As everyone knew, the Third Prince was a female, and he obviously could not accept such an offense, feeling that his dignity was compromised. But Ludwig felt even more humiliated. His twenty-nine years of merit and glory were not enough to make up for the recent ridicule.

The spacecraft made a sharp turn in mid-air, landing directly in front of the residence where Amber was currently staying, property still under the Lai family's name.

"Knock, knock, knock — !"

Ludwig held the drunk male bug with one hand and knocked on the door with the other. His brows were slightly furrowed as he subtly covered his nose to shield himself from the strong smell of alcohol emanating from the other.

"Who is it?"

The door opened, revealing an energetic old man behind it—Amber's grandfather Fernan, also an old subordinate of Duke Bach.

Ludwig took a deep breath, trying to soften his tone, but the coldness in his voice still betrayed his emotions. "I apologize for disturbing you so late, but Sir Amber has gotten drunk. I'm here to take him home. Considering the difference in gender, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to take care of him."

Grandpa Fernan noticed the heavily intoxicated Amber only then. He quickly reached out to take Amber from Ludwig, his tone apologetic and somewhat awkward. "General Ludwig, did Amber cause you any trouble again?"

Ludwig lied, "Not at all, Sir Amber just got drunk. It's late, so I won't disturb you further."

After saying that, he straightened his collar and turned to leave, disappearing into the night aboard his flying vehicle.

Little did Ludwig know that shortly after he left, a heart-wrenching sound of vomiting echoed from the bathroom on the second floor. Lu Yan was hunched over the sink, his stomach churning as he vomited a mixture of various alcoholic beverages.

His face was pale, and he shakily turned on the faucet to wash away the filth. Then, he splashed some cold water on his face. The light above clearly reflected a face that could be described as devilishly handsome, with lips that were blueish-black.

"The wine is poisoned..."

Lu Yan stared at the person in the mirror, his mind blank as he uttered these words without knowing why.

A black heart silently appeared behind him, speaking in a strange, cold mechanical voice:

"Of course there's poison in the wine. If he doesn't die from it, how can you borrow his body to be reborn?"

Lu Yan's pupils constricted. "Who are you?!"

The black heart slowly floated in front of Lu Yan. "Who I am isn't important. What matters is... who are you?"

"Who am I?"

When Lu Yan heard this question, his head began to ache faintly. He frowned and lowered his head, trying to search through his memories. However, all he found was a foggy blur, with intermittent flashes of images. His breathing was heavy. "I... Who am I... Who am I really?"

"You're the emperor, ruling over the land for years, unifying the world. But throughout history, no matter how illustrious a ruler may be, they cannot escape death."

The heart landed on Lu Yan's shoulder, close to his ear, using a somewhat archaic term of address: "Your Majesty, it was I who revived you. However, your fairy spirit has become history. Now, it's a new era."

"Do you want to live?"

As the system's deep voice sounded, Lu Yan gradually regained fragmented memories of being an emperor. But those memories seemed bland and colorless. Throughout them, only his own face was clear, while others' faces were blurred, as if someone's existence had been forcibly erased.

If he couldn't remember, then there was no need to think about it. What mattered was the present.

Lu Yan closed his eyes to calm himself. When he opened them again, he had regained his composure. "What's the price?"

The black heart throbbed twice, appearing to tremble like a human would when laughing. "There's no price."

It said, "No price at all. You just have to live."

Lu Yan asked, "That simple?"

"No, it's far from simple."

An invisible force in the air seemed to compel Lu Yan to lift his head. The man in the mirror was different from most male bugs of this era, who tended to be delicate and weak. Instead, he had an aggressively handsome appearance, rare dark eyes, and neatly trimmed hair of the same color—a blend of Eastern classical beauty and Western depth.

"This face is yours. Do you like it? Consider it a small gift from me. No one... oh, no, no bug will suspect anything."

"There's an assassin lurking in this world. His mission is to kill you, and you need to foil his mission. Only one of you can survive. Do you understand?"

Lu Yan expelled all the alcohol from his stomach and found some commonly used antidote pills in a drawer. Medical technology in this era was quite advanced. Not long after swallowing the capsules, the numbing sensation caused by the poison in his body eased.

Lu Yan sat on the edge of the bed holding a cup of hot water, lost in thought. The night outside seemed to be soaking the world in darkness. The tall buildings felt alien, but only the bright moon brought a hint of familiarity.

He had once been a powerful emperor, but now he had become a pauper from a third-class star, always in danger of losing his life. A sharp blade lay hidden in an unpredictable place, ready to strike him down at any moment.

The system, floating in mid-air, reminded him, "You need to find that assassin as soon as possible."

Lu Yan took a sip of water, his hoarse voice finally clearing up a bit. "I will look, but not now."

The system was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Lu Yan calmly replied, "I need to apologize to the Third Prince first; everything else can wait."

"How could the original body coincidentally drink poisoned wine and then coincidentally barge into the Third Prince's private room? If the guards accidentally shot and killed him, or if the royal family blamed Ludwig and dissolved their engagement, the original body would lose all protection and be sent back to the third-class star. An orphaned male bug would be too easy to kill."

Years of political intrigue had endowed Lu Yan with the keen instincts unique to emperors. He narrowed his eyes and made a serious evaluation:

"Today's situation was a series of traps. This assassin is no ordinary foe."

The system remained silent. Lu Yan had been extracted a strand of emotional thread, which in a sense represented the removal of part of his emotions. Coupled with the memory loss, it had an intangible effect on his personality. In this life, he seemed overly cold.

Late at night, Lu Yan, relying on the original body's memories, opened the terminal on his wristband and found Ludwig's contact information. After a moment of deliberation, he finally typed a message to the other party.