Chapter 114

Chapter 114

What a coincidence?

Bumping into this guy when his toothache was at its worst—just my luck! But the corridor was the only way to the meeting room, so Yi Ye braced himself and walked over, pretending to be invisible.

"I was just talking about today's meeting with Karan, which concerns the resumption of His Majesty's coronation ceremony... Yi Ye?" Bush Meihua quickly stopped Yi Ye, who was about to walk past.

The youth's voice was muffled through the mask: "Leave me alone, let go."

Bush Meihua narrowed his eyes, noticing that the youth's mood seemed low, so he stopped chatting with Karan Jed and turned to lean closer to him.

"What's the matter? Who got to you?"

Yi Ye didn’t feel like talking right now, as opening his mouth made his wisdom tooth hurt even more, so he didn’t respond.

At that moment, Bai Chuan and Kaiser caught up, still in the middle of arguing. Suddenly, they noticed Bush Meihua standing in front of Yi Ye and went quiet, their expressions turning wary and disgusted.

"Big brother," Bai Chuan quickly approached.

Kaiser followed closely, and upon seeing the hand gripping Yi Ye's arm, he didn’t hesitate to push it away.

"Grabbing someone in public—is this how the Meihua family shows good manners?"

He pushed hard, but Bush Meihua merely rotated his wrist, not angry, and smirked as he shot back: "The Meihua family's etiquette isn't for a brute to comment on. Looks like General Moxi finally let you out, huh? How does it feel? Still think you belong with the vermin? Too bad the Meihua family doesn't do confinement, so you won't get to experience it."

"Being locked up is better than getting shocked. You think I don't know your history?"

Bush Meihua's smile hid a knife: "What does it matter if you do?"

Not long after, the two were at it again.

Yi Ye was completely fed up, and now these people had surrounded him, looming over him like giants. They wouldn’t budge, and they were non-stop talking. He was already on edge, and now he wished he could just pull out a few bombs and blow them all up, along with this senate.

"Listen—" he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke impatiently, "Can you all just be quiet?"

Kaiser: "..."

Meihua: "..."

Bai Chuan: "..."

After saying that, he pushed past them and walked away.

Watching the youth's retreating figure, Bush Meihua turned to Bai Chuan, serious now: "What happened?"

Bai Chuan's gaze swept over the two, letting out a faint, cold scoff.

Why would I tell you?

He then followed Yi Ye.

The two Alphas left behind exchanged glances, each silently questioning, "Was it you who upset him?"

"By the way," Kaiser suddenly frowned, "If everyone is supposed to be here today, does that mean that guy is coming too?"

Bush Meihua: "..."

Karan Jed: "Who are you talking about?"

"Of course, it's the Holy Church one," Bush Meihua gave a slight smirk, then turned away. "Let's go, the meeting's about to start."

Yi Ye walked straight to the conference room with his head down. He wasn't really angry, just dealing with wisdom tooth pain. Plus, he had to argue with that old fossil Duke Jedd at the meeting, and the dental drill waiting for him at the hospital tomorrow, among other mixed emotions. So he wasn't up for talking.

The conference room door was half open; someone had clearly arrived early.

No surprise, it was Duke Jedd. The old man had a bad temper, but he was always the first to arrive.

Thinking about facing that old face again, Yi Ye sighed wearily and pushed the door open. When he entered, he saw not just Duke Jedd but someone sitting in his seat.

Eugene Melville, decked out in Holy Church gear, sat boldly in his seat, legs crossed, looking sullen and bored.

He only turned his head towards the door when he heard the noise. He spotted Yi Ye in a black shirt and suit. His gaze dropped, scanning the long legs, and his lifelessly handsome face finally cracked a smile.

"Lord of the Twelve Seats, you're running late."

"Yi Ye, meet Eugene Melville. You probably crossed paths at the military academy league," Duke Jedd said.

Yi Ye: "..."

What's it like to meet the last person you want to see when you've got a toothache?

Now he didn't just want to blow up the Senate.

He wished a small planet would just wipe out the main star.

With Duke Jedd around, he couldn't show his disgust for Eugene, so he forced a smile, toothache and all. "Hello."

Eugene stood up and walked over, his elaborate Holy Church robes making him look even more intimidating. He furrowed his brow as he looked down at Yi Ye. After a moment, he extended his hand: "From now on, I'm your assistant. Let's get along, my lord."

Yi Ye ignored the hand: "Just one of the assistants."

"Does that matter?" Eugene sneered, "Compared to some lowly Omega, I can help you more, right?"

He bent down, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear: "Old man Jedd specifically sent me here, hoping I would kill you. What do you think, should I agree or not?"

Yi Ye returned a calm gaze, "If you have the ability, then kill me."

As soon as he finished speaking, his tone suddenly turned cold, and his voice rose: "Duke Jedd, an assistant sitting in a Senate seat without permission, do I have the right to punish him?"

Duke Jedd, who had been observing the atmosphere between the two, was suddenly called upon and hesitated for a moment, stroking his beard: "Yes, but—"

"Good," Yi Ye interrupted Duke Jedd, pulling down Eugene's collar, "Now, get out of the conference room and sit by the door like a dog."

Eugene's expression changed slightly: "Are you serious?"

"Aren't you calling me 'my lord'? Don't I have that much authority?"

"..."

"If you don't agree, I have a reason to remove you from your assistant position."

Eugene's expression was inscrutable, a strong sense of anger evident in his eyes, and a lifeless pressure emanated from him. Yi Ye stood firm, thinking it was just as well if he didn't agree, as he could use this as an excuse to at least keep this person out of his sight for a while. After all, there were plenty of people in the Senate who wanted him dead. If old man Jedd wanted him dead so badly, it didn't necessarily have to be Eugene.

"Fine."

"Then—what?" Yi Ye was slightly stunned.

Eugene's large hand gripped his fingertips, his expression cold: "What my lord says, I have no reason not to obey."

He released his grip, stood up, and walked out. Yi Ye frowned and trailed after him, only to find that he had indeed found a spot by the wall and plonked himself down on the floor.

Bai Chuan and others were coming down the corridor, and upon seeing the scene, each reacted differently.

"What's going on?" Bai Chuan asked him in a low voice.

"...He's lost it."

And not just a little bit.

"Forget it, don't bother with this nutcase."

Yi Ye massaged his sore cheek, as talking so much had made it hurt terribly.

Bai Chuan watched him carefully touching his cheek and, after a moment of thought, tapped a few quick commands into his terminal.

A bad feeling crept in: "...What did you do?"

"There are still openings at the hospital this afternoon. I’ll take you to the dentist after the meeting."

"..."

Yi Ye rolled his eyes so hard it hurt and nearly passed out from sheer frustration when Bai Chuan caught him.

Bai Chuan: "Don’t pass out, we’ve still got a meeting to sit through."

Yi Ye: Ugh!! I can’t deal with these two assistants anymore! They’re both driving me up the wall!

Just as he was roaring internally, people started filing in and taking their seats. Besides the attending members of the Twelve Seats, there were also various assistants. The huge meeting room buzzed to life, though it was still pretty subdued.

Today's meeting wasn’t about anything urgent; it was mainly a formal introduction of Yi Ye, the new member of the Twelve Seats.

The Duchess of Wenz had proposed to hold a press conference for Yi Ye to introduce him to the public, but Duke Jedd had refuted it with the excuse of "keeping the Twelve Seats from being turned into a spectacle." Though that's what he said, it was actually to keep Yi Ye’s face out of the public eye.

Even if he didn't like Yi Ye, he understood that the public loves young, attractive, and talented people, especially when they held some political power. They easily became idols fervently supported by the masses, and even more so when he was a special Beta. Duke Jedd had worked hard to gain power at his age and couldn't just watch a young man in his early twenties threaten his interests.

Since he couldn't stop him from becoming a member of the Twelve Seats, he would make sure Yi Ye remained an empty vase, waiting for the day when people forgot about him, and then find a suitable reason to send him to his death. This kind of thing happened all the time in the council.

Apart from that, there was the matter of the Emperor's ceremony.

"The second ceremony is in two weeks, and the council will assist the government in organizing it..." As he spoke, Duke Jedd suddenly stopped, his wrinkled eyes narrowing as he slammed the table with displeasure.

Everyone looked up.

"Twelve Seats, do you think it's appropriate to attend the meeting wearing a mask?"

Following Duke Jedd's words, all eyes snapped to the black-haired young man sitting at the end. Duke Jedd, finding fault wherever he could, scolded, "Take off the mask."

Yi Ye: ...The Duchess of Wenz brings a big feather fan to the meetings every day, and you never say anything!

Though he cursed internally, he clasped his hands together earnestly, "To be honest, old Duke, I have a festering sore on my face this big, and it's really unsightly. Maybe we should just let it be."

"Even if your nose is broken, you must take off the mask," Duke Jedd slammed the table again, "Otherwise, get out!"

Yi Ye: Out it is!

He decisively got up, ready to leave this sleep-inducing place.

Duke Jedd: "Before you leave, hand over Anderson's permissions!"

Yi Ye: ...

He plopped back down into his seat.

Some things are bearable, but Anderson's stuff must never be handed over to that old geezer.

Duke Jedd’s face twitched and contorted, suppressing his anger, "Take off the mask!"

All eyes turned to Yi Ye, curious about how bad his face must be to warrant such thorough coverage.

Noticing the looks from Anderson, Ling Pei, and others, Yi Ye felt a chill run down his spine. Remembering his swollen face in the mirror this morning, he braced for total social humiliation. But he couldn't leave. He reached for the mask and, with a determined tug, ripped it off.

The mask came off, revealing the young man's fair and clean face.

......

A stunned silence fell over the room.

Holy cow, so swollen!

Was the first thought of everyone.

How could someone’s face get that swollen?

Was the next thought in everyone's mind.

Yi Ye awkwardly looked down, but the massive bulge on his right cheek, red and swollen like a hamster’s, was impossible to hide. The redness quickly spread to his neck and ears, drowning him in shame and frustration.

Ugh...

Why the heck do people even have to grow wisdom teeth?

"Pfft." A stifled laugh broke the silence.