Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Without glancing at the male standing directly before him, even though he had just taken a sip of the offered wine, Fei Luo turned slightly and instead went out of his way to greet the green-haired female behind the male.

As Fei Luo accurately called out the green-haired female’s name, the crowd, who had been focusing on the two conversing males, instinctively shifted their gazes toward the female.

The green-haired female—Li Wei Geshaluolin.

Though he was the Geshaluolin family's sole female heir, and despite Bernice’s surname being the lesser-known "Aisima," it was always this elderly, unwed Prince Bernice who claimed center stage and dominated at various banquets hosted by the Geshaluolin Family.

While this was primarily because Bernice was a male, the opinions of other males—mostly born from principal wives or high-level female attendants—toward this "Highness" were hardly flattering.

After all, the surname "Aisima" was one that left no mark in the history of their race.

To put it bluntly, Bernice’s dam was far from being any sort of noble or celebrity—she couldn’t even touch the threshold of the middle class, being nothing more than a passably attractive D-Class low-tier female.

Females of this rank, if not for their striking looks, could never have persuaded even a B-Class male head of the Qiankesilan Family into fathering children with her.

But so what? Even if she did give birth to a male, it still inherited the mediocre bloodline of her Aisima lineage.

Hiding behind his wine glass, though males were precious to females, in the eyes of the aristocratic females from prominent families of the capital planet, this D-Class "Highness" of the Geshaluolin Family, while briefly crossing social lines to mingle among them, would never truly belong.

Even now, well into adulthood, unlike the male offspring of other families, this His Highness Bernice—despite having a sire who was the head of the Geshaluolin Family—had few females of equivalent status willing to enter into a betrothal with him.

Small wonder he stayed unwed to this day.

At this thought, the males who had initially been puzzled by Fei Luo’s sudden show of favor toward Bernice now nodded in comprehension upon hearing Fei Luo call out Li Wei’s name.

So, His Highness Fei Luo was paying respects to him instead.

But how did His Highness know Li Wei?

And did His Highness not realize that Li Wei and his brother… were practically estranged?

Unaware that Li Wei and Bernice did not share the same dam, Fei Luo, noticing their similar eye colors, instinctively assumed their relationship was like that of Siluan and Shang Ling.

But this wasn’t entirely his fault—after all, just from their eyes alone, Li Wei and Bernice did bear a resemblance.

"His Highness Fei Luo."

Though they had met many times online as gaming friends, this being their first offline encounter, the green-haired female answered formally.

Having already witnessed in-game how meticulous this Tech Insect could be at times, Fei Luo chuckled, unfazed by his stiffness, and pressed on.

"Just call me Fei Luo like you do in the game. By the way, is this Highness your elder brother? Your eyes look very similar."

With that, Fei Luo turned to the green-eyed male beside him, who also seemed surprised that he knew Li Wei, and asked politely with a smile.

"Might I know Your Highness’s name?"

...

By convention, at first meetings, if someone asked for your name, it was customary to give your full name—especially if you suspected they might have misunderstood it.

But—

"Bernice."

Leaving off his family name, the green-eyed male, whose smile had long since faded, bit out only the three words while looking at Fei Luo.

Admittedly, "Bernice" wasn’t a bad name.

In the insect language, "Bo" stood for nobility and stature, while "Nice" often meant beloved or endearing.

The father who had chosen this name for his male offspring had chosen carefully.

However—

"Bernice Aisima."

The name barely hung in the air when Siluan and the others, though they hadn’t continued speaking with Fei Luo earlier, hadn’t strayed far either.

Since the banquet hall was neither too large nor too small, Siluan and Ya Jin, unwilling to step out into the courtyard or listen to other insects offer tired compliments, had remained where they were, trading barbs.

Thus, they hadn’t missed the scene of the two insects from the Geshaluolin Family approaching Fei Luo.

Unlike other males who might still show courtesy for the Geshaluolin Family’s male head and avoid openly humiliating Bernice, Siluan, seeing the latter trying to deceive Fei Luo—who had just returned from a barren planet and was still unfamiliar with the capital’s aristocratic secrets—sneered and deliberately announced his full name.

A full name, naturally, included the surname.

And whether intentional or not, Siluan seemed to emphasize the pronunciation of "Aisima" particularly heavily.

Twirling his goblet, Ya Jin, never one to miss an opportunity, though not as quick with words as Siluan, was no less sharp-tongued.

"Siluan, must you always lack subtlety? Can’t you see Bernice is too ashamed to mention his surname? Highlighting it so bluntly is just twisting the knife."

...My thanks, Prince Ya Jin. You didn’t spare him either.

Silence.

An oppressive hush.

Even though Bernice was only a D-Class male, even though they wouldn’t consider him as a suitable match, most of the females present instinctively averted their eyes, not daring to witness his humiliation.

In contrast, the males, after a brief pause, gradually smirked.

After all, as long as the A-Class male wasn’t targeting them, males loved nothing more than someone else's disgrace.

But—

His hands balled into fists, though it was the two A-Class males nearby who had humiliated him, the green-eyed male lifted his gaze, his deep green pupils—frost-laden as evergreens—locking onto another pair of green eyes.

Ignoring the two males’ remarks, disregarding the silent jeers of the other males and the hushed tension among the females, Bernice simply stared expressionlessly at the one female who truly had the right to bear the Geshaluolin name.

Geshaluolin... What a dignified surname.

But—

"His Highness Fei Luo."

Turning his head as if oblivious to the awkward atmosphere his surname had provoked, before Fei Luo could intervene as their host to smooth things over, the green-eyed male mustered a thin smile and spoke softly.

"So you and Li Wei have known each other for a while."

"No wonder he spent so much time carefully selecting a congratulatory gift for you. Come to think of it, even I don’t know what he prepared. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, perhaps we could have an attendant bring it out for everyone to see? Consider it a favor to satisfy our curiosity."

A gift...

As if unaware of how abrupt this topic shift was, or perhaps indifferent to the spectacle of discord between the two representatives of the Geshaluolin Family, Bernice curved his lips, allowing the gathered insects to drink in the drama.

These self-righteous elites of the capital planet love drama, don’t they? Fine, then let’s not make it just about him. The Geshaluolin family has more than just his drama to offer.

Gazing at Philo, the green-eyed male insect’s gaze was as heavy as overproof liquor, with a bone-chilling coldness. As if afraid the other might refuse, Bernice pressed, chuckling low.

"Surely, as a Torras family male insect, His Highness Philo wouldn’t be so cheap as to refuse us a look at the gift?"

The words carried a sarcastic bite, one that felt oddly familiar.

But... like they say.

It seems the insects of the capital planet really think Philo’s a pushover now.

Among the three A-Class Male Insect Highnesses present, it was Siluan and Ya Jin who had put Bernice in his place. Philo hadn’t said a word and was, in fact, the host of tonight’s banquet. Yet this D-Class Male Insect still skipped over the other two and directly confronted Philo.

Did he think... Philo would back down just to save face?

From start to finish, ever since raising the question about names, Philo had noticed the weird vibe in the air. Observing the reactions of the crowd, he now roughly understood Bernice’s situation.

It seemed he had been too optimistic. Perhaps he should pay more attention to the family structures of those closely associated with the Torras family in the capital planet from now on.

The silver-haired male insect, always spacing out lately, paused briefly in thought, not immediately responding to Bernice’s words.

Seeing this, Bernice’s smile deepened unconsciously, clearly believing his taunt had hit a sore spot and that Philo was too embarrassed to refuse.

But the other insects frowned at this. They weren’t worried about Li Wei—they simply felt that if His Highness Philo rolled over so easily to Bernice’s rudeness, wasn’t he being too much of a doormat...?

However—

"My apologies, Your Highness Bernice."

"Since it’s a gift Li Wei carefully prepared for me, I’d rather not show it off to everyone."

After only a brief pause, the silver-haired male insect snapped back to attention. Though his smile remained polite and gentle, his words were sharp and unwavering.

It must be said, Philo’s response... caught everyone off guard.

Given the recent incident with the assessment footage, where this Highness had even lowered himself to placate low-ranking female insects, everyone had assumed he would acquiesce to Bernice’s request this time as well.

But who would’ve thought...

Wasn’t His Highness Philo supposed to be extremely easygoing? From what they were seeing now, it didn’t seem quite... No, he was still easygoing, but not in the way they had imagined.

To be precise, this Highness dealt with matters, not individuals. Whether you were a low-ranking or high-ranking insect, male or female, as long as you didn’t provoke him, his temper remained impeccable.

But if anyone dared to cross him...

Glancing at Bernice, whose forced smile had stiffened at the blunt refusal, the onlookers couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Some brick walls were simply more amusing to watch others crash into.

Admittedly, it was Philo’s easygoing demeanor that had emboldened many insects to approach him. Yet now, seeing this Highness still capable of the unyielding resolve befitting an A-Class Male Insect, their instinctive reverence for strength was satisfied.

Come to think of it, they had forgotten.

This wasn’t the first time His Highness Philo had stood firm against another male insect’s unreasonable demands.

At the last banquet, His Highness Philo had straight-up punched His Highness Siluan, another A-Class Male Insect...

At this thought, the crowd stole another glance at Bernice before quickly, cautiously darting their eyes toward Siluan. No words were spoken, but the message was loud and clear.

With a smirk, Ya Jin, who hadn't witnessed Philo drunkenly grabbing Siluan's hair last time, initially thought Philo might go along with Bernice's suggestion to avoid making the banquet too awkward.

But who would have guessed—

Following the crowd's gaze, Ya Jin openly looked at Siluan and burst into laughter, teasing boldly.

"Hah! Listen, Bernice, I advise you not to take advantage of His Highness Philo's slightly better temper than mine and spout nonsense. Haven’t you heard? He even went after Siluan at the last banquet. Taking you down would be a joke, wouldn’t it, Siluan?"

Truth be told, while Ya Jin’s words were meant to mock Bernice, the underlying jab was obvious to everyone.

Siluan, instantly gritting his teeth, first glared at Philo, who was now rubbing his nose in embarrassment, before turning his anger toward Ya Jin instead.

"None of your damn business! Last time, that guy was just drunk and grabbed me a couple of times. If your brain’s not working, shut up!"

"Oho~ Look how fierce His Highness Siluan is, telling me not to speak. I didn’t even hit you—you’ve got the nerve to snap at me, but not to pick a fight with His Highness Philo?"

"Ya Jin, what’s with the sarcasm? Cut the crap! I’ll deal with whoever I want—now shut your mouth..."

No one paid attention to Bernice, the original focus of the incident. All eyes were back on the three A-Class Male Insects, even as two of them engaged in a messy back-and-forth while the third tried to mediate.

A D-Class Male Insect who would vanish from the high society of the capital planet once the marriage contract was signed. If Philo hadn’t accepted his glass earlier because of Li Wei, no one would have even noticed this Highness.

So, even standing at the center of the crowd, even positioned close to the three A-Class Male Insects, Bernice remained nothing more than part of the scenery in everyone’s eyes.

Even Li Wei behind him received more attention—after all, Philo actually knew Li Wei well.

His fists clenched tighter, the green-eyed male insect listened to the conversations that had long left him out. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke—

"Who would’ve thought His Highness Philo would be so reluctant to share Li Wei’s gift. Guess I’ll just have to ruin your fun."

Raising his head and looking at the silver-haired male Insectoid before him, Bernice let out a careless chuckle.

What did he care? His goal for today was already unattainable. But if he wasn’t happy, neither would Li Wei or this Tulas Family male Insectoid in front of him.

What were they so arrogant about? What was this Philo so arrogant about?

Superficially, they praised him—good temper, sociable, the guiding star of the new generation of male Insectoids. But if it weren’t for his matriarch being the matriarch of the Tulas Family, if it weren’t for his S-tier psychic ability, would these Insectoids still value him so much? Would they still suck up to him like this?

Raising his hand, the green-eyed male Insectoid summoned his attendant, who had been standing unnoticed at the entrance of the banquet’s side hall where the younger Insectoids gathered.

Taking the hardcover book from the attendant’s hands, Bernice leafed through it, smirking, as he looked at Li Wei and Philo before him.

“But I wonder, Your Highness Philo, if you know that this female Insectoid you’re so keen on protecting has prepared nothing but a half-assed photo album as your congratulatory gift?”

With that, the green-eyed male Insectoid turned the book toward the crowd. As he flipped through it, several photos suddenly slipped out from its pages.

Insectoids had excellent eyesight, so every insect present could clearly see the images—Li Wei, wearing revealing clothing, his figure clearly visible.

Silence.

This time, it was truly dead silent.

The older Insectoids had already moved to the second floor, leaving the main banquet hall on the first floor mostly devoid of elders.

Even so, even though male Insectoids were known to be libertines—that was male Insectoids.

Male Insectoids could openly flirt with their attendants in public, could shamelessly expose their limbs, could boastfully display their prowess.

But female Insectoids—unless they had already become a male Insectoid’s attendant—even if they were a male’s primary consort, would never casually expose their bodies in front of others.

And these photos...

All eyes instantly snapped to Li Wei. At this moment, no one cared anymore about how low Bernice's rank was or how offensive they found his provocation of His Highness Philo.

The only female heir of the Geshaluolin Family's Chief Insect had actually gone too far by making advances toward a male insect of the Tulas Family in such a scandalous way.

Such juicy gossip—how could they possibly miss it!!

Widening their eyes, the insects present—whether male or female—could barely contain themselves from jostling to get a look at the photos fluttering to the ground. Yet before they could fully make out the clothing and figure of the green-haired female insect in the photos, a pair of hands had already blocked their view.

Seeing this, the crowd automatically shot angry looks at those obstructing hands.

However, upon raising their heads and recognizing whose hands they were, the younger ones snapped back to reality instantly.

Uh... His Highness Philo.

Alright, perhaps they had let their excitement get the better of them.

Watching the silver-haired male insect crouch to pick up the photos, the crowd's initial gossip-fueled excitement was involuntarily suppressed once more.

Hmm... they'd missed something.

Though these photos had been sneaked into the congratulatory gift by Li Wei of the Geshaluolin Family, given that the two insects had known each other for a long time, there was no telling whether Li Wei had sent them willingly or if His Highness Philo had requested them.

If it were the former, the Geshaluolin Family would be utterly humiliated. But if it were the latter, then...

At the thought of this possibility, uncontrollable pangs of jealousy surfaced on the faces of many female insects who also hoped to catch Philo's eye.

If His Highness Philo had indeed requested these photos, given the Geshaluolin Family's influence, Li Wei's agreement to send them could only mean he was aiming for much more than just being a concubine. Had the two already...?

Clenching their fists, the insects couldn't be bothered to look at the photos on the ground. Their previously amused gazes shifted almost instantly into expressions of shock, displeasure, and even anxious panic.

Aside from the high-ranking male insects Siluan and Ya Jin, only Gore, Shang Ling, Nimir, and Li Qi—who had interacted with Philo before—seemed relatively composed. The rest began scrutinizing Philo and Li Wei with wary suspicion.

Once again, the crowd overlooked Bernice, who started all this.

Naturally, they dared not question His Highness Philo about what had happened, unlike Bernice, who had nothing left to lose. Instead, they turned to Li Wei with thinly veiled contempt.

"The Geshaluolin Family truly has fine upbringing. Li Wei, as an unmarried female insect, don’t you feel ashamed sending such photos to His Highness Philo behind everyone's backs?"

"Though we all admire His Highness Philo, most of us female insects have enough self-respect not to resort to such cheap tricks. Li Wei, you’re utterly shameless."

"Do you really think His Highness Philo would favor you for this? A noble male insect like him deserves an equally pure and outstanding female insect as his consort. How could someone like you ever be worthy of him!"

One after another, the crowd seemed intent on denying the green-haired female insect any chance to refute. Regardless of the truth, they were determined to blame him, insisting he had sent the photos proactively.

Admittedly, while many had subtly disapproved when Bernice targeted Li Wei earlier, now that their own chances were on the line, most chose the narrative that favored them.

But—

Ignoring the others and the barrage of words and stares directed at him, Li Wei’s green eyes—similar to Bernice’s—lowered slightly, his expression calm, as if indifferent to the crowd’s reaction.

Indeed, ever since entering the banquet hall, he had remained unshaken.

He wasn't surprised by Bernice’s provocation.

Nor was he surprised by Philo’s defense.

Likewise, he wasn't surprised by the appearance of these photos.

And so, the female insect watched as the photos fluttered down, as the predictable taunts began, as Bernice smirked in satisfaction, as the eyes boring into him like daggers—and then—

"Rip—"

The sound of tearing paper, though soft, cut through the malicious chatter like scissors.

Turning his head, Philo—who hadn’t lost his temper in a long time, whose emotions had long been flat as still water—now locked eyes with the green-eyed male insect with a gaze that, hazily, resembled the one he had given Siluan during their first banquet.

No, perhaps not quite the same. Back then, there hadn’t been such deep fury and disgust in his eyes.

"Bernice Asmar."

"You asking for a beating?"

Author's Note:

Li Wei...