Chapter 5 Longing

Chapter 5: Yearning

"No compensation, I want to go with you."

Bulan: No way... I thought Your Excellency was upright and kind. Turns out you have your eye on the Major General.

Retreating to advance, playing hard to get.

Impressive! Truly impressive!

Bulan discreetly glanced at Idris out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, those violet eyes were showing signs of freezing over.

"My apologies, Your Excellency, but I cannot agree to your proposal." Idris lowered his gaze, refusing the request firmly yet politely, while subtly smoothing out the creases on his gloves.

He had no choice, but compared to marrying a male, he would rather pay a much higher price.

"Is it too much trouble?" Hearing the refusal, Samuel gestured anxiously, "I'll be very obedient, I won't cause any trouble."

Could the male not understand what we're saying? Or had Bulan said something to him while he was away, making him think he could gain greater benefits by having me?

Indeed, males were as greedy as ever, clutching at any profit they could get their hands on.

An inexplicable irritation welled up in Idris's heart—because of last night's "mistake," and because of the male's unexpected reaction and proposal.

"I have full confidence in Your Excellency's character, but your proposal falls outside the scope of the compensation negotiations. I must respectfully decline your condition."

Years of reading people's expressions allowed Samuel to quickly detect the impatience flickering in the other's eyes. He realized he was being somewhat unreasonable. But if he missed this opportunity, it would surely be difficult to get close to his brother again...

What should I do...

Unable to think of a solution immediately, Samuel grew restless. Before long, his fingertips were bitten with many small wounds. The wounds weren't deep and didn't bleed much, so neither of the two females in the ward noticed.

"Can't we discuss it?"

"No, Your Excellency." Idris's smile didn't reach his eyes, his tone still gentle and courteous. "I hope you can understand."

In the Empire, a male requesting to live with another female was no different from asking that female to become his lover. For any female, it was a great humiliation and disrespect.

Especially for someone of Idris's status and position. If it weren't for the need to resolve the matter, Idris wouldn't want to stay in the room a second longer.

Seeing the female seemed somewhat angered, Samuel was confused. Had he said something wrong? Why was his brother angry?

"Your Excellency, you must be tired today. How about discussing the compensation with the Major General at another time?" Seeing the atmosphere growing tense, Bulan quickly changed the subject.

Idris took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his anger. The bigger picture mattered; he couldn't act on impulse.

"No need."

After a moment's thought, Samuel shook his head at Bulan, then turned to Idris, his eyes filled with reluctance. The timing wasn't right; forcing it would only backfire.

"I'm sorry, brother, I was being willful."

"Please don't be angry."

"I'm fine, no compensation is needed."

"And thank you, brother, and the others for saving me yesterday."

Roughly understanding the male's meaning, a flicker of surprise passed through Idris's eyes. He had expected the male to throw at least a bit of a tantrum after being refused, and the compensation talks would surely fail. He never imagined the other party would take the initiative to apologize. It was truly astonishing.

Could it be that he had misunderstood the male's intentions?

Temporarily suppressing his doubts, Idris said, "Protecting the citizens is the duty of us military males. Yesterday, whether it was you or any other insect, in that situation, we would have risked our lives to save them. There's no need for you to be so polite."

Samuel stared into those determined, star-like violet eyes, his own eyes stinging.

"Brother" had once looked at him with the same eyes, saying he had found a cause worth dedicating his life to. Willing to seek it tirelessly, even if it meant facing death nine times over.

Was this Idris's choice too?

"I'm sorry, brother got punished because of me. Just now... that person said if I'm injured, brother will have trouble. If needed, brother can come find me anytime."

"I can testify."

Samuel pointed at Bulan. Since he couldn't go with his brother, he would proceed gradually. There would surely be a way to get his brother to take him away.

Having figured this out, Samuel's mood instantly lightened considerably. Propping his chin on his hand, his eyes curved into crescents, his gaze glued to the white-haired female by the bed, not moving away for a long time.

Brother with the violet eyes is so beautiful.

If only I could see him forever.

The male's intense yet pure gaze fell upon Idris, as if it could last until the end of time. Watching from the side, Bulan inexplicably felt like he hadn't eaten anything, yet was already full.

Tsk, this little insect Idris has quite the luck. Such an understanding, gentle-tempered male isn't common on the Imperial Star. More importantly, this Excellency doesn't seem as averse to females as other Excellencies.

If other Excellencies were like magnificent, ever-changing nebulae that females could only admire from afar, never able to grasp or approach...

Then this suddenly appearing Excellency was like a quietly burning yet non-scalding flame. Getting close felt warm, and touching it wouldn't burn.

He just might not be able to release pheromones, and he's a bit prone to crying. But such a somewhat delicate temperament is also rather cute.

Bulan's hands itched a little, wanting to give him a ruffle.

But first, business.

"Your Excellency, there's no harm in accepting the military's compensation." Given the male's consistently good attitude toward him, Bulan felt he should help him get a bit more out of it. After all, the military's resources were there for the taking; might as well take them.

Hearing this, Samuel shook his head firmly. "To avoid giving others cause for gossip."

Grasping the meaning behind the male's words, Bulan couldn't help but nod inwardly. This male seemed soft, but his mind was sharp. He wasn't as foolish as he appeared.

Idris stood to the side, taking everything in, feeling a mix of complex emotions. Having reached this point, he roughly understood that he had misunderstood the male earlier.

In that instant, a pair of icy violet eyes flashed through Idris's mind. The coldness in those eyes formed a stark contrast with the warm, gentle smile in the male's dark eyes before him.

How could there be such a male?

＊

Having easily completed a difficult task, Idris left the hospital with a rare sense of relief. The gentle mask he had worn since entering the ward completely fell away.

"Major General." Bulan quickly caught up from behind.

Idris stopped, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow, waiting for the approaching female to speak.

"Major General, if you have time, please visit His Excellency more often." Bulan caught his breath and said with a smile.

Honestly, he really didn't want to say this, but as soon as Idris left, the male started staring blankly out the window, not speaking, not allowing treatment for the wounds on his hands, as if he had lost his soul. That pitiful sight would make any insect feel sorry for him.

Idris turned away nonchalantly, responding coldly, "You should save that line for the doctor."

Bulan wasn't at all surprised by the refusal, but he acted as if he couldn't sense the sarcasm from the other being. Raising an eyebrow with a smile, he spoke half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Doctors can indeed cure illnesses, but Your Excellency's ailment can only be 'cured' by you."

Idris's purple eyes narrowed slightly, too lazy to argue. As his gaze shifted away, his peripheral vision happened to sweep over the nearby ward building.

Upstairs, the male stood by the window with his head lowered. The window frame resembled a cage, trapping him inside. Only sunlight passed through the glass to fall beside him, yet it couldn't dispel the surrounding loneliness.

He was too far away, and the window obscured his expression. But his frail figure swayed precariously in the sunlight, like a fledgling abandoned, crying in the cold wind.

Every rustle of the hospital gown was a silent plea for the one who cast him out to turn back. It was a deafening plea, a sharp blade to the heart.

In a daze, the figure of a child appeared beside the male—white-haired with purple eyes, equally lonely and desolate. Through the glass, across time, gazing at him.

Idris jerked his gaze away as if electrocuted. After a moment, he refused, "I'm swamped with military business. I don't have time lately. In the future... I'll come when I have time."

With that, Idris turned away decisively.

"Remember to come when you have time, Major General!" Calling after the departing female, Bulan curled his lips into a triumphant smile. He strode off in the opposite direction, humming a tune, and casually activated his Stellar Ring.

"Bulan: By the grace of the Insect God, the male has relented."

On the other end of the Stellar Ring, a white-haired, red-eyed male ignored the vibration on his wrist. Only after serving the cooked meal and placing it in the warmer did he lean against the kitchen counter to check the message.

"Bulan: The MPA likely won't force Idris into concubinage against the male's wishes for now, but we still need to investigate his background, just in case."

"YSWR: Alright, thanks."

"Bulan: No need to thank me. Your thanks give me the creeps."

The white-haired male ignored the teasing from the other side and continued replying.

"YSWR: Are you going to follow up on the male's welfare compensation later? I have some properties; add them to the package when you do."

Finally, the white-haired male added: Don't let Idris find out.

Bulan scanned the message, exasperated.

"Bulan: You two really are father and son, even delivering the same instructions!"

The white-haired male couldn't be bothered to banter with Bulan. Having achieved his goal, he casually turned off the Stellar Ring. Just as he turned around and reached for the kitchenware, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Ivar." At the kitchen door, a figure in pajamas leaned against the doorframe, looking on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, Ivar quickly stepped forward to support him, asking softly, "Lunch isn't ready yet. Why are you awake now, Master?"

The man buried his face in Ivar's shoulder, muttering, "Headache. Can't sleep."

"Then I'll call So—"

"Don't bother..." The man seemed unwilling to explain further, so Ivar didn't press. Instead, he carefully carried him to the living room sofa, letting him rest his head on his lap while gently massaging his temples.

For a while, the living room was so quiet that only the shallow breaths of the two could be heard.

A short while later, the man in his lap suddenly remembered something. Opening his eyes, he stared directly at the red eyes above and abruptly asked, "Ivar, how has Idris been these past two days?"

The sudden question caught Ivar off guard. He wasn't sure if his master had heard anything. But if he answered truthfully, the man's attention would inevitably be diverted. So, as usual, Ivar replied that everything was fine.

"Is that so?" Hearing this, the man stared at Ivar for a few seconds, narrowed his eyes, raised his hand, and forcefully gripped his jaw. His voice carried a hint of warning, "Ivar, you should know the consequences of lying to me."

Ivar lowered his eyes, his long white eyelashes concealing the gloom in his gaze. He whispered, "Ivar wouldn't dare."

"You'd better not dare." The man forcefully released the jaw he was gripping, stood up, and turned his back to Ivar to straighten his pajamas. Coldly, he said, "You don't need to serve today."

Ivar stood in place, not daring to argue. He stared at the figure disappearing at the staircase, his fingertips digging deeply into his flesh.

His master had discovered his lie.

He needed to help Idris resolve the issue as soon as possible, otherwise...

Tsk, having a child is such a hassle!

Author's Note:

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"Brother" and brother are not the same person. I think you all can tell the difference, but I'll clarify just in case. [shy]

——

Stellar Calendar 4056, July x, Sunny, Monday

Strange male.