Chapter 53: You won’t be able to control him.

He wasn’t reckless enough to sneak into the military to use their training system. After sighing over how few ways there were to have fun among the Zerg, he gave up on gaming and lay back down.

016 popped up at the right moment. "Want to watch a film? I’ve stored hundreds."

All of them had been carefully picked and reviewed as masterpieces by it and its last host, Cian.

Lorcan nodded and chose an easy romantic comedy. Halfway through, his device beeped.

A message from Oisín appeared. "Sorry to bother you, my prince. It has been half an hour since you left. Did you get home safely?"

He was still dutifully playing the eager suitor.

If he had said that in person, Lorcan would have been covered in goosebumps. But in a text message, it felt more like some kind of language role-play.

The System said, "Host, according to the original text, you should say, ’Don’t bother me.’"

Lorcan replied at once. "Don’t bother me."

Before Oisín could think of an answer, he quickly sent another message. "It’s late. I need to sleep."

The second message was vague. It could mean "never bother me again," or it could mean "it’s late tonight, talk tomorrow."

Oisín paused.

He couldn’t keep up with Lorcan’s typing speed. The Third Prince’s two messages had totally different tones. The first was irritated and annoyed, but the second didn’t sound angry at all. He had no choice but to delete the carefully worded apology and write, "Then I wish you a good night, my prince."

---

The System glanced at the chat and clicked its tongue. "Calculating. He even changed his profile picture."

Lorcan opened the chat. Oisín’s profile picture was a photo of him arranging fruit in a kitchen. It had clearly been planned carefully. Sunlight came in at a 45-degree angle, his smile was just right, his sleeves were rolled up to show the best part of his forearm, and his apron was tied tight to show off his waist. The fruit on the plate, kiwi, orange, and grapefruit, was colourful but harmless.

The System said, "He may have used a book called The Colour Guide Most Loved by Males. I pulled a colour range from that book, and it matches the photo’s colours exactly."

...Just looking at it, Oisín seemed like the perfect homemaker.

Lorcan studied it and wondered, "What was his old profile picture?"

This one looked nothing like the Oisín of the novel.

The System searched big data, dug a photo out of the archives, and showed it on screen. "This one."

In the photo, Oisín wore a pure white uniform and carried a gun. His silver hair was tied high and blown by a fierce wind. His look was cold and distant, like an eagle circling a cliff. Only his profile showed, and he wasn’t looking at the camera, but he still had a stern, commanding presence.

Lorcan, "Wow..."

He was a little spellbound.

Going back to the chat, the current photo of Oisín cutting grapefruit seemed out of place. After some thought, Lorcan opened the message box and quickly typed a line, with meaning. "The photo is beautiful."

He meant the old one.

The System looked at him sideways. "You’re not shy now."

Lorcan said, "It’s just chatting online."

Who was he? He was a streamer who was called "baby" by countless people and called countless others "baby" himself. Face to face, he didn’t dare say reckless things, but typing? No fear at all.

The device stayed silent for a long time.

Oisín paused for a while. He hadn’t expected Lorcan to notice the photo so fast. Then he answered carefully, in his usual smooth tone. "Thank you for your praise. Next time you visit, I will be sure to prepare welcome fruit for you."

Lorcan could picture it. If Oisín said this in person, he would sound dignified and refined, with perfect manners like the best-raised noble. But on a holographic messenger, it sounded a bit funny.

The other side still showed "typing."

Lorcan didn’t reply. He just watched to see what else Oisín would say.

Maybe Lorcan’s friendly reply gave him a chance to push on, and the females of the Collins Family had always been good at grabbing every opportunity. Oisín shamelessly added, "Cooking is a basic skill for a female. It is part of my daily life at home, and I look forward to the day I can serve you a meal."

"Pfft!"

Lorcan closed the device, laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.

He punched the pillow a few times, admired the serious, cold profile photo for a while, and saved it. He was about to shower and go to bed when his device suddenly beeped again with a call request.

This time it wasn’t Oisín. The name read "Mother."

The System said, "Oh, it’s the original host’s mother, the joint commander of the Seventh and First Army Corps, one of the three admirals in the military, Admiral Doherty. In the novel, you’re about to meet her, so this is probably the world filling in the plot by itself."

The original text only said the two would meet, and it naturally skipped the contact in between.

Lorcan paused. That list of titles was overwhelming.

The System said, "You don’t need to be nervous. The original host’s mother is busy with military work and has only just come back to the capital. She doesn’t see you much, so she won’t notice anything odd about you."

Lorcan said, puzzled, "If she doesn’t see me much, why is she calling so late?"

He pressed to answer.

A stern, serious woman in her middle years appeared on the screen. She wore a navy blue uniform and looked as if she had just come from the military, with medals on her shoulders. She was no longer young, and strands of silver were mixed into her grey-blue hair. Her eyes were fierce and strict, and she was clearly a woman of high power who held others’ lives in her hands.

Lorcan greeted her first. "Mother, good evening."

The woman’s eyes fell on him, and her face softened at once.

She looked him up and down, and a small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "My dear Fionn has finally come of age."

The story began with the Third Prince just coming of age, and coming of age was a big milestone for the Zerg, with changes in looks and character.

The System said, "Admiral Doherty has just come back to the capital. She hasn’t seen you since you became an adult."

Lorcan thought it over and was about to answer, Yes, I have.

Then he heard his mother suddenly sigh deeply and say wistfully, "Fionn is now old enough to take a female consort."

Lorcan was startled and looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

He had already crossed worlds, but this sentence sounded just like parents pushing him to marry at a family gathering. He broke into a sweat out of habit and laughed awkwardly. "Ah? Really?"

There was no plot for this, so he had to wing it.

The Admiral changed the subject. "I heard you’ve been spending time with Major General Oisín of the Collins Family lately?"

"...Yes."

The Admiral looked displeased. "He’s not the right choice."

"I’ve seen Oisín in the military before. That child may be a good general, with deep scheming and strategy, but he isn’t suited to family life or to staying at home. He has too many ideas of his own and too many conflicting aims. The Collins Family’s wealth is certainly tempting, but in this matter you need to think carefully."

She paused, then added, "You won’t be able to control him."

Lorcan knew he couldn’t hold Oisín down, and he didn’t want to. In the novel, the major general was like an iris wound with thorns. The tighter the world’s rules bound him, the more he bloomed. If he were crushed, he wouldn’t be Oisín anymore.

Lorcan had been listening quietly. Zerg males didn’t need to show such respect to their mothers, but he still kept the habits of his old life. Even so, hearing this, he cut in. "With respect, I don’t think those are flaws."

He frowned. "Not suited to family life, not wanting to stay home... a military female shouldn’t be like that anyway. Mother, when you were young, you didn’t think of giving up everything and dedicating yourself completely to my father, did you?"

Of course, no one is born wanting to give their whole life to someone else. It was only that Zerg pheromones were too overpowering, rooted deep in their bodies, and left no choice.

Lorcan pressed his lips together. "Besides, I’ve seen Oisín fire a gun, and it was beautiful."

He meant that he didn’t want Oisín to change anything.

Admiral Doherty paused.

She pressed her temples, lost in thought for a moment, and then said, "You really have grown up."

The pampered prince had suddenly changed on coming of age. She looked at him, unsure whether to be comforted or to sigh.

She sighed. "It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Let’s have a meal together with Oisín."

The Third Prince seemed quite fond of Oisín, so the Admiral had to judge for herself.