Chapter 56: Can I?

Chapter 19

Oisín lowered his eyes, and his face turned grim.

Judgment day was two months away, and the male had said he would marry him only then. Any mistake in between could lead to terrible results.

Even though his heart was in turmoil, Oisín kept a perfectly proper smile. He went on adjusting Lorcan’s scarf with patience and care. "Then I will wait for your good news, my lord."

He didn’t even ask for a reason.

Lorcan rubbed his nose and couldn’t bring himself to meet those blue eyes. Under Oisín’s raised collar there were still marks from the kisses, and yet he had refused to promise a wedding. He felt like a jerk who ran from commitment. But the plot of the novel was fixed. The first half was all about Oisín’s eager attention, with the Third Prince stringing him along and punishing him now and then with things like kneeling, until the wedding ended that part and the next began.

Sadly, Lorcan couldn’t think of anything to say.

He muttered a goodbye to Oisín and boarded the ship.

"..."

Oisín gathered his coat and buried all his feelings under a gentle face. He said goodbye to the butler and headed for the general’s mansion.

On the way, he took out his light brain and turned off silent mode. The moment he did, countless messages poured in, buzzing without stopping.

Cathal alone had sent nearly fifty.

8:55: "Oisín? Are you done?"

9:35: "Still not done? Is the Third Prince making you kneel?"

10:17: "Did the Third Prince say anything? Did he agree to marry you?"

...

Just now: "My god, I couldn’t reach you all night. What’s going on? Are you alive, Oisín? Did the Third Prince make you kneel all night?"

Oisín wrote back briefly. "Alive."

Cathal replied at once. "My god, what happened to you? What did the Third Prince do to you? Are you okay?"

Oisín’s hand on the light brain paused.

...What had happened to him?

A soft cushion, a rather nice stew, countless kisses, and a good night’s sleep.

The scent of oranges still clung to him and made his body relax without his meaning to. If only the male had given a promise, it would have been the most comfortable day Oisín had had in years.

But none of that was for others to know. Oisín dodged the question. "I’m fine, I’m good. Have you arrived?"

"I’m near the 23rd District. I can see the graveyard."

"Good. Have a safe trip, and give my regards to our fallen friends."

The chat seemed to end there. They both went offline, then switched to the Third Army’s private satellite channel. It had triple encryption and could only be used by the Third Army’s senior officers.

Cathal: "I used paying respects as my excuse, but I’m not sure the old guys from the Second Army bought it. Damn it, right after I crossed the 23rd District border, my ship got followed. They’re staying hidden, using cloaking paint. My radar is completely useless."

The equipment he had installed was the empire’s newest. Blocking its radar was not something any random black-market pirate could do.

Oisín: "Stay safe. If they dress up as pirates and attack you, I’ll have to accept it."

Cathal: "I’ve set the stage. I just bought some whiskey and will offer it at the ship ceremony tomorrow, then escort the graveyard. As soon as I sense them closing in, I’ll come straight back."

Oisín nodded. "Tell me right away if anything happens."

They logged off again and went back to the ordinary channel, where everything was calm.

They traded a few more casual lines, and when Oisín reached the Third Army office area and was about to sign off, Cathal asked once more. "By the way, is the Admiral happy? Is your marriage settled?"

Oisín smiled bitterly. "No."

This was going to take a while.

That morning, Lorcan hurried to Admiral Doherty’s home.

A prince’s coming-of-age ceremony was a major event in the empire. The Admiral had checked everything, from the choice of date to the seating. She handed the schedule to Lorcan. "Anything you’re not happy with?"

Lorcan looked down and saw a familiar name: Colm Gallagher.

Oisín’s former fiancé.

Early in the novel, Colm and Fionn were the main tormentors of the hero.

The coming-of-age ceremony was another key moment of torment. Besides the Third Prince, the other two princes would be there, and so would Oisín’s badly injured former fiancé, the only male of the Gallagher Family, Colm Gallagher.

According to the novel’s timeline, Colm had been recovering at home until now, and this would be his first public appearance since his injury.

There was still no hard proof, but Colm already believed Oisín was the culprit, and rumours had spread through the city like wildfire. The original host had heard them too.

Colm was seething with hatred. Fionn, on one hand, wanted the Collins Family’s wealth. On the other, although he barely knew Colm, he strongly disliked Oisín for hurting a male and wanted to cause trouble. So he kept Oisín hanging with talk of marriage and quietly allowed Colm’s many cruel acts.

If Lorcan remembered right, there would be a terrible humiliation at the ceremony, and the Third Prince would stand by and say nothing.

Lorcan didn’t like this kind of novel. He couldn’t stand the long humiliating scenes, so he had skimmed them. But now, with the ceremony coming, he would have to take out the novel and read it again.

The Admiral saw him staring at the guest list without speaking. "Anyone you’d rather not invite?"

Lorcan shook his head. "No."

The story needed them there.

The Admiral nodded and asked again. "Any other changes you want?"

Lorcan knew nothing about Zerg noble manners, so he glanced at the list, put it aside, and let her decide. He wandered around the Admiral’s home, curious.

Admiral Doherty had outstanding achievements and was one of the most famous generals of the Zerg. Her medals filled a whole bedroom. Lorcan looked at them one by one, amazed that the original host’s mother was so impressive. Finally he stopped by the egg-shaped machine in the middle of the bedroom and tried to switch it on.

He had seen one in the Third Army’s display room. It was a military training simulator.

The Admiral noticed that her child seemed to want to lie down in it, and she was troubled. "Fionn, what are you doing?"

Lorcan looked up. "Can I try it?"

He had heard that the simulator was like a human shooting game, a top-quality full-immersion experience, and he was dying to try it.

Doherty: "...This isn’t for playing."

The military system was very realistic, and one hit meant blood. She was afraid it would scare him.

Lorcan: "Just for a little while, okay?"

Admiral Doherty had only one child, her one precious offspring. They spent little time together because of her work, but he had been treasured and spoiled since childhood. Now Lorcan sat in front of the simulator, half leaning over it, searching for the power switch. His amber eyes looked up at her hopefully as he gently begged and asked earnestly, "Can I?"

The Admiral, with a stern face, said, "Yes."

She set the pain level to the lowest for him and switched the system to practice mode. The military system required real-name registration, but the Admiral, as one of the military’s top leaders, didn’t care about names. She used her admin rights to create a dummy account for Lorcan and advised, "Play a little and come out. If you stay too long, you’ll get dizzy."

Lorcan casually picked some starting settings and entered the system.

The Admiral was still beside him, so he didn’t dare go all out. He just tried the guns, shooting at fixed targets. Earth’s gun technology was nothing compared with the interstellar age. In the interstellar era, recoil, reloading methods, and every other measure had improved a great deal. A small pistol could hit as hard as a sniper rifle.

Lorcan picked a sleek silver automatic pistol. His stance was relaxed and natural. He raised his hand, straightened his arm, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

He missed.