Chapter 58: Would Oisín also die?

Time flew. While he waited for the coming-of-age ceremony, the plot had a long gap. Lorcan spent his days eating, sleeping, spending time with Admiral Doherty, and playing matches every day.

He improved fast and almost never missed a shot. In just a few days he climbed to a high rank, and the name "An Orange Lord" quietly spread and became a topic on the forums. Many people asked, openly or in secret, which army branch this new expert belonged to.

016 was nearly pulling out its non-existent hair.

Lorcan was having fun, but if his identity came out, the scripted lines and plot would be useless and his whole character would fall apart. Picture a spoiled, moody male prince happily playing in the military simulator and calmly headshotting his opponents. What kind of strange character was that?

To prevent this, 016 had locked Lorcan’s identity behind three layers of protection. With the help of the newest technology, no soldier could find out the truth, and neither could the Admiral.

Even so, after all those matches, Lorcan never got matched with Oisín again.

The Major General of the Third Army was busy with military work and rarely appeared in matches, but his reputation was huge. Sometimes, when Lorcan chatted with teammates and mentioned Oisín, everyone said they admired him, and then they sighed.

They shook their heads. "Major General Oisín. What a shame."

"Accused of hurting a male. That’s a terrible crime. If the Third Prince doesn’t agree to marry him before the trial date, his mind will be destroyed and he’ll be sent into exile."

At that moment Lorcan was waiting for the match results, and a teammate nudged him. "Do you think the Third Prince will agree?"

Lorcan answered vaguely. "Maybe."

No one paid attention to his answer, and the sighing went on. Someone said, "Even if he marries the Third Prince, it might not end well."

"Even with a pardon, the Gallagher Family won’t let it go. The Major General will lose his military power and be locked away in the Third Prince’s rooms. If he’s lucky, he’ll win the prince’s favour and live a quiet home life."

Another asked, "And if he’s unlucky?"

"Then he’ll be tied up in a cellar and mistreated every day. The Third Prince might give him pheromones when he’s in a good mood, and leave him hanging when he isn’t. That’s a fate worse than death."

Even with a pardon, after the trial Oisín would no longer count as a free person under the law. He would still be guilty, a toy in the Third Prince’s hands, lower than the lowest servant. Things like that were all too common among the Zerg.

Lorcan stayed silent.

In the novel, Oisín suffered the second fate.

But he was far tougher than people thought. He would rather bear terrible pain, inject cheap drugs, and leave the capital planet altogether, and he died on a faraway battlefield.

Someone sighed again. "Honestly, I thought it was strange when Major General Oisín chose to chase the Third Prince. Knowing him, he’d rather die proud than bow his head to anyone."

Everyone agreed at once.

"That’s true."

"I thought the Major General would have just ended his own life."

"..."

The murmurs of agreement went on.

Lorcan’s brow twitched.

The novel was a tragedy that focused on the hero’s suffering, how he fell and how his pride was crushed. But it ignored the background and never explained why the hero acted as he did.

Lorcan rested his chin on his hand. "016, this is strange."

From Oisín’s sharpness in the novel, and from how the Third Prince treated him early on, Oisín could easily guess what waited for him after the marriage. Since he wasn’t afraid of pain or death, why hadn’t he gone straight to the battlefield and died far away, instead of putting up with pointless suffering and humiliation?

And now that he was here, with the original plot mostly unchanged, would Oisín also die?

Lorcan’s heart skipped.

He looked down. "Mark this. I’ll go over the original text again later."

016: "I’ve added the 168th note for you."

All those notes had been added in the last two days, and Lorcan had nearly memorised the whole text.

The coming-of-age ceremony was a key scene in the novel, full of long dialogue and detailed notes on tone and expression. Lorcan’s acting was weak, so he had to take careful notes and study every part. By the time he had mastered all the main points, the banquet was about to start.

It was the last holiday of the year, and the capital was bathed in sunshine. Cargo ships hauled champagne roses and lilies from the farming star systems to decorate the royal courtyard.

Guests trickled in, and the Admiral welcomed each one.

Lorcan put on a clean white dinner jacket and sat at the main table. Beside him sat the empire’s first and second princes, who were both just background figures in the novel. The first prince had an old feud with Oisín’s Collins Family, but otherwise nothing stood out about him.

Lorcan took on the noble air he had picked up quickly and greeted each guest politely. From a distance he spotted Oisín. The silver-haired major general wore his military uniform, and the fitted cloth showed off his waist. He smiled at Lorcan, bowed, and silently mouthed, "Happy coming of age, my prince."

Oisín’s eyes were striking. When he looked at you, it felt like you were the only person in his world. His almond-shaped eyes were full of affection. Lorcan looked away awkwardly, and when he glanced back, Oisín had already sat down at a side table.

In this setting, he wasn’t yet thought worthy of sitting with the imperial princes.

When all the guests had arrived, Lorcan stiffly recited a few ceremonial lines. His face was rigid, as if he were back giving a lecture at university. When he finally got through his lines, he sat down alone.

At a royal banquet, beyond the meal, the real point was mingling. The nobles gathered in small groups around the garden, chatting and joking.

Oisín sipped his red wine, sitting alone in a corner.

Of course, no noble came to talk to him.

His position was shaky. After the trial, whatever the Third Prince decided, the Iris Major General would lose his military rank and be brought low. He faced either execution and exile, or being locked in the back rooms, with his family also falling under the Third Prince’s control. To the other nobles, Oisín might as well have been a dead man.

And there was no point in socialising with the dead.

Oisín enjoyed the quiet, and his eyes rested on Lorcan from far away.

The honoured Third Prince was behaving well beside the Admiral, surrounded by a group of senior military and political figures. They were all old friends of the Admiral and the backbone of the army’s different corps.

Oisín’s face stayed neutral as he watched for a while. But from the corner of his eye he noticed a limping male coming his way. He paused slightly and sighed inwardly. He found me anyway.

When he sat down, he had deliberately chosen a quiet corner.

The newcomer limped, with five or six tall, strong young females beside him. He kicked over the table and chairs in front of Oisín and said in mock surprise, "Oisín? You still dare to show up?"

It was Colm Gallagher.

Oisín hadn’t wanted to come. But he was courting Lorcan, and since Lorcan had invited him, he had no choice.

He stood up, set his wine glass aside, and bowed. "Sir."

Colm still had one hand wrapped in bandages, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. He looked Oisín up and down and sneered. "Years have passed and the Iris Major General is still as beautiful as ever. No wonder you dared to cling to the Third Prince right after hurting me."

Oisín sighed. "Whether you believe it or not, that incident had nothing to do with me."