Chapter 54: The Secretary is Awake!

Luo Ran didn’t know how long he slept.

It must have been for a long time.

But it was very comfortable. At first he’d felt cold, but then he suddenly fell into a warm embrace which was also filled with his favourite smoky scent, as if he was lying on a grassland, surrounded by the bitter yet mellow scent of dried grass.

* * *

“Get up!”

Luo Ran hazily saw Lucas glaring at him from atop a platform at the military HQ. The man wore a navy blue combat uniform, clean and neat, which showcased his smooth lines of muscle.

It was a dream, right?

Luo Ran went back to five years ago.

That was his second year as Lucas’ secretary, and also the second year after Lucas agreed to teach him how to fight.

He originally didn’t even know how to kick, but under Lucas’ inhuman training, he could now hold his own in a fight.

The only thing was that he had to report to the infirmary every day, if not with cramps here then with wounds there. He was hardly ever unscathed.

Luo Ran pushed against the ground and staggered up, then felt his body pounce forwards and throw a punch towards Lucas.

Thump!

Lucas easily stopped his fist and used his other hand to hit Luo Ran’s abdomen.

Luo Ran instantly fell to the ground. He clutched at his stomach, momentarily unable to stand.

“Get up! Keep going!” Lucas snapped. “Is that all you can do?

“It’s useless to have good looks in a fight, and it’s worse than useless to cry!” Lucas pulled Luo Ran up by the collar and lifted his hand as if to punch him in the face.

Luo Ran had no strength at all, but in desperation, he forced himself to block Lucas’ hand and threw himself forwards to strangle him by the neck.

“That’s better.”

Raising his leg and smoothly kicking Luo Ran off the stage, Lucas looked at Luo Ran who’d once again fell and said, “Get up, you can’t admit defeat, you have to overcome all obstacles.”

He taught Luo Ran self-confidence, taught him to go forward, taught him to not be afraid of anything.

* * *

“Get up!”

* * *

Luo Ran shuddered, then slowly opened his eyes.

“Luo Ran…?”

Lucas had moved aside to rest his eyes, but as soon as he saw Luo Ran’s eyes open a crack, he went up and hugged him in excitement.

“…?” Luo Ran dazedly stared at Lucas’ forbidding face which was magnified countless times, still a little confused.

His arms and legs were somewhat stiff, he couldn’t move, and his mind was empty, as if he’d just experienced a great catastrophe.

“Luo Ran, you bastard.”

Lucas gripped Luo Ran’s wrist as his chest heaved violently.

Luo Ran had slept for three whole days, and as time passed, Lucas felt like he would go mad.

Upon the sight of Luo Ran still confused and unguarded, he couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss those chapped lips.

“Mmph…?!”

Luo Ran’s eyes widened. As soon as he woke up and before he could realise what was going on, he received such ‘treatment’, which muddled him even more.

His breath was stolen away by the kiss. Lucas’ actions were both intense and rough, as if he wanted to tear Luo Ran apart and swallow him into his belly.

“Sir… W-Why…” Only when Luo Ran spoke did he discover that his throat was so dry.

Luo Ran grabbed at Lucas’ back, trying to resist but completely unable to exert any strength.

“Punishment.” After finally ending the kiss, Lucas held himself up with one hand on the bed as he watched Luo Ran pant for breath. “You little bastard, you can’t not be punished.”

“…?”

The next second, Lucas bowed his head again and harshly bit Luo Ran’s lips. As they exchanged air, Lucas pressed the back of Luo Ran’s head to deepen the kiss.

“Hurts…”

Luo Ran frowned deeply, trying to breathe properly.

He felt that he might have woken up wrong.

Then, Lucas gaped at Luo Ran who’d fainted in front of him once again: “???”

He anxiously pressed the emergency call button.

Shen Xiluo and several other doctors soon arrived.

Shen Xiluo glanced at Luo Ran whose lips were red, peeling, and even swollen, then looked at Lucas. “…” He pushed up his glasses. “Sir, although I support your relationship with the secretary in order to promote the Empire’s economy and complete the task of producing an excellent next generation, you can’t be such a beast.”

“…”

“What happened to Luo Ran…?!”

Shen Xiluo looked over the instruments, then pushed up his glasses again. “He’s fine.”

“…He passed out!” Lucas snarled impatiently. “You’re not checking on him?!”

Shen Xiluo could only go up and give Luo Ran a cursory scan, before stepping back and saying, “He’s fine, it’s just that he was kissed until he ran out of air. Admiral, you’re very fierce.”

Lucas: “…”

Luo Ran, who was pretending to be unconscious: “…”

Shen Xiluo wondered what on earth happened for Secretary Luo to fake unconsciousness as soon as he woke up.

Maybe there was some hope for the Empire’s excellent next generation?

Shen Xiluo rubbed his chin then said as if just thinking of it, “Secretary Luo will wake soon.”

Then he collected his doctors and left.

Lucas: “…??”

Still a little confused, Lucas sat back down.

Three minutes later, Luo Ran indeed woke up again.

“…”

The two stared at each other.

“You faked it?!” Lucas finally reacted, shouting, “You fucking lied to me again?!”

“…” Pointing to a cup on the table, Luo Ran whispered, “…Thirsty.”

“…”

While cursing under his breath, Lucas poured hot water, helped Luo Ran sit up, then personally fed him the water.

Luo Ran: “…”

Luo Ran had never expected to be treated like this. He lowered his head doubtfully and drank.

Yet Lucas’ expression was as fierce as ever.

After he finished drinking, Luo Ran spent a moment trying to gather his thoughts before leaning against Lucas to ask in a low voice, “What happened…? How long was I asleep?”

Lucas frowned. “Do you not remember what happened in the mecha?”

“The mecha…?” Luo Ran hesitated. “I remember we boarded the mecha, then I passed out in an explosion.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Mn, your spiritual state got another shock with the explosion.” He pulled Luo Ran close until they were back to chest so that Luo Ran could lean on him more. “Your spirit was unstable, so Shen Xiluo injected you with alpha pheromones.”

You little liar, let’s see how long you can pretend.

Keep pretending, keep pretending!

Heheh, I’ll look forward to it.

Lucas, who was planning his retaliation, deliberately didn’t explain anything.

“So that’s it.” No wonder I feel strange, Luo Ran thought. 

And Lucas’ pheromones made him feel very comfortable.

“Now, we’re at…?”

“We’re camped out above SAT-12, after you do your rehab, I’ll take you down for a walk.”

“Oh…”

“Luo Ran.” Lucas tilted Luo Ran by the chin until they could look each other in the eye, and said seriously, “Don’t do this next time.”

“What…?”

“Next time there’s danger, don’t rush up without care for your own safety, protect yourself first, okay?”

Luo Ran blinked.

“You can’t ever try to pilot my mecha again. The next time something like this happens, the most important thing is to protect yourself. If you’re ever this reckless again, I’ll beat you up,” he said.

“I… didn’t succeed, right?” Luo Ran asked nervously.

“No.” Lucas smiled until his eyes squinted.

Somehow, Luo Ran felt that Lucas was being weird.

Very weird.

He seemed to be angry, but he was also very gentle.

Gentle to the point of absurdity. This wasn’t like Lucas, he’d never been like this before.

“Admiral…”

“Hm?”

Luo Ran stared blankly at Lucas. “Are you okay?”

“Why would I not be okay?”

“…”

“Admiral, I can do it myself.” Luo Ran wanted to escape.

“Don’t move,” Lucas snorted angrily. “Rest properly.”

Luo Ran jumped in fright. “Okay…?”

He didn’t have the energy to think too much either, after all, his mental state wasn’t good, and with how comfortable Lucas’ pheromones were, he soon fell asleep again.

* * *

The next time he woke up, Luo Ran was much better.

Lucas was doing paperwork next to the bed. This time, he proactively poured Luo Ran some water when he saw that he was awake.

“Thank you.”

Luo Ran took the cup, then glanced at the pile of documents beside Lucas. “Sorry… I think I can go back to work after resting for a while longer.”

“…” Lucas said helplessly, “There’s no need.”

Lucas went closer and rubbed the back of Luo Ran’s head. “Does it still hurt?”

Luo Ran shrank back in embarrassment. “It doesn’t.”

Too strange.

This is too strange…!

“Okay, then I’ll help you do rehab.” Lucas pulled the rehab machine closer and helped Luo Ran stand up.

“I can do it myself,” Luo Ran said as he broke free, “I’ll do it myself…”

It wasn’t that Luo Ran was embarrassed.

He was mostly afraid that Lucas, this blockhead, would tear his bones apart.

If that happened, never mind the rehabilitation, even his life would be gone.

“Shush.” Afraid that Luo Ran would fall, Lucas stuck close as he supported him into the machine.

The machine was very simple. Luo Ran only needed to hold on to the bar as he twisted his waist and lifted his legs.

“Be careful.” Lucas pressed the machine with one hand to ensure it was balanced, and held Luo Ran’s waist with the other. “Let’s start, slowly, don’t force it.”

Luo Ran: “…”

Was he still sleeping? Was he dreaming?

“Thank you, sir.” Luo Ran looked away with his ears turning red.

The atmosphere was cosy and… not quite right.

Luo Ran paused, desperately trying to find another topic to dispel the ambiguous yet awkward atmosphere. “I vaguely remember something important happening as I was passing out. Rather than robbing UNK, the pirates seemed to be aiming more to assassinate you.”

“Yes,” Lucas said with a frown, “They’d also wanted to kill me before, but this time was different. Compared to profit-seeking pirates, they acted more like hitmen.”

Hesitating, Luo Ran suggested, “Could it have something to do with the changes in the capital…?” He didn’t say the rest.

Could it be that the first prince, seeing that he’d lost all favour with Lucas and guessing that he would support the second prince, had simply…?

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “It doesn’t have to be the first prince. To act at a time like this, anyone would think of him, so someone else might have wanted to kill two birds with one stone. After killing me, they could pit the first prince.” Then he added, “Of course, it may also be that the first prince knew we would think of this, so he just broke the boat.”

“There are others who might collaborate with pirates,” Luo Ran suggested.

Even if they excluded the highest-ranking officials, there were many people who had access to the Empire’s secrets.

“We can only start with Princess Zhou Mingzhu,” Luo Ran concluded with a sigh.

Lucas summarised how Zhou Mingzhu met with prostitutes.

“Prostitutes?” Luo Ran frowned.

How could a dignified princess meet with those people? Did Zhou Mingzhu herself know about this?

“I ordered Lu Cheng to ask her directly. If she doesn’t want anything to happen to her wedding, she has to tell the truth,” Lucas said.

“Mn.”

Coincidentally, just as Lucas said this, an encrypted message came from Lu Cheng.

Luo Ran finished half an hour of rehab and sat to rest for the time being.

Lucas turned on the projection screen to let Luo Ran read with him.

After a moment, Lucas frowned slightly.

When Lu Cheng showed Zhou Mingzhu photos of the three women, she was so scared that she honestly confessed.

Zhou Mingzhu had always been a noble princess, there was no way she’d allow herself to get into a scandal before marriage. Thus, she could only sign a nondisclosure agreement with Lu Cheng — she would tell the truth, but they couldn’t make it public.

Lu Cheng then recorded her statement, which Lucas now played.

“I… I used to have a crush on the admiral. It wasn’t anything special, most of the omegas in the capital would like him as long as their circumstances weren’t too bad. And my brother has a good relationship with him, so of course I knew him a bit better too. When the viscount — that is, Viscount Vincent — found out about it, he told me that he could help me get together with the admiral, and he said it so confidently too.

“I’d always wanted to meet the admiral, but never had a chance to. So Vincent said to find him at Royal Father’s birthday banquet and… confess.

“He said he found three makeup artists for me, that they would make me so beautiful that the admiral would definitely accept… After all, the admiral had just ended his engagement with Nina, and I, no matter how you look at it, I’m definitely better than Nina!”

Luo Ran and Lucas met eyes.

Vincent… was from the second prince’s faction.

Was the second prince the culprit?

But as someone from the second prince’s faction, how could he so blatantly connive against Zhou Mingzhu? It seemed more like someone was framing him.

The two kept listening.

“Vincent brought me to a room and introduced me to the three makeup artists, then he left. But then when I accidentally broke a teacup and one of the women leaned down to clean it up, I saw the glands hidden underneath her hair. I became a little scared, because… because there was a flower tattooed on the glands… everyone in the Empire knows that only prostitutes would have a flower tattoo there. I didn’t know what to do, I just ran…

“After that, I suddenly went into heat. I was so dizzy. I somehow went upstairs where I met the Zerg prince, and later he told me I’d been drugged.

“I’m afraid to say these things, since… Vincent and my second brother are close, I… I’m not stupid.”

Speaking of this, the princess became a little sad.

No matter whether it was the first or second prince, they were both her brothers. And yet they were willing to use her identity as a princess, as a female omega, to advance their schemes. It was no wonder that afterwards, she was willing to tacitly permit Zhou Mingkai’s plans, and even grew a bit closer to him.

Although Zhou Mingkai was ignorant and incompetent, he at least wouldn’t plot against her.

“So…” Luo Ran said as he frowned, “if I’m not mistaken, the mastermind originally wanted to drug you and then send Princess Zhou Mingzhu and the three women to your bed? But for some reason they didn’t do it in the end, maybe because you were resistant to the drug or because the princess escaped. And due to the drugs, the princess spent an amorous night with the Zerg prince.”

Then Mou Kadi was indeed a gentleman to not use this to blackmail Zhou Mingzhu.

“Moreover, Mou Kadi’s room was very close to yours. Her Highness only ran into him because the mastermind’s target was originally you.”

It was because Mou Kadi went out to get a drink that he happened to see both Zhou Mingzhu and, later, Luo Ran who went upstairs while wearing white.

Everything had a logical explanation.

“Of course, this is predicated on the fact that Princes Mingzhu didn’t lie,” Luo Ran said.

“Probably unlikely, she doesn’t have any need to, not unless she’s one of the ones behind it,” Lucas said, “and the chances of that aren’t high. She and Zhou Mingkai are the same, they’ve both been raised to die by the royal family.”

Luo Ran nodded.

He thought harder.

Why?

Why did Lucas have to have relations with Zhou Mingzhu and those three women?

A long moment passed as he thought it through, and his brows furrowed into a frown.

“Ah…!” Luo Ran clapped his hands, suddenly thinking of something. “Sir!”

“Mn.”

“Don’t you think that the reporters came too quickly that day?” Luo Ran asked. “Why did they come so fast, how did they know to interview you? And who let them in?”

Lucas frowned.

That was true.

“Maybe…” Luo Ran paused, then continued, “maybe the mastermind wants to ruin your reputation?”

–The Empire’s admiral took advantage of the royal birthday banquet to force the princess and some prostitutes to have an illicit affair, playing wildly all night, taking no one into his eyes.

If rumours like that spread, it would be a major blow to both Lucas’ reputation and his CP with Luo Ran, undoubtedly collapsing his image.

Not to mention that if he got addicted to drugs, he — an SSS-grade alpha — would be completely uncontrollable, so similar news would also emerge in the future.

“Heh,” Lucas sneered.

What a beautiful plan!

Luo Ran felt terrified.

If the scheme had succeeded that day… then everything would be over.

Fortunately, Lucas’ physique was strong enough that Zhou Mingzhu discovered it early, and…

Fortunately, he went upstairs, and the one who had a one night stand with him wasn’t someone who wished him harm, but himself…?

Wait, that seemed wrong.

Just when he wanted to speak, Luo Ran suddenly felt pain lancing through his head, so harsh that he fell to one knee.

“Luo Ran…!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He closed his eyes tightly as he gasped for breath.

Lucas hugged him with one hand and pulled out a syringe of medicine from his pocket with the other.

It had been almost an entire day since Luo Ran took his last injection, it was indeed time for another dose.

Luo Ran was a little surprised to see Lucas take out the medicine.

Had Lucas… put Luo Ran’s medicine in his own pocket?

After the injection, Luo Ran vaguely saw the scene behind Lucas change before his eyes.

From the barren monochromatic medical ward on a battleship, it became their office, the place they were most familiar with.

Familiar beds, familiar cabinets, the window sill covered in wisteria flowers, the desk piled high with paperwork — evidence of their presence was everywhere.

“Sir, we’re back in the office,” Luo Ran said blankly.

Lucas paused, then rubbed the back of Luo Ran’s head. “Yeah, you need to rest.”

Lucas picked him up and put him on the bed.

“Go to sleep, Ranran.”

Lucas imitated the nickname used by Xia Zhi and Luo Ran’s family.

Luo Ran froze. “What?”

“I said, go to sleep, Ranran.” Lucas pulled up the covers. “Good night.”

Author:
I heard the lion’s going to confess in the next chapter!

Translator:
Neon Dragonfly (neondragonfly.org) has very kindly offered to take over this novel after c58, so… hip hip hooray!