Alina trio was frantically gossiping on the spot, and the message Alina had sent earlier had also reached the Grand Princess.

When the Grand Princess saw the message her daughter had sent, she was chatting with her own younger sister, who was also the Empress of the Empire.

This was the afternoon tea time that belonged exclusively to the two sisters. The Empress would take a bit of time out from state affairs to relax her mind with her elder sister, and at the same time use this time to learn about the private movements of other ministers.

And seeing the curious look in her younger sister’s eyes, the Grand Princess raised her red lips in a smile, then lifted the light-brain in her hand and put it in front of her sister.

“Your Majesty, look at Alina. She’s already grown up, yet she still shows off to me about going to an underwater restaurant.”

The Grand Princess spoke with a tone full of doting. This woman, who left traces of affection everywhere, was now just a loving mother. And as the Emperor looked at the triumphant tone in Alina’s message, her voice was also quite indulgent as she said: “Being a bit childish wasn’t a bad thing. And besides, this child had never caused any trouble on the big stage, far better than my unfilial son.”

As the Empress spoke, a touch of dissatisfaction appeared in her tone.

The Grand Princess knew that her younger sister had long been dissatisfied with that good nephew of hers. Obviously, all kinds of resources had been piled onto him to the extreme, yet that nephew of hers had a brain as if it had been welded shut, completely incapable of opening up.

Whether in doing business with others or in participating in government affairs, that nephew of hers could always manage to mess things up in unexpected ways.

Previously, when he was told to establish good relations with those officials, Warden—nobody knew what went wrong in his head—took along a bunch of officials who, though still robust in body, were already over 120 years old, to go cosmic bungee jumping, directly leaping from space down into the atmosphere.

That activity even required special equipment, with the outer layer of the equipment being flammable, the whole point being to experience the sensation of friction with the atmosphere.

He directly frightened that group of officials so badly they lay at home for half a month, and in the end it was his younger sister herself who had to personally apologize to coax those officials back.

And this time, inviting clients to an underwater restaurant, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause again.

Thinking of this, the Grand Princess also felt some hate born from disappointment.

Her younger sister had already lowered her expectations to the point that he only needed to sit on the throne and not speak, yet how could Warden still not manage to meet even this requirement?

“It was also my fault that when he was young, all my attention was on state affairs. At that time, I had just ascended the throne, everything was in chaos, and I neglected his education, only thinking to let the smart housekeeper watch over him.”

The Empress tone carried a trace of coldness as she said: “But I didn’t expect that even with the smart housekeeper’s control, the excessive respect shown by the palace servants to his identity would be taken by him as respect for himself, making him arrogant and conceited.”

The Grand Princess also sighed along with her younger sister.

“You’ve already tried all sorts of methods over the years, but unfortunately… this child might still need some time to mature.”

The Grand Princess consoled her. In fact, speaking like this in the capacity of a subject was already overstepping, but now it wasn’t a feudal society anymore, and her younger sister was a rational person who wouldn’t decide she had bad intentions over a few normal words.

…Unlike that nephew of hers, who seemed to have ruined his brain watching all kinds of power-struggle dramas.

Yes! Even in the interstellar age, the Empire did indeed have such political struggles.

But who would struggle against him? As the only Crown Prince, his position was absolutely secure. He wasn’t like that prince next door who had been Crown Prince for 180 years before he became suspicious and paranoid.

And how old was he? Only twenty-four, not even married yet!

The Empress herself was only a little over sixty! With lifespans of two hundred years in the interstellar era, she was still in her prime.

The Grand Princess really didn’t understand what exactly she was paranoid about.

If one said he was a political creature, then he hadn’t learned a single thing like working for others’ benefit or building cliques. He only knew to stand there and declare that because he was the Crown Prince, others should serve him.

But if one said he wasn’t a political creature, then his paranoia was almost carved from the same mold as the old Emperor’s.

“He still needed time to mature? He’s been ‘maturing’ for almost four years, and he hasn’t shown the slightest sign of repentance. Back then, I shouldn’t have listened to my muddle-headed mother and designated him as Crown Prince early. Now look, I’ve been saddled with such a mess.”

The Grand Princess sighed once again.

“Since he was already born, we couldn’t just stuff him back in, could we?”

The Empress directly collapsed onto the soft sofa in the reception room, and the intelligent sofa immediately supported her back.

“Yes, since he’s already been born, he can’t be stuffed back in.”

A sharp light flashed in the Empress eyes. But because she was leaning back against the backrest, the Grand Princess didn’t see it.

However, upon hearing these words, the Grand Princess understood that the Empress had already made a decision in her heart. She didn’t interfere with her younger sister’s thoughts, but instead shifted the topic to some less dangerous gossip.

—For example, the relationship between General Ortas, Prince Janus, and the eldest young master of the Ye family.

The Empress was interested in this as well. The dark, unreadable look in her eyes immediately vanished, and her eyes shone brightly as she looked at her elder sister.

And Her Highness the Grand Princess revealed everything without reservation, including the scene at the poolside with Prince Janus and General Ortas. She didn’t hide the fact that the two of them were very likely Ye Wangxing’s ex-boyfriends, since Her Majesty would find out sooner or later anyway.

“…Ortas really said that? Then I truly had to envy that eldest son of the Ye family. Ortas’s figure was simply the kind that everyone in the entire Empire, whether male or female, wanted to touch.”

The Empress teased as she spoke.

“Perhaps the only one in the whole Empire who didn’t feel envious was Janus, right? That child was directly driven to tears.”

The Grand Princess spoke with a smile at the corners of her mouth that was harder to suppress than AK’s.

“Hahahaha, now I understood why Janus insisted on coming to me after returning, demanding to serve in the border army or intern early in the military. So this was the reason, he felt he lost face in front of a love rival? But I really didn’t expect that boy actually had an ex-boyfriend. I always thought his head was filled only with fighting.”

The Empress spoke while laughing, and her ice-blue eyes were filled with amusement.

“He also didn’t think how many large and small battles Ortas had participated in since he enlisted? Did he think just holding a post in the military could put him on par? The role I had positioned for him was Ortas’s successor, not Ortas’s colleague. This child was carried away by his emotions.”

The Empress shook her head as she spoke, clearly not taking it to heart, and the Grand Princess nodded in agreement.

Jealousy among children wasn’t anything serious, it was just a bit shocking that Ortas was involved.

General Ortas’s battle record was dazzling, even in this era of unmanned warfare.

Friction between the neighboring Alliance and their Empire hadn’t just started yesterday, and this man had maintained the Empire’s advantage through thousands of battles large and small, and in the final great war he had forced the other side to sign a truce agreement.

That achievement directly promoted Ortas, who was only a major general at the time, into the rank of admiral.

And at that time, it had only been eighteen years since he enlisted at age eighteen.

This was also why the people simplified his title to simply “the General” when addressing him.

His physique was one aspect, but his achievements were even more dazzling.

“So, Your Majesty, did you agree? Alina told me that when Prince Janus left, he stammered at that eldest young master of the Ye family, promising that he would definitely achieve military merit.”

The Grand Princess said with a smile.

The Emperor waved her hand and said: “Of course not. That boy hadn’t even finished his military academy courses yet. Putting him in the military at this time, even in an idle post, would affect the efficiency of the department. Let him finish his studies first.”

The Grand Princess smiled and nodded. Her younger sister had always been indulgent toward Janus, but she didn’t spoil him without limits.

“Indeed. But I don’t know what children nowadays had in mind. When Alina told me about this matter, she even looked as though she was worried you’d break apart a pair of lovers, afraid you’d slap five million credits on that eldest son of the Ye family.”

“It was probably because she was too close to my son. Since when did I ever interfere with Janus’s marriage? He was part of the royal family, true, but I wasn’t his mother. He was already an adult, he had to have his own judgment. I only had to keep an eye on him so he wouldn’t be deceived.”

The Empress spoke with a slightly unrestrained expression.

She indeed cherished her younger brother, but she really had no desire to play mother for him. They were all adults, experiencing things for oneself was far more effective than hearing her say it ten thousand times.

Besides, with Janus’s status, these were probably the only hardships he would taste in his whole life.

“But this did make me curious about what kind of person that eldest young master of the Ye family was, to be able to attract Janus and at the same time make Ortas lose his composure.”

A trace of curiosity flashed in the Empress eyes. She could understand someone attracting Janus, after all, that silly child thought of nothing but fighting all day.

He had been gifted by heaven with talent comparable to Ortas, but this child truly only knew how to fight, and his single-combat ability faintly showed signs of catching up with Ortas.

He was still somewhat lacking in commanding team battles, but that was purely a matter of experience—several more trials and he would improve.

A blockheaded boy like that, a few tricks could indeed easily draw his attention.

But Ortas wasn’t some naive little fool. That man had crawled through the battlefield for so many years, what hadn’t he seen? How could he, like a brat, flirt with someone in broad daylight?

Yes, flirt.

If it weren’t for Her Majesty’s upbringing, she really wanted to use slang like “thirsty” to describe Ortas’s behavior.

“Won’t Your Majesty see him at the royal ball soon anyway? Speaking of which, even I wanted to meet this eldest son of the Ye family. Alina actually said my methods didn’t measure up to his. I really don’t know what that child was thinking.”

The Grand Princess teased, though she didn’t seem angry. After all, it was probably just the girl’s joke.

The Emperor also nodded, but then sighed.

“Let’s hope Warden behaves himself this time at the royal ball. I’ve truly had enough of him.”

As she spoke, she casually picked up a fruit from the table and popped it into her mouth. Its naturally heart-shaped form amused the Empress.

“This fruit is good, where was it purchased?”

The Emperor looked at the fruit and asked. The butler of course didn’t conceal it from Her Majesty and directly told her the supplier.

“Oh? From Unobert? When did he invest in the Agricultural Research Institute? Weren’t all his institutes in physics and biology?”

The Empress asked curiously.

The Grand Princess knew a bit of inside information. She winked at the Emperor and said: “Yes, he didn’t have an agricultural institute under him, but that carefully hidden little partner of his did. This fruit was sent by that little partner of his.”

The Empress was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected Unobert to have a partner, but thinking of the recent scandals, he teased: “Could it be that this partner was only found in the past half month?”

The Princess smiled and waved her hand, saying: “Impossible. Unobert partner was announced a year ago, but he always said the person was shy and hid them because of their young age. This person had indeed appeared a year ago.”

“But I thought they had broken up. After all, when Unobert attended social balls before, he never brought his little partner along,” the Princess said, resting her chin on her hand.

The Empress found it strange too, but didn’t think much of it.

“I thought Unobert would remain alone for life,” the Empress said.

“Every time I saw him, he was always busy with business or projects, traveling across different planets. Even during social season, he came back alone. Occasionally he brought a male or female companion, but it was like choosing an accessory—just someone with the right looks,” the Princess explained.

“Indeed, he hasn’t had it easy. If I were him, lying on that unpredictable fortune, I would have given up long ago. But he still travels to other planets, participates in business wars, and reshuffles local capital groups,” the Princess sighed deeply.

The empire’s commercial operations had hit a bottleneck. Due to logistics costs, even the empire’s official logistics services were too expensive for the treasury to sustain.

Ultimately, they had to sacrifice some remote rural planets to preserve official logistics services. But in recent years, Unobert had been addressing this issue.

In the past few years, he frequently traveled to rural planets to support the empire’s poverty alleviation projects and examine local logistics services, helping the government establish official logistics points.

Now, a large portion of remote rural planets had been incorporated into the official logistics map.

This should have been good news for the empire, yet unexpectedly, a love story had emerged in the middle.

“But now someone can actually control him. I wonder what his little partner looks like, but judging by his standards, it’s certainly not an idiot,” the Emperor shrugged.

“His gaze only lingers on the strong. I’ve caught him looking at Woden as if he were a fool more than once,” the Emperor added, getting annoyed at the mention of Woden. The Princess quickly changed the topic.

“By the way, it seems Cupid targeted the palace this year. Whether Uno, Janus, or even Ortas, they all have romantic interests now,” the Princess sighed.

“God knows. I thought those three would remain alone forever, but now they all have targets,” the Empress said.

“Yes, and it seems that among this batch of geniuses, only the youngest son of the Marshal’s family has no target,” the Emperor said, resting his chin on his hand.

“This child has been staying in the research institute. It seems the drones and mechs made a breakthrough in autonomous spatial jumping, so he’s been stuck there. I just hope he doesn’t marry a mech,” the Princess said.

Just then, her neural interface beeped. When she opened it, she saw the message above and stiffened.

The Empress frowned at her reaction and asked seriously: “What happened? Is Alina in danger, or did my foolish son do something stupid again?”

He signaled the butler to prepare, while the Princess regained composure, shook her head, and placed the message before the Emperor.

Her voice stiff, she said: “Your Majesty, look at this first.”

The Empress, initially puzzled, widened his ice-blue eyes when he saw the video Alina had sent.

No one could mistake the bloodline between the current Empress and Prince Janus.

Then, His Majesty expressed shock similar to Prince Janus: “Semos and Ye Wangxing were also ex-boyfriends???”

At the same time, those researchers sneaking by the private room also felt shocked.

They were all pillars of the Royal Mech Research Institute, respected professors outside.

Yet now, each professor pressed their backside against the door, listening intently. It wasn’t that the restaurant owner failed at soundproofing, imperial regulations required public restaurant rooms to allow some sound leakage in case of emergencies like murders.

Originally, the professors had grumbled about government interference, worried their kickbacks might be discovered.

But now, they appreciated the law.

They could hear voices but not see images, which made them anxious.

They were curious how Semos suddenly walked into another private room during a meal, as if he saw a familiar face. And the person inside looked so familiar—it seemed to be the recently scandalous Ye Family eldest young master, Ye Wangxing.

As they puzzled, the voice from inside reached them.

…The wronged voice made everyone freeze. After a while, a professor finally spoke: “—That Ye Wangxing was Director Semos’ ex-boyfriend???”

The professor was extremely shocked. The news had already spread in the capital’s new aristocratic circles. Being from the institute, they could quickly learn such details.

A love triangle with two men vying for one man fascinated these researchers, usually trapped in labs and experiments.

But now, since Semos was involved, the story seemed sweet yet surrounded by thorns and swamps… the few trees around were densely covered in chili peppers.

Because Director Semos was their direct superior.

At just 28, Semos became the institute’s vice director. His research ability was undeniable, though some doubted his administrative skills.

After all, he wasn’t just an honorary vice director, he needed to manage professors effectively.

He proved his capability with his volcanic temper—whether provoked or foolish, he scolded everyone equally and harshly.

Those scolded left crying, realizing that Director Semos was actually the Marshal’s son.

In temper and swearing, no one could match the Marshal’s son.

But as the Marshal’s only son, Semos was often seen as cold, unlike his father’s fiery personality.

Yet after institute matters, everyone realized his icy exterior hid a magma-like temper.

They thought they understood their vice director’s temper, but…

Now they heard him in the next room, pitifully saying he only broke up to be comforted by the other person???

What???

The professors pressed even closer, and those farther away quickly improvised sound amplifiers to hear inside.

Just as they set it up, they heard the dialogue: “What do you mean I was too clingy! I just wanted to message you morning, noon, and night to ask what you ate, what you drank, who you met, whether you spoke with them and what was said…”

It was their vice director’s voice, speaking pitifully.

The professors fell silent.

—Director, no wonder they broke up!

They felt like sprouting eight legs and running away.

Then a gentle voice spoke. The professors were surprised that the vice director didn’t get angry but listened patiently: “Actually, the main reason was that we were from different social classes. Although you hid it well, the people around you revealed it.”

“I was insecure at the time, and the next day you broke up with me…”

The professors finally understood. Everything had coincidentally come together, leading to the breakup.

“…So it was a misunderstanding. Good thing it’s resolved.”

The first professor spoke with relief.

“Indeed, as long as it’s resolved. I think Ye Wangxing truly cared for the vice director. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, they can be together.”

The surrounding professors, assistants, and researchers all nodded.

Though reserved, they genuinely hoped their vice director would find happiness.

Just as they began discussing how to help him pursue Ye Wangxing, an elegant voice, as if from a spooky castle, came from behind.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I have a question for you.”

Everyone turned and saw a tall, elegant man behind them.

The man with golden eyes smiled, showing white teeth.

“Who is the partner you want to be…”

“…together?”

 

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