It was late at night, and Miao Te sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, gazing out the window.
The finely carved wooden window was open, and a gentle breeze was blowing through. Outside, the green leaves swayed in the night breeze, and a stream could faintly be seen flowing behind the trees.
This planet was very similar to Earth, even down to its day and night length. The rustic style outside made Miao Te feel as if he had returned to the past as he looked out.
Back then, he had lain in a hospital bed like this, looking out through the window at the lush spring, the butterflies of summer, the golden autumn, and the snowy winter… He watched the seasons pass through the window from his bed.
He couldn’t show his longing for the outside world because it would sadden his parents, so he could only secretly gaze out at the scenery in the quiet of the night.
The teenager let out a long sigh.
Forget it, stop thinking about it.
He was now tens of thousands of years in the future, so reminiscing was pointless. He needed to focus on finding a way back to Earth before considering anything else.
Anyway, it was about time to discuss this matter with Major General Taylor.
With this thought, he got out of bed, walked to the window, and reached out to close it.
But just as he reached out, a dark shadow suddenly pounced from the tall tree outside, heading straight for his face, causing him to instinctively dodge to the side.
The massive shadow brushed past him and landed in the room.
Even though it appeared huge, the shadow landed silently on the ground.
It turned its head, fixing its icy blue eyes on the teenager.
“Ceasar!”
The massive black panther walked towards Miao Te, its steps silent, its satin-like fur gleaming jet-black under the light.
With an incredibly graceful gait, it approached the teenager. Its icy blue eyes narrowed as it gently nuzzled the teenager’s outstretched hand with its large, fluffy head.
“How did you know I was here?”
Miao Te happily rubbed against the panther’s silky, satin-like fur.
So soft, so fluffy, it felt amazing to touch.
Even though it had been a long time, the aloof panther’s nuzzling of the teenager’s hand was the most affection it could show.
After that, it stood calmly, letting the teenager pet and rub it as he pleased. Although it seemed like it was tolerating him, its narrowed eyes and gently swaying long tail betrayed its good mood.
“What’s this?”
After happily snuggling with the fluffy panther for a while, Miao Te noticed that Ceasar had a letter in its mouth.
He reached out, took the letter, and opened the envelope. The pale yellow paper was completely blank, but it emitted a pleasant fragrance.
Why is it blank?
The young man flipped through the letter paper and felt utterly baffled, but he found the light, elegant fragrance rather pleasant.
Mmm… it smells nice…
Just as this thought crossed his mind, his vision blurred, and his eyelids suddenly grew heavy.
Before he could react, he collapsed.
However, instead of falling to the ground, the panther swiftly turned, catching his limp body on its back as he collapsed.
The pale yellow letter floated gently to the ground as the panther leaped onto the bed with Miao Te on its back, then swiftly jumped out of the window with agile steps.
***
In a daze, it felt as if he were lying on a soft bed of cotton, his entire body limp and devoid of strength.
…So itchy.
He kept feeling an itch on his nose…
Achoo!
The teenager sneezed heavily, startling himself awake, and sat up in the soft, fluffy bed.
Dazed, he looked around, seeing nothing but white. He was lying in a massive bed, the soft sheets beneath him were white, and the lace canopy, embroidered with gold, that hung above was also white.
“Awake?”
A woman’s soft laughter came from beside him.
Miao Te turned his head and was instantly confused.
Beside him, Princess Salome lay on the white bed, her pale legs kicked up behind her, gently swinging. Her waterfall-like golden hair spilled across the bed.
She rested her chin on one hand, twirling a light blue feather in the other. Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes looked at him with an amused smile, her figure wrapped in a sheer light-blue dress that matched the feather in her hand.
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Why am I here?—I was supposed to be—” Miao Te held his forehead. “That letter?”
“Ah, I sent Ceasar with that letter. The sleep-inducing scent on the paper was from me.”
The princess answered with a smile, resting her chin in her hand. Her pale legs swung back and forth, clearly in a very good mood.
“…Why?”
Why knock him out and bring him here?
“Because I wanted to steal you away from Taylor.”
Princess Salome answered with a matter-of-fact expression.
“…”
Miao Te was speechless, completely unable to understand the princess’s thought process.
The princess, still smiling, poked the teenager’s youthful face with the blue feather in her hand.
“What? Did I not pay attention to you during the day? Feeling a bit down?”
“Well…”
The teenager thought for a moment before answering honestly.
“A little bit.”
His response made Princess Salome laugh out loud.
“You’re quite honest,” she said. “But you have to understand, even though I’m a princess… no, it’s precisely because I’m royalty that I can’t get close to just anyone based on personal feelings.”
She said it lightly.
She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her smooth cheeks.
The light blue feather in her hand also dropped down, twirling between her fingers.
“I can only get close to the people a ‘princess’ should be close to.”
She said the last sentence softly, so softly that Miao Te didn’t quite catch it. He only sensed that the princess wasn’t very happy when she said it, and her tone was a bit cold.
Just as he was about to say something, a dark shadow leaped onto the bed. It took a few steps, then lay down next to him, its massive black head resting on his lap.
“Oh my, Ceasar is still so attached to you,” Princess Salome raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what it sees in you. I’ve never seen it so clingy with anyone.”
“Well…”
He couldn’t exactly tell her that it was the call of blood from Earth, could he?
Even if he did, she’d probably just give him a disdainful look.
“Miao… never mind, I’ll just call you John. It sounds better. You just stay here and be the bait.”
The young man had just stroked Ceasar’s soft black fur a few times, but when he heard this, he immediately felt a bit embarrassed.
“Bait for what?”
“Of course, bait to lure that guy Taylor~~”
“…Your Highness, I don’t think I’m up to the task. Please allow me to decline.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” the princess said confidently. “That guy only talks business in public. Every time I invite him here, he refuses to come.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I brought you here, and I’m sure he’ll follow.”
“…”
So I’m just the piece of meat used to lure the wolf?
The teenager suddenly felt a bit crushed.
“Your Highness, you know, it’s late, and the two of us being here alone might not look good.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t be a problem.”
The princess said this with a completely nonchalant expression.
Stuck by her blunt reply, he felt even more stifled, as if something was caught in his throat.
He took a deep breath, pushing down the suffocating feeling, and continued to try to reason with her.
“But even if the Major General wants to find me, he doesn’t know where I am. How would he get here?”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Huh?”
“Mmm…”
Princess Salome hummed softly, glancing at the silver-blue communicator on the teenager’s wrist before averting her gaze.
She recalled what had happened that afternoon.
At that time, she had kept Major General Taylor behind to discuss a rebellion in a remote star system. Her father intended to have Taylor suppress the rebellion, and then promote him to Lieutenant General based on his merits.
When the discussion was nearly over, she suddenly received a message.
In this royal city, there was nothing she couldn’t find out if she wanted to.
So at that time, she smiled lightly at Major General Taylor.
“Looks like you didn’t keep an eye on that kid. He seems to be entangled with Mier now.”
“…”
Major General Taylor glanced at her without a word, then stood up and headed straight for the door.
“How long do you think it’ll take to find him in such a big royal city?”
The princess said, “I can tell you where they are, you know.”
She said this with a cheerful grin, sitting there while looking at the unmoving Major General Taylor. Her expression spelled out, “Curious? Come on, beg me for it!”
But just as she smugly waited to see the rare sight of him struggling, she saw him glance at her indifferently and turn to leave.
As she was still thinking about how Taylor would find the teenager without her help, a video was quickly sent to her, showing her everything that had happened.
After a brief moment of thought, the princess figured out how Taylor had been able to find the teenager so quickly.
This was also why she directly abducted the little guy without leaving Taylor any information.
As long as Miao Te still had the communicator on his wrist, Taylor would surely find him soon.
Feeling quite satisfied with her plan, her mood brightened even more, and she moved closer to the young teenager.
“Since we’re just waiting, let’s do something we should be doing at night.”
The princess’s peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Miao Te, her expression growing more seductive and alluring.
“D-do what—?”
Seeing Princess Salome lean down, her ample chest almost pressing against his arm, the teenager’s face flushed bright red in an instant. He quickly scrambled backward using both his hands and feet.
The more he retreated, the closer she got. The large expanse of white skin above her light blue gown left him panicking, and he quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look again.
“Of course, something that will make both you and me happy~”
“No, no, not that kind of thing—”
“Come on~~”
“Wait—didn’t you say the Major General was coming soon—what if he sees—”
“If he sees, he sees. It’s no big deal.”
“…”
Your Highness, are you okay with being this open?
“Alright, I command you to do it.”
“Even if it’s your order, I won’t—”
“Stop wasting time. Come teach me how to play that instrument.”
“…Huh?”
“Teach me, with that instrument. Just teach me the song you played this morning.”
“…”
The teenager, having completely misunderstood the situation and been thoroughly teased, was left red-faced and utterly embarrassed.
***
On the other side, the open window let the night air flow into the room.
Someone entered the empty room and looked at the vacant bed, his slender sword-like eyebrows furrowing.
He bent down and picked up the pale yellow letter that had fallen to the floor. The faint fragrance coming from it made him frown even more deeply.
He looked up, his lips pressed tightly together, revealing a hint of displeasure.
His dark blue pupils reflected the open window, his gaze sharp.
***
Translated by NightOwll
***