After staying on the Imperial Star for around ten days, Miao Te found himself curious about the emperor, who had been bedridden all this time and hadn’t appeared. Princess Salome, in place of her father, met with the officials who came to report their duties and conveyed the orders from His Majesty.
The officials left one after another, but Major General Taylor remained until the end and was assigned to suppress the rebellion in the Guna Star system.
The Guna Star System was extremely remote, and the few planets there had harsh living conditions, resulting in a sparse population and little attention. Nevertheless, the taxes every three years still had to be paid.
Every three years, the royal family dispatched nearly a hundred tax officers to various star systems to supervise and inspect tax payments. This time, however, shortly after arriving in the Guna Star System, the tax officers were suddenly killed by the locals, who declared that they no longer recognized the royal family’s rule.
Although tax officers were not high-ranking, being dispatched represented the authority of the royal family. Now, with these officials killed by such a remote and backward system, the Emperor of the Empire was, of course, furious.
It was said that his current bedridden condition was caused by his anger reaching a boiling point.
Thus, Princess Salome met with all the officials who came to report on behalf of the emperor, except for Major General Taylor, who was personally received by the bedridden emperor. Lying in bed with a face full of anger, the emperor personally entrusted Major General Taylor with the mission of quelling the rebellion, ordering him to resolve the crisis in the Guna Star System within fifteen days. He even promised to promote him to Lieutenant General if he could return victoriously within the deadline.
After receiving the imperial command, the Major General naturally planned to depart immediately. However, just as he was about to board the landing ship, a servant of the princess arrived with a message, requesting Major General Taylor to meet her before his departure as she had something to instruct him.
At first, Major General Taylor intended for Miao Te to wait on the landing ship while he went alone, but Miao Te, delighted to have received a piano and wanting to see Caesar again, also wished to go along.
Major Robin remarked that his boss had become nearly indulgent to an unreasonable degree with a certain someone.
Almost any request this little one made, his boss would barely ever refuse.
So this time, when Miao Te spoke up, although the Major General slightly frowned as if reluctant, he still brought him along.
Miao Te initially thought they were headed to the palace, but halfway there, he noticed that the maglev vehicle was traveling away from the royal capital.
Major General Taylor remained calm, he knew that direction led to a secluded villa. The princess had invited him there several times, especially in the current season, where the villa would likely be surrounded by a sea of flowers—the princess’s favorite place to linger.
Upon exiting the vehicle, Miao Te was stunned.
Before his eyes lay an ocean of flowers. Blooms of various shapes and colors covered the exquisite villa in an orderly yet beautiful display.
Even the walls of the building were adorned with flower vines, forming a fresh and natural pattern. As they walked in, wisteria hung down on either side, creating a green corridor tinged with a light purple hue. The tiny flowers on the dangling vines swayed gently in the breeze, emitting a faint fragrance.
The surrounding large trees cast a canopy over the villa, giving the impression of an elven dwelling.
Indeed, even as a princess, she was, after all, still a young woman at heart.
Miao Te couldn’t help but sigh with this thought.
That overflowing girlish heart of hers was just like these delicate, dewy blossoms, ready to burst forth in full bloom.
As he thought this, he looked up and saw the princess sitting amidst the flowers.
Princess Salome was dressed in a pure white, light chiffon gown. Her golden hair cascaded like a waterfall, loosely tied with a pale blue ribbon, and flowed onto the pristine, jade-like carved wooden chair. Her skirt was shorter in the front and longer in the back, with the sheer fabric trailing over the flowers, while her snow-white legs rested delicately atop the petals.
She smiled brightly at Major General Taylor and then stood up, walking over.
With light and graceful steps, she walked through the sea of blooming flowers, her smiling eyes like blossoming peach blossoms. Her delicate features and the floating chiffon made her look like a flower fairy emerging from the tender petals.
A beauty among flowers—Miao Te found himself unable to look away for a moment.
But before he could take a few more glances, Major General Taylor had already stepped forward.
The garden path was naturally narrow, so as soon as Major General stepped forward to greet Princess Salome, he blocked most of Miao Te’s view.
The princess, walking lightly and gracefully toward Major General Taylor, paused for a moment, somewhat surprised to see him approaching her proactively.
After all, in all the time she’d known him, she had never seen him approach her of his own accord.
She didn’t think her beauty had stunned Major General Taylor, as this wasn’t the first time they’d met in such surroundings. She had been dressed even more beautifully than this in the past, yet had never seen this “iceberg” show the slightest reaction.
But today, surprisingly…
Princess Salome glanced over the Major General’s shoulder as he approached, and there she spotted the little one hidden behind him.
She raised an eyebrow, feeling as though she understood.
To be honest, in all the time she’d known Major General Taylor, she had rarely seen any emotion from him.
As a human, he seemed to lack human emotions even more than the average intelligent brain—or even a robot.
However, in just this short span of a little over a month, she had seen more human emotions from him than in all the previous decades combined.
Well… how should she put it? Sometimes, it was quite enjoyable to watch.
To be honest, Major General Taylor’s indifference and reluctance to engage with her didn’t bother her much.
After all, she did like Major General Taylor—truly liked him. But his temperament could be exasperating; his cold demeanor had even less warmth than a robot’s AI. Still, even when his unyielding behavior irritated her, all her anger would vanish the moment she looked at his handsome face.
It was just like the flowers she tended here—some of the delicate, dewy blossoms had thorns. Even if one pricked her and drew blood, she couldn’t bring herself to be angry; the beauty of the flower made any pain feel insignificant.
After all, she loved them.
In the future, when she becomes Empress, the partner she chose would, of course, have to be someone she liked, who made her happy, someone pleasing to the eye—in short, someone who could bring her joy.
As for the type of princess in that little one’s story, who would give everything or act recklessly for her beloved… well, a member of the royal family would never do anything so foolish or reckless.
So, whether or not the Major General liked her didn’t matter to her. But watching the Major General—who always treated her coldly and never let her have the upper hand—struggle a bit with that little one… it was genuinely amusing to observe.
The group entered the villa. It was spacious inside, and though the temperature was slightly warmer, the air didn’t feel stifling. This was thanks to the clear pools covering half of the floor and the small streams and waterfalls flowing around the room. On the surface of the pool, pale blue flowers resembling water lilies gently swayed with the ripples in the crystal-clear water.
The ceiling was entwined with green vines, and several tiny figures with translucent wings—looking like legendary little fairies—flitted about, tending to the flowering vines around the room.
They were small robots specifically designed to care for plants, and this fairy-like design was particularly favored by noblewomen.
Princess Salome and Major General Taylor sat by the pool, chatting over tea. Major General Taylor took only a few sips before stopping, while the princess called over a servant to refill her cup. Then, with a wave of her hand, the young and handsome servants quietly retreated to the corners, waiting for their master’s call.
Regarding the rebellion in the Guna Star System, the royal family had some private intelligence that, of course, could not be disclosed publicly. However, Salome didn’t mind sharing it privately with Major General Taylor, as a gesture of her favor toward him.
After chatting for a while, the princess looked up and noticed the young man wandering around the room as if searching for something, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Caesar isn’t here.”
She said, “He’s a bit allergic to pollen, so I never bring him here.”
“I see…”
Miao Te, a bit disappointed, obediently returned.
“Oh, right, about that pian—the instrument. I still need to thank you for it.”
“Oh?~ How do you plan to thank me?”
The princess raised an eyebrow, smiling as she spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the usually expressionless and cold-faced Major General beside her. At that moment, his lips were pressed into a slight line, and her mood improved a bit.
“Oh, by the way, Major General Taylor, I have something to give you. Please wait here.”
As she spoke, she gestured for the servant in the corner to serve refreshments, then rose and walked toward a side room on the left.
Since he hadn’t been able to see Caesar, Miao Te felt completely deflated. Even the refreshments offered didn’t interest him, so he slumped onto the table, looking dispirited.
Major General Taylor glanced at him, and seeing the fluffy black head resting by his hand, he absentmindedly gave it a rub.
Having grown accustomed to being patted on the head, Miao Te didn’t pay much attention to it and simply stared forward.
Probably because it was watering time, a thread-thin, silver-white metallic strand appeared in the air, sprinkling fine streams of water onto the vines winding along the walls and ceiling. The soft vine leaves became even more lush under the misty spray.
Finding it interesting, Miao Te watched for a while. But after barely half a minute, he was startled to see the silver spray thread drifting toward him.
Soon, the silver strand was above his head, sprinkling a fine mist. However, it didn’t get him wet, as the spray was incredibly light, merely creating a thin layer of mist in the air, which made the atmosphere more humid.
Even the mist dissipated quickly once the silver thread drifted away.
As the teenager’s gaze moved away from the departing silver thread, he turned his head and was instantly taken aback.
The Major General, who had been sitting steadily beside him, was now slumped over the table. His long lashes cast deep shadows on his fair skin, making him look as if he were asleep.
Surprised, Miao Te instinctively reached out to nudge him, but the Major General showed no sign of waking up. He looked up, intending to call for someone, only to realize that there was no one else left in the room.
Now feeling that something was amiss, he suddenly recalled the princess’s words from earlier, which had sounded somewhat meaningful.
The princess had said she had something to give the Major General.
She had specifically invited the Major General over before his departure…
Dressed deliberately to look like a fairy among flowers…
She had even specifically arranged not to bring Caesar along…
And, she had specifically ordered those attendants—loyal only to her—to slip away silently at just this moment…
The teenager was instantly horrified.
Could it be that the princess was planning to… force herself upon him?!
This princess was capable of doing such a thing!
Miao Te felt he couldn’t just let the princess act recklessly like this.
As the Major General’s subordinate, it was his duty to protect the Major General’s chas—oh, no, to protect the Major General’s well-being.
He should try to persuade the princess to abandon this idea.
With this thought, he got up and went to the side room where the princess had gone. As soon as he entered, he noticed that the air in this room was also extremely humid, similar to the feeling when the silver thread had sprayed mist over him earlier.
Taking another look, the teenager was instantly stunned.
He saw Princess Salome lying on her side on the floor, her golden hair covering most of her face, and a delicate silver-blue gemstone brooch shaped like a ship had fallen by her hand.
Two maidservants were also collapsed near the doorway, not far from him.
This wasn’t right. If the princess had wanted… something with the Major General, she wouldn’t have knocked herself out, too, would she?
Feeling confused and uneasy, Miao Te instinctively turned and ran back out.
He suddenly recalled that he hadn’t seen the other attendants when he glanced around earlier. It was likely not because they had left but because they had also fallen unconscious, hidden behind the thick vines in the water hall, which blocked his view.
So was this whole incident targeting the princess, or—
He ran to the water hall, his heart sinking.
A man dressed as an attendant stood there, placing the unconscious Major General Taylor into a small magnetic levitation vehicle that had somehow been brought inside.
Almost instinctively, Miao Te reached for the laser gun strapped to his waist.
But his hand came up empty, and he remembered that weapons weren’t allowed inside the royal city, so he hadn’t brought his gun. Major General Taylor likely didn’t have one on him either.
The man over there was startled to see Miao Te appear. He had assumed that everyone was already unconscious, not expecting that there would be one left awake.
He gave a signal, and one of the maidservants who had been lying quietly on the ground suddenly sprang up, quickly approaching and delivering a heavy elbow strike to the back of Miao Te’s neck.
Miao Te’s vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
In a daze, he vaguely heard the two of them conversing.
“Kill him?”
“No,” a woman’s voice commanded. “There’s no time left. Take him away along with Major General Taylor.”
“Tch.”
Then he felt himself being hoisted up and unceremoniously tossed into the maglev vehicle. His head struck hard against the cold, unyielding metal, and in an instant, he lost consciousness entirely.
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In a distant star system, on a beautiful planet wrapped as if in the silken veils of heavenly maidens, the planet’s ruler, an elderly man, received a message from his covert agents.
[The prey has been captured.]
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Another chapter!(2/2)
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T/N: Phew, translations will be on hiatus. I don’t know when I will be back, IRL and motivation and stuff. See ya dear readers.
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Translated by NightOwll
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