Ji Mian stayed silent. He didn’t speak.
Chu Shiye continued staring at him without blinking.
In his gaze, there was anticipation, caution, and a longing that was almost pitiful.
But not a trace of embarrassment.
After a few more seconds of silence, Ji Mian finally spoke. “You’re very straightforward.”
Chu Shiye lowered his head, a muffled sound escaping him.
If he wasn’t direct, he feared that his Ji Mian might slip away.
Just like before, back on Planet E-13, when he hadn’t managed to say those words to Ji Mian in time.
Back then, he thought he could stay by Ji Mian’s side forever. He had imagined finding a beautiful place, carefully setting everything up, and then confessing to him.
But fate hadn’t given him the chance.
And now, he didn’t want to let the moment slip away again.
Back then, when they were forced apart, Chu Shiye had been rescued by his uncle and grandfather. As he woke from excruciating physical pain, he found himself plunging into an even deeper emotional anguish.
Ji Mian was no longer by his side. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find him.
He hadn’t been able to protect Ji Mian—not even long enough to say the words he had prepared for so long.
In those days, the world was cloaked in darkness. Even though he believed Ji Mian was alive somewhere, just as desperate to find him, there were still those creeping thoughts that he couldn’t control in the dead of night.
What if… Ji Mian hadn’t survived?
What if… he had come just a little too late?
The mere thought of it was enough to twist his heart with unbearable pain.
And now, although he had reunited with Ji Mian, had said those long-overdue words, and had received a response, the pain from that time was still etched deeply in his soul.
Because of this, he couldn’t let go of Ji Mian. No matter what, he had to hold onto him tightly.
Ji Mian noticed that the Alpha beside him seemed to suddenly droop, as though engulfed by a dark memory.
Understanding what Chu Shiye was likely thinking, Ji Mian’s gaze softened slightly, and he began to speak. “I…”
Before he could finish, a knock came at the door.
“Your Majesty, Princess Helena wishes to see you,” a steward announced.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Why was there always someone interrupting?
Ji Mian coughed lightly, suppressing a smile and sitting upright. “Let her in.”
Although North had recently passed and the palace was symbolically draped in black, Helena entered wearing a vivid red gown that exuded radiance and confidence.
The atmosphere in the room felt slightly off. Helena tapped her fan lightly against her palm. “Am I interrupting something?”
Ji Mian replied calmly, “No, you’re just in time.”
Chu Shiye: “…”
Ji Mian thought: Ah, the more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Poor guy.
He gently tugged at Chu Shiye’s sleeve, and sure enough, he saw the Alpha’s demeanor relax slightly, his sulkiness fading just a little.
To Helena, however, Chu Shiye’s expression had remained unchanged since she entered—calm and composed, as always.
Lifting the hem of her gown, Helena sat down gracefully. “Your Majesty, I’ve made some progress on the investigation you assigned me.”
Chu Shiye: “Mm.”
He wasn’t worried that Helena might lie; he had sent people to assist her in the investigation.
Helena began, “My father was an extremely cautious man. Some secrets he didn’t record anywhere—they died with him.”
The implication was clear: she had uncovered something, but it wasn’t much.
This was consistent with what Chu Shiye’s investigation had also revealed.
“My father did indeed have a powerful force behind him. In fact, he was the leader of that force,” Helena said, a faint trace of mockery on her face. It was bitter, as she and her mother had been completely unaware of this for decades. The man had kept them in the dark all along.
“The sea of flowers beneath the palace? That was the work of his faction. It’s the result of long-term experiments with a single purpose: to control the mental power of others.”
Mental power was the source of an ability user’s strength. If one’s mental power could be controlled, even the strongest ability user would be no more than a slave with an unbreakable leash.
Helena continued, “Recently, after years of experimentation, they finally made progress. They began cultivating those flowers on a large scale, expanding from a small patch to an entire sea of flowers.”
Ji Mian observed, “So the flowers have a high reproduction rate.”
Helena nodded. “Of course. And if you dig beneath the sea of flowers, you’ll uncover something even more intriguing.”
Ji Mian and Chu Shiye both knew what she meant.
When Helena was investigating Dorn’s study, Chu Shiye had simultaneously sent his men to investigate the sea of flowers.
They had dug into the soil and discovered what lay beneath: bodies.
The flowers that could control mental power were being fertilized by the corpses of ability users, and watered with their blood.
The faction backing Dorn had crossed the moral boundaries of humanity after decades of research. They had used living ability users as experimental subjects to create those flowers.
Back when they had battled Dorn in the flower sea, his intent had been clear—to capture one, or perhaps both of them, as experimental subjects.
The fate of these “subjects” would inevitably be to become fertilizer for those deadly flowers.
However, the flower sea hadn’t revealed any research materials or equipment. Dorn’s faction was exceedingly cautious, as if they had long anticipated such an outcome. All traces of their activities had been wiped clean, leaving behind only what appeared to be an ordinary “field of flowers.”
“My father died because of his arrogance and conceit,” Helena remarked. “He was overconfident, believing he alone could handle you both.”
In reality, for two young S-level combatants and one S-level support-class user to defeat a veteran S-level psychic like Dorn—a figure who had reigned at the pinnacle for decades—was nearly impossible.
But those two young individuals were Chu Shiye and Ji Mian.
Dorn had miscalculated. Perhaps it was the only miscalculation of his life, and it had cost him everything.
Chu Shiye asked, “Why did North die after Dorn?”
Helena explained, “It seems they conducted an experiment that linked North’s life to Dorn’s. If Dorn was like an ancient, thousand-year-old tree, then North was a grotesque vine leeching off it.”
In other words, for years, the Empire had actually been under Dorn’s control, while North was nothing more than a puppet emperor.
Even so, Dorn had never revealed anything about the faction backing him, not in life nor in death.
Such a secretive and vast organization—one tied to the Empire’s strongest ability user and a former emperor—was deeply troubling.
Ji Mian seemed lost in thought.
The deep pink flowers in the flower sea could suppress mental power, while the medication researched by the Relief Organization could forcibly stimulate it.
The connection between Dorn’s faction and the Relief Organization…
Ji Mian’s brows furrowed slightly. He felt as though he had caught hold of a faint thread—a subtle but undeniable link between these two enigmatic forces.
Chu Shiye glanced at Ji Mian, clearly sharing the same thoughts.
Helena then asked, “What do you plan to do with that flower field, Your Majesty?”
Chu Shiye replied, “Burn it. The remains of the ability users who perished there will be properly buried.”
The flower sea, devoid of clues and born from human blood, had no place in the world.
Helena had no objections. Having said what she needed to, she rose and took her leave.
The room fell into a brief silence. Ji Mian, after some thought, said, “Recall Mr. Berlon. There’s no need to investigate further.”
This was a treacherous and murky matter. It needed to be approached with caution, not recklessness.
Chu Shiye agreed. “Alright.”
Usually, when Chu Shiye issued an order, the response was swift.
But not this time.
“Your Majesty.”
A steward appeared, head lowered, holding a blood-red envelope in his hands.
“Count Dirk and Viscount Jagger have gone missing from their airship.”
“We found a handwritten letter inside the airship, addressed to you.”
Thank you so much for support ♡(´･ω･)(･ω･`)♡ :Ko-fi
