Sure enough.
They should have just escaped when they still had the chance.
If they had, they would not be sitting here now, caught red-handed ddling and spying when they had been told, very clearly, that they would see each other during the expo anyway.
And yet here they were.
The fad personalities of the Empire of Solaris, reduced to twiddling their thumbs and curling their toes under the sharp glare of the Crown Prince.
Xavier had not raised his voice. He had not even moved much. He was still calmly securing the actual criminal, Renard Holt Dreel, who floated midair like so balloon wrapped in threads of spiritual energy.
But then again, the operative thought they weren’t much different from Renard at this point.
Invasion of privacy.
Impersonation.
Destruction of property.
Espionage.
If this had been anyone else, if the offenders had not been the ruling monarchs themselves, they really could’ve been executed on the spot.
There was an entire laundry list of charges Xavier could pull out at any ti. In fact, he probably would, if this had been a typical day. But in the end, he thought that nothing beat the heart-pounding suspense of sitting there while being stared down like that.
The operative thought longingly about the mining camps.
He would rather serve a sentence in one of those hellholes than sit another second under that gaze. The Emperor’s glare was sharp. The Empress’s glare was sharper.
But Prince Xavier’s silent stare? That was inhuman. It dug into the bones, dragged out your soul, and left you wishing for the sweet rcy of death.
So might find it unbelievable, and yet how could they be sure?
Because right now, the Emperor, the Empress, and even Marshal Julian were sitting in the sa boat as him. All of them were trying to look anywhere else, all of them trying to wiggle their way to salvation as if salvation could be found on the ceiling tiles.
"So, to what pleasure do we owe this inspection?"
The Crown Prince’s tone was perfectly level, as calm as still water.
But Luca noticed how every single adult in the room stiffened when Xavier asked.
He had been stunned enough the mont Xavier had called the Emperor and Empress "Father" and "Mother." His golden eyes had gone wide, and for a long mont, he could only stare around at the guilty faces.
He had so many questions.
Because now he did not understand the Empress’s earlier concerns.
Did Xavier actually need romantic advice?
Was it like Kyle, who had a whole list of marriage candidates prepared in advance?
Was that why the Empress fainted? Had she been shocked to learn that Xavier was already married?
Luca’s mind spun. He was filled with sudden worries.
But stronger than the confusion was the ache of concern, because he rembered clearly the way the Empress had sighed earlier, saying she had missed her son, that it had been so long since she had seen him. None of that felt like a lie to him.
And yet their first eting was like this?
In fact, it was calr now.
Earlier, however, chaos had nearly reigned.
The Marshal himself had turned on his heel the mont he saw Xavier in the room. He might actually have escaped if not for the injured man beside him, who rasped, "That’s desertion of duty! How could you leave now?!"
"I don’t believe so, Sir. This is rely called giving you privacy!" Julian snapped back.
But of course, no one managed to leave.
And then suddenly, the people who had been lying in bed—save for the floating Renard Dreel—bolted upright like puppets yanked by invisible strings. The fake doctor nearly prostrated himself on the floor, much to Luca’s wide-eyed surprise.
Even when Xavier said, "At ease," not a soul looked remotely comfortable.
And now, on top of that, his husband had just asked about an "inspection," and Luca was the one getting increasingly nervous.
Xavier noticed it instantly.
His little chipmunk’s expression had shifted from doe-eyed surprise to that anxious look he always wore whenever he was unsure of himself.
Without hesitation, Xavier extended an arm and pulled him close, tucking him against his side.
The world held its breath.
Luca relaxed at once, comforted by the familiar, steady presence. But the onlookers?
They looked ready to cough blood in unison.
The Emperor actually let out a strangled choke at the sight.
And it was only then—only after basking for a mont in Xavier’s reassuring touch—that Luca rembered there was still an injured person nearby.
"Oh! I’m sorry!" Luca exclaid, guilt flashing across his face as he looked toward the battered man on the bench. "I forgot! Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Everyone stiffened.
Because the battered man was indeed the Emperor of Solaris.
The problem was, how did the great chipmunk know?!
But Luca, completely unaware of everyone’s surprise, stepped forward, bowing his head slightly as he apologized again. "If it’s okay... I could provide treatnt with my personal dical wand. I’m not sure where the tools are in this dical bay, so I figured we’d have to make do. The wand is a really good one. It’s even got the best reviews!"
He kept rambling, nervous as the silence pressed around him.
Everyone else still looked like they had been hit by lightning, but the Emperor—Xavian Solaris, the great monarch himself—felt his throat tighten for an entirely different reason.
Yes, he, too, was shocked by Luca’s use of the right honorific, but he was more shocked by sothing else.
Because when the chipmunk stepped closer, eyes shining with genuine concern, and asked after his condition so earnestly... the Emperor nearly wept.
Saintly. That was the only word he could think of.
A caring son!
Tears threatened to spill, and Luca panicked, thinking he had done sothing terribly wrong.
"I-I’m sorry, did I make a mistake?" he asked anxiously.
But the Emperor, whose face so closely resembled Xavier’s, shook his head and managed a hoarse smile. "No, nothing wrong. Thank you. I appreciate your help."
He even followed it up with words no one had expected. "You may ask for any reward for this."
But to the touched Emperor, what would a galaxy be when faced with such kindness? And for the great chipmunk to be doing it in front of their sentry of a son?! What courage?!
Well, apparently, only a little of his real magic. No wonder their daughter had been so enamored with him.
Because suddenly, their son said, "Mother, Father, please explain the nature of this visit so I’d know how to explain it to Luca."
"???"
Xavier’s question drew stunned and questioning looks. In fact, even Luca was wondering why Xavier said that, but at the sa ti, he felt touched that his husband thought about him.
By now, it would be impossible for Xavier not to know that Luca was likely worried. Considering what he’d patched up from Sid’s testimony, his mother and Luca had held a long enough conversation. If she had asked so things in a way that wasn’t direct, knowing his little chipmunk, he must’ve taken them literally. They were bound to have a misunderstanding.
But if everyone’s minds were still trying to catch up to these developnts, the Empress had already realized the truth of Luca’s earlier words.
And it was like uncovering an entirely new world for her.
Honest. Respectful. Conscientious. Gentle. Protective.
Those were truly words they could use to describe Xavier, whose first order of business was to clarify things for his beloved’s peace of mind.
The way he positioned himself, the way his eyes tracked the great chipmunk’s movents, the way he watched the expressions on Luca’s face—those were more than enough to say their son was more than just taken. He had really found his person.
And it took everything in the Empress not to weep.
She exhaled slowly and decided not to use tactics because this was like getting to know an entirely new person.
Obviously, it would not be easy, because every softened look their son generously gave still got her skin prickling in surprise, but since things were already like this, all they could do was grovel properly.
"Son," she said at last, her voice steady, "I’d like to apologize for going against your wishes. And I’d like to personally apologize to Lord Luca for eting you in this capacity. But I couldn’t possibly apologize for being able to have such an eye-opening conversation."
Everyone stopped to listen, their expressions shifting into sothing truly apologetic. Luca, on the other hand, was once again wide-eyed, as if he’d just been tossed into a dramatic stage play without warning.
"And while it’s presumptuous of to ask for sothing when we’ve clearly shown disrespect and offense," the Empress continued, her tone dipping low, "please consider it a humble request and continue to stay beside our son forever."
Huh?
EH?!
In all this, D-29 wondered what to do when monetary negotiations were skipped entirely?!
Why didn’t the research materials show sothing like this?
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