However, at this point, he really didn’t know how to make a decision. The events of the past were, after all, a stain that couldn’t be brought up again. He had to admit that the indifference and neglect towards Iger over the years carried an avoidance emotion that he was unwilling to acknowledge. But for this child, whom he hadn’t invested much emotion and attention into, and for the current pain, the king couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
But there was one thing he absolutely couldn’t compromise on—the issue of imperial heirs had to be settled.
“Your Majesty, Father.” Osbourne stood up, unable to help but glance at Iger, who had been tense since he came in until now.
Osbourne looked at him, and his resolute attitude seemed to have some cracks, but the vacillation and reluctant thoughts were only fleeting in his mind before being completely denied.
He couldn’t bear the thought of Iger being with someone else, and just a glance would bring uncontrollable and malicious thoughts hidden deep within.
The king walked over and patted Osbourne on the shoulder, then turned to look at Iger. His voice lacked the usual majesty and carried a bit of a fatherly feeling. “Iger, do you not understand what an heir means to the royal family? Besides, no matter what, this is still your flesh and blood. Can you really bear to…”
Osbourne nervously looked at Iger. He could feel that the other party was not welcoming towards this child, which reminded him of the previous life when Iggy’s attitude towards this child was also lukewarm, without any joy of becoming a father.
Now he understood Iger’s pain and struggle, but even after understanding all this, he couldn’t change anything.
The root of the pain had already formed. The barrier between him and his lover was not something that could be dispelled in a few words over a few days. But Osbourne had a firm conviction in his heart.
Silence made his expression extremely tense and pale to the extreme. After a moment, he nodded. He spoke, trying to sound steady, but it was still unstable. “I understand.”
His lips were pale, and just looking into the king’s eyes made him appear extremely complicated. “But perhaps, Father, you will never understand.”
The king, under such accusing eyes, was momentarily stunned. After a while, he didn’t speak, but he heard Iger continue, his voice cold and tinged with an indescribable disappointment. “Father, you probably have never felt any remorse towards me, nor do you think you’ve done anything wrong at any time.”
Such a harsh accusation made the king instinctively angry, but faced with such a look from his youngest son, the king was unusually silent.
The hatred and disappointment in the eyes of this child deeply pierced him. But what he said was also right; he owed Iger a lot over the years.
Colonel Beaumont sighed, his wise and old eyes filled with regret. “Your Highness, about Lady Lihui, I’m very sorry. As for Osbourne, his feelings for you, Your Highness, are probably clearer to you than anyone else. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done…”
“Father.” Osbourne interrupted, knowing that he had reached this point, and Iger had no choice but to accept the inevitable.
The king suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and spoke calmly, “The royal family’s heirs are already scarce. Iger, your child will be the eldest grandchild of our royal family, with the purest bloodline. In that case, the previously agreed-upon divorce agreement naturally cannot be considered.”
Osbourne had been following behind Iger until they reached the palace’s entrance, where he finally stopped. The sound of flowing water from the fountain nearby was gentle, and the wet branches, washed by water, exuded dampness. The night almost swallowed the entire world, with only the faint light from street lamps.
Watching Iger, who continued walking without stopping, his black windbreaker making his figure seem elongated in the night, Osbourne recalled the cold and distant look he had just received. When Iger approached the car door, Osbourne couldn’t bear the panic rising in his heart. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, hugged him from behind, and said in a low, hoarse voice, “Your Highness… can we start over, please?”
He held him tightly, and his voice carried a sense of fear, as if all the accumulated emotions were bursting out at this moment. All the calmness, speculation, and tug-of-war had disappeared, revealing the most primitive plea and desire. Almost closing his eyes, he urgently uttered the words that had been swirling in his mind, “Your Highness, you’re right… I regret it.”
Iger gritted his teeth, his eyes red. “Regret what?”
Osbourne choked up and couldn’t speak, just holding him tightly from behind.
“You’re always like this…” Iger turned around, forcefully pulled him away, and pressed him against the car door. Osbourne looked at his eyes, now red, and his heart ached.
But suddenly, Iger bent down, bit his lips hard, and a hand firmly held his resilient waist while the other hand skillfully pressed his neck at a sensitive spot.
Osbourne’s legs went weak, and the treatment from his beloved made his heart feel both sour and warm. The slight pain in his lips and neck slowly filled his empty heart. Full of him, he just wanted to hold onto this person tightly.
However, after only a moment, Iger left. Osbourne followed him and sat in the car, and Iger just looked at him without saying anything.
This person had always been soft-hearted towards him. All the harsh words were just a façade. Osbourne had peeled away, layer by layer, to understand what he had missed before.
After a long silence, Iger spoke first, “Why? You know the consequences, and I don’t think you would be so neglectful.”
If he had really decided to completely separate, according to Osbourne’s character, he would definitely cut off all possibilities of this child’s existence.
“Also, what does General Osbourne think of the child? A bargaining chip?”
Osbourne’s heart sank, and he subconsciously wanted to retort, but he was suddenly interrupted by Iger’s irritability. He saw Iger turning his face towards the window. “Forget it, if you don’t want to talk about it, forget it.”
The glass window reflected a face with deeply furrowed brows. Osbourne’s heart sank, and he immediately reached out to grab Iger’s hand, saying anxiously, “Your Highness, although everything I’m doing now may seem unbearable to you, but I genuinely care about this child. I feel joy at the thought of having a common bloodline with Your Highness.”
Iger turned his head, casting an inscrutable gaze at Osbourne’s, and moved his lips slightly, “Do you know the consequences of this potion?”
Meeting his expression, Osbourne suddenly understood his reaction from yesterday. Emotions surged in his chest, leaving him almost at a loss. He tightened his grip on Iger’s hand, speaking in a low voice, “Your Highness.”
Iger withdrew his hand, gazing ahead. Suddenly, he sighed softly, “Osbourne.”
Osbourne looked at him, his sigh piercing his heart. Watching Iger’s cold profile under the lamplight, he heard only the single address and nothing more.
When they returned to their lodging, it was already past ten o’clock. Xiaozhi, the robotic assistant, seemed very excited, spinning around Osbourne’s legs. Osbourne crouched down, patting Xiaozhi’s head. The heavy burden on his heart seemed to lighten a bit.
Iger stood quietly on the side, and when Osbourne looked up at him, he saw Iger turning away.
Osbourne spoke softly, “Xiaozhi, you didn’t even greet His Highness when you returned. Remember to say hello to His Highness next time.”
Xiaozhi understood, speaking with precision, “General Osbourne, Xiaozhi missed you a lot, and His Highness Iger also missed you. You finally came back.”
Osbourne hadn’t expected him to say such words, and he was momentarily stunned. However, he saw Iger standing at the bedroom door, looking at him. His gaze under the lamplight carried a profound emotion.
For some reason, this gaze made Osbourne feel a faint sense of unease. But he heard Iger’s voice say, “Don’t listen to what he said. The program is chaotic these days, not even the place has been properly cleaned.”
Xiaozhi retorted, “Xiaozhi’s program is not chaotic. His Highness Iger is the one being inconsistent!”
Iger’s face instantly stiffened. He walked over, cut off Xiaozhi’s power, and without looking at Osbourne, turned around and went back into the room.
Osbourne stared at the closed door, feeling like something had broken through the surface, gradually filling his heart while simultaneously breeding more panic-like emotions.
It seemed like everything hidden beneath the surface was slowly emerging, carrying another world that he had never seen.
[Great host, you did a great job. Just maintain our mission in this world, and you can experience the feeling of being a father.]
[Although, I don’t want to have a child.]
The 2333 system was a bit afraid that he would stir up trouble: [Great host, let’s just complete the mission. I really don’t want to start over. Please be careful!]
In M City’s largest shopping mall, Lowell followed Iger onto the automatic levitating elevator. “Iger, is what the media said true? Are you really going to remarry General Osbourne?”
Iger turned to the side, blocking the crowded flow of people. “Yes.”
Lowell had already anticipated this answer but still felt as if the sky had collapsed in that moment. His eyes reddened.
“I told you already, Iger, you just can’t forget about him.”
Iger was momentarily stunned, looking at him standing foolishly in the middle of the elevator, blocking the bustling crowd. So, he pulled him over and stopped at the entrance of a hot drink shop, sighing, “Wait.”
Lowell watched as his brother, Iger, went inside, pursing his lips without saying a word. He patiently waited in place for who knows how long until he saw him coming out. Even in the midst of the crowd, he spotted him at a glance.
Walking over to him, Iger handed him a cup of warm milk tea. Despite the slightly scalding temperature, he heard Iger softly say, “Lowell, you’re right.”
Lowell stared at him in a daze. The milk tea in his hand was clearly hot, but he seemed not to feel it at all. Looking into Iger’s faintly colored, glass-like pupils, the bitterness in his heart grew.
Panicking, he quickly lowered his head, but then heard Iger suddenly say, “Let’s go.”
“Today is our young master Lowell’s birthday, and there’s a banquet tonight. Let’s quickly eat everything you want to eat now.”
Lowell immediately caught on and followed along. However, it was evident that his birthday today wouldn’t go smoothly because soon enough, his Brother Iger was spotted by someone.
Even though he covered half of his face with sunglasses and wore a hat pressed down low.
“Is that His Highness? He’s so handsome, the epitome of nobility and elegance! But I really want to see His Highness’s eyes. The most beautiful eyes in the Empire. Just one look and you’ll die happily. Unfortunately, His Highness is wearing sunglasses!”
The voices of those Omegas were low, but they still reached Lowell’s ears. He felt a bit proud yet somewhat unhappy, but he also strongly agreed. Indeed, Brother Iger’s eyes were the most beautiful in the Empire, like the most precious jasper.
The two of them played in the mall for nearly two hours. Lowell got a beautiful starry candy, received a miniature model of an oceanic galaxy, and even had a cake.
Iger escorted him to the entrance. Through the tilted glass window, Lowell bid him a reluctant farewell.
…
The black hovercar navigated through the night, surrounded by an almost eerie quietness. Only a few lights flickered in the distance between the buildings. As it approached the second turn, the navigation system in the car suddenly emitted a disruptive alarm, a sharp sound that seemed capable of piercing the eardrums.
Within seconds, Iger activated the protective system. However, following closely was a sharp, ear-piercing metallic friction sound. In almost an instant, a black hovercar on the right side closely followed and violently collided.
Iger abruptly turned around, and the adjacent car doors shook from the impact of the black hovercar. Accompanied by a harsh scraping sound, a muffled bang resounded. The hovercar’s trajectory completely deviated, crashing towards the nearby guardrail.
The guardrail, made of the toughest transparent material, was still distorted completely by the immense force and high-speed impact. The dented car door revealed sharp edges. Iger’s complexion changed suddenly, and the intense pain in his lower leg made him involuntarily release the steering wheel.
The hovercar lost control entirely, sliding several meters towards the guardrail.
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