Chapter 99
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Jealousy Overheard
Celia slept fitfully, faint shadows of dark circles under his eyes, his brow furrowed with a subtle crease.
Heinrich didn't move, holding his position as he quietly studied him.
He'd grown noticeably thinner lately, his skin carrying an icy, translucent pallor. From the side, his cheekbones stood out sharp and profound, his lashes casting a dense, fan-shaped shadow along the bridge of his nose. He always seemed to carry a multitude of unspoken worries—even in sleep, his lips were pressed tight, a deep shadow etched at the corners.
Heinrich reached out to smooth away that mark, but his fingertips hesitated just short of touching.
*What are you thinking about?*
The emperor recalled the early days after he'd founded the imperial army, scrambling to survive under the Alliance's relentless pursuit. Back then, they weren't even called the imperial army yet—the Alliance dubbed them rebels. No pay, no base, no popular support. Every day was about running for their lives, worrying if they'd have enough to eat, fearing they'd sleep and never wake.
*Yet back then, he hadn't fretted like this.*
Looking back on those times now, no matter the hardship, there had always been a group of people facing it with him. As long as they endured the devastation of today, tomorrow's foreseeable victory lay ahead.
Heinrich gazed at Celia's face and, in a daze, grasped the difference between them:
Even in the darkest hours, he'd only ever worried about the present—like now, focused solely on the Empire's current state and immediate conflicts. But Celia, even with absolute power and everything going smoothly, fretted over a distant future a century away.
That's why he rejected stopgap measures to resolve the Alliance's crisis—like allying with Dark Star Hall to counterattack the Empire, or adopting a "one country, two systems" approach to extract funds from the Empire for urgent needs.
It wasn't about one mindset being right or wrong; it was just how rulers thought. As someone who'd lived five centuries without ever fearing death, seemingly destined to outlive the Alliance itself, Celia viewed things with unwavering continuity. He had a duty to carve the most advantageous path through the fog of the present for the future. Heinrich's approach was the polar opposite: this powerhouse who'd appeared out of nowhere, sweeping away the old order like a storm, toppling the entire political system and erecting a new social structure. He'd raised a mighty Empire from nothing in record time—
He was an opponent Celia could neither predict nor counter.
The entire hall was silent, save for the faint rumble of cannon fire leaking through their earpieces. Alliance commanders argued, cursed, and bellowed over the battle channel, only to be drowned out by fiercer explosions.
The Radiant Legion had gained preliminary control of the Capitol Building. All that remained was mopping up rebel remnants and swiftly reining in those entrenched parliamentary families... In a deeper sense, perhaps the truly grueling, protracted battle was only just beginning.
Yet Celia didn't wake.
Even in the moment of victory, he remained lost in sleep, oblivious to the sporadic gunfire and cheers.
Heinrich's paused fingers finally settled at the corner of Celia's lips, trying to gently ease the downturned curve.
But at the touch, Celia let out a vague hum, instinctively turning his head to dodge the finger. Heinrich persisted, pressing twice more, until Celia mumbled a groggy protest, twisting away to slur,
"What...?"
Heinrich chuckled, reaching to scoop him up and lay him flat for proper rest. But before he could exert force, Celia woke, lazily lifting a hand to rub his eyes.
"...Heinrich? Why are you here?"
"You're using my base station, my channel—can't I drop by to inspect?" The emperor straightened, grinning.
"Good thing I did, too. Caught you slacking—why sleep here? What if you catch a chill?"
Celia waved dismissively with a yawn, pressing his earpiece to listen. Once he confirmed the battle in the distant Andromeda Galaxy system, a million light-years away, had wrapped up, he yanked off the earpiece and tossed it onto the command console.
"This is all your mess. Haven't settled accounts with you yet, and here you are inspecting *me*?"
Heinrich shot back,
"You're the one who lured Dark Star Hall to the Empire. Haven't settled *that* yet, and you show up for peace talks?"
"You blockhead—"
Celia couldn't help laughing, groping around the command console for something. Heinrich promptly poured a glass of water and offered it. Celia glanced, pleased, and reached for it—only for the emperor to loop his hand around and hold it directly to his lips.
"Here."
The Alliance Marshal shook his head helplessly but leaned in to sip a few mouthfuls from the emperor's hand, then waved it off.
Heinrich knew he wasn't truly thirsty anyway, so he didn't press, simply draining the rest from where Celia's lips had touched, licking his own before asking,
"What's next?"
"Once Wu's done with the docs, deliver the galaxy-wide broadcast."
"You up for it?"
"I'm not," Celia admitted freely.
"But Karyan's got my back."
Heinrich smirked faintly—but perhaps having pummeled Karyan at the state banquet had satisfied him, so he held off the sarcasm for now, plopping onto the command console.
"After the speech, then what? Really wipe out the Konselin family? Their eldest miss is still waiting for you on White Heron Star. Want me to play nice and ship her to the Alliance for you—"
A wicked grin spread across his face. Celia tilted his head, eyeing him for a long moment before declaring,
"You're here to gloat."
Heinrich blinked at him with a knowing look.
"..."
Celia asked awkwardly,
"What's so funny about me?"
His tone was innocence itself, but the emperor clung to his malice.
"Watching you use your own troops to dismantle the Konselin family—then figuring out how to explain it to Edna. How many years as old flames? If she starts crying, how'll you soothe her? Or maybe you're hurting too, and I'm here to gauge how much of that deep affection remains..."
Celia turned away, but the emperor leaned in to block his view.
"What, still carrying a torch?"
With that insistent tone, a "yes" would spell endless trouble tonight. Celia sighed wearily.
"It's been so many years—"
"So many years as rivals, and you haven't burned through the romance?"
"No, listen, Heinrich—if she were an Alpha, her political talent wouldn't lag far behind yours—"
"So it's true love. I barely landed a few hits on you and you sulk, but she pulls this and you're still hung up. Tsk tsk."
"No, that's not the same. I won't bother arguing your attitude—"
"You don't need to say anything. I'm just here for the show. Want me to patch you through to White Heron Star's political prison? You're already borrowing my top military comms—chatting with an old flame's no big deal..."
The emperor gained steam, and Celia's attempts to interrupt fell flat. His morning grumpiness surged; he started to storm off—when a loud
"Gu—"
rang out.
Heinrich:
"Hm?"
Celia:
"..."
The imperial duo stared at each other. Moments later,
"Gu—!"
The Marshal flushed crimson and whipped his head away. Heinrich's gaze dropped to his stomach, smiling smugly.
"You're hungry."
·
It was oddly embarrassing: if heats were an Omega's most humiliating, lustful vulnerability, Celia had already bared it completely to Heinrich without a shred of inhibition. By rights, nothing should be off-limits between them anymore. Yet at that
"Gu—"
he still instinctively covered his face.
The bickering evaporated. Heinrich laughed uproariously, personally calling the kitchen to order food, then grilled Celia with endless curiosity about his dinner. When he learned Celia had scarfed double portions of braised乳果肉排 just two hours prior—stunning Karyan and the rest—Heinrich finally burst into guffaws.
"Your appetite was never huge before. Empire cuisine suiting you? Just defect already—the Alliance can't even feed you right, haha!"
Celia opened his mouth to retort, but a gnawing hunger pinned him down. He could only sit, conserving energy to wait for food.
An emperor's personal order moved fast. Palace kitchens soon dispatched two massive silver trays via robobutler. Lifting the lids revealed a heaping bowl of mushroom rice, orange-herb green sauce over fish, neatly stacked cutlets, and a fresh moonlight flower salad; plus a wide crystal bowl brimming with glistening diamond fruits, rimmed with freshly picked mint leaves, their refreshing aroma wafting up.
Sensing this wasn't for the emperor himself, the chef had gone all out. Celia shoveled down half the rice before speaking. Once the burning hunger eased, he scooped some green sauce—only for the emperor to halt him.
"That's sour! Hold on, I'll mix in some soup first, then pair it with the fish. Otherwise, your teeth'll ache later!"
Celia's expression didn't shift. Under the emperor's stunned gaze, he calmly gulped a big spoonful of green sauce.
"Tastes fine to me."
"..."
Heinrich snatched his hand, skeptically licking from the spoon. Next instant, the emperor spat everywhere, fuming,
"Did you trick me into trying it on purpose?"
Celia grinned lazily, tossing the spoon aside.
"Busted."
He turned to instruct the robobutler,
"Send that diamond fruit bowl to the command room downstairs. Karyan and them love it—perfect night snack. The cutlets too, but no booze."
The robobutler nodded and advanced—but Heinrich barked,
"Who'd you say for?"
"Ka—"
"Karyan that weakling? I'm not starving him to death already—who dares feed him?!"
Celia:
"............"
Robobutler:
"............"
The Gemini emperor was utterly unreasonable, hugging the trays to his chest and shooing the robobutler.
"Out! Go oil up!"
Then he shot Celia a malicious side-eye, waving a diamond fruit tauntingly.
"I say no, it's no. I'm the emperor, got it? Sick of you two. Even eating, you're thinking of *him*! When do you ever think of *me*?"
"This..." Where was this even coming from?
Celia gaped to argue—but Heinrich cut him off.
"No matter how deep you two go, it yields to me. Didn't you see me deck him at the banquet? Don't care if he's Alliance Marshal—in my eyes, he's nothing. Piss me off one day, and I'll whip him dead!"
Celia snatched back the fruit, demanding,
"What's your beef with him?"
Heinrich yanked it away.
"Your old flame? I hate *everything* about him!"
They locked eyes across the table, sparks crackling in the air.
Moments later, Celia lunged for the fruit—but Heinrich was ready, spitting on it with lightning speed and crowing,
"Here, take it! Feed Karyan now!"
"..." A herd of curses stampeded through Celia's mind. He twitched.
"Who told you me and Karyan are *that*?"
"Saw it myself!"
"And you take your own eyes as gospel?"
"Why not?!"
Celia shot up, fury boiling over. After a beat, he fixed Heinrich with an icy stare.
"If that's how it works, what's *your* deal with Aaron? Care to explain?"
Heinrich:
"..."
Lightning struck the emperor, charring him crisp outside, tender within.
But worse thunder followed—Celia's words barely landed when a quavering voice echoed from the door:
"Ma... Marshal?!"
Celia:
"............"
Heinrich:
"............"
They turned to see Aaron and Karyan, arms piled with documents, standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the threshold. Four pairs of eyes met; their subordinates' faces both
"Crack!"
shattered.