Who understands? The aloof female ruler always flirts without even realizing it.

Shen Yan gently pressed Kalandel into the soft bedding. The air was filled with the restless spiritual energy of both of them. This was a rare moment of undisturbed time for the two insects.

I've been vegetarian for a long time.

Looking at the beautiful face of the woman beneath him, flushed with a light pink, her slightly dreamy blue eyes, and her chest, which was even fuller and softer due to breastfeeding, beneath her slightly open neckline, his breathing became increasingly heavy.

He leaned down and whispered in Karandal's sensitive ear, his voice filled with desire and excitement:

"Lanlan... I've prepared something this time."

With one hand propped up beside his wife's ear, he fumbled anxiously with the other towards the bedside table, accurately finding a small square plastic package in a hidden corner.

Shen Yan is not a hothead who will be driven by impulse.

Although the female queen's body is now able to move freely, her reproductive system is far from recovering to the point where she can once again bear the burden of nurturing life, and she has no plans to have a second child.

Recalling the hardship and pain of Karandal's last childbirth, and the glaring blood that seemed to have soaked half the delivery room, which still haunted him, he felt as if his heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and he was filled with lingering fear.

I will never allow my beloved queen to face that kind of risk and pain again because of my own greed.

One Shen Lan'an is enough.

He held the small bag in his hand, his fingertips tracing the smooth surface of the packaging, his eyes filled with affection and an almost obsessive protectiveness.

"Your body still needs a long period of rest, we'll all wear them from now on..."

Before he finished speaking, Calander already understood the lord's worries and thoughtfulness.

Touched in the deepest part of his heart, he tilted his head back and gently kissed the other's chin, whispering:

"Alright, we'll do as our leader says."

Just as Shen Yan unpacked the package and prepared for the next step, Karandal also closed his eyes, ready to welcome the long-awaited intimacy...

"Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!"

A sharp, urgent communicator notification sound extinguished the warm, inviting atmosphere in the dormitory room like ice water.

The voice came from a communicator that Karandal had casually placed in his coat pocket.

Shen Yan froze abruptly, bracing himself above the female ruler, his brows furrowed tightly, his face filled with annoyance and displeasure at being interrupted.

He muttered a curse under his breath, and the newly opened small bag floated lightly onto the bed sheet.

The daze in Karandal's eyes quickly faded, and she regained her composure and alertness as a female soldier.

He raised his hand and gently pushed the other person's shoulder, his voice hoarse and sticky:

"My lord, let's take a look first."

Taking a deep breath, Shen Yan forcibly suppressed his restless urges, reluctantly rolled out of bed, grabbed his coat, and pulled out his communicator.

The message was concise yet incredibly heavy:

His Majesty Emperor Salio is critically ill; his vital signs are deteriorating rapidly, and he may not make it through the night.

As the female insect prince of Salio who was separated from his family, Kalandar was not a secret among the imperial high-ranking officials and the royal family, even though the royal family did not hold a formal ceremony to recognize him in order to avoid him being targeted by malicious insects during his pregnancy.

The original plan was to wait until he successfully gave birth to his child and recovered before choosing an auspicious day to announce to the world and officially bestow upon the prince his noble status.

Now that the emperor is on his deathbed, news has arrived from the palace. It is both a matter of duty and obligation that Kalandel must go and visit him.

With a sigh, Shen Yan showed the communicator screen to the female ruler, who had already sat up and was tidying her disheveled clothes.

"From the palace."

The male's voice returned to its usual calm, but a trace of lingering desire and frustration from being interrupted remained deep in his eyes.

"Sario is dying."

Karandal paused slightly as he buttoned his shirt, a complex emotion flashing in his blue eyes.

There was a slight unease about the impending passing of her father, but more than that, there was a calmness and a faint displeasure at being disturbed from their tender moments.

He quickly tied up his disheveled hair, his tone regaining the decisiveness of an Imperial General: "We have to go."

Nodding, Shen Yan bent down to pick up the small bag lying alone on the bed and reluctantly stuffed it into the trash can.

He cursed the ill-timed, dead old emperor, Dei, and Anvis countless times in his mind.

"Let's go..."

He pulled his wife out of bed, tidied her slightly disheveled blue hair at her temples, and spoke with an apologetic tone and a sense of regret for not having had enough.

"After we finish dealing with all this mess..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

Karandal's ears turned slightly red, and he gave a soft "hmm".

The two quickly tidied themselves up, temporarily suppressing their intimacy and restlessness, and left the bedroom together, preparing to head to the turbulent depths of the imperial palace.

When they arrived at the palace at night in their private aircraft, a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere immediately enveloped them.

The once magnificent palace seemed to be shrouded in a dark shadow, and the servants hurried about, their faces showing undisguised fear and unease.

Guided by court officials, they arrived at the emperor's bedroom.

The palace was filled with a strong smell of medicine and a decaying odor belonging to a life in decline.

Salio lay on the large, luxurious bed, his once rosy face now terribly withered, his eyes sunken, and his skin an unhealthy, ashen color.

He could barely move his eyes, and the rise and fall of his chest was so faint as to be almost invisible. Only the regular, cold beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor by his bedside proved that life had not yet completely ended.

Several beautiful concubines served by the bedside. Some lowered their heads and looked submissive, while others secretly shed tears, but their eyes held a hint of scheming and calculation.

Dei was also there, but he didn't approach the bed. He just sat at the table at a distance, drinking tea and watching everything with a cold expression, as if the dying male insect on the bed had nothing to do with him.

He was clearly the person of the highest status in the room and in control of the overall situation.

When Emperor Salio heard the attendant announce that "His Highness Prince Calander and Lord Shen Yan have come to visit," his cloudy eyes moved with difficulty, and a faint light flashed in his pupils.

That was the last bit of instinct.

However, when they realized that only Shen Yan and Kalandall had come, and that they had not seen their own noble-blooded and infinitely potential male insect offspring, they were shocked.

The glimmer of light dimmed instantly, replaced by profound disappointment and deathly silence.

Compared to the emotionally distant female insect prince, he clearly wanted to see the little male insect who would continue the bloodline of the imperial royal family.

But he never saw it before he died.

Karandal's feelings were very complicated.

He stood quietly by the bed, looking at the one who gave him life, but was also the culprit who caused his father's tragic fate.

Blood ties prevented him from completely ignoring the dying insect before him, but past pain and indifference prevented him from feeling any affection or pity; only liberation remained.

He even knew perfectly well why Sario had ended up in such a state, but he wouldn't help him; deep down, he was even happy about it.

This may be the law of cause and effect.

Visiting the ailing emperor was merely a formality, an expression of the proper attitude of a prince. Both Kalander and Shen Yan offered only a few symbolic words of concern, their tone calm and distant.

At Dee's signal, the servants and the concubines wisely bowed their heads and withdrew.

The palace chambers instantly emptied, leaving only the two insects, Dei who still stood indifferently in the corner, and the emperor who was dying on the bed.

Seeing this, Shen Yan's lips curled into a cold smile.

Since the old emperor was about to die, Dei obviously had no intention of pretending anymore, and he was too lazy to continue maintaining appearances.

He stepped forward, looking down at me with a grin, but the smile didn't reach his eyes:

"Consort Dei, it's been a long time! Where's Anvishi?"

"Why aren't you here serving us? Did you hear we were coming, know you've done something wrong, and are too ashamed to show your face?"