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

The hovercar drove smoothly through the streets of the empire, surrounded by bustling buildings and shops, but the two insects inside had no interest in appreciating it at all.

Karandal leaned back in his seat, his eyelids slightly closed, the monitor on his wrist still glowing a pale green, the data fluctuating in small increments, his heart rate slightly faster than usual.

Even without speaking, Shen Yan could guess that she was looking forward to the upcoming surgery.

"We'll be there soon."

Shen Yan reached out and gently touched the back of Kalander's hand with his fingertips. The other's skin was slightly cool, so he quickly pulled the cashmere blanket draped beside him over the other's body.

"Dr. Li is the best wing repair expert in the Empire. He assured me beforehand that I would not feel any pain during the entire surgery."

His icy blue eyes reflected the soft light from the carriage ceiling lamp. He gave a soft "hmm," his fingertips unconsciously brushing against the blanket on his knees.

It was specially prepared by Shen Yan, and it still retained a bit of its gentle warmth.

He didn't say anything, but quietly moved closer to Shen Yan, his shoulder almost touching the other's arm, which the male insect didn't notice.

As the hovercar came to a steady stop at the entrance of the research center, a white figure hurriedly approached.

"Your Excellency! You've finally arrived!" Dr. Li strode forward, followed by a large group of staff. His gaze quickly swept over Karandal behind Shen Yan, confirming that the other was in good condition, before immediately looking away. His tone was both respectful and urgent.

"The equipment has been tested three times, and the mental connection device has undergone final calibration. Rest assured, there will be absolutely no problems!"

Shen Yan nodded, helped Karandel out of the car, and deliberately placed his fingertips on the other's waist: "Thank you for your hard work."

A line of insects walked into the research center. The lights on both sides of the corridor were on, and the low hum of the instruments could be heard in the distance. The female insect walked steadily, but Shen Yan could feel that her fingertips, hidden in her sleeve, were secretly clenching his hem, with a hint of hidden dependence.

At the entrance of the operating room, the nurses were already waiting by the instrument cart. When they saw them coming from afar, they instinctively straightened their bodies and even breathed softly.

Dr. Li took the surgical informed consent form from the nurse and handed it to Shen Yan with both hands: "This is the final surgical plan. Please confirm it again. If there are no problems, please sign it."

He took the tablet, his fingertips swiping across every detail on the screen. His gaze lingered for a long time on items such as "Psychic connection risk is 20%" and "Surgery success rate is 80%" before he looked up at Kalandel.

"Is everything clear now? Although..."

"I understand." Kalandel interrupted him, his voice low and firm. He looked up at the other man, his clear eyes devoid of their former aloofness, filled only with complete trust.

"no problem."

The three words, like a small pebble, gently landed on Shen Yan's heart, rippling outwards. Without saying another word, he picked up the pen and quickly signed the consent form.

The nurse stepped forward and gently guided Karandel to change into her surgical gown. Shen Yan stood at the door, watching her figure disappear into the operating room, and his anxiety quietly resurfaced.

"Your Excellency, would you please wait in the lounge over there?"

The nurse who was specifically in charge of taking care of the boy suggested, "The surgery will take about two hours. There is tea and snacks in the recovery room."

Shen Yan shook his head. He leaned against the wall outside the operating room, his eyes fixed on the closed door, and said softly, "I'll just wait here."

The corridor was quiet, save for the occasional low beeping of distant instruments. Shen Yan pulled a terminal from his pocket and opened Kalandel's recent physical monitoring data.

Since the first mental reassurance, the stability of his consciousness has increased from 9% to 92%, and the wound healing speed has reached 85%. Every piece of data tells him that the success rate of the surgery is very high, but he still can't help but grip the terminal tightly.

Suddenly, I recalled what it was like when I first met Karandal.

At that time, the other party was curled up in the iron cage, barely alive, covered in wounds. When it woke up, its eyes were as cold as ice, filled with hatred for everything. He had clearly made up his mind long ago to make this broken butterfly fly again, but when the day actually came, he was more nervous than the insect itself.

Shen Yan leaned against the wall, watching the progress bar on the operating room door slowly move forward, from 10% to 30%, and then to 50%.

Occasionally, a female nurse would pass by, and upon seeing him standing there, she would instinctively blush and tiptoe, even her greetings tinged with caution. This was, after all, the male prince, who, it was said, had only taken one female as his concubine. Though the chances were slim, perhaps he might be lucky enough to be taken as a female servant or slave…

After an unknown amount of time, the progress bar on the operating room door finally jumped to 100%, and the red "Operation in Progress" text turned into the green "Completed".

Shen Yan almost immediately stood up straight, his heart pounding rapidly. He even forgot to adjust his breathing and quickly walked towards the cabin door.

Dr. Li had just come out, his face, though tired, couldn't hide his excitement as he removed his mask: "Your Excellency! The surgery was a complete success! The connection of the wings' spiritual energy went smoothly, with no rejection reaction whatsoever!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yan pushed open the hatch and went inside. The operating room was dimly lit. Karandal lay on the white hospital bed, his eyelids slightly closed and his face a little pale, but a pair of huge wings were suddenly unfolded on his back.

The wings shimmered with a shimmering blue, like blue velvet that had condensed the entire Milky Way. The light patterns on the surface flowed gently with each breath, and the edges of the structure emitted a faint glow. Both the forewings and hindwings were exquisitely crafted, like works of art.

Sunlight streamed in through the translucent panels on the roof, falling on the wings and refracting into spots that dappled Kalandall's face, making his already exquisite features even more striking. Even his usually aloof demeanor gained a soft glow.

Shen Yan stood there, somewhat stunned, even holding her breath, afraid of disturbing this exquisite beauty.

After a few seconds of hesitation, a slightly naive question suddenly popped up.

He leaned closer to the bedside, staring at the pair of wings that took up almost half the cabin space, his brow furrowing slightly, his tone full of serious confusion:

"Dr. Li, these wings are so big, won't they get in the way when they're hanging on my back? Won't they bump into me when I'm walking or sitting?"

As he spoke, he reached out and gently touched the light patterns on the edge of the wings. The touch from his fingertips was very soft, like a light veil, but the size was indeed quite large, much larger than he had imagined.

"Besides, I've never seen any other female insects with wings like that before. Could it be that only his wings are that big?"

When Dr. Li walked in and heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, and even his previous tension dissipated a lot.

He stepped forward, pointed to the base of the wings, and patiently explained, "Your Excellency, rest assured, these wings are controlled by mental power. Once Queen Kalandel awakens, she can retract the wings into her body by concentrating her mind, and it will not affect her daily activities at all."

He paused, then added, "Normally, they're kept in a retracted state unless necessary, only summoned when flight or the release of mental energy is required. There are other female insects, but they're mostly kept in place, since spreading such large wings indoors is indeed inconvenient."

At that moment, a figure strode into the cabin, carrying a metal care tray with postoperative cotton dressings on it.

"Dr. Li, the post-operative care kit has arrived."

Lai Chong had a gentle voice, and the name tag on her white coat read "Andrea," indicating that she was the post-operative sub-female nurse assigned by the research center.

Andrea put down the nursing tray, her eyes landing shyly on Shen Yan, a hint of deliberate familiarity in them: "Your Excellency, you must be exhausted after waiting here for so long. I just heated up some milk and added some star honey. Would you like some to help you relax?"

As he spoke, he took a thermos out of his pocket and handed it to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan didn't take it, but simply shook his head slightly: "Thank you, but no need."

His attention was still on Karandal, and he had no interest in drinking milk.