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

Shen Yan subconsciously held his breath, but Kalandall's eyelashes trembled a few times before he slowly opened his eyes.

A fleeting sense of confusion crossed his eyes as he awoke, quickly replaced by more complex emotions—embarrassment and shame at the return of memories from the previous night.

Seeing the insect in his arms forcefully suppress its subtle panic, a thought flashed through Shen Yan's mind. He deliberately spoke in a sticky, hoarse, low voice, each word laced with a hook, his tone tinged with mockery:

"Good evening... How have I served you, Mistress?"

The title carried a clear mocking tone, causing Karandel's body to stiffen strangely. He felt somewhat uncomfortable and avoided the lord's overly direct gaze. His Adam's apple bobbed, and the silence stretched on endlessly.

Two seconds later, she finally turned her gaze back and answered the question very seriously, her voice remaining calm:

"At the beginning..."

He paused, as if acknowledging this required some effort: "It hurts."

Too shy to say more directly, the male chuckled and leaned closer.

Their breaths almost mingled, their voices were lowered, carrying a deliberate, seductive undertone:

"So...do you like it?"

I just want to hear him speak, to see him when he's cornered and forced to confront his inner thoughts honestly.

Karandel's ears turned bright red instantly. He instinctively tried to turn his head away, but the other person gently pressed his chin with their fingertips.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, and her thick eyelashes drooped, fluttering gently like butterfly wings damp with dew.

Finally, he took a very light breath, his voice trembling uncontrollably:

"……like."

After speaking, she pressed her burning forehead against Shen Yan's shoulder, as if that could hide her completely exposed embarrassment.

The arms wrapped around the other person's waist tightened silently.

The relentless pressure to reveal his honesty, and the fact that he had nowhere to hide, greatly pleased Shen Yan's perverse sense of humor, making him even more enticing than he had anticipated.

Satisfied, he pulled his arms closer and embraced the female insect even more tightly, feeling the burning heat constantly spraying onto his skin.

Are you feeling unwell?

Karandal shook his head slightly and replied in a muffled voice, "...It's alright."

The male ruler is very gentle.

He nuzzled his chin against the top of her soft hair, his voice filled with undisguised satisfaction and affection: "Mmm, I'll make you feel great next time, baby."

With a beautiful wife, he felt completely satisfied and content.

Karandal didn't know how to respond; he opened and closed his mouth but no sound came out.

The room was quiet and cozy.

After a while, Shen Yan spoke again, his tone calm and even, as if he were narrating ordinary business, yet the intimate atmosphere of the moment added a touch of privateness.

"At the banquet last night."

He paused, then felt Karandal shift slightly in his arms, as if he were listening intently.

"I ran into Locke."

His breathing paused almost imperceptibly.

The fact that Locke, as a female insect, appeared at that kind of banquet was self-evident.

The man continued his story, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the teeth marks on the back of the other man's neck.

"He was sent there by his family as a plaything. He was tied up under a crystal chandelier and left for the male insects to judge."

His tone was flat, revealing no emotion, yet one could sense the undercurrent beneath his words. To be displayed, traded, and manipulated as an object—this was the most terrifying humiliation for all high-ranking female insects.

Karandal's fingers tightened uncontrollably.

Despite his discord with Locke, hearing that his exceptionally talented colleague had been treated this way filled him with a chilling sense of kinship and an indescribable shock and anger.

"That shouldn't be the case... He clearly has his family protecting him."

Karandall once fell into Samuel's hands, suffering endless humiliation and having nowhere to turn. A large part of the reason was that he was born into a lowly family and had no support or foundation on the Imperial Star. Even though he held an important position, he could still be manipulated by the nobles.

Sensing the unspoken meaning in his words, Shen Yan felt extremely sorry for him and gave him a comforting kiss on the forehead.

"It seems that the Locke family, because he failed to secure the position of general and did not bring any substantial benefits by marrying a male insect, decided to tap into his last remaining value. Instead of letting him curry favor with the powerful, they ordered him to take a different path and produce high-quality offspring for the family."

"Absurd! Scum!"

Karandal couldn't help but curse.

This anger was not only directed at Locke's experience, but also at an extreme disgust with the outdated concept prevalent in aristocratic families that objectifies female insects, especially higher female insects, as reproductive tools.

After a brief pause, Shen Yan continued, "I've left him a way out. If he eventually comes to his senses and is no longer willing to be manipulated by his family like this, I can help him."

With his furrowed brows relaxing slightly, Kalandall spoke:

"Although Locke and I often disagree on our ideas, his talent and ability are undeniable."

"The Empire's laws do state that female insects can apply to leave the family if they are persecuted. But you and I both know how weak and powerless that document is when faced with a deeply entrenched family."

"Even if it is an S-class female insect, how slim is its hope of fighting against the systemic oppression of the entire clan on its own."

"If he is determined to break free of his shackles." The tone carried a heavy promise:

"I will use all available resources to help him."

After a brief pause, the warmth in his eyes gradually subsided, and his voice carried a pure rationality:

"But the prerequisite is that he must first make up his mind. If he chooses to continue sinking into depravity, willingly becoming a puppet of the family, and unwilling to break free of these shackles with his own hands..."

"Then I'll pretend I know nothing."

Shen Yan stared at him, thinking no matter how she looked at him, how could her lord be so perfect?

He couldn't resist giving her a big, enthusiastic kiss on her pretty face.

Calander, with his compassionate heart and ruthless methods, his independence and strength and his worldly wisdom, is far more captivating to insects than a mere idealist.

"You always manage to surprise me."

They rubbed noses together, her voice as soft as a whisper: "Since you see things so clearly, where in your plan should I provide support for the General?"

Karandal shrank back, then stopped in his tracks under the gaze of the lord.

Meeting those deep eyes, filled with agreement and an eager desire to participate, my tense nerves instantly relaxed, and a silent smile crept onto my lips.

"Perhaps you will need to maneuver in the Senate or higher circles of nobility; some barriers do indeed require power beyond the military to break down."

"I'd be happy to help."

"Now that the matter with Locke has been settled, then... let's talk about last night... the general's rude attitude towards me..."

He deliberately emphasized the word "talk" in an ambiguous way, clearly not to interrogate him, but to scold Karandal for his previous refusal to communicate.

Karandal's ears turned red again. He tilted his head slightly, trying to avoid the overly intense gaze, but the lord's fingertips gently pulled him back.

"...How does the powerful ruler intend to make amends?"

His voice was softer and lower than usual, carrying a hint of compromise. He didn't really think he was wrong, but in this atmosphere, he was willing to indulge his master's unreasonable behavior.

After all, Shen Yan had personally promised to come back soon, but he hadn't kept his promise.

"I want you to say it yourself—"

That straightforward, almost coquettish demand, like silk threads wrapped around Karandel's heart, was more irresistible to him than any forceful command.

He fell silent under the intense gaze, only his long, trembling eyelashes betraying the turmoil in his heart.

He turned his head away, avoiding the gaze that almost burned the insect, and whispered in a breathy voice filled with embarrassment and compromise:

"...as the will of the powerful ruler."

A low, satisfied chuckle rolled from his throat, like the possessive purr of a large feline when it is being soothed.

He leaned down, his nose brushing against Karandel's rosy cheek without warning, their warm breaths mingling, carrying an undeniable intimacy.

"Good girl."

"Then I won't be polite!"