A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

*****************

......

Speaker Invika's eyelids twitched slightly.

Orion was pleased to catch this fleeting change in his expression; he was probably beginning to waver, and continued to apply pressure:

"When his legions march into your territory, when your castle gates are blasted open by cannon fire, when your people are dragged to the gallows..."

"On that day, will you think, 'Ah, why didn't I cooperate with Orion when he came to me back then?'"

"cooperate?"

Speaker Invika repeated it slowly.

"Your Highness Orion, excuse me, is there any opportunity for us to cooperate?"

Orion's holographic projection suddenly drew closer.

This face, once shared with the former Queen Beetle and depicted as noble and elegant in royal portraits, now, amidst the interplay of light and shadow, reveals only a cold, sharp malice.

"Chairman Invika, you seem to have forgotten something."

His voice was as soft as a viper's flick, smooth and mellow: "The Skywell family's heir to the throne of Lehrnia... there may be more than one bloodline in existence."

Speaker Vika's lowered eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly for a moment.

"Why can't the former prince become the new queen of insects?"

Orion's finger traced through the air, bringing up a long-forgotten royal archive.

It's a photograph.

Orion's identity file was neatly arranged on the yellowed parchment of the royal family genealogy.

He looked at the file and laughed: "I am also one of the legitimate heirs to the throne."

Speaker Invika stared at the text.

—This is true.

Thirty years ago, Orion Skelway was the Second Prince, as everyone knows.

The legitimate twins who hatched from the same egg as the eldest prince.

Moreover, this file was written by the late emperor himself.

According to custom, only the victor who successfully competes for the throne can be included in the family genealogy.

However, the late emperor favored his youngest son.

Despite the objections of his ministers, he insisted on including his youngest son's file in the family genealogy.

This became the fallback plan tailored for Orion thirty years ago.

Orion watched with satisfaction at the reaction of Council Speaker Invica, and continued, "What my little nephew is doing now is breaking the thousand-year-old pact between the nobility and the royal family, using the legions to suppress the imperial subjects, and attempting to murder all the nobles..."

His smile widened.

"What are you going to do, Speaker of the Council? Are you just going to offer your necks for execution?"

The air in the study seemed to freeze.

Orion smiled and said, "So? Are you considering working with me now?"

Speaker Vika's thoughts raced.

Does Orion have legitimacy?

some.

He was indeed of pure royal blood, the second son of the late emperor.

After the Queen of Insects passed away, he was theoretically fully qualified to inherit the throne.

But he later became a space pirate, and his treason was a foregone conclusion, unless...

The Insect King and the Noble Council collectively exonerated him.

He was reinstated to his former status as a prince.

If Orion were to compete with the current Crown Prince, would they have any chance of turning the tables?

The current Crown Prince controls almost all of the Empire's official military forces, and Orion's pirate forces are simply no match for him.

However, if these nobles could gather all their private armies, plus the support of the Insect King in his name.

Orion might not be without the ability to fight the Crown Prince.

It is obvious that the risks and rewards of doing so are proportional.

If successful, the nobles will install a powerful insect they have personally supported. Almost all of Orion's power originates from the nobles, and for at least a decade, he will be unable to contend with their power. The nobles' autonomy may expand significantly.

Once they expanded to a certain extent, even if Orion wanted to rebel against them later, he wouldn't be able to.

That was the best possible situation for the nobility.

So.

in case.

What if they fail?

If it fails...

If they fail, the entire family will be guilty of treason, a fate even more tragic than that of the Bee Family, with their entire extended family being exterminated.

Now, there is another critical problem.

Speaker Invika suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Your Highness, you missed mentioning a crucial point."

He looked directly at Orion, his gaze clear: "Thirty years ago, you lost to the previous Queen not because the late Emperor was biased, but because..."

He paused deliberately, noticing that Orion's smile stiffened slightly.

"You lost to the pre-Bug Queen in a battle of strength."

The pirate leader's eyes suddenly turned cold in the holographic projection.

Orion's voice lost all warmth: "Do you think I could lose to the current Crown Prince now?"

"Who can say for sure?" Council Speaker Invika said. "After all, the current Crown Prince commands a large army. Cooperating with you would be too risky, wouldn't it?"

Orion laughed loudly: "My good nephew has almost wiped you all out, and you're still talking to me about risks?"

Speaker Vika, unmoved by his empty promises, calmly asked, "Enough with the nonsense. If we help you seize the throne, what terms are you willing to offer?"

Seeing that he was unmoved by reasoning, Orion got straight to the point, whispering, "It's simple."

"I want my little nephew dead, I want the throne, and you nobles... you can keep your territories, even more. I mean what I say, I will never—"

“I’m not so easily fooled, Your Highness,” Speaker Invika interrupted him. “Give me something practical, something that will move me.”

The fire in the fireplace flickered violently in Speaker Invika's study, as if disturbed by the sudden tension between the two men.

Orion's holographic projection remained in that exaggeratedly close-up pose, but Council Speaker Vika had already slowly stood up and clicked the off button on the communicator on the table.

This is a clear signal to stop.

If you can't offer me satisfactory terms, then there's no need to discuss it further.

Although our noble family is in a rather dangerous situation, helping you might not necessarily make things any better.

"Your Highness, we are no longer passionate young men in our twenties, and we will no longer be easily swayed by some nice-sounding future prospects."

Speaker Invika's voice was very calm, as calm as a bottomless lake.

"What you've said..." He waved his hand lightly, sweeping it across the empty air, "Forgive my bluntness, but it's all just empty promises. I need more concrete and effective guarantees."

Orion's projection slowly straightened up, and the cynical smile gradually faded from his face.

As expected of him, Invika.

Never suffer any loss.

When they were young, the two orphaned female fire ant larvae not only passed through layers of selection to become companions to two princes of the empire, but also completed the competition for the head of the family and seized power in the family.

Sevisma is an idiot, like a pendant, useless.

Who helped us achieve all of this?

Invika.

Although Invika was only a few years older than Sevisma at the time, he was intelligent and showed amazing potential as a politician from a young age.