OVPBM 6

Chapter 6 – “Do You Not Look Forward to My Ending?”

The massive black starship slowly descended, sinking into a vast expanse of deep blue.

This was the Empire’s Capital Planet, entirely covered by ocean, with all its buildings hidden beneath the ocean.

A minute later, the starship landed steadily on the seabed’s tidal flats, where a transparent suspended ramp connected directly to the magnificent underwater palace.

The distinguished guests from Planet Cangrui stepped onto the golden fine sand and walked into the palace.

Accompanied by the sound of pipe organs, the people in the banquet hall split to both sides, opening a path leading straight to the throne.

Lu Yunwan could not help but silently tighten his grip on the poppy cane. So many people!

In his previous life, he had never seen this many people and zombies combined.

“Good morning, Your Excellency the Regent.” The man standing beside the throne, dressed in a dark navy ceremonial suit, slowly raised his right hand and placed it against his forehead.

Knowing he would attend this event, Lu Yunwan had dutifully read the original host’s public news reports over and over, even repeatedly practicing them.

Although the original host had a strange personality, never behaved like a decent human being, and was a complete pervert, his appearance was elegant and aristocratic to the extreme.

Lu Yunwan, wearing thin gloves, lightly hovered his hand above the back of the man’s hand. “Good morning, Your Grace,” he said softly.

Pei Hanji, the Empire’s only Duke.

He was the nephew of the recently deceased Empress Dowager, the representative of the Empire’s aristocratic faction, and furthermore, Lu Yunwan’s political adversary.

Sunlight filtered through seawater and passed the palace’s translucent walls, falling upon Lu Yunwan.

His gaze swept faintly downward from the corner of his eye, and upon seeing it, everyone immediately lowered their heads, terrified of accidentally meeting his gaze.

Perfect. I nailed the act again!

“This is… the Ninth Prince?” The man opposite withdrew his hand and spoke as if he had only just noticed Chu Xuanzhou standing behind Lu Yunwan. “The last time I saw you was at the Empress Dowager’s place.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Chu Xuanzhou lowered his eyes, and from Lu Yunwan’s angle, his expression could not be seen.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the distance could not resist letting out a mocking laugh.

Though he had never left Planet Cangrui, the story of Chu Xuanzhou becoming the Regent’s canary had already spread throughout the entire interstellar.

They had long been waiting to watch him make a fool of himself.

Lu Yunwan frowned slightly. “Your Highness…” He instinctively wanted to stand up for Chu Xuanzhou, but the moment the words left his lips, he realized something was wrong.

Doing something as normal as “defending one’s lover” was absolutely not something the original host would do.

Hearing Lu Yunwan speak, Chu Xuanzhou lifted his gaze toward the throne.

On the Regent’s left shoulder hung a black mantle studded with jewels that covered half of Lu Yunwan’s body and trailed across the floor. 

“Your Highness, straighten my hem for me.” Lu Yunwan turned around, switching to a lazy tone as he addressed Chu Xuanzhou.

Even Pei Hanji slightly raised his brows in surprise. Lu Yunwan would actually allow someone else to touch his clothing?

Many others, meanwhile, stared eagerly, waiting for drama.

An imperial prince with merfolk blood being ordered by a human to fix his hem?

This was nothing short of an intolerable humiliation.

Of course, Lu Yunwan knew exactly what they were thinking. This was the effect he wanted.

Chu Xuanzhou’s limitless potential was real, but without having experienced exile, his temperament was far too detached.

How many days had it been, and he still had no interest in power?!

He had to provoke him hard, deepen his desire for power.

Resentment surged in those beautiful violet eyes. Chu Xuanzhou clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and stayed silent for a full half minute before finally lowering his head. “Yes, Your Excellency the Regent.”

The young man swept his silver-white hair behind his ear and, under the mocking gazes of thousands, slowly lowered himself to one knee before Lu Yunwan’s feet. He lifted the hem of the human’s robe with both hands.

Chu Xuanzhou paused for a few seconds, then deliberately slowed his movements, feigning inexperience.

— An illegitimate child raised on a lower-class planet had long grown used to contempt and ridicule.   

Under the law of survival, where the weak were prey to the strong, “dignity” was negligible to him, hardly worth mentioning.

But after having lived by the Empress Dowager’s side for a period of time, Chu Xuanzhou had already learned to conceal this fact.

Everything before their eyes now was merely his imitation of what was considered “normal.”

* * *

Ten days ago, another star system was incorporated into the Empire’s territory, and today’s banquet was being held to celebrate it.

According to the plan, once the banquet ended, Lu Yunwan would depart for that star system to receive them on behalf of the Empire.

Duke Pei Hanji gave Chu Xuanzhou a glance, then continued speaking to Lu Yunwan as if the boy did not exist.

Lu Yunwan’s fingers rubbed lightly over the cane as he half-heartedly responded to Pei Hanji while silently breaking down inside.

Ahhh, why is Chu Xuanzhou still kneeling?!

He’s been down there for so long. Will he hate me even more?

Chu Xuanzhou was very close to Lu Yunwan, close enough that Lu Yunwan could feel the boy’s breath curling softly around his calf.

The tension building to the point of explosion made Lu Yunwan involuntarily recall his own ending in the original novel, and the muscles in his calf twitched lightly.

He was just about to abandon the plan and tell Chu Xuanzhou to stand when the boy finally finished arranging the hem and slowly retreated.

Damn it!

Lu Yunwan saw clearly that Chu Xuanzhou’s lower lip was bitten hard, his eyes filled with humiliation and resentment.

…Am I really going a bit too far?

“Wait.” Lu Yunwan suddenly interrupted Pei Hanji and called to the boy. “Your Highness, come here,” he said softly.

“My place isn’t here…” Chu Xuanzhou replied stubbornly.

Lu Yunwan extended his hand toward him with a smile, his tone allowing no refusal. “It is now.”

Lu Yunwan decided to take the opposite approach.

— Take the protagonist’s path and leave him nowhere to go!

The banquet had begun, and the hall was getting noisy.

Seeing this, Pei Hanji considerately stepped back to his own place, leaving room for Lu Yunwan and Chu Xuanzhou.

“Your Highness, come look.” Lu Yunwan gently took the boy’s hand and drew him closer, guiding him to lean down and look from the high platform.

Lu Yunwan narrowed his eyes slightly, as if appreciating a masterpiece. “Look at their expressions.”

Chu Xuanzhou subconsciously looked across the hall. He had never known that from atop the high platform, every expression could be seen with absolute clarity.

This was a sight he had never witnessed before.

“Do you recognize that person?” Lu Yunwan casually pointed to someone.

Chu Xuanzhou thought for a moment before replying honestly, “The Chief Administrator of the Pubidunlan Star System, which governs fourteen planets.”  

“Yes.” Lu Yunwan seemed to be in excellent spirits. Standing dozens of meters away, he lightly tapped his finger in the air in the man’s direction.

In the next second, the Chief Administrator, who had been relaxed just moments ago, instantly stiffened, half the red liquid in his glass spilling out.

“You see, he commands the lives of nearly three hundred billion people, yet just being pointed at by me is enough to make him so nervous he loses control,” Lu Yunwan said in a voice only the two of them could hear.

“This is power.”

Chu Xuanzhou’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. It seemed he understood what Lu Yunwan meant.

Lu Yunwan’s finger still had not lowered, and by now, everyone in the hall had noticed the gesture.

In just a few seconds, the place fell utterly silent.

The unfortunate Chief Administrator whom Lu Yunwan had pointed at stumbled back several steps, then hesitated before slowly kneeling down.

“Y… Your Excellency the Regent…” he stammered out a salute, but after that, not a single word could leave his mouth.

Smiling, Lu Yunwan placed the poppy cane beside Chu Xuanzhou’s hand. It was the symbol of the Regent.

Chu Xuanzhou seemed startled by the gesture and instinctively backed away.

“Look at him. He was still laughing at you earlier, and now he is kneeling right here,” Lu Yunwan said with bright interest.

“He is saluting you,” Chu Xuanzhou protested in mild surprise.

“No.” Lu Yunwan shook his head. He suddenly turned and whispered into Chu Xuanzhou’s ear, as though sharing a secret. “They are saluting power.”

Lu Yunwan’s voice was impossibly soft, and the warm breath brushed against Chu Xuanzhou’s neck.

A shivering numbness spread through his nerves to every limb. His right hand, which had been clenched in resistance, loosened for a brief moment.

And in that moment, Lu Yunwan placed the cane into Chu Xuanzhou’s hand.

The unfamiliar cold touch in his hand made Chu Xuanzhou’s breath catch.

Lu Yunwan’s words came faster and faster, like dense raindrops beating relentlessly against Chu Xuanzhou’s heart. “There are two thousand three hundred people here. Fewer than a hundred are ‘weak and despicable humans.’ The rest are noble merfolk… Tell me, Your Highness, do you think they are truly saluting me, a human?”

Chu Xuanzhou could only shake his head. “No.”

Lu Yunwan was very satisfied with this answer. “Exactly. What they bow to is power, not Lu Yunwan.”

“They appear respectful, but in truth, they are all waiting for me to die.” At this, Lu Yunwan actually laughed, as if genuinely enjoying their anticipation. “There is a saying. The higher you stand, the harder you fall. Everyone wants to see just how miserable I will be, how wretched… To trample the once powerful Regent, who once ruled over the entire interstellar, underfoot. Would that not be amusing?”

“That would be unprecedented.”

Lu Yunwan’s words crashed through Chu Xuanzhou’s heart again and again like summer thunder¹In Chinese, “夏日的惊雷” (summer thunder) is a vivid metaphor meaning sudden, violent, shocking, emotionally overwhelming and/or impossible to ignore. It emphasizes impact, not season. In Chinese literary usage summer thunderstorms are abrupt and explosive, and the phrase implies a shock that strikes without warning and reverberates..

His breathing grew rapid.

At that moment, Lu Yunwan suddenly looked straight into Chu Xuanzhou’s eyes and placed his hand over the boy’s heart.

Lu Yunwan’s gaze was impossibly gentle. “So what about you, Your Highness?”

“Just now, did you also feel even a moment of resentment, a moment where you wanted to see me in disgrace?”

“To see me… kneel at your feet.”

“Do you not look forward to my ending?”

Chu Xuanzhou slowly tightened his grip around the cane. Lu Yunwan’s words circled his mind like a curse, repeating endlessly.

The hall was utterly silent. After Lu Yunwan’s voice faded, all that remained in Chu Xuanzhou’s ears were his own heartbeat and ragged breaths.

“Remember that feeling,” Lu Yunwan said as he slowly slid the poppy cane out of Chu Xuanzhou’s grasp. He gave a small smile toward the trembling Chief Administrator in the center of the hall, then told Chu Xuanzhou, “I will look forward to that day with you.”

“The day I meet my destruction.”

𓇼 ˚｡⋆ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞⋆｡˚ 𓇼

Author’s Note:

Lu Yunwan: Suddenly remembered a phrase. Seems very fitting for me.

Lu Yunwan: A villain dies from talking too much.

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  In Chinese, “夏日的惊雷” (summer thunder) is a vivid metaphor meaning sudden, violent, shocking, emotionally overwhelming and/or impossible to ignore. It emphasizes impact, not season. In Chinese literary usage summer thunderstorms are abrupt and explosive, and the phrase implies a shock that strikes without warning and reverberates.