I Married A Proud, Beautiful Omega First, Then Fell In Love - Chapter 3

“Hi, beautiful Lady Petrovna, good afternoon.” Bauhir struck a deliberate pose, imitating a noble’s greeting.

Petrovna’s gaze automatically bypassed Bauhir, landing on Douglas behind him. She rushed over excitedly, stopping right in front of Douglas. “Wow, Douglas? Am I seeing things? Is it really you?”

Douglas breathed a sigh of relief the moment she stopped. It was a good thing she did; otherwise, this strong, lioness-like female Alpha might have crushed his sternum.

A deep blue mechanical bird flew over from behind Petrovna. The bird scanned the scene with its clear, amber-yellow round eyes and spoke in a girl’s voice with a calm tone.

“Petrovna, didn’t you watch the news yesterday? The broadcast announced his return.”

As soon as the voice finished, a girl dressed entirely in white walked slowly out from behind Petrovna.

White hair, white eyelashes, pale lips, and a white dress—only her pupils were a deep, dark black.

Fu Ling had albinism and a congenital speech impairment, so she used the external mechanical bird to speak for her.

Petrovna scratched her fluffy, short brown hair. “I forgot, but it’s no big deal!”

“Come in first,” the mechanical bird said.

Fu Ling’s calm gaze directed toward Douglas and Bauhir.

Douglas took a deep breath and stepped into this area that felt both long-lost and incredibly familiar.

The layout and decorations were exactly the same as three years ago, yet he felt a strange sense of localized discomfort. It seemed he would need some time to readjust to this environment.

Douglas’s gaze swept over the fish tank on the table, and he looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Petrovna keenly noticed his movement. She enthusiastically hugged the fish tank and brought it over, saying proudly, “Look, aren’t they growing well? Every single one of them is so fat. I feed them every day!”

“Not every day. You often forget. When you forget, I am the one who feeds them,” the mechanical bird interjected.

Petrovna gave a sheepish giggle.

Douglas looked at the fish tank thrust in front of him. Black and red fish tails swayed and flickered in the water. He found himself unable to look; he hurriedly shifted his gaze and gave a light cough. “Is there a room to stay in here?”

“A room?” Petrovna blinked. “Aren’t you going home?”

Behind Douglas, Bauhir was desperately signaling her with his eyes, telling her to stop asking.

Although Petrovna didn’t know the reason why, she followed the hint. “Your room on the second floor has been used by us to store junk. If you want to stay, just have the housekeeping robot tidy it up. It’ll be ready by tonight.”

Douglas nodded and stepped onto the stairs. “Then I’ll go up and take a look first.”

The moment his figure vanished, whispers began downstairs.

Bauhir lowered his voice and said, “Have you forgotten what’s wrong with him? How could you dare shove that fish tank in his face? Those are Lu Fei’s relics! Qin isn’t here—if he has an episode, no one can handle him.”

“I thought he was better,” Petrovna muttered, knowing she was in the wrong but still grumbling.

“She didn’t do it on purpose.” Fu Ling’s gaze darted between the two of them, and she controlled the mechanical bird to speak in Petrovna’s defense.

“The only reason he looks normal now is that he went to see Qin first after returning, and Qin gave him treatment,” Bauhir sighed. “In short, just be more careful next time.”

Alexia raised her fork, elegantly placing a small piece of cut steak into her mouth. Her eyes remained fixed on Elan, who sat across the long table, clearly listless and without an appetite.

“There isn’t even a hint of a strange Alpha’s scent on you. What, have you two not shared a bed yet?”

Alexia glanced at Ivan, who had spoken, and warned, “Do not speak of such things at the dinner table.”

Despite the reprimand from his mother, Ivan remained in a good mood. This was because Elan’s expression was currently cold as frost, clearly showing his anger.

Ivan forcefully sliced a piece of beef with his porcelain-white knife and fork; the blade scraped against the plate, emitting a faint, piercing screech. Under the table, his calves swung playfully. He put the steak in his mouth, wearing a delighted smile.

The atmosphere at the table was oppressive until everyone pulled out their handkerchiefs to wipe their lips. Alexia pushed back her chair and stood up. “Elan, come with me to the study.”

After the two left, Catherine, who had been silent and acting as an invisible person, finally spoke. “You shouldn’t have spoken to your brother like that just now.”

Looking at the clear disapproval in his mother’s eyes, Ivan said nonchalantly, “Why not? I am the most valuable child in this family now. Mother, you should care about me a little more.”

Catherine returned to silence. She looked away, her hands clenching together uneasily under the table.

Inside the study.

Alexia first scanned Elan from head to toe as he sat on the sofa, then spoke. “Although your brother spoke without regard for the occasion, he wasn’t wrong. Have you not taken action yet?”

Being asked such a question so bluntly by his mother made Elan feel resistant. He instinctively wanted to refuse to answer, but his personality wouldn’t allow him to hang his head like a coward. He could only turn his gaze aside and frown. “He just got back. There hasn’t been an opportunity.”

“You need to move faster,” Alexia urged.

Seeing the obvious look of disgust on Elan’s face, her tone took on a strange nuance. “After all, this is the only thing you can still do for the family, isn’t it?”

Elan understood the meaning behind her words. His eyes held a hint of disappointment, but he still replied, “I will do it.”

“I hope so,” Alexia nodded. “Has his post been decided? What exactly will he be responsible for?”

Elan shook his head. “I don’t know.”

The corners of Alexia’s mouth pulled downward, showing her clear displeasure. “I thought you two were merely unfamiliar in certain aspects; I didn’t expect that he hasn’t even told you this. It is time to close the distance in your relationship. I hope that the next time we meet, you can bring back useful information.”

Stepping out of the house, Elan sat in the control cabin of his starship. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions.

After a long while, he operated his brain-link interface to send an instant message to Douglas: Where are you?

The message went unanswered for a long time.

The impulsive emotion Elan had felt just now quickly cooled down. He thought with a hint of loathing: Why did I bother to message that uncivilized barbarian of my own accord?

The cigarette ash on the carpet had to be cleaned by the cleaning robot under his personal orders.

His fingers resting on his thigh tapped unconsciously twice. Elan withdrew the thought of contacting that red-haired, frivolous male Alpha. With a cold snort, he set the destination coordinates for Villa Area No. 003.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the message transmission.

“Do you all understand what I mean?”

Douglas was about to answer when an instant message suddenly popped up on the light screen in front of him, causing him to lose focus. He caught a glimpse of it before quickly waving his hand to close the small holographic screen. When Contanyid looked over, Douglas pretended as if nothing had happened and met his gaze.

“Understood. We’re going to build a school!” Petrovna said brightly.

Fu Ling controlled the mechanical bird to add, “A university that enrolls both nobles and commoners simultaneously.”

“That is correct,” Contanyi nodded. “Furthermore, our enrollment plan isn’t just for the Capital Star; it also targets the 32 newly reclaimed planets located at the fringes of the galaxy.”

“Therefore, we need someone to travel to the galactic fringes to conduct the enrollment selection.” Contanyi’s gaze swept over the several people surrounding the conference table.

Bauhir put down his coffee cup and gave a faint smile. He knew this job would almost certainly not fall on his head; without his chief secretary, the Tansan King’s work efficiency would likely drop by half.

Fu Ling remained expressionless, her pitch-black eyes staring straight back.

Petrovna had an excited look on her face, appearing very much to be looking forward to it.

Douglas frowned and spoke up. “I am quite familiar with the galactic fringes. Why don’t you let me—”

Contanyi interrupted him, smiling. “How about we let Petrovna go?”

Petrovna beamed with joy and excitedly slapped Bauhir, who was beside her.

Bauhir coughed twice, caught off guard. He looked at Petrovna with a bit of resentment while also feeling lucky he wasn’t holding his coffee cup—otherwise, he would have spilled it all over himself, ruining his newly tailored formal suit.

“I want to go too.” The mechanical bird hovering over Fu Ling’s head spread its wings, flew over Contanyi’s head to circle twice, and spoke eerily.

Before Contanyi could speak, Petrovna refused. “No. The galactic fringes are too far. Your body can’t take it.”

“…” The mechanical bird fell silent for a moment before conceding. “Fine. Then you have to come back quickly.”

“And you have to treat me to blueberry cheesecake,” the mechanical bird added.

“Alright. Shall we go now?” Petrovna checked the time and realized it was exactly lunchtime.

Fu Ling nodded and hopped down from her chair.

Contanyi watched with relief as the two resolved their conflict on their own. He chuckled and patted the somewhat dejected Douglas. “Your current psychological state isn’t suitable for long-distance interstellar flight. You should recuperate at home.”

Bauhir and Douglas stepped out of the Special Affairs Office together.

“As the Chief Secretary, I think I have two things to inform you of, Mr. Douglas.” Bauhir opened his holographic screen in the hallway.

Douglas was somewhat speechless. “You really don’t pick your timing. Couldn’t you wait until we find a place to sit down?”

“24-hour work system, try to understand,” Bauhir joked. “First thing: at 3:00 PM tomorrow, the Tansan King will hold an honor-conferring ceremony for you. It will be broadcast across the entire galaxy. I suggest you dress appropriately, and it’s best to bring Qin along, just in case you have any abnormal reactions.”

“…Just how worried are you about my psychological state?” Douglas said helplessly.

“I’m not,” Bauhir replied. “This is a manifestation of my professional quality, thank you.”

Douglas scoffed, “Schrödinger’s professional quality.”

He wondered exactly who it was that had forgotten to notify him of the existence of this honor-conferring ceremony.

“Second thing: Qin asked me to inform you that his research on the new medicine for your psychological condition is complete. Please go to the research institute to collect it.”

Bauhir closed the light screen and confirmed with some concern, “You do know the way, right?”

“I know it. Don’t look at me with that kind of expression.” Douglas ignored the doubt in his eyes.

After parting ways with Bauhir, Douglas opened his brain-link interface inside the starship. That solitary message floated before his eyes.

Where are you? Sender: Elan Riemann

Douglas stared at the message for a long time, muttering, “What does it matter to you where I am, you rude fellow?”

Closing the light screen with a trace of resentment, Douglas fished a leather notebook out from a hidden compartment.

What should he write in today’s diary?

Douglas emptied his mind, his thoughts drifting. He had no clue at all. Growing impatient, he stuffed the leather notebook back in.

He didn’t know what kind of therapeutic approach Qin was taking. He was clearly a general, yet Qin was making him do the work of a poet or an artist. He truly couldn’t squeeze out a single word.

Douglas did not actually enter the main doors of the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry at the Medical Division of the Research Institute.

He paced back and forth in front of the tightly closed composite material doors, eventually discovering a coded lockbox in a corner.

A piece of junk that had long been rendered obsolete by the era.

Douglas fell into thought for a moment, wondering what the password was.

Given Qin’s personality, he probably wouldn’t use information related to Douglas as the password. A self-centered person like him would likely use something related to himself.

He knew Qin’s birthday—or rather, he knew the birthdays of all the children from the orphanage, except for those whose birth dates could no longer be traced, such as Douglas himself.

The lockbox opened with a clack.

He pulled a bottle of nano-capsules out of the sturdy box. Beside the medicine bottle lay two folded pieces of paper.

The first piece of paper was thin—a very ordinary memo. On it was a line of neat handwriting: One capsule a day. Take more and you’ll go mad.

Putting down the “medical instructions,” Douglas unsuspiciously opened the second piece of paper, which felt thicker.

A cold voice suddenly echoed in the quiet hallway:

“Scram. Don’t come bothering me.”

Douglas’s listless eyes widened slightly. He processed it for a second, then closed and reopened the note.

The cold voice rang out again: “Scram. Don’t come bothering me.”

Douglas laughed out of sheer irritation.

He had said it long ago—don’t get so obsessed with psychology and psychiatry. Look at that; now Qin has gone mad himself.

Truly beyond saving.

But the item was a good one. He had to take it back to show Petrovna, Fu Ling, and Bauhir.

Douglas refolded the note, tucked it into the inner pocket of his jacket, and sent an instant message to Bauhir:

“I’ve got something good to show you.”

“Also, I need a formal suit. Do you have an extra one?”

Soon, Bauhir’s reply appeared: “What is it? You can’t wear my suit; our body sizes don’t match.”

“Send me your body measurements. I’ll have the mechanical tailor make one for you.”

“Don’t be picky. Since you need it tomorrow, this is the fastest way. Handmade ones take too much time.”

“Fine.” Douglas didn’t really care whether the suit was machine-made or handmade.

After sending his measurements to Bauhir, Douglas inadvertently caught sight of the instant message record column again.

That message was still lying there, all alone.

Douglas snorted, “Asking where I am? Trying to tell me to go home? Didn’t you just throw me at the orbital entrance? I’m not going home.”