Reborn: The Female Monarch Is My Life’s Greatest Love - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Iris Pollen

When Nathanael’s subordinates delivered the sanitarium’s electronic roster into his hands, his sweeping gaze found no trace of his own Master.

Meanwhile, Constant, who had collapsed outside the sanitarium doors from sprinting, felt as if he were about to tear his lungs out of his chest just to regulate his breathing.

Constant had anticipated Nathanael’s alertness. From the moment he retreated, he guessed that Nathanael would suspect his presence and use his means to obtain the latest personnel list.

However, the time required to extract that information was enough for Constant to make his escape, leaving behind no record of his medical treatment.

If Nathanael discovered he had snuck into the military department behind his back, he would likely execute every person involved in letting him into the camp in the first place.

As for how Nathanael would find the “Zerg soldier” who blew up the temporary command post on the battlefield—that was none of Constant’s business. All personnel involved in this mission were linked to the mastermind behind the scenes; since Constant was still alive, they would be even less likely to leak his information.

Otherwise, given Nathanael’s current power, a sudden outburst of rage would lead to a situation where they would all perish together.

After returning home, Constant unwrapped the bandages from his arm. He set them ablaze by the sink, watching them turn to ash before flushing them down the drain, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

He had opened all the windows the moment he entered to clear the scent. Now, all he had to do was prepare the red wine and roses, waiting for his Female Spouse to return after reporting to headquarters.

His hands moved steadily as he pruned the rose stems, humming a favorite tune from his past life. His mind was filled with the words Nathanael had spoken to him on the battlefield.

“Let us fight for honor…”

The magnetic quality of that voice made Constant’s ears flush even now. No wonder his Female Spouse topped the charts of the “Most Desired Female Bugs to Marry” in the Interstellar Daily. Only he could handle such a blessing; anyone else wouldn’t survive the first night under his spouse’s hand.

As Constant mused, he arranged the pruned roses into a vase in a perfect, staggered display. Just as he finished his preparations, the electronic system at the door chimed, signaling authorized entry.

“Nal~” Constant scooped up a bouquet of flowers and ran toward the door. If it weren’t for the other person’s cold, disciplined Major General uniform, an onlooker might have mistaken Constant for the Female Bug in the relationship.

“Greetings, Major General’s Master!”

At the loud greeting, Constant’s undulating, excited smile instantly turned into a pool of stagnant water. This stark contrast caused the fawning smile on Ward—Nathanael’s adjutant—to freeze instantly.

Was he some sort of uninvited guest? He was just delivering ingredients. Why did the Major General’s Master look like he had just seen something filthy?

“You look familiar, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name,” Constant said. His gaze fell upon the bundle of irises in Ward’s arms, and his coldness finally thawed a little. Only his beloved Nal knew he liked Iris flowers, but because such gaudy blooms were extremely rare on the Zerg planet, he had only ever seen them in books.

He remembered telling Nal he liked them when Nal was not even ten years old. Even after so much time, when Constant himself had almost forgotten, the other had remembered it vividly.

“This subordinate is Ward James, Commander and personal adjutant of the Third Legion under Major General Nathanael!” Ward held the irises a bit tighter. “The Major General said he is being held at Headquarters for a meeting. Once he deals with those old fogies one by one, he will return as quickly as possible to dine with you!”

“…” While Constant understood Nathanael’s heavy workload, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment at his absence.

Taking the irises from Ward, Constant opened the transparent isolation bag before the adjutant could stop him. Immediately, his head plunged into a state of chaos.

Damn it! He suddenly remembered the last time he saw an iris in his past life.

It was at that auction. The water-blue iris being auctioned alongside him was dubbed the “Aphrodisiac Enchantress.” It was the raw material for the galaxy’s top aphrodisiac perfumes; because of the war, these flowers had become rarer than ore and were a coveted luxury for the nobility.

He hadn’t expected the scent of this flower to be so potent once the bag was removed.

As Constant slumped onto the carpet from the sudden dizziness, Ward instinctively reached out to steady him. But the moment he moved, a vision flashed through his mind: Nathanael discovering Ward’s scent on Constant and subsequently separating Ward’s head from his shoulders.

Yet, if he let the Major General’s Master lie there on the floor and the Major General found out, he might be tossed into a Zerg space station anyway.

After a moment of internal conflict, Ward chose to send a message to his Major General.

At that moment, Nathanael was stuck at Headquarters reporting the details of the incident. He had his feet propped up on the long table, listening to the recorder’s questions while his other adjutant, Sace, answered in a gentle voice.

The bored, impatient expression on Nathanael’s face vanished the instant his light-brain lit up. After clicking on Ward’s message, his arrogance was replaced by sheer panic.

[Mr. Constant is unconscious. Requesting permission to touch.]

Though it was only a few words, they conveyed the gravity of the situation perfectly.

Nathanael stood up so abruptly that both the recorder and Sace were stunned. The high-ranking officials attending via projection in the Imperial Command Hall were also taken aback.

“Major General Nathanael, where are you going?!” The Imperial Marshal, as the convener of the meeting, naturally wouldn’t allow him to simply walk out.

Nathanael ignored the questioning and strode toward the exit. Behind him, Sace, though unaware of the specifics, maintained a warm smile and raised his hands to calm the room.

“General, please remain calm. The Major General has just received an urgent report and must handle it personally.” Sace knew his superior’s temperament; for Nathanael to look that panicked, the matter must involve an undercover spy or interstellar peace.

“I will take full responsibility for the remainder of the Major General’s strategic briefing.”

Accompanied by the sound of Nathanael kicking the heavy doors open in a whirlwind of haste, Sace bowed slightly to the assembled generals.

“Why is he unconscious?” Nathanael demanded the moment Ward picked up the call.

Looking at the flushed Constant, Ward took another step back. “The iris pollen contains hallucinogenic components. Your Master likely hasn’t seen real ones before, so…”

“Do not touch him!” Hearing that Constant had collapsed because of the flowers, Nathanael’s anxiety peaked.

Ignoring a barrage of reprimands from Headquarters flashing on his light-brain, Nathanael threw them all into his blacklist and leaped onto his hover-shuttle.

Hearing Nathanael’s bark over the comms, Ward—who was already quite a distance from Constant—hurriedly backed out of the front door entirely. “Yes, Major General!”

“How is he now?” Nathanael watched the scenery blur past. If the hover-shuttle wasn’t capped at 480 units, he would have pushed the throttle through the floor.

Ward pulled a pair of military binoculars from his pocket and adjusted the focus. “Mr. Constant seems to be standing up.”

Inside, Constant’s head was still heavy, but he hadn’t forgotten what happened. The pollen wasn’t just an aphrodisiac as rumored; it seemed to have hallucinogenic properties as well.

Groping his way up, Constant placed the beautiful bouquet on a nearby sofa. He covered his eyes with his palm, but through the gaps in his fingers, he caught a blurry glimpse of his Nal standing outside the door. Though the figure was distant, it was definitely his Female Spouse.

Picking up the roses he had prepared, Constant walked unsteadily toward the “Nathanael” standing outside.

“Major General, Mr. Constant looks like he’s alright now—” Ward began, relieved that Constant had regained consciousness. But his smile froze when he saw the man walking toward him with a bouquet of roses.

“Nal?” Constant looked at the “Nal” before him, who seemed to be talking to someone and looking at him with cold eyes. He felt a sudden pang of sadness. “Why are you standing out here?”

On the other end of the light-brain, Nathanael heard his Master’s seductive, airy tone and nearly snapped the shuttle’s control stick in half.

Ward watched the roses being thrust toward him and scrambled backward. That movement caused Constant’s eyes to narrow suspiciously.

“You’re not Nal.”

Nal wouldn’t act like that. Even if Nal were angry, he would never reject him.

Constant could predict almost every reaction Nathanael had. So, who was this person? Why were they pretending to be his Female Spouse?