Reborn: The Female Monarch Is My Life’s Greatest Love - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Unattainable Desires

As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Constant pulled Nathaniel a little tighter into his embrace, whispering softly against his ear, “What do you want for dinner?”

They had been busy with the apartment all day; their stomachs had only seen bread and coffee at noon. Since then, they had slept until now following a bout of “rigorous exercise.”

Nathaniel felt Constant’s voice, and after a brief moment of thought, his eyelashes fluttered. “Eat me.”

Stunned for a moment by the reply, Constant eventually leaned in to press a kiss to Nathaniel’s forehead. “Alright. But before that, we should replenish some of your strength.”

Though Constant was loath to admit it, his physical stamina was indeed inferior to his Female Sovereign’s. If it weren’t for the assistance of his soul tentacles, he might truly have become the “incompetent Master” Bai talked about.

After Constant walked into the kitchen, Nathaniel propped himself up from the bed, threw on a long robe, and followed. He stood quietly by the counter watching Constant work, occasionally being rewarded with a piece of tomato or apple.

As Constant meticulously snipped seaweed over the frying eggs, Nathaniel wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his chin on Constant’s shoulder and blowing a soft breath into his ear. “I’m hungry, Al.”

At this rare display of coyness, Constant turned his head to kiss Nathaniel’s cheek. “It’ll be ready soon.”

Having received his kiss, Nathaniel carried the finished plates to the dining table. Constant watched his retreating figure, feeling as though he were in a dream.

That was a Major General of the Imperial Zerg. Those two hands carrying dinner plates had been stained with the blood of countless enemies and had twisted the heads off God-knows-how-many enemy commanders.

Just then, Nathaniel looked back. The golden rays of the setting sun filtered through the window, catching his face and highlighting the softness in his eyes.

—The world’s gentlest Nate deserves to shine just like this.

Taking advantage of a break in the meal, Constant opened his terminal. Flicking through his messages, he saw Bai Nate’s avatar. Checking the date, he realized the message had been sent that morning.

[Bai Nate]: I heard you applied for two extra days of leave this time?

[Al Lex]: Yes. My partner is on leave these two days; he needs my company.

[Bai Nate]: No wonder you’re just replying now.

[Bai Nate]: I hope you don’t get so distracted by your “tender nest” that you miss the upcoming Legion training session.

[Al Lex]: Training?

[Bai Nate]: I heard the instructor is an adjutant to Vice-General Ward of the Third Legion. He’s been out on campaign with Ward for a long time—tons of combat experience.

[Al Lex]: The Third Legion?

[Bai Nate]: Exactly. The Third Legion commanded by Major General Nathaniel. It’s not easy to meet soldiers from their legion; this will definitely help sharpen our tactical thinking.

Seeing Bai’s message, Constant looked up at Nathaniel sitting across from him, then lowered his head to reply.

[Al Lex]: I’ll be there.

[Bai Nate]: Don’t miss it!

[Al Lex]: Copy that.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the Major General himself showing up. Otherwise, Constant would have had to start brainstorming ways to skip the session immediately.

Closing his terminal, Constant chewed the last piece of apple and rested his head on his hand, looking at Nathaniel. “Nate, was the person who delivered the Irises before your adjutant?”

“Ward?” At the sudden question, Nathaniel paused while wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. He looked up at his Master. “Why do you ask about him?”

Constant had already prepared an answer. “He delivered the flowers personally last time, and I fainted before I could even thank him. It felt rude.”

Under Nathaniel’s gaze, Constant continued, “So I want to prepare a gift. Could you bring it to him for me?”

“…” Nathaniel stared at Constant’s sincere eyes. After a long silence, he finally spoke. “You’re saying… you want your own Female Sovereign to bring a gift from his Master to an unmarried soldier?”

Constant immediately shook his head like a rattle. “No, no, no! It’s purely to show appreciation.”

While Constant felt secretly happy about Nathaniel’s jealousy, he didn’t want Nate to actually misunderstand him.

“I will choose a gift and bring it to him myself,” Nathaniel said, standing up, but Constant pressed down on his hands.

“I’ll handle the cleanup. You’re finally on leave; you need to rest.” Constant gathered the plates and headed to the kitchen. However, Nathaniel followed right behind him, fidgeting and hovering until Constant finally gave in.

Watching Nathaniel put on rubber gloves, Constant frowned slightly, but he couldn’t win against the other’s persistence and handed him a plate.

Then, as expected, the plate let out a distorted “shriek” before snapping into two pieces.

…

After a moment of silence, Constant looked at the broken plate, wanting to say something but holding back. Nathaniel, sensing Constant’s thoughts, immediately tossed the halves into the trash can as if nothing had happened.

Ultimately, after shattering three plates, Nathaniel was “escorted” out of the kitchen by Constant and assigned to sit on the sofa and drink coffee.

When Constant finished cleaning up and came out, he saw Nathaniel browsing a catalog for home training equipment. The moment Nathaniel heard footsteps, he hurriedly swiped the screen away.

“Picking out a gift?” Constant leaned over from behind, swiping the interface back onto Nathaniel’s terminal.

“Mm.” After a slight pause, Nathaniel nodded, effectively confirming the question. Constant never liked exercise, so these things shouldn’t be in the house.

But that tiny hesitation gave away Nathaniel’s true feelings. “I’ve been eyeing this set of equipment for a while, waiting for a sale,” Constant lied smoothly. He pulled the catalog to his own terminal, clicked “Buy,” and “Pay” in one fluid motion.

Watching his balance drop from five digits to three, Constant felt a strange sense of satisfaction. “I’ll train with you from now on. How about that?”

Nathaniel knew exactly why Constant was changing his habits, but he couldn’t stop his heart from trembling. When Constant looked at him with those laughing eyes, Nathaniel abruptly turned his head away.

Then, as Constant looked confused, Nathaniel grabbed him by the collar, pinned him to the sofa, and straddled his waist, looking down at him.

“Al, don’t be too good to me.” Otherwise, I won’t be able to control my feelings. I won’t be able to be generous like before, nor will I be able to let you leave my side for a single step.

I would kill anyone who tried to get close to you, regardless of who they are. I want those eyes to look at me forever—and only at me.

“You deserve the best, always.” Lying on the sofa, Constant met Nathaniel’s gaze. He reached up to pull Nathaniel’s hand to his face and kissed the ring. “I am yours forever.” Constant had always been aware of Nathaniel’s possessiveness.

In his previous life, he had fled from it; in this life, it was exactly what he craved.

On the afternoon the training equipment arrived, Nathaniel’s eyes lit up at the sight of the newly furnished gym. Standing beside him, Constant’s pupils shook as he watched Nathaniel pick up a sandbag with one hand. If his estimate was right, that bag weighed more than he did—yet his Female Sovereign lifted it effortlessly while signing the delivery slip with his other hand.

After the delivery crew left, Constant saw the eager spark in Nathaniel’s eyes and realized what was coming.

Over the next two days of leave, Constant truly understood the gap between an ordinary soldier and an Imperial Major General. To ensure Nathaniel was fully “relaxed” and to train his own stamina, Constant had to lean against the doorframe just to wave goodbye when it was time for Nathaniel to return to base.

Despite the worry in Nathaniel’s eyes, Constant kept a smile on his face. But the moment Nathaniel left, the smile turned a bit bitter. He knew that without the support of the doorframe, he would have collapsed right there on the floor.

This “physical training” left Constant with deep dark circles under his eyes by the time he returned to his unit. Bai, who had been ready to greet him, cried out in shock.

“Were you… drained dry by your partner?”

Bai couldn’t think of any other reason why Al Lex, who was supposed to be resting, looked like a withered rag.

“Pretty much,” Constant said, sitting on his bunk and then collapsing face-first into the bed. “When does the training start tomorrow?”

“5:00 AM.” After checking the time on his terminal, Bai sighed at the “dishrag” that was Al Lex. “Can you even hold up in this state?”

“I can.” He refused to believe that some adjutant’s training methods could be more “intense” than his Nate’s.

“Oh, right. I heard that adjutant used to serve under Captain Gunther Leicester.”

And not long ago, they had just made an enemy of the Leicester heir.

“Then let him bring it on…”

Hearing Bai’s warning, a smile actually tugged at the corner of Constant’s mouth. Nate, bit by bit, I’m coming to your side.