Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 65

“Get away from him.”

Alois instinctively pushed Srosie away, then realized the command wasn’t directed at him. For some reason, he felt like he had been caught cheating by his lover… but it wasn’t like that at all!

Srosie clung to his back, gripping his shirt tightly. Alois could feel him trembling.

Joshua kept his gun aimed as he slowly approached, like a slow-motion scene in a movie, carrying the oppressive weight of impending doom. He glared down at Srosie.

The cross-dressing youth tried to shrink himself into a small ball, pressing against Alois’s back, too scared to look at the advancing assassin.

“Wait!” Alois grabbed Joshua’s gun-wielding hand. “What are you doing?”

“Move aside.” Joshua yanked his hand away.

“Put the gun down!”

“Move!” Joshua frowned, shoving Alois aside. Srosie, left with no support, tearfully looked to Alois for help.

“You like him, right?” the assassin asked. “You’re mutually in love, planning to tour the galaxy together, right?”

Srosie took a step back, Joshua stepped forward. But the sofa was behind, leaving no retreat. The youth glanced at Alois, biting his lip, one hand gripping the other sleeve, shoulders trembling. “I… I like him, so what? What’s it to you?”

“How is it not my business?” Joshua grabbed Alois’s hair, forcing his head aside, then kissed him roughly. Alois was shocked, trying to break free, but was held tighter. The kiss was aggressive, almost brutal, with Joshua biting his lips and invading his mouth, making it hard to breathe.

Srosie’s eyes widened. “You… you two are…” He whimpered, tears streaming. “Alois, you liar!” Covering his face, he ran out of the lounge. Alois tried to catch him but was bitten by Joshua.

As Srosie disappeared, the assassin let go of Alois.

“What… What are you doing!” Alois wiped the saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand, tasting a faint hint of blood, probably from being bitten. “Biting! Are you Pavlov?”

Joshua turned his head, his expression clearly angry. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Who?”

“Camilla.”

“Wait, let me explain…”

“You two are in love, right? Planning to travel the galaxy together, huh?”

“It’s not what you think!”

“Did I hear it wrong then? If you hadn’t stopped me just now, I would have killed him.”

“Though I do like him, it’s not ‘that kind’ of like! Are you going to point a gun at everyone I ‘like’? I also like Joanna, Leo, and Schrödinger. Are you going to kill them too?”

“Make a list, and I’ll kill them one by one.” Except Schrödinger.

Alois covered his face with his hand, speechless. “You… you’re insane!” he muttered. “You should swap nicknames with Joanna and be called the ‘Mad Assassin’.”

Joshua gently stroked his cheek with his free hand, speaking softly. “It’s not madness. It’s jealousy.”

“…You have a peculiar way of expressing jealousy.”

“What else can I do? Just watch you be moved by his confession and accept him?”

“I wasn’t going to accept! I was going to explain everything to him!”

“Would you? You wouldn’t refuse him, would you? Is he more important to you than I am? Now you’re arguing with me over that cross-dresser!”

“You started this nonsense! How is this my fault?”

“Did I argue with you when you were jealous of Leo?”

“I thought I made it clear!” Alois raised his voice. “I do like Camilla, but… damn it!” He shook his head in frustration. “I love you, you idiot!” With that, he pushed Joshua aside and headed for the lounge door to find Srosie and explain.

Joshua didn’t follow. After the door closed, he threw down his gun and collapsed onto the sofa, trying to calm his emotions.

Alois was right. He was an idiot who didn’t even know how to express his feelings properly. He didn’t just want “love”.

He wanted to monopolize all of that person’s love.

“What are you looking at? Get lost!” Srosie wiped away his tears and shouted at the spaceship staff peeking in. They quickly retreated, not wanting to incur the diva’s wrath.

Seeing them leave made Srosie even sadder. Fresh tears replaced the ones he had just wiped away. Ignoring the smeared makeup on his face, he rushed up the spiral stairs to the stairwell near the engine room. This area was seldom visited, except by cleaning robots.

He didn’t care if the floor was dirty. He sat on the stairs, burying his head in his knees. Here, he could cry freely.

After a couple of sobs, he found himself unable to cry anymore. His heart felt empty, as if something was missing.

Alois had someone he liked. That silver-haired man who was always with him, named Joshua or something. Tall, handsome, and capable—so that’s the type Alois liked? Then he had no chance. He should have noticed they were a couple. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have foolishly intruded. Now he seemed like the third wheel, disrupting their love. No, it was a matter of timing. If he had met Alois earlier, before Joshua, Alois would be with him now.

But even if they could have met earlier, that would be a story from another universe.

So Srosie cried even harder.

“Hey! Camilla!” a sharp voice said.

Srosie looked up, seeing a small cleaning robot through his tear-blurred vision. Its chubby, cylindrical body slid back and forth, trying to catch his attention.

“Camilla, you’re crying!” The robot’s voice sounded gleeful. “Your makeup is all messed up. You look terrible, haha! Want to see? I’ll show you!” Its headlight flashed.

Srosie slapped the robot, sending it flying into the wall, then rolling down to the floor. It found its balance and slid back to him stubbornly.

“What are you?” Srosie shouted. “My ship’s robots don’t talk!”

“You’re mean! I’m Leonard, the one who contacted you!”

Srosie slapped it again. “Don’t hack into my ship’s systems! It’s illegal! Illegal!”

The little robot persistently returned. “No one will know if you don’t tell! I’m here to inform you there’s been a delay. ‘Dream of a Cold Night’ will rendezvous with the ‘Muse’ around this time tomorrow.”

“Tell the navigator about it!”

“Isn’t this your ship? Of course, I have to tell you!”

“Am I your messenger?!” Srosie stood up and kicked the robot. “Get lost! Don’t block my way!”

“Don’t kick people! It hurts!”

Srosie’s foot hurt too.

The little robot followed, chattering. “You should fix your makeup. Your face looks really interesting… Oof!” It was kicked again.

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