Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

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

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Chapter 69

“Ah, you’re back safe and sound!” As Alois climbed out of the space shuttle, he was greeted by a dazed-looking Joanna. She patted his shoulders, giving him a once-over, and let out a sigh of relief. “Good, no missing limbs!”

“…If I were missing any, what would you do, Captain? That’d be considered a work injury.”

“Retirement benefits should be minimized where possible,” Joanna said, adopting the exploitative demeanor of a capitalist. She then gave Joshua a thorough pat-down, ensuring neither of them were injured, and happily turned around. “Come, these are the two companions I mentioned.”

A young girl emerged from behind Joanna. Alois could tell she was wearing Joanna’s clothes because the Captain was taller, and her clothes were a size too big. The girl had to roll up the sleeves. She had thick, flaxen hair, reminiscent of a girl from a Renoir painting. She tilted her head, staring intently at Alois as if trying to bore a hole through his face.

Alois stared back, his mind racing to calculate the odds of two people in the vast universe looking exactly alike. Before he could figure out the deep answer, the girl spoke first. “Lagrange?”

Her voice was familiar. Alois instinctively stepped forward, dropping to one knee, and took her hand. “Your Highness!”

“Lagrange, it’s really you!” The girl pulled him up and circled around him in surprise. “When they told me you escaped from Hecate, I didn’t believe it!” She jumped up and hugged his neck. “It’s been two years, and you haven’t changed a bit!”

“You’ve grown… in many ways…” Alois muttered.

“Hm? What did you say?”

“Nothing!”

Alois glanced back at Joshua and gestured him over. “This is Princess Alveira.”

Joshua nodded in surprise.

“This is Joshua Planck, uh…” Alois hesitated, unsure if he should reveal Joshua’s identity as an assassin. While he was hesitating, Alveira had already run up to Joshua. “I know, you’re the Mourner.” She shook Joshua’s hand warmly. “Joanna told me you and Lagrange are a couple!”

Alois turned to glare at Joanna, who innocently spread her hands, indicating she didn’t mean to spill the beans.

“Let’s set that aside for now,” Alois said. “Why is the Princess here, on the Dream of a Cold Night?”

“Oh… it’s a long story.” Joanna gestured for them to follow. “Let’s go to my cabin to talk. We need to share our experiences of the past few days. Leo! Get tea and snacks ready!”

“Am I your all-purpose servant?!” came the spirited protest from the AI, complaining loudly about being made to serve tea and snacks. These were tasks that were definitely outside its duties, but it was ignored completely.

Hearing Leo’s grumbling made Alois smile. This was the Dream of a Cold Night he knew. The place he belonged.

“…So the bodyguards all sacrificed themselves heroically. I took the Princess, commandeered a shuttle, and escaped from Leyting to rendezvous with Leo.” Joanna pushed a plate of cookies to the center of the table, diligently pouring tea for Alois and Joshua. “What about you? I heard the Galactic Diva Camilla rescued you halfway?”

“Yes,” Alois said, taking a cookie that tasted odd but was unexpectedly delicious. “Leo found Camilla and asked him to help us.”

“Ah, the Galactic Diva…” Joanna said dreamily. “I want to meet him too!”

“Just a troublesome brat,” Joshua said coldly.

Alois kicked him under the table, and the assassin fell silent.

Then he turned to Alveira. “So, Your Highness, what are your plans now? You can’t go back to Leyting. It’s full of the Duke’s minions. Do you want to return to the Empire Capital?”

Alveira crossed her arms. “I don’t want to go back! The Duke has significant influence in the Empire Capital too, and there’s that old bat Greenwald… Did you know, ever since Leia died, that old codger has been trying to get his granddaughter to marry my brother? And have you seen how scary that girl looks?” She pouted. “Even if she were beautiful, my brother shouldn’t marry her!”

It seemed the Princess was very dissatisfied with the candidates for her future sister-in-law. “How is Prince Annot doing lately?” he asked.

“The same as always, constantly talking about Leia, never letting go of her photo, carrying it everywhere. He might as well marry the photo.”

If Empire law allowed marrying a photo, Annot and his cousin Musaya would be the first in line. Two years had passed since that incident, and Annot still hadn’t moved past his lover’s tragic death. Alois used to secretly criticize the Prince’s weakness, but after meeting Joshua, he understood that a lifetime of pain over a loved one’s death was no exaggeration. If Joshua were to die one day, Alois would probably be even more devastated, wishing to follow him in death.

If one could go against the world just to love one person, if one abandoned the world just to be with that person, then a world without that person would be a living hell, unbearable even for a second.

For Prince Annot to live in such a hell, what must he be feeling? Alois couldn’t fully comprehend, but he understood a little better.

“But Your Highness, you can’t come with us to Milantu, right?” Joanna rested her chin on one hand, playing with the spoon in her teacup with the other. “Even if you don’t mind visiting the pirate’s stronghold, others might not welcome you… Ah, I didn’t mean you’re not welcome!” Seeing Alveira’s disappointed expression, the Captain quickly added, “Of course, I personally would be very happy to have you!”

Alveira turned away. “Then just drop me off anywhere!”

“……” Joanna silently facepalmed.

Alois had known the Princess for six years and understood her temperament. She was definitely pouting now. As a former member of the Royal Guard, he instinctively began to soothe the Princess’s mood. “Your Highness, you can’t stay on the ship forever. You’ll have to return to the Empire Capital when things calm down.”

The Princess snorted, lying on the table with half her face buried in her arms. “I don’t want to go back,” she said. “Lagrange, do you have any conditions for being a pirate? I’ll just become a pirate with you!”

Alois almost spat his tea in her face. “You’re not serious, are you?!”

“I’m a serious person. I never make such low-level jokes.”

Where are you serious! Alois wept silently in his heart.

“Ahem, excuse me for interrupting.” The ubiquitous AI interjected, its holographic image appearing next to Joanna, politely saying, “A Mr. Darius Bayes wants to speak with you.”

Joanna raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know any Darius… Ah, it’s him!” She put down her teacup. “Major General Bayes?”

“That’s right.”

“What does he want? We agreed on a non-aggression pact. Is he reneging?”

“He’s making quite a fuss right now. Shall I patch through the faster-than-light video call?”

“Do it.” Joanna straightened her collar… “I want to see what a fussy Major General Bayes looks like.”

Leo waved his hand, and a holographic screen appeared in mid-air, placing Darius Bayes’ angry face prominently in the center.

“Joanna Begrel!” the Major General roared. “You treacherous madwoman!”

The madwoman crossed her legs and lounged in her chair. “I don’t accept such baseless accusations.” She lifted her chin. “What treachery? I haven’t done anything.”

“Where is the Princess? You didn’t kidnap her?”

“…Why would I do something like that?”

Alveira timely moved next to Joanna, cheerfully waving at the Major General. “Hi, Darius! Long time no see! Are you in the Empire Capital? The Dream of a Cold Night is fantastic. I’ve never seen such a great ship!” Her tone was like someone calling home to brag about the scenery on a trip.

Major General Darius nearly choked on his own breath, almost spitting blood. “Alveira! Do you know who you’re with? A group of galaxy-wide fugitives! Vicious pirates!”

“I know! Joanna, Lagrange, and the assassin Mourner. Do you want to meet them?”

“…No!” Darius was about to explode with anger. “How did you end up with them?”

Alveira’s smile vanished. She pushed Joanna aside, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and stared straight at the screen with her violet eyes, making Darius on the other end shiver.

“Darius, is this communication channel encrypted?” Her voice was emotionless.

“Encrypted.”

“What I’m about to tell you is all true.” She paused, took a breath, and continued, “I was nearly assassinated by Duke Winnet in Leyting. I barely escaped with my life. Zion, Rose, and the others all sacrificed themselves. I was the only one who survived. During my escape, I encountered Joanna, and thanks to her, I’m alive to talk to you now.”

Darius calmed down. “I suspected Winnet had ulterior motives, but I didn’t expect him to go so far as to try and assassinate you… If only I were with you in Leyting.” He lowered his head briefly, then looked up again. “My fleet is about to arrive at Leyting. No matter what the Duke’s capabilities are, he won’t be able to harm you. Come back quickly. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

“No.” The Princess said firmly, “Darius, I don’t want to return to the Empire Capital. I want to stay and become a pirate.”

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