Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 162
“The Empire spans one hundred thousand light-years, with billions of stars within its borders. Among all these stars, my favorite is the colony ‘Leyting’, which is ninety light-years from the capital. It has no special products, just a few important Empire armories. It has neither day nor night. The sky is half the dusk of a star and half the vault of space. But I love it for one reason alone: in the Standard Calendar year 1416, I met Joanna there.”
—Prologue, “Memoirs of Queen Alveira”
The Queen was already old.
She realized this one ordinary afternoon. She was sitting in a rocking chair in the courtyard, with a Bohemian-style blanket covering her knees, gazing at the distant corridor—her great-grandson Ian was assembling a simple crystal radio in the corridor. His tutor had just taught him the principles in the morning, and by the afternoon, he was already putting it together. Ian’s sister, Nara, had no interest in such crafts, so she was playing with a ball on the side, her childish face full of innocence. The Queen watched the two of them and thought of their father. They looked so much like him, with the same blue eyes and red hair. For a brief moment, the Queen felt as though she had traveled back decades, and it wasn’t Ian and Nara playing there, but their father and their grandfather. And then, for another brief moment, the Queen felt as though she had returned to her own childhood, playing in the same place with her brother, Annot.
Nara threw the ball high into the air, laughing with excitement. The ball arced perfectly through the air and landed right at the Queen’s feet, rolling a few times before stopping on the grass.
“Great-grandmother! Great-grandmother! Throw the ball back!” Nara called out.
The Queen smiled kindly, bent down to pick up the ball, and tossed it back to the child.
It was then that the Queen suddenly felt old.
She was already 110 years old, almost the average life span of the Empire’s citizens. Maybe she would die tomorrow, or maybe she had another ten years left. Thirty years ago, the Queen had stopped governing, appointing her grandson, Eddie, as regent. The Queen had privately heard the maids say that Edie had complained more than once that the Queen had lived too long, that he wasn’t satisfied with being regent and wanted the throne for himself. But that was all he ever said. In this era, anyone who dared to harm a hair on Queen Alveira’s head was either dead or yet to be born. The history of the Queen reclaiming her throne from her rebellious uncle had long since become legend, and when people talked about the Queen of the White Radiance Palace, it was always with admiration, as if she were not a human monarch but a hero from a distant myth.
But the Queen was already old. In that moment just now, she felt that she had lived too long. She even felt that her true self had died ninety years ago in Leyting, and that the person she was now was merely a phantom or an empty shell.
If my life were a movie, it would surely be at the end by now, the Queen thought. If this were a happy ending, a woman would walk toward me now from the warm and brilliant afternoon sunlight. She would have fiery red hair, with the sunlight shining on it like a layer of molten gold. She would stand before me, smile brilliantly, and extend her hand to me. Then I would also extend my hand and clasp hers tightly. The camera would slowly freeze on that moment. That would be the perfect ending.
The Queen looked ahead. There was no red-haired woman in the sunlight; only two happy and innocent children.
The true ending had already occurred in Leyting, ninety years ago.
“Are you really the space pirate Joanna?” Alveira curiously looked at the red-haired woman beside her, who had barged into her vehicle without a second thought.
“Absolutely.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be out in space robbing people? Why are you here in Leyting?”
“Obviously for some special reasons.” Joanna Begrel checked her wounds. “Just like how you, a Princess, aren’t staying in your palace attending banquets and dancing but are instead here, looking like you’re being chased.”
Alveira puffed out her cheeks. “I am being chased. And so are you, aren’t you?”
“Did you offend Winnet?”
“He has ambitions. He actually tried to assassinate me!”
“And you escaped.” Joanna glanced back at the police cars that were still chasing them. “What do you plan to do next?”
“Go to the Governor’s mansion, ‘borrow’ a shuttle, and head to the spaceport.”
Joanna mused, “Oh. I bet the Governor is on Winnet’s side. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a big commotion, with no response from the planetary army. The ones chasing us now are armed police and the Duke’s private forces.”
“So, you think we shouldn’t go to the Governor’s mansion?” Alveira was a bit angry. “Even if the Governor has ill intentions, as long as I stand before him, he… he would…”
“You’re so naive.” Joanna shrugged. “Those politicians are all flies chasing after fame, profit, and power. Winnet can give them what they want, but what about you? If I were the Governor, I’d side with the Duke too. It’s a profit-without-loss deal.”
Alveira was so angry her chest tightened. How could this woman speak about an Empire Governor in such a way! Even if he really had bad intentions, it wasn’t her place as a space pirate to say anything! “I…”
Rose, who was beside her, coughed. “Your Highness, you shouldn’t be saying so much to this outsider. For all we know, she might be in league with the Duke, trying to disrupt our plans.”
In the rearview mirror, Alveira saw the cautious look in Zion’s eyes. Now she was starting to believe Rose’s words.
“If you don’t trust me, I’ll just leave.”
“You would be saving us a lot of trouble,” Zion said. “I’ll find a quiet spot ahead and let you off.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Zion maneuvered the vehicle down, stopping it at a quiet corner of the street, then opened the door. Joanna jumped out and waved back at them. “Goodbye.”
Alveira leaned out of the vehicle. “What do you plan to do next?”
“Find a shuttle and get back to space. My ship is still waiting for me out there.”
Alveira wanted to ask her how she planned to find a shuttle alone, but Rose pulled her back, slamming the door shut with a “bang”. Zion lifted the vehicle back into the air, quickly catching up with the other two in their group. The red figure on the ground grew smaller and smaller as the vehicle soared over a building, and Alveira could no longer see her.
“Your Highness, we’re being followed!” Zion lowered his voice. “It’s not the police, and it’s not the planetary army.”
Alveira looked back, heart pounding. Sure enough, several vehicles were trailing closely behind. These weren’t ordinary civilian cars. Their exteriors were fitted with alloy armor, and there were machine gun mounts on top.
“Winnet’s private forces?”
“I’m afraid so.” Zion squinted. “Please get down, Your Highness!”
Before Alveira could comply, Rose had already pushed her down onto the seat. The vehicle spun violently, the world turning upside down. Alveira felt like her insides were going to be shaken out. She clung tightly to the seat cushion, ears ringing, barely able to make out Zion’s voice issuing commands, “Lee! George! You two lead them away!”
The dizziness lasted for a while, and the rapid descent of the vehicle made Alveira feel even worse. She dimly sensed the light around her darken. When the vehicle stopped spinning, Rose let go of her.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” the bodyguard asked.
“I’m… I’m okay…” Alveira sat up, still dizzy. The vehicle was still bumping and shaking. She noticed that the two escort vehicles that had been flying alongside them were gone, and they were now maneuvering deftly through the concrete jungle of Leyting.
“Please hang on a bit longer, Your Highness. We’ll reach the Governor’s mansion soon,” Rose reassured her.
The vehicle passed through an iron gate, and the view suddenly opened up. The Governor’s mansion loomed like a beast covered in scales and fangs, crouching at the center of Leyting, commanding the highest point in the city. As the vehicle approached within half a kilometer of the mansion, they received a full-frequency electromagnetic communication.
“Unlicensed Hydra-class anti-gravity vehicle, stop immediately, identify yourself, and submit to inspection, or you will be shot down. Repeat, stop immediately…”
Zion spat. The Governor’s guards had risen like locusts from behind the iron walls. He had no choice but to lower the vehicle’s altitude, landing it on Leyting’s muddy ground under the watchful eyes of two armed gondolas.
Several soldiers with assault rifles jumped off the gondolas, pointing their guns at them. “Get out of the vehicle!”
Zion turned to Alveira. “We’d better get out for now.”
Rose nodded, opened the door, and stepped out first, then subtly shielded the door to protect the princess as she followed.
“Hands up and behind your head. Submit to inspection!” one of the soldiers ordered.
“How dare you! This is Her Highness, Princess of the Galactic Empire!” Zion shouted.
The soldier looked awkwardly at the three people who had gotten out of the vehicle, then glanced at the captain next to him. “He says that’s Her Highness, the Princess…”
The captain frowned, scrutinizing Alveira from head to toe. “If this is truly the Princess, why is she here with only two bodyguards?”
Alveira was about to say, “Because Duke Winnet wants to kill me,” but Rose stepped in front of her and answered first, “We were attacked by terrorists and have come to seek the Governor’s protection.”
The captain pressed a hand to the communicator in his ear, as if receiving orders. After a moment, he said, “I understand the situation. Please come this way, Your Highness. The Governor is waiting for you in his office.” He gestured invitingly.
Alveira looked around. They were surrounded by the Governor’s guards, not just on the ground but also in the sky, where armed airships full of soldiers hovered. She noticed, at the end of the swarm of troops, a distinctive bat-winged vehicle. Its shape was so unique that Alveira recognized it at once. It was the Duke’s private car.
She grabbed Rose’s elbow. “Don’t go.”
“Your Highness?”
“They’re in league with the Duke!”
As soon as Alveira shouted this, the captain raised his gun and aimed at her! Alveira didn’t have time to react; everything happened in an instant—the muzzle flashed, and at the same time, Rose pushed her into Zion’s arms. In the next moment, the beam pierced through the bodyguard’s chest!
“Rose!”
She fell back, a trickle of blood running from her lips. Zion grabbed Alveira’s head, forcing her to look away from Rose’s body, while pushing her back into the vehicle. Just then, a mini-missile with a long tail of smoke struck the vehicle. In the moment of the explosion, Zion turned and shielded Alveira with his body, absorbing the impact of the blast.
The roar left Alveira temporarily deaf, and the firelight blinded her, but she could smell the scent of burning metal and flesh, as if a demon’s hand had gripped her body, rendering her immobile.
“Zion…” Her lips trembled. “Rose…”
Someone grabbed her and pulled her up. She dimly felt that it was the soldiers, and she heard them speak in triumphant tones. “We’ve got her!” Then they roughly shoved her in another direction.
“Zion… Rose… Brother… Darius…” She called out each of their names, but none of them were there with her.
“Dream of a Cold Night, main cannon energy filled, target locked, firing in three, two, one!”
Alveira looked up, her vision blurred with afterimages, as a deep blue beam descended from the sky, splitting the twilight of Leyting in two, then struck the steel behemoth of the Governor’s mansion!
A gust of wind swept past her back, like a raging fire scorching her skin. She turned around in a daze and saw a gondola charging through the ring of armed airships. The soldiers fired at it, but not a single beam hit. It flew straight toward Alveira, the cabin door sliding open. A strand of red hair fluttered out in the storm, like a banner dyed with blood, yet brighter than any light. In Alveira’s vision, there was nothing but that vast red.
The gondola passed over Alveira’s head in less than a second, but she reached out and grabbed the hand that extended from the cabin to pull her in.
She was yanked into the gondola. The door closed, and the vehicle shot through the encirclement, through the plumes of smoke rising from the Governor’s mansion, like a hawk soaring over a battlefield, unstoppable!
“Joanna… Begrel?”
“Honored that you still remember me.”
Alveira could barely breathe. “Why… Why are you here? Weren’t you leaving?”
The red-haired pirate manipulated the controls, easily evading the guards’ pursuit, while chatting casually. “I got a gondola, but it couldn’t leave the atmosphere, so I thought about it and decided it was better to ‘borrow’ one from the Governor’s mansion.”
The hangar door of the Governor’s mansion had already been reduced to ruins by the beam from the sky. The space pirate had left the Governor an IOU, boldly writing “never to be returned” in large letters.
Alveira suddenly felt like crying. “I was wrong,” she said. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. If I had listened to you earlier, Zion and Rose wouldn’t have…”
A gentle hand patted her head. “Then remember it,” Joanna said. “A lesson paid for with lives will stay with you for life. Carry it with you, grow stronger, and then you won’t make the same mistake again. Only then can you protect more people.”
Alveira nodded. “I’ll remember.”
Forty minutes later, the shuttle “borrowed” from the Governor’s mansion docked in the maintenance bay of the Dream of a Cold Night. Alveira curled up in her seat, hugging her knees, as she watched Joanna push open the cabin door and walk out.
“Captain, you’re finally back!” a young man’s voice said. “I was worried you wouldn’t come back!”
Joanna replied, “Ibb Descartes, can’t you say something more positive?”
“Where’s Alois and Joshua? Weren’t they with you?”
“Uh… who knows… We got separated. But I think they’ll find a way to survive!”
“…Not convincing at all, Captain.”
Listening to the friendly banter outside, Alveira felt like an outsider, a stranger here. She wanted to go back to the capital, but it was full of danger, not just from the Duke who had already rebelled, but from many others with ill intentions. She had nowhere to go, no companions, only the despair that seemed to deepen with every passing moment—she was truly useless!
Someone knocked on the door, and Alveira looked up to see Joanna standing at the entrance. “Are you planning to nest in the gondola?”
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