253: Startled and terrified

By the time Tu Nan finally felt her body go soft and prepared to head out again, the air in the room had been refreshed and dried by the ventilation equipment.

Just as one of her feet stepped out the door, she was pulled back into the embrace of The Emperor, enduring a moist kiss.

"Mmph."

Tu Nan didn't want to get further entangled with him at the door; she perfunctorily ended the kiss and tried to push him away.

This was very unusual.

Tu Nan was very careful; she almost never walked out of this room with him, always consciously leaving earlier or later.

She had thought he felt the same as her—that he was someone who didn't say much and just acted.

Not being seen entering or leaving together by others saved any discrepancies in the timeline of when The Emperor appeared.

They tacitly kept all the undercurrents suppressed beneath the calm surface of the sea.

Thus, several months passed without any major incidents.

But today, this man was hard to refuse.

He pulled Tu Nan close, ignoring her resistance, and kissed her until she was breathless once more.

When she was finally released, her brain deprived of oxygen, she could barely stand by hanging onto his arm.

But as her gaze drifted downward, she saw a pool of dark red on the floor.

The flagship was entirely silver-white, making that color extremely eye-catching.

"Why is there blood?"

Suspecting she had misseen, she wanted to crouch down for a closer look.

The person beside her pulled her back and said indifferently, "I hurt my hand when I came in and dripped a couple of drops." He curled his lip, his golden eyes fixed on her face as if judging something.

"What, are you heartbroken?"

He used his foot to rub back and forth on the edge of the bloodstain until it smeared, turning that small dark clump into a complete stain, a sediment.

"An injury?"

Tu Nan was puzzled.

"Here."

The man held out his other hand; there was indeed a scar on his palm where fresh blood was seeping out.

"Oh, it's all your fault. The wound split open again when I exerted myself just now."

He said this.

Tu Nan looked at the small wound and didn't quite believe him.

The wound was too clear and fresh, looking as if he had just pierced it himself with his fingernail.

Why would he need to do that?"

But this person was already very willful in his actions; trying to guess his behavior?

Too difficult.

And if it wasn't him, whose blood had gathered there in a small pool?

With his S-rank Talent, no one on this ship could have hidden from him while standing here for so long.

Unless... Tu Nan frowned slightly.

Her chin was pinched, and "The Emperor" was very dissatisfied.

"What, you don't care about my injury?"

Tu Nan had to smile, grabbing his hand and gently blowing on the wound.

"Pain, pain, fly away~ Your Majesty, you must be more careful in the future. Don't get hurt again and make my heart ache."

She was pretending by coaxing him like a child, but unexpectedly, the other party slowly blinked, looking a bit dazed.

"Okay." He appeared unusually well-behaved and agreed.

Tu Nan was confused, but she keenly noticed that he responded well to this soft and intimate attitude, so she lowered her voice and softly asked for his opinion.

"Then let me go do some work, okay?"

As she spoke, Tu Nan helped him tuck a strand of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes behind his ear.

He allowed Tu Nan to do as she pleased, standing there dazed for a moment before he offered a shy smile that made Tu Nan shudder.

"Then go ahead."

He finally released the hand he was using to hold Tu Nan.

"See you tonight."

Tu Nan habitually said goodbye to him this way.

In truth, whether they could meet at night depended on whether Your Majesty returned that day; it had nothing to do with this man.

But he had never shown any other reaction, only nodding each time as if he truly were Your Majesty himself.

"...See you tonight."

This time, however, he responded unusually.

That rising inflection at the end made one wonder what exactly he was so happy about.

Tu Nan left him and finally rushed back to the office.

The day's work was still as busy as ever. By the time she stretched her stiff body, she found it was already late at night.

Gu Lvhai in the Video Call also stopped communicating with her and massaged her neck.

Suddenly, she slapped her forehead, remembering something.

"Right, Your Majesty came looking for you in the afternoon. Did you run into him? Oh, I forgot to mention it."

In the afternoon? Tu Nan was struck with terror.

"Ah... then I'll go ask." She no longer had the heart to work and immediately stood up, pushing back her chair.

Gu Lvhai confusedly calculated the time and shouted from behind: "Hey, at this hour, Your Majesty should be resting."

Tu Nan didn't hear her; her eyes were vacant as she just focused on walking out.

"Tu Nan."

So she also didn't hear Hain's voice from the other end of the meeting room.

All her thoughts were hung on the news she had just received, combined with that pool of blood and that faint sound that seemed to have occurred.

Was it... him?

Had it finally been exposed? What was The Emperor thinking?

The Children in her womb hadn't yet reached the System's Talent notification; they were just one step away.

Just one step away.

Tu Nan returned to Your Majesty's cabin; on the way, she had regained all her rationality.

Don't panic, Tu Nan.

You don't know anything. Don't lose your composure. Maybe that wasn't Your Majesty, maybe... She pushed open the door.

At first glance, the room was pitch black; the lights weren't on.

And the two of them had long been used to leaving a light on for the other who returned late.

So, Your Majesty wasn't here?

Tu Nan closed the door, letting the room return to total darkness. She didn't know if she should breathe a sigh of relief.

But when her hand touched the switch, a point of golden light suddenly blossomed in the dark room.

"Don't turn it on."

The voice was low and resonant; it was The Emperor.

"Your Majesty."

Tu Nan's tone sounded a little surprised, yet very steady.

So he was here. Tu Nan looked at those eyes in the darkness.

In the dark of night, he could actually make his eyes act like flashlights.

She thought of something very nonsensical so that her body temperature wouldn't change and her heartbeat would remain at a stable frequency.

Tu Nan obediently did not turn on the light.

She was very familiar with the layout of this room; besides, following those two points of golden light, it was easy for her to find where he was.

The Emperor sat alone on the sofa.

Tu Nan walked over quietly and sat sideways in front of him. She fumbled to grab The Emperor's hands, placing them on his knees, and then she quietly pressed her face against them.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty? You look very tired. Were the afternoon's official duties that busy?"

She framed the timeline very cleverly; this at least allowed her to remove herself from the role of a co-conspirator.

At most, she would become an innocent victim.

His palms were dry and smooth; besides thin calluses, there were no injuries.

But this didn't really prove anything.

After all, his attitude today was also very unusual.

After rubbing her cheek against his palm for a moment, Tu Nan looked up.

"Can you tell me, Your Majesty?" Her voice was soft and full of comfort.

"Although the Empire's affairs are complex, maybe I can offer you a different perspective?"

"If all else fails, should I shapeshift to keep you company today?"

"Or, do you want to feel the movement of the Children?"

She asked, stroking her lower abdomen.

The Emperor didn't speak again, but his golden eyes never, ever... left her.