MRG Chapter 53: Is Gege Hiding Something From Me?

Translator: Kii

Editor: yuki_shuichi

Under the barrage of countless media cameras, Dolly walked stiffly to the center of the spotlight. He fiddled with his hands uneasily, with a deafening clamor of questions in his ears. Kyle sat next to him, looking at him with a threatening look.

Ka-cha, ka-cha, ka-cha!

Countless shutter buttons were pressed simultaneously.

Dolly covered his eyes due to the blinding flashes. He whispered, stuttering, “I…that night, I…”

Bang! At this moment, the sound of the door opening and pushing from the originally closed door of the conference room, and a loud dispute could be vaguely heard outside the door.

Dolly’s voice came to a halt. He and the numerous reporters all looked in that direction.

Then, accompanied by a loud “bang” the door was pushed open from the outside, and the reporters subconsciously turned their cameras in that direction.

The barrage of comments that were originally flooding the screen also stopped.

The audience watching the livestream saw the tall figure and his unmistakable aura as the scene abruptly shifted. Mu Chen strode forward, leaving several guards behind as he walked straight into the crowd.

Kyle’s expression suddenly turned bad. He stood up and waved to the several royal guards beside him, signalling them to drive Mu Chen out.

But the group of reporters, who were eager to watch the fun, were one step ahead. They swarmed over and surrounded Mu Chen before the guards could come to their senses. The high-definition cameras were pointed directly at his face, and the reporters started asking questions at once.

What was displayed on the livestream instantly changed from Kyle’s bruised and swollen face to Mu Chen’s delicate and beautiful profile. Then, as if to allow the two parties to appear in the same frame, the director split the screen to show them side by side.

Due to how zoomed in the camera was, the merman’s long curled eyelashes with distinct strands covered half of his deep pupils. His fair, flawless skin glowed with a layer of glaze-like under the lens, and his slightly pursed thin lips gave off the feeling that he was half-smiling.

In comparison, Kyle’s bruised face looked more shabby.

The comments once again went wild.

[Help, is the director really not doing this on purpose?]

[This move completely stunned me.]

[Ahhhh! I just opened the screen, and I received a beauty attack from the little fishy. But can you cut out Kyle from the screen? It’s a bit of an eyesore.]

[Although I know I shouldn’t change the subject, let me kiss the little fishy’s face first.]

[F*ck, this is just hilarious. Put these two side by side, and the difference is just brutal.]

[First, I’m not obsessed with looks. Secondly, I’m not obsessed with looks. And thirdly, I’m not obsessed with looks. What I want to say is—Mu Chen seduced Kyle? How much does one have to drink to do such a thing?]

[Some of the comments have left me speechless. Does one’s appearance have anything to do with one’s character? What are you guys posting about?]

[There’s no correlation, but does he really need to seduce Kyle with his looks? No offense intended (Doge).]

[Well, it could be because Kyle is a prince, no?]

[??? If I remember correctly, the little merman and the eldest prince had an engagement. Compared to Kyle, Prince Light doesn’t even look like they were born from the same mother.]

[They aren’t even born from the same mother to begin with.]

[The eldest prince cancelled the engagement, so a problem arose.]

[Ah, this?]

On the other side, the reporters kept asking him, “Did you suddenly break into the livestream because you were worried that the witness’ remarks would have a bad impact on you?”

“I think you guys have misunderstood.” Mu Chen lightly chuckled. He turned his head, directly looking Dolly in the eyes. “I’ve come merely because I’m curious what this witness exactly saw that night. I didn’t mean to interrupt your interview, please continue.”

Under those blue eyes, Dolly felt the cold sweat on his forehead was about to drip. His lips trembled as he said—

“That night, probably around 11pm, His Highness Mu Chen wanted to ask a servant to get him some wine, and then…at that moment, Prince Kyle suddenly called me over, handed me a small bag of medicinal powder, and asked me to add it to the wine when I got it. He also told me that since His Highness Mu Chen was in the mating period, no one would find out about this. I originally wanted to refuse, but he threatened me with my family, so I had no choice…”

Under countless bright flashes, Kyle practically exploded in his seat. He pointed at Dolly’s noise and shouted, “You m*therf*cker, say that again!”

He clearly used money as bait for the other party to agree, so how could he even say such nonsense as using family members to threaten him now?

Dolly stood up from his seat, then stepped to the side. He looked at the numerous cameras in front of him and whispered, “It was His Highness Kyle who ordered me to do this.”

“Bullsh*t.”

Kyle was angry from the humiliation. He suddenly stood up from his seat, and just when he was about to pounce at Dolly, he was stopped by several security guards on the scene.

There was a sudden hissing sound in the conference room.

In the livestream, compared to Kyle’s furious outburst and disgraceful behavior, Mu Chen’s expression could be said to be a little too calm.

[I’ve never expected the situation to turn out like this.]

[What is this? A werewolf faking it as a Seer now?]

[Just what kind of courage does it take for our Third Prince to make up such an outrageous story? Seriously, bro, maybe you should look in the mirror before speaking.]

[Seeing that there are a lot of people attacking his appearance, I think it’s not right. In my opinion, his character is even worse.]

The reporters surrounding Mu Chen were still curiously inquiring him on the details of the incident that night. Mu Chen didn’t answer their questions; he just slightly smiled at the camera. “I came today not only to clarify this matter, but also to announce something even more important…”

In front of the countless dazzling flashes, he raised his left hand, revealing the sparkling ring on his ring finger. “I’m already engaged. Our relationship is doing really well, so I don’t want to hear similar rumors again. If my fiancé finds out, he’ll get angry.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly turned dead quiet.

In the next second, the reporters returned to their senses and directed their microphones at Mu Chen.

“Who’s your fiancé?”

“When did you get engaged?”

“Would you mind sharing some details about your engagement to us?”

……

Those who were watching the livestream were equally as shocked—

[Help, what was that? Little fishy is engaged?]

[Whooo isssss ittttttttt]

[Does that mean he and the eldest prince are really over? No way…]

[The “fiancé” he mentioned, it should be a man, but who the hell is it?]

In the clamoring environment, the crisp sound of military boots stepping on the marble floor could be heard in the corridor outside.

Light furrowed his brows, emitting a cold aura around him. A group of palace guards followed behind him.

When he walked over from a distance, he saw a group of people surrounding Mu Chen in the middle. His palms clenched slightly, and the anger in his heart became even stronger.

Noticing the noise coming from over there, the reporters flashed their cameras at Light. The scene became more chaotic than ever before.

Light reached out his hand to cover his eyes and walked over to Mu Chen. Just when he was about to get the palace guards to kick these people out, a pair of hands suddenly wrapped around his waist. Immediately afterwards, there was a warm feeling on his cheeks. Light’s expression turned blank in an instance.

Ka-cha!

Just when he was in a stunned state, this scene was captured by the camera and preserved.

Mu Chen slightly smiled as he pecked Light’s cheek. In front of everyone, he declared, “I would like to formally introduce to everyone, this is my fiancé.”

The conference room burst into an unprecedented discussion.

The livestream audience were practically in a frenzy.

[When little fishy kissed him, His Highness’ face actually flushed, ahhhhh!]

[I would like to announce that my ship has sailed.]

[Screenshot taken.]

[So sweet, little fishy.]

[This ship is killing me! Who else gets it!!!!]

[So from now on, he’s the merman prince consort, right?]

[Help, what kind of title is merman prince consort lololol]

[The merman imperial concubine (jk)]

On that day, as expected, all major media outlets were talking about the royal engagement. However, they didn’t use the engagement photo released by the royal family; rather, they all used that candid photo as the accompanying image.

In the photo, their beautiful prince consort’s hands were wrapped around the crown prince, and his head was turned to kiss him on the cheek. At that moment, Light’s usually cold face was like ice being melted by spring water. There was a hint of embarrassment on his handsome face, and if one looked closely, he was even slightly blushing.

……

In the palace, Jorah had his head lowered and looked at his terminal. The veins on the back of his clenched fist were faintly visible, and he struck on the armrest with a “bang bang” sound. “Outrageous, Kyle is truly outrageous!”

It was obvious how outraged he was.

Jorah put away the terminal and instructed the servant beside him, “Have him halt everything he’s doing and go back to his fiefdom to calm down for a while. He can come back when he realizes his mistakes. Do it now, right away!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the attendant left, Jorah slowly looked up, his eyes landed on Light standing in front of him. “Since you guys have officially announced your engagement, when will you have the wedding?”

Light was stunned. He was silent for a moment before finally saying, “Father, you already asked me this question yesterday, did you forget? I’m returning to the border next week, so the wedding date hasn’t been decided yet.”

Jorah rubbed the space between his eyebrows, as if he had a headache. “I forgot.”

Light’s expression turned increasingly grave. He contemplated for a while, but still said, “Is your condition not good recently? How about having a doctor…”

“I’m fine.” Jorah impatiently cut him off, furrowing his eyebrows. “Boris told you that? He just likes to make a fuss. Who doesn’t forget things when they get old? Do you think I’m that annoying or what?”

“…”

Light, “You said you wanted to go hunting at Lake Vesser last time.”

Jorah was obviously surprised. “I said that?”

Light, “You did.”

Jorah rubbed his nose. “Then it’s mostly because I haven’t fully woken up yet.”

Light, “You reviewed Prime Minister Larris’s memorial three times yesterday.”

Jorah, “…”

He sat there without saying a word, like a petrified statue.

The clock on the wall moved with a “tick-tock, tick-tock” sound. In the stifling quietness, Light slowly walked in front of Jorah and took out his own terminal. “Father, this is the latest notice I received—our cruise fleet discovered Zerg reconnaissance ships near the W-382 planetary belt. There were a total of five of them. Four of them were sunk and one escaped the range of the military fortress…”

In Jorah’s serious gaze, Light continued, “This is very likely to be a signal, a signal that the Zergs are preparing to attack. Now, the border defense base has now entered first-level alert. The army, navy, air force, as well as the macha army are all on standby. My return may not be just to inspect the border defense base project… Of course, no one wishes for war to break out, but we need to be prepared for anything. The Konaren border is now in a very urgent and special period…”

“Father, have the doctor come to examine you, alright? Just a check-up. Even if you are not thinking about yourself, you should also think about the citizens of this country who support and depend on you. None of them wish for anything to happen to you.”

After a while of silence—

Jorah bowed his body and nodded. “Alright.”

It was so light that it was like a sigh.

He finally compromised.

……

After Light came out of Jorah’s room, he called his vice captain, Levi, to the conference room.

Levi bowed to Light in greeting, then sent a classified file to his terminal. “General, this is the list of mecha recruits that No. 1 Military Academy is going to deploy to the Konoran outpost battle. Please take a look.”

Among the armed forces, the mecha corps was the most special, and also had the least members.

There were an innumerable number of recruits who successfully graduated from the major military academies every year, but there were less than fifty vacancies reserved for the mecha corps. After dividing the vacancies among several military academies, each was left with one or two spots. One reason was that the very high cost of mechas meant that such weapons with destructive explosive power could not be mass-produced. The other reason was that mecha pilots not only need to possess exceptional physical prowess, but also extraordinarily high mental resilience. People who met both criteria were very rare.

Almost every year, only the top two students in the military academy were eligible to join this corps, while the rest were only qualified to be substitutes.

The circumstances this time were special, so all the troops entered a state of readiness for war. The two recruits from No. 1 Military Academy would no longer go to the mecha training base, but would be directly transferred to report to the Konaran outpost. Once there was an unusual movement on the front line, they must be ready to obey the orders of the supreme commander at any time, so Light was needed to conduct the final review to confirm that there weren’t any problems with the candidates.

Looking at the document marked “Top Secret,” Light knitted his brows, and there was a sudden uncomfortable feeling bubbling in his stomach. He leaned back on the chair, his finger stopped in mid-air for a while before opening it.

What came into his view was a picture of Mu Chen, and there was an eye-catching red line above it—

Mental Ability S+ (specific value unknown), Physical Fitness and Fighting Ability S+, Specialized Courses +, Ranked First Overall.

Top Priority: Mecha Corps.

Light rubbed the space between his eyebrows in annoyance…

Sure enough, it was exactly as he expected.

His mind involuntarily emerged the battlefield filled with the stench and smell of gunpowder from more than ten years ago, with broken metal bodies and the pilots’ mutilated limbs scattered all over the ground. His knitted brows deepened.

Should he really let Mu Chen go on the frontline?

Levi, who was standing at the side, couldn’t see the exact content of what was being shown on the screen, but from Light’s serious expression, it wasn’t hard to tell that he wasn’t too satisfied with the result.

The atmosphere in the conference room turned silent. Only the sound of the clock ticking could be heard.

Light flipped through the list repeatedly.

The top two students from No. 1 Military Academy, Mu Chen and Xavier, were selected for the Mecha Corps, while the third place, Jeffrey, was a reserve.

Ultimately—

A “Failed” stamp mark fell on Mu Chen’s file. The reason he wrote beside it was “No reconsideration.” Then he promoted third place, Jeffrey, from the reserve list.

After reviewing the list, Light sent back the file to Levi. “This is the final list, please inform the person in charge of the base.”

“Yes, General.” The moment Levi received the file, he noticed from his peripheral vision that Light kept holding his stomach and couldn’t help but ask, “General, are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine.”

Light stood up from his seat and directly left the conference room.

The fresh air poured into the corridor eased his irritability.

For some reason, there had constantly been this bloated feeling in his stomach recently, which felt a bit different than a common bloatedness. It seemed that countless threads were lingering there, pulling the entire abdomen down continuously, and it also brought an indescribable sour and astringent feeling. Thinking of this, Light furrowed his brows slightly and pressed his palm against his stomach…

Did he eat too much recently?

Or perhaps it was because he hadn’t been doing his regular training during this period, which led to a sharp decline in his physical fitness?

He suddenly realized that ever since Mu Chen began to experience his mating symptoms, he hadn’t entered the training room.

Light recalled what had happened during this period, and his brows knitted tighter.

He was indeed too undisciplined. There were only four or five days left before he returned to the border. How could he afford to remain in this state?

……

When Mu Chen returned to the room, Light was about to enter the bathroom.

The latter had just returned from the training room. The tight black training outfit outlined his smooth muscle lines, especially the slim waist.

Mu Chen went over and hugged the other party.

The sudden cold feeling made Light’s back stiffen. He instinctively pushed the other party’s arm. “Stop, I’m all sweaty…”

Mu Chen raised the corner of his lips, his head rubbing against the hollow of his neck. He tugged at the hem of his clothes. The originally dry and clean clothes were not stained with obvious water stains. “It’s already stained, what to do?”

After speaking, his palm squeezed in through the gap in the training suit.

Light was like a fish out of the waters. Unconsciously, he bent his body, but this exposed more weakness to the other party.

When he returned his senses, he had already been taken into the showers by Mu Chen.

Light’s hands held the cold wall. The warm water came out of the showerhead, easing a bit of the exhaustion from the training.

Mu Chen had already ripped the silver package, and just as he was about to focus on the matter at hand, he suddenly heard the other party ask, “Do you really want to enter the Mecha Corps?”

“Yes,” he answered decisively. “I took mecha-related courses during my four years in college.”

Mu Chen said half-jokingly, “The instructor who taught me said if I don’t pilot mechas, it’ll be a loss to the world.

In the steamy showers, Light’s bangs were wet from the mist, covering his deep eyes. His ears turned red, but he remained silent.

Mu Chen sensed that Light was acting weird right now. Thinking back to how he had been worried recently, he curled his lips and asked, “Gege, what are you thinking about?”

“Is there something you can’t tell me?”

Light was dazed by the impact and couldn’t respond immediately. It was only after a while that he managed to squeeze out two words from his lips, “It’s nothing.”

Mu Chen lightly raised his eyebrow. “I keep feeling that you’ve been hiding something from me.”

Light spoke in a hoarse voice, “I don’t.”

Mu Chen didn’t seem to believe him. “Really?”

Light, “Yes.”

At the climax, Mu Chen stretched out his hand to grip his jaw, whispering in his ear, “Gege, you’re going to marry me, yet you still treat me like a child who knows nothing, right?”