DS Extra 22

Reunion When the New Bell Chimes (4)

The moment that word left her mouth, Lin Ge covered her normal eye and shook her head. “It’s over, it’s over, over, over, I really drank too much.”

She was fucking starting to hallucinate from drinking!

“Hey, that kid,” she called out weakly, “Zhen mistook you for someone else, you…”

“——Your Majesty knows my name.”

“……”

“…………”

The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.

The Empress slowly lifted her face. Darkness obscured her furrowed brows, only revealing a flash of red light from her prosthetic eye.

Her voice carried a hoarseness from the alcohol. “……What?”

Jiang Jianming’s heart skipped a beat, nearly retorting: What what?

The woman across from him bent down to pick up the coat that had fallen to the ground and casually draped it over her shoulders. “Kid, what’s your name?”

“My surname is Jiang, given name Jianming.” The young man only froze for an imperceptible half-second before reacting, bowing as he answered, “Tonight His Highness the Crown Prince brought me in. I originally intended to tidy up properly before meeting Your Majesty in the palace, but never expected such a chance encounter. Please forgive me for making Your Majesty laugh.”

This was pure nonsense. No matter how you looked at it, the one who should be “laughed at” ought to be Her Imperial Majesty.

But Lin Ge could no longer care about that. She stared fixedly at the young man before her, picked up the wine bottle at her side, her throat moved, and swallowed down both the discordant words that had rushed to her lips and the harsh liquid together.

In this world, only she, Lin Ge, had seen the legendary founding commander, Dawn Aslan’s youth.

In her memory, that face always seemed to be pale, gaunt, and bleak.

Smeared with mud, hidden beneath an oversized cloak, those sickly pale lips were often pressed together in silence. Only occasionally, when gazing up at the starry sky, could one glimpse from those eyes a distant yet lonely expression.

……Damn it.

So at this moment, looking at that face which bore four or five parts resemblance to her memory yet was not entirely the same, Lin Ge thought: Could such a thing really fucking happen in this world!?

Two Base Bodies, she thought. One was Aslan in the First Star System, the other sent to Purple Silk in the Second Star System.

One she personally raised in the imperial palace to become the brilliant Crown Prince of the Empire and the future humanoid weapon for the crystal particle war. The other was secretly looked after by Sylph, allowing that child to grow up in an ordinary family, attempting to repay a normal life that hadn’t been given to him in a previous existence.

Like two small fish fry released into the eastern and western ends of the ocean—one chasing the sunrise’s morning sun, one bathed in the sunset’s dusk.

How would the waves of fate need to roll for them to meet again and depend on each other?

Or was it the predetermined nature of souls in the unseen, causing them to eventually rush toward the same current and reunite with each other at the ocean’s end?

Lin Ge suddenly laughed softly, her shoulders shaking. She thought: Kaios, you troublemaker, why must you drag Jiang into this every single time before you’re satisfied? Damn it, you made me lose all face in front of the commander. What kind of reunion of old friends is this? Kaios, how the fuck will you repay what you owe this old lady?

She thought about how she’d been going crazy these past days, all that useless agonizing, and all those boring fantasies about “how to face both of them after the Base Body memories merge”… It was too laughable. This whole episode should be made into a New Year’s comedy sketch and performed for the people of the Empire across the three great star systems and nine major star cities. The brilliance would surely be recorded in the annals of history——

But as she laughed, the corners of her eyes grew wet.

“You…” Lin Ge closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You are Crown Prince Ryann’s…” She bit her teeth and asked with feigned casualness, “What was the name again?”

“……”

Is Your Majesty doing this on purpose?

Jiang Jianming suppressed the urge for his lips to twitch and repeated politely with lowered head. “Jiang Jianming.”

He saw the Emperor nod with satisfaction, eyes narrowing. “Mm, it’s a good name.”

She seemed to have sobered up from the alcohol and was in quite a good mood. Looking around, she asked, “Where’s that little bastard Ryann? How could he leave you here alone?”

“His Highness had something urgent come up. He said he’d return soon.” Jiang Jianming said, “If Your Majesty is looking for him, I…”

“No, no, no, Zhen is not looking for him.” Lin Ge immediately waved her hand. She kicked aside an empty wine bottle on the ground and walked toward the young man. “Zhen will have a chat with you. Relax, just casual conversation… Are you getting used to life in Aslan?”

“It’s alright.”

“What do you think of this imperial capital?”

“Very good.”

“Really good or just saying it’s good? In such a huge imperial capital star city, is there really nothing you find problematic?”

……Is this even something I can answer?

After all, considering his relationship with Ryann, he thought it best to be cautious.

Jiang Jianming carefully considered his words and said with a lowered head, “How can anything in the world be perfect? It’s just that I’ve only recently settled in Aslan. My understanding of this star city is truly shallow. I dare not rashly judge things I’m not yet familiar with.”

“Then, what about this Empire? What do you think of it?”

……Is this really something I can answer??

Jiang Jianming smiled bitterly. He simply raised his head, relaxed his brows and eyes toward the woman before him, and said honestly, “Your Majesty, this test question is beyond the scope. I came today for His Highness the Crown Prince’s wishes. I truly dare not answer such questions. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

“Oh, so it’s not that you can’t answer, just that you don’t dare?” Lin Ge laughed heartily twice. “The way Zhen sees it, your courage isn’t small either.”

But this isn’t a test question, she thought sourly after finishing her laugh.

Even if it were a test, it’s not for you to answer. Commander, Dawn, you’ve been gone for so many years. The fire left behind by old friends has burned into today’s new Empire. What do you think of it? Would you appreciate it even a little?

The night was quiet. The Emperor and the military academy student, one ahead and one behind, slowly walked through the corridors of White Jade Palace.

“Have you had dinner?” Lin Ge asked again.

“I’ve already eaten. The palace cuisine was delicious.”

Lin Ge’s eyes curved as she opened her mouth as if to say something, then silently swallowed it back down.

Finally she asked, “What flavors do you prefer—sweet or salty? Can you eat spicy, or is mild better?”

Jiang Jianming: “Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. I have no dietary restrictions.”

Lin Ge persisted. “But you must have preferences.”

Jiang Jianming thought hard. “Per—perhaps nothing too spicy?”

Lin Ge: “That’s just because you haven’t eaten enough good food yet. Look at Zhen—I love eating meat! I like bold flavors, lots of chili peppers. As for alcohol, I prefer the sauce-fragrant type…”

Well, perhaps this was the Emperor’s privilege, Jiang Jianming thought silently. When ordinary people stumbled over words mid-sentence or spoke incoherently, it was embarrassing. But the Emperor?

Even if speaking nonsensically, it would seem profound and mysterious.

For instance, right now, he had completely lost track of this Emperor’s temperament and had no way to predict where the conversation would go next.

Lin Ge: “……What was your name again? Zhen forgot.”

——Are you alright!? Even Jiang Jianming could barely maintain his composure. He felt he was standing there purely by extraordinary psychological fortitude, strenuously controlling his facial expression to remain flawless.

“Jiang Jianming.” He’d lost count of how many times he’d repeated his name to His Imperial Majesty. “The eastern surname, Jiang as in Jiang Taigong. The given name is…”

Lin Ge suddenly spoke, “To see the dawn?”

But Jiang Jianming was saying, “Jian as in ‘to see,’ Ming as in ‘bright.'”

The two voices overlapped.

They looked at each other. The eyes that had weathered many hardships, the clear eyes of youth—both were somewhat surprised.

Soon, Lin Ge was the first to withdraw her gaze, laughing carelessly. “It really is a good name. Well then, Zhen will call you Mingming. It’s settled.”

She stopped walking, and Jiang Jianming, who had been following, stopped as well.

Only then did he realize that Lin Ge had brought him to the entrance of the palace main hall.

The highest level of this building was also the highest point of Aslan Star City. The snow-white steps had been painted gray by the night. Looking along the layers of steps toward the top, the new Empire’s banner was unfurling in the wind.

The young man did not know that in a few years, he would be dragged by another person to climb these long stairs to be crowned with glory and invincibility. Nor did the woman know that in a few years, she would stand at that highest point where the night wind was cool and confess to the nation a series of secrets that had weighed on her heart for far too long.

Those in the present could not hear the war drums of the future. They only felt the snow was beautiful tonight, the fireworks brilliant.

But the torrents of fate from the past were sending them toward their destined battlefield.

“Let’s stop here. Zhen is leaving.” The Emperor waved her hand and smiled carelessly. “You’re quite good. You… are a good person. Make that little bastard treat you well.”

Jiang Jianming breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression remained obedient as he bowed. “Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty.”

Lin Ge: “Come visit White Jade Palace more often when you have time.”

When Jiang Jianming raised his head, he only saw the woman’s back gradually disappearing into the depths of the palace entrance.

He stared blankly for a long time, then belatedly placed his hand over his left chest. His heartbeat seemed a bit fast.

Jiang Jianming smiled helplessly and shook his head, thinking he hadn’t been that nervous, had he? Strange. Looked like his composure still wasn’t enough.

He thought again: Her Imperial Majesty should… like me, right?

At least not dislike me, not oppose his relationship with Ryann, right?

So anyway, this counted as completing one mission.

Thinking this way, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.

Jiang Jianming pulled out his wrist device, put on his earpiece, and dialed that familiar number. It connected quickly.

“Hello, Ryann?”

The snow had stopped too. The cloud layer in the night sky gradually thinned, and stars twinkled.

Jiang Jianming breathed in the fragrant floral air, tilting his head to look at the stars overhead, a warm smile unconsciously appearing at the corners of his lips.

“……Mm, mm-hmm. Is Your Highness done? I’m at… what’s this place called again, directly below where the flag is hanging…”

“Okay, okay, I won’t move around. You come find me… What? Not cold, not cold, really.”

“No thanks, I won’t go inside. Really not cold. Mainly because Her Majesty just went in… Heh, right, let me tell you, I just met Her Imperial Majesty… She asked me…”

“……”

The scattered sounds of conversation and laughter gradually dissipated.

This year’s festival passed smoothly.

As for next year?

The black-haired young man smiled and leisurely thought to himself:

It will surely be an even better, smoother year, won’t it?

=======

Postscript.

That night, Lin Ge pretended to be drunk and left Sylph more than twenty nonsensical communication voice messages.

Successfully pushing down that earth-shattering news about “Ryann is in a relationship.”

“Heh.” Lin Ge crossed her legs, looking up at the starry sky through the window with mischievous thoughts.

She knew that with Sylph’s workaholic personality, she wouldn’t waste time listening to meaningless nonsense all the way through.

One day, when Ryann brings his little lover to see you…

Heh heh, won’t that scare you to death!

~The End~