To the outside world, Yun Xuan was an omega husband who perfectly embodied the royal family’s conservative style. Unlike the avant-garde couple of Yun Chuji and her wife, he understood the importance of an AO family. He didn’t secretly use birth control methods like those in the upper and middle classes. He was more than happy to have children, and he was more than happy to keep a low profile.
He fit every image those sixty- and seventy-year-old alphas had of a docile omega. At the same time, he was a clever man.
He was clever enough to know not to reveal his cleverness.
Today was the Empress’s birthday. According to tradition, before the formal birthday banquet began, the Empress would have lunch with her family.
The Prince Consort had borne many children. Before the age of thirty-eight, he had spent most of his time pregnant. However, thanks to an omega’s constitution and the expensive care provided by the royal family, he didn’t look much older than other omegas his age. The gentle, serene aura he exuded was striking; one look and you could tell he was the kind of omega beloved by alphas and children.
Honestly, looking at the Prince Consort alone, it was impossible to imagine that Her Majesty the Empress had once pursued Marshal Chu Meng. The two of them were complete opposites on the omega spectrum.
After all, even Marshal Chu’s children still carried the Chu surname.
This Prince Consort, seen as the epitome of a virtuous omega, naturally got along very well with his third son-in-law, who could be considered his successor. Perhaps for this reason, the Third Princess’s family had surpassed the First Prince, who was once the Prince Consort’s favorite, and was seated at the head of the table this year. Opposite them were Emile and his omega wife. The two of them looked too young, too naive. The weight of their brilliant future pressed down on them, turning them into a conspicuous target, but they seemed oblivious to it. Instead, they unabashedly displayed their pride and arrogance.
Sitting in a corner, Clarence quietly observed his siblings. Three years in the military had worn away much of his light, almost frivolous aristocratic air. His long golden hair had been cut short, and his once soft, affectionate eyes had become sharp. Compared to his original plans, his time in the military hadn’t been smooth. Marshal Chu hadn’t taken a liking to him, preferring omegas who had climbed up from the bottom ranks. This only deepened his melancholic disposition, eventually settling into a taciturn personality.
However, he was ultimately capable, and with his royal background, he still managed to win over and befriend a group of people in the military. The incident three years ago had taught him the importance of caution. Not a trace of mockery or shame showed on his face. He had sat in this corner for three years, and each year he appeared more composed.
And in these three years of detached observation, he had come to fully recognize one thing: that omega named Yun Xuan was not to be trifled with.
With his resources, he could naturally find out that Lucia was behind the betrayal within Spartacus. Marco’s subsequent whereabouts and his engagement to a minor branch of the royal family also proved this point.
Clarence had previously thought that idiot Lucia had finally wised up, which was why she had been able to trip him up so perfectly. But after observing her interactions with Yun Xuan, Clarence changed his mind—he discovered that when talking to their mother, the Empress, Lucia would subconsciously seek Yun Xuan’s opinion.
It was a strange phenomenon, made even stranger by the fact that it was happening to someone as self-centered and omega-hating as Lucia.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this Yun Xuan had been nothing more than a plaything for Lucia before.
Even with a famous sister, it wasn’t enough to allow him to wear clothes bearing the Hall family crest.
At first, Clarence had disdainfully thought that, given his sister’s foolish style, this marriage was probably just an impulsive decision made under the influence of pheromones. But looking now at the omega chatting animatedly with their mother and father, and then thinking of Tang Jianshen, who was making Spartacus a resounding success, Clarence lowered his gaze and quietly chewed the cherry in his mouth.
He had to admit, when it came to partners, he was far more foolish than Lucia.
The Prince Consort enthusiastically asked Yun Xuan about his pregnancy. “Have you been having trouble sleeping lately? Let me tell you, a lack of pheromones at this stage can easily cause insomnia. When I was pregnant, I often felt so uncomfortable I couldn’t sleep all night. I’m telling you, Third Daughter, you should spend more time with your omega and not be so busy with work all the time. When is work ever finished?”
Lucia smiled and replied, “Not at all. Xiao Yun isn’t having trouble sleeping. This is our third child; how could I still be as reckless as before? I’ve been coming home every night since he got pregnant.”
The Prince Consort raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised. Yun Xuan chimed in, “It’s true. Lucia consulted a doctor, and I feel like this birth should be smoother than the previous two.”
Not wanting to be left out, Emile spoke up from the side. “But I’ve noticed Third Brother-in-law seems to go to his prenatal check-ups alone. Third Sister should be more attentive. Having an alpha by their side during check-ups can make an omega less prone to anxiety.”
The Ninth Princess offered a sweet smile at the appropriate moment.
Lucia secretly gritted her teeth. Before she could retort with some snide remark about what a fledgling alpha like Emile knew about work, the Empress intervened. “Alright, Kiel, the children know what to do. Let’s not meddle.”
The Prince Consort smiled and agreed, then began to play with the grandson in his arms.
The Empress then asked about her children’s recent activities and offered a few words of encouragement before the birthday family banquet, where no one could taste the food, began.
The royal children presented all sorts of rare treasures, but of course, these things were nothing to the Empress, who had long been in a position of power. She showed no particular appreciation for any single gift; even the task of receiving them was handled by an aide-de-camp.
It wasn’t until the Third Princess’s family presented their model that the Empress showed a more genuine smile.
It should be mentioned that it was a model of a starship.
The room fell silent. For at least five seconds, everyone subconsciously held their breath.
To be honest, the reason omegas and alphas had been able to contend with each other in the Empire over the years, while betas—who constituted the majority of the population and lacked the physical weaknesses of omegas—remained absent from the imperial stage, was the starship.
Although the Empire always boasted of being more advanced and civilized than the Federation, and while that might be true in other areas, in terms of warfare, it was far inferior to the Federation, which had risen from real wars rather than civil strife.
The starship was the culmination of the Federation’s war technology.
It was also the omegas’ greatest weapon in the Activation War. With this weapon, omegas managed to fight alphas to a standstill despite the repeated onslaught of heats and pheromones. The reason so few Federation ruins remained within the Empire today was that during the war, the starships’ cannons had nearly blasted the Federation into a pulp.
However, the immense shock and chaos brought about by the change in secondary genders caused much of the Federation’s technology to be lost to the flames of war along with its buildings and civilization. This included the construction of starships.
Furthermore, a clause in the treaty ending the Activation War stipulated that the Empire could no longer explore methods of starship construction. This made researching and developing new starships an extremely difficult matter politically, academically, and morally. There was certainly private research, but starship construction involved too many complex processes. It had taken the full might of the Federation to build just five of them. To think that a starship could be built through private research was a pipe dream.
But now, the Third Princess had given the Empress a model of a starship, and the Empress seemed quite pleased. Could it be that they had finally succeeded in their research?
Everyone present felt a sense of unease. Developing a starship was a great thing, but it was definitely not a great thing for this era. It was a thorny issue; one misstep could easily lead to a repeat of the tragic Activation War.
Under the gazes of her children and grandchildren, the Empress gently caressed the man-high starship model before her. Thinking of the agreement that had finally been reached these past few days, she couldn’t help but show a proud expression. At the same time, she cast an unnoticeable glance at Yun Xuan.
This son-in-law was even more formidable than she had imagined.
While everyone else was busy fighting tooth and nail for power and profit in their own little corners, this omega was able to grasp the essence of the matter, considering issues directly from the perspective of the royal family’s and the Empire’s interests. Compared to him, her own children, who usually seemed decent enough, were practically useless.
If only he had the blood of the Hall family, the Empress thought with regret. Lucia as Empress would be an absolute tragedy. She would definitely do something stupid and irreparable. The girl was too arrogant and conceited; even a trip to Golden Phoenix Star couldn’t change that flaw.
However, the Empress walked over to Yun Xuan and picked up her eldest granddaughter, who was sitting to the side. She pointed to the starship and asked with a smile, “Do you like it?”
Gloria, not yet three, could only speak simple words. Accustomed to being held by her grandmother the Empress, she didn’t see it as a great honor, nor could she recognize the jealousy in her uncles’ and aunts’ eyes. She pouted her cherry-pink lips and said coquettishly, “Big plane ugly. Want Grandma.”
The Empress laughed heartily. “Alright, then Grandma will play with you.”
It was as if they were truly just talking about a toy.
No one dared to ask about the meaning behind the model. Prince Emile’s face turned pale, as if he had finally realized how slim his hopes were.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Third Princess had solved a major problem for the Empress.
But Clarence saw deeper. He was far away, so his gaze could be unrestrained. He saw the doubt and unease beneath the Third Princess’s composed exterior, and he saw the captivated look in Yun Xuan’s eyes as he gazed at the model.
Yun Xuan was behind this. Clarence was almost certain.
Thinking of the path he had chosen, his expression turned grim. He had to know what had happened. If there was a major shift in the balance of power between the Empire’s alphas and omegas, then he, an omega prince, would ultimately be reduced to a mere figurehead.
Clarence swallowed the steak in his mouth, his gaze secretly fixed on the silver machine model. He had observed a starship up close before. He knew it was a truly deadly weapon, with so many gunports they were impossible to count. It required nearly ten thousand people to pilot a single starship.
Therefore, according to the balance of power mechanism that Miss Yun Chuji always talked about, a weapon like this was only right to be left in the hands of omegas.
