Chapter 26: The Secretary and the Beautiful Misunderstanding

TW: implied date rape drugging (unsuccessful), towards the end, starts at ‘Xie Ancheng’

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As soon as Luo Ran’s words came out, everyone was shocked into speechlessness.

Luo Ran, the famously perfect secretary of the Empire, was capable, intelligent, and rational to the point that it was doubted if he had emotions. Everything he did was for the good of Lucas, and there was hardly anyone else who could move him.

His character was naturally gentle, but it could also be called alienating, or even apathetic.

But he actually said… he liked Lucas?

“No, there’s no way!” As she looked at the handsome man in front of her, Lillia felt her worldview shaking.

“I like him very much,” Luo Ran solemnly said. “I cannot hide it any longer, I hope Your Highness will be considerate.”

Lillia: “…”

Lucas: “…”

Zhou Mingkai, standing to the side, desperately held in his laughter.

As someone who’d spent a long time on the love scene, he knew at a glance what Luo Ran was doing.

Lucas turned his head to look suspiciously at Zhou Mingkai, who was hunched over into a ball and trembling.

At this moment, Zhou Mingkai suddenly felt blessed.

For his brother’s future happiness! For the marshal and his wife to live happily with grandchildren! For the hopes of millions of people in the Empire! For excellent descendants in the next generation!

Carrying the trust of millions, he–

“Oh, heavens.” Zhou Minkai squeezed out a few tears, clenched his fist, and beat his chest. “What a wonderful love! How pitiful, to have to secretly nurture his love like this! Secretary Luo has suffered…!”

Who knew what Lucas was thinking, the man just turned expressionlessly and walked away.

He was still the mighty admiral who was unmoved by feelings.

However, when he passed the balcony steps, he suddenly stepped on air and the whole person staggered and almost fell.

Zhou Mingkai: “…”

Zhou Mingkai looked up at the moon and pretended not to see it.

Lucas snorted coldly, stomped on the steps once with a terrifyingly dark expression, then strode away.

Zhou Mingkai immediately scurried after him.

The two on the balcony didn’t notice the actions over there at all. Lillia was still looking at Luo Ran with disbelief.

“You, you… You believe it or not, I’ll tell everyone!”

“If Your Highness wants to, then I can’t do anything.” Luo Ran lowered his gaze, looking extremely pitiful.

To be honest, Luo Ran dared to say this because he wasn’t afraid the princess would do anything.

The princess was already known for acting willfully, and her brainless reputation was deeply entrenched in people’s minds. Her words didn’t have much credibility.

And even if she did say it, the people who believed it were already CP fans, while those who didn’t believe would think that the CP fans were making trouble again. People would only use it as a chat topic for a while.

“Then… Then you can like the admiral, I don’t mind! A-Anyways, he doesn’t like you, I can snatch you back!”

Luo Ran: “…”

He once again wondered how Luobing’s royal family raised this princess. The other royal children were clearly normal.

However, Luo Ran still had another method.

“Your Highness, do you really want to steal people from the admiral?” Luo Ran asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh…?”

Lillia stared. “D-Don’t you just have a crush? You and the admiral… are together?”

Luo Ran didn’t speak, he didn’t admit it nor did he refute it, but Lillia felt that such an attitude meant that he acquiesced to the truth.

No way, right…?

“Woo, you’re shameless!”

Lillia cried as she ran away.

How could she compete with Lucas…! That was the admiral who beat her country into a vassal state!

As he watched Lillia leave in anger, Luo Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

The princess shouldn’t want anyone from the Empire anymore.

Since he solved this problem, Luo Ran returned to the main hall. He couldn’t find Lucas after searching everywhere, but just as he was about to ask someone, he came across the star of this birthday banquet – Zhou Mingyu.

“What a coincidence.” Zhou Mingyu grinned. “Did Secretary Luo encounter any difficulties?”

“Your Highness.” Luo Ran respectfully bowed in greeting, then asked, “Does Your Highness know where the admiral is?”

Zhou Mingyu paused. “Apologies, I haven’t seen him.”

“Oh…” Luo Ran wondered if he went to a private room upstairs with Zhou Mingkai to drink and play darts.

Zhou Mingyu joked, “There are so many birds and butterflies here. He may be more comfortable if Secretary Luo doesn’t follow too closely.”

Luo Ran only smiled.

“Since we’ve met, might Secretary Luo join me for a dance?” Zhou Mingyu gestured at the dance floor.

Luo Ran remembered that Zhou Mingyu invited him to be his dance partner before. Now that he asked again, he was a little surprised.

This royal highness could hardly lack dance partners, why would he insist on him?

“It’s a little embarrassing.” Zhou Mingyu shook his head with a smile, and said jokingly, “Maybe it’s because I’m still single at this age that my family always tries their best to let me meet excellent omega and beta. At a banquet like this, I’m like a fragrant piece of meat surrounded by starving wolves.”

Luo Ran understood.

Zhou Mingyu, as the eldest prince, was the person most likely to inherit the throne. His princess consort would thus be the future empress who would enjoy supreme glory.

There were probably piles upon piles of people who would do anything to seize a chance to dance with Zhou Mingyu, so he became so frustrated that he directly pulled Luo Ran over as a shield.

Zhou Mingyu also confirmed Luo Ran’s guesses, saying helplessly, “So I could only invite Secretary Luo to be my dance partner. You are the admiral’s secretary, no one would dare to say anything. It’s a pity… you refused so mercilessly, I’m disappointed.”

“I apologize…” Luo Ran smiled. “I hadn’t known… that Your Highness would have this trouble.”

“You know now.” Zhou Mingyu held out his hand, bowed slightly, and politely asked, “This handsome gentleman, may I ask you for a dance?”

Luo Ran smiled and took his hand.

Since Zhou Mingyu said this, he had no reason to refuse. Besides, Lucas currently didn’t need his help, so he accompanied Zhou Mingyu to the dance floor.

Soft lights shone down, and gentle music surrounded them.

“Secretary Luo dances well,” Zhou Mingyu commented with a smile as he lightly held Luo Ran’s waist. “It’s a pity we don’t have many chances to appreciate it.”

Luo Ran looked down. “Thank you for your kind words.”*

“Sometimes I can’t help but envy the admiral. With someone like you as a secretary, don’t mention how much work is saved, even daily life will become much easier.”

“Your Highness’ secretary graduated from the Imperial Academy and is professionally trained, they must be much better than me,” Luo Ran replied.

“How could that be?” Zhou Mingyu smiled and shook his head. “That year, Shuang Ye competed against you for the position of secretary for the admiral and lost. Even now, she admires you a lot, and mentions it to me from time to time.”

Luo Ran was shocked.

“That year…” Luo Ran checked, “That year when Admiral Lucas was looking for a secretary?”

“Yes…?” Zhou Mingyu was a little surprised that Luo Ran didn’t seem to know this. “You didn’t know that you and Shuang Ye competed? Not only her but also several civilians related to the imperial family.”

Luo Ran fell silent for a moment, then casually followed the topic with a smile. “It’s been so long, I’d forgotten.”

But he had some doubts in his heart.

At the time, he was directly pulled from the preliminary auditions to the final selection, so he didn’t have much contact with the other applicants.

If there were several people from the Imperial Academy, why was he chosen in the end…?

Zhou Mingyu’s next words broke his train of thought.

“But Shuang Ye will resign in a few days.”

“What happened?”

“She’s getting married and plans to focus on her family. So… I want to ask you for help again.” Zhou Mingyu sighed. “The newly appointed secretary hasn’t got used to things yet. For the sake of making the Empire’s official affairs more efficient, can you come teach him a bit?”

“It won’t take much of your time.”

Neither humble nor arrogant, Luo Ran said, “I’ll try my best, but the military and economy are very busy recently.”

People and wine swirled around them in a lively scene,* as the two chatted and danced.

* * *

A private room, upstairs:

“He actually dared to lie to me!” Lucas smacked the table. “Luo Ran’s pretty brave, hey, ‘many years’? So he’s fooled me for so long!”

“…”

Zhou Mingkai’s hand suddenly trembled and the dart deviated from the target hanging on the wall.

Zhou Minkai was stunned. “What Admiral cares about is… that he lied to you?”

He sat on a table, crossed his legs, and opened a bottle of wine.

Lucas paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Zhou Mingkai thought, Before, if someone said they liked Lucas, his reaction would be anger and disgust. There had been a noble omega at the previous banquet who confessed to Lucas with a rose. As a result, he sneered and called the guards to throw the person out the hotel’s main door along with the rose.

But now… Lucas, who never once thought of his own emotions, would be so confused?

Zhou Mingkai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

A few seconds passed.

Lucas stopped. “Actually, it’s not unreasonable.”

“Huh…?”

“After all, he’s stayed by my side for so many years, getting along day and night. Isn’t it reasonable to fall in love?” Lucas asked rhetorically.

Lucas felt this development was natural, and his tone even revealed hints of satisfaction.

“And there’s no better alpha than me.”

“Other alpha and omega are all inconsistent trash, not one of them look good.”

“Staying beside me and remaining unmoved is a tall task, after all.”

Zhou Mingkai: “…”

Lucas frowned and asked, “Then how do I reject him? What if he gets angry and resigns?”

Zhou Mingkai: “Why would you reject him??”

Lucas: “What does an admiral like me talk about love for? Don’t misunderstand. I only fight wars.”

Zhou Mingkai: “…”

At this time Zhou Mingkai once again thanked his lucky stars that he had this chance. He patted his chest and said, “First, Secretary Luo could hide it from you for so many years, and second, it hasn’t affected your work. Can’t you stay like this?”

He frantically added, “The secretary is too tragic! Don’t rush to reject him. Secretary Luo has an introverted character, you’ll hurt him if you act too rashly.”

Tsk, so troublesome.

Lucas scratched at his head, thinking that being too attractive brought trouble.

His silly secretary was also very worrisome.

Just as he was about to say something, someone knocked on the door.

It was one of Zhou Mingkai’s good brothers, a young punk* who dyed his hair a fiery red.

“Brother Kai!” As soon as the young man saw Zhou Mingkai, he shouted, “Your sister-in…”

Then he saw Lucas standing behind Zhou Mingkai. He instantly shrank his head and swallowed his words.

“What?” Zhou Mingkai frowned.

“Uh, Secretary Luo just danced with the eldest prince.”

“Hah?” Although Zhou Mingkai was a little surprised to hear this, he still found it inexplicable. “Is this worth running up to tell us?”

“No no no, after Secretary Luo finished dancing with the eldest prince, he was forced to agree to that bastard Xie Ancheng’s invitation, they’re dancing right now! Big bro, didn’t you tell me to keep an eye on that Xie Ancheng bastard!”

Lucas’ expression sank. “Who is Xie Ancheng?”

“Damn it.” Zhou Mingkai’s face also became dark. “Xie Ancheng is the only son of old Duke Xie, and he takes advantage of the fact that his family made great contributions to play around with good-looking beta and omega. That’s my rival!”

Lucas’ expression sank further.

Zhou Minkai continued, “But I’m friends with my partners and everyone is willing. That bastard is different. He seems like a cheerful and upright person to the world, but then he secretly drugs people when they’re not looking and plays them to death! His family also has the power to suppress all the news about this for him. If this motherfucker didn’t dare to do this to my own sister before, I still wouldn’t know!”

Lucas strode out of the private room without a single word and headed downstairs.

* * *

Luo Ran was dancing with Xie Ancheng. The man looked particularly gentle, and smiled as he said, “It’s rare that Secretary Luo is willing to play out here today.”

Xie Ancheng was just about to continue speaking when a sudden wave of pheromones almost brought him to his knees.

He was completely taken by surprise.

As an alpha with relatively strong spiritual power, how could he be suppressed until he couldn’t move…?

“Admiral…?” Luo Ran looked behind Xie Ancheng with shock.

Lucas directly seized Luo Ran’s wrist, roughly pulled him behind himself, and dragged him out of the banquet hall.

Xie Ancheng was as pale as death as he watched Luo Ran get dragged away.

So it was Lucas…

“Admiral…” Luo Ran, who was hauled into a hovercar, looked at the suddenly angry Lucas before him doubtfully.

“Was it fun?” Lucas asked coldly. “That eldest prince and that duke’s son or whoever, was it very fun?”

“…” Luo Ran stared blankly at Lucas.

“I’m asking you!”

Luo Ran felt that the current Lucas was like a lion who screamed because his territory was invaded. He explained helplessly, “I couldn’t possibly refuse the eldest prince when he asked me to dance. You also know that the eldest prince and second prince have been fighting to win you over. After I danced with him, I worried that other people would think too much and think that you’d made a decision, so I also accepted Xie Ancheng’s invitation. Everyone knows that Xie Ancheng’s family all follow the second prince.”

“Secretary Luo is quite thoughtful,” Lucas sneered.

Luo Ran was going to reply when his whole body lost strength and he uncontrollably toppled over.

Lucas subconsciously caught him. As a result, Luo Ran crashed into Lucas’ chest so hard that he saw stars.

Lucas’ first reaction was: fuck, this little bastard is planning to seduce me?!

But then he remembered Zhou Mingkai’s description of Xie Ancheng – secretly drugs people.

* * *

Lucas’ eyes darkened.

Xie Ancheng… doesn’t want his life anymore, right?

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Author:
Zhou Mingkai: I’m the Empire’s biggest CP fan! Who would disagree!
Nina: I disagree.
Rong Duo: I disagree.
Adjutant: I disagree.

Translator:
Lucas really cracks me up sometimes. But also, fuck that Xie Ancheng guy.

Footnotes:

1. Thank you for your kind words [过誉]: lit. ‘you’re overpraising me’, but in essence, it’s a polite response to a compliment. Sounds awkward in English so I changed it to something that more or less means the same.
2. Lively scene [觥筹交替]: very likely it’s supposed to be 觥筹交错, the last character is different; lit. wine goblets and tallies intertwine
3. Punk [杀马特]: specifically, shamate; an edgy aesthetic which developed in China around 2008, involving spiky hair dyed in unnatural colours, dark makeup around the eyes & lips; inspired by Japan’s Visual Kei style.

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