'There are also twenty days a year set aside for exclusive vacations with her. You can't keep all those perks to yourself, can you?' 'Exactly!' Corvin echoed, feeling for the first time that Edric was on his side. 'We want to spend more time with Emma too—and go on vacation with her!' 'I'd give anything just to go on a trip alone with her,' Edric added. Silas nearly laughed out loud at how perfectly Corvin and Edric echoed each other. 'That's not up to me,' he finally replied. 'You'll have to ask Emy yourself. If she agrees, I won't object.' … Meanwhile, on the warship that had turned around, Calum stared at the group chat, stunned. 'Being the primary mate comes with that kind of benefit?!' he asked with incredulity. Why the hell did no one tell me before?He turned toward Lucien and Marcus, his eyes narrowing as if he were looking at two idiots. "You're telling me the position of primary mate comes with all that, and you both turned it down? Are you insane?" If he'd known the perks were this good, they would've had to kill him before he refused. Marcus blinked, equally dumbfounded, then shot Lucien a look. "You knew about this and didn't tell us? You're seriously telling me you gave that up willingly? Are you out of your mind?!" Ever since Lucien had returned from that mission, Marcus had thought something was off about him—and now he was sure. The man had completely lost it. Lucien stared at the chat, his vision darkening as he fought down the metallic taste rising in his throat. His voice came out rough. "Just think of me as crazy." Even if those perks had existed before, he could no longer be the one to take that position. "You're unbelievable!" Marcus snapped, furious. "If you didn't want the job, you could've told us! How the hell were we supposed to know?" Unbelievable!Marcus genuinely wanted to punch Lucien. Calum glared at him too. If Lucien hadn't looked like he was about to fall apart, Calum would've already taken a swing. When had he—who'd never lost a single battle—ever been this stifled in his life?! Forcing himself to calm down, Calum took a few deep breaths before asking, "Anyway, it's too late now. Ms. Tibarn won't let us go back. So where do you two plan to go?" Lucien, pale and weak, rubbed his temple. "To Aurelia." "You're really going back?" Calum looked at him in disbelief. He hadn't expected Lucien to actually obey. Lucien said nothing. Calum turned toward Marcus, who was lying on the floor, looking half-dead. "And you?" Marcus' voice was faint. "I'll listen to Ms. Tibarn and go back to Frostveil." Calum was speechless. Since when were these two so obedient? "Well," he said finally, "since you're both going back to your clans, and I don't have one, I'll return to the military." Maybe I'll check in on Malrik while I'm there. If I can heal him quickly, that'll give me an excuse to come back sooner. When their warship reached Central Planet, Calum, Marcus, and Lucien immediately disembarked. Calum didn't look back as he left for the military base. Lucien turned to Marcus and said quietly, "Frostveil probably doesn't want you there. Do you want to stay with me in Aurelia for a while?" Marcus shook his head weakly. "No. I'm going back to Frostveil." Then he staggered off without another word. Watching Marcus disappear into the distance, Lucien pressed a trembling hand against his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body went limp, and he dropped from the air like a falling star. "Your Highness!" From the shadows, his guards rushed forward, using their abilities to catch him before he hit the ground. Lucien coughed again, blood staining his lips as his strength drained away."This is bad—His Highness' old illness is acting up again! Notify Ms. Emma Tibarn—" "No," Lucien rasped, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. "Take me back to Aurelia. Don't tell Emma." The Beast God's fruit can cure me; not even Emma's blood will work. Best not to let her worry. Just suck it up—it'll be over before I know it. … Back on the warship, Emma sat in the lounge, staring at her lightcore. She turned it on and off, over and over, hesitating for what felt like forever before finally sending a message. 'I'm giving you five days. Go home, think about what you've done, and then come back when you've figured it out. I'm not mad that you didn't want to be the primary mate—I'm mad that you didn't even talk to me about it.' She wasn't just angry at Lucien; she was angry at herself too—for not realizing his hesitation sooner, for not asking what was wrong. Why couldn't he just talk to me? If he'd felt trapped or unhappy being the primary mate, he could've said something. It's not like I'm unreasonable. If he'd just told me, I would've done whatever I could to make it easier for him. But after the message went through, there was no reply.