black queen hypothesis

For the next few days, it was business as usual.Vilas accompanied Silvio to exercise in the morning in the area where senior officials of the federal government lived, and nothing unexpected happened.But Sylvio still leaves early and returns late, so busy that no one can be seen.

This made Vilas couldn't help but suspect that he was too sensitive.But on the other hand, given Silvio's current desire for overall control, he might be being kept under wraps.

On the one hand, it doesn't feel good to be concealed; on the other hand, if the matter has something to do with pirates, he doesn't want to confront Smitz that much unless necessary.so……

"It's best that everything goes according to plan," Vilas concluded.As for the spiritual connection... the federal president can't even handle it, let alone him alone, can't he?

Another weekend, Vilas woke up and unexpectedly found that the bright spot representing Sivio was still in the presidential residence, not in the Congress Palace or the Ministry of Security.This was unusual, so he got himself together and wandered downstairs.

Silvio sat on the sofa in the living room, facing a virtual tablet, tapping occasionally, with a focused look.

Vilas just wanted to say hello, but he choked when he saw it.He stopped on the stairs, deeply doubting that it was inappropriate for him to go down now.

"It's okay." Sylvio didn't lift his head when he said this, "These don't involve confidential information."

A sentry with super five senses, he must have been heard as soon as he left the house... Vilas curled his lips. "It's not easy, do you finally have a holiday?" He teased, leaning on the handrail of the stairs, turned over and landed on the sofa next to Silvio without any mistakes, and then raised his legs leisurely.

The posture of falling from the sky finally made the president, who is busy with everything, condescendingly give him a look, but there was no more reaction.

"Whoever sees you like this won't want to be president anymore." Vilas tutted, "Seriously, they won't find you an assistant or something? Doesn't matter whether it's public or private?"

Silvio's eyes were still focused on those jumping virtual screens. "It used to be." He replied succinctly.

Used to have?

Vilas had to figure out the words that sounded ordinary but actually had a deep meaning. "That must be because your requirements are too high, and people are scared away."

Silvio frowned, and added: "I still have Athena."

Before Vilas could say anything about this, the artificial intelligence jumped out first: "Sir, I think the assistant His Highness is talking about should be a person within a narrow range."

"Hahahaha!" Vilas was instantly amused, "An artificial intelligence that will take the initiative to tear down the stage? Who designed Athena's answering program? I'm about to fall in love with him!"

Sylvio choked slightly, before raising his head again with calm eyes. "Athena is my personal AI."

The meaning of the words is self-evident.The embarrassment was a bit big, and Vilas couldn't laugh anymore.He looked up and down, and finally touched his nose in embarrassment: "I'm hungry, I'm going to get something to eat."

By this time it was almost noon.Out of an inexplicable guilt, Vilas made two meals.As he carried them out of the kitchen, he met Silvio's gaze. "Do you want to eat?" He asked, the embarrassment just now has not completely dissipated, "If not, then..."

However, Silvio didn't let Vilas's supplements come in handy at all. "I'm hungry too." He decisively made the last few virtual tablets disappear, got up and walked to the dining table.

The two sat down facing each other, and the atmosphere was still a bit weird.Silvio took a sip of his lunch that looked good, raised his brows slightly, and praised sincerely: "The craftsmanship is good."

Vilas's heart, which he had been carrying from just now, was finally put back in his stomach. "You sound a little surprised?"

"A little bit." Sylvio admitted, "For a crown prince, it is even more surprising."

If these words were put in the past, Vilas would definitely think that Silvio was ironic.But now, he just smiled. "That's because the so-called His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only stayed in the palace for seven years."

Silvio raised his eyes.Vilas noticed this gaze and quickly waved his hands: "This is not a complaint, I'm just telling the truth."

Silvio nodded, then shook his head again. "Why? Is it still the reason you said last time?"

"Almost." Vilas shrugged slightly, and began to deal with his share of lamb chops.

But Silvio didn't start.Still staring at Vilas, he felt those pent-up questions popping up one by one—and now might be a good time to seek answers. "Why don't you contact the Empire?" he asked. "Actually, you can do that, and they will definitely help you leave the Federation."

"You probably want to say, so I don't need to cooperate with you." Vilas replied without thinking, "But, for me, let's have another conflict with the Federation, huh?"

"You don't think it's worth it?" Silvio pressed.

"There is no value or not, only should or should not." Vilas did not hesitate.Realizing that Silvio was not going to turn his attention back to lunch anytime soon, he simply put down the knife and fork. "One side is me, the other side is the empire, which do you think is more important?"

This is very practical.It hasn't been long since the empire was defeated, and there are currently no resources enough to fight against the federation.But that wasn't enough to convince Silvio: "The pirates claim you're dead; so if this is done secretly..."

"You also said that if you want to avoid another conflict, you must be 'secret'." Vilas said, staring into Silvio's eyes, "this should be enough for you to think of something, right?"

"...pirates." Silvio immediately realized the problem. "Do you think they may be lurking on your way back to the empire? Or do you think that your contact with the empire may directly recruit the pirates?"

"A little bit of it," Vilas admitted. "It's not as safe as Capitol, is it?"

Silvio, however, was not diverted from focus. "I still feel that your conclusion has no valid premise at all." He sharply pointed out, "No matter what you say, it is only a possibility. But the fact is that your performance in the final battle has shocked the whole star. Whether you Are you the crown prince of the empire? You are the only hope for the empire to rise again—there is no doubt about it. Even if it’s just for this, someone must pay any price to let you return to the empire safely. Are you deliberately ignoring this?”

There was an eerie silence.Vilas lowered his head halfway, his slightly long black hair covering his expression.

Silvio suddenly realized that he was too direct.With the relationship between the two, maybe he shouldn't be talking to Vilas like this at all. "sorry, I……"

"You're right, there's nothing to be sorry about." Vilas interrupted him, his voice muffled. "I'm really ignoring it on purpose."

Silvio watched Vilas closely.When he realized that the other party was trembling extremely slightly, he inevitably became worried. "Forget what I just said."

Vilas shook his head dryly. "It has nothing to do with you, because the fact is—" he paused, but still said, "I want to go back to the empire, but I'm afraid to go back to the empire."

This sentence was suffocated in his heart, and at this moment he finally uttered it with ease.

Silvio was really surprised. "Why?"

"For you, is failure the scariest thing in the world?" Vilas asked without answering.

It doesn't sound like an ordinary question... Sylvio thought about it twice in his heart, but he wasn't quite sure. "Depending on the situation?"

But Vilas didn't really need an answer. "The most frightening thing is not failure, nor is it that I know I will fail, nor is it that I know that I will lead everyone to failure. The most frightening thing is," he finally raised his head, his tone was calm, but his expression was sad, "I led Some people know they will fail in the end, and I can't save them, but they still follow me unswervingly."

"You..." Sylvio was shocked.Because when Vilas said this, he knew what the other party was talking about——In the last battle at the Sils Maria Palace, the two sides were ten to one in strength, and they knew that they would definitely lose, but they still had to fight— —

Was that what Vilas thought then?

Silvio wanted to say that you were wrong; he wanted to say that you had already won.But in the end, he didn't say a word, just walked around the table and silently embraced the people sitting there.

Although depressed, Vilas didn't plan to rest his head on Silvio's waist to recover. "Are you trying to comfort me?" He reluctantly laughed, trying to break free from the hug that wasn't too strong.

Silvio responded by tightening his hands on Vilas' shoulders. "Don't move," he whispered, "There are people nearby."

Vilas almost laughed out loud. "Don't be funny, when is there no one around your place?" Reporters have been running all over the place!

Silvio didn't explain, but the strength in his hands became stronger.Surprised by this unusual reaction, Vilas immediately minimized the sensory barrier.Because of the proximity, the cool cedar breath immediately filled his nostrils; while trying to control the urge to take a deep breath, he caught a glimpse of a familiar black-gold yin-yang butterfly flying away from the magnolia tree branch outside the window.