nebula story

After waiting in silence for an unknown amount of time, His Royal Highness Fern finally turned to look at Chesu beside him.

"Chesu, I really want to be a person who breaks my promise." He said slowly, "That's right, just now I decided to let you go at dawn, but now, I really want to change my mind."

Looking at Chesu's suddenly wary eyes, he continued calmly: "Even if you can really give up your love for this mecha, I'm not reconciled."

With a distant smile, Chesu seemed to see through something: "...Your Highness, this is not unusual." He let go of the joystick in his hand, switched to the automatic driving state, and looked at the console seriously, as if His Highness Bifern The face looks much better, "You haven't found someone who can replace me."

"No, it's not, Chesu." Her Highness Fern said softly, her usually cold and low voice became very strange, even slightly sad.

"In the afternoon, I complained to Brother Lance that his evaluation of you was not right at all. He said that you are the kind of person who responds ten times to other people's kindness, but I was very angry because I never felt Such a response."

His handsome brows were furrowed, forming a slight wrinkle.

"But I thought about it for a long time today, and I suddenly remembered another sentence he said, maybe this sentence that I ignored, is the real reason for the constant tension between us." Looking at Chesu's silent side face, he smiled wryly He said, "Chesu, turn your face around and look at me."

Turning his face slightly, Chesu's eyes were full of doubts and guarded.

His Royal Highness Fern looked at him shyly: "You don't even look at me, I can't continue."

Yes, Chesu's expression was quiet and harmless, but it was so hurtful, the occasional smile and naughtiness disappeared without a trace, and the rest were all strange.

But he couldn't back down, couldn't give up.

After all this happened today, if he still insists on getting along with him in the same way as in the past, I am afraid there will be no possibility of recovery.

"Lance said that because of pride and face, it is very stupid to bury kindness in your heart and not show it." His Highness Fern stared at the young man in front of him, paused for a while, and finally faced his own problems, "I think After a long time, I began to suspect that you are so repulsive and disgusted with me, is it because you don't know how to respond, or... I have never clearly conveyed my kindness myself?"

There was a little confusion in Chesu's dark eyes, but he couldn't react.

His Highness Fern took a deep breath: "So I want to try to see if I can express it seriously, instead of always feeling that you should feel something for granted and can't wait to respond."

Staring at his exclusive mechanic, His Highness Fern's face did not have the usual indifference and sternness, only gentleness and calmness.Even though he was so unaccustomed to explaining to anyone, at this moment, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince finally learned to let go of his pride and reserve.

"I studied psychology in the military school and got all A's. I can assure you that I don't have a dual personality." His explanation was so serious, as if he was afraid of being really treated by Chesu as a patient, "But I think, I am indeed responsible for my own moodiness.—Our encounter was so bad, and I was so eager to make up for it, that's why you see me who is sometimes harsh and sometimes gentle."

Seeing Chesu's completely unresponsive expression, he continued in a deep voice: "As the crown prince of the empire, I seldom regret what happened. Even if I regret occasionally, I'm not used to making remedies myself. ——So no matter how deeply I regret the whipping and imprisonment, I don’t know how to really make up for it.”

Regret, remedy... Chesu was in a state of confusion as he chewed on a few strange words.This is not what His Royal Highness Fern has always said and done, and he never thought that this man who was born noble would put his figure down like this.

His Highness Fern sighed softly: "Chesu, do you really think that I brought you from the barracks to the palace to imprison you? I just..." He had some difficulty thinking about the words, "I just can't let you go Just stay in that hurtful place."

After a slight shock, Chesu stared at him in surprise.

"You said that once I find someone to replace you, I will drive you away without hesitation, and even continue to put you in prison." His Highness Fern said lightly, "That's not the case, Chesu. When you passed out in front of me that day , I decided on my only partner, and I don’t want to give up for any reason.”

The only partner?never give up?He was talking about himself?

Chesu listened to His Royal Highness Fern's words in a daze, his dark eyes were like pools of water.

"Chesu, I don't have obsessive-compulsive disorder." His Royal Highness Fern spoke out with difficulty, a little embarrassed, "It's the first time you picked those two kinds from a lot of pastries, I thought...you really like them, so I can't eat them." Every time I ask my servants to prepare according to this; every night I order you to go to bed early, it is the doctor who said you need to rest, I am just afraid that you will stay up late when you are sick."

Biting her lip, Chesu blinked her eyelashes.

"I'm not obsessed with cleanliness either. During the field training in the military academy, like all the students, I lay in the majestic rainwater and mud for hours at a time." His Highness Fern hesitated for a while, but still whispered in distress, " I never dislike you sleeping in my bed. If I disliked you, I wouldn't have put you there without thinking, right?... I just don't want to drive you away, and I can't sleep with you. "

Under the soft sensor light inside the mecha, Chesu's face suddenly turned a little red, and he slowly lowered his head.

"As for insisting on sitting in our current mecha, that's... also because I want to have a mecha exclusively for the two of us." Looking at himself, he hastily added, "I am the crown prince of the empire, and having a special mecha with my partner is not a luxury, is it?"

Quietly listening to the extremely strange long explanation from the always domineering Crown Prince, Chesu never gave any reaction.

"I am so out of control today, not because I feel that I have no chance to play and perform." His Highness Fern's lips and teeth were bitter, "I am used to your indifference and ignorance of me, but I am not used to your personality towards me. Chesu, I’m angry just because you didn’t care about your safety at all, and even did unnecessary exercises in the first high-altitude actual combat.”

Looking at him in amazement, Chesu's expression finally showed a little shock.

"When you were hit, I had the illusion that you were really dead." Fern smiled bitterly at himself, "I always thought that I would face everything calmly on the battlefield, but I didn't expect that this kind of simulation It's just a battle exercise, the moment I saw you fall, I actually had a huge fear."

"So I don't want you to go out to try again at all. I'm afraid that the metal cable will get out of control again, and you won't be proficient in positioning... I'm afraid that you will miss again and really fall in front of me." His Highness Fern whispered Dao, with a flash of light in his deep eyes, "I really don't care about winning or losing. ... Please believe me, compared to your safety, those are not important."

The mecha flying peacefully in autopilot mode is infinitely approaching the boundless starry sky.It seems that it is getting farther and farther away from the ground, and it will never stop for a moment.

Inside the mecha, there was a brief silence.

Thinking hard about everything today, His Royal Highness Fern suddenly felt a heartbeat, remembering the real reason why Chesu ran out.Although he never felt that he knew anything about this young man, he knew one thing: Compared with the whipping and punishment he had imposed on him, the cruel and dark words tonight were the deepest and most terrifying thorn in his heart. Bar?

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the young man in front of him, and decided to face the source of the huge crack: "Chesu, I've said so much, you may not even bother to listen. But anyway, I still want to say one more word—I'm sorry .”

Chesu stared at him intently, under bright and clean eyes, Fern suddenly felt ashamed that he couldn't hide.

"I'm sorry for the dirty words I said tonight." Her Highness Fern said slowly, "I swear on the reputation of the Cromwell royal family and my life, I will never...let that happen. "

After a long pause, he still didn't wait for a brief response from Chesu.As if he had become completely dumb, Chesu's pale and beautiful lips were tightly pressed all the time.

His Highness Fern suddenly thought of one thing in a trance: from the beginning to the end, he confessed alone, and he didn't hear the slightest positive response from Chesu.No one knows better than him what kind of personality this young man, who can't be subdued by whips and death threats, has a soft outside but strong inside.

Is it really irreparable, irreparable?For a moment, a huge sense of powerlessness surged in his heart.But unlike before, this time the sense of powerlessness was not accompanied by frustration and anger, only bitterness and guilt.

Was it from the first day we met, from the moment when he pointed a hot wire gun at Chesu's forehead coldly, it was destined that he would regret it deeply one day?

Silently looking at the deep starry sky, the stars above Lensell disappeared from their past naughtiness, and blinked coldly, as if mocking the powerlessness of the omnipotent Crown Prince at the moment.

"Chesu, I have no way to keep you anymore, is there?" He finally didn't have the courage to continue this one-sided one-man show.

With a weary wry smile, he said lightly, "Tomorrow morning, go and tell Wood where you want to go, and ask him to take you off..."

Holding the control stick on his side with his own hands, he silently adjusted the angle and speed of the return flight manually. With a stagnant and heavy roundabout, the dark mech in the air turned around slowly, and finally returned to the place it came from.

In the not-so-spacious cabin, the air seemed to be stagnant into a thick stick.

After an unknown period of time, Chesu moved slightly, and was in his own machine repair position.

"Your Highness..." His voice was very soft.

There was a vibration, His Royal Highness Fern pressed a wrong key, and the mech visibly shook.

"Well... I forgive you." Chesu whispered.

A little pariah said forgiveness to His Royal Highness, the most honorable crown prince in the entire empire.But neither of the two people who were talking to each other felt that there was anything wrong.

A smile slowly appeared on his lips, and His Royal Highness Fern said softly: "Chesu, you are the only one who forgives our two princes."

Touching his nose in embarrassment, Chesu was a little embarrassed. "Ah I……"

Quickly interrupting him, Fern quickly seized this good opportunity: "But I, like Brother Lance, feel very happy to hear you say that."

Glancing at him quietly, Chesu finally lowered his head and said in a low voice, "And... I'm sorry."

Turning his head quickly to look at Chesu, Fern wondered if he had heard something wrong.

"I'm sorry." Although the voice was very soft, Chesu's words were clear, especially clear and pleasant in this quiet mecha, "I, I also have many things wrong."

As if hearing the sounds of nature, His Highness Fern stared at him with ecstasy in his chest.

The bright eyes of the young man beside him were as clear as a clear stream, without the previous anger and vigilance, only a piece of clarity remained.

"Well, thank you for the supper, thank you for letting me sleep in the bed..." There was a little confusion and embarrassment on his cheeks, "I don't know, you are angry this afternoon because you are worried about my safety. I thought... ...you've always hated who I am."

"No!" Fern cut him off eagerly, "I swear I didn't."

"Well, I made a mistake. I'm sorry..." Chesu seemed to be stuttering a bit, "And tonight, the gesture I made to you was really, really just a small joke. I... have no humiliation and belittling you."

He said embarrassedly: "His Highness Lance and Aisha are right, you are actually... a good person."

nice guy?Fern chewed on the strange comment: "No one ever said that to me, Chesu."

Looking up at Fern's slightly puzzled expression, Chesu hastily added, "Well, but they say you are fair and strict, diligent and outstanding, talented and intelligent, and... you have been shouldering the heavy responsibility of the empire seriously."

Quietly looking at Chesu's picturesque eyebrows and pure gaze, Fern felt a faint sadness and shock in his heart.

The young man in front of him seems to be extremely intelligent, but he completely lacks the sensitivity to things like emotions—he is really like a fish in water when facing those machines that can't speak.

However, as Lance said, this young man who doesn't know how to hold grudges at all, will show his greatest kindness and tolerance when facing others with a little kindness, and return ten percent in return.

The words that Professor Saar said when they first met, choked up and pleaded for Chesu, suddenly appeared in his mind.The confusion at that time has now been quietly resolved.

"I just—there's no way not to cherish this child like a treasure."

That's right, once you get closer and pay attention, no one can take their eyes off this young man, and there is no way not to cherish him like a treasure.

"Your Highness, I want to stay. Is it okay?" Chesu said softly, his eyes shone brightly, shyly, "I don't want to be here."

Without asking whether "here" refers to the imperial palace or the mech he is in, His Royal Highness Fern's mouth curled up into an uncontrollable smile, and the gloom was instantly swept away from his handsome face, revealing an undeniably intense look.

"Of course." He smiled, "It is my honor to open the entire Crown Prince's residence to you."

The manipulative movements of his subordinates were as easy as the wind, and His Royal Highness suddenly felt that the exhaustion brought about by the fierce battle during the day and the fluctuating emotions at night was swept away. Both the body and the mighty mech in the air became like the sky. Like a fluttering feather, it is extraordinarily light and freehand.

Driving this familiar mech, Fern leisurely returned to the direction he came from.

After a while, he spoke softly.

"When I used to participate in mecha driving training, I always felt that this kind of simulated combat is really boring, and I really hope that one day I can fly to a real battlefield in space." His voice was low and thoughtful, "But now, I think it's just like this. Not bad."

"What's good?" Chesu tilted his head and looked at him.

"Although I very much hope that one day I can truly share a plane with you and fight side by side, but after today's incident, I suddenly feel that it is better not to have things like war happen forever." Fern said lightly, " Because even I can't guarantee the safety of those around me at that time."

"Your Highness...?" Chesu asked suspiciously, "Hasn't things like war stopped for decades?"

"Your enlistment period for military service is five years." Fern looked at the quiet sky in the distance, and for some reason, the indifferent and deep eyes of Marshal Aoten suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, "I only hope that within these five years, everything Quiet as usual."

Turning his head to look at Chesu's young face, he smiled faintly: "I don't want to bring an underage boy to the battlefield."

Chesu looked at him with bright eyes, "What if there is another war after I leave the army?"

"At that time, I will choose other mechanics to fight with me."

"Ah?..." Chesu responded blankly.

After a while, he whispered: "Your Highness, until how old do you think you will be driving a mech on the battlefield by yourself?"

"50 years old?" His Highness Fern smiled slightly, "After 50 years old, the body will not be able to take it anymore, and the speed will not be able to keep up."

"Fifty years old." Chesu murmured, his two delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, "I am seventeen this year, how old is Your Highness?"

Looking at him sideways, Fern said slowly, "Chesu, can you stop paying attention to me?"

"Huh?" Chesu looked up suspiciously.

Sighing inwardly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is unparalleled in the empire, said in an almost resentful tone: "I am 25 years old, eight years older than you, remember?"

"Well, remember." Chesu blushed, "Then when your Highness is 50 years old, I will be 42 years old."

Frowning suspiciously, His Highness Fern didn't understand what he meant.

After being silent for a long time, Chesu looked up at Fern as if he mustered up his courage, his dark and pure eyes were faintly shining with light: "Your Highness, before I am 42 years old, if you need me, you can call me into the army at any time. .”

Staring closely at the boy's face in front of him, Fern asked softly, "What did you say?"

"I said, if His Highness needs to come to the battlefield in person, I can do it too." A shy smile appeared on Chesu's lips, "I promise, I will do my best to protect your mecha."

Fern didn't respond, and there was no expression on his handsome male face.No one knows what kind of turmoil is going on in his heart at this moment.

The young man in front of him was so belittled by him at the beginning of the meeting, and hurt by him in the subsequent relationship, but now, he smiled so easily and made such a promise to him.

It seems simple and casual, but it gives the youngest and most beautiful 20 years of his life. ——In the past 20 years, as long as he stretches out his hand to call, he will happily come here without regret, ready to sacrifice his life and blood.