Make me your Empress

At the same time, Uriel also received Bai Ling’s medical data.

Peregrine Falcon bloodline, SSS agility, amputation 2 months ago… Excellent. He was even more suitable for their project than the pilot he had found before.

Due to the engineering nature of mecha, many civilian families would also purchase a mecha to take on jobs and support their families.

Among them, 70% of pilots were of Avian bloodlines. They were adept at withstanding the High-g force of a downward dive; they were simplu born for this job.

But piloting a mecha is extremely dangerous. Avian skeletons are hollow, and in an accident, they are highly susceptible to comminuted fractures or even amputation. The cost of limb regeneration is over a million, which is simply not something a working-class family could afford. As a result, many injured soldiers in the mecha circle had to retire in tears.

Uriel, as a mecha engineer, had always wanted to develop a mecha that Avians with disabilities could easily operate.

However, the initial investment was high, and the actual market for it was limited. What manufacturer would be willing to invest in that?

Just as Uriel was at a dead end, his high-ranking and powerful uncle had suddenly sent a message, agreeing to fund him.

Uriel was ecstatic, but he also cautiously asked why his uncle was willing to make a losing business.

The merman on the other end had mused: “I had a dream about an old disabled acquaintance. I don’t remember the details clearly, but he… should have passed away.”

Uriel: “Ah, was it a friend of yours in real life?”

The merman had smiled. “No. Just a dream.”

He was investing 50 million interstellar credits just because of a feeling he got from a dream? Others might be dumbfounded, but when Uriel thought about the benevolent acts his Imperial Uncle had performed when he was in power, it wasn’t surprising.

Because the merman was just that kind of sovereign.

He ruled with an iron fist to control the situation, yet he also cared for the disadvantaged—as if he wore two opposing masks. He was contradictory to the extreme, inspiring awe and fear, yet making people unable to resist his control.

Uriel didn’t dare to defy him. Even though the merman had already abdicated, the authority he had left in people’s hearts remained. Uriel was respectful this time as well, reporting his progress in meticulous detail:

“Hello. Our test pilot has just passed his test. His flight control data is outstanding. I believe he will be a great asset to our project.”

“However, he’s a bit malnourished and has low blood sugar. It’s a pity he won’t be stationed at the base permanently. Otherwise, we would definitely grab him by the wings and fatten him up properly.”

Yu Chen listened at his desk. “A malnourished alpha?”

“He’s an omega.”

“Omega…” Yu Chen repeated, and couldn’t help but think of that bird, so thin you could feel his ribs.

Uriel thought he was about to express displeasure and quickly explained, “It’s because that tyrant is in power now. The government doesn’t take omegas seriously. Not only do they withhold their milk rations, but they also condone crimes committed by alphas.”

“What kind of crimes?” Yu Chen leaned forward slightly.

“They turn a blind eye to alpha guardians who abuse their omegas or refuse to provide comfort.”

---

Night fell, and the salty sea breeze drove the dense fog onto the land. The lights in the square blurred, making the pedestrians seem like indistinct shadows. Bai Ling sat on a bench, looking up at the dark gray fog, feeling as if he were in a dream.

After leaving the association, he didn’t returned to the palace immediately. Anna had allowed him an advance on his salary, so he had bought the electrical wires to repair the palace.

With the remaining 200 interstellar credits, he had originally planned to buy a secondhand coat from a thrift store to cope with the coming snow. But when he passed a candy shop, he couldn’t help but stop and buy a small bag of old-fashioned milk candies.

He counted them. There were only twenty.

I’m really losing my mind… Bai Ling cursed himself for being so extravagant while carefully unwrapping a candy. A gust of wind blew, and his overstuffed canvas bag tilted, a medicine bottle falling from the unzipped opening.

Bai Ling picked it up reluctantly.

It was the alpha pheromone supplement Dr. Lin had prescribed. He had also instructed him to take it on time every day.

Bai Ling hated this medicine. The pharmaceutical companies always made the pills huge. His throat was narrow, and they always got stuck when he tried to swallow, making him gag.

Because of this, he always dreaded taking his medicine.

Bai Ling decided to get it over with. He twisted the cap, poured two into his palm, and tilted his head back to swallow. Ugh, choking…

The bitter taste lingered in his throat. He quickly unwrapped a milk candy and held it in his mouth like a life-raft.

It still tastes like childhood.

Sure enough, when it is cold in winter, you just need to eat something sweet.

The fog was thicker now. The few pedestrians had disappeared, leaving only a few blurry figures in the square.

Bai Ling knew what they were doing. They were checking the trash cans, going down the main road one by one, with lowered heads, searching.

If they were lucky, they could find leftovers thrown out by nearby restaurants at closing time. But it was winter now, and business wasn’t good for the restaurants. They probably wouldn’t find much. They would just have to return to their wandering tents, with empty stomachs, and wrap themselves tightly in tattered cotton.

Bai Ling watched the figures, somewhat lost in thought.

After a short while, one of the men, who had found nothing, began to cry and curse, throwing a wine bottle.

“Fuck this Empire! And fuck Izsu Paraiso! That demon, he ruined my family! Go to hell!”

The bottle flew in an arc and smashed hard against the statue in the square.

“He seems to be cursing one person, but blaming another,” a thoughtful voice said from behind.

Bai Ling immediately stood up, putting distance between them. A man stood in front of him. He wore a tattered black hat, had a stubble, and his bright blue eyes were watching him.

“Are you a beta?” Bai Ling had just taken the alpha pheromone supplement. He didn’t want any trouble.

The vagrant nodded. “Easy to tell, right? Ocean trash, society’s worker ants. We betas all have the same, exhausted face.”

The man spoke with a standard accent, a trained cadence, and was very talkative. “What about you? I’m guessing you’re an Ooega. You’re tall, but your face is full of vigilance. You must have had a lot of bad experiences.”

Bai Ling didn’t deny it, only said, “In this country, is there anyone who hasn’t had bad experiences?”

The vagrant laughed heartily, then asked, “So, do you believe those stories, too?”

“What stories?”

“That the Former Merman Emperor was a demon… that he poisoned the children’s milk, put rat poison in the milk candies sent to schools. That he sent any alphas who resisted him to the artificial moon to plant potatoes… those stories.”

“Sounds like something he would do,” Bai Ling said, his expression flat. “At least when I was in the shelter as a child, we had fresh potatoes at every meal.”

With one sentence, he had insulted both the former emperor and the current one.

“Haha, you’re a sharp one! I like you!” The vagrant’s eyes held a new sincerity.

“I just got here. Bridge-dweller, vagrant, call me what you want. But I do have a legitimate business. I set up a stall on a bench in the park and read tarot cards.”

He pulled a deck of cards from his pocket, fanned them with his hands purple from the cold, but his face was cheerful.

“Go on, draw one. It’s on me. On a day this cold, I’d rather buy you a gin, but my finances won’t allow it.”

Bai Ling didn’t want to refuse his enthusiasm, so he drew a card.

It was a woman wearing a pearl necklace and a crown.

The vagrant took it back, his eyes widening slightly. “Oh, the Empress, upright.”

Bai Ling didn’t understand divination. He gave a faint smile. “Is it predicting I’ll become an Empress?”

That was probably inaccurate.

In his past life, he had always been a revolutionary bandit. Becoming an Empress was impossible. Kidnapping an Empress, on the other hand…

“No, no,” the vagrant announced in a sonorous voice. “The Empress is a warm, generous mother. It means you are about to welcome a sweet and abundant relationship.”

That familiar cadence… Bai Ling felt like he had heard this voice somewhere before.

The vagrant, afraid he wouldn’t believe it, thumped his chest. “I’ve only been learning divination for three days, but I have a premonition: you will find the happiness you deserve.”

…Deserve.

Bai Ling thought back on his displaced, lonely past life, and dismissed the vagrant’s reading with a smile.

“Thank you. I hope so.”

Before leaving, Bai Ling gave the man his remaining change and offered a tip: “It’s going to snow soon. You’d best get up at 3 AM and go to the rich district’s dump to grab a few more blankets. You can sleep at the foot of the statue. There’s a blind spot there that blocks the wind.”

The vagrant stood there, stunned.

He spoke with such earnest, detailed knowledge, as if he had lived that life himself.

Facing the cold, frosty wind, Bai Ling tightened his thin coat, lowered his head, and walked on.

Just then, a light shone down from above, brushing over his head. He instinctively looked back and saw it was the searchlight from the Goddess statue.

In the distance, the vagrant took off his hat and clutched it tightly to his chest—

He was bowing deeply to him.

---

It was nearly dawn when he slipped back into the palace waterway. Bai Ling was exhausted, but he didn’t dare lower his guard. He was afraid of encountering that big-tailed water monster again.

When he reached the exit he had used before, Bai Ling pushed hard against the cover, only to find it was locked. A jolt of panic shot through him. He held his breath, spun around, and began searching for another way out.

In the rippling darkness, a faint light glimmered.

Bai Ling swam hard toward the light. As it grew brighter in his vision, he relaxed, breaking the surface to take a desperate breath—

“Mmph—!”

A hand clamped over his mouth and dragged him backward.

Bai Ling’s gray eyes flew wide. The person covering his mouth was ruthless, pressing their thumb flat onto his tongue while their other four fingers clamped his jaw. It was a POW camp technique, one that allowed him to breathe but made it impossible to make a sound.

Dammit, who is it!

With the thumb roughly gagging him, Bai Ling’s tongue trembled. He tasted the cold, precious metal of a large gemstone ring. He struggled to look up, but froze.

…Goldilocks?

Yu Chen held the bird in check, his voice lazy as he spoke to the person outside.

“…I’m surprised, Christopher. Coming to see me this late. I hope you haven’t run into trouble.”

Christopher? That is the tyrant’s first name!

Bai Ling tried to peek his head out of the pool, but Yu Chen shoved him back down. Outside, Christopher Kaide heard the splash and asked suspiciously:

“What was that sound?”

Yu Chen replied lightly, “My midnight snack. It slipped and fell into the pool.”

Bai Ling: ?

CHOMP. He bit him.

Bitten on the web of his right hand, Yu Chen didn’t seem to feel it at all. Instead, he seemed amused. He gave the disobedient tongue a little pinch before pulling his thumb out. Then, he tapped Bai Ling’s cupid’s bow, as if in silent reprimand.

The gesture was so gentle it made Bai Ling blush for no reason.

He felt strange all over and began to struggle again.

Yu Chen sighed. To stop the bird from floundering, he went straight for the solution, grabbing the wires of his prosthesis and pinning both bird and leg against the high wall of the pool. He bent down and whispered:

“Shh. Behave.”

Bai Ling looked up, and his nose bumped right into a soaking wet chest.

The man must have been swimming. When his guest arrived, he had casually thrown on a robe. It was made of black silk, and now that it was wet, it clung like a transparent film, revealing the powerful physique underneath in full.

Dammit… He is shameless!

Bai Ling turned his head away, his cheeks burning as he tried to breathe.

There was a scent in the air, like ancient, rotting wood. It seeped into his nostrils. Bai Ling didn’t pay it much mind and took a few more breaths, but he began to feel slightly dizzy.

I’m  probably just dizzy from the cold water…

Yu Chen also seemed to realize the water was cold. He turned his head and dismissed the tyrant. “Is there anything else?”

Kaide gritted his teeth. “I’ve barely said two sentences and you’re kicking me out? You old blind man. We’ll see how much longer you last.”

“Just as you said,” Yu Chen said slowly. Beneath the water, his hand closed around Bai Ling’s thigh. He caught it like a wriggling silver fish trying to escape and even bounced it lightly in his palm. “I’m just an old man in decline, and my eyes can’t see…”

He squeezed his way down from the fleshy part of the thigh until his fingers met cold, mechanical tissue.

A fascinating, rough-edged little thing.

Yu Chen’s mood improved for no clear reason. He continued:

“So I am quite destitute. You have no reason to waste your time here.”

Bai Ling’s mouth twitched. Right, you’re ‘destitute.’ So destitute you’re playing with the tyrant’s pet right in his face.

Kaide sneered. “Just hand over the Imperial Scepter, and I will, of course, leave you in peace.”

“Christopher, you truly disappoint me.”

Yu Chen’s voice dropped two degrees. He hadn’t raised it, but an invisible pressure made Kaide’s spine chill, and he instinctively recoiled.

If any outsider had seen this, they would have been stunned. The tyrant of the New Empire was actually… afraid?

Yu Chen said, “Get out.”

Kaide looked like an octopus that had just had its tentacles stepped on. He slammed the door furiously and left.

The scene was utterly baffling.

Bai Ling couldn’t understand how that arrogant tyrant had been scared off by a single word.

This wavy-haired omega beside him… who is he?

Bai Ling recalled the keywords: old man, Imperial Scepter. A light flashed in his mind, and he understood. He is living in this rundown part of the palace, yet he has high status, can order the tyrant around, and still possesses the scepter. This has to be—

The old emperor’s widow. The former dynasty’s Empress Dowager!

So that was it. The Former Merman Emperor had never actually signed an abdication decree. The scepter, the symbol of Imperial power, must still be in his possession. If the Former Emperor was dead, the tyrant would naturally imprison his omega to torture the scepter’s location out of him.

It made perfect sense. If Bai Ling were in his position, he would absolutely have abducted this wavy-haired man, too.

Suddenly, Bai Ling had a very bold idea.

After the tyrant left, Yu Chen stepped back, releasing Bai Ling like a gentleman, letting him go.

But the bird clamped his legs, twisted his body, and used his momentum to pull Yu Chen right into the pool. Bai Ling pinned his mechanical knee over Yu Chen’s heart. He grabbed a handful of the man’s wavy golden hair, looked down at him, and said mockingly:

“Your Majesty Empress Dowager, rather than hiding in this bathhouse, why don’t you come and be my Empress?”

---

Author has something to say:

Yu Chen: Little Bird’s problem-solving method is completely correct, but he plugged in the wrong values.

Little bird, the first revolutionary leader in history to declare he’d make the demon Former Emperor his ‘captive bride’—

I really want to shout at the bird: Run! This is going to crash and burn!

—————

PS: Seeing some friends in the comments are confused about names, here’s a review~

Gong = Former Emperor = Yu Chen = Codename Izsu Paraiso, is a big merman

Tyrant = Current Emperor = Kaide = Codename The Great King, is a stinky octopus

Just remember the gong is the one with the long name~

Gong: Pushed the [Alpha Guardian System], promoted alpha virtue and male competition, a ‘mommy’ who protected omega resources~

Tyrant: Elevated alphas, devalued omegas, and withheld the milk. A bad guy!