EROS [Zerg]

Before Ina could react, Evanson had already squeezed out of the crowded swarm of insects and run up to him.

"Father, why don't you want me anymore?"

Ina looked at Evanson who had come up to her and was surprised to find that the female insect cub, which was not even a year old, had already grown to be as tall as her knees.

Can insect larvae really grow this fast?

Before Ina could recover from his surprise, the audacious female insect cub had already pulled his robes and climbed onto his knees.

Seeing Evanson already sitting on Ina's lap, the Insect Emperor Darles, sitting to the side, complained, "Where did this wild insect brat come from? Where are his parents? Haven't they been properly disciplined?!"

After saying that, the Dales Insect Emperor wanted to push this ill-mannered female insect off his queen.

Unexpectedly, Evanson was holding Ina's crown robe tightly with both claws. After being pushed suddenly, he only swayed heavily and did not fall to the ground.

Evanson's head spun for a moment. Realizing he had been bullied, tears welled up in his eyes. After looking around and locking onto the strange male insect beside him as the one who had bullied him, the little female puffed up her cheeks angrily like a pufferfish. Her two tear-filled, star-like, exquisite purple eyes glared fiercely at the Dales Insect Emperor.

Darles was angered by Evanson Eastland's stare and stretched out his claws, intending to teach the bug a lesson again. However, before his claws could even touch the bug's clothes, the blonde, purple-eyed little female scratched the back of his claws.

It was so fast that even Ina didn't have time to react.

When the blood spurted out, the Dales Insect Emperor was so terrified that he forgot to scream in pain.

After doing his evil deed, Evanson grabbed Ina's crown tightly and proudly showed his sharp claws to the female insect, as if seeking credit.

A gasp rang out from the swarm of insects as the Dales Insect Emperor's fair hand was scratched, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.

"Evanson!" Ina exclaimed upon seeing this, pulling the naive female insect cub into her arms.

Upon hearing the Dales Insect Emperor's cries, shouts, and threats, the insects at the ball all showed expressions of astonishment.

A hint of panic flashed in Ina's eyes. Being harmed by a male insect is no joke, especially a high-ranking male insect like the Dales Insect Emperor. Even if Evanson is an insect offspring, he will not escape unscathed.

"Don't be afraid, Father, I'll help you drive him away." The little insect's claws gently touched Ina's cheek, the blood-stained claws carefully avoiding the insect king's face, only using their soft flesh to soothe the female insect.

Ina hugged the female insect cub in his arms even tighter. He knew very well that only he could save the female insect cub in his arms.

"Emperor Dales is injured. Take him to the doctor immediately." Ina calmly instructed the guards around her to take Emperor Dales away quickly, and then try to appease the nobles attending the ball and keep the news of the male insect's injury a secret.

The Insect King's majesty silenced the nobles present, who dared not discuss what had just happened and continued to disperse at the ball, pretending nothing had occurred.

Even until the end of the ball, Ina did not put Evanson down from her arms. In just five months, this beautiful female insect had become even more ferocious than the insect queen had imagined, showing no fear whatsoever for her actions of angering and harming the male insect.

He took the insect larvae to a quiet garden.

“Evanson Eastland, you just made a serious mistake, you know that?” Ina pinched Evanson’s cheek and scolded him sternly.

"I don't know." Evans shook his head, puzzled. "Father, aren't you going to praise me?"

“I’m not your father.” Ina realized that wasn’t the point: “Evanson Eastland, tell me why I’m praising you?”

"Because I'm super good, I defeated that bug."

Ina frowned: "That is my lord."

Evanson didn't understand what a powerful leader was; all he knew was, "But he pushed me; he wanted to bully me!"

Unable to explain to the insect cub why the Dallas Insect Emperor had been "clawing" him, Ina could only make up a lie to deceive him: "He just wanted to play with you..."

“No, that’s not it!” Evanson retorted. “He pushed me and hurt me; he’s jealous of me!”

What is he jealous of about you?

“He’s jealous that you’re holding me,” the female insect said very seriously.

“He is my male lord, and I am his female lord. We already belong to each other, so he won’t be jealous.” Ina found it amusing. How could a male insect be jealous of a female insect? So many years of married life had made him clearly understand that his youthful yearning for love was all just a momentary impulse.

Evans looked up at the tall female insect with a blank expression, blinked, and suddenly smirked: "So he's just jealous, because you're holding me and I'm not holding him."

"He was jealous of me, so he tried to push me, but I defeated him, so now you are mine."

"You no longer belong to him, Father, you are mine now!"

Ina, not understanding the little female's thought process, flicked Evanson's head several times with her claws, making the little female cover her head in pain: "Little thing, I'm not your male father."

"I am the Insect King, you must call me Your Majesty."

Evanson pouted: "Don't lie to the insects. You are my female father. All the other little insects have said that the first insect they see when they open their eyes is the female father, because the male father can't take care of the offspring."

Ina listened to the little female insect's eloquent explanation and found it amusing: this little insect didn't know that its female father had never taken care of it either.

The insect king teased the disobedient female insect cub on his lap for a while until the cub finally got tired and curled up on his lap to fall asleep.

"You really like him."

Ina gently stroked the smooth scales on the little female's body, when a noble male insect with blond hair and red eyes emerged from the garden path.

Upon hearing the insect's voice, the Insect King's smug smile gradually faded.

"Grand Duke of Eastland".

The male insect walked to the side of the Insect Queen, looked at the sleeping insect cub on the female insect's lap, and stretched out his claws to touch his cub, but before his claws could touch the cub's forehead, the cub was picked up and moved away.

“Lord Eastlan, although you are a male insect, I am the insect king. What you are doing is too presumptuous.”

"Reckless?" The male insect looked at the offspring held in the arms of the tall female insect. "I just wanted to touch my own offspring. How is that reckless? Have you already considered him your possession?"

Ina didn't speak, looking down at the short male insect in front of her with cold eyes.

“He is your insect offspring, but it is obvious that you do not love him.”

The Insect King scrutinized Grand Duke Eastland, his voice icy: "You only want to use him for a deal. Whether it's a male insect from any of the eight noble families, or even me, as long as you can afford the price, you can be the buyer, right?"

Locke Eastland looked quietly at His Majesty the Insect King before him, waiting patiently for what was to come.

“Name your price.” Ina looked at the soft cub in her arms.

“My wise Majesty, this is not a good choice.” The male insect looked up at the cold and beautiful insect queen in front of him: “We grew up together since we were little. Although you have outstanding achievements in all aspects, you always make very wrong choices at crucial moments. Just like back then, you chose to pursue Dales of the Dedra family simply because he would say some hypocritical things that were biased towards female insects.”

“You know perfectly well how hollow Dales’s insect core is; he’s just a weathervane that will veer in any direction given the slightest breeze…”

Ina interrupted angrily: "The male's insect quality has nothing to do with what we're discussing now."

“You know it very well and understand it perfectly, but you always make the wrong choices, and it’s the same now.” Locke Eastland shrugged and glanced at the sleeping female insect offspring.

“My queen, Kowe, you know him.”

"He is a female insect with an unusually strong passion for science, so once he becomes interested in something, anything can become his experimental subject."

“Ferocious beasts, aliens, cubs, me, even himself, can become subjects of experiments.”

Locke Eastland looked at Ina, whose face had turned pale: "Why don't you guess what Kowe did to Evanson?"

A strange, bitter smile appeared on the male insect's pale face, illuminated by the moonlight: "Or perhaps, is the baby insect you're holding in your arms the one you watched hatch?"