Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

There were a few loud banging sounds coming from inside the room as the table was tapped.

The base of the whip was hard; perhaps taking into account that Adrian was a male insect, the whip was no longer made of iron, but rather a long strip of leather.

Adrian's lips turned pale, and as Maurice had expected, he tensed up quickly.

Male insects are the most timid creatures; they are weak and easily frightened.

Adrian, the male insect, was one of them.

Morris silently raised the corners of his lips, released his hand, and said, "Go kneel on the bed."

Adrian: "..."

He gripped the corner of the desk with his fingers, applying some force, causing the blood in his fingertips to fade and turn slightly white.

A few seconds later, Adrian silently walked to the bedside.

Morris pulled the corner chair to his side. He sat down casually, crossing his legs, his suit trousers outlining the smooth curves of his legs.

Morris stared at Adrian for a while, his thumb slowly rubbing the base of the whip.

"Which way are you kneeling?" Morris's voice suddenly rang out in the room as Adrian walked further and further away from the right side. "Right in front of me."

Adrian had just taken off his shoes and gotten into bed when he heard Maurice's words and turned around from the wall.

He had never knelt before any other insect before, not even in his past life. Morris chose a good time to gain a huge advantage.

Adrian's kneeling posture was fairly standard. He faced Morris, his emerald green eyes staring straight ahead: "Are you satisfied?"

“Satisfied.” Morris rested his chin on his hand and leaned against the desk, his eyes crinkling with a half-serious smile. “You said before that you hadn’t marked any female insects, is that true?”

When Adrian saw him start tapping the whip around again, he was speechless for a moment before saying, "It's fake. I've marked female insects."

Morris stopped what he was doing: "How many?"

Adrian narrowed his eyes: "Sir, I have only one queen."

"Really? You have a dominatrix?" Maurice stood up, finally hearing what he wanted to hear. He stepped forward and hooked Adrian's chin. "You like him so much that you only mark him?"

Adrian: "..."

"You can think of it that way."

“What, you don’t think so?” Morris’s tone changed. He knelt on the bed and leaned forward, almost touching Adrian’s nose.

Adrian had thick eyelashes, and in the time it took for him to meet Maurice's gaze, he saw something unreadable in the other's eyes. It was like a fierce threat, or perhaps some extremely fragile and easily broken emotion.

He knew what Maurice wanted to hear.

This female insect, whose words and actions were inconsistent and whose inner thoughts were always contradictory, had been persistently pursuing the same thing with Adrian in both her lifetimes.

From his birth to his death, and now to his rebirth.

“Yes, I like him very much.” Adrian seemed helpless as he placed his hands on Maurice’s neck, carefully sensing the life force of the artery in his neck. “I don’t know when it started, but it seems a little too late.”

Morris's eyes trembled slightly as his breath mingled with Adrian's, warm yet gradually becoming scalding.

He was in a good mood, staring into Adrian's green eyes as he slowly curved his lips into a smile: "It's not too late."

Adrian's eyelashes fluttered and fell, the secrets about their past that only he knew were buried in a dark, sunless corner.

It's best if Maurice doesn't know. Starting over will always offer a chance to find hope.

“Yes, it’s not too late,” Adrian responded, stroking the skin on Maurice’s neck and tilting his head back to gently kiss his lips.

Morris stiffened, his eyes flickered, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he exchanged a light kiss with Adrian.

"Your Excellency, you are truly a scumbag." After the kiss ended, Morris's tongue was still slightly numb.

He leaned back, licking his lips with lingering pleasure: "Who did you take me for just now? You call yourself your queen, but now you're kissing me. You're so hypocritical."

Adrian's legs were aching from kneeling. He waited for Maurice to finish speaking before slowly saying, "The ash on your neck has fallen off."

Just as Morris was about to speak again, he heard Adrian's voice and instinctively covered his neck with his hand.

He had fake skin on his face and neck, and to avoid arousing suspicion from other insects, he also added a layer of fine powder to even out his skin tone.

When Adrian kissed him, a lot of powder rubbed off his neck.

Morris turned to look at Adrian, who was still kneeling upright. Tiny white powder on his palms shimmered under the light, as if Adrian was deliberately gathering it in the center of his palms.

Maurice abruptly changed his tone, walking up to Adrian and whispering, "My lord, I didn't mean to. I..."

“Maurice,” Adrian interrupted him, his eyes not turning, but his voice carrying a pointed meaning, “Kneel beside me.”

Morris: "..."

*

Everything is a basic small cycle.

After taking a shower, Adrian tossed the pillows off the bed. He changed into more ordinary clothes and stuffed all his previous flashy, diamond-encrusted blazers into another bag.

Morris lay on the bed, his body covered in hickeys, with a clear outline of his waist and abdomen.

Adrian wiped his body with a damp towel, and Maurice turned over on his own, then wiped himself again with a tissue.

"It's no use wiping it now, go take a shower."

Adrian kissed his cheek; tiny remnants of the skin that had been peeled off Maurice's face remained. Adrian pinched some off with his fingers; the texture was remarkably similar to that of ordinary insect skin.

Morris was very good at planning: "I'll absorb it first, then I'll wash it."

Adrian: "..."

Adrian didn't say anything more. He took the change of clothes aside and asked, "What are you doing here? What about the mission the military gave you?"

“I’ve assigned that mission to the other legion commanders,” Morris said. “The underground black market is also a key observation area, so I’ve switched missions with them.”

Adrian's personal terminal went offline, and Morris received no information. He then contacted the other relevant insects, but after inquiring, he still couldn't find any news related to Adrian.

Morris knew things were bad without much thought. He had previously installed a tracking device on Adrian's computer, using the movement of the light spot to pinpoint Adrian's location.

In the end, Maurice was dragged into it. Adrian frowned, told Maurice about what he had discussed with Arran, and confirmed their next destination.

"The Northern Cemetery?" Morris's expression changed. He said, "My lord, the Northern Cemetery is the imperial mausoleum. The remains of all the Insect Emperors throughout history are buried there. What are we going there for?"

Adrian had a vague idea in his mind.

Cecil risked his life to tell him about the North Cemetery, where the secrets must be of great importance.

Adrian said, "I want to visit the late emperor's tomb."

Morris: "..."