"I've been wanting to talk to you about that day."
"What happened?"
As soon as she asked, she knew what it was about, so she bit her lip and awkwardly shifted her gaze aside.
"That night we...," Ruka had just started when the butler behind him interrupted.
"Master, Officer Angsi has an urgent matter to discuss with you, I have already brought him to your office," the butler said, standing at the garden entrance and bowing.
Qiao Suisui breathed a sigh of relief, but felt faintly disappointed. Ultimately, the two of them still didn't finish their conversation. On the way, Ruka escorted her back to her room without bringing up that night again.
In the office.
Angsi said impatiently, "Colonel, this time we've really achieved a great feat."
Ruka unbuttoned two buttons on his military uniform and lit a cigarette.
"Just give me the conclusion."
"You left in such a hurry that day, you just took the necklace and left, you didn't hear the interrogation that followed. Later, the boss confessed. He said the last female auctioned that night was not a Beastman."
"What do you mean, not a Beastman?"
"She's an Ancient Human."
Ruka's hand holding the cigarette paused as he turned to look at Angsi, noting his excitement.
"At first I thought it was preposterous, but the boss was very convincing, I checked based on his statement. He said they did a comprehensive examination on that female when they captured her, and although her human structure resembled that of a female Beastman, she had no Beast Form."
"An undeveloped female might not be able to manifest a Beast Form," Ruka countered.
"They thought it was that at first too, but one day an expert from the black market came to inspect the goods and said that this little female's characteristics completely match those of Ancient Human females," Angsi said with seriousness. "If she is an Ancient Human, then the nature of this illegal auction incident is completely different."
The Ancient Humans who once lived on Earth left them a great abundance of survival skills, technological achievements, and cultural products. Relying on these, the Interstellar Federation was able to rapidly prosper and civilize after its establishment. Everything about the Ancient Humans is referred to as 'the Bible.' They believe that the Beastmen have developed less than ten percent of Ancient Human wisdom. Currently, even a fossil of Ancient Human feces is priceless on the black market. You can imagine, if the Federation or even Beastmen from the Freedom Alliance knew that there is an Ancient Human alive on their planet, it would be explosive news, and there might even be disputes over it.
Angsi continued to ramble on with his analysis, but Ruka couldn't hear anything anymore. His head buzzed, and the fingers holding the cigarette trembled slightly.
No wonder he couldn't mark her.
In the primitive interstellar era, males would implant their scent into the glandular systems of females after mating, so that their own females, walking outside, wouldn't be harassed or seized by lascivious males — even if someone was interested, they could sense the strength of the female's male partner through her scent and would think twice before making a move.
As the civilization of the Beastmen evolved, this primitive practice was preserved, symbolizing mutual affection more than anything. After all, females could refuse to be marked. The cleaner their scent, the more males they could attract, which was advantageous for them. That's why Blocking Medicine was developed. Faced with some domineering males with a strong possessive desire, females would take Blocking Medicine to prevent themselves from being marked.
That night, in his passion, he had bitten her nape, but found that he couldn't infuse his scent into her. He thought Suisui had taken the medicine. His mind was instantly thrown into disarray, and considering he was betrothed, he didn't have the right to bind her, so he never mentioned it.
Originally, he had planned to gradually get closer to her, let her accept him as her guardian, and make up to her for his one indulgence in his lifetime...
Ruka closed his eyes and pressed his temples.
"Who else knows about this?"
Angsi replied, "It was just me and another officer present during the interrogation. I came straight here to report to you after I got the news."
"Good, lock down the information."
He had to verify Suisui's identity again, he couldn't afford another oversight like last time.
Angsi wondered, "Colonel, aren't we going to report this upward?"
"The level of this matter is too high. We must confirm it without any mistakes before reporting."
Afterward, Ruka raised the classification level of this sweep on the underground organization to the highest level of confidentiality. Every participant in the operation had to submit a report of the event, documenting everything they saw and heard that day without any omissions. He also demanded that everyone involved keep the operation confidential, and violators would be stripped of their military status.
The people in the Military Department were somewhat stunned. They knew the last time they were required to undertake such high-level confidentiality was during the War of the Two Wings.
After Angsi left, Ruka sat alone at the long table for a day. When he rose again, the ashtray was filled with cigarette butts.
...
...
The next day, Suisui was told she needed to go out.
"Leberli can check my health; why must I go to an outside hospital?"
She looked at Ruka uneasily, suspecting she might have already been exposed.
Leberli gently soothed her, saying, "My Healing Technique cannot replace a doctor's diagnosis."
Ruka knelt on one knee to tie her loosened shoelaces and said softly, "We'll be back soon, I'll be with you throughout."
Thus, the three of them headed to the hospital. Not until she was sitting in the flying ship did she unconsciously begin to bite her nails.
If it were discovered that she wasn't a Beastman, wouldn't she be utterly vulnerable?
Ruka, noticing her nervousness, discreetly handed her an assortment of novel trinkets, filling her hands completely; Leberli held her and explained the scenery outside.
"Look over there, that's a landmark of Atlantis, symbolizing peace."
"This area is the busiest, you can buy anything."
"Over there is the Military Department, where this guy usually works."
"That is the military academy, ...."
Suisui pressed against the window of the flying ship, slightly diverting her attention as she took in the Empire's sights. The technological level of this city was indeed high. She just wondered what the world outside Atlantis was like?
"We've arrived."
Ruka carried her down from the flying ship, and just as she was about to get down, she realized Ruka hadn't let go but instead continued to carry her towards the hospital entrance.
The hospital staff was already well-prepared to receive them. She peeked out from Ruka's embrace and looked around, astonished to find not a single patient in broad daylight.
"Ruka, where have all the patients gone?"
"This is a hospital exclusively for the Royal Family, serving only royal members. We'll do a check-up here first, and then we will specifically move your exclusive hospital here."
????????????
Was she hallucinating?
What did he mean by 'her exclusive hospital'?