"Five years ago, Vangar really did enter the Beast God Mountain. As for how he made it out alive... I don’t know."

Vincent had only seen him again shortly before departing for this mission.

Xarion narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why did he go there in the first place?"

At that, Vincent’s lips twitched faintly, as if recalling something absurd.

"He had reached the age for pairing," Vincent said. "But the Beast God system never assigned him a Female Master."

"There were rumors across the Empire—and even within the military—that his slaughter was too great... that the Beast God refused to match him because of it."

Vincent paused.

"Vangar got angry. So he went to the Beast God Mountain to demand an answer."

Xarion stared at him for a second.

Then rolled his eyes. "...He’s insane."

Vincent nodded calmly. "Agreed."

A marshal of the Empire. Commander of millions. Responsible for the safety of entire star systems... And he just walked off to pick a fight with a god.

If that wasn’t madness, what was?

"Your Highness." The adjutant entered, bowing slightly. "The female the high command requested—Bree—has been located. She was severely injured and is currently undergoing treatment in your ship’s medical pod."

Vincent immediately recalled the earlier report—two critically injured females requiring advanced treatment.

"How is she?"

"The military doctors report her condition is stable. She is no longer in immediate danger, but she has not regained consciousness yet."

Vincent nodded once, then asked, "And the other one? Status? Identity confirmed?"

"Yes," the adjutant replied. "She has been identified as a female of the succubus clan—Yilan. She is also out of danger, but remains unconscious and requires continued treatment."

Yilan...

Vincent’s brows drew together slightly.

Aren’s sister?

"I understand." He issued his orders without hesitation, "Assign guards to both of them. When they wake, if further treatment is required, they remain in the medical bay. No movement permitted. If not, transfer them to the rear ships with the other rescued females."

"Yes, Your Highness." The adjutant bowed and left.

Moments later, Vincent’s light-brain lit up again.

A projection appeared.

Vangar.

"Have you found the female those old men were asking about?" he asked bluntly.

Vincent nodded. "She’s been located. Currently in treatment. No longer in life-threatening condition."

Whether Bree lived or died, Vangar clearly didn’t care.

"What matters is she’s been found."

He tilted his head slightly. "I hear she’s human?"

Vincent hesitated a fraction. "So it seems."

At that, Vangare smiled. It was a sharp, calculating smile. "I also heard she’s the Female Master of Sylas Ruan, the young heir of the Golden Roc clan."

His tone turned almost conversational. "Send him a message. Ask if he’d like to come collect her personally."

A pause. Then, lightly, "Tell him that if he doesn’t... we’ll have no choice but to follow Central District orders and hand her over."

A human female... Delivered straight into the hands of the Central District’s high command?

Once she entered their domain, getting her back would be nearly impossible.

Vincent understood instantly.

This wasn’t about courtesy. This was extortion.

He nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I’ll have someone contact him immediately."

Then Vincent added, "There’s also a succubus female—Yilan. Should we notify the succubus clan as well?"

Vangar raised a brow.

He didn’t recognize the name, but he knew the clan––they were wealthy and corrupt.

And very easy to threaten.

"...Yeah. Notify them too."

The projection vanished. Vincent immediately issued the order.

"Contact Sylas Ruan. And the succubus clan."

A brief pause. Then he added calmly, "Inform them—their people have been in my medical pods for an extended period. They can settle the medical fees."

After all, those medical systems hadn’t come cheap.

Nix had built them.

And Vincent had no intention of letting anyone use them for free.

They weren’t about to let outsiders benefit for free.

"Yes, sir."

The aide quickly pulled up the contact details for Sylas Ruan and the succubus clan, placing the calls without delay.

With everything arranged, Vincent cast one last glance at Xarion—sprawled across the sofa, eyes closed, seemingly already asleep—before turning and heading toward the command deck.

***

Medical Bay

Bree opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was that she was lying inside a high-grade medical pod.

Her gaze shifted slightly.

In the adjacent pod, Yilan still lay unconscious.

A flicker of disdain crossed Bree’s eyes.

Useless female.

Without hesitation, she tapped the release panel and pushed herself upright.

A returning military doctor saw her and rushed over immediately, pressing her gently but firmly back down.

"Don’t move," he said, alarmed. "Your injuries were severe. You’re not cleared to leave the pod yet."

Bree looked up at him, her expression softening into confusion—perfectly feigned.

"...Where am I?"

The young doctor hesitated.

He had just been told that this was a human female.

The first he had ever seen.

Even his voice trembled slightly.

"Y-you’re aboard Prince Vincent’s warship," he explained. "You’re safe now. The insectoids have been eliminated."

"Prince Vincent has already notified your partner. He should be arriving soon to take you home."

"S-so... it was Prince Vincent who saved me..."

Bree ignored the rest of his words.

Instead, she suddenly grasped his wrist, her tone urgent.

"My friend—" She pointed toward Yilan’s pod. "Is she alright?"

The doctor gently eased her back down.

"Please don’t worry. She’s stable. She’ll wake up soon."

She is so kind...

Even injured, she thought of her friend first.

Just as he finished speaking, Yilan stirred. Her eyes flew open.

Pain crashed over her all at once.

She hadn’t even processed where she was before panic took over.

"Ah—!"

She burst into tears.

"My body hurts—what happened to me?! Those disgusting bugs—what did they do to me?! Help! I don’t want to stay here—I don’t want to give birth to an insect child—!"

The doctor rushed over. "Please calm down! You’re safe now. This is not an insectoid ship. This is Prince Vincent’s warship. You’re in a medical pod receiving treatment."

"...The Empire? Vincent? A warship? I’ve been rescued?"

The panic gradually drained from her face.

Her thoughts steadied.

Then, she turned her head. Her eyes landed on Bree.

"Bree, you’re here too!" Relief flooded her expression. "That’s wonderful..."

"Yes," Bree said gently. "We’re both safe now."

But as she watched Yilan’s naive reaction, a trace of impatience flickered in her gaze.

She spoke quickly—subtle, guiding.

"Yilan... we owe everything to Prince Vincent. We must thank him properly."

Yilan blinked in surprise, then nodded eagerly. "Right! You’re right! He saved us—we have to thank him!"

Her memory was hazy. She didn’t remember being captured at all.

Only that she had been speaking with Bree about avoiding capture and then, she remembered a sharp pain in her neck.

And now—this.

It must have been the insectoids.

They must have discovered them. Knocked them unconscious. Taken them.

But, thankfully, Vincent had come.

Thinking of him, her heart surged with excitement. The pain faded into the background.

She opened the pod immediately, trying to climb out.

"I have to see him! I have to thank him!"

The doctor hurried to stop her. "You can’t leave yet—your condition isn’t stable!"

Bree also spoke quickly, her tone soft but firm.

"Yilan, you’ve just woken up. Your injuries aren’t healed yet. If you want to thank Prince Vincent..."

Her lips curved faintly. "There’s no need to rush. You can do that properly—once you’ve recovered."