Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 160: [Parallel World] A Banquet

Note: The Parallel World series happened in a parallel universe; the plot and settings are completely unrelated to the previous story. This Yuka is still the famous "Vase."

Kenji’s thoughts drifted to the scent of roses—the pheromones from Yuka, the faint bite mark she left on his gland, the warmth of her breath as she spoke close to his ear, and the gentleness of her touch on his cheek...

He made perfunctory conversation with people trying to cozy up to him and walked deeper into the castle, planning to leave after an hour.

Suddenly, a flash of pink caught his peripheral vision. Kenji looked up sharply but didn’t see Yuka.

’Am I seeing things?’

Frowning, he noticed Ayoi from the Beatrix family, whom he had seen with Yuka before. He approached her quickly and asked, "Excuse me, is Yuka here?"

Ayoi, holding a wine glass, was stunned to see the notoriously aloof Admiral Kuba asking about her friend. She hesitated before replying, "Yes, she’s here."

Kenji nodded in acknowledgment, thanked her, and walked towards where he had seen the pink dress disappear.

Left behind, Ayoi stood frozen with her glass. Alex approached and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I think..." Ayoi frowned, "Admiral Kuba seems quite familiar with Yuka. But didn’t Yuka say she hadn’t met him before?"

Meanwhile, Yuka, holding a plate of desserts, faced an alpha male she had encountered before, who had fiercely warned her and Vivian to watch out. The man’s eyes were fierce, and he was followed by several alphas who seemed eager to see some action.

Unhurried, Yuka took a bite of the cake and licked the cream from the corner of her mouth, asking lazily, "Can I help you with something?"

On the small terrace where they were, everyone in the main hall was busy socializing and drinking, unlikely to come over anytime soon.

The alpha male took advantage of this, even having the waitstaff block the path to the terrace, feeling confident in his isolation.

He showed his ugly side to Yuka, sneering in a low voice, "You like to play weak, don’t you? Then keep it up."

He turned to the group of tall alphas behind him and said, "Guys, this is the one who took my girl."

"What do you want us to do, leave her crippled or just half-crippled?" one of the alphas asked.

The male alpha laughed, "Just a lesson. Don’t make it too big. Breaking one of her legs and an arm should be enough."

He wanted to return the pain Yuka had caused him, tit for tat!

He smirked at Yuka, confident she wouldn’t dare retaliate. They were from governing families, likely future heirs, while Yuka was just someone from a wealthy family. She shouldn’t dare offend so many powerful families. They assumed that Yuka would have no choice but to stand there and take the beating.

As the alphas moved closer, preparing to punch her, Yuka was still calmly eating a strawberry, planning to finish her dessert before dealing with them.

Swallowing the last of her cream, she was about to release her pheromones when she heard a voice she’d been thinking about for days, "What are you doing?"

Yuka’s eyes lit up. She tiptoed and waved at Kenji, saying, "Admiral Kuba, they are ganging up on me!"

Before the alpha could react, Yuka quickly explained why they wanted to hit her, omitting the fact that she had previously overpowered the alpha, mentioning only that she had caused him minor injury.

The other alphas were surprised their brother couldn’t even handle an alpha like Yuka, and their regard for him changed instantly.

Kenji, upon hearing that Yuka had gotten close to the other alpha to save the beta Vivian, who was engaged to Donny, realized he had misunderstood Yuka. She hadn’t been flirting with Vivian. The unease that had been troubling him for days dissipated. But when he heard the alphas’ plan to break Yuka’s leg and arm, his expression turned cold.

The alpha, seeing Kenji’s grim look, stepped back fearfully. None of the governing families present would dare offend the next leader of the Alliance Army. He had also heard about the perfect pheromone match between Kenji and Yuka, but he hadn’t expected Kenji to actually defend her, and they seemed close...

Just as he was about to claim it was all a misunderstanding, Kenji had already walked past him towards Yuka, took her wrist, and led her away from the terrace.

Before leaving, Kenji cast a final glance at the alphas, planning to identify them when he returned to the Alliance Army headquarters. He intended to vote against their families in the next governing officer elections.

As the leader of the Alliance Army, he had the right to veto the election of a governing officer. He didn’t believe these alphas, who lacked judgment and bullied others indiscriminately, deserved to be elected as fair and just governing officers.

The leading alpha only breathed a sigh of relief after Kenji left, suddenly realizing his back was drenched in cold sweat. His companions glanced at him with complex expressions and then dispersed.

Standing there awkwardly, the alpha felt as if he had been publicly slapped on his face.

Yuka, pulled away by Kenji, casually placed her plate on a table as they passed and followed him, whispering, "Thank you."

"No need," Kenji paused, still holding her wrist, and asked with a hint of bitterness, "Do you want to stay here with the heir of the Beatrix family?"

Kenji knew tonight’s banquet was hosted by a governing family, and Yuka shouldn’t have been there unless she was invited, perhaps as the beta’s partner.

Now he thought that he had been deluding himself. Yuka might already have someone to be by her side, and he was just a fleeting amusement for her in her spare time.

Kenji thought self-deprecatingly. He knew from their encounter in the underground bar that Yuka wasn’t as weak as she appeared. Even if he hadn’t intervened, Yuka could have easily handled those alphas. But he couldn’t help wanting to protect her.

It took Yuka a couple of seconds to realize Kenji was talking about Ayoi, and she suddenly sensed something in his fluctuating attitude.

Narrowing her eyes, she tentatively explained, "You mean Ayoi? She’s my friend, and so is Alex. We three have been through a kidnapping together, and our friendship is deep."

She emphasized, "Just friendship. I only have feelings for you."

’So, the Beatrix girl’s not a girlfriend, just a friend?’ Kenji’s mood suddenly brightened, his ears reddening as Yuka confessed her feelings.

He heard her continue, "This place is pretty boring. Let’s go somewhere else, shall we?"

Meeting Yuka’s expectant gaze, Kenji found himself unable to refuse and replied, "Alright."

In the bustling hall, where heirs mingled and conversed, Ayoi suddenly paused mid-conversation. Apologizing to the person she was speaking with, she quickly walked over to Alex, tugging at his sleeve. She discreetly pointed towards the main entrance where two figures were leaving and asked in shock, "That’s Yuka and Admiral Kuba, right?" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"It looks like it," Alex replied, his eyes wide with surprise. He and Ayoi exchanged a look, both seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes.

Yuka and Admiral Kuba – could it be that they had really... become a couple?

...

While they were in the Lev, Yuka kept thinking about the place Yuka had mentioned.

After Yuka spoke about dating, Kenji couldn’t resist looking up some romantic spots. He had thought of all those places, but never imagined Yuka would take him to a therapy clinic.

They finally stopped in front of a clinic specializing in therapy for betas. Yuka explained to Kenji, "This is our family’s business. It’s well-regarded in the industry."

She then led Kenji inside.

The receptionist recognized Yuka right away. She glanced at Kenji with surprise, and quickly looked away, arranging the room Yuka had booked earlier.

While the receptionist was busy, Yuka whispered to Kenji, "You weren’t looking good before. I don’t know if the temporary marker I gave you worked. There’s a professional doctor here who can check you out."

Kenji was a bit taken aback because he hadn’t expected this was why Yuka brought him here. He quietly replied, "The pheromone outburst before was due to a special pheromone drug developed by space pirates. I don’t have any lingering effects, don’t worry."

"A special drug?" Yuka frowned. "You mean the one developed by Humphrey?"

Kenji was surprised Yuka knew the name Humphrey. That was confidential information within the Alliance Army.

Yuka took the room card from the receptionist and led Kenji upstairs. As they walked, she said, "Then I’ve found the right person today. Do you know Konda Nori? He’s the current deputy dean of the Alliance Science Academy, Humphrey’s junior, and also specializes in pheromone drugs, but his research is the opposite of Humphrey’s."

She opened the door. Nori, with his arms crossed and a dark expression, looked at her and then glanced at Kenji. He snorted coldly and said to Kenji, "Come here, I’ll run some tests on you."

If it weren’t for the billion-star coins Yuka had given him, he wouldn’t have put down his experiments to come and check her boyfriend.

"He knows who you are, Deputy Dean Konda Nori. You don’t need to act like a grumpy doctor," Yuka said, approaching them. "Last time, he was affected by Humphrey’s pheromone drug and went into a heat cycle. Please take a look at him."