CHAPTER 111: RIGHT, MARSHAL?

Stannis’s voice cut through the tense silence, sharp and edged with jealousy. "Your Highness, is that how you speak to your blind date?"

Jian Rui’s lips parted, but no words came at first. "..." He didn’t think he needed to explain anything—there was nothing between him and Carmine. Yet it seemed he had underestimated Stannis’s jealousy.

"It was only a blind date," Jian Rui said finally, his tone cool. "And it didn’t work out."

Carmine lowered his head, his voice trembling as though he were about to beg. "Is there something I did wrong? I... I really would like to pursue a relationship with you."

Stannis, who had been restraining himself this entire time, surged with anger. His psychic power rushed through the room, the air vibrating with dangerous energy.

Sensing the impending doom, Jian Rui interjected sharply. "Stannis, if you can’t contain yourself, then go wait outside."

Stannis’s heart clenched. Jian Rui was yelling at him, yet he was the one who went on a blind date. Their gazes met, fierce and unyielding, a silent battle of wills.

He finally backed down, though the anger still burned in his chest.

Carmine swallowed nervously. "Can we speak in private?" His eyes darted toward Stannis, terrified that the Marshal might leap across the table and kill him.

Jian Rui’s voice was calm, dismissive. "Don’t worry about him. Right, Marshal?"

Stannis’s jaw tightened, but he forced the words out. "Carry on."

The room remained heavy, the tension palpable, as Carmine hesitated under the weight of Stannis’s gaze.

His voice trembled as he tried to explain himself. "Oh, okay... I just don’t remember much. Did I offend you that night?"

Jian Rui’s gaze was cold, his words sharper than steel. "I don’t know what your father’s intentions are, but I know you drugged me that night."

Stannis clenched his fist, his rage already at boiling point. The air around him seemed to vibrate with suppressed fury, but he restrained himself, his jaw tight.

Carmine’s face paled, his body trembling. "I—I didn’t mean to. My father advised me this was the best way to ensure we... we got married."

Stannis cursed under his breath, his voice low and venomous. "Fuck."

Jian Rui’s tone was final, cutting through the tension. "Tell your father if he wants to do business with me, he can schedule a meeting. But this"—he pointed between himself and Carmine—"this is never going to happen."

Carmine’s eyes glistened, his lower lip trembling as he bit down hard to keep from crying. "I apologise for that night. I shouldn’t have done that."

"Don’t ever repeat that," Jian Rui said coldly. "That’s a crime."

"I won’t," Carmine whispered, almost in tears.

"Get lost."

Carmine rose, bowed stiffly, and muttered, "Sorry," before walking out, his steps heavy with shame.

As soon as the door slid shut, Jian Rui turned his gaze to Stannis. The Marshal’s face was twisted with anger, his eyes burning. He looked away, as though silently demanding: Coax me.

Jian Rui sat in silence for a moment, his index finger gently rubbing against his upper lip as he studied Stannis’s stormy expression. Then, without a word, he rose from his chair. It looked as though he was about to leave, but in truth, his steps carried him toward the safe tucked discreetly into the wall. This was the only way he could think of to coax Stannis, to soften the fury simmering in his chest.

Stannis’s voice cut through the quiet, sharp with suspicion. "You aren’t going to explain?"

Jian Rui paused, his hand hovering over the panel. "You heard him. Nothing happened. Didn’t you see me that day?" His tone was cool, dismissive, but his movements betrayed a different intent.

The safe panel lit up, reading his fingerprint before unlocking with a soft click.

"I heard him," Stannis said, his voice low, "but why didn’t you tell me it was a blind date?"

Jian Rui pulled out a velvet box, turning it in his hand. "I should have told you," he admitted, "but I didn’t plan on taking it seriously. It was my father’s command."

Stannis’s jaw tightened. "And you are just going to let him go? That was an act of war—drugging the prince of the empire."

Jian Rui walked back, setting the box on the table before sitting opposite him. Stannis looked away, his anger still burning, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Stannis," Jian Rui said softly, his voice carrying weight, a plea wrapped in authority. The single word hung between them, heavy with meaning.

Stannis refused to look at him, his jaw set, his gaze fixed stubbornly on the far wall. Jian Rui sighed, the sound heavy with patience. "Stannis, look at me."

But he was as stubborn as a mule, unmoving. Jian Rui leaned forward, pinched his chin, and forced him to meet his eyes. What he saw nearly made him laugh—Stannis was pouting. A grown man, a Marshal of the empire, pouting like a sulky child. Jian Rui found it especially cute, though he kept that thought to himself.

"I am sorry, okay," Jian Rui said softly.

Stannis’s eyes flickered, as though demanding he continue.

"I don’t know where the thing between us will take us," Jian Rui admitted, his voice steady but sincere. "But I won’t look at anyone else but you, so you don’t have to worry."

He wasn’t good at coaxing anyone. His parents hadn’t been the typical happy couple, so he had no idea how to soothe a lover’s insecurities. But everything he said now came straight from his heart.

Finally, Stannis smiled, the tension easing from his face. "Really?"

"Really. Now stop pouting and smile for me, okay?" Jian Rui teased. He passed Stannis the velvet box.

"For me?" Stannis asked, his voice softer now.

Jian Rui smiled. "Who else would it be for?"

Stannis opened the box and found a bracelet inside, threaded with the finest material Virelia could offer. His fingers brushed over it reverently, his smile widening as the weight of his anger dissolved into quiet joy.

It was made of the rarest psi-reactive mineral, mined from the deep veins beneath the Orion Drift, where planetary resonance was said to be strongest. The Lunaris Crystal shimmered faintly with a silver-blue glow, translucent and ethereal, its brilliance intensifying in the presence of psychic energy. Its lattice structure was unique, harmonizing with aura channels, stabilizing fluctuations, and easing the strain of erratic surges.

Stannis had gone to an auction only a few days ago, determined to claim it for himself. Yet someone had beaten him to it. Now, staring at the bracelet, realization struck. Who would have thought it was Jian Rui who had outbid him?

"How?" Stannis asked, his voice caught between disbelief and awe.

Jian Rui unclasped the bracelet, pulling Stannis’s hand gently toward him. He slid it onto his wrist with deliberate care. "I liked it, so I asked someone to bid it for me."