Did he like it?

"Where's the general?" Shen Que's voice was hoarse.

"A guest just arrived, so he went to take care of something."

Anya lifted the covers off the silver dishes one by one, revealing an exquisite meal.

There was congee that smelled mild but was clearly rich in ingredients, refreshing vegetables, a little stewed meat, and a plate of buttery cookies.

"Has he had dinner?" Shen Que glanced at the dishes and asked.

"He has. You were sleeping so soundly that he couldn't bear to wake you, but he was too hungry to wait, so he ate first."

"This portion was set aside especially for you, sir."

Anya helped Shen Que sit up.

Under Anya's eager gaze, Shen Que told her, "I'll do it myself."

Then he picked up his knife and fork and began eating at a leisurely pace.

His movements were still slow. His digestive system had yet to fully recover, so he chewed every mouthful thoroughly, pausing between bites.

His exhausted taste buds couldn't pick out much flavor, but Shen Que could still feel the care that had gone into preparing dinner.

For some reason, Anya didn't leave. She stood neatly to one side and cleared her throat.

Whenever Shen Que moved on to another dish, she offered a few words of explanation.

"These are edible pearl oysters specially raised on Blue Star No. 33, along with white lake shrimp.

"Their environment perfectly replicates what Earth used to be like. Demi said the general loves them."

"These flowering cabbage shoots come from Base No. 50, the space base with an artificial sun that our lord invested in building ten years ago."

"And this meat pig is from Breeding Center No. 110... They can only raise six hundred a year-no, no, five hundred! Yes, five hundred..."

"Ah... this..."

"This one's good." Shen Que took a bite of a cookie.

Just the right amount of sweetness filled his mouth, mingled with a rich, mellow milky flavor.

Anya pressed her lips together in delight.

"I baked these cookies especially for you, sir. The general didn't get any."

Shen Que noticed every little gesture she made.

The servants here took great care of him.

But it wasn't because of him.

It was because he was the general's "spouse," the Omega of White Sand Star's young lord.

That status... was something Pei Ji had given him.

After finishing dinner, Shen Que dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin, as elegant as a cat.

"Sir, would you like me to take you to the general?"

Anya asked tentatively.

"I just asked Demi. The general and his guest are stargazing on the tower terrace."

Shen Que paused in the middle of wiping his hands.

Stargazing...

"No."

He gently shook his head.

"He's busy."

That morning, he could still use breakfast as an excuse. Now that dinner was over, what reason did he have left?

Ask whether he was coming back to sleep?

Or demand, "Why won't you mark me?"

Shen Que unconsciously brushed his hand over his scent gland.

"As if I'm throwing myself at him, begging him to bite me." He smiled self-mockingly.

"What?"

Pei Ji's boisterous voice rang out from the tower terrace.

"He's awake? Why are you only telling me now?"

He looked at Demi reproachfully.

She wasn't loyal anymore.

She hadn't even told him right away that his darling spouse was awake!

Pei Ji asked, "Has he had dinner? Has he finished? Did he like the pearl oysters, white lake shrimp, meat pig, and flowering cabbage shoots I picked out so carefully?"

"He ate, he ate."

Demi watched disdainfully as her general abandoned all decorum, stubbed out his cigarette, grabbed his coat, and rushed toward the terrace exit.

"I wouldn't say he liked them. He didn't really comment."

Pei Ji frowned. "Did the new girl forget to introduce the dishes? I told you she wasn't reliable. Fire her tomorrow!"

Demi drew out her words. "Don't worry-she memorized everything she was supposed to, and he listened. I mean exactly what I said: he didn't comment... Oh, right! He did praise the cookies Anya baked."

"Cookies?" Pei Ji stopped and asked in confusion, "Do all Omegas like sugary little things like that?"

"What do you mean, 'Do all Omegas like sugary little things like that'? What have we Omegas ever done to you?"

Another sultry voice chimed in.

"That's awfully Alpha-chauvinist of you. Be careful, or the Omega Rights Protection Association might come knocking to investigate you for gender discrimination."

Safiya took a drag on her cigarette and leaned casually against the railing, watching with amusement as the Alpha's intelligence plummeted the moment he heard a certain someone was awake.

Her blue dancing dress outlined her shapely figure, and her hair was pinned high, exposing a broad expanse of snowy skin across her back.

Her face was strikingly beautiful, with a pale red beauty mark beneath the upward sweep of one eye.

Anyone who frequented the Desert Tavern knew that even fellow Omegas often fell under that face's spell.

Pei Ji glanced at the star dancer whose single dance cost ten thousand Starcoins.

The last scrap of hospitality left in his head kept him from simply abandoning Safiya on the terrace.

He turned and instructed Demi, "Go see the commander first. Check if he needs anything else."

"Don't fire the new girl yet. Send her to the kitchen to bake more cookies whenever she's got nothing to do."

"Oh, and the commander needs to take his medicine thirty minutes after dinner. Watch him finish it. Don't let him pour it away."

Demi acknowledged his orders and left.

Pei Ji turned to Safiya. "Whatever it is, we can discuss it later. It's getting late. I'll walk you to the door."

Safiya clicked her tongue, held out her hand to Pei Ji, and curled her fingers.

Pei Ji gave her a baffled look. "What?"

"What?! The deposit, obviously!" Safiya stared at him speechlessly. "Standard practice is to pay half up front."

She switched to a sickeningly coquettish tone. "What's going on, General~? They say pregnancy makes you stupid for three years. Are you expecting~? Congratulations, congratulations~"

Pei Ji gave a dry laugh. "Even if there's a baby, I won't be the one giving birth."

"And don't talk to me in that disgusting voice. You'll make me throw up last night's dinner."

He beckoned to the maid Phil and said quietly, "Three thousand Starcoins, in cash. Have it delivered to the Desert Tavern."

Safiya dropped the nauseating tone. "Ah~ Now that's more like it~"

She stubbed out her cigarette and glanced back at the Morning Star, shining with a cool radiance in the sky.

Noble, distant, beautiful.

"What a waste of this whole sky full of beautiful stars."

Safiya fell into step with Pei Ji.

"General Pei, you should bring the commander out to look at the stars. Omegas all like that."

Pei Ji frowned without slowing his pace.

"What's so interesting about stars? We've seen more than enough of them aboard warships. Shen Que isn't well, either. What if he catches a cold out in the wind?"

Safiya asked, "How did an Alpha without a single romantic bone in his body like you ever get a spouse?"

Pei Ji replied, "The state assigned me one. What's it to you?"