The Broodmother Is Hungry Again Today - Chapter 2

The silver-haired male’s name was Adesas.

He was the insectoid race’s current marshal and the true authority behind Military Command.

Perhaps soldiers were born with calm and restraint in their bones. From the moment Adesas entered the palace, he stood quietly to the side, doing an excellent impression of a stone pillar.

Unlike Cecil and the others, he showed me no obvious disgust. Unlike an ordinary male, he displayed no excessive adoration for the Broodmother either.

His tranquility put me unusually at ease.

But after staring at my pointing finger for a moment, Adesas frowned.

“Your Highness, Military Command keeps me occupied. I fear I cannot—”

I lowered my eyes in disappointment and interrupted his refusal with my most pitiful expression.

“Are you rejecting me? But I’m terribly weak right now. I can’t live on my own.”

Adesas struggled to avert his gaze. “You could choose someone else. They are more attentive than I am and will certainly take good care of you.”

Tsk.

Was he really that reluctant?

“But I like you best.” I tilted my head, innocent and sincere. “Big Brother Adesas, please don’t say no.”

That was not entirely a lie.

To my sense of smell, every male’s psychic power had a different flavor.

Cecil smelled like roast meat loaded with chili peppers.

Ning Fu was rose wine with a heady perfume.

Cassiuto, the male who kept staring into space in the corner, was so bitter that one whiff made my mouth pucker.

But Adesas tasted like the male himself: cool, yet wonderfully sweet.

Like a huge serving of sugary vanilla ice cream.

Whichever way I considered it, Adesas was clearly the most suitable food.

I blinked my clear, harmless eyes at him and ignored how unpleasant the other males looked after hearing that I liked him best.

Cecil, once again being ignored, said acidly, “She chose you. Just agree and spare the rest of us the trouble.”

Adesas waited for a long moment. When I continued to watch him without any sign of changing my mind, he sighed.

He stepped forward, approached the foot of the throne, and respectfully lowered himself onto one knee.

“Your Highness, if you insist…”

He held out his arms. “Then please come with me.”

The icebound royal palace was no place for a Broodmother in her vulnerable period.

My goal accomplished, I settled onto Adesas’s arm.

I paid no attention to the other three. Wrapped in the scent of ice cream, I happily moved into Adesas’s home.

Adesas claimed that life at Military Command was austere and that he was too careless to look after me properly. But any outstanding male chosen by the Law naturally possessed the means to provide me with comfortable accommodations.

I moved into his private residence with great satisfaction and commandeered the largest bedroom as my right.

“I want the softest mattress, the warmest blankets, the prettiest furniture, the most delicious food, and incense made from fresh flowers…” I counted seriously on my fingers.

On the way here, I had eavesdropped with my psychic power.

Military Command forbade indulgence. As its highest officer, Adesas led by example and lived more austerely than an ascetic.

The other males said a rigid, disciplined insectoid like Adesas could never tolerate a delicate and willful Broodmother.

“If that little Broodmother misbehaves, the Marshal may throw her out on the very first day. He won’t spoil her just because of her status,” they had declared with absolute confidence.

Naturally, I did not want him to throw me out.

But I was even less interested in making myself miserable.

After listing one demand after another, I obediently clasped my hands behind my back and peeked at Adesas’s face.

“Is that too much to ask, Adesas?”

The tip of his pen paused over his notes.

He looked at me as if he wanted to say something. His throat moved, but in the end, he swallowed the words.

“Not at all, Your Highness.” He lowered his eyes and carefully wrote down each request. “Everything you want will be prepared shortly. If any item fails to satisfy you, please tell me at once. I will replace it immediately.”

Oh? So he could be very obedient after all.