"You could’ve at least—"

Kyle tried to say something along the lines of ’you could’ve at least laid out an argument, you know?’

Unfortunately, he never got that far.

"Don’t."

Xavier cut him off immediately.

The Prince didn’t even bother looking at him.

Instead, his entire attention remained fixed on Luca, who was finally being allowed to wander around the room after they had spent a considerable amount of time examining the interior for possible dangers, all while hand-in-hand.

One might say it took longer than usual because a certain Imperial was abusing his authority by taking far longer than necessary to inspect the area, all so he could continue holding hands as if there wouldn’t be plenty of other chances to do so later.

Of course, such a controversial take was also being made through the judgmental eyes of one adjutant who shall remain unnamed for safety reasons.

"..."

"..."

Then again, after succumbing to those earnest golden eyes once more, what else could really be said?

Well...

The metaphorical white flag was ultimately raised, leading to this very conversation as Luca and his blonde brother promptly scampered off like excited critters.

"Don’t even start," Xavier said flatly.

Only then did he spare Kyle the slightest side-eye.

"Especially when you’re worse."

The Prince’s gaze lingered for exactly one second.

"Talk to me when the mop starts walking around on his own."

Kyle immediately let out an amused scoff.

"Well, Captain, I would’ve."

The adjutant grinned shamelessly.

"Had I not known you’d gladly pay any amount necessary just so you could carry your wife around like I do mine."

The words left his mouth.

And Kyle immediately ducked.

10% instinct, and 90% prediction honed by years of experience.

After all, he fully expected Xavier to swing after poking at that sore spot.

In fact, he was so certain that he reacted before the Prince even moved.

Good thing he did, for as always, that guy moved faster than he—or most other people—could see. And had he stayed in place, he would’ve had a very, very bad time.

Heh.

Finding nothing but empty air, Xavier’s expression darkened slightly.

He was already considering a second attempt when—

"Xavier?"

The Prince froze.

Luca had stopped exploring.

The little chipmunk looked over, concern immediately written all over his face.

"What’s wrong?"

Then he blinked.

"Are we under attack?"

"..."

"..."

The room fell silent.

Unlike Kyle, Luca could actually see Xavier moving.

Which meant there was only one logical conclusion.

Something dangerous must have happened.

Kyle immediately stuck his tongue out while still crouched.

Payback.

Glorious payback.

Because his boss had just been caught by his wife.

As if he’d always been a pleasant person to be around and not the bane of people’s existence, Xavier recovered almost instantly.

"It’s nothing."

The answer came smoothly.

Far too smoothly.

"I thought I saw dust."

The cold Prince delivered the lie with the same warmth he reserved exclusively for his wife.

Then he looked toward Kyle.

Slowly.

Meaningfully.

Promising future consequences.

Kyle wisely decided not to push his luck.

At least not immediately.

Originally, Xavier had every intention of continuing his pursuit of an adjutant who apparently woke up with a death wish.

However, that plan was abruptly abandoned.

Because now that Luca had stopped moving, the Prince finally got a proper look at him.

"..."

"..."

The little mechanic was carrying things.

Different stones, crystals, and even alloys...?

In fact, Luca looked less like a person and more like a coat rack that had somehow achieved sentience.

Items hung from both arms.

Others were tucked awkwardly against his chest.

Xavier wasn’t certain he could see everything, but it even looked like his wife had something draped around his neck.

"???"

The Prince immediately strode over.

Long legs quickly closed the distance.

Then he stared.

"...Just what are you doing?"

Without waiting for an answer, Xavier immediately started relieving Luca of some of his burden.

The little mechanic happily surrendered several items.

"Oh! You didn’t have to do that, but thank you!"

His smile appeared instantly.

It was dangerously bright.

"I’m trying to exchange!"

"I see..."

Xavier looked down at the collection of objects now occupying both their arms.

Then he looked around the room.

Then back at Luca.

"I understand that part."

The Prince raised an eyebrow.

"But exchanging like this..."

His gaze swept over the assortment again as he wondered why Luca didn’t just take the items out of the inventory one by one. Then again, it was probably just one of his wife’s preferences, much like how he also insisted on counting their money every night for fun.

"Where exactly are you planning to bring all of these?"

"To the scale!" Luca announced confidently.

"The scale?"

"Yes!"

The golden-eyed cadet nodded as though that explained everything.

"What scale?"

"Huh?" The little mechanic blinked before pointing toward the contraption in the middle of the room. Now that Xavier had taken most of the things he’d been carrying, he finally had a free hand to gesture with. "Well, this one."

The Imperial Prince found himself wondering what part of that thing was supposed to resemble a scale.

Well, thankfully, the returnee realized the source of everyone’s confusion and immediately grabbed his husband, dragging him backward until they were practically standing against the wall.

"Look!" Luca pointed enthusiastically. "Like this, doesn’t it look like a really big and tall scale?"

At that, everyone looked again.

The room itself was actually rather small despite its unusual shape and towering ceiling. It would’ve even appeared plain if not for the strange paths running along the walls. To someone without spiritual perception, they might have resembled ordinary strip lights, but those present could clearly see the immense concentration of spiritual energy flowing through them.

Even more curious was their arrangement.

The glowing lines didn’t seem random. If anything, they resembled symbols or characters carved across the walls. Unfortunately, none of them could identify what language they belonged to.

Still, what truly distinguished this room from the previous one was the massive fixture occupying the center. Sure, there was something in the middle the first time the gate opened, but it wasn’t anything like what they were looking at now.

This one stretched all the way to the ceiling and looked more like a piece of machinery than a simple pole. Platforms extended from both sides, and now that they’d stepped back far enough to see the entire thing at once, they could actually make out a few other things that weren’t as obvious earlier.

Still, they weren’t quite sure about this thing being a scale.

See, to interstellar beings, scales consisted of a platform and a displayed number. One would place an object on top and receive exact measurements. Simple.

This ancient concept of balancing two sides against one another was rather unfamiliar.

"See?" Luca said. "When you look at it from farther away, isn’t it just a giant balance scale?"

"?!"