The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]

"Gage, I'm just as angry as you. But destroying our house won't help," she said in a calm tone.

Gage inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, his fists clenching and unclenching in a steady rhythm. His shoulders rose and fell with each breath, and his jaw tightened as he focused on steadying his breathing.

"I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm angry and frustrated and I don't know where I should vent it," Gage said.

"I understand. I feel the same way. But nothing would be solved if we let our emotions rule us."

Although Emmy spoke those words, she too felt the urge to pick something up and throw it across the room. However, with Gage already so upset, she knew someone had to be the voice of reason.

"What are we going to do? Are we just going to let that bastard have his way with our son?" Gage asked, his voice trembling with fury, his teeth clenched so tightly it seemed they might shatter.

"Although I don't like this any more than you do, do you really think Astrid would let the prince, or anyone else for that matter, have their way with him?" Emmy asked, raising an eyebrow.

She still remembered how Astrid had handled the prince when he accidentally appeared here. Even then, the prince had shown an unusual interest in Astrid. But her son managed the situation perfectly, ensuring the prince would lose interest in him.

At that time, it was obvious how Astrid did not welcome the prince's advances. But the way her son was talking about the prince earlier made it seem like he was talking about a completely different person.

According to her son's story, the prince apologized to him, and from then on, the two became friends. It was probably more than just a simple apology if the prince managed to change Astrid's perception of him. Her son must have seen something in the prince that made him give him another chance.

Their relationship had progressed to the point where the prince had confessed his feelings, and her son didn't seem entirely opposed to accepting that confession. It was evident that something significant had changed in Astrid's feelings toward the prince; otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted him with such an important task involving their family.

Emmy just couldn't grasp how the prince was able to do it. Remembering the brash prince who seemed to only move based on what interest him, she just couldn't imagine how the heck did he manage to win Astrid over.

If she didn't know her own son, she would have suspected that he had been brainwashed. That was the only logical explanation she could think of at the moment. In her mind, the possibility of that happening was higher than the prince truly changing. But knowing how strong-willed Astrid was, she knew there was no chance of him being manipulated or gaslighted in any way.

So, this was just her way of saying there was no way the prince could change.

She sighed, feeling a headache coming on. This was the second bombshell Astrid had dropped in the past few days. Honestly, she didn't know which one surprised her more.

Either way, the situation had already reached this point. They might as well take advantage of whatever opportunities came their way, even if it meant making a deal with the devil himself. They just had to make sure this devil wouldn't be able to take advantage of them in any way.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Gage asked.

"Let the prince help," Emmy answered with a shrug. "As much as I don't want to admit it, our son is right. We need closure. It's already been over two decades. It's time to face the past and find some resolution. No matter how much we try to live a normal life, a part of us is still living in the shadows of those events.

That's especially true for me. It's time to move forward, even if it means accepting help from an unexpected source."

She thought back to the plan that Astrid had detailed to them earlier.

"Since a certain prince will also be coming here, we can just vent our dissatisfaction by then," she added.

For the first time since Astrid's call, Gage finally grinned. However, this grin had a distinctly bloodthirsty feel to it. "I like that idea."

----------

Astrid slumped down on the couch. That went about as well as he had expected.

Although he managed to calm his parents, he knew they were still not fully convinced. The underlying tension and doubts were still there, lingering just beneath the surface. He had a feeling that everything would explode the moment they saw Wulfric in person.

The reunion between the Grimaldis and his parents was probably not the only thing he should expect by the weekend. At best, there would be a tense confrontation between his parents and Wulfric. At worst, his father would challenge Wulfric to a Mecha fight and wouldn't stop until one of their Mechas was destroyed.

He really hoped that the latter part wouldn't come into fruition.

After a few minutes of rest, Astrid opened his Terminal again to video call Wulfric. Surprisingly, unlike usual, the other didn't answer right away. When it lasted for nearly 15 minutes, he was about to end the call and try again later, but the call suddenly connected.

When Wulfric appeared on the screen, he noticed that the usual background that appeared whenever the other called from Alluna had changed. It now looked like the cockpit of a spaceship instead of a study.

"Sorry, Aster. We just passed through a space warp, so I couldn't answer your call immediately," Wulfric apologized.

That answer gave Astrid an idea of why the background had changed. But still, he had to make sure. "A space warp?"

"Ah, right. I forgot to tell you," Wulfric said, as if just realizing he hadn't informed Astrid of something important. "I'm already on my way back to the capital, along with some of my captains."