Even though Tu Mianmian and Sivir had left the Zoological Garden, the garden was still quite lively.

The crowd continued to get bigger, and the sky seemed to boil with their energy.

The star network was similarly lively.

The netizens who couldn’t go to the scene to catch a glimpse of the Duchess, instead discussed him vigorously.

However, the lively scene online didn’t last long.

About an hour later, the topic of discussion on the star network suddenly changed, and public opinion about the incident took a turn for the worse.

——

At that time, Sivir and Tu Mianmian were already back in the Duke’s Mansion.

It was still early when they came back from the Zoological Garden.

The sun was warm, so Mianmian decided to bathe in the sunlight coming from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and didn’t plan to move.

He laid softly on a reclining chair and became a rabbit cake, warmed by the sun and narrowed his eyes in comfort.

At that moment, he felt extraordinarily comfortable and pleasant.

He felt so comfortable that he almost wanted to change back to his original form to bask in the sun and warm up his fur…but he held back.

The light brain terminal he took off and placed aside kept sending out new message reminders.

The huge number of messages and the frequency of the prompts made the light brain’s AI directly turn on the ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.

Tu Mianmian took a glance at his light brain and saw that many people were commenting on his StarNet account—

[Mianmian, what’s going on? Now the star network is all in a mess. Come out and take a look, then ask His Royal Highness the Duke and send a notice to explain.]

[There is nothing to say now. The facts are in front of you. Why do some people still don’t believe it? I really don’t get it. You idiots are unreasonable!]

[That’s right! As the chief commander, Duke Sivir escaped alone during war! He left a large group of soldiers behind to fight at the frontier, regardless of their life or death!]

Tu Mianmian wrinkled his nose and pouted.

He clicked to refresh the comments and read over them again—

[As a deserter, Duke Sivir openly returned to the Central Star to show his love to his spouse. Should such a person still be called the Glory of the Empire? I don’t think he deserves such a title at all!]

[At first glance I knew Mianmian wasn’t a good thing. I had never heard of him before, and he popped out seemingly overnight and then became Duchess. I didn’t even see the Duke get married now that I think about it. Isn’t it just a little love who doesn’t have a title or status and can just be randomly replaced?]

[Why doesn’t the Duke’s Mansion or the Empire come forward to give an explanation? Why did His Royal Highness, who led troops to battle, suddenly appear back on the Central Star when the battle was only at a stalemate? Did the Duke escape the fleet privately? Or will the fleet be wiped out, now that the Duke returned home alone? No matter what the truth is, an explanation should be given to the public!]

Tu Mianmian: “…”

Huh.

This great rabbit has keen insight and can see through this rubbish.

The messy comments on the star network were nothing to Mianmian.

He put his light brain aside and decided to lay back down again.

Mianmian’s calves swayed over the edge of the reclining chair.

He was in a state of comfortable relaxation and wasn’t worried a bit about the chaos on the star network.

He reclined back for a while, but when he was about to fall asleep while dazing off, his ears suddenly twitched.

The slight sound of the soles of boots hitting the ground came from far to near.

Tu Mianmian opened his sleep-heavy eyelids and vaguely saw Sivir standing next to his reclining chair.

His tall figure almost completely shrouded him.

Sivir was looking down at him with a very focused expression.

The Duke had been in the vast underground laboratory of the Duke’s Mansion, and had only come up now.

Tu Mianmian pushed himself up in a sitting position and yawned.

He rubbed his eyes trying to dispel his sleepiness, while at the same time stretching out his other hand to hold his light brain out for Sivir to see.

In a soft voice, he murmured: “Look, they’re scolding you.”

He sounded like a spoiled child.

Sivir’s gaze was fixed on Mianmian’s face for a while, before he took the light brain that Mianmian handed over.

Then, he looked away to read the various comments on the star network.

SIvir browsed through the comments very quickly, because he already had a rough idea of what they had to say.

The trend of the topics had changed from being curious about the gossip between him and Mianmian to the matter of him returning home alone and leaving his fleet behind.

From the start, Sivir asked for Mianmian’s help in order to publicize the relationship between the two of them as a gimmick.

He’s never had any news about his private life before.

So, once it was revealed, it would naturally attract a lot of attention, become an explosive point, and then finally involve the news of his return home.

""

Now it seems that the effect of the news was outstanding, the attention was very high, and the crusade against him was huge.

“I see.” Sivir said as he put the light brain back down beside Mianmian.

He stretched out his hand and rubbed Mianmian’s hair, which was already messy from his slumber.

Mianmian’s hair was warmed by the sun, and after rubbing it, Sivir’s fingers seemed to have the the smell of sunshine on them.

Mianmian slapped the Lord Duke’s hand away, frowned and asked, “Now that public opinion is in an uproar, are things still under your control?”

“Yes.” Sivir nodded slightly.

His expression didn’t seem like he was lying.

After Tu Mianmian made sure, he no longer had any more questions or worries.

The Duke was powerful and domineering, and had full control of the overall situation.

As a little husband, he only needs to be responsible for eating and drinking happily.

He was already shedding hair, so he shouldn’t worry about things too much.

Otherwise, I’ll become a bald rabbit.

Mianmian thought seriously.

——

The afternoon was quiet.

Tu Mianmian fell back asleep on the reclining chair.

Sivir was sitting next to Mianmian, and his light brain had opened multiple windows for him to deal with military affairs from the border, while contacting other people.

Mianmian, beside him, was sound asleep with a red mark pressed on his face from his sleeping position.

Sivir reached out and stroked the red mark on his face.

Mianmian seemed to sense his approach and subconsciously put his face onto Sivir’s palm, his throat making a small animal-like mewl.

Sivir’s eyes softened unconsciously.

When he turned back to look at the information regarding the military situation at the border sent by his two adjutants, a cold light quickly flashed across his eyes.

——

Even until evening, there was no response from the Duke’s Mansion.

The public opinion and comments on the star network became more and more embarrassing, and even the gathering place for Duke Sivir’s fans was caught up in violent comments.

The star network was full of gossip about Duke Sivir and speculations about the war.

The weather was dreary and the pressure dropped, showing signs that it might rain soon, which made people feel even more anxious.

But, no matter how big the commotion was on the star network, The Duke’s Mansion remained unaffected.

No matter how hard those radicals tried to slander them on the star network, they wouldn’t dare to rush to the quiet place where the Duke’s Mansion was located to make trouble.

——

In the evening, the sky that should have originally been lit up by the sunset was suddenly covered with layers of dark clouds, among which there were lighting flashes and howling wind.

The weather suddenly changed, indicating that a storm was about to approach, which was very much in line with the atmosphere on the star network.

But because the Duke’s Mansion opened the protective layer early, all weather changes didn’t affect them.

It was calm in the Duke’s Mansion, and even the leaves on the trees didn’t sway much.

Tu Mianmian was lying on the sofa, turning off the ‘weather change’ notification on his light brain.

He turned his head and asked, “Where’s Sivir?”

Hearing his question, the maid raised her head and responded, “Madam, His Royal Highness is in the underground laboratory again.”

Tu Mianmian nodded.

“Is Madam going to find His Royal Highness?” Judy asked.

This time Mianmian shook his hand, “No need.”

The Duke’s Mansion had a huge underground laboratory, but Tu Mianmian wasn’t interested in it.

In the past two days after Sivir came back, he had been in and out of the underground laboratory frequently.

The only two mechas in the mansion, Daylight and Long Night, were also moved down there.

“Mianmian, looking for me?”

Sivir said as he arrived before him.

The Duke was in a combat uniform, which was suitable for manipulating mechas in battle.

He also had a particle gun pinned to his waist as he walked to Tu Mianmian’s side.

Mianmian climbed up and off the sofa, and happily circled around Sivir twice.

With his eyes sparkling, he exclaimed: “Handsome!”

A tiny smile appeared on Sivir’s face.

Tu Mianmian pinched the corner of Sivir’s clothes and asked in a low voice, “Will you be going back to the fleet tonight?”

SIvir didn’t say much and just nodded slightly: “Ah.”

There was a sudden thunderous sound outside, and large raindrops poured down from the sky, while the protective layer of the Duke’s Mansion began to sway slightly.

Butler Anderson retrieved the mecha button and handed it over to Sivir.

He glanced at the curtain of rain outside, pushed up his spectacles and said: “His Royal Highness, now is the perfect time.”

The dense rain and fog could not only block people’s sight, but it could also interfere with mechanical devices to a certain extent.

Coupled with the concealment function of his mecha, Sivir could quietly leave the Central Star without being noticed.

Sivir naturally knew this, so he nodded in response to Butler Anderson.

The Duke grabbed the mecha button and turned around to walk out of the courtyard.

Both Tu Mianmian and Butler Anderson followed to see him off.

Although there was no need for Mianmian to worry about any affairs before, but now, he was inevitably a little worried.

Sivir noticed his uneasiness, and turned around to hug Mianmian.

His aura completely covered him, soothing Mianmian, who was ill at ease.

Sivir didn’t say anything, but his consolation was obvious.

Tu Mianmian knew that it was a serious moment and didn’t say more.

He patted Sivir on the arm and said like a good little spouse, “I’ll wait for you to come home.”

Sivir took a deep look at Tu Mianmian and replied, “Okay.”

The Duke took out his mecha and entered the cockpit, but it wasn’t his personal mecha Daylight.

It was the pitch-black Long Night previously placed in the collection room of the Duke’s Mansion.

The dim sky and weather was the best cover for Long Night.

The mecha lifted off like a meteor, disappearing into the torrential rain.

After the Duke left, Tu Mianmian returned to the bedroom alone.

""

When he saw the large bed in the bedroom, he was suddenly startled.

Oh, wow.

He was alone again.