The news of Audrose's return to the capital planet sent shockwaves through almost the entire Starnet.

Three years ago, when the final victory was achieved in the war against the invasion of the alien beasts, with the beasts thoroughly defeated and driven out of the star domain, the allied nations jointly held a grand celebration feast to commemorate this long-awaited triumph that had been anticipated for hundreds of years.

However, Marshal Audrose of the Delaire Empire, the greatest hero of this war, was still absent. His younger brother, Prince Avid, accepted the honor awarded by the alliance on his behalf. To this day, that medal, the only one of its kind in the entire star domain, still resides in the Delaire royal family, never claimed by its rightful owner.

Generally speaking, the public's memory is not that long-lasting. Even the most adored heroes, once they disappear from sight for a sufficient period, will naturally be forgotten.

The reason they maintained their admiration for Audrose was partly due to the mainstream media always bringing him up and singing his praises whenever there was an opportunity.

With this long-term reinforcement, although Audrose had not made a public appearance for a full ten years, he had virtually become the most exceptional figure in the hearts of the Imperial citizens.

Within an hour of the military's official website announcing Audrose's reinstatement, the website's traffic reached its highest peak in nearly fifty years.

Audrose's personal page was on the verge of crashing.

Countless people kept asking if it was true or false under his previous posts, inquiring about what he had been doing for the past ten years.

As if to provide a unified answer to these questions, Audrose quickly published a new post.

[Audrose]: Have arrived home, currently preparing for the wedding.

"He's back, he's back, our Marshal is really back!! But that last sentence??? The smile gradually freezes on the face.jpg"

"??? Did the Marshal bring back a wife? What kind of development is this?"

"Could it be that the Marshal actually went to pursue a ten-year romance?... I need a moment..."

"Who is this hateful person who snatched away the Marshal, ahhh I'm going crazy!"

"What's going on, I actually sensed the Marshal's eagerness from the mere six words 'currently preparing for the wedding'? Am I the only one who feels this way?"

......

With the appearance of this post, a massive amount of discussion about Audrose's marriage erupted on the Starnet, including some hostile remarks from those who were overly infatuated with Audrose and believed no one was worthy of him, directed at his unidentified spouse.

However, the royal family quickly issued a more formal wedding announcement, along with a segment of top-secret files.

That piece of information, full of doubts and sealed away by Audrose using his authority, was finally made public after being supplemented by the parties involved.

After confirming Su Duan's race, all the doubts had a reasonable explanation, so there was nothing left to hide.

Love lost during the war, rescue and rebirth, searching and waiting, separation and reunion.

This romance spanning ten years and life and death was as tragic and dramatic as a movie plot.

In the minds of the Imperial citizens, their Marshal was cold and powerful, seemingly without any personal life. Many noble ladies and celebrities had hinted at him in the past, but Audrose never responded. If pestered to the point of annoyance, he would even take action to teach the other party a lesson. As time passed, people automatically drew a dividing line between romance and this tough Marshal.

Who would have thought he also had a time when he exiled himself for someone.

If the person he loved wasn't of a special race, he might have never found his love again.

In an instant, Audrose's fanboys and fangirls on the Starnet were all crying their eyes out. When the originally tough, powerful, and seemingly invincible hero showed a soft and fragile side, this contrast touched people's hearts even more.

— It turned out he wasn't undefeatable after all.

The originally feeble remarks attacking the Marshal's spouse on the Starnet quickly disappeared without a trace. Some even apologized for their impulsive words and expressed blessings for the couple's marriage.

Theoretically speaking, as long as both parties are in love, others have no right to interfere in a marriage. As long as this marriage could make the Marshal happy, that's all that mattered. Moreover—

The Marshal's lover had once sacrificed all his power to push the Marshal out of a spatial rift.

Everyone in the Empire understood how dangerous spatial rifts were.

Frankly, the vast majority of people lacked the resolve to sacrifice everything, even their lives, for their loved ones.

Audrose carried out his consistently high efficiency at work. After announcing the wedding preparations on the Starnet, he completed all the arrangements in less than two weeks. The final wedding date was even more than ten days earlier than the announcement.

He protected his spouse very well. From beginning to end, the outside world only knew his spouse was male, and no other information was leaked.

It wasn't until the wedding day that the eagerly awaiting Imperial citizens finally saw the lover the Marshal had been hiding.

However, upon seeing him, almost everyone found it a bit hard to believe.

Is it really him?

The young man looked far too soft and harmless, with a delicate frame, clean features, and shy, smiling, pretty cheeks. Although not to the point of being fragile, he didn't seem like someone who could pilot a mech no matter how you looked at it.

— This must be what people from the outer domains are like, the people thought with mixed feelings.

The wedding was broadcast nationwide. Only a very small number could attend the ceremony in person, so the vast majority of citizens watched this grand wedding on street screens and at home.

"I've seen him before," the tall, fierce-looking male head of the household suddenly said to his wife beside him in an ordinary house.

At first, the wife didn't react until her husband pointed to the slender figure next to the Marshal on the screen. Only then did she realize.

"Oh, right, you used to work at the Marshal's residence."

They were a newly married couple. The man was previously a slave, and they fell in love and got married only after the abolition of the slave system.

Although the man looked very fierce, he actually had a good temper. Even when she occasionally threw tantrums, he endured her complaints in silence. After she finished venting, the man would even ask if she was tired and needed water, making her feel both annoyed and amused.

The man nodded.

His wife's gossipy curiosity was quickly ignited, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she hugged his neck and asked, "So darling, did you talk to him?"

The man thought for a moment. He was not good with words and took a while to organize his language: "We only exchanged a couple of sentences. I was working in the kitchen at the time and handed him a nutrient solution once."

His wife asked, unsatisfied, "Did you notice anything different about him compared to us?"

In today's highly connected universe, aliens were very common, but people from the outer domains were still a rare species.

Not to mention an outer domain person who could turn into a plant.

The man frowned, thinking carefully.

Seeing him looking so troubled, his wife laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I know you can't come up with much. I won't make it hard for you."

"Quiet." After a long pause, the man finally uttered a word.

His wife didn't quite understand, "Huh? Quiet? You mean he doesn't talk much?"

The man said, "Not entirely."

Actually, Audrose was already considered a very lenient master to the slaves. As long as they had no intentions of getting into his bed, the life of a slave in the prince's mansion was not much different from that of an ordinary commoner. But slaves were still inferior after all. The existence of the brand constantly reminded them of their status - that they could be bought, sold and killed at will. So they could never feel truly relaxed and happy.

But he remembered that day very clearly. When that new black-haired slave walked in, it was as if even the air became still. When that clean figure was reflected in his sight, there was only a sense of ease in his heart.

So he, who was usually reticent, took the initiative to say a few words to that slave. He even risked going to the butler for help when the other party was forcibly taken to be branded.

......

In the thirteenth year after Audrose returned to the capital star, he finally took over the throne.

Although he had been using psychic soothing drugs regularly, the old emperor's mental state was still getting worse year by year.

Some people suggested to Audrose that he should find a new companion for the old emperor to help him out of his grief, but Audrose did not do so.

He understood the old emperor, just as the old emperor understood him.

A dragon's loyalty and obsession with their mate would only come to an end when they closed their eyes for the last time.

The border war had ceased and the empire had entered a stable period of peace, but that did not mean being an emperor had become an easy task. Various political and financial affairs could also keep one so busy that one could not break free.

Audrose dealt with the parliament all year round, so naturally the affairs of the palace fell to Su Duan.

Su Duan was quite distressed about this: "I haven't learned any of this before."

He had to oversee everything from palace internal affairs, minister deployment, and even the trivial matters of the various noble families.

Late at night, sitting on the bed, he was still reading the various messages submitted by the internal affairs ministers on his personal terminal, but he couldn't understand them and only felt overwhelmed.

Audrose turned off the personal terminal in his hand and kissed the corner of his lips: "It's okay, if you don't want to read it, just hand it over to the manager."

But Su Duan suddenly became motivated: "No, I can't be that lazy."

Audrose slid his hand into his waist: "Okay baby, so now it's exercise time."

"Mmm--!"

In the end, after a difficult period of learning, Su Duan was barely able to handle the internal affairs of the palace. Although there were still many loopholes in his handling, with the experienced palace manager by his side to help, it looked somewhat passable.