The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

ELLIS felt like she needed to be pinched just to check if she's not inside a dream right now. No, a slap would probably be better.

"Astrid, can you slap me? I think I'm inside a dream. I need to wake up."

Astrid blinked at this. And then he had to stop himself from laughing. He didn't expect that out of all things, this would be Ellis' reaction. The other was such a realist that he truly thought that even in the face of such a situation, she would still calmly face it.

At first, that was indeed the case. She handled meeting Wulfric very well. She was very calm and composed, as if meeting the prince of the Empire was not such a big deal. But after Wulfric made that declaration about being in love with him, it seemed that Ellis finally lost it.

Not that he could blame her, really. Even he was surprised that Wulfric would just straight up say it. Well, that's very like him. Astrid would probably be even more surprised if he didn't do such a thing. He honestly didn't know if he should find this funny or moving.

"There's no need for a slap, Sister Ellis," he could only say. "You're very much awake right now."

"Please excuse this weird- no, I mean, the General. He just has the habit of constantly announcing to everyone that he's in love with my brother," Reas added.

Ellis' first reaction when she heard that was horror. What did he mean the other had the habit of telling people he's in love with Astrid? If that's the case, then wouldn't everyone in the Empire soon know about this? What would happen to Astrid's acting career then?

If this thing got out, Astrid would just be forever known as the person the prince was in love with. No matter if they had a relationship or not in the future, he would only be known as that. His talent would be overshadowed greatly. Especially since this was the prince they were talking about. Someone who seemed like he didn't have a beating heart.

Being the person who managed to capture the heart of such a guy, it would give Astrid a different kind of infamy. Something that would be detrimental to his career rather than helpful.

"Your Highness, please tell me you haven't told this to anyone else," she asked, hoping that that wasn't the case.

"Oh, I think only the people in this room know about it."

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Before Ellis could breathe a sigh of relief, the prince added.

"One of my captains probably knows," Wulfric said, pertaining to Hildred. He thought that maybe Leland also had guessed it.

After he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Astrid, it's like the fog covering his eyes had been lifted. He noticed things that he didn't notice before. So, he knew, Leland, being such an observant guy, would have probably already noticed just how much special Astrid was to him.

Ellis' heart sank. So, someone else already knew about this. But she quickly got over that. Since, according to the other, it's his captain. So, he could probably stop that person from spreading that information to everyone, right?

"Does this captain like to gossip?" she asked, wishing that the prince would say 'no'.

Wulfric thought of Hildred. "Yeah, kind of."

After he answered that, he noticed that the agent's face paled. He tilted his head, wondering why. After a few seconds, he finally realized why. The other was afraid that this information would spread and might affect Aster's career. Once again, he was glad that this woman was Aster's agent.

"Don't worry, they won't spread this to just everyone," he said to reassure the other. "And unlike what my brother-in-law just said--"

"Not your brother-in-law," Reas cut off. "General."

"Not yet," Wulfric said. "Anyway, as I was about to say, I also don't just announce that I'm in love with Aster to just everyone. I said it to you because you're an integral part of Aster's life. Even if I didn't say it, you'll probably learn it sooner or later, since you'll probably see me much more often from now."

Ellis didn't know if she should feel relieved or if she should worry. No, why did she even have to wonder about that? It's definitely the latter. What did he mean by they would be seeing him more often from now on?

"May I ask Your Highness what do you mean by that?" she asked, just to make sure.

"Well, I will be trying to make Aster fall for me, so I have to be by his side to do that," Wulfric explained. "But don't worry, I won't try to follow him everywhere. That would be stalking. And I also would be leaving the capital from time to time for my work, so you probably wouldn't really be seeing me that often."

Did the prince wanted her to say 'thank you, I appreciate it'? Did he seriously not know how many problems there were in that? Or did he seriously not think about it?

There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask. Things she wanted to be clear about. But really, at this point, there's only one question she wanted, no, needed to ask first.

"Your Highness, may I ask you something? And please don't be offended."

"Of course, go ahead," Wulfric said generously. "I won't get offended. Despite how people think, I'm very broad-minded."

Reas scoffed at that, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Astrid.

Ellis cleared her throat before seriously looking straight at the prince. "Is Your Highness serious about Astrid, or is this just a passing fancy?"

"I'm serious," Wulfric answered without missing a single beat. He turned to Aster. "I love him. This feeling won't probably change unless I was killed in action or died of old age."

This new declaration shocked Ellis. That was... intense. He didn't expect that the prince would actually say that. Wasn't the other practically saying that his feelings wouldn't change unless he died?

"The episode is starting," Reas said, cutting through the sudden silence.