Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

“Nothing happened at all? Those assassins must have been scared off by us,” Dean Atchison said with some regret.

Having been cooped up in school for too long, Dean felt life was too stifling and wanted to find some excitement to pass the time.

Ruo Manni gave Dean a light smack, saying, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Now that their cousin relationship was established, she felt comfortable getting closer to Dean without worrying about misunderstandings. It felt nice to have the ability to reprimand her foolish younger cousin, and Ruo Manni smiled at the thought.

Usually, Dean was quite composed, but occasionally he displayed a bit of juvenile behavior, like now—lamenting that assassins hadn’t come to kill him, which was practically a death wish.

Having been chastised by his newly appointed cousin, there was nothing Dean could do but obediently shut up, making their friends laugh happily.

Ruo Manni glanced at the still gloomy Hebrew Adam and hesitated. What kind of heavy blow had he suffered today? He seemed so downcast that she didn’t dare ask anything, fearing she might hit a nerve. Although she considered herself brave, she didn’t want to court danger.

Earlier on the way back, unlike her oblivious friends, Ruo Manni had noticed some shadows. In fact, there had been a disturbance near their shuttle during the return trip—someone had attempted to ambush them.

However, the security around their shuttle was extraordinarily strong. Before the assailants even got close, they were subdued, causing no disturbance, so her friends remained unaware as they returned to school.

“A group tried to ambush us halfway, but all were captured by the guards my brother sent. Even my royal guard didn’t have the chance to act, so you couldn’t have known,” Hebrew Adam explained, understanding Ruo Manni’s unspoken thoughts.

Despite his grim demeanor and downcast spirit, he was very kind to her and showed no signs of taking out his frustration on her. Ruo Manni sighed in relief, hoping he would remain unprovoked.

As for why the prince was upset, Ruo Manni had no interest in investigating that; it was beyond her concern.

Upon hearing Hebrew Adam’s words, the elite class realized what they had missed, sighing in a mix of relief and regret. They hadn’t even had a chance to see a fight, which was quite boring.

Ruo Manni then realized that it wasn’t just Dean Atchison who had been feeling cooped up lately.

It was also Hebrew Adam who brought up his brother, reminding Ruo Manni of a significant issue. She had been so flustered by the Hua De couple today that she hadn’t even noticed the Crown Prince had been absent from the banquet.

Ruo Manni felt regret; she had hoped to finally meet her idol today, but it seemed she still missed the chance.

The elite class still couldn’t return to their dorms and instead went back to the training facility, but everyone was used to it by now and didn’t mind.

They returned to the training facility early and didn’t want to waste time, so they practiced their physical skills for two hours before heading back to rest.

Finally alone, Ruo Manni felt the frustration that had been building since her meeting with the Hua De couple resurface.

Her encounter with Hua Deyu and Lixi Amber at the palace had been far more unexpected than she could have imagined, leaving her feeling unsettled.

Hua Deyu’s attitude was relatively fine; after all, Hua Deli was his bloodline, and he had raised his son with care over the years. While he had genuine feelings for his daughter who had been lost to him, it certainly couldn’t compare to the affection he held for the son he had raised by his side. Even if Ruo Manni refused to acknowledge him, it wouldn’t sadden him too much.

But Lixi Amber was different; she had always known that Hua Deli wasn’t her child. To protect her own daughter, she had to tolerate his presence, and it was likely that her love for her daughter was the reason she hadn’t left the Hua De family.

In this situation, if she refuses to acknowledge her and doesn’t reclaim what belongs to her as Ruo Manni, she can imagine how heartbroken Lixi Amber would be.

Lixi Amber never expected that her true daughter was already gone, and that the one she acknowledged was not the daughter she longed for. Thinking of this, Ruo Manni couldn’t help but feel sorry for Lixi Amber.

After their meeting today, Ruo Manni, who had initially been firm in her resolve, began to hesitate because of Lixi Amber. She had been reborn through the original owner’s circumstances; how could she be so heartless as to make the mother, who had been searching for her daughter, feel sad?

She is not the original owner and cannot truly understand what the original owner was thinking. Even if she did know, she couldn’t let the original owner’s wishes dictate her actions.

After all, she is the one living now, so she will act according to her own will and live her life as she chooses.

Ruo Manni thought back and forth, sighed deeply, and felt that no matter what, she couldn’t be heartless and cruel to Lixi Amber.

Regarding Hua Deli, Ruo Manni honestly felt that if she were the original host, she probably wouldn’t have calmly accepted Hua Deyu’s claim that Hua Deli was her twin brother.

Ruo Manni had been looking at Lixi Amber at that time, and seeing that Lixi did not voice any objections made her realize that this matter had been tacitly approved by Lixi. If the one most affected, Lixi Amber, allowed it, then the impostor Ruo Manni naturally had no objections.

Ruo Manni estimated Hua Deli’s existence. Regardless of whether he had original sins, one thing was clear: he was not a result of Hua Deyu’s infidelity with another woman, so Hua Deyu had not betrayed his marriage. This allowed Lixi Amber to tolerate Hua Deli.

In Ruo Manni’s heart, even if she wanted to tell Hua Deli about this matter, it would be best to wait until he was an adult and independent. After all, he was her classmate and would be a key player in the future against the Yunkai people. Ruo Manni certainly did not want to ruin him.

After worrying for a while longer, Ruo Manni finally made a decision. If she were the original owner, she certainly wouldn’t want to hurt Lixi Amber and would hope that Lixi could live a good life. Therefore, her future actions would follow this principle.

As for Hua Deli, she would act according to Lixi Amber’s wishes.

Having made up her mind, Ruo Manni felt as if some kind of restraint had been broken, and she suddenly felt much lighter.

However, she didn’t have time to think too much because starting the next day, the grueling training began again. Every day was filled with either studying or training, and they took turns getting beaten up, leaving no one in the mood for gossip or anything else.

On the tenth day after the elite class returned from the queen’s birthday banquet, the elite and regular classes went out for a five-day training exercise, and when they came back, the campus online was buzzing with news.

The training location for the elite and regular classes this time was the desert, which was indeed the same place where the male and female leads had their second encounter in the novels.

Ruo Manni couldn’t help but twitch her lips at the thought that in this world, the male and female leads didn’t participate in this training; they had been swept away by the winds of fate.