Chapter 158: The Divorce Agreement
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Lin Xu accepted the photo Leo handed him. In the interstellar era, physical photos were rare. The one in his hand felt fragile and soft, so ancient it seemed it might crumble the next second. It had originally been a color photo, but the passage of time had faded the once-vibrant image into yellow hues. In the picture, a young man was sitting at a table, reading. Lin Xu recognized it as a younger version of himself. He was seated by a window in the library with a copy of The Prince spread open in front of him.
He had no memory of being photographed at the time—this must have been taken in secret. After studying it for a moment, Lin Xu flipped the photo over. Someone had written a poem on the back:
“I can give you my loneliness, my darkness, the
hunger of my heart; I am trying to bribe you
with uncertainty, with danger, with defeat.”
The poem didn’t necessarily need to be interpreted as a love poem—but then Lin Xu saw the name signed below.
“Alfred Nobleson, for L, my love.”
The date indicated it had been written shortly after Lin Xu graduated and returned home. These were Alfred’s own words, in the flamboyant handwriting Lin Xu recognized—he always signed documents with such flourish, as if trying to draw a flower with every signature.
For Lin, my love…
Lin Xu had never imagined Alfred harbored this kind of… romantic delusion toward him. He had always thought their relationship was limited to shared academic and political views—at best, former classmates who had reluctantly become colleagues. The more he got to know Alfred, the more he understood how incompatible they truly were.
Even a few days ago, when Alfred deliberately came to the station to see him bound and helpless with a suppressor, Lin Xu had chalked it up to Alfred revealing the cruelty beneath his polished exterior.
Love…
Lin Xu considered the word in relation to Alfred for just a second before drawing a conclusion: whatever “love” he claimed to have was probably nothing more than a toy—something to spice up his life. Everything else came after his amusement and personal gain. It wouldn’t affect Lin Xu’s plans.
But the sudden appearance of the crown prince was indeed an unexpected variable—perhaps even an opening. “Dr. Lin, you’ve seen it. Was I right?” Leo asked.
“Perhaps,” Lin Xu replied, “It depends on how well you know Alfred. Why do you think he wants to kill you now? Isn’t the emperor’s body a better vessel than the crown prince’s? Or are you afraid he’ll create another child to take your place? Even if he loves me, I can’t bear children with him. What would he want from me?”
Leo said, “He recently ordered the Imperial Research Institute to restart the cryo-chambers and genetic studies. He also accessed my gene records. That’s when I first began to suspect him. Lately, he’s been transferring some of his powers to me—many of which I’ve never touched before and shouldn’t even be handled by the crown prince. I’m afraid he’s preparing to take over my body with his consciousness.”
“Dr. Lin, I kept wondering why he was so eager to transfer everything. My father is healthy. And then I saw that old photo… and realized he loves you.”
Lin Xu tilted his head slightly, glancing at Leo. He couldn’t quite follow the prince’s train of thought. His confusion seemed to make Leo even more anxious. “Dr. Lin, he may have the desire for love, but my father—though healthy—is already old. And… he has a congenital physical defect. He can’t perform sexually. His reproductive cells are inactive.”
“Your Highness, you…”
“I was cultivated from my parents’ somatic cells in a machine,” Leo explained. “Using somatic cells to reproduce, like cryo-tech, is classified as illegal under Imperial law. But… the royal family has always kept the research materials.”
Lin Xu’s expression turned subtly strange for a moment. Honestly, he didn’t care whether Alfred’s occupied body could ‘rise to the occasion,’ nor was he particularly concerned about how Leo had been born. But now, Leo—flustered and panicking—was spilling all the royal secrets.
“So, Your Highness, you believe Alfred wants a healthy body to pursue love—yours—and may choose to possess your body?” Lin Xu asked.
“Exactly. And the consciousness transfer tech may require the two parties to share blood relations and have closely matched DNA structures. I’m his only option,” Leo replied.
Suddenly, Lin Xu remembered the ceremony held by the Abyss Fleet before it departed for the Dionysus region. Alfred had indeed asked him what he thought of the crown prince…
“You want to kill me?” Lin Xu asked.
“No, no. If I kill you, he’ll trace it back to me, and then I’ll be dead too,” Leo denied immediately. “I want you to leave Capital Star. His attention is entirely on you right now—your disappearance would buy me time.”
Lin Xu’s gaze hardened. “You’re going to help me escape?”
“Yes. You could go to the Dionysus District, or the Long Whale Region. I’ll arrange a new identity for you. The Star Ocean is vast—if you really want to hide, he won’t be able to find you.”
“Your Highness, have you considered that I still have a lover and a child?”
Leo hesitated. “…Don’t you want freedom?”
Lin Xu gave him a faintly mocking smile. The prince hadn’t considered it. He wasn’t acting out of kindness or genuine concern for Lin Xu. He was only trying to carve out a slim chance for his own survival. Lin Xu’s family and emotions had never factored into the equation.
But real, tangible benefit was far more reliable than a guilty conscience.
“Of course I want freedom,” Lin Xu said. He still had to bring down Alfred. Not just Alfred—the Review Council and the New Life faction were on his list too.
The prince opened his mouth, then closed it again. He watched Lin Xu before continuing, “You’d better go to the Long Whale Region. The Abyss Fleet is in Dionysus right now. If you meet with Heinrich Chu, Alfred will quickly follow the trail and capture you.”
That aligned with Lin Xu’s own plan.
“Your Highness, I still need to make other arrangements. Come see me again the day after tomorrow, and we’ll finalize the details.”
“Alright. My suggestion is that you accept the verdict in four days. On your way to extradition, I’ll have Capricciosa Neumann and Gália Hill intercept and extract you. They’re my people.”
—
Lin Xu summoned Chen Jinshan once more. As soon as Chen sat down, Lin Xu got straight to the point and told him about his deal with the prince.
“You’ve really decided to give up everything here, Xiao Xu?” Chen asked.
“Mr. Chen, there’s an old phrase on Ancient Earth: ‘No destruction, no construction,’” Lin Xu replied. “I don’t just want to escape. Having the court declare me innocent isn’t enough to achieve my goal. I want to leverage the power of the Alliance—just like you did. Mr. Chen, don’t you want the true killer of Marianna to face justice?”
“I’m guessing the Alliance doesn’t currently have plans to declare open war on the Empire, and their covert strikes are limited in scale. If they promised you a chance to avenge Marianna, how long would you have to serve them to reach that goal? Until the day you die?”
He leaned forward slightly. “But I have a way to shake the Empire’s foundations. Help me get a message to the Alliance leaders—they might be willing to negotiate with me.”
Chen Jinshan sighed, resigned. “I suppose I can’t talk you out of this. Don’t worry about negotiating with the Alliance. Some of them would be very glad to have you.”
Lin Xu’s brows tightened. “Someone in the Alliance has been watching me?”
“I don’t know exactly what they’re thinking,” Chen said, “but I don’t think they mean any harm. You’ll understand once you get there. Have the prince’s people take you to Port Baudelaire in the Long Whale Region. I’ll send Godric Chapman to meet you. From there, you’ll head to Haven and wait for a chance to cross the Michael Line into Alliance territory.”
“Chapman’s one of yours too?”
“Yes.”
Lin Xu thought back to Godric’s unusual eagerness toward him and felt the Alliance growing more and more mysterious. He had never had contact with them—why would they be interested in him?
As Chen Jinshan rose to leave, he asked one final question. “Xiao Xu, what do you plan to do about Marshal Chu?”
Lin Xu lowered his gaze, eyes fixed on the silver dragon-scale ring on his finger. “I have a plan. Don’t worry.”
– –
“The rebel infiltration has already reached the central region of Dionysus. They’ve mixed with the populace, and without active combat, it’s difficult to distinguish them. I believe the Abyss Fleet should—”
The senior officers of the Abyss Fleet were gathered for a routine strategic meeting. A lieutenant general was delivering a report on the current situation, but the message alert on Marshal Chu’s terminal suddenly chimed.
In meetings like this, terminals were usually set to silent. Any message that managed to get through was typically of critical importance. The lieutenant general paused his report and glanced at Heinrich for direction. Heinrich frowned at the terminal screen.
“Marshal?” the lieutenant general asked cautiously.
“Apologies,” Heinrich said, rising to his feet. “Continue the meeting. I have something I need to handle.”
Everyone watched in silence as Heinrich strode out of the room. For a moment, they all exchanged looks.
Lately, Marshal Chu had been interrupted more and more often by messages on his terminal. The prevailing guess was that it had something to do with Lin Xu on Capital Star. Most of the senior officers in the fleet knew Lin Xu, and they trusted Marshal Chu’s judgment implicitly. No one paid much attention to the rumors circulating online.
Still, it was ultimately a personal matter, and they had no right to interfere. So, with practiced discipline, they turned their attention back to their work.
Heinrich marched into his office and immediately connected to Metz via long-range interstellar communication.
“Metz, what is the meaning of this document you sent me?”
Before Metz could say a word, Heinrich launched into a barrage of questions.
With a sigh, Metz replied, “Marshal, it is exactly what it appears to be. Dr. Lin already signed it. He said if you wish to make any changes to the terms, he’ll accept them all.”
“He…” Heinrich looked like a glacier fracturing under pressure—something heavy and ancient breaking apart. Confusion and grief flickered briefly across his usually sculpted, stoic features.
Heinrich opened the document Metz had sent, titled “Divorce Agreement.” The contents matched the name. It was a divorce agreement, already signed by Lin Xu.
Any sliver of hope Heinrich had clung to shattered. His heart plunged into an icy abyss, a weight pressing down on his throat until he could no longer speak.
“Why would he do this?” Heinrich heard his own voice tremble.
“I don’t know either, Marshal. I tried asking, but Dr. Lin refused to answer. He also fired me,” Metz said. “His legal counsel now is a public defender assigned by the prosecution.”
“Does he… still have a chance with his case?”
“It’s unlikely. What worries me more is that by trying to sever all ties with you, Dr. Lin might have already given up on proving his innocence.”
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