Lessons on Raising a Partner

Chapter 114: Embrace in Ashes

Palatine opened and closed his eyes and saw Dean walking into the Church of Erenie. He sat down on a bench and took off his glasses. Palatine could even feel the lingering fatigue and sadness around him.

“Can’t hold up longer?” With a sigh, Palatine went to the candlesticks on both sides of the church, took down a burning white candle and handed it to Dean.

Dean pinched his nose and breathed out slowly. “I thought I’d held up long enough.”

“You can live a long time.”

“For a pure human being, I have lived long enough.” Dean whispered, looking down at the white candle by his heart. “Queltan has established a federation. He has established a new system. Pure human beings have been liberated. My wish has been fulfilled.”

“That’s what you wanted, but what do you want now?”

Dean lowered his eyes and did not answer Palatine’s question, “Teacher, do you think there really is a heaven in the world?”

Palatine gave a slight laugh and said ambiguously, “Maybe yes, maybe no. Who knows?”

“Surely there is. He’s so beautiful that he can go to heaven, but... People like me deserve to go to hell. So how can I be with him?”

“For him, where you are, is it not heaven?”

Dean was silent, watching the burning candle, the orange flame, jumping in his dark grey pupils.

Palatine knew he was ironclad and did not look back. He blinked and his long eyelashes shook. “Do you really want to use your life and see him again?”

“Yes.” Dean closed his eyes, tears streaming down the corners of his eyes, but he smiled. “He’s been away for more than a hundred years... I can’t wait to see him again and hug him once more. Even if it’s only a moment, it’s enough...”

“Okay.” Palatine sighed, raised his eyes and stared straight at Dean. At that moment, the flame of the white candle in Dean’s hand suddenly spread out and became pale white fireworks, sweeping over his body.

The white candle gradually melted, scattered into crystal powder, condensed into a person’s appearance.

Dean opened his eyes, tears filled his eyes, his hands trembled, and touched the man in front of him on the cheek. Thoughts and pains of countless days and nights over the centuries were at this time reduced to calm and contentment, turning into an unheard sigh, “Abel... I miss you so much...”

Abel reached out and plunged into Dean’s arms. They hugged each other tightly. A tear from Dean’s chin slipped down and hit the ground. The high dome of Erenie Church threw a brilliant and holy light over the two people, who eventually turned into dust in the white light and flowed into a transparent jar on the platform.

Palatine took the jar and went out of the church. Nightmare stood outside the church, standing silently. Palatine put the jar in Nightmare’s hand. “Take them with you.”

Nightmare raised his hand and looked at the small pot. The powder inside was shining with white light. “Master was very happy, so I am also very happy.” After that, he stretched out his wings and flew away toward the vast universe.

Dean had Nightmare of the primitive mechatron fighters. Although he was a pure human being, he could live for thousands of years. He spent endless years waiting to embrace his lover for this single second. Palatine did not know whether it was worth it or not. But he knew that the last moment of Dean’s life should be the happiest time of his life.

When Auguste and his party entered the Church of Erenie, Palatine was embracing Uncle Ye.

“Cough!” Corson cleared his throat and reminded Palatine of his priest image.

“Dean’s been here?” Jamie’s nose twitched, sniffed the smell, and asked doubtfully.

“Yes, but they have already left.” Palatine slowly emerged from Uncle Ye’s arms. Jamie thought Palatine meant Dean and Nightmare, so he didn’t ask much.

Palatine came up to them, tidied up his clothes, and rudely called to Uncle Ye, “You are here to get the map. I have translated the map, Uncle Ye – go and get it.”

Uncle Ye was silent, thinking about why Palatine had changed his face so quickly, but he quickly went to the cabinet beside the church and took out the carefully wrapped sheepskin map and electronic star map. “This is the original map. This is my translation. It marks the route and the coordinates of the planet for you.”

Auguste took the map, connected it to the nano computer and opened it up. He felt that the planet’s route was familiar, but the space route was complex, so it was normal that there were similarities. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Are you leaving now?” Palatine looked at the people behind Auguste and asked aloud.

“Yes, we’ll come back when the Federation is ready by Winchester.”

Palatine shook his head and sighed, “Young people nowadays, too lazy...”

Auguste: “...”

“Alright, you go now, I still need to make love with Uncle Ye.”

Hai’an:!!! Were priests in this world so open?

Auguste could not continue to disturb their love, so he took the map and left. XiaXia wanted to secretly throw out an eye so he could watch the live version of the real action film – Palatine was always watching nuns, this time it was someone else’s turn to see the priest!

But unfortunately, before XiaXia’s scheme succeeded, Leston, with sharp eyes, saw through it. Leston rightly put an end to the immoral act of XiaXia, saying that he could only look at his body and hit XiaXia’s butt.

“Come on! Honey, let’s go crazy!” After Auguste and they left, Palatine grabbed Uncle Ye’s neck and beamed with laughter.

Uncle Ye: “...” Honey, you’re really too open.

“I just said how familiar the map is. Isn’t that the way to the companion star?” When Auguste returned to the rover, they projected the hologram and studied it in the hall. Colin looked at it for half a day, then suddenly slapped his thigh and pointed to a planet on the map and said, “Well, here, isn’t it Tanamo who made it into that gourmet planet?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember, he said he’d invite you to eat those beetles and beasts next time we meet!” Jamie clapped Colin on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

Colin shook his head. “No, I’d rather eat frozen gel.”

“Perhaps Palatine wanted us to visit our old friends.” Auguste gathered up the map and sent a page to Leston, who was staying in the control room, asking him to adjust his route to Tomb Star.

“Ah!” Hai’an exclaimed, “I almost forgot to hand the magic book to Mian. Just in time, we can visit him now.”

Speaking of magic, Lydney had been practicing magic carefully during this period, “JianJian... Now I can do intermediate magic.”

“Wow! How fast!” Hai’an began to doubt whether he was too dumb. He had such an excellent magic talent as an Elf, but he was not as quick as Queltan and Lydney, who had just come into contact with magic.

Hai’an approached Lydney and whispered to him, “When we get to Tomb Star, we’ll help you make a contract with Carl. I guess you want to surprise him.”

Lydney’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, JianJian.”

“Aren’t we a family?”

Hai’an and Lydney entered the Vagrant at the same time. The Vagrant was really like a big family, warmly accepting each of them.

When Auguste arrived at the companion star, there were five people on there, Mian and Pace were busy cooking in the tree house, Cessie and Pier, and another strange adult man was sitting at the table outside, holding a deck of cards to fight the landlord.

“Aircraft.” The stranger frowned and said a cold word. He looked ordinary, but very durable and had a special taste.

“Wang Bo!” After tracing back to King, Pier smashed the only two cards left in his hand on the table. “Haha ha! I win –“

With a sneer from the stranger, he interrupted Pier’s words, “You won’t get thin, Purple Fatty.”

Back to the original happy face, Pier heard the strange man’s words, a small mouth, big eyes quickly filled with tears, rushed into the arms of Cessie to cry loudly: “Ahhh... Cessie! Nightmare bullied me... Help me blow him up!!!!”

Everyone was shocked to hear the strange man saying “Purple Fatty”. This strange man was Nightmare?!

Why did he wear human skin?!

Colin rushed up, grabbed Nightmare’s face and began shouting, “Nightmare?! Why are you wearing human skin? What about Dean?”

Nightmare frowned, clapped Colin’s fingers open, and stretched his right hand toward the Rose Garden at dusk. “The master and his wife are sleeping there. Don’t disturb them.”

Hai’an looked towards where Nightmare’s hand was pointing, but was surprised to see a tombstone in the green rose bushes. Dean’s wife... It should be Abel. The two of them were finally able to sleep together.

Colin was also stunned when he saw the tombstone. He closed his mouth and stopped talking. Obviously, he knew that Dean, who had Nightmare, should not have died so early.

“He...” Colin wiped his lips and hesitated to speak.

Nightmare looked up at him and raised the cards in his hand: “Want to fight the landlord? Fat Purple Pier can’t afford to lose. I won’t play with him.”

“AHHH!” Sitting opposite him, Pier cried more bitterly when he heard this. He jumped down from his stool and cried loudly as he leaned into Cessie’s arms. He also reached out and grabbed Cessie’s arms and put them around him.

Cessie smiled awkwardly at everyone, then gently embraced Pier and patted him on the back to comfort him.

“Come on!” Colin rolled up his sleeves and sat at the table. “Let’s fight to the death!”

Nightmare shuffled the cards and suddenly showed a smile, but he lowered his head, so no one found out.

A primitive machine-armored soldier either died gloriously on the battlefield or guarded his master forever, no matter life or death, until the day when their energy was exhausted, never abandoned.

He was really happy.