The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

[WULF… Wulf… Wulf…]

Aster's voice was still echoing inside Wulfric's head even after leaving the other's apartment.  He was already nearing the military base and yet that's all his mind could think of.

This was the first time he heard that nickname called and felt… something.  Like a thousand butterflies were gliding about his stomach giving him a giddy feeling.  It was a very weird feeling.  Something he certainly hadn't felt before.  But he didn't dislike it.  In fact, he welcomed it very much.

He wondered if he would continue to feel it if he spent more time around Aster.  Now, something like that was possible.  Because the two of them were now friends.  He didn't notice that a silly smile was already plastered on his face. 

He still couldn't believe that Aster actually agreed on becoming friends with him.  He thought he would surely get rejected because of all the nonsense he just spouted out of the blue.  But he wasn't.  And he was really thankful for that. 

Another thing he was thankful about, he opened his Terminal and looked at a string of numbers on his contact list.  It was Aster's personal Terminal number.  The two of them had exchanged numbers with one another.

It was something he thought would be hard to get.  Aster might think that it was unnecessary or that brat, Reas, might object to it.  Especially the latter.  He thought Reas would fight him tooth and nails before he let Aster give his number to him.  But surprisingly enough, that didn't happen.

The other just remained silent and let Aster decide for himself.  And Wulfric understood something at that moment.  That was how the dynamics between the twins worked.  They wouldn't get in the way of each other.  Whatever decision the other made, they wouldn't needlessly go against it. 

But that didn't mean that they wouldn't interfere once the other made the wrong decision.  They would probably talk it out with each other, give their own opinion, and at the end, decide whether the decision was indeed wrong.

This just showed how much trust the two put in each other and how close their relationship was.  He wondered if it was because they were twins.  They did say that twins had a special connection between them. 

But nowadays, twins were rarely made in a fertility lab.  Because combining the genes of two parents usually only produced one child at a time.  That meant no true twins could be born.  Unless, of course, parents decided to make babies with the same genetic markings.  The people in the fertility lab could certainly do that.  And it would produce two identical children. 

That's the reason why a fertility lab rarely produced 'twins'.  Because who wanted to have someone that had the same face?  It's almost like making a clone of yourself.

But he had a feeling that the Townsend twins were not exactly from some fertility lab.  He was more prone to believe that they were conceived naturally.  Thinking of the possible identity of the twins' parents, that would be most likely the case.

It was the main reason why Wulfric asked for him and Aster to exchange numbers.  If what Hildred had told him was correct – and he believed that it was – then, the twins' mother should be the supposed-to-be dead daughter of Duke Grimaldi.  And based on the events that happened back then, their father would most likely be that person.  One of the currently most wanted people in the Empire – Gage Thompson.

He disappeared along with the news of Emmaline Grimaldi's death.  Although no one could confirm the relationship of the two, Hildred had told Wulfric that a rumor was spread back then about that possibility.  And the source of that rumor – the Lancasters.

One would think that it was just something that those people spread just to tarnish the name of the Grimaldis.  After all, in that particular event, the latter were the only ones who came out with an unscathed reputation.  They were even portrayed as the victims because of Emmaline Grimaldi's 'death'.  While on the other hand, the Lancasters were painted as the villains.

But that didn't mean that those rumors were unfounded.  Many believed that Gage Thompson wouldn't be able to accomplish killing Cecil Lancaster without the help of someone. 

With what Hildred had told him about the twins' mother, Wulfric had a feeling that that someone was her.  If he was correct in his assumptions, then that would mean that it would cause a lot of trouble for Aster if his parents' identities were ever revealed.

That's why he wanted Aster to have his number.  That way, if some problem occurred related to that, the other could contact him and ask for his help.  A help that Wulfric was more than willing to give.

Of course, he wouldn't let it come to a point where the identities of Aster's parents would be revealed to everyone.  He wouldn't even let it come close to that point.  Aster should just continue forging on the path of his dreams without worrying about such things.

So, he asked Hildred to be in charge of monitoring that and making sure that none of those problems would occur.  Hildred was good at things like that.  Wulfric was relieved to leave something important to someone capable.

That guy actually recommended to expel Cyrus Lancaster when that incident in the academy happened.  Saying that it would be better if there's no Lancaster around Reas during the period of his study at the academy.  Wulfric also thought the same.  But as it turned out, the Lancaster brat was more decent that he expected.

Although most people thought of him as crazy who would do things just based on his whims, he couldn't just expel someone on the basis of nothing.  But he had already ordered some people in the academy to keep an eye on Cyrus just in case.  Hopefully, the brat would remain a decent human being until the end of their studies. 

Wulfric looked ahead and finally saw the military base.