The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"GREETINGS to the sun of Ashelad," Astrid said with a slight bow of his head. His tone wasn't overly humble nor was it impolite. It was just the right amount to show respect and not appear on the weaker side. "The Holy Land send their congratulations on your coronation."

"The Holy Land. Will you look at that? I never thought they will actually send one of their priests," Lance said in a bored tone while staring at Astrid from head to toe. "Aren't they worried you might not make it back? Or are you just a pawn they're willing to throw away just to appease my kingdom?"

The more he said, the more his bored tone slowly turned to a jeer. The expression on his face was clearly full of disrespect.

"I can allow you to live. Just bend the knee and I will."

"Cut! Cut! Cut!" Director Scott shouted. "What are you doing Lance? I told you, your tone should be condescending at this part! And your expression, you're not supposed to have a wretched expression on your face! Tone it down. You're not a perverted criminal. You're a king! No matter how psychotic Pietro Ashelad is, you're not supposed to show it so straightforwardly. You should show it in a subtle manner, in your eyes for example. Even if you're taunting or looking down on others, you should still appear majestic. Understand?"

So, a majestic psycho, huh? – Lance thought with a bit of irony. He turned to the director. "Sorry, Director. I'll do better."

This was his third NG. The first one, he didn't manage to react quickly because he was too surprised by Astrid's acting. He was too taken aback that he didn't manage to say his line on time. Then, the second one was the same as this third. He couldn't capture the majestic psycho that the director wanted from him.

If those 10 days didn't happen, he could probably adapt more quickly to this character. But his mind was still trap in those days. He truly wanted to curse. This just showed how great Leland's effect was on him.

"Okay, let's do another take!" Director Scott called to everyone.

Lance turned to Astrid before they started filming again. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Everyone could have a bad day from time to time," Astrid said good-naturedly.

He truly didn't mind. It's just a couple of NGs. Besides, he had a feeling that the reason the other was unable to act his best was because of the 'training' he'd been subjected to. As the one who basically reported him, the least he could do was to be understanding.

Then, the filming started again.

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Astrid sat down on the couch in a very tired manner. Although he told Lance that he didn't mind, repeatedly having NGs for the rest of his filming with the other was excruciating.

Filming all his scenes with Lance should have ended today. But because of the other's repeated NGs, they weren't able to finish it in a day. It was fine at first. But when afternoon came and the same thing continued, he was on the verge of truly flipping off the other. He couldn't even manage a fake smile.

Controlling himself to not be angry made him even more tired than normal. It's even worse than going to a marathon. Because he was so tired, he opted to eat dinner with Ellis and just went straight to his hotel room.

Astrid leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then, he remembered that he planned to call Wulfric. He opened his eyes and dialed the other's number on his Terminal.

It didn't take that long before his call was connected and Wulfric's face appeared on the screen.

"Hi, are you busy?" Astrid asked.

"No, I'm very free right now," Wulfric answered quickly. If it's Aster, he would always have time. "What's up?"

"Well, Lance Reid showed up in filming today. He's, well, a bit out of sort. May I ask just what kind of 'method' you put him through so he could control his ability?"

Wulfric's brows furrowed. "Are you worried about him?"

Astrid stopped when he heard that. Then, when he understood why the other asked that, he couldn't stop from laughing. "How did you even arrive at that conclusion? I don't even know that guy all too well. Why would I be worried about him?"

"You're asking about him, so I just thought…"

Astrid chuckled. "You know Wulf, sometimes, you really are just so foolishly adorable."

Wulfric felt his cheeks heating up. He didn't know if he should be embarrassed or shy. "Well, I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Astrid said in a teasing tone. "After all, you truly are adorable."

Wulfric's face became even redder. "Okay. That's enough. Let's just go back to the topic."

Astrid smiled. "Sure. So, what exactly happened to Lance Reid?"

"He was 'educated' by my lieutenant," Wulfric answered. "And considering how he could now control his ability, to some extent at least, I'd say the education was pretty effective."

To Astrid, that 'education' sounded more like 'torture'. Now he felt a bit bad for Lance. No wonder he couldn't smell even a whiff of the other's pheromone. "Your lieutenant did a pretty good job."

"That he did."

Now that his curiosity was fed, Astrid decided to change the topic. "By the way, I'll be appearing in a movie called [The Sleeping God]. It will premier six days from now. If you have time, you can watch it together with your soldiers."

Wulfric already knew about that movie and was already planning to watch it. It just so happened that they'd be arriving at Alluna by that time. He could watch it at a cinema there. Maybe he'd even rent the whole place and let the guys in Fenris Squad watch the movie. It would be a good reward.

"I'll definitely watch it," he said, full of confidence.

Astrid smiled seeing that. "Then, I'll wait for your review of my performance."