Secret Records of the Holy Court in the Insectoid World

Hello, my name is Artoli. I’m the younger brother of the Insect Emperor and the Pope’s favorite disciple. I’m handsome and talented, and I’ve topped the empire’s “Most Eligible to Marry” list for fourteen years straight. I thought I’d been handed a script where I could coast through life and win without lifting a finger. Then the empire fell, and I was betrayed by my “beloved” and my “best friend” working together. Only then did I see what a joke I’d been. As I lay dying, I realized the person I couldn’t let go of was my former fiancé, the one I’d pushed away with my own hands: Major General Sien Salotis, an elite S-rank military female. After I died… That female insect, who had never shown a hint of her strength in ten years and had been as silent as a shadow, went berserk and advanced in rank. Alone, she slaughtered the insects who had betrayed me. At the end, she held my cold body and calmly drove her blade into her own heart. * I was reborn, back before the tragedy happened. This time, I’ll crush the conspiracy and protect the empire. Most importantly, I’ll make it up to the fool I owed for an entire lifetime. I found Major General Salotis, who was still the empire’s blade in those days, sharp-edged and dazzling. Since we currently couldn’t stand the sight of each other, I decided to get straight to the point. I took a deep breath. “Sien, let’s get married.” She didn’t even look up. “Your Highness, is this your latest way of amusing yourself?” I changed tactics and put on a solemn air. “Sien, actually, I’ve been reborn.” At last, she looked up and rolled her eyes. “Oh? So what? I’ve been reborn too.” …Well, that was awkward. I gave up and shouted at her in frustration, “Fine, I admit it! I was blind before! The truth is, I’ve always liked you!” She stood up and advanced on me one step at a time, then grabbed me by the collar and slammed me hard against the wall. The flames burning in those usually icy green eyes were too bright for me to understand. “Fine,” she said hoarsely. I froze. Then she bent down and spoke into my ear, her voice so harsh it sounded like she was gritting her teeth: “But this time, Artoli, you’re going to repay everything you owe me, with interest, all at once.” #About how I tried to win back my wife after being reborn, only to discover she was reborn too and had a creditor’s script# #Fair enough. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s paying with my body# First-person POV from the top, one-on-one. The story switches to a third-person POV in the middle and later sections. A slightly airheaded but actually formidable saintly beauty top x a sour-faced, stubborn, devoted, puppy-like military female bottom. Both are reborn. Once their secret identities are revealed, they’re an old married couple doting on each other, and it’s incredibly sweet! Childhood friends + rivals to lovers / marriage before love. The top and bottom bicker like primary school kids in their everyday life (as a form of flirting). There are two side couples, and they feature quite a bit. You can read their stories as separate arcs. Skip this if that’s not your thing. Side couple 1: An ultra-S-dominant, patient, cold-faced pope top x a stoic, outwardly cold but inwardly warm, tongue-tied marshal bottom (They feature mainly in chapters 41–44, 53–56, 59–63, and 69–70.) Side couple 2: A cool, confrontational top who loves a challenge x a truly unhinged, strongest-in-the-world emperor bottom (They feature mainly in chapters 76–77, 81–84, and 95–98.) Bonus chapters unlock for subscribers at an 80% purchase rate. Content warnings: I write purely for my own enjoyment, and my tastes are old-fashioned. This may not suit readers who are particular about top/bottom dynamics or who have purity standards. I’m not responsible if you’re upset by it, so please don’t insult the characters just to vent your feelings. Thank you! The side couples feature quite a bit. I’ll give a heads-up in the author’s note before the relevant chapters, so please don’t buy if that bothers you. The top isn’t an all-powerful, flawless protagonist, and he makes some serious mistakes. The other characters aren’t perfect either. The story calls for a few scenes where the top gets humiliated, and the bottom will get humiliated too. If you’re sensitive to that, please take care. [This is an entirely fictional setting with no connection to reality. Please don’t draw parallels to real life. The setting combines various anime and manga tropes and frameworks, so there will probably be plenty of plot holes. Please don’t nitpick. Since this is an insectoid society, it includes some backward customs and unreasonable social structures for the sake of the story. Please don’t nitpick.] Theme: Believe in yourself, become the person you want to be, and build beautiful relationships