Ares watched him calmly and remained silent.

But just as Kula Peng himself had said, sometimes silence was the best answer.

"So it’s true. Good heavens, I never imagined I’d one day be this close to the truth. And, well... Prince Li Ke has always been my idol. Do you think you might have time to get an autograph for me?"

Admiral Kula Peng was uncharacteristically sheepish as he finished speaking.

Ares never would have thought he’d make such a request. He looked at the admiral in surprise. "Are you serious? I’ve never heard you mention this before."

Kula Peng laughed. "It would’ve been useless to mention it before, but now there’s an opportunity, isn’t there!"

And what an opportunity it was. After all, Prince Li Ke had returned from the dead!

"You can get his autograph yourself. He’ll be at my wedding. After that, if you want anything, you can just ask him directly."

Kula Peng’s heart skipped a beat. He had only wanted to indulge in some covert fanboying, but Ares had just told him he could meet his idol in person and was even generously providing the venue.

He was nervous, but excited too.

"Is that really alright?"

He asked, feigning hesitation. Then he heard Ares say, "It’s entirely up to you. Go if you want to, and don’t if you don’t."

"You’re right!" Kula Peng immediately broke into a smile. He started to raise his hand to pat Ares’s shoulder, but on second thought, Ares’s status was different now. That shoulder wasn’t one he could just pat so casually anymore. "You must be busy," he said instead. "I won’t disturb your work."

With that, he turned and left.

After the admiral left, Kevin poked his head in, full of gossip. "Boss, what did you say to Admiral Kula Peng? I swear he was walking on air when he came out."

"Do you have too much free time?"

The short question was enough to make Kevin immediately retract his gossipy feelers.

Even with her wedding just around the corner, Lu Xiao didn’t neglect her work or the research at the institute.

However, progress on the Crystal Fruit research was still slow.

The road ahead was long, but thankfully, they were all filled with hope.

But there was good news, too. The time for Regal’s final evaluation and treatment session had arrived.

He was the first High-level S-class male Lu Xiao had treated. In just a few months, he had gone from complete beastification to Half-beastification, and now, he had finally met the criteria for discharge.

Regal felt as if he had lived an entire lifetime, going from utter despair to being filled with hope.

Now, as he was about to embrace a new life, Regal’s emotions were complex, yet he felt a sense of peace.

Lu Xiao saw him walk into the examination room, dressed in regular clothes and smiling. "Good day, Your Excellency Lu Xiao."

"Good day, Regal. You look particularly well today. Have you thought about what you’re going to do after this?"

Regal nodded. "I’m going home. I’ve already arranged it with my mother."

At this, Regal smiled at Lu Xiao. "Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I would have this chance today. I know I’ve said it many times, but I have to say it again: thank you, Your Excellency Lu Xiao."

When Regal suddenly stood and bowed to her with great solemnity, Lu Xiao did not step aside.

Instead, she accepted his gratitude. Lu Xiao smiled. "You should thank yourself, too, for persevering all this time. Success is never a one-person effort, Regal. Don’t discount your own hard work."

"I will, Your Excellency Lu Xiao. I’ve had time to think about a lot of things. After I’m discharged, I plan to travel for a while, see the world, and then think about what I want to do with my life. I hope we’ll have a chance to meet again."

"We will, Regal. I’ve invited your mother to my and my partner’s wedding. You can come along with her."

Regal’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Lu Xiao in disbelief. "Really? Congratulations! I’ll definitely be there!"

"Good. We’d love to have you."

Next, Lu Xiao performed Regal’s final treatment as usual. When Regal awoke and stepped out of the Fifth Research Institute, he was greeted by warm sunlight and a brilliant future.

That evening, Lu Xiao received a voice call from Asina.

Lu Xiao accepted the call. As soon as it connected, she heard Asina’s voice: "My dear, Regal is home! His condition couldn’t be better. Regal used to be such a closed book, but now he’s actually making conversation! He’s even thinking about redoing the garden. He’s so different, thank you so much!"

"You’re welcome, Your Excellency Asina. It’s my job, after all. But even though Regal is better now, I hope you and your family won’t put too much pressure on him."

"Oh, don’t worry. Right now, I just want them to be well. I don’t care about anything else anymore." Asina might have been a bit overbearing in the past.

But after her interactions with Cecilia and Lu Xiao, she had learned a great deal from them.

With Regal’s discharge, news simultaneously spread that High-level S-class males could now be cured and released.

Naturally, this garnered widespread public attention—

"Did you guys see? The S-Class Shelter just announced that the first High-level S-class patient has recovered and been discharged!"

"AHHH, is it real?! Is it really real?! Does this mean my brother can be saved?!"

"So Spirit Sea turbulence isn’t a terminal illness anymore, right? Can any experts out there confirm this?"

"It’s true that it can be cured now, but a medicinal cure hasn’t been developed yet. Relying on just the few therapists at the Fifth Research Institute means progress is very slow. It’s nowhere near being available throughout the entire Empire. So for some people, it’s still a terminal illness. For it to be truly eradicated, we have to wait for a medicinal cure to be developed and made available Empire-wide. So everyone, please remain cautious!"

"Hey everyone, didn’t the latest paper from the S-Class Shelter say that Release Therapy can be an effective way to get relief? Has anyone tried it? I’ve been giving it a shot recently. All those things that used to upset me but I just had to put up with... ever since I stopped holding back and just did what felt right, I feel like my Spirit Sea is much calmer, and I can actually sleep at night!"

"Really? Is it that amazing? I’m gonna try it too. To the person who just posted, can you give us more details on how you ’release’?"

...

And so, not long after, discussions about Release Therapy did indeed pop up on the forums, with some people even sharing their ’release’ process.

It gradually became a trend among the general populace.

However, subsequent problems soon followed.

But that was a story for another time.

At this time, Lu Xiao and the other four therapists at the Fifth Research Institute all received commendations from Her Majesty the Queen.

This time, the rewards were distributed quickly, and the news was made public immediately.

Evidently, Her Majesty the Queen had resumed handling state affairs upon her return to the Royal Palace. This gave many people a renewed sense of hope.

Regardless of the outcome between Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Li Ke, the fact that the Queen had regained her clarity and was no longer mired in grief was a good thing for the entire Empire.