Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

”What’s wrong? Just what kind of insect is it? Is it something serious?”

Princess Gwan-do’s persistent questioning only made my headache worse.

Her sharp gaze bore into me, urging me to answer immediately.

But the problem was...

How the hell was I supposed to explain this?

I hesitated, glancing at my father-in-law with a troubled expression.

Sensing my distress, he quickly stepped in.

”Your Highness, may I have a brief word with my son-in-law? He might be feeling a bit nervous in front of someone of your stature.”

”Ah, I see. Go ahead, then.”

Once we were given permission, he leaned in and whispered.

”What’s going on, son-in-law?”

”Come closer, please.”

”Closer? Is this something that must be discussed in secrecy? But the princess is right there...”

”It’s fine. Talk all you need.”

Princess Gwan-do reassured us, mistakenly assuming that I was just too young and overwhelmed.

Technically, I did look young.

But when it came to this particular subject, I was probably more experienced than most people in this world.

Seizing the opportunity, I pulled my father-in-law’s head down and whispered into his ear.

”[The insect’s name is... well, it’s kind of inappropriate to say in front of a lady.]”

”[An inappropriate name? What do you mean?]”

”[It’s called... M-Mating Bug (交接蟲).]”

”...Mating Bug!?”

My father-in-law’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

His voice dropped to a hushed but incredulous whisper.

”[W-what kind of obscene insect is that!? First, it was the Kissing Bug (接吻蟲), and now it’s the Mating Bug!? Why is it that every bug you find has such... inappropriate names!?]”

I had the same question.

Seriously.

Why the hell do all the bugs I encounter sound like they belong in an adult novel?

Was this some kind of curse?

”[I have no idea why this keeps happening! But I swear, I didn’t name them! They’re called that because... well, they’re always attached to each other, you know... doing the thing.]”

”[I see... Still, there’s no way we can just tell the princess this.]”

Even though we now both knew the truth, we had just created another problem.

What the hell were we supposed to do now?

We both stared at each other in silence, then simultaneously turned toward Princess Gwan-do.

That’s when my eyes landed on Akyang’s governor, Seo Bin-ak.

‘Wait a second.

Why don’t we just tell the governor instead?’

The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded.

After all, he’s her husband.

A married couple should be able to discuss things like this, right?

I cautiously suggested it to my father-in-law.

”[What if we tell the governor instead? He can pass the information on to the princess. I mean, they’re married, so surely this kind of conversation is fine between them.]”

”[Oh! That’s brilliant. Yes, if it’s the governor, there should be no issue.]”

But there was one small problem.

We couldn’t just ignore the princess and start whispering with her husband right in front of her.

That would be too disrespectful.

”[We should ask to move to a more private location first. Otherwise, it might seem like we’re disregarding the princess’s authority.]”

Satisfied with our plan, my father-in-law turned to Princess Gwan-do and formally requested,

”Would it be possible to dismiss the others and discuss this in private?”

The princess arched a brow.

”Oh? It’s that serious? I see... And now that I think about it, I have been keeping you standing at the entrance all this time. My apologies—I was just in a hurry. Let’s go inside.”

She led us to a reception hall, where we were served tea. Once everyone else was dismissed, she wasted no time.

”Alright, now that we’re alone, you can speak freely.”

My father-in-law glanced at me.

...He was telling me to say it myself.

Fine.

I took a deep breath and carefully said,

”Your Highness, I apologize, but may I speak to the governor alone?”

”What? Why?”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion.

”Are you saying that because I’m a woman, I can’t hear it?”

She sounded genuinely offended.

I immediately waved my hands in panic.

”N-no! That’s not it! It’s just... the name of this insect is a little... inappropriate for ladies to hear.”

She blinked.

”Inappropriate? Why?”

I gulped.

Here came the tough part.

”It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I just think... it would be better if I told the governor first, and he could relay it to you.”

Princess Gwan-do sighed but eventually nodded.

”Fine. Minister, I’ll leave it to you.”

”Y-yes, Your Highness.”

The governor, who had been silent this whole time like a decorative vase, finally stepped forward.

I leaned in and whispered the name into his ear.

”[Mating Bug.]”

”!”

His entire body stiffened.

His eyes widened, and he shot up from his seat.

He looked at the princess, then at me, then back at the princess again.

His voice trembled.

”Y-you mean to tell me... that’s what they’re called!?”

”Yes. That’s correct.”

—Gulp.

The entire reception hall fell silent as the sound of him swallowing nervously echoed through the room.

I had expected him to handle it like an adult since he was her husband.

Instead...

He glanced at the princess like a terrified rabbit, then turned to me with a desperate expression.

”I-I can’t say it.”

”What?”

He flat-out refused.

Princess Gwan-do slammed her hands onto the table and stood up.

”What the hell is going on!? Bin-ak, tell me this instant! If you don’t, I will consider it treason!”

The governor visibly paled.

”Y-Your Highness, I-I cannot bring myself to say it... It would sully your ears...”

”JUST SAY IT!”

”H-how could a noble scholar such as myself utter such blasphemous words to a lady!? I... I would rather die!”

”WHAT!?”

Princess Gwan-do stared at him in utter disbelief.

And there I was, watching from the sidelines, thinking...

‘This is so much worse than just telling her myself.’

”Why are you hesitating? Just what kind of insect is it that you’re acting like this? Is it something serious?”

Princess Gwan-do’s pressing questions only added to my internal chaos.

Her expectant gaze locked onto me, clearly demanding an answer.

But how the hell was I supposed to explain this?

Seeing my troubled expression, my father-in-law quickly stepped in.

”Your Highness, let me speak with my son-in-law for a moment. He might be feeling a bit nervous in front of someone of your status.”

”Ah, I see. Go ahead, then.”

”What’s going on, son-in-law?”

”Come closer, please.”

”Closer? Is this something that must be kept secret? But the princess is right here...”

”It’s fine. Speak freely.”

Princess Gwan-do reassured us, assuming that I was just too young and flustered.

Sure, I looked young.

But when it came to this particular subject, I probably knew more than most adults in this world.

Once given permission, I pulled my father-in-law’s head down and whispered into his ear.

”[The insect’s name is... well, it’s a bit inappropriate to say in front of a lady.]”

”[An inappropriate name? What do you mean?]”

”[It’s called... Mating Bug.]”

”...Mating Bug!?”

His eyes went wide in disbelief.

He leaned in and hissed in a hushed voice.

”[W-what kind of obscene insect is that!? First, it was the Kissing Bug, and now it’s the Mating Bug!? Why is it that every bug you find has such indecent names!?]”

I had the same question.

Seriously.

Why the hell do all the bugs I encounter sound like they belong in an adult novel?

Was this some kind of curse?

”[I have no idea why this keeps happening! But I swear, I didn’t name them! They’re called that because... well, they’re always attached to each other, you know... mating.]”

”[I see... Still, there’s no way we can just tell the princess this.]”

Even though we now both knew the truth, we had just created another problem.

What the hell were we supposed to do now?

We both stared at each other in silence, then simultaneously turned toward Princess Gwan-do.

She noticed our troubled expressions and furrowed her brows.

”What? Why do you both look like that? Just tell me already. Whatever it is, I’ll forgive you for it.”

She was clearly trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

But in the end, after all this back and forth...

The bomb landed right back in my hands.

It was my fate to deliver this terrible news.

Since the governor flat-out refused to say it, the only person left was me.

It would sound better coming from me than from my middle-aged father-in-law.

‘Screw it. She told me to say it, so I’ll just say it.’

”Mating Bug.”

”What!?”

Not just Princess Gwan-do, but even Hwa-eun widened their eyes in shock.

Their ears turned bright red.

Women of this era were already embarrassed beyond belief at the mere mention of a ”Kissing Bug.”

Hearing the word ”Mating Bug” out loud must have been an absolute catastrophe for them.

But since I had already dropped the bomb, I might as well explain it properly.

If I didn’t finish the job now, I would have to repeat this whole nightmare again later.

And that was not an option.

‘Just do it in one go. No way in hell am I doing this twice.’

”Here, these are two Mating Bugs that we caught earlier. You see how they’re attached like this? That’s because they’re in the middle of mating. They’re always mating, which is why they’re called Mating Bugs.”

After I calmly finished my explanation, Princess Gwan-do fanned her face with her hands.

It took her a moment to regain her composure before she finally asked,

”O-okay, now I understand why you were all hesitating... But is there a way to get rid of them?”

”How long have they been appearing?”

”Let’s see... It’s been about eleven days.”

‘Eleven days, huh? Then this should be over soon.’

Love Bugs, also known as Plecia, belong to the family of Bibionidae flies.

They tend to swarm like crazy in regions where two rivers meet and temperatures become abnormally high.

Though they cause massive inconvenience due to their sheer numbers and bodily fluids, they aren’t actually pests.

In fact, they’re closer to beneficial insects.

As larvae, they consume rotting vegetation, helping to clean up the environment.

As adults, they feed on flower nectar and pollen, which helps in pollination.

The only real problem with them is their acidic guts.

If you crush them, their internal fluids can corrode metal surfaces.

Back in my past life, they were a major problem in Florida, where they would damage car paint and corrode metal surfaces.

But the important thing was...

If these bugs had already been here for eleven days, then their swarming phase was almost over.

They only lasted for about one to two weeks before disappearing.

Male Love Bugs had a lifespan of three to four days, while females lived for about a week.

Since the soldiers had been burning them with torches ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) earlier, I noticed that most of the bugs that flew toward the flames had been single.

That meant most of the bugs had already finished mating and were dying off.

In other words, this whole crisis would resolve itself within a few days.

I turned back to Princess Gwan-do.

”If it’s already been eleven days, then you don’t need to do anything at all.”

”Nothing? What do you mean?”

She blinked at me in confusion.

I decided to explain it in detail.

Even if I wasn’t really doing anything to solve the problem, I was still here as a consultant.

I should at least provide a proper explanation.

”I’ll explain why there’s no need for action. But first, let me ask you something. Are there two rivers that meet near Akyang?”

”Yes. The Myo River flows down from Guiyang and into Dongting Lake, and the Yangtze River meets Akyang directly.”

”As I expected... And has it been particularly hot this year?”

”Yes! The heat has been unbearable. Many people have collapsed during the day.”

Her answers lined up perfectly with the conditions for Love Bug outbreaks.

I nodded and continued.

*”These insects thrive in areas where two rivers meet and the weather becomes abnormally hot. The heat leads to an increase in rotting vegetation, which creates the perfect breeding conditions for them.

However, they are not pests—in fact, they are beneficial.

As larvae, they clean up dead plant matter.

As adults, they help pollinate flowers.

So there’s really no need to be overly concerned about them.”*

Princess Gwan-do’s eyes widened at my explanation.

”T-to think you could explain it in such detail... I was actually starting to suspect that you hesitated because you weren’t knowledgeable...”

I chuckled and continued.

”However, you should be careful when killing them—their bodily fluids are acidic and can corrode metal.”

”I see. I should order the soldiers to be extra careful with their weapons.”

With the background explanation done, I finally told her the most important part.

*”And the reason you don’t need to do anything is because...

Within the next few days, they will all be dead.”*

”They’ll all die!?”

”Yes. If you go outside now, you’ll probably already see dozens of them lying dead on the streets.”

Princess Gwan-do paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.

”That’s true... The servants have been sweeping up piles of them every morning...”

Everything should have been settled.

But suddenly, she frowned in deep thought.

Then, she looked at me and asked,

*”But isn’t there something we can do?

I mean, you’re an expert on insects. Surely you can come up with something, right?”*

”...Huh?”

She wanted me to make up a job even though nothing needed to be done?

Now I was the one who was confused.

‘Wait... what the hell does she mean by that?’