When the ship was about to arrive at the imperial capital, the adjutant said, “We’ve almost arrived, Your Majesty Bert. The mothership is ready to separate from the fleet–”
Bert opened his eyes and interrupted him, “Dock in the military zone.”
The adjutant was taken aback. Under normal circumstances, the Grantz usually returned directly to the palace in the mothership.
“Hold a press conference there in 20 minutes. We can still catch Adlet’s lunch.”
Press conferences were an important way for them to communicate with the public, but cameras would be rolling throughout. The Grantz disliked being filmed and usually left the task to others. They rarely participated in such activities.
As soon as Bert spoke, Aria and Jacob glanced over. They didn’t say anything.
Helene wrinkled her nose but didn’t object either. Her father always had his reasons for doing things. After a while, she thought,“Well, sometimes he just does things because he’s a bastard.”
The adjutant nodded. “Then I’ll get in contact with the officers and have them prepare.”
Bert adjusted his posture and closed his eyes again. His psychic power swept through the warship.
The warship soon arrived in the military zone.
The adjutant rose first and said as he stepped forward. “Your Majesty Bert, the military zone was holding a press conference already, so we can head there for now.”
Bert made a casual sound of agreement. Helene and the others followed them out.
When they arrived in front of a set of doors, the adjutant lowered his voice, “It’s being held in the hall before us.”
There were several people waiting there already. After saluting, one said, “Let me go interrupt the conference–”
Bert raised his hand. “It’s fine, I’m in a hurry.”
Then he swung the doors open and looked around. The hall was almost full.
The doors opened inward. Almost everyone in the lobby noticed at once and turned in this direction.
Bert casually strolled towards the podium with everyone’s eyes on him.
The soldier standing behind the podium immediately reacted. He saluted Bode before stepping aside.
Helene and the others went to stand behind Bert.
Bert began, “I don’t know which part you were at, but now it’s time for questions. Shoot.”
After a few seconds, someone quickly stood up and asked, “Will you take the throne again, sir?”
“Nope. I’ve retired already. Now I’m mainly at home taking care of the kid. Our precious little Xavier.”
There was a small burst of laughter in the hall.
Someone else got up. “Regarding the financial aspects of today’s conference–”
Bert gestured. “Sorry, I’m in a hurry. Next.”
Several questions passed before Bert got the one he wanted.
“May I ask if the news of the upcoming insect plague is true?”
“You all saw it, right? Although that organization is scum, they were telling the truth this time.”
“Then…may I ask if the Grantz have any intentions of cooperating with them?”
The hall fell silent. Everyone turned to the little reporter, as if wondering why he asked such a question.
Almost all the media representatives here were Grantz citizens, so they were firmly on Grantz’s side. The livestreams had only sent that mysterious organization’s approval rating in Grantz to an all time low.
The little reporter was a little uneasy. He tried to explain himself, “Actually, I know that’s now possible. I just wanted to know Grantz’s attitude towards them…”
Bert sat up straight and smiled at the reporter, like he finally hit the nail on the head. “That’s a good question.”
He enuciated every word, “The Grantz will never rest as long as they continue to exist.”
Bert’s voice echoed in the hall.
He continued, “Moreover, Grantz will treat anyone on Arachnid’s side as an enemy as well.”
“Let me share with you the name of that organization, Arachnid. They posess post-plague technologies and were the first to detect the arrival of the next one. They might even have countermeasures to deal with it by now. Regardless, only this will remain unchanged.”
“Simply put, if a king insect and Arachnid were both before me, I would choose to end Arachnid first.”
Bert stood. “This is why I dropped by. I don’t care how you handle everything else, but I want this part conveyed clearly in your reports.”
Another reporter summoned up their courage and asked, “Your Majesty Bert, does His Majesty Norton agree with you?”
Bert’s expression remained unchanged and he frankly admitted, “Of course there are some personal grievances at play here, but not entirely.”
Another question came as soon as he replied, “Your Majesty, may I ask about the keychain on your necklace? As far as I know, it’s a toy meant for toddlers.”
“Another good question. Xavier gave it to me as a gift.”
“Your Majesty Bert, why hasn’t His Little Highness appeared in public for so long? He used to accompany His Majesty Norton on all sorts of occasions.”
Bert thought about it before turning to the others to confirm, “What did Norton say again?”
Helene: “There’s no need to hide something like this, right? It’s not like Xavier has anything to be ashamed of.”
Jacob was going to say something but stopped himself.
The insect plague was coming, so there would surely be many international conferences that require Norton’s attendance. Norton will definitely take Xavier with him. It was bound to come out eventually.
Bert turned and simply stated, “It’s because he’s cocooned and just learned to walk. He’s only a wee thing about this tall.”
He gestured.
There was an uproar offstage before murmurs began. It was even more lively than when Bert announced his enimity with Arachnid.
“He’s cocooned? My goodness! I want all the pictures and videos. There’s plenty featuring the other princes and princesses, but none of a younger Prince Xavier.”
“Me too…”
“Okay, it’s getting late. Time to go back for lunch. Goodbye, everyone.”
As soon as those words fell, Bert and the other left as suddenly as they had come.
……
In the Grantz palace, Adlet had just served Ye Muo lunch.
There was a bottle and a plate on the table in front of him, as well as a small lion the size of an adult’s fist in the upper right corner.
Ye Muo held the spoon by himself.
As long as the food on the plate could be eaten with a spoon, he could already feed himself. Norton had already fed him the food that couldn’t be scooped up in advance.
Now, Ye Muo’s feet were swaying as he carefully brought food to his mouth.
The others were more or less disappointed that they couldn’t feed him anymore.
Ano and Adrian kept on praising him, “Muomuo is awesome. You can already eat by yourself.”
Ye Muo’s feet swayed a little quicker. He nodded as he mumbled with the spoon in his mouth, “Muomuo, awesome!”
Bert and the others came in then. He scanned the dining table. “Looks like we’re right on time.”
Adlet set down his tray. “A little later than I expected. Please wait, Your Majesty Bert and Your Highnesses.”
Bert nodded to Adlet. “Don’t forget my wine. I just got back from work.”
Adlet took off his gloves. “After His Little Highness finishes his meal.”
As they spoke, Helene and Aria made a beeline for Ye Muo.
Ye Muo had already been smooched by the time he looked up. Helene then ruffled his hair. “Did Muomuo think of Auntie while she was away?”
Ye Muo swayed his feet and quietly admitted, “On the first day, yeah.”
Helene squished both of his cheeks. “Only the first day? Didn’t you promise to think of Auntie everyday? Auntie certainly thought of Muomuo everyday.”
Ye Muo couldn’t speak properly with her manhandling his face. “Sorry, Auntie. Muomuo forgot.”
He offered the spoon to Helene. “Eat, Auntie.”
Norton looked over and said indifferently, “You can’t share utensils.”
Helene shut her mouth at once.
Ye Muo also obediently took back his spoon. He hesitated a little before steeling himself. “Muomuo will share his cupcake today with Auntie Helene and Auntie Aria. Muomuo only needs a little piece.”
Aria cupped his cheeks as well. “Then Auntie will forgive Muomuo.”
Jacob thought about the size of Ye Muo’s cupcake as he came over. Thinking it was too small to split anymore, he silently ruffled Ye Muo’s hair.
Bert shooed everyone else away when he strolled over. “Alright, let our Muomuo eat properly.”
Ye Muo nodded and scooped up some food. As soon as he put it in his mouth, Bert crouched in front of him with a smile. “Is there any cake left for me? If not, can I get something else to make up for it?”
Ye Muo swallowed before setting down his spoon. He hugged the little lion close. After a beat, he hugged his bottle close as well and sincerely stated, “Then, then Bert can have Muomuo’s cupcake.”
Pleased, Bert ruffled his hair. “En, good Muomuo. Eat well.”
Ye Muo’s eyes immediately went to the little lion keychain dangling from Bert’s necklace.
Bert let go and shook it in front of him. Ye Muo’s head turned wherever the pendant went.
“This is a gift so you can’t ask for it back.”
Ye Muo hugged his little lion and shook his head. “Muomuo doesn’t want. Muomuo will just look.”
He raised his own little lion. “Muomuo still has Big Brother Lion. That’s Little Brother Lion.”
Bert raised an eyebrow. “Although Little Brother Lion is mine now, I’ll let you look at and touch it everyday since you gave me your cupcake.”
“Does Muomuo want to touch it?”
Ye Muo swiftly nodded. “Yes.”
When Bert went to scoop him up, Adlet reminded, “Please eat properly, Your Majesty Bert.”
Bert didn’t even turn around, “I’m not too hungry yet.”
Adlet came over and checked the food on Ye Muo’s plate. It was almost empty, but he still said curtly, “Please let His Little Highness eat as well.”
Bert knew well enough to set Ye Muo back down. “Then I’ll show Muomuo the little lion after lunch.”
Norton undid Ye Muo’s bib and picked him up. Even once they arrived at the study, Ye Muo was still thinking of his little lion.
