Bert stuffed another folder in Ye Muo’s arms. “Go on.”
Ye Muo looked up at all the Grantz who were right at work before his gaze eventually settled on Norton. Norton was the only one not doing anything.
Ye Muo had an inkling something was off, but his many successes as a folder courier in the room made him subconsciously head in Norton’s direction.
Halfway through, when Norton was even about to reach over to pick him up, Ye Muo trotted back the way he came with the folder in tow. He glanced up at Bert with an unsure expression and didn’t move.
But soon, Ye Muo seemed to have an epiphany and dragged the folder back over to Norton.
He settled down in Norton’s lap before placing the man’s hand on his waist. “Hug Muomuo.”
When Norton was properly hugging him, Ye Muo picked up the document and started working hard on trying to flip the pages and stare at them.
The silence of the room was broken by the click of a shutter.
Aria dropped her documents and calmly took out her camera.
Ano looked on in shock, pen still in hand, at Ye Muo, who was nearly completely hidden behind the document. He turned to Norton. “Big Brother!”
Even Bert’s expression sobered.
Jacob touched his chin. “Does that bit of genetic distance have such a profound impact? Here I thought we were all at the same starting line.”
Adrian analyzed with full sincerity, “Trust in the science. If we take Bert for example, genetic distance does not equate to a closer bond. I think it’s because Big Brother holds him the most. In that case–”
Helene’s hand shot up first, cutting him off. “I’ll take care of Ye Muo this afternoon.”
Dylan scoffed coldly, “Really? After he curled up in to a ball when you lifted him up before?”
Bert fanned the flames, “That’s right, that’s right. You were too reckless.”
The Grantz started squabbling again.
Adlet calmly entered the room despite the lively ruckus. There was a bottle of formula in addition to the teapot on his tray.
Norton took the document from Ye Muo and set it down on the desk nearby so he could take the bottle.
His sole comment on the entire situation was, “How noisy.”
Ye Muo didn’t forget to nod along as he chugged down the bottle. He even took a break to emphatically shout, “Noisy!”
He’s been expanding his vocabulary lately and has become Norton’s little parrot.
“Indeed, Your Highness, Your Little Highness.” Adlet warmly responded.
Norton tidied up Ye Muo’s hair before departing from the room, leaving all the noise behind.
……
“Alright. Please head inside, Commander Clinton.”
Flynn returned to his senses and made a sound of acknowledgement. He straightened his collar as he stepped away.
That scene from all those years ago was still playing through his mind. Young Bert lunged through the air wielding a coldly glinting blade, like a bird of prey with its wings outstretched.
Anyone who saw the sight would unanimously agree he was the perfect lifeform.
Flynn’s brain had somehow committed every aspect of that instant to memory– one of his good friends had even joked how this was how he spent his near-death experience.
Flynn was once a genius acknowledged by the masses too. There was a time where he thought the world was his oyster– solely based on shallow achievements from his time in a military academy.
Now, he was far stronger than his student self, yet his head remained bowed. Broadening his perspective had taught him humility.
How fast time flies, ah.
The prince of bygone days had become emperor. The emperor who was of similar age to his own children now had children of his own.
He too now had a position closer to the Grantz. He watched the current princes and princesses grow up, how they instinctively bared their fangs and flashed their claws as children. The glory of the imperial family reached its peak as they neared His Majesty’s princeling age, before quickly dissolving into frequent quarrels and the Grantz gradually distancing themselves from each other.
Flynn stepped through the shadows cast by the columns on either side of the wide, paved road at a measured pace.
The palace was gorgeous as always thanks to the tireless dedication of top architects. Each element could be considered artwork, any angle could be considered beautiful. Oppressive was the last word that should be used to describe it.
Yet the lined shadows at his feet seemed more like a cage to Flynn.
Your Majesty, why is it that, despite your feathered wings being as awe-inspiring, if not more than before, your claws growing sharper by the day…why do you continue to guard this place, unable to fly out of this cage as your children gradually disperse?
Flynn came to a stop as he passed another column. He looked down, his pale blond hair shimmering in the sunlight.
Oh fate, be gentler to the Grantz.
Flynn was not a man of faith, yet he was more devout than any believer in this moment as he prayed for the umpteenth time.
……
Adlet attended to each Grantz before stopping in front of Bert. “Your Majesty, Lord Clinton has come and will soon arrive at the reception hall. Will you see him now?”
Bert rose and gave a big stretch. “Fine, let’s go.”
The hall in question wasn’t that far away. He entered onto the high platform preceded by a flight of stairs and the two rows of tall marble columns. Bert glanced at the throne to his side.
Who designed a plain old reception hall like this? Bert felt like he was underdressed every time he set foot in this place, like he should at least put on his crown. Not that he cared about things like that.
Bert mentally complained for the umpteenth time as he took a seat on the throne.
His robes spread out as he shifted. Even sans crown, he had the natural air of a ruler about him as he casually sat down.
Bert rested an elbow on one of the wide armrests. Sure enough, this wasn’t as comfortable as the chairs in the lounge.
……
Flynn stood by the tall doors, back pencil-straight and head slightly bowed as he waited to be called in.
The guards to either side of the doorway were even more like marble statues. Even their breaths were barely audible.
Flynn’s heart began to race with anxiety, even if he had been here several times and was fairly familiar with this place.
A crisp sound broke the silence.
Flynn startled and raised his head slightly.
Something had landed on the floor and started bouncing across it. A glass marble?
Why would such a thing appear here?
He turned his head towards the source of the sound. Sure enough, there was a marble rolling this way. It soon collided with his boot before coming to a stop nearby.
Flynn subconsciously traced back the direction it had come from and saw a child at the end of the hallway.
He had dark hair and dark eyes and looked well cared for. He stood there, staring at the marble by Flynn’s feet with some trepidation.
When he noticed Flynn’s gaze, he shuffled to the side and hid behind a wall, only poking his head out a little.
Who brought him here? Flynn ran down the list of his colleagues.
Regardless, this was no place for a child to play around. Where were his guardians?
Flynn shifted a step. Just as he was considering retrieving the marble, he saw the child seem to get a second wind. He stopped hiding and came this way.
Flynn’s pupils shrank slightly as Norton’s figure slowly emerged around the corner. His gaze swept over Flynn before landing back on Ye Muo.
That child was making a beeline for the glass marble…no, despite looking like glass, it was actually an insect crystal. The valuable gift had been given to a child who didn’t yet understand its value and treated it like a common marble.
The guards shifted at this time and moved to open the door. “Please enter, Lord Clinton.”
Flynn subconsciously made a sound of acknowledgement. His brain was already short-circuiting. He was moving purely on instinct as he bowed slightly in Norton’s direction before striding into the hall.
After approaching the platform, he got down on one knee. “May imperial glory endure, and Grantz forever be immortalized. Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Long time no see, Flynn. Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”
Flynn stiffened for a beat before reciting the script he had practiced countless times, “Your Majesty, the Sixth Legion has recently discovered on Planet 3289–”
Crap, he’s here to make more work for me, Bert thought.
“I’m sure you can handle it. Don’t let me down.”
Bert cut him off.
Flynn stopped, having forgotten all about his intention to find similar battlefields that could interest the Grantz. He solemnly responded, “Of course, Your Majesty. You can place your trust in me. I will present a satisfactory outcome to you.”
Bert waved his hand, bringing an end to the matter. “You’re here too, Norton?”
Norton entered the hall behind Ye Muo. He was familiar with Bert and Norton, so he had some confidence even in this unfamiliar place.
He was curiously peering around the hall right now. Now that he was at the steps, he looked up at Bert in amazement.
Flynn bowed his head. “Greeting, Your Highness Norton.”
Norton made a sound of acknowledgement, adding after a pause, “He’s my child.”
Flynn’s head shot up in shock. He stared at Ye Muo, who was getting a feel for the stairs. “Y-Your Little Highness?”
“Your expression is hilarious, Flynn.”
Bert lightly hopped down from the tall platform to the step just above Ye Muo. He reached over and tapped the child on the forehead. “A dashing little boy, no? He’s Norton’s kid.”
“Come get a better look at him.”
He raised his head and stared at Flynn, “With your keen senses, of course.”
Flynn’s perception of psychic power was almost perfect. It was a trait that ran in their family, but it manifested itself the most in him by far. Bert used to use him as a living detector for Norton and the others’ stealth class. Any little Grantz found by him would have to attend remedial lessons.”
In truth, the Grantz’s senses were also astonishingly keen, otherwise Bert wouldn’t be able to sense the anomaly in Ye Muo’s psychic power under such circumstances last time. However, their incredible psychic power actually served to mask the finer details to a degree.
This drawback could be supplemented with fine tuning while their psychic power was still under control. Once they started going berserk as their psychic power increased, some loss of fine perception was inevitable.
Bert was no different. However, his psychic power had stabilized a lot thanks to that time, allowing him to recover enough perception to instinctively feel something was off.
Perhaps Norton had an even clearer picture than him. Why else would he stop taking the initiative to soothe Ye Muo after the first time?
That only cemented Bert’s speculations.
Norton was always the strongest of his children, Bert thought. He wouldn’t be surprised no matter what he accomplished.
It took Flynn a long beat to react. “What do you wish to find out, Your Majesty?”
“Examine his psychic power and see if he’s started–”
Bert paused, “Check if there are any signs.”
Flynn understood why he had been called over now. His senses were so keen that he could estimate how close a Grantz was along the spiral by coming into contact with their psychic power.
“But His Little Highness is so young. Surely it’s impossible.”
Bert lifted Ye Muo up and had him stand before him on the platform. “Relax, I just want to check.”
Author’s Corner
Flynn’s Old Reliable, but he’s also an workaholic blond-haired, green-eyed handsome young man
Flynn: overcome with hurt and unwilling to face reality
Bert: Crap, he’s here to make me work too
Little Muo, who lost the glass marble (･ω･|
