Dylan barely spared Faceless as he got in the car, which made Faceless feel a bit better. He was so used to living in the shadows that being around so many people now made him uncomfortable.
The hovercar came to a stop directly in front of a warship, Dylan exited first with Faceless’ suitcase. The man himself followed close behind.
Dylan stood by the entrance and inclined his head. “Keep up. Remain within ten paces of me.”
With that, he continued on. Faceless paused only for a moment before following. This wasn’t quite what he was expecting. No one kept an eye on him or even confiscated his weapons. There was just Dylan.
……
Ye Zhiyuan was onboard the central ship of the legion he commanded. Just like Norton had to control the fleet mothership at all times while it operated as a mobile command post, Ye Zhiyuna needed to control the central ship of this legion.
His adjutant weaved through the crowd and to his side. “Legion Commander, Secretary-General Lin is here.”
He gestured behind him.
Ye Zhiyuan glanced over and spotted Secretary-General Lin by the door. He nodded to Ye Zhiyuan.
The appearance of Secretary-General Lin usually meant orders from His Majesty. Now that the fleet was on its way back to Grantz and had already reached Grantz territory, there shouldn’t be anything major left. Ye Zhiyuan quickly handed over command to his adjutant for now and came to the door himself.
Secretary-General Lin relaxed a bit. He and Ye Zhiyuan had known each other for a long time, so he wasn’t as formal with the man as he usually was at work.
“His Majesty’s orders. Come with me to the mothership.”
The mothership always docked at the Grantz palace, so His Majesty presumably wanted to see him. Ye Zhiyuan nodded. “Can you notify the Ye family for me?”
While the legion was in the middle of an operation, no one was allowed to contact the outside world aside from a handful of people due to their positions, Secretary-General Lin being one of them.
Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. “I’ve already notified them in advance. Let’s go. His Little Highness is also there. You should be able to see him if we leave now.”
He lowered his voice, “It won’t be so easy once Prince Dylan returns.”
Ye Zhiyuan knew of Dylan because Grantz didn’t particularly make an effort to hide his existence. After all, the public was bound to learn of him in time, just like with Adrian and Ano.
He frowned slightly, not quite sure what happened between Ye Muo and Prince Dylan.
Secretary-General Lin sighed and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
He revealed after a pause, “It’s probably good news this time, but I can’t be certain.”
He was being ambiguous on purpose. Although a reunion between brothers who had been separated for many years was a good thing, no one knew how His Majesty would deal with the wayward older brother. Secretary-General Lin had his own speculations.
Aboard the mothership, Ye Muo was staying put in his bedroom. He opened his holomind and saw a bunch of messages from Ano and Adrian. He opened them one by one. The general gist was that they were gloating about how Dylan had been sent out on a mission, so they were inviting Ye Muo to come out and play.
Ye Muo thought about it and was about to reply when the holomind pinged. Ye Muo knew this notification sound. He had set it up especially for his mom.
A tap later, he found out that Lady Ye had responded to his last message of missing her cooking.
[It’s a pity I have a cold right now so I can’t go to see Little Muo… Don’t worry, dear. Your dad always helps out when I cook. Although he’s not as good as me, he’s 75% of the way there. I’ll have your dad cook when he gets back and bring you some food.]
Immediately after that was a second message.
[I received word earlier that he’s going to stay at the Grantz palace for a day or two because of official business. He can whip up something for you over there.]
Ye Muo fretted over how Lady Ye had caught a cold, if she was doing okay, if she had taken any medications… Only when Lady Ye said she was almost recovered did he feel a bit of relief.
Ye Muo stayed like this for a while before there was a knock at the door. Adrian’s voice came in, “We’re home, Ye Muo.”
Ye Muo made a sound of acknowledgement and ran over. He opened the door and followed Adrian off the warship. He kept glancing back to find traces of Ye Zhiyuan in the crowds until Adrian wrenched his head back and gave him a push on the back. “Don’t worry, Dylan’s outside.”
Adlet had already led a procession of people over to greet them.
Norton was the first to reach them and paused until Ye Muo reached his side. Stroking the child’s hair back as always, he pushed him in Adlet’s direction. “Go on. Have something to eat.”
Ye Muo glanced at Norton before turning to Adlet.
Adlet understood and led Ye Muo inside. “Come on, Your Little Highness. You can go to bed after having some dinner and washing up. It’s getting late.”
Norton watched Ye Muo’s figure disappear around the corner before he continued walking. Secretary-General Lin came to Norton’s side from somewhere. “Your Majesty, Prince Dylan has arrived. I’ve brought Legion Commander Ye to the parlor as well.”
“Let them meet first. Take them to the palace hall after half an hour.”
The palace hall was the place where Norton formally received his ministers. Aside from the pillars that reached up to the top of the dome, there was only the throne that symbolized Grantz’s authority on top of a high platform.
“Understood.”
……
Dylan led Faceless through the Grantz palace, which he was very familiar with. He finally stopped in front of a certain parlor.
Secretary-General Lin was already waiting there. There were two guards stationed on either side of the door as well. “Leave him to me, Your Highness.”
Dylan nodded before leaving with the suitcase.
Faceless tilted his head before turning to Secretary-General Lin. The man in front of him warmly asked as he looked Faceless in the eyes, “Mr. Ye Huaiyuan, yes?”
Faceless stiffened for a moment. It took him a few seconds to respond hoarsely but affirmatively.
With this confirmation, Secretary-General Lin nodded and silently opened the door.
Inside was a small living room, Ye Zhiyuan stood in the center of the room, still in military uniform with his shoulders back. He subconsciously turned in the direction of the opening door.
His eyes skimmed over Secretary-General Lin and landed on Faceless, whose features were completely covered. He lingered on the man for a while before turning back to Secretary-General Lin.
Faceless stiffened the moment the door was opened and he saw Ye Zhiyuan. He almost took an instinctive step back.
Secretary-General Lin acted as if he didn’t notice the strange atmosphere around them. “Please, come in.”
Faceless stiffly made his way inside.
Secretary-General Lin remained by the door as he introduced both parties without blinking: “This is Ye Zhiyuan.”
“And this is Mr. Ye Huaiyuan.”
Ye Zhiyuan’s gaze snapped back to Faceless as soon as he heard that name. The tension in the room skyrocketed.
Secretary-General Lin continued, “You have twenty minutes to catch up. I won’t intrude any longer.”
The moment before he closed the door behind him, Secretary-General Lin seemed to see Faceless backing away.
Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. “It’s too late for regrets now.”
Inside the room, Ye Zhiyuan stared intently at Faceless as he slowly advanced on the man. His boots thumped regularly against the floor.
Faceless slowly backed until his back was against the door. There was nowhere left to run.
Ye Zhiyuan came to a stop in front of him. He regarded Faceless, “Big Brother.”
Faceless eventually made a move. He took off his hood to reveal his visage as he responded to Ye Zhiyuan a bit hoarsely, “It’s me.”
As soon as his words fell, Ye Zhiyuan punched him.
Faceless didn’t dodge, the punch landed square on his cheek and made his head hit the door behind him.
Secretary-General Lin, who was standing outside, couldn’t help but shift away from the door a little. The soundproofing technology nowadays was very good. He couldn’t hear anything aside from that impact, which must have hurt quite a bit.
Ye Zhiyuan straightened and called out again, “Big Brother?”
Faceless lowered his head again to avoid Ye Zhiyuan’s gaze. He gave a quiet sound of acknowledgement, prompting Ye Zhiyuan to punch him once more.
Ye Zhiyuan slowly withdrew his fist and waited until Faceless recovered. Then he called out, “Big Brother?”
Again, Faceless responded to him.
Again, Ye Zhiyuan punched him.
