“Is he a little taller today?”
Adlet observed the little tot hanging off his calf. He was still an itty-bitty thing, but Adlet was surprised that he could see a noticeable change in Ye Muo’s height everyday since they interacted so frequently.
Ye Muo was still holding onto a bottle, suckling idly from time to time.
Adlet stroked his hair and sighed, “He has been growing quickly lately. Even his food intake as increased.”
Bert became interested after overhearing that. He waved Ye Muo over. “Come here, you little thing. Let me see if you really are taller.”
Ye Muo ran over. When Bert told him to turn, he turned. When Bert told him to raise his hands, he did.
Fed up, Ano came over and carried Ye Muo away. “Don’t bully him.“
Norton paused from processing documents nearby. He didn’t notice much of a change in Ye Muo’s height, just that he was a little heavier. Yet Ye Muo has started to startle awake at night over the past few days. He would sleepily wriggle closer to Norton whenever it happened. If Norton asked him about it, he would just thrust his leg into Norton’s hand and ask for a massage.
He was growing up.
Norton set down his pen. He scooped Ye Muo up from behind.
Ye Muo glanced at him before cooperating and wrapping his arms around Norton’s neck. “Daddy.”
Norton made a sound of acknowledgement. “Let’s go to dinner.”
“En. Mommy said tonight, want, want meat.”
As soon as the words left Ye Muo’s mouth, everyone stopped and turned his way.
Ye Muo was still holding his bottle and chewing on the nib obliviously.
Norton’s steps paused. He made a sound of acknowledgement before continuing. Ye Muo seemed to have forgotten all about what he said by the time they reached the dining room. He was happily swaying his foot as usual.
The others breathed a sigh of relief. Adrian was slightly shaken. “Well that was terrifying. I thought he was going to cry. What was that?”
Dylan shot him a look. “The doctor said it’s normal for cocooning children to confuse their memories and reality.”
Despite saying that, he still subconsciously lowered his voice and glanced at Ye Muo. The child had started swaying his other foot.
They got ready for bed and went to sleep without any issues.
Ye Muo startled awake again that night. He mumbled about how his legs hurt as he wriggled closer to Norton. As usual, Norton started gently massagin his calf.
Ye Muo gradually quieted down. Norton could tell from his breathing and heartbeat that he was about to fall asleep.
Norton continued his gentle massage when Ye Muo suddenly shifted uneasily. First he curled up and mumured, “Mommy…”
Then he started stuggling in earnest. Norton sat up and went to check on Ye Muo. His fingers came back wet when he brushed Ye Muo’s cheek.
Ye Muo’s movements intensified.
Norton immediately tried to wake Ye Muo while shaking his shoulders, “Xavier, Xavier!”
Ye Muo finally quieted down after his eyes opened. He stopped trembling as well. Norton was relieved. He quietly asked as he brushed away Ye Muo’s tears, “Did you have a nightmare?”
Ye Muo remained still. He sat up and tugged at his clothes with a lost expression as if looking for something, all the while murmuring, “Hurts.”
Norton brought him into his arms and went to massage his calf. “Daddy will make it all better.”
Ye Muo turned around and buried his face into Norton’s chest. “Scared. Dearie is scared.”
Norton gently patted him on the back. “Don’t be. Daddy is here.”
Ye Muo shook his head. “Daddy’s not here.”
Norton lowered his head and kissed his forehead. “It was a dream.”
Ye Muo fell silent. He seemed confused, but soon yawned. He slowly drifted off to sleep again leaning against Norton.
Norton watched over him for a while. Just as he was about to tuck Ye Muo back in, the child startled awake again.
He seemed completely cut off from the world for some time, not responding when Norton called him. He just sat there like he had been scared stiff. Yet soon, the tears started to flow once more.
Ye Muo sobbed in Norton’s arms as he tugged on the front of his pajamas. “Hurts…hurts…”
“Where does it hurt?”
Norton understood by now that Ye Muo wasn’t experiencing growing pains. He checked the front of Ye Muo’s pajamas to no avail.
Ye Muo’s sobbing only grew louder into full on bawling.
Ye Muo had never cried this hard before. He was already out of breath.
Norton scooped him up. He tried to suppress his burning anxiety as he gently patted the child on the back and murmured again and again, “Daddy’s here, Daddy’s here…”
Ye Muo clung to Norton’s shirt for dear life. “Go. Living room. Living room.”
Norton thought of something. He silently turned on the lights, bundled Ye Muo up in one of his coats, and brought the child downstairs as he wished.
Ye Muo didn’t go to many places during the day. Aside from Norton’s bedroom, he spent most of his time in the downstairs living room.”
The lights inside had already been turned on by the palace AI by the time they arrived.
Norton held Ye Muo so he could see the entire living room. “See? There’s nothing here.”
Norton reassured him, “It was just a dream. An illusion.”
Ye Muo’s cries subsided a bit. He repeated after Norton, “Illusion?”
“Yes, an illusion.”
Ye Muo shook his head and began to cry again, “Mommy… Want Mommy…”
As Ye Muo’s mood fluctuated, his dormant psychic power began to stir uneasily. They burst out of his psychic domain and spread across the entire palace, scouring every single corner for something.
The commotion quickly alerted the others. All the lights in the palace turned on at once.
The Grantz swiftly gathered in the place where Norton and Ye Muo were.
They were all still in their sleepwear.
Bert was the first to arrive, followed by Ano.
Jacob wasn’t wearing a top. He had draped a jacket over his shoulders and hurried over before even buttoning up.
One of the legs of Helene’s pants were rolled up, revealing her calf. She hopped down from upstairs, landing lightly before rushing to Norton and Ye Muo.
They quickly assembled. Bert spoke first with a frown, “What happened? Call the doctors.”
Dylan nodded. “I’ll go.”
Adrian tried to coax Ye Muo with the method from before. “Wow, I wonder what kind of flower this is? Do you want it?”
However, the tried and true method didn’t work this time. Ye Muo was still crying like no tomorrow.
Adlet hurriedly arrived. The elderly butler’s impeccable grace was missing for once. “Have you called for a doctor yet?”
After receiving an affirmative reply, Adlet tried to draw Ye Muo’s attention. Yet the child seemed dead to the world. He curled up in Norton’s arms, sobs wracking his little body.
Everyone tried their best to coax Ye Muo to stop crying.
