In the evening, the Grantz tacitly gathered in Norton’s parlour.
Ye Muo was also there. His bedroom was technically a part of Norton’s living quarters, so this parlour was as much his as it was Norton’s. His bedtime had clearly been pushed back tonight, but Adlet didn’t say anything as the first round of the tournament had just concluded. Norton also turned a blind eye.
However, things were rough with so many Grantz gathered in one room.
Ye Muo started off on the sofa, only to be squeezed down onto the carpet in the middle of a multi-Grantz huddle.
Ye Muo was used to his aunts and uncles finding him from time to time to ruffle his hair in secret while Norton wasn’t watching or using the excuse of lessons to play hide-and-seek with him.
But their enthusiasm had increased to an almost blatant degree today.
Even the usually restrained Dylan silently shuffled over.
Bert also joined in on the fun. He didn’t actually need this physical contact to quiet his surroundings. No, his control far surpasses any of these half-grown brats. The present environment posed little threat to him. Still, how could he sit out on such an interesting experience?
“Bert!”
“Excuse me, guys. Make way for the elderly.”
“Damn you!”
Ye Muo eventually couldn’t take being squished anymore and protested a little.
His protests were very gentle as well. He simply extricated himself from the pile of Grantz and discreetly shuffled to the side. He even turned back to gauge everyone’s reactions afterwards.
Eventually, it became a game of who could catch Ye Muo first. Even Ye Muo himself started having fun.
Ano went one step further. He set Ye Muo on the floor and lightly pinned him there. “Alright, I win. Now stop moving.”
Ye Muo curled up, warily guarding his stomach. “Don’t tickle me.”
There was a knock at the door. Adlet strode in with a tray in his right hand. He took in how Xavier’s curls were even messier than usual due to being squeezed in between everyone.
“Pardon the interruption, but I must remind you all that His Majesty Norton is about to arrive.”
The Grantz settled down a bit. Helene was quick on her feet and started quietly tidying up Ye Muo’s hair.
However, Ye Muo remained squeezed in between everyone. He couldn’t even pull his leg out.
Adlet set his tray aside.
“I don’t mean to spoil the mood, but I hope Your Highnesses can go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow’s banquet will start in the afternoon so you will have to rise early to prepare.”
“A banquet? I’m not interested.”
“No one’s going to go. Secretary-General Lin should be enough. He’s so capable after all.”
“My adjutant Julie can go on my behalf. She’s also quite capable.”
Bert clapped his hands and cut them off. “Alright, alright. Let’s see who wants to go by a show of hands.”
Adrian tried to raise Ano’s hands and got kicked for it.
Ye Muo looked around before raising his own hand.
The Grantz all turned to him.
Ano let up on Adrian and pressed Ye Muo’s hand back down. He fretted, “It’ll be super boring, Xavier. Don’t go. We can have fun outside tomorrow, or visit Pangzhua in your new garden. It’s lost weight recently after Adlet handed its care to the young soldiers of the legions.”
Helene nodded in agreement. “That’s right. It won’t be fun at all.”
“I’ll lend Xavier my other adjutant.”
Ye Muo explained good-naturedly, “But it won’t be right to make Father go attend all by himself. I can play with you guys after I get back.”
Adlet’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “My apologies, everyone. His Majesty has expressed that your attendance at the banquet is not up for discussion.”
A wave of complaints ensued.
“Big Brother is so overbearing.”
“Can’t we take turns? Big Brother doesn’t need to go either. Ano should go first.”
“What, why? You should go first instead.”
Ye Muo was still trying hard to extricate himself from the Grantz huddle. He gave Adrian a push. “My foot’s stuck.”
Adlet shook his head and began clearing the table.
The door opened once again. It was Secretary-General Lin. He made way for Norton before following the man in. Norton’s gaze swept over all of them before alighting on Ye Muo, whose hair and clothes were both a mess.
Everyone cleared out like flies.
Ye Muo, who had been trying to free himself to no avail, suddenly found himself all alone in the center of the room.
He turned to Norton. “Father.”
Norton walked up to him and extended a hand. Ye Muo accepted and was pulled to his feet without needing to expend any effort on his part.
Norton looked Ye Muo over before turning to the others. “It seems like all of you are quite idle lately.”
“No, not at all.”
“My schedule is packed.”
“Time for bed. The elderly need plenty of sleep.”
The parlour became deserted in the blink of an eye.
Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses, “Should the schedules of the princes and princesses be adjusted?”
Norton made a sound of acknowledgement. He smoothed out the strands of Ye Muo’s hair that were sticking out. “Give them something to do.”
……
The banquet started in the afternoon of the following day.
But the Central Planet had been preparing since this morning. As a planet dedicated solely to hosting the resource tournament, every facet of its operation was related in some way to the event.
The banquet was held in the tallest structure on the Central Planet, one normally not open to the outside world. Recordings or any other data on the building were not allowed to be uploaded to the galactic network normally. There was just a void where the building supposedly existed. Hackers have tried to brute force their way in via virtual instances, only to be suspended for three months. They were faced with a pure white room anytime they tried to log in during their suspension.
The national leaders of every country were invited to the banquet, and they were given a carte blanche as to who would accompany them. Normally, the leaders brought along the members of their national team.
During the banquet, some open-air areas of the building would be temporarily accessible in virtual instances. However, other areas remained inaccessible like before.
Because there was a chance of seeing interactions between one’s favourite contestants, many people still tuned in despite the event being one of the more low-key affairs.
Many people camped out at the entranceway.
[Sonan just went in. They don’t look too happy.]
[Why would they, lol. They got eliminated in the first round for the first time.]
[Kernan’s here as well. Ressa is finally attending without being covered in wounds for once. He always attends just to remind the public of Kernan’s existence no matter how injured he is. I honestly couldn’t even bear to watch. He was even berated by the family of his team members in the past for attending a banquet while they plan out funeral arrangements. Although they seemed to reconcile in the end, it still hit me really hard. I felt bad just hearing about it.]
[I don’t know whether to laugh or cry now that Kernan’s finally getting their turn in the spotlight. Finally, Ressa doesn’t need to attend the banquet as he rushes from one funeral to the next. At one point, I thought maybe it would be a kinder fate for Ressa to die during the tournament if he insisted on staying with Kernan for the rest of his life.]
A commotion suddenly rippled across the orderly venue. Many people turned their attention in a certain direction.
Zenir, who was hanging out next to Ressa, turned as well.
The people camping out near the entranceway in the virtual instances were the first to understand why.
[Grantz is here! They’re all so handsome!]
The crowd parted before the Grantz like the Red Sea.
Even those engaged in conversation quieted down and looked this way.
The Grantz were all decked out in military uniforms with swords hanging at their waists. Unlike their usual combat uniform, these were more ceremonial with additional accessories.
At the forefront was Norton, who ignored all the eyes on him. Just a few steps behind him was Secretary-General Lin, followed by Dylan and Helene who were on escort duty today.
Ano was with Ye Muo at the very rear. Jacob and Aria were also with Ye Muo as his escorts.
The Grantz remained mostly emotionless as they followed the main procession.
Bert seemed right at home, though. He patted Adrian on the back. “Go fetch me some spirits.”
Adrian glanced at Ye Muo before lowering his voice, “Shh. Ye Muo’s still around. Go drink over there.”
“That’s what you’re worried about? Let me think…which naughty little boy raided my wine collection at the tender age of 13 and got a tongue-lashing from Sylvia…”
“Helene was the one who took me there, and Adlet let us sample wine long before then. I just happened to sample a bit more on my own. Now hush.”
On the contrary, Bert grew more eager to push his buttons. “Xavier’s much older than you guys were back then. Speaking from my ample child-rearing experience, he’s old enough to sample some spirits.”
“Be quiet! Big Brother’s going to kill me when he finds out. Besides, he’s still drinking milk.”
Adrian glanced at Ye Muo again before shoving Bert swiftly towards the beverage tables. Xavier wasn’t like the rest of them. He didn’t receive proper care as a developing fetus. Besides, if Xavier insisted on drinking, Adrian would be hard pressed not to oblige him.
Ye Muo didn’t pay much attention to Adrian and Bert slipping away. His attention was occupied by Zenir, who was jumping up and down and frantically waving to him. Ye Muo came to a stop. He glanced at Norton and the rest of the Grantz procession that was already some distance away, then he turned back to look at Ano.
Ano was looking at him as well. “Go if you want, Xavier. Take a page from Big Brother’s book. Do whatever you want to do. It’s not like Big Brother will mind.”
Ye Muo practically skipped over to join his friend after receiving permission.
Jacob and Aria trailed close behind him. Neither of them had much interest in the banquet.
Zenir was still a little in awe of Jacob and Aria. Although they seemed to be more approachable than the others, the Grantz all seemed like monsters to him.
However, Zenir was somewhat emboldened with both Ressa and Ye Muo around. He soon scooted closer to Ye Muo and took out a small box. “My mom said I should thank you for helping me out during the tournament before. I’ve been carrying this gift around in case I run into you again.”
Ye Muo seemed a little embarrassed. “You’ve already given me some strawberry-flavoured nutrient solution and a blanket too.”
Jacob accepted the box on Ye Muo’s behalf. He couldn’t give it to Ye Muo before checking it first.
Zenir didn’t mind. To him, handing it over was already a job well done. “Right? I knew my habit of collecting stuff would come handy. Everyone else on my team laughed at me except for Captain. My captain’s the best…”
Ano and Ressa looked at each other. Ressa took the initiative to nod to him. Ano was actually not that approachable. He was quite aloof to anyone he wasn’t familiar with.
Ressa walked over. “I haven’t had an opportunity to properly express my gratitude for before.”
Ano nodded and turned back to Ye Muo without saying a word. Ressa didn’t mind. He too turned to watch Ye Muo and Zenir’s antics.
“I’m sure your side has received many invitations from various countries as of late.” He quietly brought up.
Ressa’s voice was barely above a whisper. “You must be cautious.”
Ano finally spared him a glance. “Thank you.”
Ressa nodded. There were too many eyes on them for him to elaborate any further.
Ano turned back to Ye Muo. He wasn’t completely oblivious to the darkness brewing under the surface, having gleaned some understanding of politics under Sylvia’s tutelage. However, the field was never his forte as it was his mother’s.
Still, Ano understood one thing well. It was never wrong to keep a close eye on Xavier.
