Ano was already in the dining room by the time Ye Muo walked in. The man’s mask was by his side on the table and the plate in front of him was empty. It seemed like he hadn’t started eating yet.
Ye Muo first peered around the room. After confirming it was only them here, he sat down somewhat despondently across from Ano. Despite coming to the dining room very punctually for the past few days during mealtime, Ye Muo had yet to run into Norton Grantz.
Adlet set down the plate he was holding and greeted Ye Muo. “Good morning, Your Highness. Will it be warm milk as well today? It’s on the way.”
Ye Muo thanked the butler a little cautiously and ate a few perfunctory bites. He ended his meal in a hurry after draining the glass of milk.
After Ye Muo left, Ano set down his cutlery and frowned. “He ate so little again today. I ate several times this much when I was his age.”
Adlet replied as he gathered up Ye Muo’s dishes, “His Little Highness has been in low spirits lately and hasn’t exercised much. Perhaps you could play with him when you are free sometime?”
“Adlet, you have experience raising children. What does it take to raise a child?”
“Well, my children are not Grantz.”
Ano waved his hand. “Tell me anyway. It’s been a long time since there was a child in our family, and he’s nothing like a Grantz. I don’t know what to do with him to be honest. Should I take him on my scheduled patrol the day after? I always pleaded with Father to come along as a child. He never said yes, but I won’t be like him. I’ll be a good father.”
Adlet smiled faintly. He hasn’t seen Ano so spirited in a long time, but he still corrected him politely.
“A good uncle, Your Highness. And it was not your father who was against you being taken along, but your mother. I too believe activities like patrols may be too dangerous for children.”
“I think it’s best to not make assumptions. Every child’s personality is different. I don’t think it’s a given that His Little Highness will like patrols. Let me think… All children require good education, play and rewards.”
Ano stopped listening properly after the first part. He immediately staked his claim. “Semantics, semantics. I’m the one who saved him, and Big Brother personally told me to take care of him. That practically makes me his father. Big Brother won’t mind. Now, let’s talk more about how to be a father…”
Meanwhile, Ye Muo went back to his room as usual. His room was very big, with a four-poster bed in the middle and high ceilings. There was even an ensuite bathroom and a cloakroom.
Ye Muo took off his shoes and climbed up onto the bay windows. He sat down against the window and began to stare at the scenery outside. Whenever a hovercar passed by or stopped, he would lean closer into the glass and try to see if Norton Grantz was here.
After an undetermined amount of time, there was a single knock at his door. Ye Muo went over barefoot and opened the door a crack. He opened it a bit more when he saw it was Ano.
Ano handed the tray he was carrying over to Ye Muo. “Psychic power soothing agent and a little something else.”
On the tray were pouches of soothing agent, a piece of cake, and a glass of juice.
Ye Muo quickly closed the door again after thanking him and went back to the bay window. He casually set the tray aside and continued his watch.
It was not until the evening, when a light drizzle started to fall from the sky, that an unmarked hovercar quietly came to a stop. Someone came out with an umbrella while another went to open the front doors. Ye Muo straightened from his crouched position. His hands were against the glass as he started intently at the car’s doors.
More specifically, the door the butler was holding up an umbrella beside.
The black umbrella covered the face of this person. Ye Muo could only see his cloak billowing about as he moved.
The black umbrella suddenly stopped, and then shifted back a bit. Now unobstructed from Ye Muo’s sight, this person raised his head and looked over in his direction. It was Norton Grantz.
Ye Muo instinctively broke the sudden eye contact and shrank back, pasting himself to the wall nearby.
The butler holding the umbrella was a bit puzzled. He tentatively asked Norton Grantz if he had any orders, “Your Majesty?”
Norton Grantz remained silent and continued striding forward. By the time he went up the steps, the umbrella was back in its original position. His boots made tiny splashes with every step he took.
Ye Muo stayed in place for only a couple of seconds before he quickly put on his shoes and ran downstairs.
Norton Grantz was still in the main hall when he arrived. The man placed his gloves on a waiting tray as he walked inside.
Ye Muo stood at the foot of the stairway after running downstairs.
Norton Grantz paused after removing his gloves. He twisted on his heel and set off in the direction opposite Ye Muo.
Adlet handed the tray to one of the others and followed Norton Grantz. “Your Majesty, are you not going to the study today?”
After a moment, he reminded again, “His Little Highness is following you.”
Norton Grantz, of course, was aware of that. He stopped walking with some annoyance. Adelt bowed and said with a wink, “I’ll take my leave first.”
Adlet nodded at Ye Muo as he left, seemingly cheering him on.
Norton Grantz stood there motionlessly with his back to Ye Muo. The hallway was somewhat dim, with nightlights on the walls the only source of illumination. Ye Muo could only see the man’s cloak-covered back. The tips of the cloak and his hair were still moist. He radiated the aura of a mature lion, larger than life and oppressive.
Ye Muo slowly approached the man. He hardly made any noise thanks to the carpet.
He gathered his courage and asked, “Your Majesty, you want to kill me, don’t you?”
Norton Grantz: “I have already made a promise to Ano.”
With that, he made to leave. Ye Muo anxiously reached out and grasped his cloak. He barely used any force, but Norton Grantz stopped.
“You can kill me. Please, kill me.”
In an instant, Ye Muo’s face and voice overlapped with those in Norton Grantz’s memory.
In different tones and voices, his father and siblings said that very phrase.
Kill me.
For a moment, Norton Grantz really did grip the sword at his waist. He knew from the start that Ye Muo was a Grantz through and through. That one day, he would also go down that well-treaded path.
Ye Muo tilted his head back and continued, “If you kill me, could you spare my mother and the rest of my family?”
Norton Grantz slowly loosened his hold on the hilt of his sword. He bowed his head and met Ye Muo’s gaze. The child was looking up at him beseechingly, so unlike any Grantz.
“Please, Your Majesty.”
He spoke after a moment, “I have promised Ano, but you can make a deal with me as well. I will grant your request as long as you can uphold your end.”
Ye Muo was gripping the man’s cloak with both hands. When he heard this, he shuffled a bit closer in pleasant surprise. One hand went to hold Norton Grantz’s sleeve instead. He asked somewhat eagerly, “What is it? I’ll do anything.”
The man seemed to think it over for a few seconds before speaking.
“As a child of the Grantz, you will need to reside here from now on. You must stay by either my side or Ano’s while your psychic power is prone to fluctuations.”
Ye Muo tilted his head back. He visibly became even more excited when more demands failed to come. “That’s it? Your Majesty, are you saying that if I behave myself from now on, my family will be fine? Can I still see them some time?”
“That depends on the results of the investigation in a month’s time. You shouldn’t call me ‘Your Majesty’. It’s also your bedtime.”
“I’ll go to bed right now, Your Ma–”
Ye Muo cut himself off after remembering what Norton just said. He repeated cautiously, “I’ll go to bed right now.”
With that, Ye Muo immediately turned and ran off.
Norton Grantz stood in place. He glanced down at the slightly creased sleeve that Ye Muo had just been holding onto. He stared for a while before smoothing out the creases and walking away.
A strange feeling, but not annoying.
Ye Muo was almost at the end of the corridor when Norton Grantz seemed to sense something. His head jerked back. In the dim light, he could see Ano coming towards the corridor from the main hall.
A psychic power blade swiftly cut through the air, brushing past Ye Muo barely a millimetre away and instantly traversing the corridor. A huge gash was left on the main hall’s walls.
Ye Muo stood in place, somewhat overwhelmed. He wasn’t that sensitive to psychic power yet.
Norton Grantz quickly arrived at his side.
“Adlet, escort His Little Highness back.”
Adlet appeared from who knew where and led the somewhat frightened Ye Muo upstairs.
Ano stood right next to that gash. He dodged almost instantly after the blade arrived, but even he seemed kind of jittery.
“You’re too tense, Big Brother. I’m still wearing the collar. I’ve been stable for a few days.”
Norton Grantz walked over and examined the collar around his neck. This was not just a voice synthesizer for Ano. It served a second function as a psychic power suppressor that would limit the use of psychic power. It was capable of rapidly reacting to an instantaneous burst of psychic power.
It was rare for Norton Grantz to bow his head.
“Apologies. I detected your psychic power stirring.”
“It is a bit, yes. Your ability to manipulate psychic power grows more refined by the day, Big Brother.”
Norton gave a noncommittal grunt as he loosened the collar around Ano’s neck.
“It’s almost time for you to let off some steam anyway, so why not go tomorrow? You can let it all out then.”
Ano did not object. Before, when it was just him and Big Brother living here, Norton Grantz could deal with him if he started acting abnormally. Adlet and the other servants lived in a distant neighbourhood, after all.
But now Ye Muo was living in the room next to him.
A juvenile Grantz.
Not only Norton Grantz, even Ano himself was on edge. He would usually take off his collar late at night when it was just him and Big Brother, but now he wore this thing nearly 24/7.
The atmosphere was usually very heavy when they discussed this topic, but Ano didn’t mind this time. He was too intent on sharing something with Norton.
“Did you hear, Big Brother? He ate so little again today. Adlet said I should…”
Meanwhile, Adlet escorted Ye Muo to the door of his room.
“Your Little Highness, would you like me to leave the hallway lights on for you?”
“No thank you.”
Adlet suddenly opened his mouth when Ye Muo was about to close the door. Ye Muo paused and looked at him inquisitively.
Adlet ended up just chuckling a little.
“No need to be afraid, Your Little Highness.”
