Ye Muo was still unconscious, his eyes covered with bandages. Yet he was whimpering like a little beast in his sleep. His hands and feet began to shift uneasily.
Norton held down Ye Muo’s restless limbs and first checked if any of the treated wounds had reopened and if his airway was unobstructed. Then, Norton supported Ye Muo’s head and shoulder as he gently leaned him over to check the wounds on his back. There were no problems there either.
Norton frowned, thinking that the wounds being fine should mean the pain had disappeared. Then what was the problem?
Just as he contemplated calling the medical team back to reexamine Ye Muo, the child in his arms gradually quieted down.
Norton breathed a sigh of relief. Carefully avoiding the wounds, he laid Ye Muo back down on the bed. But as soon as Ye Muo’s head touched the pillow, before Norton could even get up straight, the child grew restless once more.
Norton could only check on him again. Ye Muo quietened as soon as he was picked up. Norton seemed to notice something. He tentatively tried to put Ye Muo down very, very slowly. As soon as his hand left, Ye Muo started squirming again. His arm even came out from under the blanket like he was about to wake at any moment.
Norton quickly supported Ye Muo’s head again the exact same way he had before. Ye Muo’s quiet sobs abated. He felt a bit cold after leaving the blanket and instinctively went in Norton’s direction. He rolled over until he was leaning against the man before curling up again and going back to sleep.
Now Norton’s arm was touching Ye Muo’s soft cheek.
The room was extremely quiet except for the sounds of Ye Muo’s shallow breaths.
Norton maintained his half bent posture, expressionlessly looking down at Ye Muo.
Did all children like to sleep in weird positions like this? Norton has always slept by himself as a child, and none of his many siblings had this strange habit either.
But Norton suddenly understood somewhat when he thought of his pet’s cub. That little guy has been terrified of Norton since it was born so it was left in Adlet’s care. It was always avoiding Norton after it learned to run. Norton was also nearly an adult then so he was often away from the palace. The few times he saw it tended to be when it was asleep. It was always sleeping on its back or with its body contorted into strange positions.
Norton seriously contemplated whether he should have Adlet order a custom pillow for Ye Muo. One that could hold him as high as Norton did. He quickly dismissed the idea. This position wasn’t good for the spine. The parenting books also said not to indulge a child’s bad habits. He would come to a decision after consulting more literature.
Ye Muo’s entire weight was nothing to Norton, who spent a considerable amount of time on battlefields regularly. The child didn’t even weigh as much as one forelimb of a completely mature king insect.
Norton’s arm suspended in midair didn’t move an inch for the rest of the night.
The door was gently opened. Ano brought in a tray of food and milk. He was obviously not expecting to see Norton. “Isn’t the resonance over already?”
He hasn’t felt Norton or Ye Muo’s psychic power since midnight.
Norton was bent over with one knee braced on the bed. He turned to look at Ano after the man came in and placed a finger against his lips.
Ano caught his drift and stopped talking. The two of them switched to directly communicating through psychic power. This was a unique skill of the Grantz family. Their control over psychic power reached such a terrifying degree upon maturity that they could convert it into a unique signal that enabled them to directly issue orders to starship without requiring a psychic power interface device.
The Grantz family members could also use this skill to communicate among themselves. They could exchange a lot of information in a very short time this way, but they usually didn’t use it aside from special circumstances.
[His sleeping habits are quite bad. He almost woke up whenever I let go of him last night. I will find a way to correct this. I only made an exception last night because he’s injured and needs his sleep.]
Ano had walked to the bed at this point. He quickly set the tray on the table nearby and stared at Ye Muo, who was quietly curled up in Norton’s arms. Ano reached out to Norton. [I want to hold him too. Let me try. I’ll be very careful.]
Norton kept Ano away with his free hand and refused point blank. [Stop messing around. Don’t wake him. He needs his rest.]
Ye Muo was staring at him when he looked down again. The child had woken up at some point and pulled the bandage off his eyes. His other hand was clutched in front of his chest. He stared up at Norton with wide eyes.
Norton could clearly feel Ye Muo’s body tensing, like a lion cub who had his scruff bitten. Not understanding why, he patted Ye Muo on the shoulder.
“Relax. Being too tense will cause your wounds to reopen.”
Then he turned to Ano. “You scared him, Ano.”
Arnold hadn’t given up yet. He drew closer and extended a hand to Ye Muo. “You’re awake? You haven’t eaten since yesterday and you lost so much blood. Why not get up and have something to eat? I brought some food for you. Come on Big Brother, let me hold him.”
……
Ye Muo was stuffed to the brim after lunch. Under the supervision of the two Grantz, he felt obligated to finish all the food on the tray. His stomach kind of hurt.
Yet Ano was still not satisfied. “Today was barely passable. You always ate too little before.”
He acted just as lively and chatty with Ye Muo as before, trying hard to interact with him.
But Ye Muo looked at him quietly and suddenly said, “I’ll eat this much next time too, so don’t be sad.”
Ano subconsciously retorted, “I’m not.”
Ye Muo remained silent. He hesitated before leaning forward and extending a hand. Ano watched as Ye Muo comforted him somewhat awkwardly by stroking his hair, just like his mom once did.
Ano wanted to say something at first, but Ye Muo’s clumsy efforts to comfort him made him suddenly feel so, so sad. It was as if all the strength had drained out of him. He swallowed his words, his facade cracking bit by bit. He reverted to the numb, machine-like state he had been in long ago, or perhaps only a few days ago.
He thought he was used to it after experiencing loss over and over again. Ano was the youngest of all his siblings. His father and eldest brother shouldered everything for him, so he tried to bravely accept his fate. He wasn’t alone, after all. Even if he was afraid, he still had Norton. Norton would continuing to shoulder everything for him.
But he still couldn’t accept it. He’s felt so upset since Norton told him last night that Ye Muo might be following in the footsteps of their father and siblings before even him. He was even more upset than when he lost his mother, his father, or most of his siblings.
This was the first time he tried to protect a Grantz younger than even him, and experienced the joy and happiness that came with it.
Norton suddenly said to Ye Muo, “Go and take a walk. The doctors said you need more exercise.”
Ano had already covered his face with both hands and bent over. Ye Muo nodded. He knew Norton was diverting him away. He glanced back at Ano with concern one last time before gently opening the door and leaving.
Ano’s voice was muffled. “He’s so obedient, Big Brother. I finally understand what Mother told me all those years ago. She said that our presence in her life was a great happiness that came at an exorbitant cost.”
“Big Brother, he’s really…”
Norton put a hand on Ano’s shoulder and transmitted through psychic power the scene he saw during resonance with Ye Muo. Then he let go and coughed into a fist. “My mistake. It should have just been a psychic meltdown. He’s very gifted.”
Ano still didn’t raise his head for a long time. He softly called out, “Big Brother.”
When Norton answered, Ano jumped to his feet and punched without hesitation. Norton easily caught the blow.
Ano also knew he stood no chance against Norton, so he reluctantly withdrew his fist and redirected all his anger. “
What kind of galactic pirate was it? Which penitentiary actually let its prisoners escape? Are the prison guards just there for show?”
“There were no issues when I looked into it. All the involved personnel have already been dealt with at that time.”
……
A thick stack of parenting books rested on the desk in front of Norton. Adlet was holding another stack beside him.
Norton sat in his seat, supporting his jaw with one hand as he read the book spread out on his lap in an elegant manner.
On the other hand, Ano sat cross-legged on the right side of Norton’s desk with the terminal he brought over yesterday beside him. He’s been pestering Norton all day. “He’s been so listless these days because no one hugs him. I can hold him the next time he goes to sleep.”
Norton turned the page like he was used to it. He didn’t even spare Ano a glance. “It says here not to indulge a child’s bad habits. And he’s not your toy.”
Ano defended himself and accused Norton at the same time, “I never thought of him as one. I’ve been raising him quite seriously and even asking Adlet for advice while you did nothing.
Also, he’s just a child. All children like to act coquettish and petulant like this. Besides, he’s already so obedient. We should indulge him if this is all he wants.”
Adlet, who was originally just watching them interact with a smile, suddenly interrupted,
“Pardon the interruption, Your Majesty and Your Highness, but my surveillance feeds show that Secretary-General Lin is about to arrive.”
Adlet’s terminal was connected to the surveillance feeds of the entire palace. He was a qualified butler who knew this place like the back of his hand.
Ano jumped off the desk and went to stand by Adlet’s side.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the study’s door. Norton continued to flip through his book.
Adlet stepped forward to open the door for Secretary-General Lin.
Secretary-General Lin was holding a stack of documents.
“The previous itinerary may have to be moved up in the schedule, Your Majesty.”
Norton closed the book in his hand. “Have suitable candidates for Ye Muo’s personal guard, tutors and playmates been found then?”
Secretary-General Lin quickly replied, “I have already finished the outline and handed it over to my subordinates yesterday. Everything should be ready by the time we get back in half a month’s time.”
“No need for now. Arrange for Ye Muo to come with us.”
The itinerary Lin Huixuan mentioned was a previously scheduled important meeting which many heads of state would be attending. It would be taking place outside the Empire’s territory and could not be cancelled because subjects related to the Empire’s interests would be discussed. Since Ye Muo also required constant psychic soothing and needed to remain by Norton’s side, he had to come along.
Secretary-General Lin was astonished. Just yesterday, Norton stated he intended to let Ye Muo live in secrecy. Now he was openly taking Ye Muo to such an important event? Lin Huixian didn’t let any of his doubts show as he quickly agreed, “Understood.”
Adlet suddenly said, “Your Majesty, His Little Highness seems to be heading to the gardens.”
Ano was the first to reply, “Yep. The doctors said last night that he should exercise more.”
Adlet paused, “If I remember correctly, Your Majesty’s pets are kept there.”
The two Grantz both gave him puzzled looks, as if they didn’t understand why Adlet suddenly brought this up. Adlet has been their caretaker for so long that he would be the last person to misremember.
Adlet’s smile remained unchanged. “What I mean is, are you sure that His Little Highness will like them?”
Outsiders have always been strictly forbidden from entering the gardens. Not even the palace staff would come here, for within lived what the Grantz considered ‘pets’.Â
