Ye Muo woke up early the next morning, his mind a little clouded from sleep. He lay there for a while before reaching for a lion plushie. He hugged it a while longer, still unable to recall how he got back to his bedroom.
Theodore, who had arrived even earlier, let him sober up for a while before speaking: [Good morning, Xavier.]
“Good morning, Theodore.”
Ye Muo sat up, completely awake now. He rolled around his bed a few times before going to get ready. He washed his face before stepping across the carpeted floor to arrange his lion plushies on the little desk next to the window. He set out a miniature tea party before opening the window to let the sunlight in.
After making the final touches, Ye Muo looked back at the tea party he had set up. Then, he pulled the curtains in a bit to create some shade.
Something still seemed to bother him. He continued making adjustments to the light source.
Theodore had already reached Ye Muo’s room as a stream of data. He approached Ye Muo. “It’s fine, Xavier. I’ll monitor the sunlight intensity and adjust the curtains as needed so they aren’t getting too much sun. I’m also handling the lighting system for Pangzhua’s room, after all.”
Reassured, Ye Muo finally stopped finangling with the curtains. “Thanks, Theodore.”
He led Theodore out of the room, still in his pajamas.
“Let’s go, it’s almost time for breakfast. Adlet will come knocking if we’re not there.”
It wasn’t too early in the morning. Norton was already in the parlour, sitting in his usual loveseat.
Some of the Grantz were burning off some energy in the training area. The rest were here. Ano was leaning against the back of the sofa. He wanted to go too, but he chose to stay since Ye Muo wasn’t up yet.
Bert lay on the sofa, while Jacob was sitting atop the bookcase, yawning. It seemed like he hadn’t slept well.
Ye He was seated on a sofa, having a conversation with Adlet. He glanced over when Ye Muo arrived and nodded. His gaze lingered on Ye Muo’s pajamas for a moment before looking away.
Ye Muo was like this with the Ye family as well. He would often hang out in his pajamas with Lady Ye all day during school breaks or times of leisure, helping her tidy yarn or other activities. Lady Ye and Ye Zhiyuan had a shared love of kitting, and their children, Ye Muo especially, tended to help out as well.
Adlet was smiling by the time Ye He turned back to him. “His Little Highness is very comfortable around you. You two are very close as brothers.”
Ye He’s lips quirked up a bit as well. “It’s all thanks to you, sir. You’ve arranged an environment where he’s comfortable.”
Adlet’s smile deepened. “I’m glad to hear that. If only His Highness Bert had been half as considerate as you, he wouldn’t have spent so much time in the Exile Sectors.”
The galactic pirates back then had been very concerned about the relationship between His Highness Bert and Empress Sylvia.
Bert overheard and sat up from the sofa to protest, “Hey, I’ve changed since then, alright? It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Exile Sectors. Also, don’t teach Grantz’s next generation about irrelevant things like this, Adlet.”
He patted Ye He solemnly on the shoulder. “I know you’re a good kid with discerning judgment, Ye He.”
Ye He remained calm. “Please rest assured, Your Highness.”
Bert coughed and grumbled, “I’m more worried now if you put it like that…”
Ye Muo approached them, catching the latter half of the conversation, “What happened? Something about the Exile Sectors? There’s nothing like that here, right?”
Ano snorted before adding fuel to the fire, “Xavier’s right. If the Alliance had an equivalent to the Exile Sectors, Bert, your streak would’ve long been broken.”
Bert draped an arm across the back of the sofa and leaned back lazily. “You’re not cute anymore after growing up, Ano. I wish Sylvia could see you mouthing off to me.”
Ye Muo didn’t quite understand, but he didn’t need to anyway. “
Did you see Pangzhua, Ano?”
Ye Muo said, turning to Norton. The man’s long hair caught his attention once more. He couldn’t help but head over.
Then came a knock at the door. Secretary-General Lin came in with a thick stack of documents. “Your Majesty–”
Secretary-General Lin stopped in his tracks and stared. He backed up to the door, closing it behind him like nothing was amiss a few seconds later. “Apologies. My eyes are playing tricks on me after staying up too long.”
Why else would he have seen a long-haired Norton?
His Majesty only had long hair for a short while to cheer up the Empress. There were few photographs of him from that period aside from those captures at official functions.
Even Secretary-General Lin had rarely seen that Norton.
A little dazed, he walked over and began his report on autopilot.
Ye Muo was already very close to Norton at this point. He wanted to go back to Ye He and the others as Secretary-General Lin approached, but Norton was already extending a hand in his direction.
He hesitated before walking over to hold that hand briefly.
Ye Muo soon circled around Norton, fiddling with his hair briefly before getting comfortable on the carpet. He resumed playing with the hair with relish, even starting to braid it.
Ye Muo had learned this trick from his kindergarten teacher. He really liked one of the dolls at the kindergarten, always tending to it like a baby and even braiding its hair.
Ye He straightened, tensely watching Ye Muo’s actions.
Bert, Ano and the standing Adlet all looked this way as well.
Only Theodore seemed out of the loop.
Norton shifted, causing Ye He’s fingers to instinctively twitch. Then he watched as the man tilted his head slightly so Ye Muo could reach his hair better.
Like a lion who wasn’t angry when a cub latched onto their mane, even bowing their head so the cub wouldn’t lose their balance.
Secretary-General Lin also fell silent subconsciously. The room was very quiet.
It was Bert who broke the somewhat dead silence. “What, you guys aren’t used to it at this point? I’ve already said that Grantz would be doomed if Xavier was a bad kid.”
Bert could almost imagine it already. Norton would relent at the slightest hint of puppy-dog eyes from Xavier, meaning the child could get away with anything he wanted.
Thank goodness Xavier was a good kid.
Ano snorted coldly and grumbled, “If Grantz were to be doomed, it would definitely be because of you.”
Bert just shrugged. “Unfortunately, it almost was. Thank goodness Norton’s around.”
He sighed and pulled out his holomind. “It’s a bit humiliating to admit, but I’m not as good as him.”
But there was nothing to be ashamed of. Norton stood at the very top of the Grantz hierarchy. None of his other children could beat him either.
And he had a child as exceptional as Xavier to boot. Bert had plenty, but most of them were good-for-nothings.
Bert thought, pointing the camera at Norton. The man was already giving him a warning glance.
Bert raised his hand in surrender. “I’m just sending this to Sylvia. How can I let pictures of Xavier get out?”
Bert tapped away with one hand only to realize seconds later that Sylvia still had him blacklisted.
He immediately turned to Ye Muo. “Xavier~!”
Ye Muo reluctantly shuffled out from behind Norton.
Bert got straight to the point, “Lend me your holomind for a sec.”
Ye Muo seemed conflicted, “But Sylvia told me to ignore you.”
“Three days’ worth of dessert.”
Ye Muo blinked. “I’ll call Sylvia, and then you can come over and pretend it’s a coincidence.”
Bert gestured that it was a deal. There was no guarantee Xavier would be able to eat extra dessert anyway. He still hasn’t caught on to how the amount of sweets he had per day was always around the same amount. Oh well, as long as Bert didn’t have to play the bad guy when he found out.
Adlet sighed on the side, “Alright, Your Little Highness. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything just this once.”
Ye Muo happily turned to Adlet. “Thank you, Adlet!”
Adlet smiled as he made a note to reduce the dessert portion by half tonight. Or, he would make a fruits-based one and go heavy on the fruits to compensate.
……
Lakely looked out into the horizon as the fleet passed over Old Grantz’s port. He sighed, a bit despondent. Although he had learned a bit about Grantz, it wasn’t the type of knowledge to celebrate over.
Derek patted him on the back. “Why the long face? The Old Homeland is both our scar and our glory.”
Lakely cheered up a bit. “You’re right. I want to make a video on this place. I shouldn’t be the only one to know of this. Is that alright?”
“Yes, but Old Grantz is public knowledge anyway. There’s nothing to keep secret here. Is a video really necessary?”
Lakely seemed to have made up his mind already. “Consider it a habit of a professional commentator.”
At its core, commentary is about taking what already exists and expressing it in a clearer, more concise way. Yet the moment you choose what to include, personal emotion inevitably seeps in. Only things made with feeling can truly move others.
Lakely turned to Derek with eyes burning bright with passion. “I want to learn more about Grantz, the first ones born here, those that came after them, and the ones active today!”
“I like Grantz.”
Lakely still looked up to Grantz as he always had, but now there was so much more layered onto that feeling. Respect, admiration…neither word quite captured it. What he knew for certain was that, compared to before, he liked them even more. Far more.
Derek was momentarily stunned. “If the Grantz you’re referring to are the princes and princesses, then there isn’t much public footage available. The Grantz have always disliked the limelight.”
“Both! Grantz and the Grantz are closely linked. I’ll approach every day here with renewed sincerity.”
Derek mulled over his words for a few seconds before understanding Lakely was referring both to the nation and the Grantz family.
He huffed in amusement. “Then I hope you find what you’re looking for here.”
……
Ye Muo showed Sylvia his progress over the video call. He chose the traditional window style instead of activating holographic mode. “Look, Sylvia. This is what I have so far.”
Sylvia could only see a portion of a small braid. “That’s wonderful, Xavier. It’s very neat and orderly.”
“Have you gotten thinner? Or taller? Come, open your mouth. Let me check your teeth.”
“Good, they’re nice and clean. Xavier is such a good child.”
It was a while before she returned her attention to the braid. Ye Muo had only braided the ends of the long strands of hair. “Whose hair is this? Helene’s?”
No, Helene’s hair wasn’t this long, and she usually wore it in a high ponytail. But Helene was the only one of her children with long hair. If it wasn’t her…Xavier wasn’t the type to get too close to others or trouble them unnecessarily.
Sylvia couldn’t guess who it was at first.
Ye Muo was frank, “It’s Father.”
He adjusted the angle of the camera. Norton also inclined his head to meet Sylvia’s eyes.
Astonished, Sylvia soon broke out into a warm smile that softened her features. “How wonderful.”
It was just like back then.
Norton nodded to her before turning away.
