Chu Zao lifted his head.
He looked somewhat nervously at Amos approaching, wanting to say something more.
But in the next moment, he was gently pulled—Amos hugged him.
“Sorry.”
The voice near his ear was that same calm tone, only hinting at some suppressed emotion.
Having been raised since childhood as a future emperor, the Crown Clan tended to be reserved in all emotions.
He was clearly not skilled at saying such things or doing such things.
Or perhaps, ever since meeting Chu Zao, Amos himself had been somewhat bewildered—he’d never raised a child, and the entire Crown Clan had never encountered such a child.
Amos really didn’t know how to treat this little one.
He could only teach him everything he believed was correct, and try to help him better protect himself—after all, Chu Zao was not really a little cub who needed constant holding in someone’s arms.
Though by the time they went home at night, Amos himself had strangely started to feel a bit regretful.
If only he had found a younger Chu Zao.
The towering Crown Clan embraced his own little cub, who had wandered outside, in his arms.
Chu Zao widened his eyes a little, listening to Amos continue speaking in his ear.
“I am not good at this sort of thing—or rather, our generation of the Crown Clan is not good at raising children at all.”
This was something they had never imagined.
Nor had they any mental preparation.
Every child is different; even if you’ve lived through your own childhood, when faced with your child, you still have to keep learning, especially someone like Amos dealing with Chu Zao—a child already accustomed to being obedient, hiding every distress in his heart, terrified of troubling others.
“This is the first time I realized I must play the role of a father, and there are many places where I fall far short.”
Just like tonight’s training.
When Chu Zao showed signs of tiredness, he should have been more alert; when training with this delicate little one, he ought to have been even more cautious.
For Amos, this was a wholly new experience—a thick sense of failure lingered around him, making Amos feel quite out of sorts.
Coupled with suddenly seeing the little one who should have been resting in the medical pod.
Amos’s sour expression was only natural, wasn’t it?
And at this moment, the somewhat anxious Little Chu Zao finally realized—albeit belatedly—
Amos seemed to be feeling guilty and remorseful?
Chu Zao paused, then slowly reached out and hugged Amos.
His voice was soft, a bit muffled.
“It’s okay.”
His father was apologizing to him?
Yes, his father was apologizing for what happened tonight.
“It’s my fault—I didn’t say it clearly and tried to tough it out.”
Chu Zao said.
“I’m fine now, really fine.”
Really… it was fine.
Always worried about being a bother, Chu Zao was embraced in this warm, though not soft, embrace—one whose scent was a bit cool, unlike Grandma Solan and Aunt Feiman, who smelled sweet.
Yet he couldn’t help but recall scenes from many years ago.
He said he was fine, while gently rubbing his eyes, until his hand was caught by Amos.
Amos seemed to want to teach him not to rub his eyes like that—but halfway through, he swallowed his words.
He simply held onto his hand.
That unspoken acceptance.
In that instant, the sting in his eyes grew sharper.
As if he were only just realizing it.
All the grievances repressed over the past decade or more seemed in recent days to have begun to surge, all at once being released.
But at this age, Chu Zao only sniffed, forced himself not to cry so pitifully, though even as he restrained himself, the little wings on his back began to bristle—their feathers all for show, crumbling beneath the surface. The slightest irregular movement or emotion would expose Chu Zao’s clumsy grooming skills.
Thus, Amos’s gaze was quickly drawn to the little wings behind Chu Zao.
—How could they get so ruffled?
It was as if they’d never been properly groomed at all.
Amos stared for a long moment; he even saw, in one densely feathered patch, a piece of some palace plant—perhaps a leaf that had fallen when he was strolling the palace today, unseen by him, and, as he shook his wings in his usual perfunctory manner, he hadn’t noticed, thus leaving the small leaf caught there.
Maybe before bed he would give the feathers a thorough grooming—clean them well.
But under normal circumstances, how could a leaf just ‘biu’ itself into the feathers and vanish?
There was only one possibility—
“You don’t… know how to groom yourself, do you?”
Amos stared at Chu Zao’s little wings, thinking and arriving at this seemingly impossible answer.
But essentially, remove all other options and, however impossible, it must be the truth.
Amos then saw Chu Zao freeze a little.
The little one who had just seemed aggrieved, on the verge of tears, now looked up at him dazedly. The small wings behind him suddenly snapped open—in that moment, the hidden little grass leaf fluttered down to the floor.
“Of course I do, I can definitely groom my feathers.”
Chu Zao held his chin high, trying to convince Amos.
Trying to persuade him with words alone—
Amos looked at those messy little feathers, blinking back at Chu Zao.
Oh.
Is that so?
You can groom your own feathers.
“Yes, I can groom myself, I can take really good care of myself.”
Chu Zao nodded vigorously.
—The less he had, the more he had to stress it.
But suddenly Amos asked—
“Would you like to stay at the Dwight Palace tonight?”
Stay at the Dwight Palace…
Chu Zao’s voice dropped.
Wouldn’t that be like going ‘home’?
Even if this home was one Chu Zao had laid eyes on for the first time today.
“If there’s no special medical need, a medical pod can be brought to the palace.”
Amos said.
“Tonight, Clansis and your grandmother will be there. If nothing unexpected happens, Feiman will be there too. Anya has also returned—he’ll be around tonight, no mission. Your uncle may come back pretty late.”
Amos looked straight at Chu Zao.
“Do you want to go?”
“…”
“…Yes!”
In the end, the rumpled Chu Zao replied, not sure if he’d really managed to convince Amos about his feather-grooming skills—he may be a bit clumsy there, but could at least manage surface appearances.
At least he’d looked normal enough these past days, right?
Chu Zao thought to himself—and glanced back at the medical center.
Uncle Feeney, I’ll come see you again in the morning.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to keep Uncle Feeney company. It was just that a ‘home’ was so alluring to him.
*
When word came that Chu Zao would be staying at the palace that night,
The Dwight household seemed unaffected.
But within an hour, a medical pod was installed, and soon after Chu Zao appeared, the palace steward had his room ready. In two days, almost everything had been arranged.
Meanwhile, Clansis, burdened with much work dumped on him by Amos, silently sped up, and even Frey began shuffling the less important documents to the next day.
Solan and Feiman were already waiting at the Dwight villa well before nightfall.
When Amos brought Chu Zao home, all the Crown Clan members of the Dwight family—except Feeney—gathered in the hall.
Actually, Feeney too wanted to come back, but given his poor condition and the possibility that he might need medication during the night, if Amos brought him home, he’d have to personally supervise him.
Ultimately, Amos decided to leave Feeney in the medical center.
As punishment for not letting Chu Zao rest properly and pushing him to come out.
By now, it was already quite late.
Outside the palace, all was calm.
Other Crown Clan members who hoped to interact with Chu Zao were called away by Clansis and given other tasks—after all, the little one still wasn’t familiar with this place.
They needed more time to understand and get along.
Obviously, it was best not to have too many people involved at once, but to progress step by step.
Thus, as Chu Zao entered, all the Crown Clan in the living room turned to look at him.
Swept by so many gazes—and with every one of these top combatants in the Crown Clan exuding such pressure,
Chu Zao instinctively shrank his head like a little quail.
Amos stood behind Chu Zao.
He lifted his hand and gave the little one a gentle push forward.
This time, his hand on Chu Zao’s shoulder did not move away.
“Zao Zao!”
Solan was the first to speak. She got up, beaming, and approached.
“Grandma’s made lots of pretty little treats for you. I still haven’t asked what you like, so I prepared all sorts of other things—see if you like them.”
“Even though the interstellar resources here seem less than in that previous timeline, there are also fewer countries in the stars.”
Frey added, looking over.
“The Holy Cas Empire has a complete system. Whatever you want, you can tell me.”
“Don’t be nervous.” Anya also smiled from one side. “There aren’t many in this family like Third Brother—your Uncle Feeney—who’s such a troublemaker. He’s an exception.”
Feiman didn’t say anything, but her sharp gaze was fixed on the little one, and she thumped the seat next to her—Zao Zao Zao Zao, come sit by your aunt!
Auntie loves you!
Chu Zao was still a bit uncomfortable, just about to speak.
Solan had already wrapped an arm around him, as if taking him from Amos’s hands.
She smiled as she drew near; it was clear her temperament stood out from the rest of the Dwight family.
Solan bent down closer to the little one, speaking softly with a grin.
“Is it just Grandpa who hasn’t spoken?”
She masked her mockery.
Her voice was low, but within the palace, every Crown Clan member could hear her.
“Don’t be fooled by Grandpa’s look—he’s smitten with you.”
Chu Zao instinctively looked at Solan.
“Grandma—”
He called out unconsciously, face somewhat puzzled.
“Hahaha, let me tell you, after you left today, Clansis, burdened with work from Amos, didn’t care about the work, but circled the palace several times. In the end, he built you a swing on the rooftop sky terrace.”
What?
A swing?
Chu Zao’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
There were swings in the Angel Realm, built by angels, but in the city center—Chu Zao had never dared loiter there. As a child, he’d played on natural vine swings.
“Of course it’s true.”
Solan kept smiling as she spoke.
“He worked so late—don’t be fooled by how calm he seems now. Just two minutes ago, he came in hurriedly, reading a document—you see, he hasn’t even noticed that some of his pages are upside down, and now he’s turned to the upside-down page.”
Chu Zao glanced over subconsciously, seeing Clansis flustered, flipping his papers around, then acting like nothing happened, head down as if reading. But clearly, in pulling such a stunt, the always cold, strict Emperor Clansis was now rigid-spined with embarrassment.
“Stop pretending—say something. Don’t you see Zao Zao likes it?”
Solan extended her psionic power, prodding Clansis’s mind.
Seeing their father embarrassed, everyone—including Amos—found it delightful.
Prodded twice, Clansis finally set his things aside.
He looked over, still with that cold, solemn, powerful aura he’d displayed earlier.
Chu Zao met his eyes, a bit more at ease now.
It was truly different.
Some people in the Angel Realm seemed approachable, attentive—but in truth were rotten. Others appeared fierce but were kind at heart.
“There are plenty of classes—you can go play when you’re free.”
Clansis cleared his throat, then spoke.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Chu Zao replied crisply, looking right at him.
Clansis froze, almost flustered as he turned away.
“You really like it…? …That’s good.”
Even as he turned away, Clansis couldn’t help glancing at Chu Zao a couple more times.
“Oh, right.”
But beyond all this, Clansis recalled a matter he needed to discuss with Amos.
About Zao Zao’s special coronet and psionic strength.
“Amos, you left in such a rush with Zao Zao earlier, I haven’t said everything yet—come to the study later.”
Amos gave a slight nod.
Meanwhile, Solan was joyfully trying to help Chu Zao get to know everyone.
Especially these reserved, contradicting types.
“You don’t know—just the night before, Amos thought you hated him and was secretly dropping little pearls.”
Solan grinned, unreserved.
Amos, still pondering what his father wanted to say, turned to his mother in shock—though always so placid, his expression clearly betrayed surprise.
“Mother.”
His eyelid twitched.
Especially after Clansis’s scene, the little one’s trust in Grandma was obviously rising. He turned to look at Amos quizzically, as if unable to imagine Amos shedding little pearls.
And all because he’d thought Chu Zao disliked him.
“I did exaggerate a bit, but not by much.”
Solan gestured slightly with her fingers, still smiling.
“That low-pressure aura, he looked completely downhearted. I’ve never seen Amos like that, you know—”
At the moment, Amos was like a powerful beast, who’d suddenly found himself with a soft, white little cub exactly like himself, all delicate and showing his belly to its parent—
So in an instant, that behemoth didn’t know how to treasure the little one, wanting to lick his fur clean and keep him safe inside his mouth.
But in truth, this child was not one Amos could guard so completely.
So these days, Amos had been torn and awkward. It probably made him hard to approach in Chu Zao’s eyes as well.
Chu Zao carefully looked up at Amos’s face.
He saw that Amos’s face, too, was a bit stiff.
In the end, that big hand reached out and covered the little one’s face.
“All right, that’s enough.”
Any more and it would be impolite.
Amos thought so without expression, casting his mother a dissatisfied glare.
Clearly, Feeney’s unfiltered ways were wholly inherited from Solan.
Solan’s long black hair was braided down one side. In the black military uniform of the Holy Cas Empire, she looked less stern—perhaps because she was always smiling. Leaning her cheek on her hand, she seemed in great spirits.
Amos passed the child in his arms to Solan.
“Mother, take Zao Zao to see the swing on the roof. I need to speak with Father—”
“Okay.”
Solan nodded, taking Chu Zao’s hand.
Feiman, meanwhile, was still trying to hide her excitement. She stood, coughing reservedly.
“Mother, I’ll come along too.”
But soon, Clansis received new information.
He narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly, he turned.
“Wait, let’s all go to the study. Some data and information have just come through.”
Clansis stood, looking at the little Chu Zao surrounded, and again spoke: “Zao Zao should come too, all right?”
For once, Clansis showed his gentle side, his tone softer, softly asking again, “Or would Zao Zao rather visit the swing first and talk about this after?”
He considered. “Actually, it’s not too urgent.”
“It’s all right.”
Chu Zao shook his head instinctively.
Is there some important business?
He could see the swing anytime.
After all, he wasn’t so little anymore as to always be thinking about toys and fun.
Clansis nodded.
“Then let’s all go up.”
*
“These are your mental power examination results from this afternoon?”
The relevant reports were sent to everyone’s virtual screens.
Frey frowned at the data.
“Your psionic power has stabilized?”
He looked up at Clansis.
“It appears even better than before.”
In the past, the Crown Clan’s psionic power was always fluctuating, never static.
But after the destruction of their habitat planet, their coronets began to shatter, and those fluctuations vanished for good. Their mental stability dropped sharply, declining steadily as the fractured coronets could no longer support them.
But now, Clansis’s report seemed bizarre—his readings looked even more stable than those from a month before.
“Yes.”
“What did you do this afternoon?”
Anya asked reflexively.
Clansis looked at Chu Zao—
“Does it have to do with Zao Zao?”
Feiman looked too.
Chu Zao was sitting beside Amos, unable to understand the data—after all, Zao Zao at present was half illiterate.
He’d only had a few days of classes with Teacher Hel.
He could only tell the charts showed some numbers, some green arrows indicating things were improving.
When Clansis looked his way, Chu Zao was caught off guard.
“Me?”
Chu Zao pointed at the tip of his nose.
“After returning, I stayed in the Dwight palace to rest. My coronet was in bad shape then, but partway through, I felt it come under control. During the day, the only thing I did was spend time with Zao Zao. Zao Zao massaged my head, and while—”
“What?”
“Father, having such a tiny, fragile child massage you is a bit much, don’t you think!”
Clansis: …
Is that the point?
“Be quiet and listen to me.”
Too many children was a problem—especially when so many were eager to surpass him.
Most of the time, the house was noisy.
“At that time, I couldn’t control my psionic power, my coronet appeared, and Zao Zao grabbed hold of it.”
Clansis explained.
A situation unheard of among the Crown Clan.
Held—Clansis’s coronet?
Every Dwight there was stunned—even Amos turned to look at Chu Zao.
The little one still didn’t seem to understand why they were so shocked.
He thought about it.
“Uncle Feeney knows.”
Uncle Feeney had seen Zao Zao take off his halo once; although he’d later crashed into a tree, things had seemed normal.
Probably?
Back then, Feeney had been alone; now the whole Dwight Crown Clan stared, thinking hard.
The little one didn’t really know much about Crown Clan traditions.
With only Feeney left, and being responsible for protecting the Holy Cas Empire, Feeney had only taught Chu Zao a handful of aggressive combat techniques, never getting to many other things—perhaps, with the Crown Clan destroyed, there was little reason to learn all that.
“What does he know—”
Did Feeney’s coronet get grabbed by Zao Zao, too?
Clansis said, just thinking—
As they watched Chu Zao raise a hand, grab hold of his own little golden coronet, and—take it off.
—Took. It. Off!!!