Chapter 13: Zao Zao is my cub

**Chapter 13: Zao Zao Is My Baby**

Frey thought these guys had gone insane.

Especially the one who grabbed both sides of his crown and yanked hard, gasping in pain—and almost passing out from the shock.

…That’s your *mental energy*!! It represents your brain!! Unless you deliberately solidify it, the Crown Clan’s most important symbol can only be touched by you—and you’re really just ripping it off like that?!

Seriously?! Others can’t touch it, so you guarded against them but not yourself???

"Awoo?"

What are they doing?

Zao Zao sat quietly in Frey’s arms, listening to the strange, distorted noises behind him.

At this age, the little cub was super curious and curiously cocked his head to peek over.

Frey twitched his lips, unable to bring himself to say they were trying to rip their own *minds* out.

It was completely absurd. Totally absurd!

Especially since the little one in his arms was imitating them, puzzled why *they* couldn’t pull theirs off. With his two tiny paws, he grabbed his halo—*biu*—and yanked it right off, then held it in his arms and lifted it high—Look, Zao Zao’s came off!

Zao Zao is an angel, and his halo can whack people!

Frey, holding Zao Zao, felt like his brain was being ripped out—metaphorically.

Whether looking ahead or behind, Frey felt like this wasn’t something he should be experiencing.

It was surreal.

Especially since he didn’t dare move right now.

The little fluffball was too small—about the size of two hands—and soft as a newborn pup. It felt like even the slightest movement could hurt him.

So Frey had no choice but to stay stuck like this.

None of the remaining powerful members of the Crown Clan in Saint Cas had ever raised a soft, adorable baby before. They were totally clueless.

They were far better at conquering territory within limited time and finding other forms of amusement.

Like right now, yanking and pulling at their ancient "buddies."

Eventually, they reluctantly accepted the weird rule that only Zao Zao could take off his halo, each poking at their own halos, lost in thought.

Though those yanked-on halos now looked much dimmer, as if hiding a million silent curses.

Anya hung back at the end of the group. Unlike the others, he hadn’t joined in on the halo-pulling. He still didn’t trust Zao Zao.

Even though Zao Zao was a cub of the Dwight Family.

Anya stared at the little fluffball and couldn’t help but frown.

After a moment, he looked away.

Thinking to himself—he wouldn’t be like those old Crown Clan members, with protection instincts hardwired into them.

Times had changed!

At this moment, inside the room.

The raging Mei Lun was restrained by Amos.

Amos met Mei Lun’s blood-red, frenzied eyes with an icy gaze.

Their Crown Halos violently collided, and Amos’s formidable psychic energy slammed Mei Lun to the ground.

Kneeling on one knee, Amos’s dark military uniform jingled as the metallic chains clattered. One hand pressed down hard on Mei Lun’s shoulder while the other gripped his head, forcing it into the floor until cracks splintered beneath them. The psychic force gradually faded.

Mei Lun’s crimson eyes burned with madness, growling in guttural, slurred snarls.

Above his head, what remained of his shattered crown halo—now barely more than a base—fractured again, embers dissolving into ash before vanishing into the air. As his psychic aura finally receded, he coughed violently, sanity seeping back into his eyes.

“Enough… Amos, Your Majesty.”

His voice was hoarse. His hands clawed desperately at the floor, leaving deep, bloodstained marks. Mei Lun’s fingers were torn and bloodied.

Uncle Mei Lun, have you regained your senses?

Amos spoke softly, his tone calm and gentle as he looked upon this elder whose life was ticking down.

As a stellar mythical race, the Crown Clan had rarely faced mortality.

But now, they had learned to bid farewell to their suffering kin with resigned composure—a torment for the living as well. Through repeated farewells that should never have occurred, they had grown nearly numb.

“Yes, I’m lucid now.”

Mei Lun let out a low chuckle, though the aftermath of psychic turbulence and his broken halo left his eyes flooded red.

He sat still, yet his smile carried an edge of delirium, like the deceptive calm before a storm, churning with unseen currents.

Amos helped Mei Lun sit upright.

Mei Lun’s mind was unraveling.

He rambled feverishly, eyes locked onto Amos.

“This is fate—”

“Your Majesty Amos, perhaps as an elder, I must tell you—there is a voice in the cosmos constantly reminding us: this is the destiny of the Crown Clan. The cosmos tolerates no myths. Countless forces will rise against us… whether men or calamities… This is fate…”

Amos remained unmoved.

Yet he maintained the utmost respect for a dying clansman.

Seeing Amos’s expression, Mei Lun laughed.

“Look at yourself, Your Majesty. I understand—you’re indulging me. The arrogance and disbelief on your face are practically spilling over. Such defiance… Well, I must admit, this was precisely why you ascended the throne.”

“To be honest, I’ve grown weary of myself. I don’t know when this crown will finally shatter completely. I thought I could endure the torment of reaching the end, but now it seems I overplayed my endurance… Even hallucinations have begun.”

Leaning against the wall, Mei Lun’s snow-white hair spilled messily to his shoulders, streaked with blood and dust. His sharp features, even in disarray, retained the dignity of a disgraced aristocrat.

“Hallucinations?”

Amos finally spoke again, pushing upright leisurely and turning his head toward the door.

The violent psychic storm had wrenched it open a crack, revealing the faint silhouette of Frey standing outside.

"What are you referring to?"

"Haha, Your Majesty, do you know what I sensed before the psychic storm? The presence of a youngling!"

Mei Lun chuckled softly at this point, his hoarse voice still trembling slightly with pain.

After the psychic storm and the further shattering of his crown, he wrote off everything that had happened before as hallucinations.

"I've at least seen younglings before. You—the last generation of the Crown Clan—probably don’t remember much from your childhood, right? Let alone having actually seen one—"

Mei Lun looked at Amos. "Of course, that’s a good thing. Compared to us in the past... you have no weaknesses, no soft spots. You could be called the strongest generation of the Crown Clan, Your Majesty Amos. But I often find myself thinking—before you came of age, before you endured the pain of your habitat’s destruction and the shattering of your crowns, back when you were still little white puffballs full of warmth."

Every generation of the Crown Clan, as they reached their end, held onto memories of tradition and warmth. But by Amos’s generation, all of that had come to an end.

Amos's was the strongest Crown Clan yet, both in physical strength and mental power. In their final generation, the Crown Clan reached its peak.

But they were also different from the Crown Clans that had passed before them. Was this luck or a curse?

Amos simply watched Mei Lun before glancing back toward the door.

"If you’re talking about younglings, I did find one a few days ago."

Mei Lun, who had been lost in sorrow: ?

He stopped laughing and spoke bluntly.

"I think you're dreaming."

Amos’s communicator chimed.

A mechanical voice issued a reminder:

"Honorable Majesty, the nutrient-rich formula tailored to the Little Highness’s deficient elements has been prepared and is now warm. Please promptly bring the Little Highness for feeding. This is the monitoring system. Detected that the Little Highness’s data is below healthy levels. Please provide proper care, or the highest command within the Crown Clan will automatically execute a reassignment of the child’s guardian."

Mei Lun: ...

Indeed, because Xiao Chuzao’s physical condition was far too poor—underfed and slow to develop—Amos, as the biological father, was still on probation.

Even though he was the monarch of Saint Cas and the royal lineage of the Crown Clan, there existed a set of child protection protocols that stood above all authority. This alone was enough to show how fiercely protective the Crown Clan once was.

Though Amos didn't quite understand the logic behind these protocols yet, he calmly switched off the communicator.

"Should we continue? Zao Zao needs to go drink his milk now."

Mei Lun: ...?????

Mei Lun looked completely speechless.

Wait—what—hold on a second!!!

His eyes widened, all traces of sorrow gone. "You’re saying you found a youngling?!"

How could that be?!

"Mew~"

Papa?

From beyond the door came the soft, plaintive cry of a little youngling, the sweet, babyish voice filtering through the crack.

Mei Lun instantly looked over and spotted a little white puff through the crack in the door.

Cradled in Frey’s arms, he sat upright in Frey’s embrace, as if waiting for something.

Xiao Chuzao blinked his round amber eyes, which shone like honey.

His two fluffy little ears twitched as he listened intently to the sounds inside, even poking his head out to take a peek—only to meet Mei Lun's crimson eyes, their whites completely tinged with blood.

The little cub was startled and immediately jerked back out of view.

Now the white puff was gone.

Only a “Meow!”—a tiny baby dragon’s roar—could be heard.

Daddy, are you finished yet?

Mei Lun raised a hand to rub his eyes.

Wait a second—was he seeing things?

He could’ve sworn he saw that little halo, but why did it seem… not above the cub’s head?

Amos observed Mei Lun’s messy appearance.

Once members of the Crown Clan reached this stage, no matter how gentlemanly or image-conscious they had been before, they usually stopped caring about their looks entirely, giving up completely and only clinging to the last bit of willpower, refusing to give in, waiting for their inevitable downfall.

Amos studied Mei Lun’s dazed look.

“Uncle Mei Lun, perhaps you should clean yourself up and take a look at Zao Zao.”

Amos spoke in a calm and steady voice. “Zao Zao is my cub.”

Mei Lun: ?

Trying to play it cool and not seem too eager or concerned, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and peeked at the crack in the door, where a tiny tail could faintly be seen wagging.

“Your own?”

Amos: “My own.”

Mei Lun: ?????

Wait, how did you just happen to find your own cub?! And what’s that supposed to mean, Your Majesty? Showing off?!

*Author's Note*

Mei Lun: …This is fate…

Amos: I found a cub.

Mei Lun, *ignoring fate*: ??? A cub?!

Amos: My own.

Mei Lun, *eyes turning red with jealousy*: Still your own?!

*

Indeed, due to pollution, Crown Clan cubs rarely appear. In fact, for generations many Crown Clan members have never had their own biological cubs. The King is about to be flooded with envy and resentment from all around him—haha.