Chapter 19: Zao Zao chose to eat angrily

Chapter 19: Zao Zao's Temper Tantrum

The appearance of those two words lit the fuse.

"Meow!"

What followed was the toddler’s angry little growl.

You're the cockroach!!!

The cub’s face puffed out angrily. Dressed in brown, the little one charged at him furiously.

He didn’t even care about the cold, running while raising his tiny bow high, charging forward in a huff.

Clutching his small Cupid’s Bow, he tried to make An Ya declare undying love to the entire Royal Court!

The halo above his head *biu*ed into view, flashing with fury.

His four stubby legs worked hard as he ran.

To be honest, this speed was painfully slow for an adult Crown Clan member.

After all, this was just a five-year-old kindergartener.

But right now, An Ya also felt bad.

Even though he was often called ill-tempered, saying something like that made even him feel like he’d gone too far.

He simply sidestepped a few flying spiritual arrows, scratching his head with slight annoyance as he glanced at Frey beside him.

Frey only gave him one look before silently stepping back several paces, watching the passing psychic arrows with a wary look.

Clearly, Frey wanted no part of those love-potion-like projectiles that could strike anyone and force them into heartfelt confessions.

An Ya: …

But did you really have to retreat that far?

“Can we pretend I never said anything?”

An Ya dodged, wincing.

"Meow!"

No way!

Today, Zao Zao is dead set on making you pour your heart out to everything in the Royal Court!!

And maybe even the cockroaches too!

The fluffy ball of rage chased after him while An Ya kept dodging.

Zao Zao had his work cut out for him—he was in his furball form after all, and needed to stop and aim every time he wanted to fire an arrow.

An Ya was fast, but he held his tongue, not daring to say more, resulting in a standoff for now.

Above them, the blue sky faintly began to take on a grayish haze.

Inside the Royal Court’s observation center, a reading tracking spatial fluctuations and contamination was inching up unnoticed.

For now, things were still within safe limits and hadn’t drawn anyone’s attention.

Amos had gotten through most of the paperwork when he heard the commotion outside. He stood up and walked over to the window to look out.

Although not all members of the Crown Clan lived near the palace, in the past, the royal grounds used to be bustling with activity.

It’d been ages since things were this lively.

Mori came in carrying a teapot. He paused briefly when he saw Amos by the window, then poured hot tea into Amos’s cup before saying, “Care to join the fun, Your Majesty?”

Amos hesitated.

As the Alpha Emperor of the Crown Clan, the leader of the entire empire, and the one who shouldered the clan’s future, he had shown extraordinary talent from a young age and was chosen as the next ruler. He had too many duties, too much to learn, and had seen far too much sorrow among his people.

Fun and games were distant memories from a very young childhood.

Now, with all the noise outside and the sight of the fuming little fluffball throwing a tantrum, Amos looked away but finally decided to go down and check it out.

Amos turned and walked out, with Mori following closely behind.

Mori grinned and added, “The kid absolutely idolizes you. If you could spare a bit more time to play with him, he’d be thrilled.”

Mori could see how attached the little one was to Amos.

Amos paused mid-step, remembering what he’d seen earlier—the small figure curled up in his nest, eyes red, tending to his own scrapes.

Amos had handled countless state affairs and made major decisions, yet he didn’t know how to deal with these kinds of situations.

“Kids are way more work than I thought.”

Mori didn’t know what Amos had witnessed earlier, so he raised an eyebrow in mild confusion.

“In my opinion, the Little Highness is already a total angel.”

As the palace steward, Mori wasn’t just Amos’s right-hand man for official duties—he also managed every aspect of Amos’s personal life.

All previous palace stewards had gained deeper knowledge of the Crown Clan to better assist them in daily life.

So even though Mori had never met a young Crown Clan member before, he had read about how they grew up—spoiled rotten by the whole clan, mischievous and competitive every day.

The most legendary tale was from centuries ago, when several royal heirs hijacked a starship and flew straight at a rogue planet, blowing those space monsters to bits. Those princes got pretty banged up in the process.

After being scolded by their elders, they weren’t even sorry. So the pissed-off elders hopped back in that starship and went to mop up the rest of the alien beast horde.

That kind of behavior perfectly matched the Saint Cas Empire’s “stereotype” of Crown Clan royalty.

In comparison, someone like Xiao Chuzao was actually gentle, adorable, and even a bit shy.

Mori: “Still, if you plan to hand the entire Saint Cas Empire over to the Little Highness one day, it’ll definitely take some serious effort.”

Outside, Xiao Chuzao was chasing An Ya all over the place. To An Ya’s surprise, the little guy was slowly catching up. If An Ya kept dodging at the same speed, the distance between them was shrinking fast.

Especially worrying was that creepy little gold bow.

An Ya’s last dodge was sloppy—he bumped into the low shrubs beside the flowerbed.

Snow showered from the bushes, instantly dusting the stone steps.

An Ya had already bolted far away.

Xiao Chuzao couldn’t react fast enough and stepped onto the snow, then he slipped—

Zao Zao: ...“Ack?”

Huh?

The little fluffball went tumbling down the small steps in a flash.

He instinctively tried to spread his tiny wings, but since he was wearing clothes, his wings were tightly restrained by the fabric. As a result, the little cub bounced twice like a ball upon landing.

"Oof!"

"Oof!"

By the time Mei Lun and Frey, who had been slowly trailing behind, noticed, it was already a little too late.

They got there fast, but still arrived a step behind.

An Ya, who had been closest to the little tyke, had just accelerated away too far in that split second. Even when she rushed back immediately, she barely caught the little one’s sliding body.

The furball in brown fleece lay sprawled on the ground.

The tiny halo above his head, carried by the forward momentum, went flying into the nearby bushes before shaking off the leaves and slowly floating back to Xiao Chuzao's head.

An Ya’s heart skipped seeing the fallen furball—did it hurt?

It shouldn’t have hurt, but—oh, right. This little one had never seen snow before and didn’t know how slippery it could be sometimes.

An Ya didn’t think twice, instinctively wanting to pick up the little fluffball.

But Mei Lun got to him first, scooping him up just a step later. Frey frowned at her: "An Ya, you went too far."

An Ya opened her mouth, wanting to say she hadn’t meant it, but words stuck in her throat.

After all, from the very beginning, her attitude toward this kid had been terrible.

She’d been hit by his halo, shot by his bow—and now, with the little one falling, she was the closest yet failed to protect him. No matter how you looked at it, she was clearly at fault.

"Ugh, I’m the worst, okay?" An Ya scratched her cheek irritably, grumbling under her breath. "Should’ve just let him get his revenge earlier. Why did I even dodge…"

"Ack!"

Zao Zao hates you!

Hearing this, her face fell for a moment, but in the end, she said nothing, standing still and waiting for the little one’s retaliation.

But the little fluffball just whined, rubbing his forehead before wriggling free from Mei Lun’s arms.

"Ack."

Zao Zao wants to find Daddy!

Luckily, the fall wasn’t bad. Though the fleece restricted his wings, it made him bounce like a ball, so it didn’t hurt much. Still, after running around for so long, he felt a bit cold—and totally embarrassed.

The little guy darted off ahead.

Mei Lun and Frey took off after him.

"Easy there, Zao Zao. It's snowing, and the ground is slippery."

Mei Lun remembered this time. He stayed a little closer, watching carefully until the little cub bounded inside before slowing his own pace.

Xiao Chuzao remembered seeing his dad on the third floor earlier while playing. The little one’s four short legs pattered quickly, his little halo shimmering above his head. Halfway up, he overheard Amos and Mori talking.

"I don't have any expectations for Zao Zao."

Amos spoke in his usual calm tone, showing little emotion—just like countless times before when making cold, calculated decisions.

The little cub paused mid-step, blinking his honey-amber eyes wide with confusion.

Mori asked, "No expectations means...?"

"He was never part of my plans," Amos mused. "But I found him, and he's my cub, so I need to take responsibility."

It seemed like a quick answer formed after only brief reflection, not long after first meeting the child.

"Still, as a member of the Crown Clan, he has much to do—he needs to weather more storms, learn to stand on his own sooner. In some ways, he’s a little too attached."

Amos didn’t necessarily think being attached was bad, but as someone from the Crown Clan, he instinctively tried to figure out how to raise this little one based on vague memories of how they had been raised themselves.

Weather more storms? Think Zao Zao is too attached?

Mori sensed that Amos was having mixed feelings. As a father, his actions had already changed without realizing it, but his mindset hadn’t shifted completely yet.

Mori smiled slightly, still respectfully saying, "You might regret saying that later."

Amos gave no clear response—just his usual—arrogance.

Xiao Chuzao sat on the stairs, both little legs resting on the steps, staring upward blankly—Does Baba really think Zao Zao is too attached?

Before the little one could dwell further, Mei Lun came in clutching that frozen persimmon, while Frey hauled An Ya back with him.

Upstairs, Amos had come down and spotted the small cub huddled pitifully by the edge of the stairs. He hesitated briefly.

"What's wrong with Zao Zao?"

"This guy teased him."

Never one to miss drama, Mei Lun grinned as he animatedly retold how An Ya had picked on the little one, still holding the persimmon.

An Ya stood silently beside him, head lowered, unable to say a word in his defense.

Xiao Chuzao was lifted into Amos’s arms. Truthfully, he hadn’t fully figured things out yet, but he was soaked in snow-chill, and Baba’s embrace was warm and gentle. Instinctively, he nuzzled in, only to see An Ya again. Suddenly remembering he was angry, his round, fluffy head puffed out like a little balloon.

After playing all morning, the cub formula had finally arrived.

Too caught up in anger to focus, Xiao Chuzao kept letting out whiny protests.

"Still mad?" Amos settled onto the sofa with the cub and handed him the bottle. "Still going to eat?"

Xiao Chuzao’s stomach growled loudly. He let out a few grumpy little meows, glancing back and forth between An Ya and the bottle—then made a decision: he’d toughen up this time. Clutching the bottle on his own, he chugged noisily, pausing only to mutter grumbling “meows” between swallows.

He’s the (glug glug) cockroach (glug glug), the bad guy—Zao Zao (glug glug) hates him, (glug glug) Dad.

Amos looked at little Chuzao holding his milk bottle, feeling a vague sense of loss. Yet as he listened to the child’s soft whimpering and mewling, Amos couldn’t quite understand—

Between being angry and eating, the little cub had chosen to eat while fussing and whining?

"Author's Note"

Daddy’s regret level—super, super, super minor. "How could a certain Majesty, who even feels a sense of loss from not feeding his cub, think he should toughen Zao Zao up? ←-←"

Uncle’s regret level—CODE RED!!