Chapter 38: Apologize to Amos? No, he wants to kill Amos!

Chapter 38 Apologize to Amos? No, He Wants to Kill Amos!

As a member of the Imperial Tutor family, Hale could be considered worldly and bold enough to try anything.

But this? He’d never seen anything like it.

And he didn’t dare learn it either.

What kind of situation was this—where the halo could just be removed?

What the—???

First, a voice spoke in his head, and now this direct demonstration??

Meanwhile, Amos carefully examined the child’s crown.

Amos frowned slightly.

"Papa can’t see it."

Xiao Chuzao had far too many unusual traits that set him apart from ordinary members of the Crown Clan. Though confused, Amos wasn’t shocked.

He turned his gaze to Hale.

To his once-driven, now-broken teacher.

"Eh?"

Xiao Chuzao stared at the frayed, grayish thread tangled around his crown—on the verge of snapping.

He even poked at it with his tiny fingers, giving it a light pull.

After a pause—

He brought the halo to his mouth.

"Hellooo?"

In Hale’s mind—"Hellooo~"

Then the little one looked at him: So that’s how it works?

Hale: …

He’d cracked the code.

Hale clutched his head, completely done.

No matter what—he could usually keep up a calm front.

But now? He was losing it.

Wasn’t he a seriously sick man?

Two whole days of this torment!

Two days, damn it!

Oddly enough, Hale’s mood—dismal ever since he’d been on his own—had brightened after meeting Xiao Chuzao.

"I don’t care what scheme you’ve cooked up—for the love of god, stop talking in my head!"

The Crown Clan had always been searching for ways to defy fate.

Hale was well aware of this.

In the past, he too had actively resisted fate.

But he had given up the fight. He lived only out of obligation, waiting to fade away without a fight.

So Hale cared little about the Crown Clan's research progress on such matters, nor did he give a damn about the kid.

All he cared about was his own peace.

The kid met Hale’s blood-red gaze and instinctively reached out with tiny hands, untangling the thread wrapped around his crown.

The kid watched the frayed thread float back into the air.

Xiao Chuzao squinted, making out countless threads drifting in the air.

Thread after thread—the duller they were, the clearer they stood out to him.

There were also threads emanating from Amos.

But without focusing his mind, Xiao Chuzao couldn’t see them.

He hadn’t meant to tangle them up in the first place.

"S-sorry, Zao Zao didn’t mean to."

The kid clutched the halo to his chest and murmured a few more words into it.

Once Hale was sure the kid’s voice was gone, he turned to leave without hesitation.

"I’ve brought Job and Joshua back."

Amos stood still, holding the child, unmoving.

At these words, Hale hesitated mid-step.

When Job and Joshua left the Saint Cas Empire, Hale and his partner were still unharmed. That pair of twin Crown Clan members were the first of Amos’ generation to depart the Saint Cas Empire. At the time, Hale had lost it, demanding that Job and Joshua be locked up.

Aside from the fact that Hale had also taught them, his biggest worry was the Dwight Family.

Back then, he had feared that if something happened to those two outside, their generation would unravel like a house of cards.

But now.

Hale stopped dead and turned.

"What does Your Majesty want?"

After silencing the voice in his head, Hale, though disheveled, had regained his composure—his tone now laced with deliberate sarcasm.

Like he was itching for a fight.

"Don’t tell me Your Majesty expects applause?"

He scoffed.

"Right now, I have no such emotions—everything here makes me sick, including you, Your Majesty. Please leave my sight and don't come again. I'm holding back from telling you to scram."

He'd given up on himself, trapped by a promise he couldn't bring himself to break, yet trying to provoke others to free him.

Amos remained calm.

"No, I'm just letting you know. This trick of provoking people only works on An Ya in the Dwight family."

Meanwhile, the little guy in Amos's arms couldn't resist pushing himself up, his little wings flaring up as he tried to shield Amos behind him.

"Zao Zao already apologized—"

His big honey-colored eyes widened, clearly upset that Amos was being mocked.

"You can yell at Zao Zao, but Papa didn't do nothin' wrong—you can't say bad things about Papa! Zao Zao said sorry, so you gotta say sorry to Papa too!"

The little one stood his ground, all puffed up and mad, even trying to reason with him.

For the first time, Amos found himself being protected—by his own five-year-old, no less. It was a weirdly nice feeling. He glanced at the little guy, then at Hale.

Hale hesitated for a second, looking stunned before shaking it off with a soft chuckle.

"He's a Dwight, right?"

Hale tilted his head. "An Ya's the only one who bites?"

He countered.

Looks like there's another Crown Clan kid from the Dwight family who could be provoked by him?

"Also, I don't regret what I said."

Without hesitation, Hale turned and left.

Little Chuzao blinked, baffled—he left without apologizing!

A tiny, grumpy bundle clutching a ghostly bear, his little wings still puffed up in irritation, he looked seriously peeved.

Since being found by Amos, Little Chuzao had rarely been this angry before.

His cheeks puffed up like a blowfish, one side pressed against the ghostly bear's face.

Amos eyed the little puffball, holding him with one arm while poking his cheek with the other.

"Angry?"

"He's Papa's teacher... and he didn't even apologize."

Little Chuzao muttered, cheeks still puffed, snuggling into Amos's hold.

At this moment, the kid seemed way more spirited than before.

But seeing those fluffed-up wings, Amos gently smoothed them down.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here."

He'd thought that since they were nearby, just looking from the outside wouldn't lead to any interaction. He hadn't expected Hale to come out because of Little Chuzao.

"Not Papa's fault..."

Xiao Chuzao clung to his plush bear while nestled in Amos's arms, looking up at him.

Amos didn’t say anything more and took the little one to the medical center.

They prioritized examining the child’s mental energy.

There were still no issues. Regarding the little one’s newly emerged ability, the medical center’s explanation was—the little one can control and direct mental energy. He’s highly sensitive to it, so within a certain range, he might unknowingly initiate ‘one-way communication’ with others.

The threads the little one saw were the targets he could ‘communicate’ with.

"Ah, got it—data cables."

Fei Man, who’d been waiting beside the child during the examination, listened to the explanation. She raised a finger, her beautiful face expressionless, her tone matter-of-fact.

Then she pointed at the child.

"Data hub."

Zao·Data Hub·Zao: "..."

Fei Man had a dry sense of humor.

She watched the little one, keeping her composure.

She didn’t reach for a hug or make any other move.

It seemed she was a typically unflappable Crown Clan member.

Xiao Chuzao was carried down by Amos.

His tiny outfit was crumpled, and he held up his hands, gripping the cuffs for Amos to straighten them out.

Oh...

So cute, so cute, so cute...

This is unbearable.

Fei Man spun away silently, her steps a little shaky.

—How could he be this adorable?

She ducked into a corner to crouch, burying her face in her hands—she finally got why the Crown Clan had always been so obsessed with younglings.

"…Seriously, where did Second Brother dig up this little treasure?"

She whispered to herself in the deserted corner.

"Adorable...?"

A tiny voice chirped.

"Was Auntie Fei Man talking about me?"

Amos was already guiding the little one out of the med bay.

The Crown Clan had keen senses.

Xiao Chuzao, his body steadily stabilizing, was growing more alert and just barely caught the word "adorable."

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little cub looked over.

Amos also stopped and turned with the little one to look at his most dramatic sister.

It lasted only two seconds.

Fei Man, who had just been crouching in the corner from the overwhelming cuteness, had already composed herself—putting back on her aloof act.

But under the cub's wide-eyed look, she couldn't hold back: "Yes."

She was saying Zao Zao was cute.

Then, Fei Man watched as the little cub's eyes lit up bit by bit.

He seemed a little shy.

Most Crown Clan members keep their feelings to themselves, rarely voicing praise outright. So, even though everyone thought Xiao Chuzao was adorable, Fei Man was likely the first to let the little one hear it directly.

And the cub wasn't even familiar with Fei Man—which made it extra special.

He whispered softly, "Can you... say it again?"

The small wings on his back puffed up, their soft feathers smooth and fluffy.

Fei Man stepped closer to the cub, leaning down. Her voice was calm and pleasant, with unusual softness in this moment.

"Zao Zao is really cute."

The cub's eyes sparkled as he beamed at her, hugging his Ghost Bear tightly.

Even as Amos led him away, the little one still waved goodbye at her.

Fei Man's ears were already burning red on their own—he was just too adorable.

Just as she was thinking this, about to duck into her corner to silently freak out, she saw the little cub stop at the hallway corner. He reached up, took off his halo, and wrapped something around it before saying in a baby voice, "Apologize... must apologize to dada."

He took off his halo—haha (giggles).

Oh—so cute it kills... no wait, cute enough to resurrect the dead!!

Fei Man froze for a second, automatically going to rub her eyes.

Was that her imagination just now?

*

After learning how to use 'one-way communication,' the cub was still hung up on what Hale said.

Zao Zao knew his daddy was a very good daddy—no one should say such things about him.

So, over the next few days, whether Hale could hear him or not, the cub kept tugging at the strand of mental energy connected to Hale, seizing every opportunity to yell into Hale's mind—insisting on an apology to Amos.

After talking it over with Frey and considering Hale's current state, Amos didn't stop the little one's actions.

They had already drawn up a shortlist of teachers for Xiao Chuzao. And since the cub had no peers growing up together, several Crown Clan members deliberated and decided to look for proper companions from the Imperial Military Academy.

Meanwhile, this was a casual family gathering at Dwight's villa that evening.

"The members of this special unit are all pretty qualified—the Pengs' youngest is also in the group—"

Frey scanned the files.

"The age gap isn't too big. Any younger would be weird."

"The top kid in the special ops is Chao Huangmu? I remember approving his immigration report. He’s not from a common race—his people are already gone—but otherwise, no red flags. He’s fine."

An Ya was also looking over the team’s records.

"Is Fei Man at the medical center?"

Kaman glanced around.

"Job and Joshua are having some issues."

Frey nodded.

"Fei Man’s handling it."

At the mention of this, the mood soured for a second.

Kaman paused before shifting the subject.

"Are we bringing Zao Zao to the big cross-nation meeting?"

"What’s there to argue about?"

Mei Lun cracked a smile at Amos.

"Wherever His Majesty is, isn’t Zao Zao there too?"

Ignoring the jab, Amos kept his eyes down, setting aside the documents before lazily looking up. "We’re done here. Uncle Mei Lun, Uncle Kaman—out."

He stood first and pushed the door open.

The kid, hugging his ghost bear on the small sofa, was solemnly holding up his halo. "Say sorry. Papa didn’t do anything wrong. Say sorry—"

Even if they were used to the kid taking off his halo, seeing it still went against everything they knew as a race for centuries, creeping them out.

Amos and Frey understood what was happening, while the others looked lost.

Frey gave a quick rundown, then clapped An Ya on the back.

"Congrats."

An Ya: ?

"For what?"

Frey shrugged. "Now you’ve got competition for ‘Zao Zao’s most hated Crown Clan.’"

An Ya: …

Hale, whose brooding kept getting cut short lately, his mind stuck on *Say sorry, I’m waiting, you owe an apology*: …

Night fell again. Hale stared blankly out the window.

A tiny voice whispered in his head, "Talk trash about Zao Zao all you want, but say sorry to Papa…"

It wasn’t loud, just soft and stubborn—playing on loop in his head, no off switch.

Fortunately, the baby’s sleep schedule finally normalized these past few days, letting everyone sleep a bit during the late night.

Back when Hale flippantly tossed out taunts to provoke Amos, he had no idea how wrecked he’d feel now—why hadn’t he realized this could happen when he was making those threats??

Ever since the accident that cost him his wings, Hale had been in a dazed state, stuck in thoughts that crushed him. Between the overwhelming grief and the excruciating pain of losing his wings, he could only manage brief blackouts.

At night, he might sleep a little longer, but the pattern remained the same.

As a result, he looked a complete mess—haggard and spaced out.

But these past few days, thanks to the little one’s relentless little voice,

all his emotions were effectively interrupted, leaving him no time to dwell on the past. His mind was instead occupied by the child’s endless, chirpy loop of "apologize."

It forced Hale to stay awake during the day, listening to the little one’s demands for an apology, with no chance to zone out. By night, he was too wiped to fight it and ended up resting just like the child. This bizarre routine weirdly fixed Hale’s sleep cycle.

By this hour, Hale automatically got sleepy.

He knew—the kid would crash too.

Finally—

Hale thought hazily, finally able to rest for a while.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Even as memories crept in—his lover pushing him away, the wings he lost, the family who had died—this time, it wasn’t the usual freefall that choked him, leaving him unable to sleep.

He faded out groggily.

Once again, he saw the face wet with tears of the lover who had pushed him away.

"Hale—live on… You have to be okay… Don’t submit to fate—that’s not the Hale I know—"

Hale leaned quietly against the wall, a tear trailing down his cheek before vanishing quickly.

Don’t submit to fate—

Don’t submit—

But he no longer had the strength to resist—

To be loved… was so painful.

Another chip of his halo broke off, teetering on the edge of collapse—but in the end, it held.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Chuzao, exhausted from the day’s activities, couldn’t keep his eyes open after washing up.

He still remembered his unfinished mission. The ghost bear was left sitting by the little one’s pillow instead of being held in his arms.

Hugging his little halo, he murmured softly, "Gotta apologize to dada—"

Amos had been listening for a long time.

He leaned down and dropped a soft kiss on the little one’s forehead.

The drowsy child’s eyes fluttered open slightly at the touch before helplessly closing again.

Amos pulled the covers over him and gently smoothed his hair.

He whispered softly, "It's alright, sleep now, sweet dreams, little one."

The already drowsy child seemed to sense Amos's warmth and curled up in his arms, falling into a deep slumber. Unnoticed by him, the small halo entwined with Hale's psychic threads flickered faintly.

Xiao Chuzao slept soundly, his tiny body snuggling into Amos's embrace for warmth, murmuring drowsily—

To be loved is such a joyful thing.

Meanwhile, Hale, a portion of his crown-like halo now stabilized, slept deeply.

This time, he didn’t suffer nightmares.

It had been a long time since he’d had such restful sleep.

He saw an unfamiliar environment.

Saw unfamiliar species.

And finally, a familiar small figure.

The instant he saw that small figure, Hale felt a headache building.

It was as if voices began whispering in his mind again.

But unlike the image of the little one he’d seen before,

this Xiao Chuzao seemed even younger.

Like a lost little animal, he crept along the edges of the wall, hugging it as he moved forward.

The adults around him paid him no mind, as if it were routine.

Hale couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Their indifference to the child struck him as wrong.

Finally, the child stopped in front of a room.

He peered in timidly, his small head tilting curiously.

Inside, a bespectacled Angel scholar sat at a desk, smiling at the small group of young Angels gathered around him.

They appeared to be in class.

The text before them was scrambled, and Hale couldn’t make it out clearly.

Then, he heard Xiao Chuzao’s soft, hesitant voice call out, "Teacher..."

Clutching his little notebook, he asked cautiously, "Can Zao Zao study with the teacher too?"

The Angels had basic public classes, which weren’t restricted to any child. But more often than not, the little one was shunted to the back, left out.

Yet, he kept all his notes neatly arranged in a worn, thin notebook he’d received during his first lesson.

However, once they reached a certain age, all Angel children sought out exclusive teachers—an elite tutoring system, essentially small-group learning.

This benefited their kind, but for Xiao Chuzao—it was anything but.

"Perhaps you should ask another teacher... Oh, it’s not about your notes or skills."

Here's the improved translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The Angels' teacher looked at the fledgling slowly lowering his head, then glanced at the young angel students behind him, with a strained smile.

"The other children's parents wouldn't agree."

Hale frowned tightly.

What kind of excuse is that?

If he didn't want to teach, he should just say so—why all this beating around the bush? If he truly wanted to, there would always be time after class to give the kid one-on-one time—

But Hale's frustration changed nothing.

In the end, the fledgling with drooping wings left the lavish building—the last teacher Xiao Chuzao could ask.

The little one walked step by step out of the upscale district, finally arriving at the makeshift nest he'd built under Hale's bewildered and shocked gaze.

Xiao Chuzao sat on the edge of his nest, wings slumped.

Hale almost shouted in outrage: "You live out here like this? Where's Amos? What kind of parent is that bastard?"

He suddenly stopped.

Because he saw tears pooling in the little one's eyes.

Xiao Chuzao clutched his small notebook, having a rare fit as he tore it in half and tossed it aside. But seconds later, the child clumsily pushed himself up, wiped his tears, and picked up the torn notebook again, painstakingly reassembling it. Sniffling, he carefully put the notebook away.

"It's okay, it's okay—tomorrow Zao Zao gets sweet fruit… Zao Zao gets sweet fruit tomorrow…"

Hale had given up, speaking harshly of Amos and barely even looking at the kid—only because the child seemed fine overall, not needing his attention, and he himself had no energy left to care about anything else.

But now, Hale felt a pang of alarm.

Beneath his earlier despair, another emotion surged in his chest—rage.

This was a Crown Clan child!

A precious little one of the Dwight family, to whom he had devoted his entire life!!

In the darkness.

Blood-red eyes flew open.

Hale blinked in confusion, spotting the tiny intact snow bear by the window.

The child's sleep-mumbled words reached him.

"Must… must apologize…"

The kid had said it too often these days—even in his dreams, he begged.

Hale pushed himself up—

Amos—

Apologize to Amos…?

Where was Amos when the kid was crying just now?

And now he was supposed to apologize to Amos?

Hale seemed lost between what was real.

He swayed, then caught himself—then marched out with deadly purpose. —Amos was a dead man.