Chapter 39: The Crown Clan has the best teachers, he is unwilling

Chapter 39 The Crown Clan Boasts the Finest Teachers, He Refuses to Accept It

He... is going to kill Amos!

Seething with rage, Hale, who hadn’t left his room in years, marched out with grim determination.

So the patrolling royal guards stared in bewilderment as Hale’s stubborn and visibly agitated figure headed straight toward the Dwight Palace.

The guards: ...

Hiss—what’s happening?

Do we report this?

But that’s Prince Hale.

Yet Prince Hale looks completely unhinged—

More than just unhinged.

He looks like his hair is about to catch fire.

Nothing like the state he was in when they first brought him back.

It was well past midnight.

Outside the Dwight villa, enduring the frosty night air and the searing pain in his back, Hale stood before the gates of the Dwight Palace.

Inside, Amos was asleep with the little one, while Frey and An Ya were also present—only Fei Man was missing, having been posted at the medical center after an incident with Job and Joshua.

Hale fixed his gaze on the door for a long moment.

The AI, Yuan, detected the figure outside and, after scanning, greeted Hale in a cheerful tone.

"Hello, Your Highness Hale. It’s been a while. Yuan, the royal AI system, at your service."

Hale had disabled the AI during his long isolation.

Yuan hadn’t seen him in ages.

Per the database, he was still His Majesty Amos’s revered teacher.

*Click—*

Yuan opened the door.

"I’ve already alerted His Majesty Amos. Is there an urgent matter to report? Yuan is ready to relay your message."

The chipper AI chimed.

Upstairs—

Amos had already sensed something was off the second Hale stepped onto the Dwight Palace grounds.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The night was still, the air silent, and the warm little one in his arms drowsily clung to his glowing halo, fast asleep.

Tiny as he was, curled against Amos, he hardly took up any room.

Here’s the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

In front was the ghost bear—a ghost bear made from Amos’s clothes—trapping the little one between itself and Amos.

His breathing was steady, but occasionally, faint sleep-talking could still be heard—

Still mumbling about getting an apology from Hale.

To the little one, this matter was like he’d never let it go.

It was enough to drive Hale up the wall.

Amos reached out, his large hand covering the little one’s ears.

In the room, the smart AI’s lights came on.

The AI, Yuan, automatically turned down the volume.

Thus, the little one remained completely undisturbed.

"Your Majesty, Amos, Lord Hale has arrived. The door is unlocked. Now relaying the purpose of his visit—Lord Hale says he intends to... ‘clean house’... Wait what?"

The cheerful AI who’d just opened the door: ?

Even the AI’s indicator lights seemed to glitch.

Yuan’s database rapidly analyzed—that didn’t sound good, did it?

And yet, it had gone ahead and opened the door first.

Yuan: ...Ah!

Yuan powered down completely.

Okay, look—

Lord Hale was also a member of the Crown Clan. Yuan was supposed to serve him, so this wasn’t really on Yuan... right?

Yuan’s database began frantically searching the StarNet forums, with the keywords: #What major disasters have you caused at work#.

Amos blinked in surprise.

His brow furrowed.

What did that mean?

"Clean house"? Who was he planning to clean out?

Amos rose, his movements gentle as he carefully wrapped the sleeping little one.

The Emperor frowned deeply.

He was already moving toward the door.

All because of the apologies Zao Zao had been muttering to his halo these past few days?

Amos’s expression darkened.

Amos himself held deep respect for Hale. He had been, apart from his siblings and parents, the most trusted and close family friend in Amos’s childhood—and after Amos took the throne, his most trusted advisor.

Amos felt he understood Hale well enough.

Hale was the type who, even when utterly broken and cynically mocking everyone, was no real threat to the Dwight Family—even his insults were half-hearted.

Seeing his teacher so defeated, Amos felt a pang of sorrow.

The Crown Clan were instinctively drawn to and protective of cubs; just seeing them seemed to soothe their restless emotions.

Moreover, Hale had indeed been somewhat excessive before, so Amos let the cub have its way.

Finally.

Teacher and student faced off across the distance—one in the center of the first-floor hall, the other by the third-floor railing.

Hale was in bad shape.

He swayed unsteadily, reaching out to grip his Psychic Weapon—a weapon shaped like a ruler.

"Amos, Your Majesty..."

Hale’s voice was hoarse.

"I've had it today—"

If you can't handle raising a cub—that one who’s been pestering me for days just to defend you—then hand them over to someone else!

Unsurprisingly, that’s Saint Cas's future Emperor.

How could you—ah, everything I taught you was for nothing!

Hale was heartbroken.

But he didn’t finish.

He was a frightening sight now—hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot, gripping his Psychic Weapon, rage burning in his eyes as if he wanted to destroy everything around him.

Amos sized up the threat instantly.

In the next second, he leapt over the railing, determined to restrain Hale immediately.

"Bang—"

Seeing Amos charge, Hale instinctively resisted.

The psychic clash wasn't loud, but for the Crown Clan, the psychic shockwave alone could snap them alert.

Hale seemed truly furious, even crazed, but there was no real meaning behind his "cleaning house" threat—it was more like he just wanted to fight Amos.

True to his reputation as an all-around mentor, whether in theory or practice, he was unmatched.

He dodged two of Amos’s carefully measured grabs, but Amos finally got him.

An Ya and Frey were already at their doors.

"What’s going on?"

They gaped at the commotion below.

It had been a long time since they’d last seen Hale.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

Not to mention Hale being so worked up...

Or maybe he's taking it too far?

"Look, teacher, you gotta understand that Zao Zao disturbed you because you didn't handle this right. If you've got any problem with Zao Zao, I suggest you keep that to yourself..."

"King Amos, how exactly have you treated Little Highness?! Why weren't you there when Little Highness was crying?!" Even accepted that little Dwight's defense.

They spoke almost in unison.

Amos: ...?

Hale: ...?

Amos: How was I bad to my kid???

Hale: How have I held a grudge against Little Highness???

Amos pinned Hale down hard, and only then could he tell the difference between reality and illusion.

Among the Crown Clan members pulled into Xiao Chuzao's past by his psychic power, Hale had one of the strongest reactions.

He was still out of it, pondering—

"Teacher," Amos let up on his hold, realizing something, "I found Zao Zao in the habitat not long ago. He was already five when I found him."

Hale stayed frozen, still out of it. The terrible pain from his missing wings left him disoriented.

Just then, Amos's door creaked open.

Clutching his ghost bear, the sleepy cub who'd been woken up rubbed his eyes with tiny hands.

He walked to the third-floor railing.

The antique brown wooden railing was too high for the little cub. Gripping a small corner with one hand, he peeked down between the rails.

"What's all the commotion...? Where's Daddy? What's wrong with Daddy?"

Then the little cub saw Hale fighting Amos with his Psychic Weapon.

Xiao Chuzao: ...

Frey and An Ya, who had turned to look: ...

Honest to God.

As the strongest fighter of the Crown Clan, Amos could easily take Hale, even at his peak, let alone now. Even with Hale armed and Amos not, Hale was naturally losing.

But Xiao Chuzao clearly didn't see it that way.

In the little cub's eyes—Hale was furious about getting tangled in his psychic threads, blaming Amos for it, even yelling at him. Now he wasn't apologizing but came to fight Amos.

How could he do such a thing?!

The little wings folded behind him suddenly flared open, puffing up angrily. The cub's tiny wings flapped as he took off, yanking off his halo and flinging it right at Hale.

The cub was clearly good at throwing his halo, just like his archery—both spot on. With a loud *Duang*, it boomeranged into Hale's forehead, knocking him down. Hale: ...

The psychic weapon in Hale’s hand vanished as he was pinned by Amos and Xiao Chuzao, lying on the ground in a daze while staring at the ceiling.

Acting on impulse, he had confused reality and illusion, coming to pick a fight with Amos, only to be beaten by him. The scar from his cut-off wings still throbbed incessantly, his crown was shattered and out of control, and his forehead ached—

If he could remove it, fine—but how could he throw it??

And even if he threw it, how could that shiny golden halo fly back with such precision???

"Daddy—daddy—"

The little one flew down from the third floor and plummeted into Amos’s arms.

His tiny hands clung to Amos’s neck as he glared warily at Hale lying on the ground.

His small, baby voice was filled with anger and a slight tremble.

Xiao Chuzao rarely fought back—he was accustomed to avoiding harm in the least damaging way possible. But after arriving in the Saint Cas Empire, the kid had slowly begun to change.

His tiny voice was defiant: "He’s a bad guy! He said those things, didn’t apologize, and even tried to hit people! Bad guy!"

Amos: "I’m fine, kiddo. I’ll explain everything to you later."

Other than the headache from seeing Xiao Chuzao’s halo smack Hale right on the forehead, Amos was otherwise unharmed.

Hale’s visit wasn’t what the kid expected, but the outcome was the same.

The little one’s face puffed up like an angry little bun, his ghost bear left behind by the third-floor railing in his haste.

Upstairs, Frey and An Ya shared a look.

Frey: "He doesn’t look good. We should contact the medical center."

An Ya: "If he were okay, he wouldn’t have attacked Second Brother at night—"

But...

An Ya observed Xiao Chuzao’s wary expression toward Hale.

An Ya: Perfect, he’s a strong contender for the title of Zao Zao’s least favorite Crown Clan member!

An Ya picked up the ghost bear and descended the stairs with Frey.

"His crown is in bad shape."

An Ya handed the ghost bear to Xiao Chuzao, then helped Frey guide Hale to sit on the sofa.

"The medical team will arrive soon. We’ll see if he needs to go to the medical center for a full examination."

Seated on the sofa, Hale finally calmed down, allowing everyone to see his body shaking slightly now and then from the pain.

Though wings were not as symbolic as the crown halo representing the Crown Clan’s psychic power, they were still a vital part of their physiology. The wounds from cut-off wings never healed—instead, they brought never-ending pain.

The constant pain served as a reminder, forcing Hale to relive past memories over and over.

Even when the medical team rushed in, he remained slumped over, eyes half-closed.

The medical center hadn’t checked on Hale in years—he had long forbidden anyone from approaching him.

"It’s pretty bad. The crown’s fragmentation has reached its last stages, on top of his wings—"

The medical team member hesitated for a moment.

"The overall condition of the wound has not changed at all compared to the last examination; His Highness Hel should be experiencing pain above level eight constantly."

"And this crown, Your Majesty might let the young prince try to piece it together. If necessary, in such a situation, if he succeeds, the impact on the young prince's mental energy should be relatively minimal—the reactions from both sides should be better than before."

Previously, both Melun and Kaman had their crowns completely shattered, and Little Chucao was forcefully pulled back, which affected his mental energy. Kaman and Melun also slept for several days before they woke up.

Now, if it can be pieced together, the effect should be much better theoretically.

"As for the specific situation, there's no need to rush into an examination. His Highness Hel is currently emotionally agitated; he can rest first. A comprehensive check-up during the day will be more accurate."

After a brief examination, the on-duty personnel at the medical center quickly withdrew.

Amos held Little Chucao in his arms.

The little cub's wings were still fluffed up.

In a muffled voice: "Bad guy."

"It's not that bad—"

Amos actually suspected that Hel had seen some images related to the cub, which was why he said those things.

But Amos didn't want Little Chucao to remember those events, so he tried to cover it up.

Then, seeing the cub hiding behind the ghost bear, he became even angrier: "He can scold Algae, but he takes advantage of being Dad's teacher... Big bad guy!"

Amos: ...

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little one now had his own 'big bad guy' in mind.

"Does Zao Zao still want to help Grandpa Hale put the little halo together?"

Xiao Chuzao froze for a moment: "Yes!"

He was such a good boy. When he heard that having one's wings torn out was very painful, his eyes kept darting toward Hale with worry and sadness.

Amos stroked the little one's head, feeling nothing but tenderness in his heart.

"Is Zao Zao still angry?"

Xiao Chuzao's cheeks puffed up again: "Angry!"

Apart from the disliked target—Hale—the remaining members of the Crown Clan quietly averted their gazes, couldn't help smirking slightly.

An Ya had initially wanted to make things worse, but seeing Hale's state, her rising anger immediately faded.

She pursed her lips and said nothing.

An uneasy silence fell. Amos held the little one and sat down not far away, waiting for Hale to slowly calm down.

Meanwhile, those who'd rushed back to the medical center entered.

Fei Man wasn't resting in the room assigned to her but was sitting in the corridor, dozing lightly.

Her expression was blank, with a chilling air about her. The moment she sensed someone approaching, her eyes snapped open, her expression briefly turning frightening.

"Fei Man... Your Highness."

Fei Man quickly came to herself, waking from those nightmares. Frowning, she pressed her fingers to her temples and leaned against the wall, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, giving her a lazy, aloof look. She lifted her gaze, her voice hoarse and quiet as she asked, "What is it?"

The Crown Clan’s presence was overwhelming, and among them, the Dwights, with their even stronger mental power, exerted pressure like no other—even when holding back.

The medical team briefly explained the situation.

Fei Man nodded and turned her attention to the room.

Job and Joshua, under close monitoring and testing shortly after their return to Saint Cas's imperial capital, had stabilized for barely a day or two before their emotional instability kept flaring up. Their crowns were fracturing faster than before their return—and they had been isolated from each other.

At one point, Job almost pinned Joshua to the wall with his bone whip after a single remark from his twin—because Joshua, still trapped in his depressive state, was in agony, forcing it all onto his twin brother.

Now, Job was bearing the weight of two people's suffering, denied even that so-called peaceful death. In his own moments of breakdown, he had attempted to "help" Joshua.

Yet separating the brothers entirely wasn’t an option either.

It was as if there was still some unresolved knot between them, but no one knew how to untangle it—a real headache.

Fei Man had no choice but to keep watch over them.

If Master Hale could recover, perhaps he might have a way to handle these two.

But after repeated contamination-induced mutations—after losing his lover and his wings in the process—achieving that goal seemed nearly impossible.

Dwight Villa.

Hale had gradually calmed down.

His crown’s halo looked terrible, yet it remained connected. His eyes were downcast; he hadn’t even processed what the medical staff had meant by "repairing the halo."

All he could think about were the images—

A little fledgling, wings drooping, tearing apart a notebook before painstakingly piecing it back together.

Disdain and condescension masked as kindness.

Who?

Who was it?

What kind of situation was that?

How dare they?

How dare they treat one of our Crown Clan’s young like that?

A teacher?

Someone like that—a teacher?

*"Yeah, yeah, only you get to be called ‘teacher,’ Your Excellency the Imperial Tutor. Isn’t it just that the outside-hired sparring instructors are hit-or-miss? Let the Imperial Military Academy deal with its own mess—why not just stick to the imperial household?"*

A familiar voice buzzed in his ears, fuzzy but clear.

"Gotta... say sorry to Papa..."

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

This time, the childlike milky voice didn't ring directly in his mind, but he still precisely interrupted Hale's gloom.

Hale slightly raised his head, meeting the little cub's gaze.

The little one's eyes were crystal clear. Though he'd been insisting that Hale apologize to Amos, when Hale actually looked at him, the cub's tiny wings shrank back instantly.

He thought for a moment.

Still, he mustered his baby voice to insist.

"Gotta say sorry to Papa."

His look said it all: if you don't apologize, I'll keep saying it until you do.

Direct, pure—

How could anyone treat him like that?

Hale looked at the little cub.

His lips moved slightly before he finally spoke softly, his defenses melting into tenderness: "Yes... an apology..."

Hale turned to Amos: "I apologize to you—Your Majesty, I shouldn't have said those things."

But—

But how could those people do such things?

Hale's emotions, suppressed in silence, turned into tears that fell as he lowered his head again.

When little DeWitt called him 'teacher'—he couldn't even respond, could only watch as the child was excluded and bullied, unable to find a teacher?

He apologized!

Days of persistence finally yielded a response.

The cub instinctively looked at Amos.

With Amos's nod, he took a few steps forward, preparing to try fixing Hale's halo.

Then he saw Hale's falling tears.

Xiao Chuzao: ...?

Xiao Chuzao froze, panicked.

Why crying? Crying?

This was completely unlike the Hale he knew before.

It left Xiao Chuzao completely at a loss.

The tiny cub, his sleep interrupted, had tousled black hair and wings clamped tight against his body from nervousness.

After some thought, he picked up a tissue from nearby, cocked his head, and offered it to Hale.

"Here—Zao Zao says sorry too. Zao Zao won't talk in your head without asking anymore." His baby voice and well-behaved look matched perfectly with the image of the dejected little cub in the dream who couldn't find his teacher.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little cub seemed hesitant. "Does your wing hurt that bad?"

He asked softly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The cub who'd just called Hale a big bad guy was now wavering.

An Ya, sitting on the sofa nearby, suddenly straightened up.

Oh no! The tables have turned!

Hale had long been numbed by the pain. He took the handkerchief from the little cub and responded in a soft, hoarse voice, "It's okay, not that bad—Your Majesty, has a teacher been found for the Little Highness?"

Hale seemed to snap back to his usual composed self.

His blood-red, swollen eyes looked over.

Like he needed to hear it.

"The list's on the table—we're still reviewing it," Amos said.

"Good."

Hale nodded.

"If they finish reviewing before I die, please let me take a look, Your Majesty. Even though I've been out of touch, I can still judge capable teachers."

Hale, who'd seemed lifeless before, now showed different emotions. It hit him belatedly that the Crown Clan today couldn't give this little one all the privileges the Dwight Family once enjoyed. Now it was too late—

Amos nodded.

Hale knew even if he endured his wings' agony, he couldn't stop the crown's destruction.

He couldn't stand it—he still hadn't figured out how to tell the tiny Crown Clan kid that they once had better teachers—teachers who'd never turn away a kid...

The frustration burned...

Now that he thought about it—

What was that about fixing the halo?

Then the little cub before him raised his hand, gingerly reaching up toward his head—and got a firm grip on his crown's halo.

"Daddy, I think it works."

Xiao Chuzao turned to Amos.

Wait—he's holding my halo...?

Hale: What the—?!

Okay, removing your own halo is weird enough. But how can he grab MINE???