Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The warship's door opened, revealing a long red carpet laid out along the passage ahead. Norton did not move. His guards exited first from both sides, swiftly taking up positions flanking the red carpet. Once in place, they grasped the swords at their waists in unison and performed the Glans Empire's distinctive military salute. Throughout this process, only the sounds of rustling uniforms and clinking metal could be heard.

Only then did Norton begin to stride forward. Those following him immediately fell into step behind him—first Secretary-General Lin, then the Corps Commander and civilian negotiators who had accompanied him. All wore military uniforms, with only slight differences in the details.

Ye Mo followed at the rear, unable to see clearly what lay outside, sensing only a profound quiet. It wasn't until he stepped out of the warship that he realized, about a meter beyond the edges of the red carpet, surrounding the entire pathway, were countless lenses of all shapes and sizes—a veritable forest of cameras.

As soon as Norton's group emerged from the warship, the lenses, large and small, swiveled in unison toward them, tracking their every move.

Norton stared straight ahead, and those following him acted as if the cameras didn't exist, completely unaffected.

But Ye Mo was utterly unprepared. Suddenly confronted by this barrage of lenses, he faced such a scene for the first time and instinctively paused at the doorway.

Norton led the entire procession as if they had rehearsed it, their steps perfectly synchronized, each stride seemingly measured with a ruler. Ye Mo's momentary hesitation stood out starkly.

It was only when Arnold gently pushed his back, nudging him toward the inner side and shielding him, that Ye Mo hurried a few steps to blend into the formation.

Footage captured by various media outlets was quickly transmitted back to headquarters, processed briefly, and released.

Discussions on the forum began almost simultaneously.

The pinned post at the top started with an image. The photo's focus was Norton, seemingly taken from a low angle looking upward. The lighting was cleverly done; the upper half of Norton's face was hidden in shadow, while the contours of his jawline were sharply defined. His cape billowed behind him, giving Norton an overwhelming, imposing presence—very much the aura of a great villain, especially with several fierce-looking soldiers trailing behind him.

"Report! The Glans Empire has arrived! His Majesty's peerless beauty remains undiminished! The great villain persona holds strong—he can even withstand this deadly camera angle. The long-legged ensemble's charm is undiminished. Isn't this better than chasing celebrities?"

"Did you see the one at the very back? No frontal image, but judging by the build, they're not even an adult yet. Whose child is that? How dare they bring them before His Majesty? I wouldn't be surprised if any other delegation brought family, but this is Grath! The last time I saw a child that young in a Grath delegation was back in the previous Grath generation."

"Saw them. Sticking out at the back was too conspicuous. Pity there's no front shot; they were blocked by the one wearing the mask. I've searched all the photos and couldn't find them again."

"What do you mean 'the one wearing the mask'? That's the renowned Lord Arnold, head of the Imperial Guard, always staying close to His Majesty. The Imperial Guard, understand? The gathering place for Grath's geniuses, churning out S-class talents in batches. It's a shame Lord Arnold has a congenital defect and cannot speak, relying on an instrument to assist his voice. But even with the assistive device, he looks so dashing."

"Hold on, your profile pictures show all sorts of emblems, but not a single one is the Glans Empire's. What are a bunch of foreigners doing here? And 'His Majesty'? What 'His Majesty' of the Federation? Don't other empires have their own majesties?"

"Can't we just look? Everyone knows we're mainly counting on Grath for the Insect Tide. Besides, the real Grath people haven't said anything!"

Then the thread started to derail, devolving into a long-distance war of words and hair-pulling.

...

Arnold remained with Ye Mo the whole time. Having attended many conferences, he knew the ropes well. "This entire floor is our accommodations. We arrange it ourselves. Your room is between Norton's and mine."

Ye Mo looked in the direction Arnold pointed and murmured, "So close."

Arnold didn't catch it. "What?"

He looked down at Ye Mo, puzzled. "Are you tired? Do you want to go back to your room and rest for a bit?"

Ye Mo shook his head without a second thought. Only then did Arnold continue, "The first-floor lobby is the conference room. For the next few days, Norton will take people to attend the meetings. The sessions go on non-stop; it's too draining. We won't be going. We can just hang around casually."

"Upstairs is the dining hall, or you can use nutrient solutions—the ones we brought are safe. Logistics will place them in our rooms. Pawpaw is here too. It's—"

Suddenly, someone interrupted their conversation.

"Lord Arnold, and Young Highness."

The speaker softened their voice when addressing Ye Mo.

Both Arnold and Ye Mo turned to look. It was Secretary-General Lin. He gave a slight bow and said softly, "Young Highness, it's time for the mental soothing. His Majesty is waiting for you in his room."

Ye Mo instinctively looked at Arnold.

Arnold immediately understood. Ye Mo was like this—timid and shy. When he first arrived, he was so scared of Norton he couldn't even eat. On the warship, he would procrastinate or subtly cling to Arnold, essentially wanting to drag him along to Norton for the mental soothing.

"No, mental soothing cannot be delayed. Last time it was already postponed by a day. Your fluctuating mental energy even disrupted the warship's systems for four seconds. But I can go with you."

Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. "My apologies, Lord Arnold. You have another assignment. His Majesty has instructed you to represent Grath in discussing the conference arrangements."

Then Secretary-General Lin turned to Ye Mo. "This way, please, Young Highness."

Secretary-General Lin led Ye Mo all the way to Norton's door and considerately opened it for him.

Before Ye Mo could even think, he was already at the doorway. Feeling nervous, he tried to tread as lightly as possible.

Norton was sitting on the sofa and reached out a hand toward him.

Ye Mo walked over, knelt down, and took Norton's hand.

They had undergone mental resonance several times, and Ye Mo was quite accustomed to it. Both their mental energies were vast; each session from start to finish took a long time. Physical contact would speed up the process.

Norton closed his fingers. Ye Mo's hand was pale, slightly cold, but very soft. Suddenly, Norton recalled the video of Ye Mo he had seen on his terminal earlier.

Back then, Ye Mo was very young. Ye Zhiyuan had returned to see him. Before his arrival, Ye Mo had spent the whole day in his room, holding his only stuffed toy, occasionally looking down and fiddling with it. But most of the time, he sat there quietly. Almost as soon as Ye Zhiyuan entered the corridor, Ye Mo heard the movement. He stood by the door, waiting expectantly.

Only when Ye Zhiyuan stopped at his door and pushed it open did Ye Mo go to meet him. The normally reserved and shy child would tightly grasp Ye Zhiyuan's hand, as if afraid he would run away otherwise.

But Ye Zhiyuan would only spend a brief moment with him, confirm he was alright, and then bid Ye Mo goodnight.

This should have been his responsibility. The one whose hand was held should have been him, and he would never be as negligent as Ye Zhiyuan.

Though he understood in his heart that Ye Zhiyuan, due to his background and the complications of having a child like Ye Mo out of wedlock, was under close scrutiny and entangled in troubles at the time, doing his best to accompany Ye Mo, Norton couldn't help but feel resentful.

Norton delayed starting the resonance. Only when Ye Mo couldn't help but look up at him did he snap back to attention, mobilize his mental energy, and quickly initiate the resonance.

Ye Mo gradually relaxed as well. Although he was somewhat resistant to being alone with Norton, the mental soothing did ease his burden, relaxing him both mentally and physically. Though sometimes Norton's memories would affect him—almost every resonance session, they would glimpse fragments of each other's memories.

Norton closed his eyes.

As the resonance deepened, he saw Ye Mo's memories again.

At first, Ye Mo was very young, probably kindergarten age. He was among a group of children in a playroom. The room had mats on the floor and scattered building blocks. When the teacher left the room, some children nearby pointed at him and started talking. "My parents said he doesn't have parents."

"He stutters too."

"Then let's not play with him."

Ye Mo probably heard but didn't pay attention, still following the teacher's earlier instructions to build a house.

The final scene was his brother, Ye Yun, throwing down the blocks in his hand, charging forward, and wrestling with those children alone. Instantly, crying erupted.

Only then did Ye Mo stand up to pull Ye Yun away, speaking haltingly with a childish lisp, "Brother, I know... they're talking nonsense."

Then the scene shifted. Ye Mo was older. Someone had him by the neck, one arm pinned behind his back, pressed against a wall. Scattered books and damaged desks lay on the floor around them, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. Ye Mo's muscles were tense, but he still couldn't break free.

The other person maliciously whispered in Ye Mo's ear, "...just an illegitimate child who can't see the light of day..."

The mental energy recorded every detail. In that moment, Ye Mo's pupils contracted briefly.

The memory fragments transmitted through mental resonance during such sessions were always the most profound and significant parts buried in the other's subconscious.

Norton's other hand, which was free, gripped the armrest of the sofa tightly. Something that couldn't bear the light—

...

Mrs. Ye was also monitoring the meeting. Having raised Ye Mo for so many years, she recognized him in the photo at a glance, and her heart clenched.

Although reason told her that since Ye Mo could be brought to such an occasion, it meant his situation wasn't that difficult, but emotionally, she couldn't control herself.

She angrily slapped Ye Zhiyuan, who was sitting beside her, and started bringing up old grievances again. "What were you thinking back then, lying to me about something like this?"

"I was afraid he would be registered in the orphanage system and enter the adoption system. I was also afraid you would be implicated."

If he had entered the adoption system, tracking his whereabouts would have become impossible. Even if he were the Corps Commander, if he were unaware, he wouldn't be considered an accomplice. If His Majesty didn't intervene, he might very well evade justice.

Mrs. Ye sighed and picked up the photo frame on the table. "My Little Mo..."

Ye Yun and Ye He were also keeping an eye on the forum.

Ye Yun was in class, watching their discussions. He hit refresh, and the post was just gone, replaced by that glaring 'Post Does Not Exist' in red.

On the forum, the few photos and posts containing Ye Mo's image had all disappeared. Some posts had been gaining traction, and a few people posted asking why they were deleted. Soon, those posts vanished as well.

Ye Yun banged the table and tsked. They work fast.

But too much information had been given. The sharper ones had already started to piece things together, or perhaps Grath never intended to completely conceal it, merely following standard procedure to remove some information related to the royal family.

Ye He's graduation had been postponed. Their entire class switched to written exams, which would start not long after. Currently, like Ye Yun, he was still at school.

Although everyone had signed confidentiality agreements and the photos were quickly deleted, no one was a fool. Combined with that blurry photo, the school was already buzzing with rumors.

"Ye He."

Ye He turned his head to look. It was April from the Second Military Academy and their Commander, Glasses Guy.

Glasses Guy walked over to Ye He. "Even if it's changed to written exams, you'd still take first place."

If anything, Ye He was even more terrifying in written exams, leaving even less hope of surpassing him.

Ye He nodded slightly, not being modest at all.

Glasses Guy sighed. "What are you planning to apply for?"

Fresh graduates aren't fully developed yet. The requirement to serve for six years is more like continuing studies in a different place, just swapping learning for practical experience.

The best "school" is naturally the Imperial Guard.

A rare, slight smile touched Ye He's lips. "Naturally, the Imperial Guard."

Glasses Guy nodded, unsurprised. April also planned to strive for entry into the Imperial Guard. Hearing the answer, April scoffed from not far away and began urging Glasses Guy. The Imperial Guard doesn't accept many people, sometimes none at all. Ye He was a formidable competitor.

Glasses Guy awkwardly pushed up his glasses and bid farewell to Ye He. "We should get going now, need to return to school."

Ye He nodded. The moment he turned around, his expression fell away.

No matter what, he had to enter the Imperial Guard.