Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Although they were on the second floor, Adelaide didn't even take the stairs; instead, he used the hidden elevator in the palace.

Ye Mo was still whimpering in his arms, but he was well-behaved, even wrapping his arms around Adelaide's neck, causing no hindrance or inconvenience to his movements.

But Adelaide still slowed his pace, gently patting Ye Mo's back as he walked toward the study.

In the study, Norton sat in his original seat, Baide lounged on a nearby sofa, and the others were scattered in various corners of the room. Jacob was even perched on a bookshelf, half his body lying on it with one leg dangling down.

Secretary-General Lin was reporting on the spider's information.

Secretary-General Lin had grown accustomed to working in the presence of so many Graths. His son kept many cats at home, mostly wild and untamed breeds. They usually stayed in the attic, and every time he entered, they would silently cast their gazes at him from every corner.

Or perhaps there was a more fitting description: he had once strayed into the garden of the Grath palace that connected to the back mountain, where a pride of lions was lazily basking in the sun on the grass. Some turned their ears at the sound, others didn't even rise, just looked at him casually. A few particularly curious ones sat up, looking eager.

It was all the same, he thought calmly, turning another page of his document—the same feeling of being surrounded by predators.

Fortunately, Adelaide had noticed his delay and gone to look for him. Otherwise, given that Secretary-General Lin had long neglected his physical combat skills and habitually didn't carry a gun out of laziness, he likely would have ended up in a medical pod.

Norton lifted his eyes first, followed by Baide, who had been lying on the sofa, either asleep or dozing, and now opened his eyes too. Then came Deenlie and Herli, and the others. Jacob also straightened up.

Secretary-General Lin's hand, which had been turning a page, froze. He instinctively tensed up, quickly scanning his report, trying to figure out which part had caught their attention. "Your Majesty—"

Before he could finish, Norton raised a hand, and Secretary-General Lin stopped mid-sentence. He realized that it had nothing to do with him; most of them were looking at the closed door behind him.

Arnold said hesitantly, "Did a cat come in?"

Jacob, sitting on the bookshelf, propped himself up on his elbows. "From the sound of the footsteps, it's Adelaide."

Deenlie frowned. "Did the lion pride in the back mountain recently give birth to new cubs?"

Elia furrowed her brow. "No, that doesn't sound right. I recorded the cubs' cries at different stages when I filmed the lion pride last time."

None of them used their psychic energy to probe. Even a gentle mental probe could harm a cub.

Baide closed his eyes again, adjusting his posture to be more comfortable. "Maybe it's a mutant, like Pawpaw."

Pawpaw had once eaten only apples to the point of malnutrition. If Adelaide hadn't noticed in time and forced a change in its diet, it wouldn't be as big as it is now.

Jacob lay back again. "Whatever. I'm not interested in any animal cubs. They're so fragile you can't even get close to them, and you have to take such meticulous care of them. Adelaide probably went to get some milk powder."

Deenlie withdrew his gaze first, and the others followed suit, relaxing again.

Adrian agreed strongly. "I don't want to look after cubs either. Adelaide is truly amazing."

After their somewhat cryptic conversation had passed for a while, a knock finally came at the study door. Adelaide's voice was a bit muffled through the door. "Your Majesty—"

It was only then that Secretary-General Lin understood the meaning of their earlier conversation. They had long since heard Adelaide's footsteps, and that he seemed to be carrying some kind of animal cub.

Secretary-General Lin looked at Norton.

After Norton nodded, Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses, turned toward the door, and prepared to open it. He was actually a bit curious as to what kind of creature it was.

The door had just opened enough for Secretary-General Lin to clearly see Adelaide and the others, and his movements froze.

Secretary-General Lin stared at the child in Adelaide's arms for a full two seconds, for the first time losing his composure so completely in front of His Majesty that he forgot where he was. Even the expression that had barely changed when he stumbled into the garden full of Baran lions finally cracked.

Adelaide, standing outside the door, nodded at him, and Secretary-General Lin quickly came to his senses. He opened the door fully and stepped aside, revealing Adelaide completely.

Adelaide was holding Ye Mo in his arms. Ye Mo was still whimpering, but his voice had softened significantly under Adelaide's constant soothing, though he still cried stubbornly.

All that remained of his pajamas was the top. He had been dragging the long pajama fabric; the sleeves had been rolled up by Adelaide, exposing his arms, but his lower body was completely covered by the pajama top, even his little feet hidden. He looked like a caterpillar, curled up in Adelaide's embrace.

No Grath failed to recognize Ye Mo's pajamas. If he went to bed early, he would always wear them while wandering through the Grath palace, searching for food in the dining room or elsewhere.

Norton's pupils contracted sharply. He stood up, his heavy chair scraping back, and he even knocked over a cup in his shock.

But no one cared about his loss of composure now. Almost every Grath was looking at Ye Mo in Adelaide's arms.

Ye Mo had his back to them, his head buried in Adelaide's neck, his arms wrapped around Adelaide's neck.

Adelaide lifted Ye Mo a little higher and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I believe the Young Highness has likely cocooned."

The group of Graths, who had been frozen in place, instantly sprang into action like a switch had been flipped, crowding around.

Norton was the first to reach Adelaide. He reached out to take Ye Mo, then pulled his hand back, instead gently placing it on Ye Mo's back. He looked flustered, glancing at Adelaide. "He's crying."

"Obviously, yes, Your Majesty."

Adelaide gently rocked Ye Mo. "He keeps crying for his mother, so I brought him to you so I can have time to prepare milk powder and baby food. Your Majesty, please hold the Young Highness—don't just stand there."

Several Graths exchanged glances, all looking eager, but it was Baide who spoke up. He lowered his voice, almost to a whisper. "I think I have experience. He doesn't know how to hold a child. I've raised so many children without their mothers ever having to worry."

Adelaide was very calm. "Don't joke, Emperor Baide. You did take care of them, but you used to toss them into their walkers by their collars. I was ashamed to have hidden that from the Queen at your request—"

Baide immediately surrendered, cutting him off. "Alright, alright, Adelaide. I was wrong."

Norton said nothing but stepped forward.

Adelaide instructed Norton, "Support him like this so the Young Highness won't be uncomfortable. Move gently."

Norton's body was tense, his movements stiff and awkward.

As Ye Mo was pulled out of Adelaide's arms, he saw the crowd around him and Norton, who was about to take him.

Crying all the while, he cooperated with their movements, clinging to Norton, wrapping his arms around Norton's neck. Looking at the circle of people around him, he buried his face in Norton's chest. "Not Mama..."

Norton was completely rigid. He looked down at Ye Mo lying on top of him. Ye Mo's body was so soft that Norton wondered if even his bones were soft, but his presence was undeniable, radiating warmth against Norton's chest.

Adelaide coaxed him softly. "Young Highness, Mama isn't here right now. This is Papa."

Ye Mo, still crying, corrected him, "Not 'Young'... it's 'Baby'."

Mama always called him 'Baby'.

"Then, Baby, can you stay with Papa for a little while?"

Ye Mo wiped his tears with his fingers, trying to say something. "But... but I wanna—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his voice faded away. He lay quietly against Norton, tears still in his eyes, but he had stopped crying. Now his head rested on Norton's shoulder, blinking sleepily.

First, Norton felt a warmth, and then the belated realization dawned on him. He looked down, and the circle of Graths also lowered their gazes.

Adelaide frowned. "He'll get a cold. The Young Highness needs to be changed into clean clothes as soon as possible."

With that, Adelaide quickly left. "I'll go take care of things now—prepare clothes and food for the Young Highness. Your Majesty, please hold on—I'll be right back."

Norton let out a grunt of acknowledgment. He was still looking down at Ye Mo from the side, relieved that he had finally stopped crying. So that's what he needed—to go to the bathroom.

He touched the wet hem of Ye Mo's pajamas, frowned slightly—it must have been uncomfortable, but Ye Mo didn't cry or fuss about it at all; after taking care of his business, he quieted down.

Arnold had already taken off his coat and draped it over Ye Mo, covering him completely.

Norton held the coat in place, wrapping Ye Mo up in it. After finishing, he stood still, motionless, and after a moment, somewhat awkwardly imitated Adelaide's way of gently patting his back.

As Ye Mo stopped crying, the other Graths breathed a sigh of relief and took turns stepping forward to see him.

Ye Mo was still resting on Norton's shoulder, and they could see him by coming around to the back.

The other Graths gathered behind Norton, like playing 'Eagle and the Chicks.'

Norton glanced at them, paused, and seeing Ye Mo was quiet and even looked curious, he ignored them.

Elia had already, at some point, turned on the camera, focusing intently on Ye Mo. She couldn't help whispering, 'He's so good, doesn't fuss at all. Even when he cries, it's so cute.'

Jacob nodded and whispered, 'He's so small.'

He gestured, 'This tiny.'

Adrian squeezed to the front, 'I'm Uncle Adrian.'

Deenlie glanced at them and spoke in a low voice, like the others, 'I remember someone saying they had no interest in any cub.'

Jacob and Adrian's bodies both stiffened momentarily, then quickly pretended not to have heard.

Herli took the opportunity to get to the front, pointing at herself, trying to teach Ye Mo, 'Herli, Aunt Herli.'

Baide pressed down on Herli's head, 'He's so young—at this age he can only say "Mama," don't scare him.'

Baide said it sanctimoniously, his hand was unrelenting, using full force to hold Herli down.

Herli was angry, but at least she remembered not to raise her voice. She only silently struggled upward, rising a little before being pressed down lower, finally giving up and clicking her tongue under Baide's hand.

Satisfied, Baide leaned in, looked at Ye Mo for a while, then carefully touched the back of Ye Mo's hand with his finger, murmuring as he did, 'Soft, smooth, like silk.'

Ye Mo looked at him, his eyelashes still wet, then followed Baide's movement to look at his own hand. He stared at the back of his hand, then suddenly grabbed Baide's finger.

Baide was stunned. Ye Mo's grip was very light—he could easily pull his finger away, but Baide didn't move.

It felt... amazing.

For a moment, he had thought Ye Mo would be like Norton and the others when they were little—clawing at him or biting down and not letting go. Sometimes when he lifted his arm, there would even be two or three little Graths biting on it.