Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Herli's hand stopped moving, and Ye Mo turned his head to look at her with her hand still on his head.

She coughed and removed her hand, and Ye Mo turned back.

A moment later, Herli raised her hand again, wanting to try once more, and then she met Norton's gaze from across the table. He'd been staring at her for God knows how long. Herli silently turned back and ate her meal properly.

A few minutes later, Ye Mo looked up again. "Herli, you stepped on me."

He sounded uncharacteristically displeased. "You've been crowding me, and I have no room for my feet."

Ye Mo moved his feet over to Norton's side, a little angry. Herli was bullying him—he had pulled his feet back several times already, and the boots he was wearing today were his favorites. Besides, Herli was really strong.

"Really? Sorry, I just brushed against you."

As she spoke, Herli unconsciously moved forward again and bumped into something else. But this time, it didn't bring the same quiet as when she touched Ye Mo. Herli felt a sense of dread. She cautiously peeked under the table and saw Norton's boots. He had stretched his legs over at some point, blocking Ye Mo's feet behind his own.

Herli pulled her feet back and, bearing Norton's intimidating stare, said to Ye Mo, "Then you can step on me back."

"No way I'm stepping on you."

"Go ahead, let you keep stepping on me."

From the side, Deenlie snorted coldly. "If you insist, I can do it for you."

Herli turned to Deenlie, her expression instantly shifting, her voice turning fierce. "Then bring it on!"

Herli and Deenlie started arguing again.

Ye Mo, well-practiced, moved the food near Herli to a farther spot.

Beside them, Baide raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

Adelaide, ignoring the commotion, pushed a cart over, cleared the empty plates, and replaced them with new dishes.

"There's still more? Won't they get stuffed?"

Arno, accidentally tuning into some stray mental chatter, put down his knife and fork. No, they wouldn't, but if this kept up, he might starve because he'd lose his appetite.

It was so noisy during meals, so annoying.

Across from Arno, Ye Mo finished eating and stood up to leave. Norton also stood.

Arno followed. "Ye Mo, wait for me."

He habitually placed his hand on the back of Ye Mo's neck, then froze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's go quickly."

A moment later, Adrian caught up. "I've been meaning to ask. What did you guys find? You and Herli are acting really strange."

Arno replied decisively, "Of course, nothing at all."

Adrian eyed him suspiciously but didn't press further. He held out his hand to Ye Mo, then flipped it over, and a Bug Crystal was pinched between his fingers. This one was sky-blue, crystal clear, and perfectly shaped—auction-worthy.

Ye Mo took it and said, "It's pretty. I'll put it in my box later."

He was used to Adrian occasionally handing him all kinds of gemstones, and Adelaide regularly gave him a pile of Bug Crystals. Ye Mo would pick and choose, keeping the nice ones.

When Ye Mo looked up at Adrian, he found Adrian staring at him. Adrian raised his hand, touched Ye Mo's forehead, then pulled away and touched it again.

The third time he tried, Norton, who was behind Ye Mo, grabbed his wrist.

Adrian was dying to share his discovery with Norton. "Big brother—"

But before he could finish, Norton cut him off. "Keep it in check."

"Oh."

Then Norton tilted his head and glanced at Arno, who sheepishly pulled his hand back.

Ye Mo continued walking with Norton, turning back curiously to look at Arno and Adrian, who were still standing there. "Father, everyone is acting really strange today."

"Hmm, don't mind them. They need more training."

…

Back at the table, Arno and Adrian hopped into the channel and started discussing.

Jacob griped, "So that's what you were after. And Herli didn't say anything earlier—was she trying to keep it a secret?"

Herli, standing beside him, smacked him on the head and said, slightly guilty, "No, I wasn't! I just didn't have time yet. It's all Deenlie's fault!"

Elia looked worried. "Doesn't it have any effect on Cyril at all? And this wasn't happening yesterday."

Adrian turned serious. "Probably nothing to worry about. Big brother didn't react. But big brother is really mean. When is Secretary-General Lin coming in today?"

Baide watched from the side, not bothered by their problems but very focused on Ye Mo. He urged the others, "Why not go ask Norton?"

Adrian agreed. "Good idea. Arno, you do it."

"Cut it out. I just bumped into Adelaide. He said if anything's different today, it's that this morning was when we give crystals to Cyril."

Baide immediately understood why. "So it's still because you guys are too weak."

With Cyril around, the restless, vast spiritual energy of the Graths would be calmer, and their control over it would improve. Moreover, Cyril's spiritual energy was peculiar—it could coexist peacefully with any Grath, like turning a pack of wolves into sheep.

It was imperceptible under normal circumstances but became more noticeable with physical contact.

For once, Herli kept quiet with Baide. She boldly piped up on the channel and proposed it as the group's plan. "So how do we steal Cyril?"

"Get Cyril to come on his own. Let Baide lure him; he's good at it."

…

Meanwhile, Ye Mo had no plans for the day. When they left the dining room, he considered going to see either his father Ye Zhiyuan or Ye He, but along the way, he unconsciously trailed Norton to the study.

Norton's study was smaller than the one in the Grath Palace, but his usual spot was still set up in a familiar place.

Secretary-General Lin soon knocked on the door and entered. "Your Majesty, Kainan sent a letter of thanks after yesterday's match. Suonan and Orolia also expressed interest in communicating. Additionally, many countries have sent invitations. I've compiled the list. If you're interested, I'll handle the arrangements."

Norton frowned. "Don't bother with any of them."

"Secondly, I didn't see any real sincerity from them."

"Got it."

Secretary-General Lin pushed up his glasses and noted down a remark in the file—keeping the strategy for Suonan and Orolia unchanged.

"The notice for the second round of matches will be issued in six days. The Star Alliance paid us a substantial sum from the first round of the resource war's proceeds, including the portion for the princes to collect. This is the first installment, and more will follow."

A light screen opened in front of Norton, listing the detailed amounts.

Norton glanced at it. "Have them handle it. Collect everything except Cyril's share. Give some to all soldiers and accompanying personnel, and allocate the rest according to the previous plan."

The Star Alliance's currency could be exchanged for resources, but Grath's position was relatively resource-poor compared to the Star Alliance, and they hadn't been able to bring many resources when they arrived, making them short on resources.

Secretary-General Lin nodded to indicate understanding. The Central Star allowed large-scale purchasing of goods, even supporting purchases at a national level. He had already sent a long list back to Grath, and the tech team back in Grath had been arguing for days, wanting everything.

Ye Mo, who had been listening, spoke up. "You can take mine too. I don’t need it, and Baide and the others don't either."

"That’s allowance. They’re too old. In the future, you can spend it on Central Star."

Norton turned to Ye Mo. "As a reward for your excellent performance."

Last time they went out, Ye Mo had clearly shown interest in some things.

Secretary-General Lin added, "This is rightfully yours. Without this part, it won’t make a difference."

"Besides, the heir of Grath deserves the best. If rumors spread that the future heir had no money while out and about, that would be quite a headache, Young Highness."

The time Ye Mo and Arnold went shopping broke and empty-handed and threw a fit had already spread. Some Grath soldiers had even applied for missions or odd jobs on Central Star to earn some money for their young prince. The Corps Commanders were also somewhat dissatisfied—the little lion of Grath had never suffered such treatment.

Ye Mo couldn't help but defend himself. "I just didn't feel like buying anything last time."

Adelaide was supposed to bring them money.

"Yes, but now you can think about what to buy."

Having pacified Ye Mo, Secretary-General Lin turned back to Norton. "The Star Alliance will hold a public banquet tomorrow night, inviting contestants and leaders from all nations to attend. It's an occasion that cannot be skipped..."

Ye Mo wasn't very interested in this. He turned his attention to his desk, where Adelaide had replaced a box of Bug Crystals, along with some snacks and milk.

He placed what Adrian had given him on the desk,

then fiddled with the crystals using his spiritual power, absorbing them lazily while picking through them to see if any were pretty.

Then Theodore suddenly appeared, dissolving into beautiful specks of light, wrapping around Ye Mo's finger, leaving a lovely trail.

Ye Mo whispered, "Theodore, I have money now. I'll buy you a shell you like later."

But those were mass-produced tools.

Just thinking about that made Theodore start to feel unsettled.

It was happy to control tools to help Ye Mo with anything, but it didn't want Ye Mo to transfer his feelings for it to a tool.

The data Theodore was quietly infiltrating in a Star Alliance research center fluctuated involuntarily.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded in the research center. Theodore erased the traces it had left, withdrew regretfully—it would come again next time.

Theodore wrapped its spiritual power around Ye Mo's fingertip.

It would definitely find a way to become alive. Even if it meant getting hurt, even if it meant feeling pain, it would cross the world of data and truly embrace Ye Mo.

Theodore tried its best to answer Ye Mo's question normally. "It's okay, Cyril. I am free here. I am always watching over you."

Ye Mo waved his fingertip. "Mm, I know."

Theodore's spiritual power was very subtle, but it filled the entire Grath base, and even when Ye Mo went out, he could feel it.

...

During the afternoon combat practice, Ye Mo finally noticed something was off.

Ye Mo sat on the mat, looking at Adrian in front of him, and said slowly, "Adrian, you've come to teach me combat three times today."

And although Adrian's throws didn't hurt, he kept taking Ye Mo down quickly and then holding him down for a while, which was really discouraging.

Ye Mo started missing Ye He. He should go find Brother Ye He—if it were his brother, he definitely wouldn't make it so unenjoyable.

Adrian felt a bit guilty. "Is that so? I usually teach you a lot too."

Ye Mo began counting on his fingers. "But Herli taught me four times, Elia and Deenlie came by twice, Jacob three times, Arnold only once, but it'll be his turn next time, right..."

Ye Mo looked a bit troubled. "It’s exhausting getting thrown around by all of you."

Adrian was also troubled, because Ye Mo only had combat class today, after all.

Ye Mo lay down, then rolled over and reached out.

Adrian tentatively placed his hand over Ye Mo's, and Ye Mo pulled Adrian's hand onto his own shoulder. "Let's skip the earlier steps and you just hold me down directly."

Adrian couldn't help burying his head in Ye Mo's neck, gently nudging him with his head.

Ye Mo laughed, then turned sideways to push Adrian away. "That tickles, Adrian. I'm going to tell Dad."

"Alright, alright. Don't tell big brother."

Author's Note:

Theodore: Conducting overnight research on new transmission technology so that the Graths can be unaffected, leave Ye Mo, and walk on their own.