Free Web NovelSnowflakes drifted down in a swirling scatter, covering the trees in the courtyard.
Wen Yuzhi stood in front of an enormous floor-to-ceiling window. Through the glass, he could clearly see the snowy scene outside.
But the room he was in had a constant-temperature system, able to provide heat twenty-four hours a day without interruption, keeping the indoors at a level where the body felt most comfortable.
Even if Wen Yuzhi wore only a set of sleepwear while walking around the palace, he wouldn’t feel cold.
The Saint Clan didn’t need things like this. The only one who truly needed a greenhouse-like warmth, carefully tended and protected, was Wen Yuzhi—this little Highness who had only arrived on Dark Tower Star yesterday.
Mu Luo, as the only doctor in the Saint Clan at present, had also come along yesterday and moved into the palace.
The reminder Mu Luo gave—that the little Highness was innately deficient, with a constitution weaker than ordinary cubs—also spread through the entire palace.
“The little Highness... isn’t healthy... needs protecting.”
All that long-winded theory about medical knowledge after that—none of these Saint Clan remembered a single bit.
They only remembered: the little Highness was very fragile, very easy to get hurt, and they had to protect him carefully, carefully, carefully.
Even though, in the Saint Clan’s concepts, there wasn’t really such a word as “protect,” the moment they saw that teenager leaning beside Mansendis—so delicate and soft in appearance—they suddenly sprouted an impulse to shelter him.
The little Highness was still so young, and he didn’t have hard scales like they did. What if he got bumped or scraped?
Just thinking there was such a possibility made these Saint Clan feel a wave of discomfort they couldn’t suppress.
Before Wen Yuzhi even woke up, the Saint Clan serving in the palace had already, on their own initiative, redecorated from top to bottom the palace hall where the little Highness and the king lived.
It wasn’t just that they added a constant-temperature system. Every place you could see inside the palace was covered with thick blankets, and anything sharp—sharp for a cub—had been properly stored away in the warehouse.
So when Wen Yuzhi saw things again, it was already an upgraded, renovated palace.
Looking at the refreshed living space, compared to how it looked yesterday when he’d first moved in, Wen Yuzhi could clearly feel the Saint Clan’s concern for him in all those small details.
So when he saw Merita, he directly curved his brows and smiled as he greeted this female Saint Clan member.
“Good morning, Miss Merita.”
Merita was clearly a little flustered by that. She nervously pinched her skirt. Her face still looked cold as ice, but those fiery red vertical pupils were exceptionally bright.
“Good morning, little Highness. You should eat...”
However, maybe because she was too nervous, Merita’s tone sounded a bit stiff and dry.
Wen Yuzhi didn’t mind. When Merita asked where he wanted to dine, he glanced at the snow view outside and asked, “Can I eat here?”
Merita nodded. “You can.”
As long as the little Highness liked it—forget eating here. Even if he wanted to eat while looking at the sea of stars in the depths of space, there would be no problem.
Getting a definite yes to what he wanted put Wen Yuzhi in a very good mood.
He looked around, a little curious, and asked, “Um... where is your king?”
Wen Yuzhi didn’t call him Father or Dad. The wording was still relatively distant.
Merita seemed not to feel anything about the little Highness being polite and formal about Mansendis at all, and replied very calmly, “The king went out again last night.”
Wen Yuzhi didn’t know that Mansendis had come into the room to look at him before leaving. He only hadn’t expected Mansendis to be so busy—he’d only just returned, and already had to go out again.
—
The palace meals were clearly a whole level above what they’d had on the warship, and the structure of the food also suited Salilaino better.
Wen Yuzhi sat at the table enjoying the food, while also admiring the snow drifting down outside the window.
It was only at this point that he remembered he hadn’t opened his light-brain in a long time.
“Oh no!”
Wen Yuzhi exclaimed with a bit of annoyed regret.
Thinking about it, from hanging up that video call in the bathroom until now, it had been almost a week.
At first it was because he felt awkward and didn’t know how to explain, so he put off replying. But later, one thing after another happened, and without realizing it, he forgot entirely about replying at all.
Now, seeing the snow, Wen Yuzhi suddenly felt like taking a picture—and only then remembered he’d basically forgotten his good friend.
Wen Yuzhi hurriedly opened the light-brain.
Sure enough, there were already several little red dots on the message bar.
[Just showered.]
[I accidentally tapped it too.]
Those were messages from the other person. Wen Yuzhi never replied, and the other person seemed not to mind. After that, more messages came...
...caught the cat, got found out.]
The photo attached showed a chubby tabby cat being grabbed by the scruff of the neck by what looked like a teacher.
It seemed like the other person had noticed it by accident in daily life, thought it looked nice, and casually snapped a photo to share.
That was what they did most often.
It wasn’t that they had to talk about anything. Sometimes it was simply sharing a bit of each other’s lives.
Wen Yuzhi also took a photo and sent it over.
Snow scenery outside the window. Warm-colored furniture around him. And steaming food on the table.
Everything looked comfortable.
Xi Heyan had waited so long before finally hearing the message alert tone he’d set for Wen Yuzhi.
Looking at the photo, before even replying, a faint smile had already surfaced in Xi Heyan’s eyes without thinking.
[Is it snowing where you are?]
The message was sent out, and not long after it was immediately replied to. Wen Yuzhi didn’t think much of it, only feeling that lately the other person’s reply speed had gotten faster and faster.
Then he replied: [Yeah.]
[I’m in a new home now.]
[Are you getting used to it?]
[It’s okay. They... I mean, my new family, they’re all pretty good to me.]
Wen Yuzhi knew the Saint Clan didn’t have a very good reputation across the galaxy, so he kept it vague and used “family” as a substitute.
There was no way Xi Heyan could guess that the “family” Wen Yuzhi meant was the Saint Clan—those with a fearsome name across the entire galaxy.
Because in Wen Yuzhi’s words, those Saint Clan who were more brutal than the next on the battlefield all became—
[Alvin is very gentle. Always careful, and every time can prepare what I need to eat ahead of time.]
[Miss Merita seems like she doesn’t really know how to smile, but I think her eyes are very pretty.]
[Mr. Mond talks in a really refined way. The room I’m living in now is supposedly arranged and set up by him. I’m thinking about whether I should give a gift to thank him.]
From Wen Yuzhi’s words, Alvin, Merita, and Mond were all good to him. They were kind, and treated him like family.
But in reality?
Alvin was one of the adjutants of the Saint Clan tyrant Mansendis, and many of the Saint Clan’s external dealings were negotiated by Alvin.
A gentle, polite smile was always on the face—and yet on the negotiation table, that same smile could stay there while cutting off the opponent’s head.
Merita might not even rank in Alvin’s eyes, but she was the sharpest blade under Selet. Killing enemies, fighting on the front lines, tearing apart mechs with bare hands—she was skilled at nearly everything. In a sense, Mond choosing her was also because she could protect the little Highness up close.
As for Mond, the oldest of them, Mond looked like the least threatening, but even Mansendis respected this elder who had lived through four sovereigns and possessed dazzling military achievements.
Their danger rating in the outside world was not low. No matter who it was, it would ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) be hard to connect them to Wen Yuzhi’s written descriptions.
Gentle, careful, kind...
Just imagining those words on the Saint Clan felt chilling.
.....
This meal took longer than usual.
After he was full, Wen Yuzhi sat by the window holding a cup of milk and started thinking.
What he said to Xi Heyan about wanting to send a gift as thanks wasn’t empty talk.
Back on the warship, he’d already thought about how to express his gratitude to Mu Luo and Alvin. After thinking it through, Wen Yuzhi felt that making the gift with his own hands was best.
On Dark Tower Star, nothing was lacking. Even if Wen Yuzhi didn’t send an ordinary gift, he also knew the Saint Clan wouldn’t like those things.
So it had to have sincerity.
Wen Yuzhi looked at the berries faintly showing through the snow outside, and an answer quickly formed in his mind.
He was going to make some small desserts.
In a cold winter, a sweet-and-tart berry tart was a very suitable gift.
He acted the moment he decided. Wen Yuzhi hurried back to the room and changed into thicker clothes, then found a small hand basket to carry.
Once everything was ready, all that was left was heading out to the destination.
Wen Yuzhi had just noticed that on the left side of the first floor of this palace hall there was a door that led to the courtyard.
What he didn’t expect was that even near a side door like that, there were guards on duty.
Two Ge De.
They also had the ability to mimic a form, but not completely. In some places, you could still see nonhuman traits.
The two Ge De standing in front of Wen Yuzhi had their arms covered in a layer of black exoskeleton, like the spines of some kind of creature, patterns stretching all the way up to their necks.
It looked eerie, and yet had a strange, grotesque beauty.
They were tall too, solidly built. Standing there straight-backed gave the feeling of a wall.
When Wen Yuzhi walked closer, he had to tilt his head up to see their faces clearly.
Cold vertical pupils moved slightly. These two large Saint Clan lowered their heads. The moment their gaze touched Wen Yuzhi’s figure, it was visibly so that their eyes softened a little.
One even crouched down. He patted his arm, and the exoskeleton covering it immediately began to fade away.
Even so, he stayed in that posture, only staring at the teenager in front of him without blinking, those vertical pupils fixed.
Wen Yuzhi met the gaze, and suddenly seemed to understand the intent.
“You want me to sit on you?” Wen Yuzhi asked, not entirely sure.
The other slowly nodded.
Then, with a blank face, this Saint Clan member spoke.
“Cold...”
The voice was very hoarse, like someone who didn’t use the voice much.
Cold.
Only that one word.
But Wen Yuzhi instantly understood what he meant.
There was snow outside. Walking on it would be cold.
They didn’t know where Wen Yuzhi was going, but they wanted to carry him so he wouldn’t catch a chill.
If he didn’t step on the snow, the little Highness naturally wouldn’t feel cold.
Once he understood that Saint Clan logic, Wen Yuzhi went a bit speechless.
This was the first time he’d come into contact with a primitive-tier.
These primitive-tier looked more beastlike, and their temperaments and behavior were as savage, brutal, and dangerous as beasts.
They weren’t like the Heimo, who could communicate. This was a true group of killing machines that only obeyed orders.
Before, out of worry that the little Highness would be scared, Alvin had carefully held these primitive-tier back and not let them appear in front of Wen Yuzhi.
Wen Yuzhi’s impression of primitive-tier had also stayed stuck on “probably very dangerous, hard to communicate with, and so on.”
But once he truly interacted with them, he realized these primitive-tier were unexpectedly blunt and simple.
They didn’t have complicated thoughts. They didn’t talk much, and used body language to express what they meant.
Simple and rough.
But also sincere.
Instead, Wen Yuzhi was the one who didn’t quite know what to do in the face of kindness that was so straightforward it was like a direct shot.
The etiquette and upbringing from the Wen family made him instinctively want to refuse aloud, to avoid troubling them.
But when this Saint Clan member saw the little Highness still not moving, he tilted his head in confusion.
By habit, he should have stayed where he was and waited for instructions. That was the first thing every Ge De learned from birth: obey a superior’s orders.
But this time, he actually thought a little.
Then he did something that could be called bold.
Wen Yuzhi only felt his feet go light.
By the time he reacted, his view had already been lifted by a lot.
The tall Ge De guard bent the arm and seated Wen Yuzhi in the crook, easily lifting the teenager up.
To keep the little Highness from falling, the other hand was thoughtfully placed behind him, carefully supporting.
So high...
Wen Yuzhi first marveled at the height, and only then realized he’d been picked up.
And the way the other was holding him was exactly the posture an adult used to carry a small child.
So...
Wen Yuzhi blinked.
Had he been treated like a cub and coddled?
But he had to admit, being carried felt better than walking himself. At least his shoes wouldn’t get wet, and he wouldn’t feel cold.
Even the snowflakes above were blocked out by the guard’s bone wings.
Wind and snow could no longer intrude.
“Thank you.”
Wen Yuzhi thanked them.
He didn’t know if it was imagination, but when he said that, Wen Yuzhi saw the pupils of these two Ge De guards seem to shrink slightly.
Very subtle. Not obvious.
But the killing aura around them softened bit by bit, like snow melting.
“But... is it okay if you aren’t standing over there?” Wen Yuzhi asked, worried that this counted as leaving their post without permission.
The two Ge De shook their heads, still expressionless, and said, “In the courtyard... doesn’t count...”
The Saint Clan’s mental force could cover a wide range. As long as they were within the courtyard, everything that happened here was something they could know.
Wen Yuzhi thought they needed to stare outside with full attention, but in reality, this entire courtyard was already covered under the two Ge De’s mental force.
If any enemy dared intrude, what greeted them would not be such a friendly attitude.
Hearing that answer, Wen Yuzhi finally relaxed. As long as it wouldn’t make them commit a mistake, it was fine.
He had them go over to the shrubbery.
Pushing aside the snow, there were quite a lot of berries underneath.
Seeing the little Highness wanted to collect those small fruits, the Ge De holding him first cleared away some of the snow on the ground, then gently set the teenager down.
But the bone wings that blocked the snow weren’t withdrawn. Instead, they drew in slightly, shielding Wen Yuzhi from the wind and snow coming from all directions.
The other Ge De helped by holding the small basket at the side.
Every time Wen Yuzhi picked one, he silently moved the basket forward a little.
If they hadn’t sensed that the little Highness preferred using his own hands, they probably would have wanted to harvest all the berries in this area for him personally.
There were several kinds of berries in the shrubbery. Wen Yuzhi simply picked some of each kind, planning to take them back and sort them out slowly later.
With two “assistants,” even this tedious picking turned especially fast.
Very soon, the little basket was full.
Wen Yuzhi stood up and looked at the harvest with satisfaction.
“I troubled you because of my things. Let’s go back now. Later I’ll make berry tarts for you.”
Neither Ge De had ever eaten berry tarts.
To them, it was a completely unfamiliar phrase—but that didn’t stop their eyes from lighting up the instant they heard Wen Yuzhi say it.
The little Highness was going to make something for them!
Back on the warship, the little Highness had only given fruit to a few high-tier Heimo. Once those Heimo returned to Dark Tower Star, they spread it everywhere that they’d received a gift from the little Highness.
These primitive-tier were envious, but they also knew that was an honor reserved for high-tier. With their status, they likely weren’t qualified to receive a reward from the little Highness.
But now Wen Yuzhi said he would make berry tarts for them.
How could these two Ge De not feel thrilled and overjoyed?
Wen Yuzhi didn’t know that just making a small dessert had these two men—both over two meters tall—so excited they could barely contain themselves.
On the way back, the wind and snow had already eased. Warm sunlight rose again, shining on the white snow surface and making the piled snow on the ground look like it was glowing.
Seeing a snowy view like that, Wen Yuzhi suddenly really wanted to get down and build a snowman.
“Um... what’s your name?”
He wanted to call to the Ge De at his side, but then remembered he didn’t seem to know the name.
“Yiluo.”
Wen Yuzhi looked at the other Ge De.
The other replied, “Feier.”
“Yiluo... Feier...”
Wen Yuzhi repeated the names once, then said, “I want to get down and build a snowman.”
However, Yiluo, used to obeying orders, didn’t set him down right away.
Looking at the little Highness in his arms, those cold vertical pupils were, for once, tangled with hesitation.
If he got down... the shoes would get wet... wet shoes felt bad... and then he’d get sick...
Wen Yuzhi saw the worry and explained, “Just to build one snowman. As soon as it’s done, I’ll go right back and change. I won’t catch a cold.”
He promised it with absolute certainty.
Facing the little Highness’s expectant gaze, Yiluo chose to set him down even though he was still worried. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
But no matter where Wen Yuzhi went, Yiluo and Feier followed closely behind.
Wen Yuzhi knew they still weren’t at ease, and silently allowed them to stay by his side.
He found a spot with lots of snow, made three small snowballs like practice, then stacked them together into a small snowman.
“Look.”
He held the small snowman up in front of Yiluo and Feier, shook it lightly, then set it down in front of Yiluo.
“This is for you.”
As for Feier, Wen Yuzhi didn’t play favorites. He grabbed another handful of snow and made a new one for Feier too.
A bowl of water set perfectly level—both Saint Clan were soothed at once.
Once their attention was pulled to the little snowmen in their hands, Wen Yuzhi finally let loose with the plan for the big snowman—no, the big snow beast.
What he wanted to shape was Mansendis’s true body.
That silver giant beast that, even thinking about it now, still left him shaken.
Of course, he didn’t have the ability to recreate an exact copy. Wen Yuzhi could only try hard to make a scaled-down version.
And even a scaled-down version wasn’t simple.
Before Yiluo and Feier could react, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly rolled a big snowball to serve as the silver giant beast’s body, then used branches to trim the outline bit by bit.
But by this point, Yiluo and Feier had reacted—the little Highness didn’t seem to be planning to go back yet.
Wen Yuzhi blinked. He lowered his voice, and even let a trace of coaxing, spoiled tone slip in.
“Just a little bit more and it’ll be done.”
Faced with a little Highness acting nice like that, Yiluo and Feier nodded in a daze.
And then they listened as—
“Mm, wait, just the very last bit...”
“Really soon, really soon. Just this one bit and it’s done.”
“This side looks like it’s still missing a bit, I need to add it.”
Wen Yuzhi said “a little bit,” but for some reason this “little bit” seemed like it would never end.
Just as Yiluo and Feier were getting more and more muddled, Wen Yuzhi suddenly said, “Done!”
They snapped back like waking from a dream.
...Done meant it was time to go back, right?
Their eyes very clearly conveyed that meaning.
Wen Yuzhi also felt a little guilty about tricking them just now, and decided that after going back, he’d make an extra berry tart for them.
“This time it’s really done. Let’s go—”
Wen Yuzhi didn’t finish speaking.
The two Ge De in front of him suddenly turned grave.
Wen Yuzhi seemed to realize something.
He turned his head.
A hovercar had stopped outside.
The car door opened, and the one who stepped down was Mansendis.
He wasn’t wearing the usual silver-white military uniform. Instead, he had changed into a black uniform.
Dark. Solemn.
This deep color was especially striking in the snowfield, and it carried an oppressive weight.
The moment Mansendis appeared, the atmosphere in the courtyard seemed to freeze, turning stiff and heavy.
In that quiet, Wen Yuzhi’s gaze met his.
Click.
The branch in Wen Yuzhi’s hand fell to the ground.
