Free Web NovelWen Yuzhi had seen Mansendis wear a crown before.
Back then, what Mansendis wore was a black coronet. Thorny branches coiled around it like vines, with crimson blood gemstones set among them. It didn’t feel especially ornate; it was more cold, solemn, and austere.
But the crown inside the box this time was a completely different style.
It was bright, gorgeous, dazzling.
The entire crown’s frame was a radiant, warm gold. Against the velvet lining, it gleamed and glowed, giving off a blinding light like the sun.
Almost anyone who saw it would unconsciously be drawn in by its luster.
Wen Yuzhi was no exception.
He hadn’t expected something this precious to be inside the box.
This wasn’t a paper birthday hat anymore.
This was a real crown.
....This was way too valuable.
Wen Yuzhi immediately wanted to close the box.
But Mansendis had already picked the crown up.
The silver-haired sovereign glanced at it and was fairly satisfied with this newly forged crown.
Bright and warm... it really did match the cub’s aura.
Thinking that, the silver-haired sovereign placed it on Wen Yuzhi’s head. The motion was casual, as if what he was holding wasn’t some priceless crown at all, but just an ordinary hat grabbed at random.
Wen Yuzhi only felt his head sink slightly.
The crown that had been bigger than him while it sat in the box was now sitting steadily on his head.
This crown could automatically adjust its size according to the wearer’s build.
With Wen Yuzhi’s current size, the crown naturally shrank into a tiny little one.
And the thing that had always felt like a regret to the Saint Clan was finally made whole at this moment: the crown missing from the little Highness’s head had finally been filled in.
A coronet cast from pure gold pressed down on fine, soft silver hair, glittering brightly, as if they had been made to fit each other from the start.
Mond knew this crown would suit the cub, but the instant Mond saw Wen Yuzhi wearing it with their own eyes, the chief affairs officer’s gaze still drifted for a moment, beyond control.
Too perfect.
With a crown on, the cub looked exactly like a noble, proud little prince, as if he had never left the palace, as if he had always been bathed in power’s indulgent favor.
Mansendis also stared at Wen Yuzhi’s current appearance for a long time.
The crown’s shape had been chosen personally by him, with no inlays set into it at all.
But in fact, before the crown was formally cast, Mond had selected many expensive, rare gemstones and asked for Mansendis’s opinion.
Considering the little Highness’s status as heir, Mond had chosen some gemstones Salilaino had kept as treasured holdings in the past.
Even the crowns of past royal-blood heirs were included in the selection, and nearly every single stone would cause countless people to fight and scramble for it if it were released outside.
Yet after looking through them, Mansendis hadn’t chosen a single one.
Just as Alvin had suggested before, Mansendis also felt those ordinary gemstones weren’t worthy of sitting on his child’s head.
Just like every parent in the world, when Mansendis truly started learning how to be a dad, he also wished he could pile everything best in the world onto Wen Yuzhi. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
For this child, he always felt he still hadn’t done enough.
And besides, Wen Yuzhi had never once asked him for anything. So when it came to the rare chance of giving a gift, Mansendis thought: if he was going to give one, then he would give the best.
Ordinary crowns were set with gemstones.
But compared to gemstones, there was something even more precious, and even rarer.
When Alvin entered the study, Alvin discovered a holographic map spread out in front of Mansendis, spanning various star sectors and showing countless planets, large and small.
Was this going to be the Saint Clan’s territory expanding outward again?
As Alvin thought that, Alvin also considered that if there were another war, this time Selet would likely follow at the King’s side. Alvin would probably be left on Dark Tower Star.
That way, Alvin and the little Highness would still be able to see each other often.
Mansendis had no idea Alvin was secretly thinking about his cub. He was still staring at the map in front of him.
Some of the planets had been marked by him as ones that were, at least, passable to the eye.
After seeing the cub wearing a crown, an idea had formed in Mansendis’s mind.
He wanted to make a unique, one-of-a-kind coronet for his child: a coronet adorned with countless star cores.
After all, no matter how bright gemstones might be, they still couldn’t compare to the stars.
Mansendis wanted to give the cub the best crown. And what could be more precious and rare than star cores?
A star core was the core of a planet. Having it meant having ownership of that planet.
The Saint Clan owned the entire Ninth Star Sector. In principle, that meant Mansendis possessed its star cores.
Unfortunately, though the Ninth Star Sector looked vast, it was barren. Most of it was empty and desolate, and the star cores there...
...looked dull and ashy. They wouldn’t be suitable on a crown.
Mansendis eliminated them without hesitation.
That left only planets outside the Ninth Star Sector to choose from.
Like the water-blue planet the silver-haired sovereign had marked right now.
It was one of the merfolk’s planets. Not only was it dreamlike and beautiful in appearance, it also had abundant marine resources, which were things the Ninth Star Sector didn’t have.
It would be perfect to take it and give it to Wen Yuzhi: embed the star core into the crown, and grant the planet itself as a territory under the cub’s name.
Mansendis’s thinking was simple.
Before he completely lost his reason, he wanted to seize as much territory as possible for Wen Yuzhi.
Yes, the Saint Clan possessed the broadest lands and abundant mineral resources.
But in Mansendis’s view, it still wasn’t nearly enough.
What he wanted was for the entire universe to bow at his child’s feet, for the light of the stars to flicker on his child’s crown.
The sky full of stars... all of it is the gift I give you.
........
After receiving the gift, Wen Yuzhi clearly liked this little crown a lot. From time to time, he would reach up and touch it, checking whether it was still sitting properly on his head.
Even when he slept or bathed, he would carefully set the crown aside.
It was so important to Wen Yuzhi that it was almost on the same level as the clothes Mansendis had woven for him: both were things he cherished and treasured.
Even though Mond had told him that special materials had been added during casting and it wouldn’t be easily damaged, Wen Yuzhi still treated it with extreme care.
So much so that when he bumped into someone on the road, the very first thought in Wen Yuzhi’s mind was to protect his crown.
“Little Highness?!”
A cold, deep voice rang out from above.
Wen Yuzhi felt someone catch him in a palm.
Supporting the little crown, he lifted his head, only to abruptly meet a pair of emerald-green vertical pupils.
It was Selet.
This spot happened to be right at a corner. Wen Yuzhi hadn’t let Yiluo and Feier hold him. Instead, he was flying ahead on his own, and he hadn’t expected Selet to be coming this way at the same time.
With one moment of inattention, as Wen Yuzhi rounded the corner, he flew straight into Selet.
Fortunately, Selet reacted quickly too, reaching out and catching the cub before Wen Yuzhi hit the ground.
Selet’s brow was slightly furrowed, and under the heavy atmosphere, the expression on Selet’s face looked even colder.
In Wen Yuzhi’s eyes, it looked like this adjutant was somewhat displeased by his recklessness.
“Sorry, gu....”
Wen Yuzhi hurriedly tried to apologize.
But Selet still didn’t say a word.
The stern-faced Saint Clan member carefully checked Wen Yuzhi over.
Only after confirming that Wen Yuzhi hadn’t been seriously hurt from bumping into Selet’s forehead, and that it only looked a little red, did the taut string in Selet’s chest finally loosen.
As for Wen Yuzhi’s slightly flustered apology, Selet heard it too.
Selet lowered the gaze and said softly, “It was this subordinate’s fault.”
Because Selet had heard the sound of the cub’s wings and slowed down. Selet’s mind at the time had been full of nothing but how to greet the little Highness in a moment.
Given that Selet’s performance during their first meeting could only be called terrible, Selet had been thinking that this time, perhaps he could leave the little Highness with a better impression.
But Selet hadn’t expected the cub to fly straight into him.
Good thing the little Highness was fine.
Otherwise...
Selet’s eyes lowered. In the pupils hidden beneath the lashes, a trace of darkness flashed by, hard to detect.
Wen Yuzhi didn’t speak again. He took out a small board. This was also something Mond had prepared for him.
After a period of practice, Wen Yuzhi’s pronunciation could already manage a few other sounds, but it was still fairly blurry; longer sentences were basically impossible to say.
So Mond had thought of this method: let Wen Yuzhi write what he wanted to say on the board, and that way the cub could communicate normally with them.
And ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) right now, Wen Yuzhi was drawing and writing on the little board.
[Are you going to the study?]
Wen Yuzhi thought Selet entering the palace was to look for Mond or Mansendis. He was just about to tell Selet that Mond and Mansendis had both temporarily left the palace, when the Saint Clan member in front shook the head.
“This subordinate came to find you.”
Find him?
Wen Yuzhi blinked in confusion.
Then he heard Selet say, “It was the King’s instruction. This subordinate is to take you to the military headquarters for a look.”
Put simply, Mansendis had matters to handle, and Mond also had to leave the palace for a while. With both of them gone, they were afraid the cub would get bored inside the palace, so Selet was told to help bring the child along—no, to bring Wen Yuzhi to tour the military headquarters.
After all, regarding the matter of having Wen Yuzhi form a personal guard unit, the military side had already drawn up a list of candidates.
Selet bringing Wen Yuzhi over this time was also so the little Highness could meet these candidate soldiers, and also show up at the military headquarters.
The Saint Clan’s strength couldn’t be separated from their highly militarized internal structure.
And possessing an army was also one of the most important powers each royal-blood held. After Wen Yuzhi came of age, he too would have a legion that belonged to him.
So appearing at the military headquarters in advance was very necessary.
To reassure the cub, Selet even added, “The King will come over soon as well.”
Hearing that Mansendis would also be there, Wen Yuzhi finally gained a tiny bit of interest in the military headquarters he was about to visit.
Unbeknownst to Wen Yuzhi, after learning the little Highness was coming, the Saint Clan’s military headquarters was already sinking into an atmosphere both tense and excited.
