Free Web NovelThis was a very serious problem that deserved attention.
Going from two legs to walking on four little paws was such a sudden change that Wen Yuzhi had a hard time adjusting.
Of course, for most of the Saint Clan, they would have been more than happy to keep the fluffy little prince in their arms. They would even gladly carry him around forever.
After all, with a little prince this cute, who could possibly resist wanting to hold him?
Before Wen Yuzhi turned into his beast form, the Saint Clan had always been completely indifferent to those fluffy creatures that were so wildly adored across the interstellar world.
They didn’t think such weak little things were cute, and they didn’t think there was anything special about all that fur in the first place.
The Saint Clan’s standards of beauty had always been extremely fixed.
They almost always revolved around strength, hardness, and overwhelming power.
Just like Mansendis’s beast form, with its incomparably massive body, indestructible scales, bone wings broad enough to blot out the sky, and a tail capable of crushing anything in its path.
That was the direction they admired most.
But now...
They looked at the palm-sized snowball in front of them.
It had no hard scales, no powerful bone wings or tail. All it had was soft fur as fluffy as dandelion down, soft little wings and a soft little tail, and...
those tiny paws resting against Mansendis, with their faintly visible pink paw pads.
No matter how they looked at it, the cub’s appearance was very far from the Saint Clan’s usual aesthetic, and it didn’t fit the Salilaino bloodline’s long-standing image of strength.
And yet the Saint Clan simply could not look away from the little prince.
That same fragility, placed on some other creature, would leave them indifferent. Placed on the cub, though, they found it unbearably adorable.
The protective instinct buried deep inside every one of them was on the verge of exploding.
Pairs of vertical pupils practically glowed as they stared at the snowball nestled in Mansendis’s arms.
Wen Yuzhi...
He blinked, his ears twitched, and even just his simple breathing...
The Saint Clan watching the scene: “!!!”
Some fierce emotional impact crashed through their minds.
It made those towering, cold, hard Saint Clan breathe faster, their pupils constricting as scales gradually surfaced over their bodies.
Their brains had already stopped working entirely. All they could think about was the little prince, now turned into a fluffy bundle.
Mu Luo watched all of this happen with their own eyes. At once astonished that these icy Saint Clan could lose composure like this, and looking at Wen Yuzhi, Mu Luo couldn’t even count how many times the same thought had risen in their heart.
How could a cub this cute and well-behaved have been born into the Saint Clan, the most notoriously fierce race in the galaxy, instead of the Xi’er Clan?
Naturally, Mu Luo would never dare say something like that in front of so many Saint Clan.
If Mu Luo did, this entire room of Saint Clan, all of whom treated their little prince like a treasure, would tear Mu Luo apart alive in the next second.
So Mu Luo only dared sigh about it inwardly. Outwardly, they still put on a highly professional front.
“Even a cub can’t be spoiled too much. A proper amount of walking practice will also help the little prince master his beast form more quickly.”
Strictly speaking, a Saint Clan member’s beast form was their true form. Their human appearance was only a mimicry they used to make daily life more convenient.
But the form they were most familiar with, and most used to, was still their true one.
The trouble was that Wen Yuzhi’s situation was special. He had been human for so many years that he was long accustomed to walking on two legs.
Who would have thought that one day he would have to learn how to walk on four little paws?
Mansendis set the cub back down on the bed.
Under the gaze of the entire room, Wen Yuzhi took a deep breath and took the first step of his beast form.
A fluffy little paw lifted.
A soft pink paw pad came down.
Perfect—!
That first little paw landed steadily on the soft bedsheet.
Throughout the whole process, every Saint Clan present watched with almost bated breath.
Only when the cub’s little paw landed perfectly did their slightly contracted pupils ease a little.
Mansendis, in particular, never took his eyes off Wen Yuzhi for even a moment.
When the cub instinctively looked toward him, the silver-haired sovereign praised him.
“Very good.”
Getting praised by Dad made Wen Yuzhi happy too.
He immediately pushed himself onward, ready to take the second step in one go.
But the second little paw had only just lifted when, because the bed was too soft, Wen Yuzhi’s center of gravity inevitably shifted the instant the paw came up.
Ah—!
The cub, who had just been walking fine a second ago, wobbled, then slowly started to tip to one side.
“.....!!!”
The little prince was about to fall—!
The moment they realized that—
Fortunately, Mansendis had been watching the cub the whole time.
The instant he noticed Wen Yuzhi losing his balance, Mansendis had already reached out.
Wen Yuzhi landed right in his hand.
“Oh!”
Wen Yuzhi was still a little dazed.
The fur all over his body puffed up in fright, and because he had rolled into a ball, the cub—already fluffy and round to begin with—now looked even more like a fuzzy little cotton puff.
A pitiful little cotton puff at that, curled up against Mansendis.
Only after quite a while did Wen Yuzhi slowly recover.
His head was still lowered, and the fluffy ears on either side drooped down as if in dejection, limp and listless.
Wen Yuzhi hadn’t expected that he would fall on only the second step.
And in front of everyone, no less...
Saying it out loud somehow felt a little too embarrassing...
Sure enough, he still wasn’t used to this body.
Wen Yuzhi lowered his head, a little disheartened.
And seeing the little prince so downcast, the group of fiercely protective Saint Clan present couldn’t help frowning as they all turned to look at Mu Luo, the one who had suggested this.
There even seemed to be a trace of blame in their eyes.
Their expressions practically said, their little prince was still so small, so what if he got carried around a little?
They wished they could personally hold the little prince and carry him wherever they went.
Looking at the cub’s crestfallen expression, even Mu Luo briefly began to doubt whether they had been too strict.
“Actually... there’s no need to rush. We can take it slow, step by step. The little prince is still very gifted. Didn’t the first step go well?”
Mu Luo tried to speak up and comfort him.
Unfortunately, although Wen Yuzhi could tell Mu Luo was trying to console him, the thin-skinned cub still felt embarrassed by the awkward scene just now.
His fluffy tail moved, then instinctively came up to block in front of him.
Wen Yuzhi wanted to use it to hide his embarrassment.
Little did he know, the cub’s shy appearance only made the Saint Clan want even more to touch those furry ears, twitching back and forth above his head.
Of course, they could only think about it. Among everyone present, only Mansendis could not only think it, but actually reach out and do it.
The silver-haired sovereign gently rubbed the tip of the cub’s ear.
When Wen Yuzhi looked over, Mansendis lowered his eyes and said, “Zhizhi, do you want to try again? This time, Dad will stay with you.”
Wen Yuzhi hesitated, but in the end he still nodded.
This time, Mansendis set the cub down on the table.
Falling on the bed didn’t hurt, but it was too soft, and the cub couldn’t keep his footing easily. A firmer tabletop was better for walking. frёeωebɳovel.com
And with so many Saint Clan standing nearby watching, even if Wen Yuzhi really did fall, there was no way they would let the cub get bumped or hurt.
So the second round of walking practice officially began.
With the experience of the first attempt, Wen Yuzhi was much more cautious this time.
He carefully stretched out a little paw.
This time, he paid attention to maintaining his balance.
The cub looked intensely focused. Even his fluffy ears stood high, and his tail swayed slightly.
If you didn’t look closely, you might have thought this was a kitten crouching in a hunting pose.
Who could have imagined that the truth was a royal-blood Saint Clan cub learning how to walk?
And for something as simple as walking, a whole crowd of the Saint Clan’s highest-ranking figures had gathered around the cub with painstaking care,
all afraid that the fluffy little thing might really fall.
Wen Yuzhi didn’t disappoint them.
He walked a little unsteadily, but he still managed to take several steps.
There were, of course, a few times when he almost fell.
But before the surrounding Saint Clan could rush in to help, Wen Yuzhi would wobble and steady himself all over again.
One step, two steps...
The cub staggered and struggled, but in the end, he still made it all the way in front of Mansendis.
“Dad...!”
Wen Yuzhi cried out excitedly, his eyes shining.
That bright, unmistakable delight seemed to come partly from being happy that he had learned to walk, and partly from the joy of being able to come to Mansendis’s side.
Watching the cub work so hard to walk toward him, Mansendis felt a strange ache in his heart, one he couldn’t quite put into words.
At that moment, the silver-haired sovereign chose to follow his instincts. He scooped the cub straight into his arms.
He held him tightly, pressing the cub against his chest.
It looked as though he were holding the most precious treasure he had in the world.
“Dad...”
Wen Yuzhi was a little surprised when he was picked up.
But he quickly relaxed, leaning naturally and intimately against Mansendis’s chest.
His little tail swayed back and forth, even curling itself around Mansendis’s wrist and wrapping tightly around Dad in a possessive little coil.
Since there were other Saint Clan present, the hug didn’t last too long.
Mansendis loosened his hold, but he didn’t set the cub down. He still kept him in his arms.
“Zhizhi walked very well.”
Mansendis was no longer the new father he had once been, awkward even when tucking in a blanket or coaxing a cub to sleep.
He already knew that cubs needed encouragement and affirmation, especially a sensitive child like Wen Yuzhi. Because of that, he was never stingy with praise.
Toward anyone else, Mansendis would naturally never have this kind of patience. But toward his own child, he was willing to use every word of praise he knew on the cub.
And after being praised, it was visible to the naked eye that the cub’s mood lifted little by little, the gloom from before swept clean away.
Mond, watching the time, promptly reminded them, “It’s time for the little prince to eat.”
This was usually Wen Yuzhi’s mealtime.
And after sleeping for so long, he hadn’t felt it when he had just woken up, but now that Mond mentioned it, Wen Yuzhi realized he was a little hungry too.
He tapped Mansendis with a little paw, signaling to Dad that he wanted to eat.
Mansendis took the opportunity to gently rub the cub’s ears again in reassurance.
Then he carried the little fluffball in his arms toward the dining hall.
Along the way, Wen Yuzhi’s new appearance drew countless sideways glances from the Saint Clan throughout the base.
Wait... the fluffy bundle in the king’s arms... that was the little prince?!
The news spread from ten to a hundred and on and on like that. By the time Mansendis carried Wen Yuzhi into the dining hall, the entire base already knew the little prince had taken on beast form.
It probably wouldn’t be long before the entire Saint Clan knew as well.
Wen Yuzhi, however, hadn’t noticed any of this at all. At the moment, he was still sitting there obediently while Mond helped tie a bib around him.
That’s right. The bib had made its return.
Because they were worried that soup or other liquid food might drip onto him and dirty that beautiful, brand-new white fur, Wen Yuzhi had no choice but to put on the little floral bib again.
But once the food was set on the table, another problem appeared.
He seemed to have no idea how to hold a spoon with paws.
Wen Yuzhi tried it once, then helplessly gave up.
And when he turned his head, a whole cluster of Saint Clan were staring at him with bright, eager eyes.
Their restless expressions made it obvious they wanted to feed their little prince themselves.
Unfortunately, with the silver-haired sovereign present, that wish was destined to fail.
Mansendis had no intention at all of handing the task of caring for the cub over to other Saint Clan either.
He personally cut a small piece of meat and brought it to Wen Yuzhi’s mouth.
Wen Yuzhi...
He felt a little ashamed, but after struggling with it for a moment, he still ate the meat Mansendis offered him.
Chew chew chew...
Chew chew chew..........
The cub’s wings and ears were all moving with effort.
But after quite a while, Wen Yuzhi was still chewing on that same piece of meat.
Seeing this, Mansendis sensed something was off. He had the cub open his mouth, and then saw that where teeth should have been, there were only tiny baby teeth the size of grains of rice, white and small, clearly still brand-new milk teeth.
No wonder he had been chewing so long without managing to swallow the meat.
It wasn’t just that his bite strength was weak. It was basically nonexistent.
Mond fell silent for a moment, then took the initiative to admit fault.
“This was my negligence. I failed to take the little prince’s condition into account. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty, little prince. I’ll go arrange something suitable for the little prince to eat at once.”
With that, the old chief steward hurried off in a rush.
When Mond came back again, there was already a small baby bottle in hand, complete with a rubber nipple.
Now it was Wen Yuzhi’s turn to fall silent.
Mond, however, remained perfectly calm. “The little prince’s beast form awakened too suddenly, so the kitchen had not prepared the corresponding food. I searched for quite a while, and milk was the only thing suitable for the little prince’s current condition.”
Mond had his reasons.
First, Wen Yuzhi had always been drinking milk anyway. Second, it was liquid, so it didn’t require chewing, which made it suitable for Wen Yuzhi’s current situation, with only those tiny baby teeth.
Actually, by that standard, nutrient solution would have worked too.
But Wen Yuzhi had tried Saint Clan nutrient solution once before, and he hadn’t liked it, so after that, it had never appeared on the cub’s table again.
Sure enough, the moment he heard there was nutrient solution, Wen Yuzhi decisively chose the milk.
Saint Clan nutrient solution wasn’t exactly undrinkable, but it had no taste at all, bland as plain water. Except it wasn’t plain water. After drinking too much of it, Wen Yuzhi always felt like his sense of taste was about to disappear.
After trying it once, Wen Yuzhi had immediately blacklisted nutrient solution from his menu.
And now that Wen Yuzhi had agreed, the question became—
who was going to feed him?
Mond felt that, in service to his sovereign, he would be very happy to take on the duty himself.
Alvin indicated that they could do it too.
Merita went so far as to roll up her sleeves. A job like bottle-feeding could absolutely be left to the head maid.
Yiluo and Feier said nothing, but their eyes were equally full of longing.
Wen Yuzhi had already felt a little embarrassed to begin with, but now he was afraid this group of Saint Clan might actually start fighting over it.
The tips of his ears rose unconsciously.
Mansendis lightly tapped the tabletop with a knuckle.
The room instantly fell silent.
He cast Mond a glance. With a sigh, Mond understood that Mansendis intended to do it personally. Though somewhat regretful, Mond still placed the bottle into the silver-haired sovereign’s hand.
But after taking it, Mansendis didn’t feed him immediately. He first checked the temperature, and only after confirming it was just right did he bring the nipple to the cub’s mouth.
Wen Yuzhi’s mind was still tangled with embarrassment, but the moment he smelled the milk, his hungry body reacted on instinct and bit down on the nipple.
By the time he realized what was happening, he was already sucking.
Warm milk flowed into his mouth.
Glug glug.
Sweet, fragrant milk slipped down into his stomach, and that warm feeling made it impossible for Wen Yuzhi to suppress his body’s natural instinctive response.
Before he even realized it, his round eyes had narrowed slightly, his fluffy ears drooped, his little tail swayed back and forth,
and both tiny paws pressed against the silver-haired «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» sovereign’s hand, kneading lightly like a nursing kitten.
Th-this was way too cute...
Every Saint Clan present stared at the scene with burning eyes.
Alvin silently opened their light-brain and switched it into recording mode, intending to save the image of the cub drinking milk.
What? You’re asking what was so interesting about drinking milk?
The Saint Clan present would tell you they could watch the little prince drink milk all day.
Glug glug.
Wen Yuzhi was seriously busy eating.
This was also Mansendis’s first time bottle-feeding a cub.
To him, the experience felt very new.
Added to the scene from earlier, when the cub had been learning to walk, it felt as though he had suddenly been given a chance to make up for that missing part of the cub’s growth—the part he had never been there to witness or take part in.
He couldn’t help looking down at the cub in his arms.
Wen Yuzhi was still happily drinking milk.
As if sensing Mansendis’s gaze, the cub looked over while still biting the nipple.
Mansendis held back for a moment, but in the end he still couldn’t resist leaning down and pressing a kiss to the little immature horn on top of the cub’s head.
Wen Yuzhi thought Dad wanted to play with him.
After thinking about it for a second, he let go of the nipple and planted a little smack of a kiss against the silver-haired sovereign’s cheek.
The coldness in Mansendis’s eyes gradually faded, and his expression softened.
“Thank you, Zhizhi...”
Thank you for still being willing to give me another chance—
a chance to make up for everything that had once been missing.
