Free Web NovelRecently, none of the major star sectors had been particularly peaceful.
The Saint Clan’s sudden large-scale fleet deployment had left every race in the First Star Sector frightened for quite a while. Only after those Saint Clan warships withdrew and failed to make any further moves did the nearby races finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The only side that suffered devastating losses was the human empire.
At that moment, the last remaining glory of the Poes Empire was completely extinguished.
Because Bernard had collapsed in public, internal strife had nearly broken out within the empire itself. The nobles joined forces and applied pressure, and the Hoffmann imperial family had come dangerously close to being forced from power.
Yet just as the situation reached its most volatile point, when everyone believed Bernard would never wake again, he abruptly regained consciousness.
He sat in a wheelchair, his face pale and weak, the signs of illness impossible to hide.
But no one dared underestimate him because of that.
Even old, a lion king who had long ruled through accumulated authority was still a lion king.
Bernard had once led the empire into its most glorious age. Every minister present had knelt before him in Caesar Square and sworn loyalty.
That had been the empire’s finest era, the age everyone dreamed of returning to.
As the emperor who had built all of it with his own hands, Bernard had made the golden lion name of the Hoffmann royal family ring across every inch of imperial soil.
Those nobles could freely suppress the royal family while Bernard lay unconscious, but when faced with this aging ruler, they all quieted down in unspoken unison.
A storm that had been on the verge of erupting was cut off in time.
The nobles might still be restless in private, but as long as Bernard remained on the throne for even one more day, he would never allow anyone to shake the Hoffmann royal family’s position.
The empire’s situation returned once more to that delicate balance.
But many people understood that the balance would not last much longer. Whether today or tomorrow, the Poes Empire was destined to undergo a transformation that could no longer be avoided.
And aside from the human empire, the various rebel forces across interstellar space had also gone quiet recently.
That was thanks to the Saint Clan’s targeted strikes against the research institutes.
On the surface, the institutes that had been destroyed did not seem connected, but behind the scenes they were all tied in countless ways to the black market and even to various rebel organizations.
The Saint Clan’s actions were like a warning, forcing those once-arrogant powers to tuck in their tails and become cautious.
Still, the sudden “good behavior” of those hidden factions did not affect ordinary people’s daily lives.
The StarNet was still full of discussions about amusing gossip between planets, which race had run into major trouble again, and where war had broken out this time. freēwēbnovel.com
Recently, however, one piece of news had begun spreading farther and farther.
No one knew who had released it, but it claimed that a new royal blood had been born into the Saint Clan.
“Seriously? The Saint Clan has a new royal blood?”
“No way. This has to be fake, just another bored idiot putting out false news...”
Everyone’s first reaction to the rumor was disbelief.
Similar rumors had surfaced off and on over the years, and every time they were eventually proven to be fabrications deliberately spread by people trying to stir up attention.
After all, anything related to the Saint Clan had always been a hot topic on the StarNet, especially their royal bloods.
That special bloodline, their overwhelming power, their gifted abilities, and their role as leaders who could command the clan without condition all made them seem steeped in mystery.
Public interest in them had never been low.
Because of that, every year people would come out claiming that a new Saint Clan royal blood had appeared, and every year it would turn out to be fake news.
At first, people still believed it. But after hearing it too many times, they gradually stopped. And with Mansendis, who now controlled the Saint Clan, being universally known for his cold indifference, people found it even less believable.
Everyone knew that Mansendis had ascended the throne only after killing every other royal blood besides himself.
Naturally, people assumed that even if a new royal blood had truly been born, that tyrant would have killed it long ago.
“If it were me, I’d kill it too. Having the throne all to yourself would be amazing.”
Comments like that earned widespread agreement, which was why later rumors about a new royal blood being born were no longer taken seriously.
But this time, the fake news seemed to have been made up in suspiciously vivid detail.
It even listed so-called evidence, claiming that the baby egg that had exploded across the entire StarNet before was actually the Saint Clan’s new royal blood.
The moment that claim appeared, regardless of whether everyone else believed it yet, the fans who had fallen hard for the little darling’s looks immediately revolted.
They absolutely refused to accept that their little darling could possibly be a vicious, terrifying Saint Clan member.
“Are you blind? Our little darling is so pretty and cute. How could he possibly be Saint Clan?”
“Stop spreading nonsense. Our little darling doesn’t look anything like Saint Clan, okay? Even the experts said an egg that beautiful is most likely from some kind of elf-type ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) race.”
“When is this fake news crap going to stop? You’re seriously saying our little darling is Saint Clan? Have you ever actually seen what the Saint Clan’s true form looks like?”
After posting those comments, the fans also added comparison images in the comments section.
One was a huge monster covered head to toe in thick scales, with a massive body, bone wings, and a tail.
The other was the baby egg, as lovely as a tiny angel.
The moment that comparison image came out, even people who were not fans of the little darling found themselves speechless in the face of something so absurd.
“Do the people making up this fake news even have brains?”
“Have they lost their minds for traffic...”
“If that’s true, I’ll donate my whole starship!”
“I’m saying it right here: if that thing is Saint Clan, I’ll go dance in space!”
Before long, the comments section was practically buried under wagers like those.
And the reason everyone dared make bets like that was simple: no one believed the baby egg could possibly be Saint Clan.
Among all the races crowding in to watch the excitement, only the Pachi people did not join in.
As the race with the closest trade relationship to the Saint Clan, these shrewd and sharp merchants had already picked up on something unusual from the Saint Clan’s repeated purchases of toys.
They knew more clearly than anyone else that the Saint Clan really had welcomed a new royal blood.
The Saint Clan had simply hidden this new little highness extremely well.
To this day, the Pachi people knew nothing about the little highness’s details. All they knew was that the Saint Clan seemed especially fond of him.
How could they not be fond of him? Every single time the Saint Clan came to trade with them, they always bought a huge pile of toys to take back.
And none of those toys were cheap.
Using the ores they traded from the Saint Clan, the Pachi people had completely renovated Dorente Star and even built several more warships.
Their merchant fleets now traveled through the universe much more safely.
All of that had been brought to them by the Saint Clan.
In order to keep hold of such an important benefactor for the long term, the Pachi people kept absolutely silent about Saint Clan matters and did not leak even the slightest bit of information. The supervisor who had leaked news before had already been locked up.
They were equally cautious about which personnel handled their trade dealings with the Saint Clan.
Perhaps because the Pachi people knew how to behave, the Saint Clan had continued trading with them all this time.
They had even allowed the Pachi people to enter the sealed Ninth Star Sector when the Pachi president personally came to visit.
That nearly made the Pachi people explode with excitement.
But at the same time, they were very well-behaved. Even after entering the Ninth Star Sector, they did not go looking around everywhere or try to take the opportunity to spy on the Saint Clan.
Under the Pachi president’s orders, every Pachi aboard the warship obediently stayed in their rooms, and even when they did go out, they accepted Saint Clan supervision at their side.
Once they reached Dark Tower Star, the Pachi president put on no airs at all. He did not mind in the least that the one who came to meet him was not the Saint Clan sovereign, but the sovereign’s adjutant instead.
If anything, the Pachi president felt somewhat flattered.
According to rumor, this adjutant was Mansendis’s right hand, the person responsible for the Saint Clan’s major political affairs. For someone that important to come greet them already meant they were being shown considerable respect.
So when Alvin arrived at the port, what he saw was a group of visibly excited Pachi people.
The Pachi president in particular was almost excessively polite and humble.
Alvin paused for a moment, then invited the group aboard a hovercar.
“Our king is occupied with other matters.”
“We understand, we understand. The fact that the Saint Clan is willing to allow us to visit at all is already an honor for us.”
Before Alvin could finish, the Pachi president hurriedly interrupted him.
That was not an empty courtesy.
Ever since Mansendis had taken the throne, they were the first race the Saint Clan had invited as guests. Not to mention that the Saint Clan was currently their largest financial backer.
The Pachi people attached enormous importance to this trip.
However Alvin arranged things, they had no objections at all.
The Saint Clan rarely received foreign guests, but they still had a palace specifically designated for that purpose.
That was exactly where Alvin had originally planned to take the Pachi people.
But halfway there, he received a communication.
After finishing it, he informed the Pachi president, “The king invites you to visit the imperial palace.”
The Saint Clan’s imperial palace?
Did that mean they were about to meet the Saint Clan sovereign himself?
The Pachi president had not been that nervous just a moment ago, but now his heart leaped straight into his throat.
Before long, the hovercar came to a stop at the palace.
Faced with Saint Clan soldiers standing on both sides, the group of Pachi people followed behind Alvin nervously.
They followed him across the square, around the fountain, up the steps, and past several gardens.
The splendor of the Saint Clan palace far exceeded anything the Pachi people had imagined.
But no matter how astonishing those majestic buildings were, they could not compare to the silver-haired figure seated on the throne.
Mansendis only had to glance at them once for the Pachi people to instantly feel an overwhelming pressure.
It was as though they were standing before some incomparably powerful and terrifying beast.
The Pachi president immediately bent forward, lowering himself as much as possible in a display of humility.
“Honored sovereign of the Saint Clan, the Pachi people offer you our highest respect.”
Mansendis gave a faint, indifferent hum.
He had summoned the Pachi people inside, yet he did not arrange seats for them.
The Pachi president did not mind. In fact, even if seats really had been arranged, he would not have dared sit.
What kind of power did the Saint Clan possess, and what kind of power did the Pachi people possess?
How could he dare act so freely in front of Mansendis?
The Pachi president stood below the steps, his expression respectful.
“Our purpose in visiting this time is to ask the Saint Clan to build several warships for us.”
The Pachi people did business across all the major star sectors and therefore cared deeply about the safety of their merchant fleets. And throughout interstellar space, there existed no warships stronger than those of the Saint Clan.
This time, the Pachi president had come prepared to bleed heavily, hoping to commission two destroyer-class warships from the Saint Clan.
Because it involved military weapons of that level, he had chosen to come and negotiate in person.
“Any price is acceptable. Two ships... no, even one would be fine!”
The Pachi people had lowered their posture as far as it could go.
But Mansendis did not agree immediately.
The Saint Clan did not lack warships, but neither did they lack money. There was no need to sell warships for a little profit.
The Pachi people’s bargaining chips held no attraction for the Saint Clan at all.
Mansendis said nothing, and the Pachi people standing below grew more and more uneasy.
They had only worked up the courage to come face this Saint Clan sovereign in the first place. Destroyer-class warships were extremely important to them, and with Mansendis offering no reply, they could not help becoming increasingly anxious.
The Pachi president repeatedly wanted to speak again and try to win him over, but he also feared that showing too much urgency would provoke the Saint Clan sovereign’s displeasure.
And so the entire council hall fell into a strange silence.
In that near-total stillness, even the faintest footsteps sounded unusually clear.
It was a set of footsteps with a light, almost cheerful rhythm.
Inside the solemn and imposing palace, they sounded completely out of place.
What surprised the Pachi people even more was that those footsteps were coming this way.
The doors to the council hall opened once more.
Standing below the steps, the Pachi people could not help turning around.
They saw a small young man standing in the doorway, delicate as a doll.
His slightly long silver hair fell softly along both sides of his face. His features were beautiful, the kind of beauty that made people want to cradle him in their hands, and the faint baby fat that had not yet fully left his cheeks lent that beauty an added touch of sweetness.
Those pale-gold eyes were purer and clearer than any gem the Pachi people had ever seen.
He wore a little vest fastened with jeweled buttons, with layers of lace spilling from the collar and cuffs. Below that were shorts made of the same fabric as the vest, and his pale legs were wrapped in glossy black little boots.
The footsteps they had heard just now had come from those little boot heels striking the floor.
Whether in appearance or dress, he looked exactly like a doll that had stepped out of a display window.
Because of business, the Pachi people had dealt with many races. They had even seen races famed for beauty, like elves and merfolk.
And yet this young man was even more beautiful than any elf or merfolk they had seen.
No matter how beautiful elves and merfolk were, they did not possess that inborn nobility. It was the kind of precious grace that seemed set into him like a jewel mounted on a scepter, dazzling enough to leave people awestruck while also making them feel they could only admire from a distance.
When he saw them, he seemed a little surprised that there were “other people” in the council hall.
Just as the Pachi people were beginning to guess at his identity, they saw him walk straight past them.
He climbed the steps and went directly to the Saint Clan sovereign seated on the throne.
That bold, brazen act made the Pachi people instinctively suck in a breath for him.
Especially the Pachi president. He had a youngest son himself, and seeing such a beautiful child stirred an unavoidable tenderness in him.
So when he saw the young master drawing closer and closer to the silver-haired sovereign, he immediately wanted to rush forward and pull him back down, to stop this obvious act of courting death.
But in the very next moment—
they saw the young man pick up speed. He rushed up the last few steps in two quick bounds and threw himself straight into the Saint Clan sovereign’s arms.
“Dad!”
...Dad?
For an instant, the Pachi people thought they must have heard wrong.
Who? Who was his dad?
The Pachi president lifted his head and looked at Mansendis, then at the young man in his arms—the same silver hair, the same golden eyes, and once they were pressed close together, the striking resemblance in their features...
His mind gave a buzz and instantly went blank, as if struck by a violent blow.
Wen Yuzhi had no idea how badly the Pachi people were stunned. Leaning in Dad’s arms, he said, “Mu Luo said I improved again today!”
Starting some time ago, Wen Yuzhi had begun studying the practical side of mental power treatment under Mu Luo.
And the ones he practiced on were the Saint Clan members being held in the supervision center.
Their conditions were quite serious and could not continue to be delayed, so Wen Yuzhi had simply started having Mu Luo accompany him there every day.
At first, he had only been able to comb through one Saint Clan member’s mental sea in a single day. By now, Wen Yuzhi had improved to the point where he could comb through and soothe two Saint Clan members a day.
There was no doubt that this was a tremendous improvement.
The moment Mu Luo praised him, Wen Yuzhi’s first thought had been to come share the good news with Dad.
And Mansendis had never been stingy with praise for his child.
“Zhizhi did very well. Does Dad need to give you a reward?”
A cub making progress was a major event. Of course it deserved a reward.
And ever since Wen Yuzhi had started formally studying, rewards had been pouring in on him like running water.
Not just from Mansendis. Mond and the others had also used praise as an excuse to shower him with gifts, and once word spread, the rest of the Saint Clan had refused to fall behind.
The little highness had improved. That absolutely had to be celebrated.
The result was that Saint Clan members from all across Dark Tower Star and even Esoris sent him all kinds of things.
Wen Yuzhi now had an entire storage room just for his rewards.
So when Mansendis said he was going to give him something again, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly shook his head.
“There’s no need. You’ve already given me too much, and everyone else has too. My storage room is about to run out of space again.”
Mansendis did not think that was a problem at all.
“Then we’ll add another storage room. Last time there were several necklaces that were acceptable...”
“But Dad, you’ve already given me so many necklaces.”
“Then what about pocket watches?”
“I already have a whole bunch of those too!”
Below, the Pachi people stood there watching the young man speak to the Saint Clan sovereign with intimate, spoiled familiarity.
And Mansendis, who inspired fear and dread in them from the bottom of their hearts, had shed that cold, frightening presence when facing the boy.
He was actually listening patiently to him, even responding from time to time.
The Pachi president stood nearest the steps, closest to them.
Because of that, he could vaguely hear some of the conversation.
What surprised him was that the exchange between Wen Yuzhi and Mansendis was not the cold, distant, respectful sort of conversation one would expect between royal father and son. They were only talking about little everyday matters, ordinary things, yet everything about it felt warm.
It looked exactly like the way his own youngest son would run over after being praised by a teacher at school, eager to show off and ask for credit.
Of course, his own youngest son was nowhere near that adorable.
And he himself did not have Mansendis’s patience.
That was right—patience.
Mansendis’s patience and gentleness with Wen Yuzhi were what shocked the Pachi president most.
The outside world’s rumors about Mansendis had always revolved around words like violent and cold.
He was a tyrant people feared.
Ever since he took the throne, the Saint Clan had expanded madly outward, from originally occupying only one corner of the Ninth Star Sector to now taking the entire sector into their grasp.
The Saint Clan’s powerful rise had been plain for all of interstellar space to see, and the outside world was both astonished by and deeply afraid of the sovereign who had led them there.
The matter of Mansendis slaughtering numerous royal bloods to claim the throne had further stained his achievements with blood that could never be washed away, thoroughly cementing his image as ruthless and cruel.
And yet this same Saint Clan tyrant, when facing his child, was no different from the most ordinary father.
He praised his child.
He even held his cub in his arms as though holding the most precious treasure in the world.
How could that not leave the Pachi president in a daze?
