Chapter 68: I Love You Very Much

When the cub thanked them, the bone spines immediately got a little carried away.

They seemed full of motivation, picked up the black hat, and performed a few more magic tricks.

Wen Yuzhi sat properly on the bed, with a few butterflies still perched on his shoulders, watching the bone spines’ show with him.

And as an audience member, Wen Yuzhi was unquestionably excellent—every time the bone spines finished a trick, he would clap enthusiastically.

That only made the bone spines more and more energized.

Until—

They sensed Mansendis’s presence at the doorway.

.....

The bone spines jolted, caught off guard. Their movements stuttered; they failed to catch what they were supposed to catch, and the black hat flew out in an instant.

By sheer coincidence, it landed right in front of Mansendis—and the silver-haired sovereign reached out and took it.

C-Crap...

They’d almost thrown the hat right at Mansendis’s face. Knowing they’d messed up, the bone spines’ earlier excitement wilted on the spot.

Fortunately, Mansendis had no intention of quibbling with them.

Holding the black hat, he walked in. The moment Wen Yuzhi saw it was Mansendis, his eyes lit up—he looked happier than when he’d been watching the magic show.

“Dad!”

He threw himself straight into Mansendis’s arms, and his little wings nestled close against the silver-haired sovereign.

One of Mansendis’s hands was still holding the hat, so he could only use the other free hand to support the cub, keeping Wen Yuzhi from slipping off him.

Luckily, the cub was also very well-behaved.

After finding a comfortable spot in Mansendis’s arms, Wen Yuzhi stopped moving.

He pressed close, like ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a tiny little charm stuck to the silver-haired sovereign.

Mansendis carried him back to the bed—

And that bed was now nearly drowned under countless candies.

Wen Yuzhi picked one up and unwrapped it, but instead of eating it himself, he held it up and offered it to Mansendis.

“Dad, candy.”

Mansendis didn’t like that kind of overly sweet thing.

But since the cub had come to his side, Mansendis had slowly begun to accept those sugary flavors.

Accept, yes—

But Mansendis still couldn’t bring himself to like sweets.

He ate one, then didn’t eat any more.

Seeing that, Wen Yuzhi turned his hand and popped the milk candy into his own mouth instead.

Both cheeks puffed slightly, and his little wings swayed with the motion.

That sweet taste—just like the warm milk earlier—was very useful for soothing the cub’s emotions.

Still, Mansendis only allowed Wen Yuzhi to eat one or two.

As for the rest, he planned to have Mond put them away, and take them out later whenever the cub wanted some.

He also made an agreement with Wen Yuzhi:

The cub could eat at most two candies a day.

It was to keep Wen Yuzhi from getting cavities.

After all, Wen Yuzhi had far too much candy. Before, he already had a full jar. Now there was even more. Without restraint, it would be easy to ruin his teeth.

Even though, with Saint Clan cub teeth—teeth that could bite holes straight through a warship—even if Wen Yuzhi’s physical condition was worse than others, he probably wouldn’t have to worry about cavities...

Mansendis still decided to control it.

Two candies a day, at most.

That was the silver-haired sovereign’s ruling.

As for Wen Yuzhi...

Because he still had candy in his mouth, the cub just blinked and nodded to show he understood.

Watching him like this, Mansendis couldn’t help reaching out and ruffling the cub’s hair.

Right now was exactly when Wen Yuzhi relied on Mansendis the most. Not only did he not dislike the touch—he even tilted his head up a little and leaned into Mansendis’s palm.

As if asking for Dad to pet him more.

Mansendis’s gaze softened instantly.

He knew the cub probably didn’t want to sleep right now, which meant the best way to ease his mood was only—

The silver-haired sovereign turned and brought over a small comb.

The moment Wen Yuzhi saw Mansendis holding it, he knew it was time to groom his feathers again.

To be honest, Wen Yuzhi actually liked the process of having his feathers combed.

It felt really good when the feathers were smoothed out.

His wings were on his back, and under normal circumstances it was hard for him to reach them. And lately—whether because he’d gotten chubbier or because he’d absorbed too much energy—the downy feathers on his wings seemed to have increased.

From a distance, the pair of little wings on the cub’s back looked visibly fluffier by a whole layer.

Wen Yuzhi felt it most clearly. Over the past few days, the weight behind him had obviously gotten heavier, and the area near his back had been a little itchy too.

So basically every day, he had Mond help comb out that thickening fluff.

Now Mansendis was the one bringing the comb over.

He didn’t even need to say anything—

Wen Yuzhi obediently turned around and lay down, exposing the little wings on his back.

Even while getting his feathers combed, Wen Yuzhi still stayed close against Mansendis.

Only when he could smell the silver-haired sovereign’s scent did he feel like he had a sense of safety.

And Mansendis indulgently let the cub cling to him.

In fact, more than anyone, Mansendis wanted the cub to rely on him even more.

He didn’t know what other fathers were like, but if he could, Mansendis wished this child—this child who could call him Dad, who would nuzzle close to him—would never leave him, and would always remain under his wings.

This was his child.

—A treasure he had only just managed to find again, something lost and then recovered.

And Mansendis had never said these things to anyone.

Even Mond didn’t know that beneath the silver-haired sovereign’s seemingly calm exterior, there was anxiety and unease buried so deep.

Rather than Wen Yuzhi being the one who clung to Mansendis—wanting to stay with Dad every moment—

It was Mansendis who was the most unwilling to let the cub leave.

To Mansendis, Wen Yuzhi had long since become more than a simple “child” that could be summed up by the word bloodline.

The cub was like the only emotion still tying him to this world.

Before Wen Yuzhi existed, Mansendis had found everything under the heavens unbearably boring.

The power struggles around the Salilaino throne had never interested him in the slightest. Even the mental-energy disorder that royal bloods hated so deeply—he accepted that pain with numb calm, unlike the other royal bloods who, after spiraling into hysterical madness, chose to indulge and sink.

All Mansendis wanted was to sleep in some quiet corner, letting that long, tedious time pass in slumber.

Even later, after he ascended the throne, Mansendis still thought this world was dull.

He ruled the Saint Clan not because he loved the race, but because of duty.

At the time, only one Salilaino remained among the Saint Clan.

He had to become their sovereign. He had to make this race—already close to the edge of collapse—gather itself again.

Out of responsibility, Mansendis sat on the throne.

And from that moment on, Mansendis was no longer himself.

He was the Saint Clan’s sovereign.

All his emotions were stripped away, leaving him a symbol of royal authority.

That didn’t truly change until Wen Yuzhi came to his side.

A young life—one connected to him by blood—appeared before him without warning.

Wen Yuzhi’s arrival almost completely overturned Mansendis’s life.

He was vivid—alive—and he carried a softness and delicacy the other Saint Clan simply didn’t have.

In only a few short months, he brought Mansendis so many different feelings.

And in the process of raising the cub, wasn’t Mansendis also, little by little, rebuilding his own emotional connection to this world?

Because of Wen Yuzhi, Mansendis finally felt his life was no longer so boring.

In the past, Mansendis hadn’t cared whether he lived or died.

But now—

Now he wanted to live.

...To stay alive and watch the cub grow up.

All those tangled thoughts, in reality, only passed in the span of a few seconds.

Wen Yuzhi didn’t even notice it. Mansendis had already taken the comb and begun grooming the feathers on his back.

The moment the small comb scraped through the gaps between feathers, Wen Yuzhi narrowed his eyes in pleasure.

Like a kitten being stroked the right way—so relaxed, even the round pupils and the softened expression looked the same. The only thing missing was the purring sound in his throat.

And the most obvious change was the cub’s mental energy.

That restless, uneasy mental energy from earlier gradually loosened as the feathers were combed.

It no longer stayed tightly strung. It returned to the same soft, relaxed state as before.

That also made it easier for Mansendis to keep grooming.

The disordered feathers on Wen Yuzhi’s body were combed neatly under the small comb’s teeth. Mansendis rubbed in care essential oil, and the previously messy little wings instantly became fluffy and beautiful—each feather smooth and aligned, almost seeming to glow under the light.

So cute.

Watching that, Mansendis couldn’t help leaning down and kissing the cub’s little wings.

The touch was extremely light, but wings were sensitive. Wen Yuzhi instinctively shivered and flicked them.

And when he realized it had been Mansendis kissing him, Wen Yuzhi froze in shock—then, embarrassed, buried his heating face into the silver-haired sovereign’s sleeve.

Even his little wings snapped shut, covering both sides of his cheeks.

It was obvious just how startling Mansendis’s kiss was to Wen Yuzhi.

Seeing the cub nearly curl into a ball, Mansendis’s gaze softened as he said, “Zhizhi can kiss Dad too.”

Wen Yuzhi didn’t answer, but the little wings covering his cheeks twitched.

At first the movement was tiny—then it slowly grew bigger.

The cub had no idea that the indecision in his heart was already exposed by those little wings behind him, right in front of the silver-haired sovereign.

Just when Mansendis thought Wen Yuzhi would stay shy like this forever—

Face red, and completely catching Mansendis off guard, the cub flapped his wings and flew to Mansendis, then planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

Then, before Mansendis could even react, Wen Yuzhi zipped right back into his arms again.

In Mansendis’s view, he could only see the soft tip of one little wing.

...Clearly the one being kissed was Mansendis, yet the cub—who’d flown over so aggressively to kiss him—was the one too shy to handle it.

After a moment of stunned silence, the shock in Mansendis’s heart melted into something even softer.

He didn’t force the cub out of his “ostrich” hiding place.

He simply held Wen Yuzhi—held his treasure—just like that.

It was as if time stopped in that moment. The room fell so quiet it was almost unreal.

With no outsiders to disturb them, Wen Yuzhi relaxed against Mansendis. That quiet made him think, for no clear reason, of the time long ago when he’d been with Dad and Mom.

Back then, their family of three had been like this too.

On the living room rug, he’d sat in Mom’s arms—while Mom sat in Dad’s arms.

It had been such a warm time.

Wen Yuzhi thought about the past.

He thought about so many things—

And in the end, he thought about that dream, and everything inside it.

Wen Yuzhi wasn’t as frightened as he’d been when he first woke up.

But bringing it up again, he still hesitated as he asked, “Dad... that dream... was it real?”

It wasn’t only Mansendis and the others who doubted.

Even Wen Yuzhi himself was uncertain.

...Were those things in the dream real? Or had he just dreamed them randomly?

Mansendis fell silent for a moment.

He didn’t answer Wen Yuzhi’s question directly. He only said, “I already had Alvin and Selet look into it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

If those things were real, then the people who had hurt the cub—

A cold killing intent flashed in Mansendis’s eyes.

Anyone who hurt the cub—

He wouldn’t let a single one of them go.

Hearing Mansendis’s words, Wen Yuzhi pressed his lips together, but he didn’t feel happy because of it.

Because he realized that compared to finding out whether the dream was real...

What he cared about more was what those people had said about him.

—A useless defective product.

After living on Dark Tower Star for so long, Wen Yuzhi knew very well that he was different from the Saint Clan around him.

He didn’t have hard scales. He didn’t have a strong body. He didn’t have the power to tear enemies apart.

You could say he didn’t match the outside world’s impression of the Saint Clan, and he didn’t look like a “qualified” Saint Clan member at all.

Mu Luo had once mentioned that the Saint Clan were born warriors. Even the weakest cub could easily destroy a warship.

And clearly, Wen Yuzhi’s physical condition was worse than even the weakest cub’s.

After hatching, his body hadn’t just become much smaller— even the wings every Saint Clan member had were soft on him. They weren’t sharp or powerful at all. And even his mental energy—the most important thing—had only just awakened.

Wen Yuzhi could feel it.

Compared to the other Saint Clan, everything about him seemed to be developing... a little too “slowly.”

In a situation like this, even if Wen Yuzhi tried to persuade himself, he couldn’t help falling into self-doubt.

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking—

Could it be, just like those people said...

...That he really was a defective product?

Wen Yuzhi hesitated.

And seeing him like this, the silver-haired sovereign caught the uncertainty in the cub’s eyes—along with the subconscious unease buried deep inside.

Just one glance, and Mansendis already guessed what Wen Yuzhi was thinking.

He lowered his head and met Wen Yuzhi’s gaze.

Under the cub’s anxious eyes, the silver-haired sovereign’s voice was steady—certain, leaving no room for argument.

“Zhizhi, listen. Even if you don’t have great power, in my heart, you’re more precious than anything.”

“You’re my child. You’re my... most beloved treasure.”

“I love you very much, and I will always love you forever.”

Mansendis said three sentences in one breath.

And every one of those sentences came from the heart.

Each word was something he had carefully weighed—something he wanted the cub to hear.

He loved him.

His Zhizhi wasn’t a defective product.

On the contrary—

He was his most beloved treasure.

That love had nothing to do with whether the cub was strong.

What’s more, Mansendis didn’t think the cub was weak at all.

Sometimes, strength didn’t show itself in brute force. Wen Yuzhi’s strength was far more precious—far more important—than any raw power.

His very existence was already a miracle to the Saint Clan.

A miracle that was extremely, extremely precious.

And those people who judged the cub with such crude methods—

They were blind. Stupid beyond belief.

They had no idea how precious Wen Yuzhi’s existence was to the Saint Clan.

Watching Wen Yuzhi stare at him blankly, Mansendis made a decision.

He would take the cub to see it with his own eyes.

—To see just how much the Saint Clan loved him.