The Pachi president was secretly studying him from below.

But Wen Yuzhi’s mental power was now enough to cover the entire council hall, so every move the Pachi president made fell within his awareness.

He noticed the man’s gaze.

And Wen Yuzhi himself was somewhat curious about these guests who were obviously not Saint Clan.

After returning to the Saint Clan and spending so much time there, Wen Yuzhi had already learned that the Saint Clan never formed diplomatic ties with other races. Their consistent way of moving through interstellar space had always been to stand alone.

That had something to do with the Saint Clan’s solitary nature, but there was also a more important reason: the Saint Clan’s overwhelming strength meant they had no need for allies.

In the Saint Clan’s eyes, all those other races besides themselves were little better than trash.

Because of that, Wen Yuzhi had rarely seen people from other races on Dark Tower Star.

So now that he had suddenly seen some here, and they had even been granted an audience with Mansendis, it was only natural that he would be curious.

He looked at Mansendis and asked, curious, “Dad, who are they...?”

Mansendis replied, “They’re Pachi.”

Pachi.

Wen Yuzhi was not unfamiliar with the name.

They were famous merchants across interstellar space. Anywhere living beings existed, there were traces of them doing business.

Quite a lot of Wen Yuzhi’s toys had originally been bought from those Pachi merchants.

Thinking of that, he gave the Pachi president a polite nod.

The other man nodded in return. “It is a great honor to meet you, Your Highness. We also prepared a gift for you on this visit.”

Judging from the Saint Clan’s repeated toy purchases, the Pachi had boldly guessed that this newly born royal-blood little highness likely held a special position within the Saint Clan.

Just in case, they had deliberately brought a lavish gift on this visit and planned to decide whether to present it only after arriving and seeing the situation for themselves.

And now, after witnessing Mansendis and Wen Yuzhi’s way of interacting with each other in person, the Pachi president made an immediate decision—

Give it. They absolutely had to give it.

He had a certain instinct that if they could win this little highness’s favor, then there might still be hope for the matter of purchasing warships. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Wen Yuzhi had assumed the Pachi gift would be some kind of novel new toy.

And, in a way, it almost was.

It was just that this toy might be a tiny little bit big.

What the Pachi had brought was an entire planet.

A planet with exceptionally beautiful scenery, and one that had also been built up with a huge number of entertainment facilities.

Originally, that planet had been a project the Pachi had poured a tremendous amount of money into. They had planned to turn it into a vacation world, using its beautiful natural landscapes and large amusement parks of every kind to attract a steady stream of visitors.

By the time they came to the Saint Clan, most of the construction there had already been completed. The advertising had already gone out as well, and after only a little more time, it would have been ready to officially open.

But before departing for the Saint Clan, the Pachi held an internal discussion and ultimately made a unanimous decision: the planet would no longer be opened to the public. Instead, it would be given as a gift to the Saint Clan’s newly born royal blood.

And after seeing Wen Yuzhi in person, the Pachi president became even more determined that the gift had to be presented.

It could be said that whether for the sake of building a good relationship with the Saint Clan or for the sake of those two warships, the Pachi had truly gone all in this time.

“This is far too valuable. I can’t accept it.”

Wen Yuzhi had not expected the Pachi to directly give him a planet, and he hurriedly spoke up to refuse.

The Pachi president, however, was extremely firm. “This is a gift for our first meeting. It represents the goodwill of all Pachi. Please accept it.”

Wen Yuzhi was still about to say something, but Mansendis spoke first from beside him.

“Accept it.”

Since Dad said he could...

Wen Yuzhi blinked. He did not refuse again, and instead thanked the Pachi president.

“Thank you. And please thank your people for me as well.”

After saying that, Wen Yuzhi knew these Pachi had probably come from very far away because they had matters to discuss with Mansendis, so he stood up on his own.

“Dad, I’m going to change first. Will you come eat dinner with me later?”

Mansendis gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.

A touch of delight immediately appeared on Wen Yuzhi’s face, so obvious it could be seen at a glance. Happiness seemed to radiate all around him.

“Then I’ll wait for Dad to come eat with me.”

With that, he stepped lightly down from the dais.

When he passed Alvin, Wen Yuzhi paused for a moment.

But before he could speak, Alvin smiled and said, “I probably won’t be able to join you and the king for dinner tonight.”

He still had to take responsibility for hosting the Pachi, and for the time being, he could not leave.

Wen Yuzhi understood.

“I made pudding. I’ll have Yiluo send a portion to your office later.”

Then he seemed to think of something and added, “It’s apple maple flavor.”

Alvin immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Wen Yuzhi, of course, knew why.

That pudding and that cake from before—he had spent an entire noon in the kitchen making them, and all the failed batches had ultimately gone into the stomachs of various subordinates.

So that day, Selet had eaten a great deal of cake, and Alvin had eaten a great deal of milk-flavored pudding, so much that they never wanted to see either dessert again for the rest of their lives.

Wen Yuzhi had taken that into consideration, which was why he had deliberately made apple maple pudding today.

The Pachi president took in that entire scene without showing it.

Compared to the polite but distant smile Alvin wore when facing them, the smile on his face when he faced Wen Yuzhi was clearly much more sincere.

And that familiar, intimate exchange between them... also made it clear that this little highness had quite a good relationship with the adjutant at his father’s side.

That made the Pachi president hurriedly raise Wen Yuzhi’s importance even higher in his mind.

The most obvious sign was that as soon as Wen Yuzhi left, the atmosphere in the council hall quickly returned to the same silence as before.

This time, however, Mansendis agreed to the Pachi request to purchase warships.

It could only be said that the Pachi president’s move just now had indeed been the right one. If they had only wanted to use money to buy warships, the Saint Clan did not lack money, and they were not very interested in the deal. Under normal circumstances, the result would have been rejection.

But the Pachi president had given a planet to Wen Yuzhi.

When the cub was in a good mood, Mansendis’s mood also improved somewhat.

And so he simply agreed to the Pachi request.

The Pachi were instantly overcome with excitement.

However, Mansendis also stated one condition. “I have only one requirement. The price for the two warships must be paid in star cores.”

...

After leaving the council hall, Wen Yuzhi immediately returned to his room.

The moment he went inside, he quickly undid the buttons on his vest, took off all his clothes, and changed into a much softer, more comfortable robe.

Only after doing all that did Wen Yuzhi finally collapse onto the soft carpet and let out a long breath.

Mond walked in, picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, and found a fallen feather among them.

Pressing his lips together, he said, “If you’re feeling unwell, I’ll tell Mu Luo that you should rest for a few days first.”

Wen Yuzhi had already reached his molting period.

It had probably started around a month ago, when the wings on his back first began to feel extremely uncomfortable.

The area where they connected to his skin was terribly itchy, and again and again he had the urge to scratch it.

But because he was afraid of scratching himself raw, Wen Yuzhi had kept enduring it and never touched them. Instead, he had silently increased the number of times he had his feathers combed.

From once a day to three times a day—morning, noon, and night—he would go find Mansendis to comb his feathers.

Then one day, the cub had fallen asleep in Dad’s arms as usual.

After he woke up, Mansendis had just been about to carry him off to wash up when he unexpectedly discovered a feather that had fallen onto the bed.

Looking at that fallen feather—

Wen Yuzhi had gone completely blank.

He looked at his little wings, then at the soft feather, and that day the cub had very nearly cried from sadness.

After Mu Luo was called over to take a look, the doctor concluded that the cub had most likely entered a molting stage.

The old downy feathers would fall away, and new feathers would grow in.

As for how many times it would happen in total, Mu Luo did not know either. The Saint Clan had no second example for him to reference.

And from that day onward, Wen Yuzhi had been losing feathers off and on.

Then, about a week ago, Wen Yuzhi suddenly realized that he had changed again.

He had grown bigger.

He was no longer the tiny doll-like figure he had been before. He had become what, by human standards, looked to be around ten years old.

There was still a little baby fat on his face, and he still looked unmistakably childish.

Once word of the cub’s new appearance spread, it caused another tremor among the Saint Clan from top to bottom.

Compared to the period when he had looked like a tiny doll, Wen Yuzhi now had a little more of a boyish look, yet he was still at the stage where his childishness had not faded.

The budding youthfulness and lingering innocence blended together perfectly on him.

In the eyes of the Saint Clan, their little highness was still just as adorable as ever, still their little prince they wanted to cherish and protect with care.

As for Wen Yuzhi, the biggest advantage of growing older was that he could finally tuck his little wings away.

But there was also one bad thing.

During this molting period, his body had become especially sensitive.

The area on his back near his shoulder blades in particular felt sore and swollen.

Only when he wore a loose, comfortable robe did he feel a little better. Whenever he wore other clothes, he felt as though his whole body were being stifled.

But recently, since Wen Yuzhi and Mu Luo had been going to the military supervision center every day, he could ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) wear whatever he wanted inside the palace, of course, but if he went there in sleepwear, it would feel somewhat inappropriate.

So Wen Yuzhi could only change into everyday clothes, then take them off again and put his robe back on once he returned.

Every single time he changed out of them, Wen Yuzhi felt as though he had been set free.

Mond saw all of that.

Looking at the reddened skin rubbed raw on the little highness, the old chief affairs officer kept a calm face, but inside his heart ached terribly.

On one side, he had people on Esoris think of ways to make the clothing softer. On the other, he wanted to persuade Wen Yuzhi to stay in the palace during this period and wait until the molting stage passed.

But Wen Yuzhi shook his head.

“There’s no telling how long the molting period will last. Those Saint Clan members aren’t in good shape. They can’t wait that long.”

Wen Yuzhi meant that sincerely.

The Saint Clan members confined in the supervision center were already the ones whose mental seas had fallen into relatively serious condition.

In fact, even “serious” was putting it lightly. In the past, once a Saint Clan member was sent to the supervision center, it was effectively the same as being sentenced to death.

What Wen Yuzhi was doing now was saving them from the edge of losing control before their mental seas completely collapsed.

Mond understood the situation at the supervision center perfectly well.

And because he understood, he also knew exactly how hard all of this was for a cub.

These were things even adult Saint Clan could not do, and yet the burden was being placed, far too early, on a cub who should have been carefree and enjoying childhood.

Mond sighed.

He picked up the little comb and the feather-care oil from the tray.

“Let this subject comb them for you.”

Wen Yuzhi did not refuse.

He dragged a plush doll over to use as a cushion beneath him, then lay facedown on the soft toy and let his wings out.

The clean white wings had grown a little larger along with the cub’s body, but overall they still looked very young.

The fluffy down that had once covered them now looked visibly thinner.

Some new feathers had also grown in, pressed right up beside the old ones, making the lengths uneven.

Wen Yuzhi looked in the mirror every day.

He knew that his wings did not look very nice right now. They were a little like what people online called an awkward phase.

Because of that, aside from when he was back in his own room, he rarely exposed his wings outside anymore.

And the task of combing his feathers was allowed only to Mansendis and Mond.

Mond carefully ran the comb through the topmost layer of feathers.

During the molting period, it was not just Wen Yuzhi’s body that had become more sensitive—even his wings had become much more sensitive too.

Mond had to use an even lighter touch than usual if he wanted to avoid hurting the cub.

That kind of minute, gentle motion was no small challenge even for Mond, who had worked in the palace for so many years as chief affairs officer.

But the feeling of having the feathers on his wings combed through was very comfortable.

Resting on the plush doll, Wen Yuzhi gradually relaxed.

He could not help yawning, and tears welled up in his pale-gold eyes.

Drowsiness quietly rose over him like that.

And in that hazy space between half-asleep and half-awake, Wen Yuzhi felt as though the person combing his feathers had changed.

The moment he realized that, he struggled to lift his eyelids.

His vision was blurry, but he could make out a tall figure.

“Dad...?”

Perhaps because he had grown a little older, the cub’s voice no longer had the same milky softness as before. But since he had not yet reached the age for his voice to change, Wen Yuzhi still sounded soft when he spoke.

Especially now, when he was drowsy. His tone was low, and it sounded almost like he was acting spoiled.

And the one combing the cub’s feathers now really was Mansendis.

He had taken the comb from Mond, originally not wanting to wake the sleepy cub.

But sensing Dad’s presence, Wen Yuzhi had still woken up.

He had just started to rise when Mansendis gently pressed him back down with one hand.

“It’s not finished yet.”

Hearing that, Wen Yuzhi did not try to get up again, but he did change positions.

He abandoned the plush doll he had been so fond of just moments before and, without the slightest hesitation, chose to lie across Dad’s lap instead.

Mansendis was still wearing the formal clothes he had on when he met the Pachi, and strictly speaking, lying on them was not comfortable.

But compared to the soft plush doll, Wen Yuzhi still liked being in Dad’s arms more.

“Dad, I feel awful.”

It was only in front of Mansendis that Wen Yuzhi would reveal the softest, most vulnerable part of himself.

His wings hurt badly.

They felt awful.

Every feather felt like a needle stabbing into his body.

That was one of the negative effects brought on by molting.

Mu Luo did not have any especially good solution for it either. The doctor could only prescribe pain medicine to make the cub feel a little better.

But those medicines could not be taken all the time. Most of the time, Wen Yuzhi still had to endure it himself.

Ordinarily, Wen Yuzhi could bear it.

But today he had combed through the mental seas of two Saint Clan members who were on the verge of losing control. He was already extremely tired, and his body had been trapped inside his clothes all day, leaving him stuffy and uncomfortable.

Now that he had finally relaxed and was lying in Mansendis’s arms again, all the emotions he had built up through the day seemed to burst out in that one instant.

Without even thinking, Wen Yuzhi began acting spoiled toward the silver-haired sovereign in front of him.

“Dad... I want you to pet me...”