A very young lion cub was cautiously pawing at the door, peeking its little head halfway through. Its ears were pinned back, its body trembled slightly—it wanted to enter but didn’t dare.
Sang Luo cried out instinctively, "Hephis!"
Then she shook her head. ’No, that’s not Hephis.’
Hephis looked a lot like this little lion, but there were so differences upon closer inspection. Hephis’s fur was golden with a hint of brown, while this little lion’s was a pure, clear gold.
It was Duotu... the young Duotu from Anano’s mories.
’So Duotu grew up listening to his parents argue.’
Sang Luo had long since felt nothing for Duotu. There was no love, nor could you call it hate. All her feelings for him had slowly dissipated over seven years. He was just a stranger she happened to know.
She could sigh in pity for this young Golden Lion, but at least he had raised Hephis well and hadn’t let his son repeat the sa mistakes.
「The scene shifted again.」
Sang Luo saw the little lion again. It was a bit bigger than before, locked in a small, dark room. The room was dim, like a square box without even a window.
It was curled up in a corner, crying and shouting endlessly.
"Don’t..."
"Mom, stop... Don’t..."
The mory ca to a screeching halt, suddenly cut off.
Sang Luo was forcibly ejected from the gate of mory.
The owner of the mory didn’t want to recall that mont either, so she didn’t know what had happened next.
Sang Luo opened her eyes again. Minos had returned.
"Rumor has it in the Yalan Empire that the late Queen passed away long ago. Was it the Holy Hall that brought her back?" she asked him.
"Yes. Aunt Anano left the Holy Hall for several years and never returned. Her partner, theus, went down to look for her many tis. Before long, theus’s life lamp in the Holy Hall was extinguished. That finally alerted the Holy Hall, which dispatched a team to find her and bring her back. Egarli Yalan was powerless to defy the Holy Hall’s command. He had to let her go and announce to the world that the Queen had died of an illness," Minos said. "After Aunt Anano returned, she was in this state—sotis lucid, sotis mad. She petitioned the Holy Hall to forever forbid Egarli Yalan and that child from setting foot in the Holy Domain."
Sang Luo nodded. "Aunt Anano is a tragic figure. Anyone who suffered sothing like that would make the sa choice."
"And what about you?" Minos looked at her.
Sang Luo was taken aback, then shook her head. "Duotu isn’t Egarli Yalan, and I’m not Anano. Our situations can’t be compared. That’s why I’m very fond of the little lion I gave birth to, and I acknowledge our mother-son relationship."
She only ntioned the little lion, not Duotu.
Minos understood her unspoken aning, and the corner of his lips curved up slightly. "Then I’m relieved."
Sang Luo blinked, not understanding what he ant.
But Minos didn’t elaborate. He turned to look at the unconscious Anano on the bed. "Although Aunt Anano has returned, the Holy Hall is not satisfied. Ever since she ca back, she has sealed her heart away from love and refuses to bond with any male to have offspring. For a long ti now, no new children have been born to the Angel Clan... The Holy Hall has always wanted to cure her heartache."
Sang Luo took a sip of her cold coffee. "The one who caused the problem is the one who must solve it. Since Egarli Yalan is already dead, Aunt Anano should be able to move on eventually."
"Let’s hope so."
Soone ca from outside to call for him, and Minos left again.
Minos went to the Holy Hall.
The Archbishop happened to be arriving with a letter.
"Your Majesty, he wishes to co to the Holy Hall for an audience to ask about raising an Angel Clan child. Should we refuse, or...?"
Duotu had not successfully awakened the Angel Clan’s inherited power, but he did possess a half-Angel bloodline. Ordinarily, he would be qualified to visit the Holy Hall. However, due to the ban Her Highness Anano had established years ago, he couldn’t even set foot in the Holy Domain, let alone the Holy Hall.
But things were different now. Duotu Yalan had an heir who had awakened their Angel Bloodline. Since the child was being raised by him, he benefited from the connection and was now qualified to bring his heir to the Holy Hall.
The Holy Hall was in a difficult position and had no choice but to let the Saint Heir decide.
Minos said, "Raising an Angel Clan child is different from raising a child of another race. He does indeed have many things he needs to ask the Holy Hall. Since she doesn’t mind anymore, let him in."
"She?"
Minos didn’t elaborate, only saying, "When Duotu Yalan is coming, notify . I will et him in person."
"Yes, Saint Son."
...
The witch doctors of the Yalan Empire were very busy.
The Young Master in the Royal Palace had been falling ill frequently of late, and his body was weak.
This had the Beast King worried sick.
All the witch doctors had seen him, but the Young Master wasn’t sick, and the dicines they prescribed were useless. Finally, an experienced old witch doctor identified the ailnt. The Young Master was... malnourished.
’Ever since Hephis awakened his Angel Clan heritage, his body had slowly begun to develop all sorts of problems. At first, Duotu thought he was sick and had summoned every famous doctor in the country to the Royal Palace to treat him, but the final diagnosis was malnutrition. How could that be possible? From the ti he was a cub, he had given him the best formula and nutritional supplents. The food he ate was the best, too—he personally prepared it according to his developntal needs. How could he possibly be malnourished?!’
"An Angel Clan cub’s physical developnt is likely different from an ordinary Beastman cub’s. The food here may no longer be suitable for the Young Master. Your Majesty should make a trip to the Holy Hall and ask them. They will certainly know more about it than you do."
Duotu looked at the sleeping Hephis in his arms. He was a whole size smaller than he had been over a month ago; his ribs were faintly visible to the touch. The sight was heart-wrenching.
’Perhaps he shouldn’t have insisted on keeping the child by his side. But without this child, he truly didn’t know what hope he had left to keep living.’
The Holy Domain... The Holy Hall...
’He wasn’t qualified to go to that place. And he never wanted to set foot there and see his mother. He knew she didn’t want to see him, either.’
But, looking at his child, Duotu ultimately wrote a letter and sent it to the Holy Hall.
The Holy Hall approved his request.
He was permitted to enter the Holy Domain and could co and go freely in the future.
One day, just as Sang Luo and Minos had finished a al, a servant ca with a ssage.
"Your Highness, he has arrived. Will you go see him now?"
Sang Luo casually asked while cracking lon seeds, "Who’s here?"
Minos replied, "Soone you don’t want to see."
Sang Luo froze. After watching Minos leave with the Servant, she grew even more curious.
’Soone I don’t want to see? And they’re connected to the Angel Clan... Could it be Duotu?’
’But I thought he couldn’t enter the Holy Domain?’
Sang Luo thought for a mont, then turned and went to the terrace on the top floor of the palace. Below, she saw Duotu and the little lion arriving.
The listless Hephis in his arms suddenly jolted, his head snapping up to stare fixedly in one direction.
Duotu also glanced over instinctively and froze. His arms went slack, and the little lion almost fell from his grasp.
A slender, beautiful female figure flashed past. He only managed to catch a glimpse of her back and couldn’t see her face, but it was enough to captivate his soul. It was so familiar...
He quickly tightened his hold on the child and tried to chase after her.
Minos walked over and blocked his path.
It took Duotu a long ti to co back to his senses. He asked in a daze, his voice tinged with bitterness, "Just now, I saw a female in white clothes. She is..."
Minos replied, "She is my Holy Consort."
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