Chapter 102: He’s Leaving

Li Ao was a glutton. Even now that he no longer had to worry about food or clothes, he was always thinking about eats. It wasn’t hunger—it was just his love for food. Back in his childhood, he could never eat his fill, his mouth empty, his belly constantly hollow. Now his conditions were top-notch, but as soon as you offered him something tasty, he’d bounce right over.

“Bunana.” He straightened up and hugged the maid’s little leg, calling out her name messily the way he did whenever he wanted to butter someone up. “Is it ready yet? Can I have one first?”

Free from the nanny robot’s control, the maid brought out freshly baked puffs, her heart blooming with joy at being clung to by the kitty. “Of course, Your Highness, but be careful not to burn yourself~”

Truly delicious puffs needed to cool before being filled with chilled cream, but who could resist those kitty’s pleading eyes? Brenna’s chef-grade iron hands felt no heat. She tore one open and handed it to the little kitty. “Have this one first, Your Highness. The rest will taste even better once they’re cooled and filled with cream.”

Li Ao chomped right down on it, then spat out his scalded-red cat tongue with a hiss.

Brenna had forgotten how sensitive cat tongues were—one bit of heat was too much. She blamed herself for assuming too much. “Sorry, Your Highness, I—”

“I’ll do it.” Before she could finish, Xun cut her off.

The youth had likely just returned from morning training, his messy bangs damp with sweat and sticking to his fair neck. The moment he entered, he scooped up the cat with one hand, supporting its butt with his arm to catch it steadily. He then pinched a still-steaming puff shell, blew on it a few times, confirmed it wasn’t hot, and only then offered it to the little cat’s mouth.

Li Ao loved these mildly sweet little treats. He squinted happily, not forgetting to comfort Brenna even as he ate. “My tongue’s fine, don’t worry. I’m already good.”

Seeing him eat so happily with no issues, the maid’s worries dissipated, her face lighting up with joy. “Then I’ll go fill them with cream. You play with Xun first, Your Highness.”

Li Ao was used to being cared for by Xun. He’d take a bite, gaze at him sparklingly, take another bite and gaze again, his eyes so moist they seemed ready to well up with water. He thought the little dog was so handsome—how could he be this good-looking? The youth’s handsomeness carried a youthful greenness that made the little cat thrilled.

“Xun’s eyes are so pretty, like rubies.” He purred deep in his throat, abandoning his food. He stepped onto the youth’s lean-muscled chest, hugged his neck, and rubbed his head hard against the sweat-damp jaw. “Li Ao’s little dog is so handsome.”

How could he not be? Xun’s looks were grown straight out of the little cat’s aesthetic. Others might judge peak beauty by Isiris’s cold handsomeness, Shen Que’s refined beauty, Fitt Claven’s gorgeous allure, or maybe Paimon’s androgynous charm.

But Xun’s appearance might not be the most outstanding in others’ eyes. By the little cat’s own standards, though? Perfect score, total favorite.

Xun kept stroking the little cat’s back, his broken-gong voice low. “I like my eyes too.” Because they reflect you.

The beauty-obsessed little cat finished snuggling his handsome little dog and, in his fickle way, wanted to go find his equally 100% handsome daddy.

Everyone along the way needed a greeting, so Li Ao’s raised tail never came down. The guards announced him, the conference room doors opened, and the little cat poked his head in, spotting daddy on the throne right away.

“Xixi Xixi, I came to bring you puffs to eat.” He darted through the ministers’ figures, scampered up in a few bounds, climbed the golden-haired monarch’s pant leg, and plopped onto his lap. Grinning wide, he showed off the small pouch hanging from his neck. “Brenna filled them with tons and tons of cream. Super yummy.”

The ministers below let out kind chuckles. Isiris held the cat with one arm, pointed at the door with two fingers. “Carry out the decision as discussed. Leave one legion to garrison, set off for Delphi the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes.” The ministers bowed and withdrew from the conference room.

Isiris reached back to rub the little cat’s belly, getting a rough sense of its capacity. He undid the pouch from around the little cat’s neck, cleaned his hands, and with his slender fingers picked out a puff. He tasted it first himself, then lowered it to the little cat’s mouth.

“Very good,” he said evenly. “You eat some too.”

The little guy seemed a bit like he was growing—his legs had lengthened by an imperceptible few millimeters, and his tail was even fluffier. Unlike a lion’s slender tail with just a tuft, this cat’s tail was bigger than his body. When raised behind him, it came with its own “duang duang” sound effect. Draped over a person’s leg, it could cover Isiris’s thigh entirely.

After a long wait with no second bite from Isiris, Li Ao licked his lips and looked up. “Xixi, eat some.”

Isiris’s gaze lingered a moment on that excessively fluffy cat tail before shifting away at his words. He had little interest in food as always. He simply leaned down for a gentle kiss on the little cat’s forehead, brushing it off softly. “I’m not hungry. You eat.”

Xun had clearly anticipated this outcome, only letting the little cat bring two puffs—no surprise, they both ended up in its belly.

With his belly stuffed full and lying in daddy’s arms, happiness flooded the little cat, making him drowsy. His blue eyes blinked and blinked, fluttering shut a few times before snapping open. Vaguely, he remembered the little hedgehog and jolted awake. “Ah, I gotta go say goodbye to the little hedgehog.”

Isiris said, “I’ll go with you.”

The little cat beamed, pushing his luck. “In lion form, okay? The little hedgehog doesn’t like humans.”

Isiris was indifferent either way, simply indulging the child’s wish. The majestic lion spread his wings, following behind the little cat flapping its tender fledgling wings up front.

He’d fly a bit, then stop, fan his wings to turn around, confirm daddy was right behind, grin wide, then turn back to fly on.

The surveillance drones had been flitting around the planet, the livestream never pausing. It caught the movement and zipped right to the little cat’s side.

“Good morning!” The little cat greeted it, and the sparse viewers in the livestream saw a few words appear on their holograms: [Good morning.]

No one noticed yet where the reply came from—they just glossed over it.

【Oh my god… Is that Isiris?】

【Too handsome… The complete body is just too perfect wuwuwu. I ran into Lord Fate in Federation territory before—he’s a half-complete evolutionary with a snake tail for a lower body. I was shocked the first time, wish I could evolve too wuwuwu.】

【Can’t take it… Why does everything in the Federation these past few days have to drag in Fitt Claven? How’s this even related?】

【Why can’t it? (confused) Evolutions are rare to begin with, and cat family complete evolutions are just the Regalis house. What’s wrong with mentioning other evolutionaries while talking about them?】

【Nobody cares what you say, don’t stir things up in the little cat’s stream. We all know what you’re after—go canvass votes in your own spaces.】

The livestream chat was blowing up, while the little cat flew till he was drenched in sweat. His tiny wings were still too immature; persisting this long was already impressive. Toward the end, he was clearly exhausted, his movements wobbling like a balloon about to deflate.

Isiris watched clearly from behind. Without a word, he spread his wings slightly, shot forward, and steadily caught up, letting the little cat ride on his broad back.

Li Ao blanked for a second, then flopped right down, burrowing into daddy’s mane, tail swishing happily.

【Wuwuwu, did I see wrong? Isiris His Majesty seems so doting somehow.】

【Big cat flies with little cat, carries little cat when it tires—wuwuwu, so heart-melting.】

Human-form Isiris was too strikingly handsome, his aura too intimidating for easy eye contact. Lion form was different—people could fear him while staring starry-eyed at the big cat.

【Big cat carrying little cat, too cute (screaming). Imagining if His Majesty carried Zane like this back in the day makes me wanna ship it forever.】

【Upstairs, what kinda wild talk—too scary—】

Zane Regalis: 【Though I’d love to mount brother’s back too, sadly from childhood to now it’s just been cold suppression from him. Never got treated this gently (tears). Little cat’s special (envious)】

【?… Wait, gimme a sec, thought it was a fake username, but it’s the Prince himself?】

【(gathering courage) Your Highness Zane, so His Majesty is only this gentle with the little cat? Were you raised getting beat by big bro too?】

【Yep, big bro like a dad lol】

Zane’s “beat” wasn’t the ordinary kind, of course, but who cared? He was Prince, sure, but first a person, then someone with a brother, and finally someone raised by brother’s beatings. It sparked instant rapport and closeness—questions flew at Zane from all sides.

The drone was one-way; Li Ao couldn’t see the viewers’ chatter. He’d already climbed to Isiris’s head, pressing his belly against it. Compared to Xun’s hard scales, Isiris was so soft. The little cat raked claws happily through daddy’s head fur, grooming him with licks.

Among felines, the higher status licked the lower—this was protection, soothing, dominance. Isiris allowing Li Ao to do it was power’s gentleness.

“Leo, we’re here.” The golden lion began to descend.

The little hedgehog, carrying an apple, was walking on its planet, staring blankly at sparse green sprouts pushing from the scorched earth.

“Little hedgehog!” Li Ao spotted him too. Before Isiris even landed steady, he flapped his wings and rushed right up. “How’d you walk so far today?”

Li Ao was connected to the planet’s consciousness. As long as he wanted, it could rush to his side in an instant. But he didn’t do that—he always went out to find it himself, giving it sufficient respect.

The little hedgehog lifted its head and bumped noses with the little cat. Li Ao ran to Isiris’s side, hugged his front leg, and said to the little hedgehog, “This is Li Ao’s daddy! You’ve already met him before! Daddy is the big lion, Li Ao is the little cat, so don’t be afraid of him!”

Adults couldn’t understand the logic in those words, but the pure planet and child knew.

The little hedgehog took two steps forward. It wasn’t human, so it had none of humanity’s hierarchical concepts or faiths. To it, all humans were bad guys. But the little cat was different, and Isiris—with the little cat patting his chest in guarantee—was different too.

Isiris rarely paid attention to others; to him, the planet was no exception. But because of the little cat, he took the little hedgehog into account as well.

The big one and the small one connected through the little cat, their gazes met. It was strange… The little hedgehog didn’t trust humans and knew this lion was actually human, but in that instant of eye contact, it developed trust toward him. This powerful human was different; he wasn’t as compassionate as the little cat, even arrogant and indifferent, but he was a true powerhouse.

And true powerhouses wouldn’t plunder endlessly.

The little hedgehog took two more steps forward, entering the lion’s protective shadow, then straightened up and hugged the little cat. The little cat bared its teeth in a grin and hugged back.

The lion lay down guarding them as the little cat somehow pulled out a few more fruits. He skewered them one by one onto the little hedgehog’s candied hawthorn rack while saying, “I’m going back to Delphi for the New Year. After the New Year passes, I’ll come back to farm.”

He’s leaving?

The little hedgehog had been munching happily, but upon hearing this, its movements froze. Its black bean-like eyes stared blankly at him, the fruit in its mouth bitten halfway—neither chewed nor spat out. It didn’t know what the New Year was, as it had never experienced such a thing; it only knew the little cat was leaving.

Dark clouds began gathering in the sky. It didn’t know why it wanted to rain again. But before the raindrops could fall, it heard him say, “Do you want to come with me?”