TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 98

Three years later.

Tulip Kingdom.

A male lion with a mane like flames lay on the grass, his expression solemn. His whip-like tail slowly flicked back and forth. Even while resting there, he exuded the natural pressure of a powerful predator—so intense that no one dared approach.

Yet beside his massive, imposing body, a sixteen-year-old boy leaned against him.

His half-length white hair was slightly messy, soft and fluffy. His crimson eyes were half-lidded, sunlight casting shadows through his pale lashes. His lips curved into a faint smile as he lazily wrapped his arms around the lion’s neck, using him as a pillow while enjoying a leisurely midday nap.

“Lion sir~” he called out brightly, his voice full of the carefree confidence of someone raised in indulgence. His star-bright eyes looked up at the lion. “How did we meet again back then?”

He had already gone through all the letters he left behind after losing his memory, but his meeting with the lion seemed to have already been known to Xiao Hei, so it was not described in detail in the correspondence.

【Didn’t I already tell you? You were sent over as emergency rations.】The lion, basking in the warm sunlight, yawned lazily.

“Then how did Lion sir and Sutlanlei become the same person?”

【We fought to a draw, and it ended up like this.】

At such a terse answer, Albin muttered in dissatisfaction, sensing the lion was hiding something.

Although he had regained quite a bit of his memory through letters with Xiao Hei, there were still details he didn’t know.

His father had already researched a great deal of spiritual magic, but breaking the Sea God’s spell required equal or higher mastery of spiritual magic, so his memory still could not be restored for the time being.

Albin stroked the lion’s glossy mane.

“Sutlanlei has been overworking himself lately, so Lion sir must supervise him and make sure he rests properly!” Albin puffed his cheeks. “Last time I made him go to sleep, but the moment I left, he got back up and went to work again. At this rate, he’s going to collapse sooner or later.”

Compared to others, Sutlanlei’s duties were the most restricted. Almost every time, it was Albin who went to see him.

The lion snorted. 【What’s there to manage about an adult?】

“I worry about you all,” Albin said, hugging his neck.

He had grown up protected by everyone, raised under their care and affection. His heart was full of the “love” they had given him.

But he had grown up now. He had the strength to protect them in return, to care for them, to give them love as well.

【Tch, one or two of you are all trouble.】The lion turned his head away. 【Fine. I don’t want that kind of death anyway. Dying not on the battlefield but buried under paperwork? Pathetic.】

Albin smiled in satisfaction.

Hehe, Lion sir is just stubborn but soft-hearted.

He also understood why Sutlanlei was so exhausted.

After stabilizing the country, Sutlanlei launched a war of revenge against neighboring nations. The Tulip Kingdom successfully annexed their territory and became the largest power in the central-western region.

During the war, Sutlanlei promoted many slaves and serfs. Those who earned military merit could regain freedom—and even gain noble titles and land.

Although noble families themselves had also risen through wars and many had peasant origins, this policy still caused controversy.

But the most controversial issue was that Sutlanlei had also recruited many human–demon hybrids.

Once this was revealed, it caused an uproar.

Religious orders across the land condemned him, even claiming Sutlanlei had allied with demons—though that wasn’t entirely wrong.

Under normal circumstances, Sutlanlei should have been overthrown by a coalition of nobles and temples.

But since ascending the throne, he had continuously suppressed religious influence. On Albin’s side, they controlled the Sun Temple, Night Temple, Love Temple, Wine Temple, and Sea Temple. The temples of the three highest gods, along with several major temples, were already aligned with them, while the Healing Temple had long lacked a high priest.

In effect, half the temples remained silent, while merchant guilds also worked behind the scenes. The rebel forces were steadily dismantled one by one.

Originally, Albin had wanted to publicly support him as the Sun Saint, but Sutlanlei refused.

He did not want religious forces interfering too deeply in politics, whether in support or opposition. He also believed open endorsement would bring trouble to Albin.

Keeping the temples within the Tulip Kingdom silent was already the most appropriate help Albin could provide.

Normally, a kingdom in this situation would have its neighbors interfering.

But their largest neighbor, the Cuckoo Kingdom, was currently dealing with its own crisis.

When Gold once brought the Queen Mother’s portrait to confirm matters in Thorn City, it was verified that Xiao Hei’s mother was the Queen of the Cuckoo Kingdom.

This made Albin curious about the king he had never met—perhaps Xiao Hei’s father.

But when he visited, the timing was unfortunate: the king had just died, and his visit turned into attending a funeral.

With the king’s death, chaos erupted.

Who would inherit the throne?

The king had dozens of children. If inheritance had been by primogeniture, it would have been simple—but instead, their system required noble elections.

That is, the king could not appoint a successor; nobles must elect the next ruler.

A king like flowing water, nobles like iron.

Worse still, the king’s many lovers who bore illegitimate children all came from powerful aristocratic families, none from common backgrounds.

Each candidate’s judges were relatives of rival factions, and thus a full-blown succession war erupted, leaving them no time to interfere with the Tulip Kingdom.

Albin still remembered being approached for political support during the funeral, which gave him a headache.

He sighed and pushed the thoughts aside, helping the lion comb his mane to recover his energy by “lion therapy.”

“Lion sir, let’s go for a walk in the forest later!” His eyes sparkled.

The lion always carried him while walking. It was super cool.

The lion saw through him immediately. 【As you wish.】

A knight in armor approached them.

“Your Majesty, Saint,” he said respectfully. “The Gold Clover Merchant Guild’s chairman has arrived.”

Gold is here?

Albin paused and looked up.

The fact that Albin and Sutlanlei were close was not known to the public, and this knight not only knew Albin’s identity but also that the lion was their king—meaning his status was clearly different.

On his collar was a compass-rose insignia, a symbol often seen on maps or compasses. Though called a “rose,” it was actually an eight-pointed star surrounded by runic rings forming a compass design.

This was the emblem of the White Apostles.

The knight was one of them, and also someone promoted by Sutlanlei during the war.

He was a mid-level magical creature, though officially presented as a human–demon hybrid.

Normally, mid-level magical creatures could not take human form, but thanks to Gold’s discovery—using external power to suppress the curse and force transformation—it became possible.

Later, Moon improved the method, allowing ordinary mid-level magical creatures to take human form.

In other words, most of the so-called human–demon hybrids employed by Sutlanlei were actually true magical creatures.

To Sutlanlei, it did not matter whether they were human or monster—as long as they could be used.

Under the guard’s reminder, the lion opened its eyes. A magic circle flashed on the ground, and an orange-haired man appeared in the lion’s place. His cufflinks also bore the compass rose emblem.

Albin smiled brightly as he looked over. “Good afternoon, Sultanlei. How did you sleep?”

Sultanlei nodded quietly. “Not bad.”

Albin smiled in satisfaction. “Good. Let’s go see Gold first. Did he say he was coming today? I remember he hasn’t been in the Tulip Kingdom recently.”

Sultanlei shook his head. “He didn’t mention it to me.”

Albin didn’t think much of it. Gold was a merchant after all—traveling around was normal.

He was about to walk back to the castle with Sultanlei when he was suddenly picked up.

Sultanlei lifted Albin onto his shoulders, expression unchanged. “A walk.”

“Huh? Huh?” Albin’s vision suddenly rose high up. “Whoa—”

This kind of thing—where he talked about something with the Lion Gentleman, only for Sultanlei to act first—wasn’t the first time it had happened.

Sometimes when Sultanlei said he wanted to take him to a festival, the Lion Gentleman would sneak him out first instead.

Albin wasn’t particularly surprised by Sultanlei’s actions.

“Wait!” Albin suddenly came to his senses.

“Walking” had been what he’d just discussed with the Lion Gentleman, and if Sultanlei had overheard…

“You weren’t asleep at all!”

He glared down at him and smacked his head in annoyance.

Honestly, none of them were ever easy to worry about—they all worked themselves relentlessly and never cared about their bodies.

Albin had to constantly keep an eye on them, like a little caretaker.

Sultanlei paused mid-step, then continued forward as if nothing had happened, silently admitting it.

Seeing the shocked expressions around them from his high vantage point, Albin—sitting on Sultanlei’s shoulders like a child—felt his face heat up.

“I’m not a kid anymore! I’m already sixteen!”

“Want to get down?” Sultanlei asked.

Albin hesitated, fidgeting. “…Never mind, I’ll stay.”

Since he’d already been seen riding on his shoulders, getting down or not didn’t make much difference anymore.

“As the dignified Sun Saint, he pointed forward like a child and declared, ‘Forward!’”

Sultanlei’s lips curved slightly. He responded with a step, striding forward.

The nearby guards couldn’t help but cast fearful glances.

Although they knew the relationship between the king and the Saint was close, seeing the Saint daring to smack the king’s head—and even boss him around like that—was still enough to make them break out in a cold sweat.

Among humans, their king was infamous: a tyrant of ruthless authority, said to leave blood flowing before his throne.

Among monsters, Sultanlei’s name was equally terrifying.

He was the Sixth Apostle of the Demon King—Lord of Wrath—a monster who had once fought his way out of the Abyss like the other Lords.

If anyone else saw this scene, they would never believe it.

The guards watched Albin disappear into the distance with reverent fear.

In the reception hall, Gold was speaking with a mysterious white-robed figure. He looked somewhat disheveled, his expression shifting between green and white, almost feral, speaking through clenched teeth.

“That damn—”

“Gold~” Albin’s voice rang out from afar.

Gold immediately softened his expression and swallowed the rest of his words.

Seeing Albin arriving on Sultanlei’s shoulders, he quickly stood up, intending to help him down—only for the white-robed figure beside him to act faster.

“Dad!” Albin laughed as he was lifted from under the arms and placed on the ground. “Dad, you came too?”

Sultanlei closed the door with a wave of his hand. Albin looked at Gold’s exhausted, disheveled state in confusion.

“Gold, did someone beat you up?”

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