Chapter 70

The only son of Count Jiahang Xu Custer was seven years old and was currently a second-year student at the Elementary School of the Custer Academy.

The academy is located in the most prosperous city of Esteril in the Caster fiefdom, and most of the students enrolled are from famous families.

In order to cultivate these talented people and the future masters of the fiefdom and improve the quality of education, the academy has strict discipline and meticulous management. Students can only go home on the rest day of the week.

The big boss wants to obtain the most realistic and immersive experience possible, so the time flow rate of this sub-world is similar to the standard calendar of infinite space, only the name is different.

Rest Day refers to the entire day of Sunday and half a day on Monday morning. The academy will be closed on Saturday afternoon, and the young masters and young ladies from each family will return to their mansions by carriage.

The sun had begun to set, its orange afterglow reflected on the stone walls of the castle.

Horse hooves clattered on the avenue, the castle gate opened, and servants lined up on both sides, welcoming a luxurious dark-colored carriage that drove in.

It stopped in the front yard. Gwen wiped her hands excitedly on her apron and stepped forward to open the car door. "Young Master, welcome home."

The boy in the dark green school uniform helped her down from the carriage, nodding politely and respectfully. "Thank you."

This is the upbringing of the Custer family. When the heir was young, he had to use honorifics even when talking to servants.

The courtyard lingered with the scent of dying flowers. The late autumn evening had already grown chilly, yet the boy, eager and irritated, took off his cape, emblazoned with the school's emblem, and handed it to Gwen. "I heard that His Royal Highness..."

His voice was interrupted by the sound of a group of people's footsteps. He and the old maid turned around and saw the Holy Son's entourage and the Holy Son himself being held horizontally in the arms of the high priest.

Xu Lingxi knelt calmly and bowed respectfully, "May the Holy Son be blessed by God and may his blessings last forever."

The high priest had a very good impression of the child. Although he was still young, he had a demeanor and temperament that was more worthy of a noble title than his father, who was often distracted and stuttered when speaking.

He praised Xu Jiahang, who came from the other side with a cane, "My Lord Earl, you have a very outstanding son."

It was the first time Xu Jiahang saw his son and he was stunned. He didn't expect that the little boy adopted by Mr. Shen had also traveled through time with him.

First it was Chen Lijue, then Ling Xi, who else is waiting for him?

Could it be that one day when I open my eyes, the old man will appear in front of me, full of energy?

He began to reflect on what role he played in this grand time-travel drama - why did he look more and more like a cannon fodder villain?

Unlike his dazed expression, Xu Lingxi stood up and greeted his father naturally after getting permission.

When he saw the little tail following behind the Son of God, his gaze paused for a moment, but only for that second, and then focused on the distinguished visitor.

Miao Ling and Tan Ning stood among a group of servants, whispering to each other.

Miao Ling couldn't believe it: "Is this the young master you arranged?"

It was indeed Tan Ning who first informed Xu Jiahang that "the young master was coming back."

Tan Ning felt very wronged: "I knew it was in the plot, but I didn't expect it to be this child - wait, this is your script, okay?"

Miaoling argued back confidently, "I've also said that sowing seeds is one thing, but what kind of flowers bloom is none of my business. But why is this kid..."

Tan Ning had the same hesitation as "her".

Xu Lingxi clearly saw Li Jue, but he didn't smile, nor did he give her the long-awaited hug. He didn't react at all.

It was like seeing a stranger who I had never met before and had no connection with.

The little cub's expression was as if the sky had fallen.

The reunion he had been looking forward to for so long, longing for so long, ended up with such a heartbreaking ending.

*

After dinner, Xu Lingxi went to his father's room first.

He took off his student uniform and changed into his own clothes, still a shirt and shorts style, which was somewhat similar. The biggest difference was that the college's ivy emblem was replaced by Custer's raven and obsidian family crest.

He and his father did not live on the same floor, but went up the stairs.

The castle was covered with dark brown carpets, which absorbed the sound of footsteps completely.

Dozens of oil paintings hung on both sides of the corridor on the floor where my father lived. They recorded the glorious achievements that the Caster family had made for the Fialan continent since its founding, from wars to experiences, from art to politics...

The development history of the Caster family occupies a significant part in the history of the entire United Kingdom of Fialan. They are the most original foundation of this ancient and prominent family.

Seven-year-old Xu Lingxi grew up looking at these oil paintings. He knows the stories behind them like the back of his hand and feels extremely honored to be a member of the Custer family.

He is the Earl's only child and Custer's legitimate first heir. Of course, he must encourage himself with the highest standards so that he can continue to lead his family to eternal glory after he comes of age.

The boy thought back to what he had learned in the academy this week and the praise his teacher had given him. He would tell his father about it one by one when he saw him.

He stopped.

A small figure stood there, fidgeting with his fingers nervously, looking at him anxiously, with an expectation that could not be hidden in his light golden eyes.

Xu Lingxi looked at his little face, which was gray from working, and his rough clothes.

The child was so small that the existing servant uniforms at home didn't have his size, so the one he wore was a modified one that Gwen had sewn herself.

Earlier, the old maid who had watched Xu Lingxi grow up happily told the young master that she had kept all his childhood clothes, which were perfect for the child named Li. She then added with regret that the master would not allow a servant to wear the young master's clothes.

"That reminds me of you when you were little." The old man's eyes sparkled with nostalgia. "Li is a very cute child. You will definitely like her."

In her opinion, although the young master was of noble status, he never acted bossy towards them, the servants. On the contrary, he was very respectful to them.

There were not many children of his age in the Custer family's side branches. Before entering the aristocratic academy at the age of six, Xu Lingxi often played with the servants' children; this was something that even the master tacitly approved.

The maid didn't know that the master had already given the little male servant to the Holy Son. She was delighted to think that the young master would get along well with Li, and that in the future when he came home on his days off, he wouldn't have to stay in his room alone to study.

Surprisingly, the boy was not very interested in this. He said a few polite words and changed the subject.

The study and training at the academy were very hard, and Gwen hadn't given it much thought, nor had she expected that the little fellow she was taking care of would be so bold as to stop his young master.

Li Jue walked over. He was a little smaller than his original self, and Xixi - at least he thought Xixi was a little taller - which made their height difference much bigger. He had to raise his head as if he was talking to other older brothers.

If it were any other time, the little cub would have happily run over and jumped into the boy's arms.

But the neglect he had felt earlier made him feel sad. Li Jue stood a few meters away from the other party and first shouted with hope: "Xixi!"

But the boy just looked at him coldly.

Li Jue stood there in a daze.

If the previous neglect could be explained as there were too many people and he couldn't recognize them immediately (although he didn't know why not), then this look at this moment had already hurt his little heart, which was filled with soft joy just by seeing Ayaka.

The little cub bit his lip and repeated helplessly in a low voice: "Xixi...?"

He hoped that he was seeing things, that he was dreaming, and that when he woke up, Xixi would open her arms and wait to hold him in her arms.

But the boy still ignored him.

Xu Lingxi walked around him indifferently, as if he was just walking around a statue placed in the middle of the road, and then went straight to the master bedroom.

Li Jue stood there in a daze, unable to even turn around to look at him.

No matter how tightly I bit my lower lip, tears still fell.

The cub squatted down and hugged his tiny self, sobbing silently.

In the other room, the Earl was lying on the couch in a purple nightgown, with an opened bottle of red wine on the small coffee table next to him.

There was a knock on the door and he turned to look at it.

The only one who could enter without permission was his son.

Xu Jiahang's eyes were a little blurry, and he was already in a state of tipsiness: "...It's Ling Xi."

The boy walked over to him and obediently poured him a cup of hangover tea: "Why is Dad drinking alone?"

Xu Jiahang moved his lips, his heart filled with the pain of being unable to distinguish reality from illusion. The train was running faster and faster on the out-of-control track, and perhaps it would run over him in the next second.

But the child in front of him is so young. Even if he tells him, what can the child understand?

The man smiled bitterly. "It's just that this wine is about to expire. Drink it quickly. Alas, the refrigeration conditions are too poor these days. There's not even a refrigerator..."

Xu Lingxi listened quietly, not surprised by the words Xu Jiahang occasionally blurted out that were completely out of tune with the times, nor did he point out that the wine in the cellar was expired.

It is normal for a drunk to say anything nonsense, and others don't have to carefully consider every word he says.

Xu Jiahang closed his eyes tiredly and felt drowsy.

The boy took the blanket and covered him with it. He didn't plan to tell his father the report he had prepared beforehand, as his father wouldn't remember it anyway.

But there was another problem, and he really couldn't wait until tomorrow.

"Father, have you hired a new servant?" He paused and added, "...such a young one."

When Li Jue was mentioned, Xu Jiahang seemed to have something on his mind, and he struggled to sober up a little.

He opened his eyes and patted his son's head lovingly: "Yes, I saw that you were lonely, so I found you a little one of similar age, so that you will have someone to play with when you go home in the future."

He was so drunk that he didn't realize that he had already handed the little servant over to someone else.

Xu Lingxi frowned in disgust when he heard this: "Father, I'm grown up now and don't need anyone else to accompany me."

Xu Jiahang's eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't open them. "Really... but I remember you were still a very young child..."

By the end of his speech, he was already snoring.

Xu Lingxi had no choice but to take the wine glass from his hand that was about to fall and put it back on the coffee table, then sat beside him and stared at the dark blue night sky outside the window in a daze.

Without the boy noticing, Li Jue hid outside the door and looked inside quietly through the gap.

He heard the entire conversation and even saw Xu Lingxi's expression of resistance clearly.

The tear marks on the little cub's face had not yet dried, and were covered with wetness again.

This is not a nightmare, it's real.

Xixi didn't recognize him anymore.

*

The child who cried himself to sleep was finally carried back to his room by the housekeeper, accompanied by a sighing young maid.

Li Jue was lying on Tan Ning's bed, so small, like a helpless little kitten curled up in a sack.

He was abandoned by his father, and now, he was abandoned by Xixi.

The cub couldn't sleep well, and still sobbed in his dreams, chirping like an orphan.

She murmured "Dad" and "Xixi" several times and almost woke up from crying.

The two adults in the room had limited experience in taking care of cubs, especially little Li Jue, who always showed a lively and innocent smile in front of them. Suddenly, they encountered such a sad baby and had no idea how to take care of him.

Tan Ning simply transferred his frustration to Miao Ling, saying unhappily, "Why did you have to do this weird immersive thing? Are you satisfied now?"

Miao Ling's usual eloquence was ineffective in the face of Bao Baozi's tears. After hesitating for a long time, she finally found a rebuttal: "That child is not my responsibility."

Tan Ning was stunned. It was true.

He had spent more time with Ling Xi than with Miao Ling, and knew that this child was neither an ordinary NPC nor a materialized system assistant; no one knew what he was.

The speculation that Ling Xi was a free man had only been raised by the Golden Dragon and the Sea Monster King. Given Tan Ning's level in the original world, he was not even able to have any knowledge of the free man.

Tan Ning gave up and said, "I don't care. He came to find you in the first place. Now you have to take full responsibility."

Miao Ling: “?”

Miao Ling: "Baby, you look cool when you're unreasonable, but that's not something I can handle. I don't know how to comfort a child!"

Tan Ning: "If you can't coax a child, why are you provoking him?"

Miao Ling: "I don't have any!"

Tan Ning: "You said no again?"

Meow Ling: "...Okay, I do. But sooner or later, sweetheart, you'll have to come here to work."

What "she" said made sense. If Ayaka was indeed an existence beyond the control of the sub-world, then even if they were spoiled in advance and wanted to take precautions, they would be powerless to do anything.

Tan Ning looked at Miao Ling, who looked aggrieved, and sighed, "You should get out first. It's not good for others to see you here."

One of them is a butler and the other is a maid, a single man and a single woman... well, even if it's a woman, it's just not decent.

Miao Ling curled her lips indifferently: "It's only been three days, and you still care about this? What will happen if that old man finds out?"

Mentioning the Earl, Tan Ning recalled Xu Jiahang's trance-like speech to him earlier, which made a lot of incomprehensible things. He frowned and asked, "Do you feel that Xu Jiahang is not quite right?"

Miao Ling: "He has never been a serious person."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Tan Ning said, "Did he find out?"

"What did you discover? That he's not some wealthy earl, but just a pathetic, pitiful creature ready to be sacrificed at any moment?" Thinking of the human who was always glaring at her with lustful eyes, Miao Ling's sharp tongue returned. "With so many players pretending to be dukes and earls across the entire Fialan continent, how could he even rank in the top three of the idiots list?"

Tan Ning: "Who are the other two?"

Miao Ling: "Yes... why are you asking this? This is not the point."

Tan Ning narrowed his eyes and said, "I saw you hanging around Custer's house all the time. I thought you had no intention of bothering other people."

"How is that possible? I'm very responsible and won't let any player go. But it's true that I've spent the longest time here. After all, I have my cubs, and..." Miaoling winked at him ambiguously, "You're here too, my dear. How can I bear to leave you for too long~?"

Tan Ning found that he had become more and more immune to these flirting words recently, which was a good thing.

Seeing that her verbal teasing was unsuccessful, the girl was about to add some physical action, but she saw the man's face change.

"Someone." Tan Ning became alert, "You..."

As he had said before, the plot was still unfolding normally, and if someone found them in the same room, gossip would inevitably spread to the Count.

Xu Jiahang is a little crazy now. Tan Ning is not afraid of him, but he doesn't want to provoke a madman.

Miaoling's eyes turned from sweet to cold in an instant, and her gaze towards the person on the other side of the wall was filled with murderous intent.

After a few seconds, it became a little surprised, until finally it was very interesting.

"It's actually him..." The girl licked her lips, as if she was excited before a meal.

Tan Ning did not have the authority to see through everything in this sub-world, not even through perspective. He looked at her in confusion as she opened the door.

Outside the door stood the Son of God.

…Only the Son.

Miao Ling instantly returned to her sweet and lovely maid state, pinching her throat and speaking in a pretentious voice of surprise, "Oh, Your Highness, why are you here?"

Tan Ning walked over and looked around: "Your Highness, are you alone? Where is the High Priest?"

The young man, with black hair and white clothes, looked cold and thin. He stood alone in the dim corridor, like a homeless ghost.

He didn't seem to want to pay attention to them at first. After all, with the respected status of the Son of God, there was no need for him to communicate directly with anyone other than the high priest.

However, he also understood that this was a special situation. He pursed his lips and said, "I'm here to find Li Jue."

He said "Pear Jue" instead of "Pear" which was more commonly used by the cubs in the castle.

The two people in the room looked at each other. It seemed that Zizi had already told the other party his real name - it seemed that the little guy liked this precious little prince more than imagined.

"Please come in first." The butler stepped aside.

The Son of God should not act alone. He and the maid are already conspicuous enough here. If the Son of God appears here alone, it is hard to imagine what kind of shocking scandal will arise.

The young man walked in barefoot. Tan Ning noticed that there was a circle of very thin golden branches around his ankles, which looked like a smaller version of the wreath he wore on his head.

When the Son of God saw the little cub sleeping peacefully on the bed, his cold gaze softened slightly.

He turned his head: "Can I take him back?"

Surprisingly, he's quite polite, knowing how to use questions instead of imperatives, the two adults thought at the same time.

Before answering, Tan Ning had something else to ask; he stared into the boy's calm black eyes: "Your Highness, how did you know that Xiaoli was with me?"

He and Miaoling were originally going to find Xu Jiahang to report something, but they found a sleeping cub at the door. They were careful not to let anyone notice them on the way back.

It's been quite a while, how could the Son of God find me? He couldn't have knocked on every door in the hundreds of rooms in the castle, could he?

If that were the case, the servants who were horrified at the discovery of the Son of God would have immediately reported it as soon as the young man knocked on the first door.

The little saint not only did not evade this question, but also tilted his head slightly with a rather confused expression: "...feeling."

"Feeling?" the adults asked in unison.

What is feeling?

Tan Ning looked at Miao Ling with a questioning look, wanting to ask what permissions this child had in this sub-world; the positioning function could at least only be activated by small bosses, and he was most familiar with it.

However, Miaoling was no less surprised than him. The child's identity was not registered, which meant that he was neither a small boss nor a high-level NPC.

Miao Ling frowned: "Could it be that the 'Great Chaos' has already affected the NPC-level mutations?"

Tan Ning murmured softly: "My Lord God..."

None of them wanted to think about that possibility.

But if this is really the case, there will be big problems.

Unlike the two adults who were full of thoughts, the boy did not explain much after saying those two words. He turned his head again and looked at the little cub quietly.

"Sad."

After a while, he softly uttered this sentence.

Tan Ning and Miao Ling, two knowledgeable adults, thought at the same time, why this child is like a robot, and the kind that is not very complete.

While receiving instructions, he always has some ideas of his own, and some inexplicable and incoherent words pop up.

Combined with his exquisite appearance and ruthless personality, he looks even more like a robot.

If it is a robot, it seems reasonable that it is not registered in the NPC or boss database of the sub-world.

Fortunately, Tan Ning was more familiar with human emotions and realized that the Son of God was not talking about him, but Li Jue.

Tan Ning looked at Li Jue. The tear marks on the child's face had been wiped clean by him with a handkerchief soaked in warm water, and the blush from crying had also disappeared.

Can you actually tell that he's been sad?

Is it due to keen observation or the ability to see into people's hearts?

Tan Ning's opinion of the Son of God changed again and again.

"Can I take him back?" the Son asked again, his tone identical to the previous one, almost like a replay.

The ownership of the cub has now been nominally given to the Holy See, but the ten-year-old Son of God is still a child no matter how you look at it. Letting a child take care of another child sounds unreliable, doesn't it?

More importantly, is it possible for this little prince, whose hands are clean of dust, to hold the cub himself?

While Tan Ning was still deciding what to say, Miao Ling asked bluntly, "Are you going to take him back? If I remember correctly, you shouldn't be able to do that, right?"

Fortunately, the Son of God did not show any emotional fluctuations, otherwise he would have been furious on the spot if he was questioned by a maid in such a tone.

The Son of God stood beside the bed. He was not wearing gloves and could not touch the little cub directly. His fingers were tracing the texture of Li Jue's curly hair in the air from a distance of more than ten centimeters.

He remained silent, as if he hadn't heard.

Just when Miao Ling and Tan Ning thought he wouldn't respond, he suddenly said, "He will help."

The adults were stunned.

Although I really want to ask who "he" is, I already know the answer.

For the Little Saint, there can be no second answer to this "he".

As if sensing the Son of God's words, someone knocked on the door and pushed it open before waiting for an answer.

The tall man in the cloak walked straight behind the young man without looking around, completely tucking the slender boy into his shadow, and the gems on his shoulder ornaments jingled.

"...This is not good behavior, my Lord."