Chapter 154 The King's Game He had forgotten who he was, and had no idea...

Sirius looked down at the child at his feet.

Jiang Nuoer tilted her head back, her slender neck appearing even more fragile beneath the loosened collar. Tears still clung to her long eyelashes, and her blue-gray eyes were filled with innocent naivety and an almost overflowing fear.

He was like a frightened cub, even his pleas for mercy had a childish, trembling voice.

Sirius's gaze swept over the hand clutching his trouser leg. The obsidian on the mask spun, clearly reflecting his torn fingernails, the footprints on his robe, his lost boots, and his dusty feet.

How could such a person be of royal blood from Ethergard?

"Jiang Nuoer, stand up."

Sirius's sternness startled Jiang Nuoer, who hurriedly grabbed the door handle and stood still.

"I'm...I'm sorry..."

Jiang Nuoer closed his eyes, trembling. He didn't understand what he had done wrong, or why he was being put in solitary confinement. He just reflexively apologized.

Sirius inexplicably recalled the sobs and accusations that had first fallen into his ear.

"I hate Sirius! I hate him!"

He didn't even understand that in the Pope's temple, "dislike" itself is a form of blasphemy.

"I don't hate the Pope...please don't tell him...okay..."

He understands, but he can't hide it.

"I love my brother! I love Yao!"

He's still young, he might not understand.

"You can hate the Pope, I don't blame you."

Sirius's voice was calm, yet strangely it soothed part of Jiang Nuoer's trembling.

"ah?"

Jiang Nuoer looked up in surprise, but his head was suddenly pressed down by the man's large hand, a force that left him no room to resist, yet it did not hurt him.

His small mouth was slightly open, and his bright eyes, hidden under his palms, were wide open.

Sirius easily saw through his fingers the tiny, fleeting joy and bewilderment that had suddenly risen within him, a joy born of permission.

He was indeed too young and had no idea that his actions were to prevent his identity from being discovered.

They're so easily swayed by even the slightest bit of sweetness.

Sirius ruffled his soft, fluffy hair. "Go find the shoes, and I'll take you to the solitary confinement room."

...

Solitary confinement!

Jiang Nuoer's brief moment of relaxation was instantly shattered. The color drained from his face, his blue-gray eyes widened in terror, and his body trembled even more violently than before.

"No, I...I don't want to...No, I'm not wearing..."

He was incoherent and almost immediately went to look for the missing boot.

The boots lay forlornly in the center of the hall a few steps away, but as soon as he took a step, his knees buckled due to extreme fear, and he knelt heavily on the cold, hard ground with a "thud".

Jiang Nuoer ignored the pain and crawled on her knees, using both her hands and feet, toward the boot.

Sirius watched this series of reactions in silence, his prostrate posture both pathetic and humble, as if afraid of angering him, or as if eager to escape.

He then realized that Jiang Nuoer was afraid of the Pope for one reason, and afraid of being imprisoned by the Pope for doing something wrong for another.

With his mind wavering, Sirius raised his hand.

Not far away, Jiang Nuoer grabbed a boot and hurriedly tried to put it on, but because her hands were shaking so badly, she failed several times.

Finally, Jiang Nuoer managed to put the boots on her feet, and before she was even fully on, she hurriedly got up and ran to his side.

As he removed his mask, he made his decision.

Jiang Nuoer kept her head down, not daring to look at him, her voice soft and trembling with tears: "Okay, okay... I'm dressed... Don't punish Jiang Nuoer..."

Ji Yang's face appeared under the mask. He casually put the mask into the overlapping collar of his clothes and looked down at the child who only reached his waist.

"Okay, don't cry, and I won't punish you."

Jiang Nuoer covered her mouth and stopped crying in a second, her sobs stuck in her throat, and her whole chest trembled.

Ji Yang leaned down and stared into those pleading eyes filled with moisture, and felt as if something had gently struck his heart.

He reached out and helped Jiang Nuoer straighten her slipped robe. The fabric was far too cumbersome for the child's small frame. He deftly retied the loose sash, and seeing that Jiang Nuoer was still tightly covering her mouth, he added in a gentler tone, "You can speak now."

"...oh."

Jiang Nuoer responded softly, put her hand down, and took a deep breath.

Ji Yang straightened up and stopped looking at him, turning around and walking towards the side hall. Jiang Nuoer didn't dare to delay and immediately followed.

But the boots weren't the right size to begin with, and in the panic just now they weren't put on properly. Now that Ji Yang was walking so fast, Jiang Nuoer had to lift her feet with difficulty to keep up, so her small body walked unsteadily, and the heavy thuds sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet corridor.

Ji Yang didn't notice it at first.

He paused and turned around when the "thud" behind him grew more and more rapid, accompanied by several suppressed gasps.

Jiang Nuoer was struggling to maintain her balance; her face was slightly flushed from the effort, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

How could Ethergard... even his shoes be prepared so carelessly...?

Ji Yang frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Are you really from Asgard?"

Why do you all suspect Jiang Nuoer?!

First it was Yue Weiya, then this tall, imposing man. Even if Jiang Nuoer were made of clay, he would still get angry!

Jiang Nuoer clenched her little fists, puffed out her cheeks, and stubbornly stuck out her neck. It took her a lot of effort to finally see the person's chin.

"?"

Ji Yang knelt down on one knee in front of him, looking him in the eye, and his arrogant demeanor vanished instantly.

"sorry..."

Tears welled up but wouldn't fall, as if Ji Yang had committed some heinous crime.

Ji Yang sighed softly.

Before she could catch her breath, Jiang Nuoer, being sensitive, burst into tears with remarkable speed, as if she were made of water.

"Why apologize?"

Ji Yang pinched the bridge of his nose, looking a little tired; he had never dealt with children before.

Especially those who burst into tears after saying just a few words.

Delicate and spoiled.

Jiang Nuoer sobbed, "I don't know either."

"father..."

...Ji Yang gently wiped away Jiang Nuoer's tears with his fingertips: "Aren't your father and mother good to you?"

"No, the instructor said that Father God and Mother Goddess are busy, and Jiangnuoer doesn't see them often..."

The more he talked, the more aggrieved he became, until finally, the water between Ji Yang's fingers was soaked with the tears the child had dropped.

Ji Yang switched hands and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his tears: "What about your brother? Is your brother good to you?"

"Jiang Nuoer...has never seen her brother before..."

...

Too.

The young general of Aethergard, who embarked on a voyage across the ocean at the age of 12, is now in his eighth year.

As he led his legion back to the capital, he just happened to pass by the group that Jiangnuoer was being sent to the Holy City by Ethergard.

"Never seen it before, yet you like it?"

"Of course!"

Jiang Nuoer immediately raised her head proudly: "Because my brother is a great hero!"

Even though she had never met her brother, she held him as if he were raising his sword high, proclaiming with adoration, "Everyone knows! My brother is a great hero!"

The wetness in her eyes couldn't hide the light shining in Jiang Nuoer's eyes; she had completely forgotten her previous grievances.

As she spoke, she subtly lifted her eyelashes, stealing a glance at Ji Yang who was standing right in front of her, silently comparing them in her mind. "My brother must be about this tall too..."

It's just...sigh...

Jiang Nuoer suddenly lowered her small eyebrows and eyes.

Ji Yang, not understanding his fluctuating emotions, asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Nuoer wonders... if her brother would like her...

...

Looking at Jiang Nuoer's features, which resembled Ta's, Ji Yang felt a complex mix of emotions.

Jiang Yang and I crossed the wasteland, opened the door, and stepped into this unclaimed, undeveloped land.

The source of everything was right in front of him, but all he knew how to do was cry.

Perhaps they were worried that he would harm Jiang Nuoer, or perhaps the deed was already done and the outcome could not be changed.

Therefore, even though he was sitting in the Pope's chair, he could only listen to the messenger announce for no reason that Jiangnuoer was under house arrest.

He didn't know what Jiang Nuoer would experience in the Holy City, let alone what kind of experience would give birth to a no-man's-land.

But looking at the boy in front of him, the only thing he truly felt was reluctance.

Memories surfaced as a majestic warhorse trod into the capital of Aethergard, and the next moment he found himself in the No Man's Land.

From then on, what appeared on the list was gibberish.

Jiang Yang was talking nonsense about a blind man.

He forgot who he was, and had no idea that he had once been a beloved hero in the eyes of a child, someone he had never met.

So, at that moment, he inexplicably took off the papal mask that would frighten Jiang Nuoer.

He thought he would calmly and slowly accept Jiang Nuoer, but unknowingly he was repeatedly struck by the child's sincere recklessness.

It should be something they like.

At least I don't dislike it.

After all, Jiang Nuoer is now just his younger brother.

Ji Yang's gaze fell again on the child's ill-fitting shoes, and he reached his forearm under the child's knees to lift him up steadily.

The sudden suspension made Jiang Nuoer gasp softly, and she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around Ji Yang's neck, afraid that she would fall.

"I'll bring you new shoes tomorrow."

Ji Yang remained unfazed, holding Jiang Nuoer and looking straight ahead as he strode forward.

Once the initial tension subsided, the baby in my arms quietly turned his face to the side, and the instructor said that he was heavy and couldn't always be carried.

But the man didn't say a word while carrying him. After thinking for a moment, he timidly asked, "Isn't it too tiring to carry Jiang Nuoer?"

Ji Yang did not answer, his arm as steady as a rock, and even his pace remained unchanged.

Receiving no response, Jiang Nuoer dared not ask any further questions.

He woke up early at the post station today and cried for too long. The comforting embrace made him snuggle closer to Ji Yang. Finally, his head bobbed up and down, and the cold, majestic murals and pillars gradually blurred as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

He heard soft, even breathing in his ear. When Ji Yang lowered his eyes, he saw Jiang Nuoer's small body nestled against him, sleeping soundly without any guile.

"Father...God..."

A muffled murmur, heavy with sleepiness and dependence, nestled softly against his neck: "Father..."