Chapter 277: She's Still Alive
A very young lion cub was cautiously pawing at the door with one of its front paws, peeking out with half of its little head. Its ears drooped backward, and its body trembled slightly as it wanted to enter but didn't dare.
Sang Luo subconsciously called out, "Hephaestus!"
Then she shook her head. No, it wasn't Hephaestus.
Hephaestus looked very similar to this lion cub, but upon closer inspection, there were still some differences. Hephaestus had golden fur with a hint of brown, while this lion cub had a very pure and clear golden color.
It was Duotu… Duotu from Anano's memories when he was a child.
Duotu had spent his childhood amidst his parents' quarrels.
Sang Luo no longer had any feelings for Duotu. There was no love, and there was no hate. All her emotions towards him had long since dissipated with the passage of seven years. He was just a stranger she knew.
She would sigh in pity for this young golden lion, glad that he had raised Hephaestus so well and hadn't allowed his son to repeat his mistakes.
The scene changed again.
Sang Luo saw the lion cub again, a little bigger than before. It was locked in a small, dark room. The room was dimly lit, like a square box, without even a window.
It curled up in the corner, constantly crying and shouting.
"No…"
"Mother, don't… don't…"
The memory came to an abrupt end, suddenly interrupted.
Sang Luo was forcibly ejected from the memory gate.
The owner didn't want to recall that memory either. She didn't know what exactly happened afterward.
Sang Luo opened her eyes again. Minos had returned.
"The Arans Empire rumored that the former queen had already passed away. Did the Temple bring her back?" she asked him.
"Yes, Aunt Anano left the Temple several years ago and never returned. Her partner, Mishus, went down to look for her many times. Not long after, Mishus's life lamp went out in the Temple, which alarmed the Temple. They specially sent people to search for her and brought her back. Ugal Arans was powerless to disobey the Temple's orders and had to release her, declaring to the world that the queen had died of illness," Minos said. "Aunt Anano has been like this since she came back, sometimes lucid and sometimes mad. She petitioned the Temple to forever prohibit Ugal Arans and that child from stepping into the sacred domain."
Sang Luo nodded. "Aunt Anano is also a pitiful person. Anyone who suffers such a thing would make such a choice."
"What about you?" Minos looked at her.
Sang Luo was stunned, then shook her head and said, "Duotu is not Ugal, and I am not Anano. We cannot be compared, so I like the little lion I gave birth to very much, and I also acknowledge the mother-son relationship between it and me."
She only mentioned the little lion and didn't mention Duotu.
Minos understood the implication of her words, and the corners of his lips slightly curved. "Then I'm relieved."
Sang Luo blinked, not understanding what he meant.
Minos didn't mention it any further, turning his head to look at Anano, who was sleeping on the bed. "Although Aunt Anano has returned, the Temple is not satisfied. Since she came back, she has sealed her heart and locked away her love, no longer forming bonds with males to reproduce. The Angel race has not had any new offspring born for a long time… The Temple has always wanted to resolve her mental illness."
Sang Luo took a sip of the cold coffee. "The one who tied the bell must untie it. Ugal Arans is dead. Aunt Anano should slowly come out of it."
"Hopefully."
Someone came to call him outside, and Minos left again.
Minos went to the Temple.
The Archbishop happened to be bringing a letter.
"Your Majesty, he wants to come to the Temple to ask about raising Angel race offspring. Should we refuse or…?"
Duotu didn't successfully awaken the Angel race's power inheritance, but after all, he had half of the Angel race's bloodline. Logically speaking, he was qualified to come to the Temple, but because of the prohibition set by Her Highness Anano back then, he couldn't step into the sacred domain, let alone come to the Temple.
But now it was different. Duotu Arans had an offspring who had awakened the Angel bloodline. The offspring was left by his side to be raised, and he could be considered to have benefited from it, qualifying him to bring the offspring to the Temple.
The Temple was in a dilemma for a while and had no choice but to let the Holy Son decide.
Minos, "Raising Angel race offspring is different from raising foreign race offspring. He does have many things he needs to ask the Temple for guidance. Since she doesn't mind anymore, then let him in."
"She?"
Minos didn't say much, only saying, "When Duotu Arans comes over, notify me. I will meet him in person."
"Yes, Holy Son Your Highness."
… …
The witch doctors of the Arans Empire were very busy.
That little Highness in the royal palace had been frequently ill recently, and his body was weak.
This made the Beast King very anxious.
All the witch doctors had seen him, but the little Highness was not sick, and the medicine prescribed was useless. Finally, an experienced witch doctor revealed the illness: the little Highness was… malnourished.
Ever since Hephaestus awakened the Angel race's inheritance, his body had slowly begun to develop various problems. At first, Duotu thought he was sick and brought all the famous doctors in the country to the palace for treatment, but in the end, they came to the conclusion that he was malnourished. How could this be possible? From a young age, he had prepared the best milk powder and nutritional products for him, and the food he ate was the best. He personally formulated it according to his development. How could he be malnourished?!
"The physical development of Angel race cubs may be different from that of ordinary beastman cubs. The food here may no longer be suitable for the little Highness to ingest. Why doesn't Your Majesty go to the Temple and ask them? They definitely know more than Your Highness."
Duotu looked at Hephaestus, who was sleeping in his arms. He was much thinner than he was a month ago, and he could faintly feel his ribs. He felt distressed and uncomfortable.
Perhaps, he shouldn't have insisted on keeping the child by his side, but without this child, he really didn't know what hope he had to live on.
Sacred Domain… Temple…
He wasn't qualified to go to that place, and he never wanted to step into that place, to see his mother. He also knew that his mother didn't want to see him either.
But, Duotu looked at the child and finally wrote a letter and sent it to the Temple.
The Temple agreed to his request.
He was allowed to step into the sacred domain and could come and go freely in the future.
One day, just after Sang Luo and Minos finished eating, a servant came to deliver a message.
"Your Highness, he has arrived. Are you going to see him now?"
Sang Luo asked casually while cracking melon seeds, "Who has arrived?"
Minos, "Someone you don't want to see."
Sang Luo paused, and after seeing Minos leave with the servant, she became even more curious.
Someone she didn't want to see? And related to the Angel race… Could it be Duotu?
But wasn't it said that he couldn't enter the sacred domain?
Sang Luo thought for a while, turned around and went to the top floor of the palace, where she saw Duotu and the little lion coming from below.
Hephaestus, who was listless in his arms, suddenly perked up and stared blankly in one direction.
Duotu also subconsciously looked over there, suddenly stunned. His arm loosened, and the little lion almost fell from his arms.
The slender figure of a female flashed by. He only had time to see a back view and didn't see her face clearly, but it was enough to capture his heart and soul. It was too familiar…
He quickly hugged the child tightly, wanting to catch up.
Minos walked over and blocked him.
Duotu was unable to recover for a long time, and said blankly and bitterly, "Just now, I saw a female wearing white clothes. Who is she…?"
Minos, "She is my Holy Consort."
No extra chapter today, my darlings, go to bed early!
