“Good son, it's been a while! You've grown more and more handsome!” Sang Luo was overjoyed and kissed him on the head.
Hephaestus blushed a little. “I heard from Uncle Holy Monarch that Mother has been asleep for a long time. How is Mother's health now? Your son is unfilial for not being by your side.”
“Don't worry, your mother is fine. With your uncles around, what could happen to your mother?”
Minos smiled at Hephaestus. “Now that you're here, your mother was just discussing with me about bringing you to the Holy Palace for a few days. Vilina and Ares are always talking about their older brother and want to go find you to play.”
“Yes, Brother Hephaestus, stay and play with us! The arithmetic and ancient poems that Mother teaches us are so difficult. Can you teach us, Brother?” Little Rose looked at Hephaestus with bright eyes, pouting her little mouth and shaking his arm.
Hephaestus had grown up alone since he was a child and liked the two little angels very much, so he couldn't refuse. “Okay! I will teach my younger brother and sister well!”
Sang Luo suddenly felt that the burden on her shoulders was much lighter. Fortunately, Little Lion had come. Little Lion's grades were all excellent, so he could teach the two little angels.
“Mother, Uncle Minos, I, I want to stay in the Holy Palace for a few months. Would that bother you?” Hephaestus asked somewhat restrained.
Sang Luo felt sorry for him. “Dear son, you can stay in the Holy Palace as long as you want. The Holy Palace is also your home. No matter what your father did, you will always be the child that Mother loves. Also, Icebreaker City, Phoenix Palace, and Neptune Palace are all your homes. Uncles, younger brother and sister are always welcome. We will always be the closest family.”
Hephaestus nodded heavily, burying his head in her arms, his nasal voice a little heavy. “...I know, Mother.”
Minos was meticulous and his tone was gentle and deep. “Have you been wronged in the Alans Kingdom?”
Hephaestus's body stiffened, and he quickly shook his head. “No, Father is very good to me. He is preparing to marry the princess of the Os Kingdom next month. He is very busy these days. I don't want to bother Father. I want to stay with Uncle Minos for a few days.”
Minos rubbed his golden-brown short hair and smiled gently. “Your mother is right, the Holy Palace is also your home. Stay as long as you want. Your two younger siblings and I are hoping you can come over every day.”
“Yeah!” Hephaestus nodded heavily, beaming with joy.
“You three go play first. Mother will call you when dinner is ready.”
Little Apple grabbed Hephaestus's hand and said sweetly, “Brother, let's go to the game room, I want to play airplane chess!”
“Okay!”
After the children left, Sang Luo and Minos looked at each other and sighed softly.
A child's thoughts are the hardest to hide. How could Sang Luo not see Hephaestus's sadness? This child was very sensible. He didn't want to embarrass her, nor did he want to embarrass Duo Tu, so he swallowed all his sadness and silently digested it himself.
Hephaestus knew very well that Mother had so many younger siblings with good talents. He was not special and did not have the blessing of his father's love, so he was most easily overlooked.
And now his father also had a new love, and he might have new younger siblings in the future…
He was afraid of being abandoned by both parents and no longer having his own home.
“I will pay more attention to this child in the future,” Minos said.
Sang Luo felt guilty. “It's also that I paid too little attention to him. I always thought that Duo Tu would take good care of this only child, so I entrusted the child to him with peace of mind, but I also forgot that he would have a new marriage and new children in the future. Little Lion is caught in a dilemma…”
Minos took out a gilded white invitation. “The engagement banquet of the Alans Beast King next month, is Luo Luo going to go?”
Sang Luo raised her eyebrows. “Oh? You want me to go?”
Minos chuckled. “It seems that Luo Luo really doesn't care about him anymore. I thought you would be a little… angry when you heard this news?”
Sang Luo shook her head. “I am a sentimental person, but when I break up, I will definitely break up cleanly. What I dislike the most is lingering attachments. Once I decide that I don't want a person, I really don't want him. What does his subsequent marriage have to do with me?”
Minos nodded. “Luo Luo sees it very clearly, so do you want to go?”
“...How can I say, I am also the former Queen of the Alans Empire. Taking the invitation to meet the future Queen would be a bit like disrupting the scene, right? I'll entrust your subordinate Holy Envoy to send the gift for me.”
“Luo Luo is wrong about this. The former Queen of the Alans Empire has already transformed. You are my Holy Queen.”
Sang Luo suddenly realized. “That's right.”
After dinner, Minos took the two little angel children back to the Crown Prince's Palace to sleep. She had specifically told him to not come over tonight, so he had to obediently accompany the children. Sang Luo wanted to spend more time with Little Lion, and also, she had some things she wanted to ask him.
“Son, do you want your father to get married?”
“Why is Mother suddenly asking this?”
“If your father has no children, he can marry whoever he wants, according to his own wishes. Outsiders cannot interfere, but he still has you, such a precious son. He found you a stepmother, which has a great impact on you. The most important thing to ask about this matter is your wishes. Mother wants to hear your true thoughts.”
Duo Tu should have asked his son's thoughts beforehand, but Hephaestus would definitely not show any resistance in front of his father.
“I…” Hephaestus looked at his mother's gentle face, tears streaming down. “I don't want Father to marry a new mother.”
Sang Luo reached out and wiped his face. “Why? Is your new aunt not good to you?”
Hephaestus shook his head, choking with sobs. “She is not bad to me. She even gave me many gifts, but I can tell that she doesn't like me very much. I, I want Mother, I don't want a new mother…”
“Okay, Mother knows.” Sang Luo touched his head, her voice gentle. “Good boy, don't think about anything, go to sleep first.”
“Yeah.”
Hephaestus reached out and wiped his eyes, climbed into bed and went to sleep.
Sang Luo tucked him in, sat by the bed for a long time, and gently went out, meeting Minos who was walking over.
“I will go with you to the Alans Empire's engagement banquet next month.”
“Have you thought it through?”
“Yes, there are some things I need to clarify with Duo Tu in person.”
Minos looked at her quietly for a long time, and nodded. “Okay.”
…
Half a month passed in a flash.
The engagement banquet between the Beast King of the Alans Empire and the Princess of the Os Kingdom arrived as scheduled.
The imperial city was extremely lively, decorated with lanterns and colorful banners. Posters and videos of the marriage alliance between the two countries flashed alternately on the screens of shopping malls and various high-rise buildings. Passersby stopped to watch, chatting and discussing, one after another.
The royal palace welcomed foreign envoys with the grandest etiquette.
Minos and Sang Luo brought the blessing of the Holy Temple with the envoys.
In recent centuries, for the first time, envoys from the Holy Temple came to bless the Beast King's wedding banquet. The one who came was the legendary Holy Monarch! This made all the people of the entire Alans Empire extremely excited, and the public's expectation for this engagement banquet reached an unprecedented climax.
“Your Majesty the Holy Monarch, Your Highness the Holy Queen, the King invites you, please allow this humble servant to lead the way for the two of you!”
