Chapter 58
Translated by Ellabells of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Old Events part 2
Lanka stared at Hughes"s tender face and his thoughts returned to the old days. “Remember, when you were a child, you were very sticky. If you weren"t following Lord Father, you were following me.”
Hughes" eyes were wide. "It was very lonely by myself."
Lanka said, “So, are you lonely at Noah"s Arc?”
“Of course not. Gin is always with me.”
"Gin?" Lanka"s feelings in that moment were in turmoil. "Do you really like him?"
“Yeah.” Hughes strongly nodded his head.
“What about compared to me?” Lanka looked at him with a noticeable tension in his eyes.
Hughes bowed his head and thought for a long time. “It"s not the same.”
“Not the same.” Lanka let out a breath, not knowing whether it was out of loss or relief. “Then it"s not the same.”
Hughes waited a moment, but only saw that he just looked at the black curtain outside the window. He couldn"t help but ask, “Has Uncle been alright recently?”
Lanka shook his head indifferently, “No.”
Hughes worriedly spoke, “Is it the same as my Lord Father?”
“Mn. In order to resist Genesis"s magnetic field changes, the vitality of Lord Father"s body has been exhausted for thousands of years.” Lanka"s voice was calm. This knowledge, he already knew before becoming the crown prince.
Hughes said with anxiety, “Ah? What should be done? Uncle, he won"t…”
“No, you can rest a.s.sured.” Lanka rubbed his head. “I will never let my uncle"s tragedy repeat. Back then, we didn"t know that Genesis" magnetic field would absorb vitality, and uncle bore it without a word. That"s why it became a tragedy. Now, we have a lot more control over the magnetic fields. As long as I inherit Lord Father"s throne in time, guarding Genesis in his place, nothing will happen to him.”
Hughes said with a sigh, “Unfortunately, I am too useless. The responsibility of guarding Genesis should have been carried by me.”
Lanka gave a light smile, “Are you blaming me for stealing your throne?”
“Of course not.” Hughes hurriedly explained, “I just think…”
“Don"t think too much about it. Anyway, I am only here to inform you of the coronation.”
Hughes grabbed his sleeve, “When?”
“About another month.” Lanka"s fingers lingered in his soft hair.
Hughes said, “I want to go to the ceremony. Can I? I haven"t used this year"s annual holiday yet.”
“Of course. As a matter of fact,” the hand on his head slowly moved away, and Lanka gave a distant smile, “On the same day of the coronation, I will hold a wedding.”
“Wedding?” Hughes blinked. “Is Brother Lanka going to marry? Who? Is it someone I know?”
“The daughter of Lord Banderas.”
Hughes tilted his head and thought for a long time before he suddenly realized, “Ah! That is the girl that always likes to run around naked, and then is forced to wear a gra.s.s skirt and sent home.”
Lanka helplessly smiled, “Thinking back, didn"t you also do that often?”
Hughes grinned. “I saw her doing it so often, it looked fun, so I learned. But didn"t Brother Lanka always say that she is too naughty, and you do not like her?”
“People can always change.”
“Oh. Now, Brother Lanka must be very fond of sister-in-law.” Hughes"s big eyes became two lines as he teased him.
Lanka reached out and suddenly pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly. The glittering tears hung on the edge of his eyes, and he smiled brightly, “Hughes.”
"Hm?"
“No matter what happens, the one that big brother loves most is definitely you.”
Hughes froze for a moment and then hugged him back. He solemnly declared, “No matter what happens, Hughes" favorite person is definitely Brother Lanka… Oh, and uncle, and Lord Father… and Gin! "
Lanka closed his eyes. Tears fell to the ground, breaking into thousands of pieces.
“Wuwu.” Layton squatted at the door, his wrinkled face flushed red, and his hands tightly covered his mouth.
[T/N: wuwu is the sound for sobbing/crying]
Feisha looked at him, and the emotional feelings in his heart disappeared without a trace due to his funny and distorted expression. “If you want to cry, can you not have one eyebrow high and the other one low; one eye big and the other small; and your mouth one side tilted and the other flat?”
Layton grabbed his chest with both hands and said, “I am moved.”
Feisha turned to ask Shamal, “Are you moved?”
Shamal honestly said, “There was a bit originally, but I can"t find it now.”
Feisha wordlessly reached out his hand.
The two of them clasped hands.
There was movement inside again.
Shamal, Feisha, and Layton desperately rushed to the meeting room next door. Of course, the direction of the Domino Listening Device was still properly aligned.
When Layton saw Feisha stay still for a long time, he couldn"t help but ask with a voice half-lost from crying, “How…is it?”
Feisha focused on pressing the earpiece to the wall and said, “Don"t fuss, I"m adjusting the distance.”
Shamal said, “How come I suddenly have the feeling of being exposed after doing something bad?”
The door was opened.
Light was scattered on the ground with Lanka"s shadow.
Shamal and Layton slowly stood up, looked at him and awkwardly laughed.
Lanka smiled and said, “I don"t know if it is inconvenient to talk to you three?”
Not waiting for Shamal and Layton to answer, Feisha rudely responded, “Of course it"s not convenient, don"t you see me busy?”
Lanka approached him. “Oh, do you need help?”
“Oh, sure. You can help me to see where Lanka and Hughes are now.”
Layton whispered, “Behind you.”
Feisha quickly put away the receiver and turned to look at Lanka with a sigh, “I don"t know how Noah"s Arc was built. Sometimes noise can be heard even through a wall. The sound insulation is really bad. Shamal often receives complaints from guests, so I came with Layton for a field trip to see if it was a problem with the wall or a problem in the entire hotel." He paused and looked up and smiled. "What does Your Highness Lanka need from us?"
Lanka showed no reaction, “Would it be bothering you too much?”
“What about bothering or not bothering… you"re treating us too much like outsiders. The purpose of our Noah"s Arc has always been to put the guests first. Hey,” he said with a smile, “even if sometimes the mannerism is strange, the starting point is good.”
Lanka said, “Understood.”
"So," Feisha opened his eyes wide with curiously. "What are you looking for us for?"
“I want to talk to you guys. About Hughes.”
Every gossipping cell in Feisha"s body screamed wildly. He seriously nodded, “We are also very interested in this topic. Out of concern, we are interested.”
“So, please sit down.”
Taking the opportunity of Lanka being turned away to close the door and turn on the lights, Feisha grabbed Shamal"s shoulder and lowered his voice, and said vaguely, “If a fight starts, can you and Layton hold on?”
Shamal said, “If Layton can hold it, we can hold it.”
“…” Feisha hated that lackl.u.s.ter response[1] and looked at him. “You are too unreliable.”
Shamal quickly countered, “I still have value in existence compared to those who were not calculated in, in the first place.”
“Wrong. It is only because of my existence that you have a value of existence.”
Shamal was depressed.
Lanka pulled out a chair and said, “Please sit.”
The three orderly sat down.
Feisha"s thoughts turned, “I heard that you came here to find Shamal to diagnose Lunacy Syndrome this time. Anyway, Shamal is here now, might as well take a look.” The faerie"s medical skills have always been known throughout the Nine Realms.
Shamal was surprised, “Lunacy Syndrome?”
Lanka smiled, “I already said I don"t have Lunacy Syndrome. That"s just an excuse for me to come to Noah"s Arc.”
Feisha was still skeptical. “Do you need to make such an excuse to come to Noah"s Arc?”
“Genesis is not the same as other worlds. It"s a place where many races live together. For a long time, there was no such thing as a ruler. It was just that by chance, Hughes" father discovered that the vitality of the transparent people can contain the magnetic field of Genesis. That made the transparent person recognized as the ruler of the realm. However, the number of transparent people has always been few. Thus our every move in Genesis always attracted attention, and any private visit outside Genesis is not allowed.”
Shamal poked the sleepy Feisha with his fingers and whispered, “Are you alright?”
Feisha used his fingers to hold his eyelids open and said, “Having to take two history lessons in one day, it is the greatest test of my willpower!”
Shamal shook his head, “Your willpower really can"t be tested.”
Lanka said, “So, can you believe that I don"t have Lunacy Syndrome now?”
Shamal said, “Actually, even if you have Lunacy Syndrome, I have no way to help. It is a symptom that only shows in the full moon. But the disease really does seem to be spreading.”
Feisha interjected, “So far, isn"t it only the werewolves infected? Why?”
Shamal shrugged, “I don"t know either. In fact, this is a rather strange disease. Of the werewolves initially infected with this condition, only Antonio is left. Because the werewolves with the Lunacy Syndrome can easily to go crazy and easily become old and feeble.”
Feisha said: “Initial infection… How did he get infected?”
Layton said, “It seems to be because of a kind of magic beast.”
Lanka"s finger tapped on the table, “If you don"t mind, can we talk about the main topic first?”
Feisha said, “If the topic is the history of Genesis… I mind.”
Shamal and Layton looked at him admiringly. Usually they couldn"t tell, but in crucial moments, Feisha really dared to say and do anything.
Feisha leaned back slowly on the chair and grabbed Layton"s elbow.
Layton spoke confidently, “Don"t worry. If anything happens, I will definitely stand in front of you.”
Feisha nodded. “Mhm. I also plan so.”
Layton, "…"
Lanka said, “Actually, I just want to ask you to help me take care of Hughes.”
Feisha spoke without other meaning, “Actually, this sentence should not only be said to us?”
“Some words, it"s the same if you pa.s.s it on. This is my second time to come to Noah"s Arc, but I am more happy than the first time.” He looked at Feisha pointedly, “I believe Hughes will definitely get happiness here, not loneliness. Genesis is too complicated. If possible, I really hope that he will try not to go back.”
“Didn"t you say that you are inviting him to the wedding?” This was too contradictory.
“Mn.” He lowered his head, and the fingers on the table seemed to remember the soft feeling of Hughes" hair. “This is my last selfish act.” He paused and stared at him, “… But how did you know that I invited him?”
Feisha, "…"
Translator Notes:
[1] The original text was 恨铁不成钢 – hating iron not becoming steel
It"s a saying that means lamenting that something isn"t something more (stronger, better, tougher, etc)