CHAPTER 13: KING BAILISH

Arnold stood to welcome them, his expression lighting up as he took Aegon into his arms. "Happy Birthday, Little Sun. May you live happily for hundreds of years!"

"Thanks, Opa! But aren’t you just blessing yourself and Xiu with this?" Aegon said in his childish voice that carried a strange maturity.

"What do you mean?" Xiu asked curiously from the side.

"You said you’ll support me all my life if I decide to be a lazy bum," Aegon said with a sweet smile. "Although I haven’t decided what I’ll do in my future, I still hope you’ll support my laziness all my life. Doesn’t that mean you’re just extending your and Xiu’s lifespan?"

Arnold stared at him for a moment before roaring with laughter. His voice echoed through the hall, and soon the guests chuckled as well. Many exchanged glances, surprised that such tricky and clever words had come out of the mouth of a one-year-old.

Aegon just smiled at that.

He had slowly learned to understand the people around him. It also meant he spent extra effort to understand the two people closest to him.

That was why he had easily seen through Arnold’s sad smile. Although he presented it as if he was happy, Aegon saw the sadness in his eyes.

He could even guess his thoughts to some extent.

’He must be missing his family. It’s a happy occasion that should be shared by everyone in the family, yet he only has us here.’

That was why he tried to lighten the mood, and it seemed to have worked. He could see amusement and mirth in his grandpa’s eyes now, and it suited him far better than the sadness.

"Opa! What are you giving me?" Aegon asked.

"You’ll find it out soon," Arnold wanted to pat his head but lowered his hand to his cheeks so as not to mess with his hairstyle. "Enjoy the banquet your aunt prepared for you."

"I’m looking forward to it," Aegon smiled. "I want my first gift of today from you."

"Not me? How can you be so heartless!" Xiu cried out, her voice tinged with betrayal. She didn’t even care that many people were looking at her dramatic act.

"You already gave me this huge party as a gift, though," Aegon countered.

"That doesn’t count." Xiu wasn’t backing down on this. "It’ll be me who gives you your first gift."

"Just let her be, Little Sun. She won’t listen to anyone today," Arnold said with a helpless smile hanging on his lips. "She spent a lot of effort for your birthday."

Aegon knew that clearly, so he reached out to her and kissed her cheek, which was kind of rare since he was mostly on the receiving end.

"Alright, I’ll take my first gift from you," Aegon smiled at her.

Xiu had an urge to rain down kisses, but knowing that he would get too angry at her for it, she held back and smiled instead. "Let’s greet everyone, okay?"

"Let’s wait for our guests first," Arnold said, turning toward the entrance.

"Who is actually making us wait?" Xiu frowned. "They can simply not come if they don’t want to. I don’t care."

Arnold glanced at her, and that was enough to make her shut her mouth tight. She knew his punishments better than anyone else in the world, so she didn’t want to offend him—not on this happy occasion at least.

Just then, a group of people dressed in fine blue silk clothes entered the hall, instantly drawing every gaze toward them. There were a total of seven people—four women and three men, including two girls and one little boy. Most of them, aside from the adult ladies, had deep blue hair.

Everyone parted to make way for them, and many of the people present bowed their heads, clearly showing the high status of the family.

In normal noble banquets, important guests like them would be announced by name and title when they arrived. But this banquet was planned by Xiu, and she didn’t care enough about anyone’s titles.

They were here to celebrate her nephew’s birthday, not to flaunt their status or solve political matters.

"Who are they?" Aegon asked in curiosity.

"They’re from the Royal Family of Moonrise Kingdom. The middle-aged man at the front is Bailish, the King of Moonrise Kingdom," Xiu replied in a casual tone, making Aegon dumbfounded.

He turned back toward the advancing group of people and thought, ’A real royalty! I never expected to meet them in real life. My aunt is really awesome. She even managed to invite the whole Royal Family.’

He tried to get down, which earned a raised brow from Xiu, so he explained, "Shouldn’t we greet him? He’s the King, after all."

"Don’t worry. You’re the birthday boy. They should come to greet you," Xiu didn’t seem to care about their appearance at all, which made Aegon even more speechless.

He knew his aunt was reckless and carefree, but to not even give a king proper respect... she really was one of a kind.

By then, Bailish had stopped before them with his family, and to the great shock of Aegon and several other guests present, the King of Moonrise Kingdom dropped to one knee, and his family followed suit.

They lowered their heads, and King Bailish said, "House Randle greets Lady Chen, Lord Arnold, and Young Master Aegon!"

His family echoed the greeting.

But Aegon was too shocked to reply. His mind replayed the events in a daze, and he thought, ’I knew my family wasn’t simple, but damn! Why is a King on his knees before us?’

He was utterly confused and turned toward Xiu for answers. But what he saw instead was displeasure written clearly across her face. It was only when Arnold patted her head lightly that her frown eased, and she seemed to relax.

She stared at King Bailish and sighed. "Why do you always have to do this? Especially in front of my nephew?"

"He must understand the prestige of your family, M’Lady," King Bailish said respectfully. "Besides, we also came here to ask you something. Since you have settled here, perhaps I can give back what I once borrowed from you. It is my humble request, so please consider it before replying. Would you like to take over this Kingdom again?"