Chapter 37.3

Oswald paused. "What is it this time?"

He asked in a harsh voice. "Is the commander trying to be funny again? Tell him to go back to his wife and children and stop wasting my time."

The servant carefully poked his head into the room and lowered his eyes. "Not this time, Your Majesty. The commander says that a large number of refugees are heading this way."

Oswald frowned. "Refugees? What refugees?"

"I do not know the details, Your Majesty. You should ask the commander," the servant replied.

"Very well," Oswald said. He stood up and raised his foot to go out.

Kevin stuffed a small berry into his mouth with one hand, and with the other, he yanked the iron chain casually. The stretched chain was now right in front of Oswald's feet.

"Do you want me to fight you for half of what you just said?" Kevin asked angrily.

"What was the second half of that sentence? What did you bring back from the Tomb of the Gods? What are you going to do? Please summarize for me."

Oswald replied succinctly, "I brought back Phae's footprints and another signature of something unknown. I plan to find time to rebuild a tomb for Phae in the future. It may not be so grand, but at least it will be worthy of the word 'light'."

After hearing this, Kevin paused with the berry in his hand, looked up at Oswald, and then quickly looked away.

He threw off the iron chain in his hand, and the chain that had been stopping Oswald hung loosely on the ground. He waved his hands without looking up and said, as if chasing a puppy, "Okay, let's go."

The emperor graciously ignored his rude gesture, strode out the door, and turned to find the patrolling army.

Kevin threw a small berry into his mouth, chewed it twice, then leaned back with his upper body, leaning against the headboard of the bed and lost his train of thought.

Although His Majesty the young emperor was a bit of a blowhard, he always knew how to get under someone's skin...

Perhaps it was because the key that was broken in the keyhole was difficult to find, or perhaps it was because Oswald had not fully recovered his strength as he had said, but Kevin actually remained obediently in the dormitory for several days.

Even when Oswald asked someone to bring a bathtub into his room for him to soak in, he accepted it without much protest.

This made the emperor a little uncomfortable.

As Oswald had said before, large wounds would suddenly appear on his body, which would heal little by little after rotting to the bone. However, it was much better than when he had been in the Tomb of God, and the frequency was also much slower.

During the few days he remained in the dormitory, apart from Oswald, the most diligent visitor was Princess Sinia. Ben and Angel were not allowed inside the Hanging Palace, so they could not see the shameful scene of Kevin being handcuffed and fettered.

Sinia's arm had recovered well, and Oswald had lifted her restraint, allowing her to roll around like a live ball as she had done before.

Angel was away, and Oswald was busy with affairs, so her favorite object of harassment became Kevin. Every day, she would grab a book and come to ask Kevin to tell stories, and occasionally told Kevin stories herself.

"I was miserable a while ago. My uncle locked me in my room and didn't allow me to get out of bed," the little girl would bring this matter up and complain to Kevin every day.

"But Grandpa Ian was even worse. Uncle said that the neck is connected to the head, and he is not allowed to go out until he is fully recovered, so he is still lying down."

Kevin: "..."

Through the process of generalization, he eventually learned that Oswald has an inclination for confining people who express concern for them, even children are not exempt.

After lodging the complaint, Sinia indelicately climbed onto the bed, sat across from Kevin with crossed legs, and presented the book, stating, "I wish to listen this today."

Kevin gingerly picked up the book, eyeing the stale ashes with disdain, and voiced a mix of amusement and bewilderment, "From where did you dig up this antique, young lady?"

Without skipping a beat, Sinia slapped her thigh and demanded, "Read it!"

Kevin could only oblige, grumbling, "Okay, fine. You just like your uncle."

He perused the pages twice before his hands halted and his gaze fixated on a particular page. He muttered, "Oh, my goodness... How can you, a little girl, relish in these trite and hackneyed tales?"

He further inquired, "What is so fascinating about this story?"

Xinia giggled and responded, "It's enjoyable!"

"From the start?" Kevin hastily flipped through the book a couple more times before ultimately flinging it aside.

He announced, "Okay, I'll recite it to you."

Cynthia regarded him fondly.

In the end, Kevin recited the tale without emotion. His intonation remained monotonous and impassive throughout.

"The exquisite and divine goddess Thenis said, 'May your existence glimmer like a flower and be as robust as a thorn. And hereby, I grant you the appellation of Melo, which in the language of the divine signifies illumination and perpetuity'." Kevin's endorsements lacked sincerity.

In fact, his use of all the glamorous adjectives was rather derisive.

Nonetheless, Sinia was content with the story. She interjected, "Who is Melo? I have never heard of him in any other stories."

Kevin glanced at her, sighed, and explained, "Melo was his former name, and the flower and thorn represented his earliest insignias. Later, as he matured, he combined his name with his symbols, burying them in the past and convincing himself that gods did not require names. Therefore, he selected the sun and moon as his new symbols."

Sinia tilted her head, posing another question, "Then how do people address him without a name?"

Kevin answered, "He christened himself Empress God."