Chapter 81: TAMERALAN: PLEASE ALSO ENROLL ME AS YOUR COMRADE!

The time that followed passed like a wound-up clock, slipping away unnoticed until the day before Little Hayden’s Honorary Infant Ceremony.

During this period, Xia Mingyu’s life was fairly fulfilling.

Sometimes he trained with Boge Chu under Knight Solin, riding hard until they were thrown off and landed with bleeding palms; the next day, Solin was banished to the stables to feed horses, replaced by Kallen himself as instructor.

Sometimes he tried cooking with Anliya, and despite his terrible skills, they produced a dish pitch-black and foul-smelling—Anliya ate it happily until Xia Mingyu tasted it and nearly vomited, frantically stopping the girl’s foolishness.

Sometimes he fulfilled his duty as future godfather, carrying little Hayden—who could now crawl everywhere—out to bask in the sun; the brat suddenly kicked his arm with a soft, white foot, and though Xia Mingyu was unharmed from the gentle force, nearby Lady Daniell nearly fainted from shock.

Shortly after, little Hayden, barely three months old, received his first-ever parental double-whipping.

Sometimes he meditated all night with Elise atop the Zhong Lou, taking advantage of the full moon’s aid in refining magic; overcome by sleepiness, Elise collapsed onto his chest and fell asleep, so he conjured a vast field of flowers to keep her warm.

The next morning, Elise awoke to find herself sprawled across Xia Mingyu’s chest, roses blooming all around her in every direction—her fair face flushed crimson to her earlobes, and believing she had lost her virtue, she pleaded pitifully for him to grant her the title of concubine.

Though later clarified, this incident drew them closer; their relationship was no longer stiff or overly reverent as before.

Meanwhile, Tameralan, who had been busy with nightly patrols, finally returned!

Starfire Hall.

“Your Highness, I apologize for not visiting you in so long.”

Tameralan spoke with regret, his blue eyes shadowed with exhaustion, his once-neat golden hair now disheveled.

“Were the patrols exhausting?” Xia Mingyu asked with concern.

“No, the nighttime patrols began because we discovered a villain daring to commit crimes at night in Coronet City—he never stole property or assaulted women, seemingly only seeking to torture people; we patrolled for a long time before finally confirming his appearance during one of his attacks.”

“Afterward, the villain fled into the wilderness. I believed letting him escape would cause countless tragedies, so I chased him day and night until yesterday at midnight, when I personally slew him.”

Tameralan explained slowly.

“From your description, that villain must have been very strong,” Xia Mingyu mused.

To commit repeated atrocities in the Holy City of the world’s greatest church—even among villains, he was utterly insane!

“Actually, he wasn’t that strong—just Fourth Tier—but his ability was bizarre: he could move at high speed within shadows, making him nearly impossible to strike at night, and he was an Yitong person, making him truly difficult to handle.”

Tameralan answered honestly.

In the end, he had to unleash his full strength, destroying every obstacle blocking the moonlight—forests, rocks, everything—until he finally forced the villain out.

Just Fourth Tier? Xia Mingyu’s lip twitched.

No wonder he’s the Pope’s grandson—his battles are so high-level!

How is a magician who’s barely stepped onto the path of transcendence supposed to cope?

Wait— Yitong … Xia Mingyu sharply noticed a key detail.

“Tameralan, do Yitong people truly signify ill omen?”

Xia Mingyu asked directly; as the grandson of the current Pope of the Sun Church, Tameralan surely knew far more than he did.

At this, Tameralan fell silent in thought.

“Your Highness, I don’t know for certain, but according to Church records, many of history’s most vicious, inhuman villains were Yitong people—the probability of such evil emerging from them versus ordinary people is nearly ten thousand times higher.”

After long contemplation, Tameralan’s expression grew complex.

“I once asked my godfather—Cleric Judge Cliff, the Grand Marshal of Holy Knights—why he didn’t stop commoners from burning Yitong infants.”

“He told me: a single Yitong infant who survives to adulthood might cause tragedies involving ten thousand or even a hundred thousand lives. The commoners’ act is evil, but if I stopped them, that would be my evil.”

After hearing his account, Xia Mingyu’s expression grew grave.

He had assumed Yitong prejudice was merely feudal superstition in this medieval-like world—but now it seemed to have genuine scientific grounding!

At least it applied the method of controlling variables.

Then… could Elise one day become a monstrous villain too?

“You’re… Lord Thirteen?”

As Xia Mingyu pondered, Tameralan quickly noticed Haegex, transformed into a noble, martial man.

“Good heavens, you look just like a Holy Knight—Uncle Cliff would pull you into the order at any cost.”

Tameralan first stared in shock, then sincerely praised him.

“Lord Tameralan, I no longer go by Thirteen. My Lord granted me a new name—Haegex—and I owe my rebirth entirely to my Lord’s aid.”

Gazing at the Holy Knight he hadn’t seen in ages, Haegex’s usually expressionless face softened into a faint smile of friendliness.

“My Lord? Your Highness?” Tameralan blinked in surprise.

“It’s like this: not long ago, I refused to kill…” Haegex began recounting recent events.

Of course, when describing Xia Mingyu’s act of granting him the title of “comrade,” he embellished slightly: the Prince revealed divine power, transcended infinite distances, mercifully blessed him with resurrection, healed all his scars, and caused his strength to surge!

It wasn’t embellishment—it was Haegex’s genuine belief.

As Tameralan listened, his expression gradually shifted to deep envy.

He too longed to be rescued by the Prince when his life hung by a thread!

And “comrade”—what a glorious title!

With his extraordinary intellect, he immediately understood: “comrade” implied a far more equal status than servant and master, bordering on friendship.

So when Xia Mingyu finally snapped out of his thoughts, he found Tameralan standing before him, eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Your Highness, please also grant me the title of your comrade!” Tameralan knelt on one knee, solemnly declaring.

(End of Chapter)