Departure

~Starry Sky Imperial Palace~

In the imperial garden, a beautiful woman sat on the bench, silently gazing at two lovebirds who were busily flying around the beautiful garden flowers.

“Ah.” A sigh suddenly escaped from her mouth.

“What could my beautiful wife be thinking about?”

At the sudden voice, the woman turned her head backward and was met with the sight of a man dressed in an imperial robe.

Beside him were several guards, who stood like imposing warriors.

Calixta, who had been standing next to the queen, also noticed the king's arrival and was about to bow down in greeting.

“It's fine.” The king raised his hand, stopping her from performing the ceremonial greeting. “You may all leave. I want to be alone with the queen.”

“Yes, your highness.” Calixta and the guards made a slight bow before retreating from the garden.

“Now, can my beautiful wife tell me why she is sighing out loud?” The king strode forward and sat next to the queen.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were so busy that you've forgotten you have a wife somewhere."

“How can I forget my beautiful wife?” The king smiled, putting his arm across the queen's shoulder.

“Hmph.” The queen snorted, turning her head to the side.

Seeing that his wife was really going to ignore him, the king began to persuade her.

“Alright, alright. I know it's my fault for ignoring you lately. You know how swamped I am with the Empire's affairs.”

“I promised that once our son has reached the appropriate age, I'm going to pass down the throne to him. And then, I will be able to travel around the universe with you, my beautiful darling.”

The king pulled the queen closer to himself and then rested his chin on her shoulder. “Don't be mad at me, please.” He pouted, making a pitiful face.

If Calixta and the others were here, they would have been shocked to see the emperor acting like a baby in front of the queen.

“Puff.” The queen burst into laughter. “Alright, I'm not angry at you.” She touched the hand that was wrapped around her shoulder.

“However, don't dare retire early. Do you know how hard our son is already working? I would rather not see him turn into another you. I just want him to be happy and carefree.” This was the care of a mother towards her child.

The king, listening to this, could hear the hidden worry in his wife's voice.

Grasping onto her hand tightly, he made a promise. “Don't worry. I will make sure all the problems of the empire are solved first before handing the throne over to him.”

“Hmm.” The queen hummed, leaning her body against the king's chest.

The couple sat together, enjoying this rare moment of closeness.

“I was—”

Before the queen could finish her sentence, a loud beeping sound interrupted the peaceful atmosphere.

Almost instantly, the king's eyes became dark as he lowered his head to look at the beeping device around his wrist.

“I have to go now.” He hurriedly stood up and kissed the queen on the forehead.

“Hmmm.” The queen nodded in understanding, knowing that this was an emergency situation.

Bidding farewell to her, the king hurriedly walked out of the garden in a large stride.

A few minutes later, Calixta's panicked figure came rushing in.

“Your Highness, it's a level A emergency alert mode!” Her face was filled with dread as she arrived at the queen's side.

“Hmm.” The queen nodded, without any trace of panic in her eyes.

As the mother of the nation, if she were to lose her cool in such a situation, it would only cause chaos among her subordinates.

“The special forces should have received the signal by now. They should be on their way to the front line to contend against the tides.” Her voice was filled with calmness, which instantly settled the worry in Calixta's mind.

“But your highness, didn't the researchers say that the next beast tide will occur 200 years later? Why is there a sudden beast tide now?” Calixta was both curious and shocked at the same time.

“I'm not sure about it, but the situation in the wilds has always been unpredictable. Hence, it's no wonder that this kind of error can also arise. All right, stop talking. Lead me back to my chamber.” The queen extended her hand forward.

“Yes.” Calixta hurriedly put herself together and took the queen's palm, leading her back inside the palace.

When she saw the peacefulness on the queen's face, a sense of ease washed over her mind.

However, if only she knew that in the queen's mind, there was a wave of turmoil going on.

Thinking about her son, who was still outside the palace, the queen hurriedly quickened her pace.

Ever since Ian left for Colton's house for the holiday, the latter hadn't bothered to make a call to her.

'How can a child be so busy to have forgotten to call his mother?'

Knowing how engrossed her son can be whenever he's training, she hadn't bothered to make a call to him.

But now that the empire was in chaos, she was worried that the situation that had occurred in the past might happen again.

Hence, the moment she arrived at her chamber, she hurriedly walked towards the corner of the room and picked up her communication device that was placed on the table.

Searching through her contacts, she immediately dialed a familiar number.

===

In a well-decorated living room, a family of five sat in front of the holographic TV, attentively listening to the words of the TV anchor.

As they listened more, the expressions of the five people became solemn.

“How can there be a beast tide all of a sudden? Didn't we just have one that occurred some years ago?” Colton was in shock as he listened to the news.

Soon after his words fell, the scene on the TV changed, switching to the bloody battle that was taking place at the frontline.

“The behavior of the fierce beasts has always been unusual. Thankfully, the empire is well prepared this time and is able to react to the situation.” A man who seemed a few years older than Colton spoke out.

Colton turned to the man and then said. “Luckily, Mom called you and older sister to come back home for dinner. Who knows what would have happened by now if you two were still out there?”

Unlike the playful him, both of his older siblings were the ace of their fields.

His older brother was a famous researcher who worked at the No. 1 research institute on the planet.

Thirty percent of the research retrieved from the wilds was all due to his brother's hard work, making him a respectable figure in his field.

His older sister enrolled in the military and was recently promoted to the rank of a commander.

But she's currently on leave and wasn't required to report to the front line.

No matter how one looks at it, the two of them were both dazzling gems, while he was just there to make up for the ordinary person.

However, Colton didn't care about the huge disparity between them.

He wasn't as ambitious as his older siblings, and all he wanted was to live a simple life.

If it weren't for Ian, who constantly urges him to train every day, perhaps he would have become more lazier than he is right now.

‘Ring, ring.'

The ringing sound of the communication device interrupted the ongoing conversation in the living room.

“Excuse me.” Colton's mother stood up and then went to a quiet corner to answer the call.

When she saw the face of the person on the screen, she hurriedly lowered her head in greeting. “Your Highness.”

“It's alright. We aren't strangers with each other, so you don't need to put up the formality with me.” As the queen finished speaking, the voice of the TV anchor floated into her ears. “Ah, you must have seen the news too.”

“Yes.” Colton's mother nodded. “My family and I are both at home, watching the news together.”

“That's great.” The queen smiled. “Actually, I want to extend my gratitude to you for the hospitality of my son. It's my negligence for not calling you sooner. I hope you will forgive me for my behavior.”

Although she didn't quite understand what the queen meant, but seeing the mother of the nation apologizing to her, Colton's mother hurriedly shook her head.

“No, no. His Highness is always welcome to stay at our place. I don't deserve your apology, my queen.”

The queen knew that if she were to press on with the apology, it would only make Colton's mother uncomfortable.

Hence, she changed the topic. “Is Ian there with you? That lass hadn't bothered to call me since he's been there. I hope he didn't give you any much trouble.”

“Huh.” Colton's mother was immediately confused.

From the queen's words, it seems she thought that Ian was staying with them. But the truth is, Ian had never been to their home at all.

Could it be that the queen had misunderstood something?

“I--” Before she could explain the truth, the communication device in her hand was instantly snatched away.

“Ah, your highness. You look so beautiful today.” Colton praised cheerfully.

The queen was first stunned and then burst into laughter when she saw the cheerful face of the young boy on the screen.

“Colton, how are you doing? Is Ian there with you?”

“No.” Colton shook his head in answer. “He is in the restroom answering the call of nature.”

“Oh, it's great that he's doing okay. Tell your family to stay home and be safe. The special forces will soon eradicate the threat at the front line.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

After saying a few more words, the call was soon hung up.

“Ah.” Colton let out a sigh.

Luckily, he had been quick to snatch the device away from his mother's hand, or else the queen would have noticed something amiss.

'Brother, I can only help you to this stage.'

Colton patted his chest and then returned the device to his mother.

However, when he saw the expression on her face, he immediately knew that it was game over.

“Tell me, what's going on? Why did the queen think that the crown prince was staying at our place?” Colton's mother stood like a warden who was interrogating a criminal.

“I…”

'Sorry, brother. I truly can't bear the fierceness of my tigress mom.'