Chapter 311 - Grandpa is safe

Chapter 311: Chapter 311 - Grandpa is safe

Celaus was still in his room when the message arrived.

The room was quiet, the curtains drawn enough to keep the morning light from falling directly across the bed. Li Wang was still asleep beneath the blankets, curled slightly toward Celaus’s side as though he had unconsciously searched for him sometime during the night.

Celaus had been sitting nearby when the small communication crystal on the table suddenly pulsed with light.

He glanced toward Li Wang first.

Still asleep.

Only then did he reach for the crystal.

The moment his fingers touched its surface, a familiar soldier’s image appeared within.

"Your Highness."

Celaus lowered his voice. "Speak."

"We have confirmed their location. The old man and the children are safe."

Celaus’s expression immediately changed.

"Jian’s grandfather?"

"Yes. We contacted him this morning after the royal announcement reached their area. He knows the Third Prince has returned."

Celaus leaned back slightly.

For years, he had kept that small group hidden as carefully as he could. Moving them whenever it became necessary, assigning people he trusted to watch over them and making sure their location never reached anyone who might send them back into danger.

Now, finally, there was no reason to keep Jian separated from the only family he had known on Earth.

"Can they be moved?"

"They’re ready. We can begin arranging their return immediately."

"Don’t rush it."

The soldier nodded.

"Bring them back quietly. I don’t want their route known before they reach the capital."

"Understood."

"And send enough men."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Celaus ended the communication.

The crystal dimmed beneath his fingers.

For a moment, he simply sat there looking at it.

Then his gaze shifted toward the bed.

Li Wang hadn’t moved. His glasses were resting on the small table nearby, and without them his sleeping face looked softer. Celaus watched him for a few seconds before standing.

He walked over to the bed and carefully pulled the blanket higher over Li Wang’s shoulder.

His fingers lingered briefly against the fabric.

Then he quietly left the room.

There was someone who needed to hear this immediately.

Celaus had barely reached the central halls when the enormous doors to the morning court opened.

Officials began spilling out in small groups, talking far more excitedly than people usually did after morning court. Celaus caught fragments as they passed.

Marriage.

Third Prince.

General Xing.

Celaus’s brows rose slightly.

Then he saw his younger brother.

Jian walked out of the hall wearing a grin so bright it answered every question Celaus might have had. His hair was still slightly messy, and he looked far too pleased with himself for someone who had apparently stormed into morning court dressed like he’d only just climbed out of bed.

Xing Yu followed behind him.

The General’s expression was much more controlled, but even he couldn’t completely hide the satisfaction in his eyes.

Celaus almost smiled.

So that had finally been settled.

"Jian."

Jian immediately turned.

The moment he saw Celaus, he hurried toward him.

"What is it?"

There was something almost painfully endearing about how naturally Jian came to him now. Only a short while ago they had been strangers separated by years and circumstances neither of them had chosen. Yet Jian already looked at him like an older brother.

Celaus raised his hand and gently ran it over the top of Jian’s head, smoothing down one of the curls that refused to stay in place.

"I have news for you."

Jian’s smile faded slightly when he noticed the seriousness in his voice.

Celaus didn’t make him wait.

"We found your grandfather."

Jian went completely still.

For a moment, it seemed as though the words hadn’t registered.

"What?"

"Your grandfather is safe. He’ll be brought back to the palace in a few days."

Jian’s eyes widened.

His hand shot out and gripped Celaus’s wrist.

"Really?"

His fingers tightened.

"Are you serious? He’s safe?"

"Yes."

The breath that left Jian sounded almost painful.

"Oh, thank God..."

His shoulders dropped as though an enormous weight had suddenly been taken off them.

"I thought something happened to him."

His voice cracked slightly on the last few words. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Jian had tried not to imagine it too much.

Every time his thoughts went to his grandfather, his mind supplied possibilities he didn’t want to see. The old man wasn’t young anymore. He was human, stranded on an alien planet he knew nothing about, surrounded by people who could overpower him without effort.

And Jian hadn’t been there.

That was the part that had eaten at him the most.

His grandfather had raised him. Protected him. Loved him even when Jian himself hadn’t understood what he truly was.

Yet when Grandpa Rue had needed him, Jian hadn’t even known where he was.

Celaus saw the change in his face and gently pinched one of his slightly chubby cheeks.

Jian looked up at him.

"I had my men protecting your grandfather," Celaus explained. "He wasn’t alone. The little girl who came with him is safe too."

Jian stared at him.

"You knew where they were?"

"Not personally at every moment. Their location had to be changed several times."

"Why?"

"To keep them safe."

Celaus’s expression became more serious.

"They moved whenever my men believed there was a risk of being discovered. It wasn’t an easy life, but they were protected. They had food, shelter and people nearby they could contact if something went wrong."

Jian’s grip slowly loosened.

All those horrible images he’d carried with him began falling apart one by one.

Grandpa hadn’t been abandoned somewhere.

He hadn’t been starving.

He hadn’t been lying injured or dead while Jian crossed space looking for him.

He had been protected.

Jian closed his eyes.

"Thank God..."

He laughed weakly, although his eyes had already begun to sting.

"Thank the gods. All of them. Whoever was listening."

His hand rose to cover his face.

Xing Yu, who had quietly followed him from the court, stepped closer but didn’t interrupt.

Jian breathed deeply.

His grandfather was alive.

The realization felt different now that he finally allowed himself to believe it.

He was going to see him again.

Jian lowered his hand and looked at Celaus, his eyes slightly red.

"Thank you."

Celaus shook his head.

"You don’t need to thank me."

"Yes, I do."

Jian grabbed his brother’s hand again, holding it tightly between both of his.

"You kept him safe when I couldn’t."

Celaus looked down at their joined hands.

"He is your family."

Jian’s lips trembled into a small smile.

Celaus squeezed his fingers.

"And that makes him ours as well."

Something inside Jian’s chest tightened painfully.

He looked away for a second, blinking rapidly before any tears could actually fall.

Too many good things were happening at once.

His father had accepted his marriage.

His grandfather was alive.

For the first time in years, the people he loved weren’t disappearing from him.

They were coming back.