Chapter 229: The Slighted Little Male Cub

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: The Slighted Little Male Cub

The gilded gates of the Imperial Palace slowly opened, the carved bronze rings glinting warmly in the light of the palace lanterns.

Su An’an, in a silver-white formal gown, stepped into the inner hall. The hem of her dress swept across the gold-tiled floor, leaving behind a faint trail of light.

Seville’s Golden Wings and Ying Jiuyao’s tiger-striped cloak shimmered in tandem under the palace lanterns, making the babies in their arms seem all the more dazzling.

The older brother was dressed in a small swaddling cloth embroidered with silver thread. His silvery-purple baby hair lay softly against his forehead, and his black eyes were as cold as ice.

Even though he was just a newborn, he had the exact same cold, sullen expression as Seville, his little brow furrowed as if he disdained the lively atmosphere around him.

The younger sister, on the other hand, was wrapped in a pink-gold gauze dress, her black baby hair tied into two small tufts.

Her amber eyes darted about as she flapped her butterfly wings, reaching toward the Queen.

The tips of her wings brushed against Ying Jiuyao’s cloak, kicking up a trail of fine Phosphorus Powder, looking as clever as a little fox stealing candy.

Queen Jelena walked quickly down from her throne. Her gaze first swept over the older brother, and she gave a faint "mm," before her eyes immediately became glued to the younger sister.

Her voice instantly softened and trembled, "Oh! My sweet little darling!"

She carefully took the younger sister, her fingertips gently touching the pair of pink-gold butterfly wings. "These little wings are softer than Star Gauze!"

The younger sister gurgled with laughter, her small hand grabbing a jewel on the Queen’s crown, her butterfly wings flapping even more joyfully.

Su An’an shook her head helplessly. "Mother, your favoritism is a little too obvious."

The Queen, holding the younger sister, turned and walked toward her throne, waving a hand without looking back.

"Just raise the male baby tough!"

After sitting down, she immediately had a handmaiden bring milk to personally feed the younger sister, not even sparing a glance toward the older brother in Seville’s arms.

Seville silently gathered the older brother closer into his arms. His Golden Wings gently covered the little one’s ears, as if to shield him from the world’s favoritism.

"Oh, right. These two little ones don’t have names yet, do they?"

Queen Jelena looked up as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"The babies were born not long ago, so we haven’t had time to think of any."

Su An’an took a sip of Star Orange Juice to wet her throat.

The Queen’s arms, holding the younger sister, tightened.

"You all can figure out a name for the male baby, but I’m naming the female!"

She tapped the tip of the younger sister’s nose with her finger, her eyes filled with smug delight.

"We’ll call her Elizabeth, and she’ll take the royal surname directly, putting her in the same generation as me!"

Su An’an nearly choked on her drink and quickly waved her hand in protest.

"Mother, that’s against the Royal Family’s regulations!"

She looked at her son, who was chewing on the tip of Ying Jiuyao’s tail, and said in a serious tone:

"All Empire Princesses must undergo the coming-of-age evolution and pass an assessment to be invested as Crown Princess before they can use the royal surname after their name."

"That applies to others."

Queen Jelena raised an eyebrow, the pad of her finger gently stroking the younger sister’s butterfly wings.

"Our Elizabeth was born a Divine Beast baby and has Purification Power innately. Why can’t she use the royal surname?"

"She deserves the best of everything."

Seeing the Queen looking ready to spoil her daughter until she was utterly lawless, Su An’an was both helpless and firm. "No."

She reached out and took her daughter, wiping the drool from the corner of the baby’s mouth with her fingertip.

"I don’t want my children to be treated specially because they’re Divine Beasts. The established rules can’t be broken."

Queen Jelena, rendered speechless by her daughter, stared wide-eyed. She held it in for a long time but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to get angry.

She let the matter of the name go for now, her tone suddenly growing serious as she changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, it’s time to put your Crown Princess investiture ceremony on the schedule."

The younger sister in Su An’an’s arms suddenly yawned, her pink-gold butterfly wings drooping listlessly.

She looked down and gently patted the baby’s back, her voice calm.

"Now is not the time. The defenses in Zone B1 have just stabilized, and the Rebel Army hasn’t been completely dealt with."

"They’re keeping an eye on those things."

The Queen jutted her chin toward Seville and Ying Jiuyao. "The most important thing for you right now is to recover your strength and prepare for the investiture."

She suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice. "This isn’t just about your status. It’s a guarantee for your two children."

"Speaking of which, when I first proposed your investiture as Crown Princess, the faces of those old geezers in the Cabinet turned green!"

She poked the younger sister’s little cheek with her fingertip, her tone full of disdain.

"Did they think they could block you like they did with the Duke investiture?"

"They’re not thinking about how you directly blew up three of the Rebel Army’s strongholds and tore apart so many Mutant Beasts with your bare hands. Now they don’t dare let out a single fart!"

The younger sister was tickled into a fit of giggles, her small wings flapping against the Queen’s gold crown and making it jingle. ℴ

Su An’an looked at her daughter’s carefree appearance, then thought of Lord Red preparing the Divine Medicine, and finally nodded.

"Alright, I’ll accept the investiture."

When she looked up, the hesitation in her eyes was gone.

"The higher my status and the greater my power, the more thoroughly I can eradicate the Rebel Army."

"Now that’s more like it!"

The Queen smiled, fine lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes.

"The investiture ceremony is set for five days from now. I’ll have the Ritual Officer send over the procedures. You don’t need to worry about it, just focus on taking care of the babies."

When the news reached the Star Network, the tag [Crown Princess Investiture] instantly blew up the trending topics, and the discussion volume surpassed ten billion within half an hour.

Someone dug up holographic footage of Su An’an leading a team into battle while pregnant.

Someone else found photos of the Five Great Beast Husbands guarding the delivery room.

Even the data on the Gang Vine Wall’s newly evolved antibodies was pushed to the top of the trending list.

[OMG! What kind of goddess Female Master is this! She can fight, she can give birth, and she even comes with a Divine Beast baby buff!]

[Am I the only one who noticed that Lord Ying Jiuyao’s tiger claws are sharpened to a gleam? He’s totally getting ready to be the Crown Princess’s head guard!]

[+1 to the post above! And Lord Seville’s Golden Wings are practically wrapping the baby into a little golden dumpling. His possessiveness is off the charts!]

[I support Su An’an as Crown Princess! Long may she reign!]

「Dawn, five days later.」

Gilded palace lanterns stretched all the way from the Imperial Palace to the investiture plaza.

Su An’an was dressed in the Crown Princess’s formal robes, embroidered with a twelve-star pattern.

As the silver-white hem of her dress swept across the red carpet, the Divine Beast totems embroidered in gold thread seemed to come to life.

The moment she stepped into the plaza, she was met with a roar of cheers like a tsunami.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess!"

"Congratulations on your investiture, Your Highness!"

Amid the wave of sound, Ying Jiuyao and Seville flanked her, vigilantly scanning the crowd.

Far away in Zone B1, Night Abyss, Lan Cangming, and Fei Zhao were also monitoring the event remotely through robots.

Queen Jelena stood on the high platform, watching her daughter approach step by step. She suddenly gave a meaningful look to a handmaiden behind her.

The handmaiden immediately came forward, holding two swaddled babies.

The older brother still had that same little ice-cold expression, his silvery-purple baby hair glowing in the morning light.

The younger sister, however, was squirming in her swaddling. As her pink-gold butterfly wings unfurled, a fine, shimmering powder instantly drifted over the plaza, drawing another wave of gasps from the spectating crowd.

"Anan!"

The Queen’s voice, amplified, rang out across the entire plaza:

"Today is not only the day of your investiture, but also the beginning of the Empire’s rebirth."

Su An’an’s gaze swept over the dense crowd in the plaza, and she saw the path she had to walk more clearly than ever before.

Queen Jelena raised her hand, signaling for an attendant to unroll the imperial edict. Her deep voice carried across the plaza through an Energy amplifier:

"From this day forth, Su An’an is hereby invested as..."

"I object!"