Chapter 427: A Bigger Family
Brat whom she had always dismissed as a failure and a disturbing outcast had finally begun to display his talents.
The things that had once gone exactly as she wanted no longer did and she had likely begun to panic.
Because of her excessive pride, there was no way she could bring herself to flatter the son she had always looked down on.
Even if she somehow could, Brat would never have accepted it.
Instead, she had apparently begun forcing even more unreasonable demands onto the princess in a desperate attempt to place her on the throne.
"I know my first attitude toward you was inexcusable, and I truly regret it. I swear I will never behave that way again. S-so..."
"Didn’t Lian always say she wanted an older sister?"
"Hm? Yeah."
Their household was already large enough to be called a big family, but although Lian had older brothers, younger brothers, and younger sisters, she had never had an older sister.
Qiong Xing remembered her saying more than once that she wished she had one.
"This princess said she’d like to become your big sister starting today. Would that make you happy?"
"Really!?"
Lian’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
Qiong Xing leaned over and whispered that she would also have a prince for an older brother now.
Lian immediately threw both hands into the air in delight.
"A big sister!"
She ran over and hugged the princess tightly.
"Really? Princess, you’ll really be Lian’s big sister?"
"...Yes. I’d be very happy if I could. Would that be alright?"
The princess glanced timidly at Qiong Xing.
When he nodded, she smiled and told Lian she would love to be called that. She then gently stroking the little girl’s head as Lian hugged her.
"Yaaay! Then Big Brother Prince is Lian’s big brother too!"
"Yes. I’ll be in your care from today onward."
Brat who is now more accustomed to it all smiled and nodded before reaching over to pat Lian’s head as well.
Having a prince and princess as older siblings would normally be impossible, but seeing Lian jumping around with excitement, Qiong Xing decided it was fine.
"Lian knows lots and lots of princes! Lian will tell Big Sister all about them!"
"Really? That would make me very happy."
Taken out of context, it sounded like a rather alarming statement, but she was only talking about princes from her picture books, not people she actually knew.
"She’s in an unusually good mood."
"The princess is someone she’s admired for a long time. And she’s always wanted an older sister."
Their family would probably continue to grow with more younger siblings in the future, but no matter what, Qiong Xing could never give Lian an older sister.
This had happened purely by chance, but perhaps that was why she was so overjoyed that her wish had finally come true.
"What exactly are you planning by adding even more family members?"
"I’m not planning anything. Besides, even if our family has grown, it doesn’t mean we’ll all be living together. And I don’t think either of them expects us to take care of them."
What they sought from him was simply the love of a family that Qiong Xing could give.
There was no money involved, nor any political calculation.
They had already grown into people who no longer sought their parents’ approval.
They were not asking Qiong Xing for anything material.
"Just as the Prime Minister holds my children, I’ll pat their heads too. Just as the Prime Minister shares meals with my children, I’ll sit down for tea with them and tell them the food is delicious. We’ll laugh together, and sometimes I’ll listen to what’s troubling them... That’s all."
That was all.
But because they had never had those things, they sought them from Qiong Xing, and he had simply accepted.
"But precisely because you were able to do that, they were able to change so much. I, too, am sincerely grateful that they met you."
Qiong Xing could only give a wry smile at such an exaggerated statement.
...
"Mao, come here."
The moment Qiong Xing held out his hand, Mao instantly transformed into a cat and climbed onto his shoulder.
As Mao rubbed his head affectionately against Qiong Xing’s cheek, Qiong Xing stroked him gently before heading outside.
Leander and Raon who had apparently finished preparing ahead of time were already waiting.
"Where’s Hui?"
"Sleeping. Ready to go?"
Everything they needed had been packed into the bag, and Mao, the most important companion, was now perched on Qiong Xing’s shoulder.
Qiong Xing nodded.
Taking his hand as expected, Raon carried him along.
"Hello. I’ll be in your care again for a while."
"Welcome. I’m so happy you’re here. Things become much livelier whenever you all visit."
The smile on her face made it clear she truly meant those words, and Qiong Xing naturally smiled back.
"It’s Big Brother Qiong Xing!"
"Big Brother’s here!"
"The huge big brother’s here too!"
"Mao’s here too!"
Smiling at the children’s enthusiastic welcome, Qiong Xing set Mao down.
Overjoyed by the reunion, Mao immediately ran over to join the children.
"...You took long enough."
As Qiong Xing watched Mao happily chatting with the children, he heard an irritated voice behind him and could not help laughing.
"Sorry. I kept you waiting for quite a while. But thanks to that, a healthy little one was born."
Qiong Xing beckoned him over, and when Ars approached, he showed him Hui whom he had been carrying.
"So tiny."
"She was only born recently. Beastman babies are also born smaller than human babies."
Seeing Ars stare intently at Hui, apparently looking at a baby for the first time, Qiong Xing asked whether he wanted to try holding him.
"...No thanks. I’m scared."
The baby was so small that Ars seemed afraid of holding him and shook his head.
Qiong Xing assured him it would be alright and gently placed Hui into his arms.
Ars’s eyes darted around in confusion, clearly unsure what to do, but there was not the slightest trace of disgust simply because Hui was Beastman.