MRG Chapter 25: The City Over the Water

Translator: Gin

Editor: EllieKit

“Xavier, what are you doing here?”

Xavier turned his head to meet the gaze of his father, who stood just beyond the door looking all flushed.

Upon seeing his child in such a shameful situation, John Natt turned livid with rage.

His son had disappeared shortly after the banquet started and he and his wife had spent ages looking for him, only to find him in the toilet in a state of delirium in front of the banquet’s host. How could this be appropriate?

The next moment, “Bang!”

In the second that Xavier was distracted, the wine in the glass he held spilled all over the chest of Mu Chen’s clothes as the wine glass itself shattered.

Several streaks of red liquid traced an arc through the air before splashing on Mu Chen’s jawline, in stark contrast with his fair skin. Coupled with his narrow and cold eyes, the current situation looked like something straight out of a murder scene.

“Xavier!”

John Natt reprimanded his son as he stepped into the bathroom. He grabbed his son by the back of his collar and dragged him away from Mu Chen, “Hurry and apologize to His Highness!”

“Your Highness, we cannot apologize enough for this.” The attendant standing next to Xavier hurriedly pulled out some tissues to try and wipe off the stains on Mu Chen’s chest but was stopped by Mu Chen before he even touched him.

Mu Chen stretched out his hand and took the tissues. His bony hands pinched the originally smooth tissues, creating deep wrinkles. His lashes curved upwards as he smiled gently, “It’s ok, he’s drunk. It was just an accident.”

It was as though the air of frost he had been exuding mere moments before was all part of Xavier’s imagination.

However, the more magnanimously Mu Chen acted, the more enraged John Natt became with his son’s behavior. Seeing as his vulgar son did not seem like he could sober up any time soon, all he could do was hold in his anger and pay Mu Chen his apologies. “Your Highness, I’m so sorry for Xavier’s reckless behavior. I will have someone compensate you for the clothes and have Xavier apologize to you sincerely once he’s sobered up.”

“It’s okay Marshall Natt, these are just clothes.” Mu Chen crushed the tissue and tossed it into the trash can. He pursed his lips, smiling without any traces of anger. “Excuse me, I’ll take my leave now to change my clothes.”

“Yes yes.” John Natt immediately pulled Xavier to a side to create a path for Mu Chen.

Mu Chen shot him a smile.

The moment he left the bathroom, shadows descended upon the upper half of Mu Chen’s face and any upward curvature of his lips had completely disappeared.

……

Pushing open the door of the changing room, Mu Chen nearly bumped into the man standing by the door.

He looked up, meeting Light’s eyes straight-on, smiling as he asked, “What happened Gege?”

The pair left little distance between them, and their nose tips were almost touching.

The youngster with sharp eyebrows before Light was taller than him by a centimeter or two.

Light scanned Mu Chen and noticed the black dress clothes he had changed into. His brows furrowed in worry, “You said you were going to wash your face just now but you’ve been gone for a long time.”

Mu Chen adjusted his bow tie, “When I was washing my face my clothes accidentally got wet, so I had to go change again.”

As he spoke, he looked towards the crowded banquet hall nearby, “Let’s go Gege.”

“Mm.”

Light, upon seeing he was fine, walked out of the changing room together with Mu Chen.

By then, the banquet was nearly over. Guests began to leave gifts and make their exit one after another and attendants were in the process of clearing the mountain of gifts by moving them to Mu Chen’s bedroom.

Mu Chen looked at the figures busying about and glanced back at Light, deep in thought. It was obvious what he was implying.

— Light had yet to give him something this year.

He lacked not expensive items or pretty decorations.

He just wanted whatever his gege was going to give him.

Met with the merman’s thoughtful gaze, Light still maintained an impeccable expression, “When the banquet ends, I’ll take you somewhere.”

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a giggle by his ear.

Light was stunned, turning to see the corners of Mu Chen’s mouth upturned.

The next second, the youngster stepped in front of him, with his hands behind his back. “I want to go now Gege.”

Light looked over at the crowd still drinking behind him and paused.

Leaving before the banquet ended might not be the most polite thing to do.

Mu Chen could see the hesitation in Light’s heart so he pouted and said, slightly slurring his words,

“I drank a bit too much…I’m really dizzy.”

“It’s so late now, Gege if you don’t take me there now, my birthday will be over already.”

Although he was already twenty, he was even more proficient at acting spoiled than when he was a child, which was not really out of place for him considering how young he looked.

Light could do nothing when he looked at him like this, “I’ll tell my father we’re going first.”

“Ok.”

Mu Chen beamed, revealing two shallow dimples.

……

In the spacious and quiet aircraft, Mu Chen sat in the passenger seat, head lowered as he put on his seatbelt.

Today, Light did not ask an attendant to go with them and prepared to drive the aircraft by himself.

He glanced towards the side at Mu Chen whose long hair would hang down partially as he put on his seatbelt and remembered the times when he was younger, when he hated wearing his seatbelt

At that time, the young merman acted like an energetic little puppy. Every time he took the aircraft, he would be pressed up against the glass window with his eyes wide open curiously staring out. If they encountered turbulence and he failed to grab onto the armrest in time, he would tumble around in his seat.

Light constantly worried about him and would sit with him in the back row but this did not solve the problem of the merman rolling around. He basically used Light as a human handrail, yanking on his arm one moment, falling down onto his lap the next. After a while of being in the air, he finally realized he might as well just lie down in Light’s arms and sleep.

Whenever the attendant who flew Light around in the aircraft saw this scene, he could not help but exclaim at the boldness of the little merman. There was no other in the Oz Empire who dared to act so daringly, disregarding all boundaries between him and His Highness.

“Click!”

The seatbelt clicked shut and the youngster before him sat upright in the passenger seat with his seatbelt properly fastened.

Mu Chen turned to look at Light who had already started up the aircraft. Light glanced over, “If you’re sleepy just take a nap.”

The person who was just complaining about how he was dizzy from drinking too much now had his hand propped under his chin, staring at Light with his sparkly eyes. “I’m not sleepy, Gege let’s chat for a while. Since you came back you’ve been so busy, we’ve barely had time to talk.”

His childish look caused Light to subconsciously purse his lips, “Ok.”

Mu Chen asked casually, “Gege now you’re back you won’t go again right? After all, the border matters have been dealt with.”

Light froze just as his lips were forming a smile and his expression wavered. He was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “It’s not certain, there might still be tasks over there that need to be carried out.”

“What tasks?”

Unlike previously, when Mu Chen would only ask such questions casually, he was being particularly persistent today.

“…”

The air between them fell silent. Light had no plans to tell him about the wormholes that had been appearing on the border. He did not need to worry about such matters.

Mu Chen asked, “Can’t you tell me?”

Light’s fingertips tensed, he raised his eyes to look at Mu Chen and replied, “It’s just some standard tasks, nothing special.”

Mu Chen muttered, “Oh.” He turned his head to stare out the window, and any trace of a smile visible in his eyes had vanished.

Standard tasks…

They were always standard tasks.

……

In the quiet of the night, the aircraft flew for a long time. The atmosphere in the cockpit became increasingly heavy in the endless darkness till the vibrant blue of the skyline appeared in the distance and bright light began to reflect off the windows.

The light and stars filled Mu Chen’s vision and he straightened up in his seat, looking down through the window.

Majestic buildings made entirely of transparent glass were spread in a grid across a criss-crossed network of waterways. Under warm lighting, the clear, vast expanse of water gave off a dreamy feel. Countless aircraft flew over the dome enclosing the building complex, leaving behind a starry trail as it passed through the Skyrail.

From above, the dazzling city looked small to Mu Chen. He could see people chatting and laughing on yachts, people wearing diving equipment and jumping into the water, and people swimming freely under the water.

This was a city built over water, quite similar to the Atlantis of the past, just more prosperous and technologically advanced.

The aircraft landed on the roof of the building in the center. When the aircraft door opened, the wind ruffled the hems of the duo’s clothes. Mu Chen could see a short man dressed formally walking towards them with a score of attendants in tow.

“Your Highness, this must be the Duke.” The man bowed to Light, beaming as he greeted Mu Chen, “Hello, my name is Augustine Abel, I am the governor who will manage Saibin City for you.”

As he spoke, he handed a gold deed, sealed with wax, to Mu Chen in a respectful manner.

“This is…”

Gazing at the continuously moving characters on the gold deed, Mu Chen then turned towards Light, as if to confirm the other party’s intention.

“This is my birthday present to you.”

The man’s gentle laughter filled his ears.

Light took a quill from Augustine and passed it to Mu Chen, “From today on, you will be one of the Dukes of the Oz Empire. This city will be your territory and Augustine will help you to manage it.”

Mu Chen recovered from his daze. In the distance, an endless blue sky. The evening wind brushed across his temple, carrying with it the faint scent of salty seawater.

As he touched the pen to paper to sign his name on the deed, a string of small red words appeared in the column detailing the deed’s validity period.

“for now and ever .”

For now, till forever.

Then, the writing faded, leaving behind a line of embossing on the parchment paper.

This was the gift Light wanted to give to him.

A forever “Atlantis”.

Mu Chen finished signing so Augustine carefully rolled up the gold deed, tying it up with string, before handing it back to him.

“Let’s go down and take a look.” Light’s voice pulled Mu Chen’s thoughts back to the present.

“Ok.”

Mu Chen followed Light down from the top floor of the central building.

The pair walked over the soft sand along the shallow beaches at the edges of the city, following the coastline as they strolled along, eventually leaving the city center far behind them. The towering silhouettes of tall buildings receded from their field of view, leaving them only with the beach, the sea, and a lonely small wooden house.

An elderly lady stood in front of the wooden house.

The moment he took a clear look at the lady’s face, Mu Chen’s pupils trembled and he froze in place.

It was his aunt, his only remaining relative on the Blue Planet.

Pretty much every year, the staff at the royal palace would arrange for Mu Chen to be picked up and brought to stay with his aunt for a period of time. Light had also previously suggested that she be given a manor to live in near to the palace so that she could easily meet up with Mu Chen. However, she rejected this proposal as she much preferred staying in the countryside where she could feel the breeze coming in from the sea.

Aside from the fact that she preferred living in the countryside, Mu Chen’s aunt had another consideration in mind. She could tell that the eldest prince paid Mu Chen a lot of attention. During the years they spent exiled from Atlantis, she watched Mu Chen grow up, and no one understood this child better than her. Though Mu Chen was mature, he rarely showed his emotions and maintained a cold attitude when met with burdens that anyone his age should not be made to carry. With nowhere to vent his emotions, anger and resentment accumulated in his heart, along with the desolation he constantly felt. With her, Mu Chen would let down the guard he put up with strangers, but he never seemed to be able to rely on adults the same way other kids his age did.

On one of the occasions when she was sending Mu Chen off, she watched the little merman rush into Light’s arms, hugging him by the waist and using a cutesy tone to say, “I haven’t seen you in so long Gege, I missed you so much.”

At that moment, she could clearly sense that Mu Chen had left behind his past experiences in Atlantis and that, now that he was all grown up, he should be free to live whatever life he wanted.

Light stood back and watched as Mu Chen walked towards the lady. She stretched her hands out to measure his shoulders and the top of his head, probably telling him he had grown again.

Light stopped where he was on the beach, taking in the sight of white waves crashing over each other as they rushed towards the shore, leaving the duo to reminisce about the past in peace.

No one knew how long had passed but the porch light of the house finally lit up again as the lady saw Mu Chen to the door, smiling as she said her goodbyes.

Under the hazy moonlight, Mu Chen lifted his head, observing how the cold moonlight outlined the handsome man’s side profile. His windbreaker hung in the crook of Light’s arm, the waves barely touching the soles of his military-issue high boots. The evening wind blew a few strands of his golden hair across his forehead, making him seem much more approachable when compared with his solemn appearance at the banquet.

Sensing movement behind him, Light turned around and saw a tall figure walking towards him. Just as he was about to ask if the other man liked his gift, “You…”

He had barely opened his mouth before everything he was about to say became stuck in his throat.

The youngster before him stretched out his arms and embraced him.

In the past two years, this was the first hug they had shared.

Feeling the warmth and close contact that he had been missing for so long, Light thought back to the times when Mu Chen was younger and loved to run towards him so he could rush into his arms. Back then, Mu Chen’s fluffy head only came up to his abdomen, he barely needed to stretch out his hands to pat his head.

But now, his little merman had already grown up. The youngster’s slender and muscular forearms wrapped around his lower back, strands of his hair tickling Light’s neck.

Mu Chen rested his chin on Light’s neck, breathing in his familiar and nostalgic scent.

“I love it.”

“I really love it, Gege.”