The entire Star Beast Empire celebrated enthusiastically for a long time, and it wasn’t until almost dawn that everyone returned to their homes to rest.
Ruan Shu, on the other hand, had long been nodding off. She was curled up in her father’s arms, her small, soft body bundled together as she slept, making a gentle purring sound in her throat.
It was strange; while a cat’s purr could be somewhat noisy, it had an inexplicable, soothing quality that relaxed everyone around her.
By the time Ruan Xiao was sitting on the sofa, a crowd had unconsciously gathered around him. They found the wild cheers and noisy celebration outside slightly annoying and instead just wanted to quietly enjoy the little cat’s purring while sipping their drinks.
It did feel a bit peculiar.
Several of the younger people had had a lot to drink, and all the good wine tonight came from the palace’s private reserves. Only a fool wouldn’t drink.
As dawn approached and the celebration came to an end, Ruan Xiao prepared to leave with the little cat in his arms.
Almer looked reluctant, but there was nothing he could do—the little cat wasn’t his.
Even more reluctant were Fuyao and Kongtong, both of whom watched Ruan Xiao walk away with the cat in their arms, looking on wistfully.
After they left, Fuyao sat on the sofa, swirling a glass of red wine. “Does the Star Beast Empire have any more cubs like this one?”
Kongtong glanced over, his usually quiet expression surprisingly easy to read.
Almer shot him a look, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed in a posture that managed to be both elegant and slightly arrogant.
“No, this cat is one of a kind. Don’t even think about it.”
He hadn’t even managed to bring the little mascot home himself, so others could forget about it.
His handsome face was tinged with a bit of redness, perhaps from drinking too much.
Once back at the palace, Almer opened his terminal and checked StarNet for news. The top ten trending topics were mostly about the Beast God Festival and the military parade.
However, by the seventh trending topic, something different caught his eye—it was about Shushu.
Sipping his wine, Almer shed the princely elegance he maintained in front of others. Now, dressed in relaxed sleepwear, he lounged lazily on the sofa, the red wine staining his lips, adding an air of intrigue and danger.
But then, suddenly, something on the screen made him smile, his gaze shining as brightly as the sun.
“My little mascot.”
[“What is that creature His Majesty has? It looks super adorable.”]
[“Oh my god, does His Majesty keep it as a pet? He even brought it to the ceremony. It seems very precious to him.”]
[“Does anyone know what it is? I kind of want one, too.”]
[“I took a screenshot, too—it’s truly adorable. Trust His Majesty to have such a unique little pet.”]
Almer’s mood improved as he read, though he thought it would be even better if it really was his.
Still feeling the buzz from the night’s revelries, Almer impulsively opened his personal account and, for the first time, posted something on his StarNet feed.
The picture showed a beautiful hand cradling a fluffy, charming little cat. The cat’s head was tilted slightly, its clear eyes filled with innocent curiosity.
Above the photo, he captioned it simply: #Mine#
After posting, Almer went to sleep, leaving the online world in uproar. Who cared about the chaos?
When His Majesty acts willfully, not even the ministers of the entire empire can rein him in.
This was the first time His Majesty had used his StarNet account to post something unrelated to national affairs or official news. With his vast following, the post was shared tens of millions of times within just a few minutes.
And this was only the day after the Beast God Festival.
The cat in the photo was different from the previous screenshots; it was a clear shot of the entire fluffy Ragdoll cat, instantly giving an impression of softness.
Its innocent, clear eyes melted countless hearts, leading to excited squeals in the comments below.
[“What kind of magical creature is this? How can anything be this adorable and beautiful!”]
[“This is a cat, right? Just one picture and I feel like my heart is melting.”]
[“Where did His Majesty even find this? I want one too! It would be pure happiness to have such a soft, beautiful little creature to carry around with me.”]
[“I declare, this is the cutest cat I’ve ever seen, I just want to cuddle it!”]
[“If I were His Majesty, I’d bring it to every speech too! With it by my side, even the longest address wouldn’t feel boring.”]
[“Who knew, a single picture and my heart is already melting.”]
[“I’m usually drawn to canine species, but even I think this cat is adorable! What breed is this?”]
[“It doesn’t exactly look like a cat… Cats are known for their sleek, fierce look, but this one is so soft and cute that it almost reminds me of a fox.”]
[“True, it has that pretty face, but the paws and tail definitely look feline.”]
[“I just want to know where His Majesty found this! How could such a tiny creature exist in the universe? I want one.”]
[“It looks so precious—could His Majesty share more about it with us?”]
Despite the overwhelming response, His Majesty did not respond to the fans’ questions.
Meanwhile, Ruan Xiao’s family had no idea about His Majesty’s little escapade. He returned to the Marshal’s Residence with his daughter and quickly fell asleep. After such a long day, he finally relaxed, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep with his little cat-daughter nestled in his arms. For the first time, he felt a deep tranquility.
He knew this was due to Shushu’s special healing ability. Ruan Qingran had explained that just being in close contact with Shushu would allow healing energy to flow into the body, gently cleansing one’s mental sea.
This was why his Jingshen contamination level had remained stable and even slowly decreased.
Though Ruan Xiao wasn’t overly concerned about healing his Jingshen right now, he simply enjoyed the feeling of holding the little cat as he slept. Listening to her soft purring was strangely addictive.
Since Ruan Shu had fallen asleep early, she awoke early too.
She opened her eyes, crawled out from her father’s strong, white Qilin Tiger arm, stretched her tiny body, and splayed her little paws. Her paws had a faint pinkish membrane between them, and even her sharp little claws extended slightly.
However, her tiny claws were no more than a comb to the Qilin Tiger.
Instinctively, she kneaded her father’s arm a few times, then, seeing that he was still asleep, transformed back into her human form.
The small, rice-dough-like girl sat on the Qilin Tiger’s arm, her short legs swinging slightly. She was certainly much heavier than her cat form.
The Qilin Tiger merely opened one eye briefly before closing it again to continue sleeping.
Ruan Shu didn’t disturb her father further. Quietly, she went to fetch a comb and started to groom his fur gently.