The cub cried continuously, pushing against its parents, calling for them, begging them to wake up.
But neither of them moved.
Yu Weiwei silently knelt beside it. At least this cub was lucky. Other primordial dragon beasts didn't even care what happened to their offspring when they committed suicide.
After a long time, the cub finally turned toward him. Its golden eyes were filled with confusion and grief. Slowly, it pressed itself against his side, seeking warmth and comfort.
Yu Weiwei gently stroked its head, a little surprised by its actions.
"I know," he said softly, continuing to stroke the cub as though comforting it.
Far above the forest, countless viewers watching through the livestream sat in complete silence.
A creature willing to sacrifice everything for its family.
A mother who entrusted her child to the person who had shown her kindness.
A mate who fought until his very last breath.
It was a heartbreaking sight.
Elara, who was watching the livestream, wiped away her tears when Caspian walked in looking exhausted.
"Why are you crying?!" Caspian asked in panic at the sight of his beloved in tears.
Elara simply pointed at the livestream. Caspian's expression immediately soured as he realized the reason.
"That kid. I told him to join the army, but he said he wanted to do research. Now he's here showing off his skills," Caspian complained, his voice dripping with jealousy.
He hated anything that drew his beloved's attention away from him. He wanted her laughter, tears, anger, and affection to belong to him alone.
Knowing exactly what he was thinking, Elara shot him a glare before punching him in the stomach.
"Hiss... Darling, are you trying to murder your husband?" Caspian asked, pretending to be hurt, though inwardly he was delighted that his wife was paying attention to him.
Ignoring him, Elara returned her gaze to the little cub seeking comfort beneath Yu Weiwei's gentle touch and couldn't help marveling at his luck.
Primordial dragon beasts possessed incredibly long lifespans, living for thousands of years. They rarely mated, and throughout their entire lives they would only raise a few litters. This was one of the reasons they had never gone extinct.
They gave birth to one to three cubs per litter and ensured each litter reached adulthood before producing another.
At this moment, Yu Weiwei was the envy of countless citizens. Taking a primordial dragon beast cub away from its parents was practically equivalent to throwing your life away. Only S-rank powerhouses or above could even attempt such a feat, not to mention that most primordial dragon beasts were at least A-rank.
As Elara watched the cub, she suddenly turned toward Caspian.
The moment he met her gaze, a chill ran down his spine, and every hair on his body stood on end.
"No way!!" Caspian shouted in horror, grievance written all over his face.
As the saying went, no one understood his wife better than her husband.
"Come on, it's just one kid," Elara said coquettishly as her hands wandered across Caspian's firm abs.
"Hnng... Didn't we agree to have one three decades from now?" Caspian said as he grabbed her mischievous hands.
'Damn it. I almost fell into her trap.'
People in the current interstellar era could live up to two hundred years, and both of them were only in their forties.
He didn't want a child who would steal all of his wife's attention and affection.
But Elara wasn't having it. This shameless man had originally promised they would have a child ten years after getting married. Instead, he had sweet-talked her into postponing it until fifty years had passed.
Unable to withstand her relentless seduction any longer, Caspian fled.
Elara scoffed at his retreating figure. She had plenty of ways to make him surrender eventually.
After escaping, Caspian looked down at the noticeable bulge in his pants and couldn't help sighing. He had gone to his wife seeking comfort, only to end up unable to return. He knew that once Elara set her mind on something, she would never stop until she got what she wanted.
'Argh! This is all that cub's fault... No, wait. It's Yu Weiwei's fault.'
'Ha! I knew it. Yu Chen's child is nothing but trouble.'
No, he had to make Elara abandon the idea. Suddenly, Caspian's eyes lit up.
There was someone who could solve his problem.
Without hesitation, he dialed Evander's number.
Evander, who was currently enjoying the two-day holiday he had worked so hard to earn while quietly admiring Yu Weiwei's beauty through the livestream, frowned in annoyance when his communicator rang.
Seeing that it was his elder brother, his irritation lessened slightly.
"What do you want?"
"Tsk. Is that how you talk to your older brother?" Caspian clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Evander merely stared at him impatiently. Seeing that he was about to hang up, Caspian hurriedly explained his predicament.
"So, how do I get her to give up on the idea? Argh, it's all Yu Weiwei's fault. If he hadn't..."
Before he could finish speaking, Evander ended the call, leaving Caspian completely stunned.
He immediately called again, only to discover that Evander had blocked him.
"Ah! That damn brat!" Caspian hissed angrily.
'Well, I have to find another solution. Should I ask my ministers for help?'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he shuddered and quickly dismissed it.
The imperial court had been urging him to produce an heir for the past twenty years. Going to them for advice would be no different from delivering himself to the wolves.
Meanwhile, as Caspian racked his brain searching for a solution, Evander wore an annoyed expression. However, the moment his gaze landed on Yu Weiwei, who was carefully healing the young girl's injuries, his expression unconsciously softened.
Caspian would never have imagined that his thirty-five-year-old younger brother had become an ardent admirer of the very Yu Weiwei he had been complaining about.
Evander stared at the darkened screen of his communicator before silently setting it aside.
"Idiot."
There was no need to guess what Caspian was planning. He wanted to drag him into dealing with the Empress again. As if he would. His hard-earned two-day vacation was far too precious to waste on his elder brother's marital problems.
Turning his attention back to the livestream, the trace of annoyance on his face gradually faded.
On the screen, Yu Weiwei was carefully treating the young girl's injuries while the little primordial dragon beast cub remained quietly by his side. His movements were steady and gentle, completely different from the overwhelming power he had displayed during the battle. The same hands that had effortlessly torn apart space moments ago were now delicately wrapping the girl's wounds.
Evander's violet eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
According to the information he had received, Yu Weiwei had never participated in actual combat. Even if someone possessed an SSS-rank ability, achieving such flawless control required years of experience. Yet Yu Weiwei had fought with astonishing composure, as though he had experienced countless life-and-death battles before.
It was that contradiction that aroused Evander's curiosity.
The Yu Weiwei he knew was the type to cry for an entire day over the slightest injury. Although he possessed frightening intelligence when it came to research, his emotional intelligence was rather poor. In Evander's impression, Yu Weiwei had always been a crybaby with a ridiculously brilliant mind.
Something was definitely different.
It wasn't simply a change in personality. It almost felt as though the soul itself had changed... yet at the same time, it hadn't.
Everything seemed to have begun after Yu Weiwei insisted on entering the Truth Seer.
Evander rested his chin against his hand, his gaze fixed on the young man on the screen.
There was another change as well.
The current Yu Weiwei possessed a strange charm that naturally attracted everyone's attention. Even Evander found himself unconsciously watching him far longer than he intended.
His communicator suddenly vibrated again.
Without even looking, Evander rejected the call. A second later, another call came. He rejected that one as well. Then came a third.
"..."
His expression darkened.
That old man really had nothing better to do.
Just as he was about to activate Do Not Disturb mode, a message popped onto the screen.
Caspian: You unfilial brat! Answer your brother's call!
Evander merely glanced at it before expressionlessly deleting the message and adding Caspian to his blocked list.
Problem solved.
Meanwhile, Caspian, who had just discovered he had been blocked on every possible communication channel, stared at his communicator in disbelief.
"...He actually blocked everything?"
"What kind of younger brother is this?"
Meanwhile, Evander leaned comfortably against the sofa, finally enjoying the peace and quiet.
His attention returned to the livestream. Yu Weiwei had already finished treating the girl's injuries and was absentmindedly stroking the cub's head. The little fellow narrowed its golden eyes in satisfaction, almost purring beneath his hand.
Evander couldn't help letting out a faint chuckle.
"So even primordial dragon beast cubs like being pampered."