Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Treasure
Graces emerged from the shower and changed into casual clothes, his normally imposing aura softening considerably.
Little Pu Tao stood by the bed, gently stroking the various badges on the uniform, unable to take his hands off them.
Seeing this, Graces took one off, squatted down, and pinned it to the boy’s chest.
Little Pu Tao’s eyes instantly lit up, and he gazed ardently at his Male Father.
After pinning the medal on Little Pu Tao, Graces said, "I’m awarding this medal to you, to thank you for taking care of your mother while I’ve been away."
Hearing this, Little Pu Tao raised his hand to his temple, straightened his back, and gave Graces a salute.
Graces saw this and returned the salute.
Watching the tall and small figures saluting each other, Lu Xia’s eyes filled with amusement. "Alright, we should go downstairs for dinner. Let’s not keep everyone waiting."
As she spoke, Lu Xia reached out, took Little Pu Tao’s hand, and they left the room together.
The others were already seated at the dining table, waiting.
With the arrival of the guest of honor, the welcome banquet for Graces officially began.
*
The Alliance Army’s arrival on the Imperial Star was only the beginning. Many matters awaited Graces’s attention, so after just one night at home, he left again before dawn the next day.
Lu Xia didn’t say anything. She understood that Graces would be extremely busy for a while. Little Pu Tao, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed the next morning when he went looking for his Male Father only to learn he had already left for work. Still, he was a sensible boy and didn’t complain, simply asking, "Will he come back tonight?"
The old butler smiled and nodded. "He will. The main husband said before he left that he would be back for dinner."
Hearing that, Little Pu Tao instantly cheered up and ran off happily to play.
Meanwhile, Graces had brought Admiral Snop to the Imperial Palace.
Her Majesty the Queen knew they would come, but she hadn’t expected them to be so quick.
Seeing Graces again, Her Majesty the Queen was filled with complex emotions. "There’s no need for pleasantries. Just tell me your decision. To the victor go the spoils. I accept my defeat."
Graces calmly regarded Her Majesty the Queen, who seemed to have aged considerably after losing all her power and influence. "Then you will relocate to the Third Star System. In the future, you are forbidden from entering the Imperial Star’s territory. We will preserve the title of the Imperial Family, which will be assumed by Lady Daina. Do you have any objections?"
Exile was the most fitting punishment for her, and Her Majesty the Queen had long anticipated such an outcome. What she hadn’t expected was that the title of the Imperial Family would be handed over to Lady Daina. ’What is the meaning of this?’
’After all this, in the end, it was Lady Daina who got everything.’
’If I had known it would come to this, why did I have to scheme so meticulously back then!’
She let out a sarcastic laugh, directed not at others, but at herself. "I have no objections. Let’s do it that way. When can I leave?"
At this point, she no longer wanted to stay. She desperately needed to leave this place, as if to prove to herself that she hadn’t failed so completely.
"You have three days."
"That won’t be necessary. I’ll leave today."
"An escort will be arranged to see you off."
The negotiations with Her Majesty the Queen went much more smoothly than expected. Graces could see that she had long lost the will to fight back; she had accepted her fate.
As they were leaving the Imperial Palace, Admiral Snop sighed wistfully. "I still remember... Her Majesty the Queen herself presented me with my first Merit Badge. That was many years ago, of course, but I still remember how I felt. The moment I put it on, I swore to be loyal to the Empire for my entire life."
’But now, the imperial throne has collapsed. Though the Empire remains, it is no longer *his* Empire.’
Her Majesty the Queen’s departure was even quicker than they had anticipated. Shortly after they left the palace, they received a report: Her Majesty, accompanied only by her single attendant and carrying simple luggage, had boarded a Starship leaving the Imperial Star. She was headed to the Third Star System to begin her permanent exile.
Upon hearing the news, Admiral Snop couldn’t help but remark, "It seems she couldn’t face the consequences. She just wanted to get away from here and pretend none of this ever happened."
They had to admit, to the very end, their former Queen remained weak and incompetent.
Still, the smooth transition of power was, on the whole, a good thing for them.
It meant that the tasks ahead would also proceed much more smoothly.
Returning to the First Military District, both men felt a wave of different emotions. The soldiers who had remained behind lined up to welcome them upon their return.
Graces’s aide-de-camp spotted him, his eyes reddening as he hurried over. "When you left, why didn’t you take me with you? If you had just said the word, I would’ve gone with you in a heartbeat."
When Graces had suddenly disappeared, the aide had blamed himself to no end.
Graces said apologetically, "I’m sorry."
"You don’t need to apologize, sir. I understand. All that matters is that you’re back safely." The aide smiled and gave him a quick hug. "Can I still serve by your side in the future?"
He had seen yesterday’s broadcast and knew Graces had another aide with him now, so he was feeling quite anxious.
Graces nodded. "Of course. Complete your handover here, then you can report directly to the Alliance Army. Just find Kading and register with him."
Seeing him agree so readily, the aide beamed. "I’ll work my hardest!"
With that, he turned and ran off, clearly eager to get started on the handover.
Admiral Snop chuckled at the sight. "That kid cried his eyes out a few times when you were missing."
"Yes. It was my fault for making him worry."
"You had no choice. Come on, let’s go inside. I wonder if the flowers I was growing are still alive!" As he said this, a note of genuine concern entered Admiral Snop’s voice.
Things went smoothly for Graces, and when he returned home that evening, he brought with him all sorts of specialties from the Border Star for his family.
There was a huge, assorted pile of things. If you didn’t know what he’d been up to, you’d think he had just returned from a long vacation.
Among them were many beautiful stones collected especially for Little Pu Tao—some were ordinary pebbles, others were gemstones.
They were packed in a large, heavy jar.
When poured out, every single one was sparkling and shiny, which made Little Pu Tao ecstatic. He had his own collection, but his resources were limited, so his treasure chest had remained far from full.
Now that Graces had given him so many, the gaps in his treasure chest were instantly filled. He couldn’t have been happier.
For the rest of the day, Little Pu Tao blissfully hugged his treasure chest, looking at it over and over. He polished the gems inside again and again, absolutely treasuring them.
His Dragon Clan instincts were on full display. Before bed, he even brought Lu Xia over to his treasure chest to share his ’treasure’ with her.
