Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 214

George remembered that his uncle was holding him before he fell asleep, but when he woke up, he found himself lying on top of “Charlie”.

Charlie hadn’t opened his eyes yet. George wanted to climb off him but was afraid of waking him, so he nervously lifted his head to look at Charlie.

At his age, George had a basic concept of beauty but couldn’t discern the degrees of handsomeness—he thought his uncle was slightly better looking than Charlie, but since his uncle said Charlie looked just like his father, George decided Charlie was also very handsome.

How should he address him? He couldn’t call him Dad because he wasn’t his dad. Uncle? George had many uncles; the entire Brandenburg Knight Order was his uncles. Was Charlie a knight too?

This concept puzzled George. After thinking for a while, his neck got tired, and he lay back down on Charlie.

Last night, Charlie had held him while he slept, making George feel closer to him. George was a child who loved to be cuddled, pampered, and the adults always humored him.

His uncle wasn’t unwilling to hold him, but the Duke of Brandenburg was very strict with himself and others. Everything had to follow rules and systems, and George had a limited number of times he could act spoiled in a day. Once he used them up, no amount of pleading would work. Sleeping while being held was too indulgent and not allowed.

But Charlie was willing to hold him all the time. Once George understood this, he didn’t want to escape anymore, especially since his uncle was right beside him—George closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

After George’s breathing steadied, Charlie and Dwight opened their eyes.

“That’s why I said to put him back in his room before he wakes up.” The Duke’s voice was still hoarse in the early morning. “Otherwise, he will keep wanting to sleep here.”

Charlie said, “Last night was special. George was sick.”

“He will ask to sleep here every time he has a fever.”

“Is that not allowed?”

“No.”

“Must you be so strict?”

Dwight’s response was to sit up and move George off Charlie.

Charlie watched in amazement as Dwight moved, and George showed no signs of waking up.

“He easily gets anxious, but my presence calms him,” Dwight said as he tucked George into bed. “He won’t wake up that quickly.”

“Oh—George loves his uncle so much,” Charlie mocked in a drawling tone.

“I’ve spent the most time with him since he was born. Even if I were a monkey, George would instinctively rely on me,” Dwight said.

“Did Priscilla just let you take him back?” Charlie asked.

“The environment in Doran is unstable,” Dwight replied matter-of-factly. “I believe George’s tendency to be clingy is due to the unstable environment Priscilla experienced during her pregnancy, affecting George in the womb.”

This was the Duke’s personal theory, with no evidence to support it, but he felt it was the only explanation for George’s personality.

Neither Priscilla, himself, nor Louis or Charlie were the type to be dependent, so Dwight couldn’t understand where George’s clinginess and dependence came from.

Moreover, after returning to Brandenburg, George was almost second in status only to Dwight in Lemena. Dwight raised him as an heir, with everyone revolving around him. In both material and emotional aspects, George was one of the wealthiest children on the continent. But the boy lacked any sense of leadership and was extremely clingy.

The only explanation Dwight could think of was that Priscilla’s anxiety during late pregnancy affected George. Although George had no memory of being in the womb, he hadn’t forgotten the feeling.

There was another detail the Duke wouldn’t mention: his initial time with George hadn’t been smooth, and both of them suffered a lot.

When George was born, Charlie had disappeared due to magic. The Wolf and Monkey families were in chaos due to their leaders’ sudden deaths. If not for a lack of manpower, they could have been divided by the covetous Lion and Fox families.

Coincidentally, the forces of the Modicon Empire had secretly arrived at White Bridge. Emperor Zoltar, warned by Dwight, had sent a small force to Doran to eliminate the Holy Grail legend forever. When they arrived, they found the Black Gold Families in civil war. Not only was the Holy Grail’s whereabouts unknown, but most of those who knew of its existence were dead.

Dwight had done Louis a favor by using this force to reorganize White Bridge. Representing Wolf, Louis, with Dwight’s support, reshuffled the two family factions in White Bridge using extremely harsh methods. The Monkey became a branch of the Wolf family, even losing their surname.

After the situation stabilized, Priscilla took George back to Mokwen. The news of Duke Dwight’s uninvited arrival shocked the entire capital. Tifa, who had a weak personality, felt guilty after killing Priscilla’s husband, his own brother, and handed over all of Lestrop’s inheritance to Priscilla, even giving the title to George, who wasn’t even a month old. Priscilla became the acting Countess.

This outcome wasn’t without opposition from the Mokwen royal family, but Priscilla handed George over to Duke Dwight, claiming her frail health prevented her from raising him personally and asking him to take care of the child.

A reasonable request from a sibling.

The problem was that the Count had left, and Priscilla, exercising the Count’s authority, remained in place. This meant the title was effectively given to Priscilla, and dealing with a weak infant was entirely different from dealing with a politically savvy woman who had survived and secured her family’s assets and position.

Priscilla ignored those who openly and secretly expressed dissatisfaction and refused all attempts to probe her upon returning to her territory, under the guise of mourning her late husband.

Dwight unconditionally supported Priscilla. The little one she entrusted to him was also a Dwight by blood. But this nephew was so young that the newly adult Duke of Brandenburg felt completely out of his depth.

Priscilla and Louis arranged for a nanny to accompany the child to ensure his safe and smooth arrival at Lemena. However, it was only when little George grew older, began to think, and had emotional needs that the greatest challenge for Dwight arose. The peculiar yet familiar hug between uncle and nephew that Charlie saw last night was one of the results of that period.

“Don’t dawdle,” Dwight, determined not to share his rather embarrassing parenting history, urged Charlie with a stern face. “We have things to do.”

“Where to? What about George?”

“His fever has already subsided. He will get up when he wakes.”

“He will be sad if he wakes up and finds no one around!”

“The nanny will stay with him.” Dwight simply pulled Charlie out of bed and dragged him to the dressing room to change clothes.

Charlie asked, “Shouldn’t we still—”

“The place we’re going is not suitable for George,” Dwight said quickly, giving Charlie no room to bargain.

Charlie, who had hardly seen any friends except Shivers since returning, felt a bit helpless and had no idea what the rush was about. But from the other’s smooth arrangements, it didn’t seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision. As he was almost pushed down the spiral stairs into the central garden, a small, two-seater carriage was already waiting.

“If I ask where we’re going, you wouldn’t tell me, right?” Charlie, arms crossed, sat in the carriage and looked at Dwight—then at the scenery outside the window. One had to say, his elf lineage hadn’t been wasted. Though he had grown up, his facial features hadn’t lost their delicacy. Instead, the subtle changes in his bones had altered his aura. He used to resemble an angel in a religious mural, now he looked like a handsome statue in a domed hall.

The common point was that his beauty set him apart from ordinary people. Just looking at him could dissipate anger.

“We’re almost there,” Dwight said.

He was telling the truth. The carriage didn’t travel far after leaving Brandenburg but wound up to a small hill with a woodland area at the top.

Charlie recognized it immediately as the place where Dwight had moved Khalif’s basement: a small depression at the base of the hill.

Dwight didn’t lead him to the basement but instead walked toward the woods on the hillside. This area was evidently part of Brandenburg, with maintained lawns and woods and clean paths.

It seemed it had rained last night. The air in the woods was particularly fresh, lifting Charlie’s spirits. He walked beside Dwight on the stone path, looking around curiously.

There was only one path in the woods, ending at a stone dome building, flanked by various beautiful trees with rain-washed leaves glistening.

As they got closer, Charlie noticed that this building looked more like a temple than a hall—it had no doors—only twelve marble pillars arranged in sequence, each topped with a lifelike carving of a horse.

Dwight led Charlie into the central hall without stopping. Inside was an empty circular space, resembling…

Charlie stopped.

It resembled Brandenburg.

Facing the entrance was a circular staircase, at the top of which were two stone high chairs with two statues sitting on them—Dwight’s late parents, the previous Duke and Duchess.

The former Duke, in his prime, had a calm face, looking straight ahead, the only non-stone part being the staff he held, topped with a glittering red gemstone.

The Duchess beside him wore a veil—a strange blend of cold stone and soft veil—and her face beneath was as serene as Charlie remembered. Her stone veil was adorned with a beautiful silver tiara, exquisitely crafted, clearly of elven make.

The two statues sat in their places, with many more statues below them. Charlie saw a tall, handsome man nearest the former Duke. He wore no helmet, his stone cloak only half draped, looking up slightly at the Duke and Duchess.

Statues couldn’t smile, but in Charlie’s memory, this man often did.

“Alfred,” he said softly.

Charlie stood at the entrance, suddenly a bit hesitant to move forward—something he rarely felt.

But Dwight gave him no chance to hesitate, pulling him forward while giving a simple introduction.

“Flora, mother’s maid, very kind.”

“Joseph, father’s assistant, in charge of clerical work.”

“Mrs. Eloise, mother’s assistant, used to manage Brandenburg’s finances with the steward.”

“Eddie, father’s attendant, very clever.”

Charlie tightened his grip on Dwight’s hand, but he seemed oblivious.

“…Sherrill, former Brandenburg knight, excellent rider and very intelligent.” Dwight was familiar with every statue. He led Charlie up the steps. Most of the statues on the steps were knights.

“Alfred, you know.” Dwight’s gaze passed over Alfred’s statue, landing on the only man standing beside the Duke’s statue—a young, handsome man without armor.

“Albert, the steward’s eldest son,” Dwight said to Charlie. “Erica’s brother.”

Charlie stood before the Duke’s statue, unable to speak.

“Back then, they were all on the same ship, a large one built by the Empire’s finest craftsmen, accompanied by a fleet of warships, claiming even sea monsters wouldn’t be their match.” Dwight lowered his eyes. “Humans are ultimately too arrogant. Even someone as strong as Alfred… The Brandenburg knights couldn’t conquer the storm with swords.”

The former Emperor lost Duke Dwight, the fleet, and the will to cross the seas, but his loss wasn’t as tragic as that of the Brandenburg siblings.

Dwight and Priscilla couldn’t even build graves for their parents, only adorning the statues with their cherished staff and tiara.

“My conflicting feelings toward George are also influenced by this place.” Dwight’s gaze fell on the Duke and Duchess’s laps, where, due to their sitting posture, there was space for a child to sit.

“Even if there was only a one percent chance, I worried George would become like me, seeking solace from statues in times of helplessness and loneliness. So, on one hand, I want him to grow up immediately. On the other hand, I think he deserves to be spoiled and rely on his elders because I’m still here,” Dwight said.

Charlie turned to look at him.

“It wasn’t until Priscilla got married that I stopped coming here. This is the first time in many years.” Dwight suddenly smiled. “Because I thought I had grown up and couldn’t rely on my parents anymore—even imaginary reliance. But after returning from Doran, I didn’t hesitate to choose the hill as the site for rebuilding the basement, within their line of sight.”

Charlie hugged him. “Alright.”

Dwight continued, “Last night, when I saw you holding George, I suddenly realized I might not be as mature as I thought. Father and Mother saw the childish side of my soul in a panic but still responded to my plea, bringing my lover back.”

“Who said that?” Charlie blinked, trying to hold back tears. “Duke Dwight has always been particularly reliable and the most handsome—did I ever tell you? The first time you stood on my porch, I was stunned.”

Dwight pressed his fingers to Charlie’s eye corners. “Really?”

“In front of your parents, I can’t lie.” Charlie pressed his forehead against Dwight’s. “The well-traveled rabbit shopkeeper couldn’t have fallen in love at first sight with anyone less than extraordinarily handsome, wise, calm, and brave, right?”

Dwight closed his eyes. Warm sunlight spread through the pillars, in this exceptionally tranquil space, they could feel each other’s breaths mingling.

It felt like they had just experienced a long adventure, a bit tired yet somewhat happy, not wanting to speak, just quietly leaning on each other.

Like every ordinary day and night to come.

The End

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The author has something to say:

Thank you all for your support! The rabbit-headed character was just a sudden idea, and I didn’t expect this story to take so long to write. I initially planned to finish between 400,000 to 500,000 words, but it doubled, hahaha.

I should ideally announce the next book, but as someone who runs on instinct with no plans (probably why I get stuck), I’ll let it happen naturally.

Don’t leave yet. I’ll slowly write extras. Although the update schedule won’t be fixed, unless the book status is marked complete, it still means extra updates are coming.

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Kinky Thoughts:

With this, we reach the conclusion of the main story. I’ve always been on the lookout for western fantasy in danmei after reading Stray, and this came highly recommended to me.

My overall thoughts are, it’s quite good. The story really pulled me in and had me turning pages, wanting to find out more. The writing was pretty good overall (with a huge asterisk, which will be explained later). However, compared to Stray, it falls quite short, but then again, there’s not much that can compare to Stray (my bias).

My biggest gripe with this novel is the romance. As I expressed before, it was hardly ever developed when, suddenly, 130+ chapters later, they shared a kiss out of nowhere. It felt definitely shoehorned in because the author is writing a “danmei”. Honestly, the author could just remove the romance from this novel and just call it fantasy. The development was just too awkward—that being said, Shivers and Yitzfa’s relationship is lit. The author has noted that she’s not very good at writing romance, so I guess that’s why we have such an awkward relationship with the main CP.

Second, the last part of this novel is quite convoluted. The author spent quite some time developing the setting and world, so I was expecting more political intrigue and war, yet all we got when Charlie returned back from the past was a few chapters that basically wrapped everything up. What about the World Dragon? What about the Holy Grail? It seems like a missed opportunity to not explore more on this subject. The author seems to have many ideas she wanted to incorporate but couldn’t fit them in cohesively, especially in the last part of the novel where everything seemed to be crammed in all at once to rush the ending. 

Third, the setting the author developed seemed quite inconsistent. For instance, Dwight constantly talks about the difference between nobility and the common people, what his status meant, and how he should act. Even Priscilla acknowledges she cannot be with Louis due to their different status… but everyone is seemingly okay with Dwight just shacking up with Charlie? A man? Like what…? Especially when he’s the only male heir of the Dwight family. I supposed George now can take over the family’s title and name but still… Why is there no acknowledgement of their relationship and how scandalous this would be in such a setting? I mean this issue wasn’t even glossed over—it was entirely not acknowledged at all!

Finally, the most headache-inducing were the typos in the original raws—and my god, there were so many. This wouldn’t be too bad of a problem if not many of the typos were the names the author herself made (and this novel seriously has A LOT of names). It was hard to tell when I saw a new “name” whether it was an actual new name or just a typo the author made. At some point, the author even forgot some of the side character names she made, asking readers to help her out in the comments (WTF… keep tabs on your characters) and there was also another name where she at some point reversed the Chinese characters, leading me to believe it was a newly introduced person (it wasn’t—that was a fucking pain to fix all the previous chapters).

However, with that said, it was quite a great read. Don’t let my opinion influence your views. Though I rant, I did really enjoy this novel.

If you did enjoy it, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.

Finally, I like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations.

There are still extras, so look forward to them. Hopefully I can get more Shivers x Yitzfa.

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