Chapter 270 - Different behaviour
"So annoying..." Li Wang muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair as he stormed down the corridor and back to his room.The door creaked open to reveal an unexpected scene—Eren, Varon, and a few other Farian soldiers standing around Nansich, who was animatedly showing them his sword. The half-Farian boy’s face lit up the moment he saw Li Wang.
"Hey! These guys are really strong, Li Wang! They said they’d spar with me later," Nansich said brightly, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Great for you," Li Wang mumbled flatly, walking past them. His tone dripped with sarcasm as he headed straight for the bed.
Without a word, he grabbed the edge of the blanket, shoved the nearest soldier’s knee out of the way, and flopped face-first onto the mattress. A moment later, he rolled himself tightly into a blanket burrito, cocooning his entire body.
It was stupid, really, but seeing Nansich chatting so freely with those Farians—his people—lit something sour in his chest. The boy wasn’t even fully human; he had Farian blood. So of course, he belonged here. He had a place. A home to return to.
Li Wang clenched his fists inside the blanket, jaw tightening. Meanwhile, he was just human. He didn’t belong to their world, or this one. Once they returned, he’d be left behind again. Alone.
"This sucks..." he thought bitterly, rolling tighter into the blanket until it pressed against his face.
"What’s up with you?" Nansich’s voice came closer. The boy climbed onto the bed, shaking the bundled mass that was Li Wang. "Come on, meet my new friends! You can’t be rude like this."
"Go away, Nansich," came the muffled reply from inside the blanket.
Nansich pouted, sitting back. "He’s usually not like this," he mumbled, glancing apologetically at the soldiers.
Eren and Varon exchanged looks. Eren’s eyes lingered thoughtfully on the rolled-up blanket. Nansich was right—Li Wang was sarcastic, sharp-tongued, but never this. There was something deflated about him, something heavy that didn’t fit the man they knew.
The quiet was suddenly broken when the door opened again.
A tall man with long golden hair stepped in, his very presence commanding silence. The moment Eren and the others saw him, they dropped to one knee almost instinctively.
"Your Highness," they called out in unison.
Nansich blinked, confused—until Eren grabbed his arm and pulled him down too.
Li Wang groaned from under the blanket. "You guys are so noisy! Shut up and leave me alone!"
The soldiers froze. Eren’s head jerked up in shock, eyes darting between the bed and their prince. Never in their lives had anyone—anyone—spoken to the Crown Prince like that.
But to their disbelief, Celaus didn’t show anger. His golden eyes softened faintly. He looked toward the bundled figure on the bed, then quietly lowered his head.
Without a word, he turned and left the room.
The soldiers hesitated only a moment before quickly rising to follow. Eren tugged a still-confused Nansich up with him as they trailed out behind their prince.
When the door finally closed, silence fell again.
Li Wang didn’t move. The sound of their footsteps fading down the corridor left the air oddly hollow. For a long moment, he stayed buried in the blanket, breathing quietly.
On the other side of the door, Celaus stood utterly still. His forehead rested lightly against the wooden frame, his breath uneven—slow, deep intakes that trembled faintly as they left him. The sound was quiet, but to the soldiers waiting nearby, it felt deafening in the silence of the corridor.
They had never seen their Crown Prince like this before. The man who commanded fleets, who faced collapsing stars and Grayling ambushes without flinching, now stood frozen—his golden hair hanging loose around his face, his shoulders low, his expression unreadable.
Eren exchanged a confused glance with Varon, then leaned closer, whispering under his breath, "What do you think is going on? He’s acting strange... and so is Li Wang."
Varon glanced at him, his eyes softening. Without a word, he pulled Eren a little closer, a quiet gesture of comfort. "Shh..." he murmured. "Don’t ask too much."
Eren bit his lip, nodding. He couldn’t help but watch, though. Celaus hadn’t moved for several minutes. His hand rested against the door as if he were holding himself back—restraining some impulse to enter again, or maybe... to speak.
Finally, Celaus pushed himself away from the door. He straightened slowly, drawing in a controlled breath, his expression composed once more—but his eyes... they weren’t. There was something unguarded in them, something heavy and unspoken.
Without a word, he turned and began to walk down the hall.
The soldiers immediately stepped aside to give him space, heads bowed. None dared to follow too closely, though Eren’s gaze lingered on the prince’s slumped back.
The door suddenly swung open with a loud crack, startling the soldiers still standing in the hallway.
Li Wang stood there, his face dark with fury, hair slightly disheveled from rolling around in the blanket earlier. His sharp eyes locked straight onto the Crown Prince, and the cold, unrestrained glare he gave could’ve sliced through steel.
"You—come in," Li Wang snapped, his tone dripping with irritation and something else... something rawer, more unsettled.
Celaus froze for a brief moment, his expression unreadable, before quietly nodding. Without a word, he stepped forward and crossed the threshold.
The soldiers exchanged wide-eyed glances. Before anyone could even react, Li Wang grabbed the edge of the door and slammed it shut behind them with a BANG that echoed down the hallway.
Every man in the corridor stiffened.
Then the muffled shout came through the door—Li Wang’s voice sharp and commanding, "And you all! Stop standing around and go do your work!"
Eren nearly jumped, instinctively straightening. "Y–Yes, sir!" he blurted, before realizing Li Wang wasn’t even a superior officer.
Varon tugged his sleeve, muttering under his breath, "Let’s go before he throws something at us too."
One by one, the soldiers scattered quickly, pretending to find tasks elsewhere. Even Nansich, who had been lingering nearby out of curiosity, was pulled away by Varon before he could press his ear to the door.