Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 161 The "Monsters" in the Circus (Involves key plot points later)
Inside the tent.

The air was thick with the smell of grease, sawdust, and sweat. The dim candlelight flickered overhead, casting distorted shadows onto the canvas.

A woman in her early twenties stood on the stage in the center of the tent, her six slender arms gracefully outstretched like the legs of a spider, each finger delicate and soft with distinct knuckles.

She had long, deep blue hair, as dark as a night river, reaching her waist, with many tiny star ornaments twirling in her hair, twinkling under the lights like a beautiful starry sky.

With twelve colorful ribbons entwined around her fingertips, she twirled, leaped, and danced, her figure as light as a swallow, drawing stunning colorful vortexes in the air.

"Helena's dancing was absolutely gorgeous!"

"Big sister is really beautiful. I never knew people like us could be so dazzling."

"Sister Helena, I like you!"

Below the stage, a group of deformed people—people that most people would avoid, loathe, and fear—were clapping their hands excitedly.

Some of them have an extra hand or eye, while others have organs that are misplaced, such as a mouth on a palm, or their bodies covered in snake-like scales.
These deformed people are of varying ages, including both adults and children, but children make up the majority.

After the performance, the six-armed dancer lifted her skirt, bowed slightly, and then walked off the stage.

After that, new actors came on stage to perform.

A giant with two heads, one adult and one child, stood on the stage. The two heads were talking to each other. The adult head on the left told vulgar jokes, while the child head on the right innocently defended itself with childlike words, causing the audience to burst into laughter.

Their massive bodies, over three meters tall, required them to carefully control every movement to avoid bumping into the lampstands filled with candles above their heads.

The deformed people in the audience were amused and laughed heartily, calling out their names repeatedly. The adult head on the left was Big Toby, and the child head on the right was Little Toby.

The next performance was a high-wire act, performed by a cute girl who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. She had fluffy pointed ears, a pink nose, protruding front teeth, a long tail, and fair skin with a rosy tint, just like a giant Mickey Mouse.

Tapping.

The mouse girl led a group of white mice running, jumping, and soaring 360° in the air. Her tiny feet were as agile as real rodents, and her incisors gleamed like pearls under the light.

When she completes a backflip, her tail will unconsciously curl up to maintain balance, and a small bow is tied on her fluffy gray tail.

"Sister Mia is amazing!" the children exclaimed in surprise.

The final performance was jumping through hoops of fire.

The performer was a snake-scaled boy whose entire body was covered in emerald green scales, whose pupils were vertical, and whose tongue was forked.

He stood with a cold expression beside each small circle of fire, his smooth scales shimmering like jade in the firelight. His slender body moved with incredible speed through the small circles of fire, which were no bigger than a human head, flashing past like lightning.

"Brother Sipher is so handsome!"

In a corner of the circus, the magician leaned against the wall, quietly watching this heartwarming scene.

His eyes were gentle like an old father's at this moment, completely unlike his tough attitude when facing the piercing earlier.

Those dazzling purple-gold heterochromatic eyes gradually dimmed and became less bright.

Tapping.

The six-armed dancer who had been dancing earlier came over. She looked at the magician, a clear respect appearing on her delicate face.

"Captain, everyone has finished rehearsing and is ready to perform at any time," Helena reported softly.

The magician nodded approvingly, but his brow furrowed slightly as he recalled Yud's rejection that morning.

Although this detail was insignificant, it was still noticed by the dancer who had followed him for many years.

"Captain, what happened?" Helena asked with a worried expression.

"This morning, I encountered a pharmacist with a monkey face."

Not wanting to worry his dancer, whom he considered like a daughter, the magician thought for a moment and then told her the truth.

"Did that pharmacist say he was quite content with his life?" Helena wondered if she had misheard, so she asked again.

After all, as a fellow deformed person, she knew how much people hated them. Just by existing, they would be constantly subjected to malice from those around them, until they were driven to their deaths.

"Yes," the magician admitted with a wry smile.

This was the first time he had been rejected for this reason; usually, he was just seen as a pervert who liked to play with deformed people.

"That monkey-faced apothecary seems to have been saved by someone."

After a moment's thought, Helena keenly noticed the key point.

"I really want to meet that gentleman!" she exclaimed sincerely.

"We'll be staying in Twilight City for quite some time; there will definitely be an opportunity."

The magician smiled slightly. He was also very curious about what kind of person would save a deformed person, and perhaps they could become friends.

The next morning.

The patrolling guards soon discovered the enormous circus tent that had suddenly appeared in the city square, occupying a full tenth of the space.

They quickly reported to their superior, and soon a superhuman knight arrived with a squad of guards, looking very imposing.

The knight wanted to lift the curtain at the entrance of the tent and rush in, but fortunately the magician was already waiting at the door.

"Who are you?" the knight asked warily, gripping the hilt of his longsword.

The handsome magician in front of him seemed delicate, yet he inexplicably gave him a sense of danger, as if he were standing in front of a ferocious beast.

"I am Rune, a traveler and the ringmaster of the Monster Circus," the magician said gently, removing his hat and giving the knight a graceful bow.

Monster Circus!?

Upon hearing this, the knight was taken aback, only then noticing the large, blood-red characters on the tent.

He had naturally heard of this famous circus that had been operating in the Southern Territory for many years. It was said that it had left the Southern Territory to tour other places some time ago, but he did not expect it to return so quickly.

There are many strange rumors about this circus, the most dangerous of which is that the knights subconsciously look into the magician's eyes.

Even with the shadow of the hat brim obscuring his vision, he could clearly see that they were a pair of extremely rare heterochromatic eyes.

In an instant, the knight's vigilance reached its peak.

Swish!
The longsword was half-drawn from its sheath, revealing a glint of cold light.

“Mr. Rune, I am Gray, a knight under the Martha family. I am very grateful that you have come to Twilight City to perform, but the city square is the core area of ​​Twilight City. Please dismantle your tents and leave immediately!”

"Knight Grey shouted, and the guards behind him silently stepped forward, surrounding the magician with their guns drawn."

Clearly, if the magician refuses, he will most likely face imprisonment.

Rune was silent for a moment, then slowly took out a crest from his robes and handed it to Gray.

Upon catching a glimpse of the emblem, the Knight Grey's expression changed drastically, and he immediately sheathed his longsword. Staring into the magician's deep, violet-like left eye, a terrifying thought began to surface in his mind.

Damn it, why did I have to meddle in other people's business?
That bastard who came to report, I'll definitely double or triple his training load when I get back!
Gray cursed inwardly. He had no desire to know about such a scandal hidden within the Lord's family. No wonder that bastard Merlin refused to come; he must have known all along!

Seeing the knight's expression change rapidly like a palette of colors, Rune could roughly guess his thoughts, so he spoke calmly:

"Sir Knight, may I now open a circus performance in the city square?"

"Can, can, can!"

Knight Gray readily agreed and fled in a rather disheveled manner with his guards.

After he left, the magician stared at the fox head mark on the emblem in his hand and stood there for a long time, lost in thought.

Red Fox Castle, guest room/bedroom.

Xia Mingyu got up as usual, stood by the window shirtless, enjoying the cool morning breeze, and dressed and washed with the help of his new maid Anna.

The little maid with chestnut hair and lively, doe-like eyes was blushing as she looked at Xia Mingyu's well-defined, thick chest, her head bulging with nervousness as if steam were about to rise from it.

Nevertheless, the girl carefully tiptoed to put the shirt on Xia Mingyu and buttoned it up.

After accepting Xia Mingyu's invitation to become a maid, she first went to Red Fox Castle and received maid training from a group of head maids.

After the education was completed, because Anlia was busy preparing delicious meals every day, Anna took care of Xia Mingyu's clothes, daily life and other chores.

This is her first time on the job.

"Anna, are you settling in well at Red Fox Castle?" Xia Mingyu asked softly.

"Yes, everyone here is very kind to me. I've made a lot of new friends, and they've all been very polite to me since they found out I'm Lord Xinghuo's maid. Some people even say they envy me."

As she said this, a bright smile appeared on the girl's pretty face, and her lake-green eyes curved into crescent shapes.

For a girl who has always lived alone, the feeling of being surrounded by friends her own age is obviously very novel and joyful.

Upon seeing this, Xia Mingyu's worries about her subsided.

This flower girl, who used to be all alone and destitute, has now begun to have her own support and a life.

In the past, she would fall in love with him after just one meeting. Although it was partly because he was a little more attractive, it was mostly because she was afraid of being alone and wanted to change her gloomy life.

restaurant.

Today, Anlia prepared honey-fried eggs with fried fish fillets for his breakfast. The fried eggs were sweet and delicious, and the fish fillets were fried until golden and crispy.

After enjoying the meal, Xia Mingyu felt warm all over, as comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

After that, I read books, drank red juice, lay on Anlia's lap to read, drank red juice, and continued reading.
When Xia Mingyu felt a splitting headache and could no longer concentrate on his studies, he suddenly realized that the sky outside the window had turned yellow.

"Time really flies!" Xia Mingyu sighed as he looked out the window at the setting sun.

It is said that whenever you sleep through the night and gaze at the sunset, you feel abandoned by the whole world, and the only cure is...
"Anlia, can you sleep with me tonight?"

"Oh, really, Your Highness!"

The blonde girl who had been standing quietly beside him couldn't help but smile, and two small dimples appeared on her delicate face.

That smile was so radiant that it made the surrounding air feel sweet.

Xia Mingyu carried the beautiful girl back to the bedroom. On the soft bed, their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling, wet and hot.

Kiss kiss~
Zizzi~
And so, the full moon gradually replaced the setting sun, casting countless rays of its bright light upon the ground.

It was late at night, but many children in the twilight city were still tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

One day was enough for the news of the Monster Circus's arrival to spread throughout the city.

The most famous legend about Monster Circus is its unique and fairytale-like invitation method.

It possesses a magic that no child can resist.

So they looked forward to it, dreamed of it, and waited for it.
at the same time.

City square, Monster Circus.

"Commander, all five thousand invitations have been written!"

Inside the tent, the mouse girl ran up to the magician with great energy and saluted like a soldier.

“Well done, Mia.”

The magician patted the girl's head approvingly, then raised his hand to signal her to proceed to the next step.

Shhh!
Mia put her finger to her lips and whistled loudly.

The next moment, as if by magic, countless white mice suddenly appeared on the ground of the tent.

While a single white mouse may look cute in its small size, when they are densely packed together, they can drive anyone with trypophobia crazy.

"Rat army, move out!"

Mia waved her hand triumphantly.

The next moment, the white mice scrambled into a large box piled with invitations, then, clutching the invitations with their front teeth, they surged out of the circus tent like a white tide.

Immediately afterwards, the white tide continued to split, eventually flowing silently into the houses.

A rooftop somewhere.

The masked men in black stared in shock at the absurd scene before them.

Mice can actually be used to deliver messages?

With such a huge quantity, the thought of using it for poisoning or assassination is terrifying!

"Captain, should we bring that person who can control the rats back? We're sure to get a reward from the organization." One of the men in black, his heart filled with excitement, suggested to the man in black standing at the front of the group.

"No," the captain said calmly.

The man in black who had offered the suggestion immediately fell silent, tightly shutting his mouth.

The captain continued to gaze at the enormous tent that had appeared out of nowhere in the city square yesterday, his greenish-blue beast eyes filled with apprehension.

Before he went to the Southern Territory, his superiors had specifically instructed him not to provoke this monster circus, otherwise death would be the only thing waiting for his team.

"It's unbelievable that a New Moon Peak, two New Moons, and three Morning Stars couldn't even mess with a circus that only performs for children!"

Even an assassin who had experienced countless killings couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of the world at this moment.

(End of this chapter)