When the gate of the room where I was lying down opened, I turned my head toward the door to see who had come in.
My parents were still wearing unusual clothing, and two more people accompanied them. One was a woman in maid's clothes following behind my parents; the other was a man dressed like a priest. They soon approached my bed, and my mother picked me up, wrapped me in a towel, and then walked toward the priest.
"Pope Eugene, begin the naming ritual," my mother commanded, her tone filled with authority.
I was taken aback by my mother's tone and, most importantly, her words, as I had no idea that I would be named today. However, I'm not complaining, because with a name I can finally check my status and see what else "it" has to offer.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Pope Eugene replied respectfully to my mother.
At that moment, when I heard the words "Your Majesty," I slowly tilted my head to take another look at my parents' unusual clothing, this time paying close attention to the details. Surely, they were befitting a king and a queen. After seeing them, a realization dawned on me: I had not just been reincarnated—I had been reincarnated as a prince! Faced with this new information, I could do nothing but let out a sigh, as there were too many unpredictable things happening at once. I heard the voice of the God of Life and Death in the void.
While I was grasping this new information and pondering how it would affect my new life, Pope Eugene took me from my mother, pulled a pure white vial from his bag, closed his eyes, tilted his head upward at a certain angle, and began reciting something in an unknown language.
After he finished reciting, the vial started glowing with pure white light. Then he took some water from the vial, looked back toward my parents, and said, "What name does Your Majesty have in mind for the prince?"
My parents looked at each other, nodded, and then, turning back to the pope, my father said in a tone full of proudness befitting a king, "His name will be Aiden. Aiden von Everhart, the first prince of the Everhart Kingdom."
After listening to my father's words, the pope turned around and began reciting again in the same manner. This time, however, the water started glowing instead of the vial, and after he finished, it vanished into thin air while my own body began glowing in blue light.
[The name of the host is being updated to "Aiden von Everhart."]
[Status of the host generating]
[1% 2% 5%... 99% 100% completed.]
[The host's status has been generated and is now available to see.]
DING
[The Almighty Water Sovereign has blessed the host with his blessing.]
DING
**********
When Aiden grew excited and curious to see his status, he focused on the notifications that "it" was sending. Meanwhile, the others in the room wore mixed expressions as they saw the prince glowing in blue light.
The pope had an insanely happy face, as if he might just start floating from sheer happiness, while the maid wore an indifferent expression. However, the other two did not share Pope Eugene's delight, despite learning that their child had received the blessing of the Almighty Water Sovereign.
After completing the ritual of naming the prince, they all left the room where Aiden was and began walking down the corridor of the castle, which seemed infinitely long. Then the pope said, turning toward the king and queen, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your Highness's child has received the blessing of the Almighty Water Sovereign, who hasn't blessed anyone in the last millennia or so. It's an occasion to be celebrated throughout the kingdom. Please allow the church to hold a festival in celebration of this event."
Hearing these words, both the King and Queen frowned, seemingly worried about something, and the king addressed the pope while exerting his S Rank pressure, "Pope Eugene, I, Aziel von Everhart, as the king of the Everhart Kingdom, ask you to remain silent on this matter and forbid you from mentioning it to anyone in the future. It would be even better if you forgot that you ever performed this ritual or saw what you saw." Aziel increased his pressure further at the end of his speech.
"But—" Pope Eugene tried to say something, though he was sweating and having trouble breathing properly under Aziel's pressure, but was interrupted when Kiera, the Queen of the Everhart Kingdom, spoke up:
"Of course, we aren't asking you to keep quiet without offering something in return, Pope Eugene. You and 'your family' will receive more than enough money and security for the rest of your lives to live as you please." Kiera threatened, her voice deepening as she mentioned the pope's family, while wearing an indifferent expression as if devoid of emotion.
Pope Eugene flinched at the mention of his family, understanding the implication behind Kiera's words. Reluctantly, he agreed to remain silent on the matter, for fear that rejecting the king's request would bring trouble upon his family.
"Good. Now you may head back, Pope Eugene," Aziel said, easing his pressure.
Finally able to breathe properly, Eugene nodded and hurried away, worried about his family. This confrontation made him question his loyalty to the Everhart Kingdom for the first time since he became the pope of "The Church of Almighty Water Sovereign."
After Eugene was no longer visible, Kiera turned to the other person present at the naming ritual, "Elsie, from today onward you are relieved of the duty of being my maid. Instead, you will be Aiden's maid, and you must ensure that the fact Aiden received the blessing from the Water Sovereign remains so discreet that not even the air will know. Now you are dismissed." Kiera ordered Elsie, her former personal maid, who simply nodded and then merged into the shadows, disappearing down the corridor.
After confirming that Elsie had indeed gone to her newly assigned work, Kiera's indifferent facial expression changed into that of a worried mother. Anyone who saw that expression on their queen's face would surely start doubting their own eyes.
"Az, do you think that the Empire would come after Aiden if they learned about the blessing of the Water Sovereign?" Kiera asked, her worry having haunted her since she saw her child glowing in blue light.
"Don't worry, Kiera. Even if the Empire itself comes after Aiden, I will ensure that nothing happens to our son as long as I am alive," Aziel reassured her, despite his own concern, pulling her into an embrace.