Outside the golden door, the King and others thanked the bishop and exchanged some pleasantries before taking their leave from the cathedral with the bishop himself seeing them off.
The matter about the royal majesties visiting the cathedral of stars to witness the naming ceremony of the newborn child of the duke Callisto was already known to the nobles who were always paying attention to their movements. After all, it was the royal couple they were talking about. Anyone would be interested in their activities but of course, they won't show it on the surface as it's a crime to meddle in the private matters of the royal majesties.
Not only that, the Duke Callisto finally had a child so everyone was waiting for the news about whether it was a son or a daughter to plan about future matters.
Although a daughter could also be the heir of a family, it also depended upon her potential and the level of affection the family members showed to her. But if it was really a daughter and taking in mind that the duke Callisto was the only 6th tier sword king and the duchess was a 5th tier Ice elementalist, her talent could possibly be very high, almost close to a genius. Then they could consider having an engagement with one of their sons. And if it was a son then much better!
Some people were racking their brains to think of a way to get close to the duke Callisto while some were waiting for the news and see what impact it would bring to their future plans then decide on the path they would choose.
While the people were anxiously waiting for the anticipated news, Johann and others were finally aboard their carriage to the Palace.
It was way past 5 pm and the sun was about to set, dyeing the whole world in reddish orange light. Arthur and Isabella insisted on sharing one carriage together with Johann and Violette so they could only agree with a sigh. Fortunately, the carriage of the house of Callisto was very large and spacious which could fit in about seven adults without feeling cramped inside.
On one side sat Johann and Violette with Shizuki held in Johann's arms and across them sat Arthur and Isabella who were trying to suppress their excitement as they poked at Shizuki's chubby cheeks curiously. Of course, they earned lots of unspeakable curses and annoyed glares from her internally.
F*cking hell! Stop poking me! Are you trying to poke a hole through my cheeks? You jealous of my soft, cute cheeks, huh??
Shizuki pouted visibly as she finally opened her eyes to glare at the royal couple to warn them but instead of intimidating them, they only became bolder as they thought how adorable she looked like that.
Arthur: Oh my god, my poor old heart! Darling, I'm sorry but I think I have fallen in love with my little niece! So adorable~
Isabella: Don't worry, dear. I can understand. My niece's charms are too overpowering! But do prepare to sleep alone tonight. *smiles sweetly*
Arthur: E-ehh?? I was only joking, how could I fall for someone other than you, my darling. But, my little niece is just...too adorable. But but...I still love you the most, Bella~
Violette felt like face palming at them as she sighed in exasperation. While Johann was making a cold face at Arthur's words of falling in love with his daughter. His eyes seemed to be saying, 'I dare you to try something funny with my daughter!' as he glared at Arthur who flashed a bright smile at him in exchange.
Can. You. F*cking. Just. Leave. Me. Alone!!? Shizuki was in the brink of flipping a table at them as she was harassed by the royal couple and was about to be crushed in her newly found father's arms.
Please, someone save me from these lunatics!!
But her cries for help were heard by none and her harassment carried on for a while until she just gave up and let them do whatever they wanted to her. With a straight, puffy face, Shizuki watched as she was transferred from Johann's arms to Isabella's which was much comfortable than the former's awkward baby sack carry.
Pinching her chubby cheeks gently, Isabella looked at her cute little niece who was staring at her with a 'I'm done with you, human.' face like a grumpy kitty and chuckled.
"Aww, my dear lyn is so cute," said Isabella as she continued, "But really, today was a day full of surprises. Who would've thought our little lyn would bring so many pleasant news one after another right after coming into this world. But that's as expected of my little niece! She should be badass right from the start, like me!"
Others chuckled at her narcissistic words but didn't feel anything wrong about it either. Although she was too carefree and loved to use brutish methods to deal with her matters as a Queen, she was still a greatly respected 6th tier Mage Queen with the title of 'Flaming witch' who was even powerful than Johann in strength. With her strength, she could afford to be so lofty and arrogant.
Shizuki couldn't help but agree at her words that today was indeed a day full of surprises. But then she felt somewhat embarrassed at being praised like that. To be honest, she had never been praised by anyone nor did anyone look at her with such pride before. As much as she could remember, although she was always at the top of her class in studies, she was an introvert who didn't like to socialise much nor did anyone try to get close to her because of her quiet and cold exterior.
Even though she also wanted to make friends and yearned for a normal life like others, she was still ostracised every time due to her quiet personality which was misinterpreted by others as arrogance. She also didn't bother explaining herself to them since she wasn't the one at fault nor did she do anything wrong. Because of that, the barrier separating her from others grew more layers and she stopped caring about others.
It was a very strange feeling to her when she looked at the proud and loving gazes of the people around her.
Is it really alright for me to feel happy about it?
Shizuki, who had never really felt any warmth in her entire life, didn't know how she should react to the changes around her.
Shaking her head, she let go of such thoughts. Forget it. I'll just see how it goes and decide slowly. Anyway, what I have in my hand is plenty of time. For now, I just want to live peacefully.
Seeing her shake her head with a puffy serious face, the four love struck adults nearly squealed at her.
'She is just too cute!!' ( ≧∀≦)♡
"Pfft~ when she makes that serious face, she really resembles her father so much. Just look at him, he always had that 'don't mess with me, I'm serious' face since he was a child. But at least, he was cuter as a kid. Bullying him before was so much fun." Isabella laughed as if she remembered something funny from the past. Johann didn't even bat an eye on her teasing and instead smiled proudly.
"She is my daughter so she will resemble me in anyway. At least she won't be a brute like you, her aunt."
"Oh?" Isabella suddenly smiled brightly which looked more terrifying than beautiful, fire sparks crackled around her and her long, fiery red hair seemed to be flowing like tentacles. This scene made Shizuki, who was the nearest to her, feel a bit scared as she stared at her with wide eyes.
Oh my god, are you f*cking Kushina?! [A.N: Kushina from Naruto. Naruto's mother.]
"What did you say about me again? It seems it's been quite a while since I gave you a beating. How about a friendly~ spar in the arena later?"
Violette quickly took Shizuki away from Isabella with a helpless smile on her face.
"Hmph, I'm not scared of you. Bring it on." Johann just humphed and crossed his arms on his chest with his usual straight face.
"Oh, you two. Don't be like this. Stop stop. We still have an important matter to handle after we get to the palace so please wait until it's handled properly before you have a friendly spar, okay darling?" Arthur stepped in as a mediator with a bright smile on his face. He was already used to their bickering since small.
With his coaxing, Isabella humphed then calmed down with a pout. Johann just shrugged as if nothing happened.
"It's inevitable to announce the news about our little lyn so we must make some preparations after we get to the palace and discuss about the celebration party. Although I would really like to only invite the nobles we are more close in terms with but for this matter, we cannot do as such and invite all the nobles from count and above titles." Arthur said with a serious look on his face.
"But...should we hide the matter about lyn having blessings of the five gods? It's already a huge thing about her name so..." Violette asked with a worried look. Johann also nodded in agreement but then shook his head.
"No. It will be impossible for us to hide it. It would be suspicious if we say that lyn didn't get any blessing from the god and yet got to keep the name of the goddess of life. It will look like we are deliberately trying to hide something and will only make it worse."
"Johann is right. Hmm, how about just saying that she got blessing from just two gods?" said Arthur.
"But won't that be a bit disrespectful for the other gods? Although the goddess Asteria won't really mind and is easygoing, we don't know much about other gods and we might somehow unintentionally displease them." Violette frowned.
"Hmm...actually. We still don't know who the other four gods are other than the goddess Asteria who gave their blessings to lyn. It's really a bit troublesome." Isabella pondered with a frown on her face.
"Sigh..let's just discuss this after we get to the palace. We still have some time so we can make a plan slowly." Arthur sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his hand. No one disagreed to his suggestion and just diverted the subject to Shizuki, who was still mulling over something in her mind.
The whole trip back to the palace was spent with happy laughters and jokes as well as annoyed glares from the utterly harassed Shizuki until she gradually fell asleep along with the light rocking of the carriage.
After more than an hour, they finally arrived at the palace at the very center of the capital city.