"What are you doing here, Isabella?" she asked, frowning.
Since regaining my sight, I had never seen my mother so angry. She was usually a woman who always smiled and spread joy around her, but now she showed none of these signs.
"Calm down, Luci. I was just curious about my stepson, and now I'm leaving" she said, maintaining her arrogant expression as she walked out. As soon as the woman named Isabella left, my mother's expression transformed. She hugged me gently and kissed my head. Her soft hands were so soothing that I immediately began to feel better.
"Don't worry, my little son. I will never put you in danger again" she said and opened her chest to feed me, her young child.
As I drank the sweet milk, I thought about what had just happened. I needed to find out what kind of plant she wanted to give me. But I was quite happy because I had learned more today than in the past six months. I learned that my mother held a prominent position in this world's hierarchical order, and therefore, I was also an important figure. Isabella had referred to me as her stepson, and previously, a servant had addressed her as "Your Majesty." This likely indicated that she was a queen.
Since she called me her stepson, it was likely that my father had another wife, and therefore, my mother was also a queen. The important thing here was to determine whether my mother or Isabella were more powerful. My mother had ordered the servant not to leave this room and to protect me, but in the end, the servant obeyed Isabella's order.
This showed us that my mother became a queen after Isabella, but the tone of my mother's conversation with Isabella also indicated that she was not a woman to be underestimated. However, apart from all this information, I learned something very important: I was most likely a prince.
With a sly smile on my face because of this newfound knowledge, I looked at my mother when I giggles. Despite her large breasts making it difficult to see, I noticed with one eye that she was looking at me with love.
For a moment, I wondered what expression she would have if she knew that the first time I said "mommy" I said it to Isabella, but I quickly realized that it might not be a good idea. However, I felt a bit guilty because a woman who loved me so much deserved to be called a mother.
In this world, the word "mommy" was actually a two-syllable and easy word. So, I could say it to make my mother happy, and people would at most think I was a clever baby since they might consider it babbling. Thinking this, I continued to drink my sweet milk, and when I was finally full, I pulled away. My mother, who was reading a book at the time, noticed this and, covering her chest, lifted me up. Just as she lifted me, I moved my hands to touch her nose and, making her giggle, shocked Lucina within a second by opening my mouth.
"Momy...?"
"....."
"..."
We were both looking at each other, and as I wondered if I had made a mistake, a tear fell from Lucina's eye. The tear that rolled down Lucina's cheek widened her smile even more. She hugged me with trembling hands, stroked my hair, and said, "Ehhhe! You will never know how much I love you," and held me tightly. Then she looked at me with interest.
"Come on, say 'Mommy' again... Mommy" she said.
".... Mommy!" I said in a lisp, and I was once again attacked with kisses and hugs.
In the magic of this moment, I felt completely safe. Lucina's love for me made me realize once again that she was indeed a very good person. After a while, Lucina put me back in my place, covered me up, and gently stroked my head, saying, "You need to rest. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow..." These words made me a bit curious, but exhaustion took over, and I soon fell asleep.
The next day when I woke up, I saw many people in the room. There were also many guards in bright armor with eagle symbols on them. The guards were lined up on either side of the door with emotionless expressions. My mother was standing right next to the bed, looking at me with pride.
Suddenly, a man walked in through the open door. He had black hair, brown eyes, and was quite tall. This man was my father, who had visited me and my mother many times before. He walked toward me, took me in his arms, and turned around. My mother joined us, and we walked out of the room together.
Since it was the first time I had left my room since I was born, I was quite excited and curious, constantly looking around. We walked through rather magnificent corridors with guards. Finally, double wide doors greeted us, and the guards next to the door bowed respectfully before opening the door.
When the grand door opened, I couldn't help but be in awe of what was in front of me. It was one of the largest rooms I had ever seen, and directly opposite the door, a little distance away, was a magnificent throne. Dozens of people stood beside the tables on either side, looking at us with respect. As if the room's size wasn't impressive enough, there were also many people on the wide, two-sided balconies above, all looking specifically at me.
There was a black carpet leading to the throne, and we started walking towards it. On either side of the central throne were two smaller thrones, positioned slightly lower. On one side of these lower thrones, I saw a familiar woman, and as we got closer, I realized it was Isabella. At that moment, I was certain that my earlier theory was correct. My eyes also immediately noticed my sister standing behind the throne, accompanied by several other people.
As we ascended the steps of the throne, still in my father's arms, I saw my mother walking towards the empty throne beside it. My father sat comfortably on the throne, still holding me, and looked at the people in the great hall.
"Thank you all for coming on this blessed day. As you know, I have a new son, and I am pleased to say that he has a natural affinity for magic" he said, and immediately the hall filled with cheers and sounds of congratulations.
My father raised one hand, and the room fell silent. "Now, before the celebrations begin, it is time for the tradition of the Water of Fate, which has been performed since the existence of the Kingdom of Asina"" he said. At that moment, I focused all my attention, as I knew nothing about the Water of Fate tradition.
Several servants quickly placed a large table in front of the throne and set a huge cauldron on top of it. The cauldron appeared to be filled to the brim with boiling water. A man holding a long staff approached the table and did things I didn't understand about his staff. Then he set his staff aside, approached the throne, and bowed respectfully. Then my father got up and walked down the stairs to the table. The further he walked, the more scared I became.
"He's not going to do it, is he?" I thought in fear.