CHAPTER 10: EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY (9)
~10.9~
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“Be that as it may,” Atalante said, “I want both of you - Kye and Alethea - to refrain from wielding Hikarimaru and Gaia outside of times they are necessary.”
“That goes without saying. The more we rely on them, the slower our growth. One year and we can win with them. Five years and we can win without them.” She eyed Allison for a moment, but her aunt remained silent, so Kye continued on to another topic. “Moving on, I believe it would be best if I take up a role as an instructor immediately. Obviously, not as a general education instructor. I would only need to be assigned as a mana instructor. If this cannot happen without the several requirements in place, that’s fine, I’ll simply wait until then. However, and I apologize father, I will become one as soon as possible. My ascension to the throne will have to wait, if you still intend for me to inherit it.”
“Very well,” he replied. “I do not intend to abdicate for another few centuries, so there’s plenty of time for you to be an instructor or find an alternate solution if one becomes necessary.”
“We will discuss your instructor status in the next scheduled meeting,” said Alexandra with a warm smile. “I personally am glad you want to be an instructor and will ensure it is fairly discussed.”
Kye nodded. “Now…” She took a deep breath. “I need to ask for something… difficult.” She turned to Alethea, who had an idea of what Kye was thinking but was dreading being right. “Since I soul bonded with Astraia in January, I have had access to her knowledge. Thus, I now know much better the standards for commoners, nobles, and royals. I already knew marriage is allowed once both parties are of both legal and chronological age, but I did not know…” she sighed, not wanting to continue the topic.
“Absolutely not,” Layla said. “You are too young. I do not care what the law states, I will not have it.”
Several of the council members had not pieced together what they meant.
“I am not against it,” Allison said, earning a glare from Layla that she returned undeterred.
“I think you should wait,” James added.
“It is necessary!” Kye argued. “Kaede took the quickest route, but Azalea is particular, and I need her now. Will you do it instead, mother? I don’t relish the idea of doing it myself this early, but-”
“No, I will not,” Layla snapped back. “If she is particular, then she can wait. You can neither miss school nor be there if-”
“If it’s planned, I can work around school. I can use illusory magic to hide it.”
“And if you suddenly get sick in class?”
By that point, all the women had picked up on what they were talking about, but the men were still clueless, aside from James.
“I’ll be fine. If I get sick, I’ll simply heal myself before anyone notices.”
“If that were a reliable solution, the rest of us wouldn’t need to take so many precautions! You will not be able to channel mana as well throughout. Ask me how I know! You were particularly difficult. Your siblings didn’t come even close! And your intention is to bring another of your level into this world?”
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“It won’t be the first time I’ve done this, far from it.”
“Wait, are you talking about pregnancy?” Zen asked, his face betraying the proverbial light bulb.
““Stay out of it!””
Zen was dumbfounded, but didn’t say another word.
“I can manage. My grades will not suffer in the slightest! And I can keep up appearances just fine.”
Most of the council members were well past exasperation. Some had even buried their heads in the table. One, in particular, was done with the argument. Allison stood up and yelled, “Enough!” Kye and Layla froze in their tracks. Allison turned to Astarte, “Alethea’s immortal partner is already in this world?”
“Yes.”
“You should know now better than any of us, thanks to your soul bond. Rate this partner’s importance on a scale from one to ten, without childishly saying something stupid like ‘one hundred’.”
“Ten, easily.”
“Astraia, same question. Rate the importance of bringing her partner into this world.”
“Ten.”
“Kye, you said she is particular. Elaborate.”
“She is particular to the point that she will only accept being my blood-related sister or if I give birth to her myself. No other options.”
“Layla, suck it up. We can make it work. If we allow this, and they conceive immediately, the timing couldn’t be better. It wouldn’t take much to hide it for the first term. The May-July term is not mandatory. With her grades, she did not need the summer term this year, and I doubt she’ll slack off next year. That leaves August. If everything goes normally, birth would be at the end of August or the first of September. We can have her not attend classes for a few weeks, so long as she completes her work. As for her mana, magic, and combat classes… she’s actually already completed the requirements for the first three years, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Not that she needs such instruction in the first place,” Atalante added quietly.
“It’s not unheard of for royals or archnobles to miss a month of school every once in a while for the sake of duty, so we can use that in our favor.”
Allison turned to Kye and pondered what to do. Layla began to argue, but Allison quickly silenced her only by raising her finger.
“You two are newlyweds, so go on a honeymoon. Take your adopted daughter, your attendants, and some guards.”
“I’ll volunteer for guard duty,” Ginchiyo said.
“As will I,” Alexandra said.
“And it goes without saying that Astarte and Astraia will accompany their soul-bonded partners, yes?” Allison said. The two nodded. “Good. Now, Zen, take your daughter and her wife and get the adoption taken care of.”
“But I’m not ready to be a grandmother!” Layla cried.
“How do you think I felt when Hannah was pregnant with you?” Edward snidely replied.
Layla, James, and Allison all froze upon hearing their mother’s name.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never met either of my grandmothers,” Kye said.
“I believe you would enjoy Akane’s company,” Ginchiyo said confidently. “She’s very kind and welcoming.”
“I miss my mother,” Zen said.
“THEN GO VISIT HER!” Ginchiyo yelled, taking the younger council members by surprise. “My poor daughter has complained to me many times about missing her dear son. Without Miko living with her, I’m afraid her heart would break.” Ginchiyo eyed Hatsume, with whom she shared Zen as a grandson.
“I must admit, I’m ashamed of our grandson.”
“I would like to meet her,” Kye said. “If Alethea and I are going on a honeymoon, let’s make that one of the destinations!”
“Yes! Let’s do just that.”
“But what about Hannah? The only thing I know about her is her name… wait, Astraia knows.” Kye immediately froze just as her mother, uncle, and aunt had.
“Heh,” Edward snickered. “You should go. She’s a firecracker, but you’ll be fine. She’ll be overjoyed if you go visit her.”
Kye searched Astraia’s knowledge. “Oh, she’s the Queen of Atlas. Wow, that’s far. It’s not even in the same galaxy as Alcanus… wait… Atlas?” Her head began to hurt, and she held her right hand over her face to block her vision. She stood up, knocking her chair over and away in the process, and stumbled backward. Aliana caught her, and Alethea jumped up to make sure she was okay. A tear rolled down Kye’s cheek. “Iris…”
Alethea froze, and Alfia rushed over. “Elysia, focus on my voice. Let the rest flow naturally. Don’t latch on to any of it.”
What is all of this? I see places I don’t recognize. But, as soon as I see them, they feel familiar. Are these my memories? Why does this hurt so much?!
Kye screamed in pain.
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Revision: 2023-1-17