???'s POV:
The Royal Capital Weisskrone, Magic Kingdom, Laidian Empire.
The Royal Palace of Weisskrone had continued to be in a disorderly state ever since Her Royal Majesty, the Queen consort, entered her last months of maternity.
Finally, this day the Queen assuredly entered her labour under the care of the Royal midwives.
As the report reached His Majesty, the King and his court, the entire Royal District- which thoroughly cocooned the Royal Palace and extended for 10's of miles, was magnificently fortified.
Hereafter, nobles and the ministers of the crown alike sit in eager anticipation of the Queen's delivery.
The word has spread out amongst the denizens of the capital as well.
Although many among the masses are aware of the Queen's status as another race, they are still in a celebratory mood. The Royal family of the Magic Kingdom of Goldrute is much beloved.
The Empire has become increasingly lenient towards the other races ever since His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Heinrich assumed the Laidian Throne.
Despite that, among the general citizenry and the most radical nobility- other races are viewed upon with either animosity or dread.
The sight of the people who give their unwavering love to their Queen without giving any heed to her alien nature is really precious.
As for me, I am presently addressing His Imperial Highness, the 4th Prince of the Empire who had been staying at the Royal Capital.
He will be the witness of the Royal birth as a representative of the Empire.
"Your Imperial Highness, Her Majesty, the Queen consort is about to give birth. I believe you are aware.", I so inform the young prince who is currently going through a picture book.
Yes, the 4th Prince of the Empire is just 8 years old.
"Is that so? We must finish our own preparations then. Prepare the carriage, Lord Arnest.", asserts the young prince, much unlike an 8-year-old, before he strolls into the bathroom which is interconnected to his quarters.
I left soon after.
The Empire is a utopia for the people who live in it but for the royalty and the nobility, it's equal to a battlefield. Sometimes literally.
I am rather impressed by the 4th Prince who managed to overcome his older brothers and became the delegate of the Empire. I'm certain that all of them were pursuing this opportunity.
His relationship with His Majesty, the King will be considerably strengthened in this endeavour.
Talking about His Majesty, he had spotted himself outside the Royal bedchamber where the Queen will be giving birth. He fixed himself in place along with the Royal Guard ever since the news of the Queen's labour reached him.
His Majesty truly does love the Queen.
Their love story has been turned into plays and is widely popular among the populace.
Whereas now that the Queen is giving birth to their first child, it would be no wonder even if His Majesty summoned the entire army to guard the Royal Capital.
Although, I'm not the one to be swayed by the ambience of the situation. The present state of the Kingdom is just so jubilant that even I couldn't help but feel expectant.
"The preparations are complete, Your excellency."
A young man donning light armour with a gold-white colour pattern interrupted my train of thought.
"I understand. Safeguard the way to the carriage, Sir Adam."
I dismissed the young knight after giving him his instructions and walked back towards the Prince's quarters.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
I lightly knocked on the door of the Prince's bedroom before entering.
"Your Imperial Highness, the preparations are complete. Honour me to accompany you on your way to the Palace.", said I, to the prince who seemed to have finished his own preparations.
"Certainly, Lord Arnest. We shall depart at once.", replied the prince in his not so childlike disposition.
Hence, we quickly exited the building and walked towards the front gate of the mansion which was less of a mansion and more of a palace by itself.
The prince's carriage was parked right by the front gate entrance while Sir Adam and his knights were securing the way to the carriage.
The Imperial Guards of the 4th Prince were also stationed in place, ready to escort the carriage on its way to the Royal Palace.
I promptly boarded the carriage along with the prince before urging the coachman to start moving.
A dozen more carriages which were painted in the red-white colours of the Empire and bore the Imperial coat of arms followed closely behind.
Since the prince's mansion was in the Royal District which bordered the Royal Palace, we arrived at the Royal Palace in just over ten minutes with our enchanted carriages.
The wide roads of the Royal District were reasonably empty as every representative had been designated a particular path through which they and the huge number of carriages which accompanied them could reach the Royal Palace unhindered.
We climbed off the carriage after the knights had secured the path to the Palace Gates. The Royal Palace had a size comparable to a small town. It left me in awe every time I gazed my eyes upon it.
The prince's huge entourage and my own council joined us as we altogether headed towards the hall which had been arranged for the dignitaries who were awaiting the birth.
The hall was quite far from the Royal bedchamber where the Queen would be giving birth but it was better than nothing.
His Majesty had been very thorough at reinforcing the Royal Palace for this auspicious moment.
Even Cardinal Herman of the Church of Claritas, who holds the holiest position of the succeeding pope wasn't let into the Royal household.
Except for his Majesty and his court, no one had been allowed anywhere near the Royal bedchamber.
Unlike the festive ruckus all over the Royal Capital, the hall had an eerie silence.
The cause of the silence being the Cardinal who along with his entourage of Bishops, was offering prayers to the Goddess of Life Anima to bless the Queen with a successful delivery.
"The 4th Imperial Prince His Imperial Highness Friedrich and the Royal Diplomat His Excellency Arnest are entering!"
The herald announced our presence to the hall. Various head turns and murmuring followed but ceased soon after. The Cardinal and the Bishops paid no regard to the murmurs and continued their prayers.
The representatives were appointed platforms and tables. We headed towards our own with our entourage and decided to patiently await the birth. Noblemen slightly bowed to His Imperial Highness as he passed by their tables.
Crafty fellows. I smirked at their glibness.
None of them were a part of the 4th Prince's faction.
"Lord Arnest, you also notice it, don't you?", said an older gentleman in his fifties who was a part of the Prince's entourage.
Lazarus was his name. He had served the prince as his attendant ever since his birth. But by no means was he a simple fellow. His family had served the Imperial family for generations. He had the status of a Count of the Imperial holdings. He was the closest to the Prince among his other attendants.
I didn't need to reply to his question. After all, he already knew the answer.
With this peaceful silence in the hall, I decided to close my eyes while waiting for the news which everyone else here was also waiting for.
××××××××××
4th Imperial Prince Friedrich's POV:
Boom!
The entire Palace shook and the sound of thunder trailed soon after.
Clouds forming over the Royal Palace were noticeable from the windows of the waiting hall.
However, the clouds were not dark but a much more pleasant gold. It was an enchanting scenery as if heaven had lowered itself for all to see.
The Holy Book of Beginnings had described Heaven's sky in the first paragraph of the second chapter.
I attest, this sky had a beauty no less than that of what was thus chronicled.
What followed soon after was a voice which had likeness akin to a gentle mother but a majesty comparable to this heavenly sky itself. I had heard this voice once before.
It was the rejuvenating voice of the Will of the World.
[Children of the World! The Magic King and the 2nd Titan Princess have borne a child who will bear the most outstanding position of a Sovereign!]
[Behold the Magic Sovereign for he will have greatness like no other!]
[On this historic occasion, I bless my children with a protector who will stand at the vanguard of this World!]
[Shine bright, Children of the World!]
A Sovereign.
Everyone in this world had heard of the stories of sovereigns at least once in their life.
I decided to inspect the mood of the people present there.
The nobles and the officials seemed to hold complicated feelings. Some were confused, some had blank expressions on their faces, some looked intrigued while others had panicked faces.
The bunch who's sentiments were the easiest to evaluate were the Cardinal and the Bishops of the Church of Claritas who looked like their souls escaped their body.
The Cardinal of the Church of Phantasia- the Goddess of Magic, had a slight frown on his face which was as I had expected.
However, I myself felt awestruck.
A Sovereign was a King.
A King who ruled over not land but concepts.
A King whose power was not bounded by the rules of this world.
A King who was crowned by the very World itself.
Now, that very King had been born in this Empire.
A Sovereign whose stories I had read about only in picture books.
To bear witness to the birth of one was an honour of the greatest order.
That was when I praised myself for surmounting the obstacles that my older brothers had thrown at me. I knew that I had received a gift that I would never forget.
However, what I didn't know at that time was that fate had already intertwined our paths together.