Chapter 21

Being carried by Arshain, I rejoined everyone, only to be immediately captured by Anneliese and squished.

Being rubbed and petted, my cheeks are about to catch fire.

The queen, unable to bear the sight, took me from her and silently intimidated Anneliese, who was about to complain.

Then, I was moved while being held by the queen.

The twin princes poked my dangling feet from below, giggling.

Cute as they were, it seemed I was having trouble walking, so the queen squatted while still holding me.

Screaming and laughing, they clung to me and the queen.

The queen smiled wryly and stroked the twin princes.

Since we weren't making any progress, I flew up and landed on the head of the helper.

Trying to give a piggyback ride, I sat down, but all I could see was a head.

I was too small to give a proper piggyback ride.

Angry, I stood on the shoulder and held the two horns on the top of the head with both hands.

These horns, which are also used for attacks, are nothing when held by a child.

I secured a stable standing position.

Seeing this, Ingrid laughed and put one twin prince on each of her shoulders, making them squeal with joy.

Anneliese, looking sulky, was approached by Arshain and picked up.

"Wh-What, Hein brother, I'm not a baby!"

Being carried like a baby, Anneliese's face turned even redder.

"The princess should be carried like a princess," I said, and everyone laughed.

When Arshain changed to a princess carry, Anneliese, who didn't seem to mind, made everyone laugh again. The group, now free of the children, started walking faster and soon arrived at the royal family's private chapel.

When Duran, the butler, and Sheryl opened the door,

"Why! Why is this happening! Why is there a change in the gods now!"

Cavendish was grabbing the priest.

The priest didn't flinch at all.

"Cavendish, what are you doing! Release him immediately!"

The king's angry voice echoed in the beautiful church.

"Fa-Father!"

Cavendish stepped back, realizing he had been caught.

"Cavendish, do you understand what you have done?"

"I, I was just—"

"King, that's enough. Prince Cavendish is likely confused by the sudden change in the gods."

Saying this, the king was calmed by an old man with white hair and a beard, standing straight like a martial arts master.

"Cardinal Gylis, but—"

"The church has been in chaos since yesterday. It's understandable that people are confused."

Indeed, within a few hours, the statue of the goddess shattered, and a new statue appeared on its own. It's no wonder people are confused.

Moreover, it's ridiculous.

The statue of the new god, standing with the beautiful morning light shining through the windows like a halo, looks like a gal god.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous!"

"Should I pose the same way and say 'Chorissu'?"

"Stop it! You'll just cause more confusion."

I was scolded when I whispered to the helper.

"Has the church's confusion been resolved?"

"It hasn't settled down yet, but under the Pope's leadership, the change in the gods will be quickly announced. Once people see the miracle of the new statue, things will calm down."

Cardinal Gylis, with his deep wrinkles, has a very soothing presence when he smiles, though he can seem a bit intimidating when he's quiet.

Led by Cardinal Gylis, we approached the statue, knelt, bowed slightly, and placed a hand on our chest.

Cardinal Gylis recited some prayer-like words that I couldn't quite hear, and the service ended.

We then moved to the room next to the dining room, where we usually eat desserts.

I was captured and placed on Arshain's lap.

Duran, the butler, served everyone tea, and once we had a moment to relax,

"Cavendish, do you understand?"

The king's voice was much calmer than in the church.

Reading the room, the twin princes were quietly clinging to the queen.

"......Yes, Father, I was out of line earlier. I will apologize to Cardinal Gylis later."

His face, tinged with regret, showed that he wasn't entirely convinced, but it was better that he could apologize.

The king nodded, and Cavendish left the room.

As soon as he was gone, the twin princes let out a loud cry and charged at me.

I was squished again.

I wondered why they suddenly attacked me when they hadn't bothered me much before, but the adults also seemed more relaxed than usual.

The children's rough handling became more and more forceful, so I flew away to avoid them.

They chased me, laughing.

Anneliese, who had been sipping tea with a composed face, couldn't hold back and joined in.

The adults watched, smiling, as the children played.

*Bang!*

"We're back!"

Two flashy women burst in, making me, the princess, and the twin princes jump.

They stood with their hands on their hips, looking identical.

The twin princes ran to them, hugging each one.

"Mommy!"

"Sister!"

The women easily picked up the twin princes and kissed them.

"......Welcome back, both of you. It seems there were no problems."

"Mother Roxanne, Sister Moana, welcome back!"

"Roxanne, Cremoana, welcome back! I'm glad you returned safely."

"Mother Roxanne, Sister Ana, welcome back!"

"Mother Roxanne, Sister Ana, welcome back! Do you have any souvenirs?"

The greetings came from the king, Ingrid, the queen, Arshain, and Anneliese, in that order.

The two women, who had been on a diplomatic tour of neighboring countries to prepare for the next queen, had just returned.

The next queen had a commanding presence, and the first queen, despite a large scar on her left cheek, laughed heartily and kissed the other twin prince.

While kissing him,

"Yes, we completed our tour of the planned countries without any problems!"

"Mother, I don't think it was entirely without problems. We still have reports from the diplomats."

"What problems? We just kicked some monsters around."

"Mother, I wasn't talking about the monsters. The prince of a neighboring small country proposed to me, the next queen, and when I politely declined, he challenged me to a duel. After I defeated him, he demanded compensation for his injuries, and Mother caused a huge commotion."

"Ultimately, after beating up their general, the king apologized, so it wasn't a problem, right?"

"That's not the point! Mother always tries to solve things with force! The diplomats were in tears! And at the next countries, despite their efforts to stop you, you kept trying to join military training!"

"Well, I was just making up for the lack of exercise from all the traveling."

The next queen was lecturing the very muscular first queen.

Everyone watched with wry smiles, even the twin princes, who were quietly smiling.

It seemed like business as usual.

The first queen was very muscular, the second queen was hysterical, and the third queen was calm. The king's range is wide, isn't it?

Is this more about political marriages than personal preferences?

While pondering this, I was suddenly noticed by the next queen, who approached me, still on Arshain's lap, and picked me up with one hand, despite holding one of the twin princes, Nelro, in the other.

This was very scary!

"Father, when did you have a new prince? This is a unique but wonderfully cute prince! Where is the new mother? I want to greet her!"

In a voice two tones higher than when she was lecturing the first queen, she kept kissing me while questioning the king.

The first queen, reacting to this, approached and started kissing me from the other side.

"Wow! How adorable! Well done, Julius! The family is growing again!"

I was welcomed warmly, but wasn't this a bit too much kissing?

Anneliese, who knows how to control herself, would be the one to stop this.

If I didn't stop it, it would go on forever.

So, I flew away and returned to Arshain's lap, leaving the two women looking stunned.

"Ah, both of you, Keita is not a new prince. I'll explain, so have some tea and calm down."

At the king's words, Duran, the butler, quickly prepared tea and guided them to a seat.

After they sat down and took a sip, the king briefly explained about me, Arshain's curse, the saint, and the gods.

"......Oh, so much has happened while we were away."

"Indeed. Not only did a saint appear, but she left so quickly, and there was a change in the gods! If we had returned a day earlier, we could have seen the miracle! What a shame!"

The first queen laughed heartily.

Though not related by blood, she looked just like Ingrid.

The royal family, excluding the second queen and Cavendish, seemed to have a very good relationship.

As we chatted, we learned it was a day off.

A year has 365 days, a month has five weeks, a week has six days, and the remaining five days are for the year-end and New Year's festival to thank the gods.

The church rings a bell every three hours from 6 AM to midnight, and life revolves around this.

The church measures time based on the eight moons in this world.

Anneliese explained this proudly, and everyone except me and the twin princes watched the children with fond smiles.

One of them, however, seemed uncomfortable.

After a pleasant lunch, we parted ways for the afternoon.