13 Chapter 13: The Wright family

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a bed in the corner of the ceremony chamber. Mother Oksa was beside the bed, looking after me.

"I see you are awake, "said Oksa with a smile." It seems that everything went fine. Can you get up?"

I was still a little disoriented and was feeling tired.

"I am sorry, but I am still dizzy and have a headache."

"Yeah, I was expecting that. Here, drink this, and you should be better."

"Why am I feeling sick?"

Mother Oksa explained that I was feeling unwell because of the astral projection. She said everyone experiences those symptoms the first time their soul exits the body.

After drinking, I felt a warm current move in my body, soothing my discomfort. She then helped me get out of bed. She then led me out of the room and escorted me back to the church entrance.

Once there, I saw my mom waiting with an anxious expression. It was the second time I ever saw her lose her countenance like that. The first time was the day of my little sister Charlotte's birth.

Feeling loved like that filled me with joy. With a cheerful smile, I waved at my mom.

"Mom, I have returned."

My mom stood up immediately and ran to me. She began to examine me.

"Are you feeling alright? I was worried. Why did it take so long? "

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm fine. Mother Oksa gave me a Recovery Potion."

Hearing that, my mother was even more worried.

"Mother Oksa, what happened?"

Mother Oksa opened her mouth but was interrupted by a little golden missile that crashed into Alice. It was Charlotte, my little sister. She threw herself into me and hugged me, but with her momentum, we both fell to the ground.

"Big sis, are you hurt?"

Charlotte had tears in her eyes. Seeing her so worried made me sad. I hugged her back and stroked her hair to try to calm her down.

"I am alright, Cha. Don't cry."

While trying to console my cute little sister, three people approached our little group. It was my father, followed by Andrea and Maria.

Seeing that my whole family was here and the fact that they seemed worried sick about me made me panic a little.

"What the fuck is going on? I am starting to seriously freak out."

My mother seemed amused by my clueless look but frowned after hearing my words.

"Watch your language, Alice."

Like always, when I messed up, my father came to my rescue.

"Don't be so harsh, Sylvia. Alice is confused. Let's go elsewhere so we can discuss this in private.

"That's not fair, Charles. You always take our daughters' side. You could support me for once."

Seeing my mother pouting and acting cute like that made my father act all lovey-dovey with her. The regular church attendees were watching the show.

"Ahem, Lady Sylvia. As Sir Charles suggested, we should change location. People are looking at us."

Andrea's voice made my mom go back to reality. She tried to regain her usual dignified demeanor, but her red face betrayed her embarrassment.

This was the Wright family. A noble family who tried to appear dignified but failed to do so most of the time. A strict Mom who is mad in love with her husband, who himself was nothing more than a dotting father. Me and my sister were no better. Charlotte was so attached to me that even I found it a little weird. As for me, I was quite the prankster and the foul mouth.

My father was quite forgiving about my antics, but it was mainly because he was the only one who was never targeted. My pranks were only targeted at girls and were quite embarrassing, like cutting holes in underwear or drenching their clothes with water. It seemed like even without my old memories, I would have ended up becoming a pervert.

It was well known in Ostia that the Wright family was a bit weird, but they were still immensely loved by commoners. My mom, Baroness Sylvia Wright, was in charge of the city law enforcement and security. Since she took office, the crime resolution rate has doubled, and everyone felt that the city became safer. It was also because she was fair. Unlike her predecessor, she didn't favor the other nobles and always refused bribes.

My father, Charles Wright, was a commoner with no talent for cultivation but was also popular and respected among the population because of his job as a lawyer. He came from an impoverished family and dedicated his life to defending the powerless. He became famous by defeating nobles in court. My mom told me she fell in love with him the first time she saw him at the tribunal. She couldn't stop telling everyone how dashing and passionate he was while defending his clients.

While my family was popular with the masses, it was the opposite inside the noble circle. My parents' ideals made them isolated. The only friends they had among the elite were those who shared their ideas.

"You are right, Andrea. Mother Oksa, Is there a place available to talk in private?"

"Of course, follow me."

The priestess led us to a guest room. We all sat on a leather sofa meant for the guests while the priestess sat in an armchair.

"Alice, you have to forgive your family. They were worried sick about you because your Ceremony lasted for more than two days."

That revelation shocked me. I immediately sought confirmation from my parents, who could only nod at me.

"But for me, it only felt like it lasted an hour at most."

"That's normal. The flow of time is not the same inside the Divine plane; a minute in there is equal to an hour here. Usually, the Ceremony is almost instantaneous. In some rare cases, it can last for a few hours. Everyone worried about you because they thought your soul would stay trapped inside the Divine plane."

Hearing that, I freaked out.

"What?! Is that even possible?!"

"In the entire recorded history of Astria, it only happened twice. And for a successful Ceremony to last this long, Yours is the first one. Can you tell us what happened?"

It seemed I had no choice but to explain what happened. There were no disadvantages to telling them about my blessings since it would only increase my status, but I kept my system's existence a secret, at least for now.

"Well, when I met the Goddess of Fate, she told me that too many Deities wanted to bless me, so she made me meditate to determine what blessings would match me the best."

Everyone was shocked. They all had their mouths wide open and seemed unable to process what I said.

Mother Oksa was the first one to snap out of it. She was excited like a little girl in a candy store when she asked me.

"You met Lady Destiny? How many blessings did They grant you?"

"Yes, I met her, and I received a total of four blessings."

Mother Oksa and my mom both stood up and screamed, unable to believe what I said.

"WHAT?"

A/N. My internet is still down. My release schedule will be a little random until it is fixed. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

The Power Stone milestone has been reached! There are now three bonus chapters. I will release them when my internet situation is fixed, hopefully next week.

The next objective for a bonus chapter will be 250 Power Stones.