Mother and Father

When I finally awakened from the slumber which I had deliberately put myself in, I was yet again greeted by the familiar sight of system messages shining brightly blue.

[You have been born!]

Was what the first system message stated. Never in my previous life had I considered what it's like to be born again.

To say the least, I wouldn't have believed that a bunch of boxes would be hovering right above my head as soon as I woke up.

[The Will of the World 'Emmariel' has proclaimed you as a Sovereign to the World! ]

[You have received the title 'Master of Magic'.]

[You have gained a level.]

[Your powerful mana is running turbid!]

[A Great Magic has stabilised your mana!]

Does every newborn receive these system messages upon their birth? Could they even read?

It can't be, right?

Whatever might be the case, for the moment I should push them asi...de?

The instant I minimised the system messages, what else lay before my sight almost startled me into jumping backwards. Not that I was positively capable of doing so...

At first, since my eyes hadn't adjusted to the dazzling light falling upon them, all I could make out was outlandishly shiny white hair contrasting the black space I had spent many months in.

I was readily reminded of my Turkish Angora cat, which I had owned as a child in my previous life. Like most of its breed, it had fur as white as chalk.

As my eyes gained focus, the countenance of a female human with braided silver hair stood right above me.

Rather, I'm certain that she wasn't human for no human that I had ever known in my previous life was so captivatingly beautiful.

Her braided glossy silver hair and her pale white skin seemed to blend into each other. With her eyes closed, she looked akin to a sculpture of a Greek Goddess which had been crafted by a most dexterous craftsman.

Yes, this was undoubtedly my mother.

The human figure sluggishly opened her eyes which had remained shut until then.

'Ah!', I exclaimed internally. As if mocking her white semblance, her sharp eyes had pupils as dark as the cloudy night sky.

What to say, I'm reasonably surprised.

My mother looked vastly different from what I had envisaged. She looked like a dazzling Goddess of Light than a dreary Goddess of Night.

Certainly not the image I was expecting from someone with dubious hobbies. At least the colour of her pupils met my assumptions...

While I was getting carried away, the figure or rather my mother... started shedding tears.

... What did I even do?

Uh, I'm really sorry for questioning your hobbies...?

Wait, is she reading my mind?!

Ah! Calm down. She's smiling... as well as crying. She's crying tears of happiness!

Sure enough. Which mother wouldn't shed tears of joy over the sight of their child opening his eyes for the first time?

Besides that, I had imagined a Titaness to be humongous. The black space where I had spent about nine months- which I believed to be my mother's womb, was unbelievably dark like never-ending space. It really seemed like the black space extended indefinitely.

I anointed this to the fact that a Titan must be huge... and so must be their womb.

In fact, if I hadn't been able to make out the barely audible noises from the outside world, I would have had to reconsider whether or not I'm merely drifting in space as an incorporeal ball of consciousness.

After all, I couldn't have possibly put my ultimate trust in the system messages. I was afraid that I may be betrayed.

As I was contemplating my existence once more, my mother gently lifted me up and began to nudge my cheeks against her own.

Even though she is a monster who wouldn't even need to raise a finger to crush me... I suppose all the pessimistic anxiety that I had concerning the attitude of my mother towards me was unwarranted.

Oh, well. That sure is lovely. I'm glad and all but could she stop already? It's kind of embarrassing.

Ah! I know how to bring her to stop.

That is, through a Great Magic of my own.

And so, right there, I started shrieking at the top of my lungs.

I do not know since when had I been so proficient at crying.

My mother stopped cuddling me almost instantly and pulled me evermore closer to her.

She gave me a deep stare right into my eyes. Creepy.

Is she trying to intimidate me...?

I cried all the more loudly at this attempt of hers.

I am not going to follow your rules, woman!

My mirth didn't last long as I had to instinctively stop crying. What induced me to stop was an extremely revolting sensation as if I had been stripped bare to my soul.

[Titan Princess 'Omorfia' is observing your 'Status'.]

What?!

How could my mother be so cruel...?

Does she have no regard for her child's privacy?

I became alarmed. If I'm not wrong then she must already be informed of my status as a Sovereign.

Actually, everyone in this world must be aware of it. Thank you so much, Great Mother.

As for my mother, she restored her delicate smile once more.

What is she smiling so lightheartedly for?

I am someone hated by the Gods, shouldn't she be a bit frightened?

After all, I have already ascertained that she isn't a God herself. It's a huge possibility that she might be incapable of protecting me from the Gods.

My train of thought was broken as my mother pulled me closer and hugged me softly before beginning to lightly pat me on my back.

What is she trying to do now...?

It's so embarrassing. After all, I'm a grown man inside.

Mhm... well, it doesn't feel too bad. I guess it couldn't be helped. I'm have also been feeling awfully sleepy... so maybe... I... should take a... short nap.

××××××××××

Titan Princess Omorfia's POV:

Aurinus slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep once more. I gently poked his cheeks and placed him down on my lap to allow him to sleep soundly.

Although there weren't any complications with his condition, he hadn't opened his eyes for the whole two days since his apparent birth. I knew with certainty that he would wake up sooner or later but anxiety still beseeched me.

I couldn't help but cry tears of joy as he finally opened his eyes today and curiously observed me with visible intelligence in those little golden jewels of his.

He had pearly hair whiter than my own and eyes as if gilded with gold which he had unmistakably inherited from his father.

I had a sudden urge to cuddle him once more but I paused myself from doing so as I didn't want to wake him up.

His sleeping face looked so very peaceful.

Waking up before long, he looked so adorable while staring at me with his little eyes, that I couldn't help but nuzzle his squishy cheeks.

He immediately began to cry which nearly made me lose my soul. Panicked, I instinctively activated Observation Magic on him but oddly enough, he stopped crying just as quickly as he had started.

I figured that I might have held him too roughly. I shouldn't have embraced him so forcefully. My little angel must have felt really troubled.

In order to soothe him, I hugged him all the more delicately and to my relief, he didn't seem to mind this time.

In fact, to my surprise, he fell asleep immediately though with a displeased frown on his face. He looked yet lovelier while doing so.

As I was going through the events which had thus transpired, a tall young man with deep red hair and golden eyes entered the room.

He was my husband, Arpad von Goldrute.

I signalled him to stay hushed by placing my index finger over my lips. Following my gesture, he applied the Silence spell on Aurinus effectively creating a soundproof barrier on him alone.

I responded with a sigh for what would be coming next.

"Daaaaaaaarling!"

I shot him down with a barrage of mana bolts as he literally tried to dive at me.

"Owww... that hurt, that really hurt!"

He screamed in a most dramatic voice as he rubbed his chin where the mana bolts had pummeled him. He never fails to surprise me with how much he could exaggerate the pain. What a pussy.

It had been two days since I gave birth to our child. Since then, every time he had come to visit, he had tried to hug me in the same unrestrained fashion.

Just after I had given birth, the first time he showed up to visit me, he recklessly jumped on me and I had to spontaneously put up a barrier.

I'm quite sick of it at this point. I am afraid that he might end up hurting the baby if I allowed him to go like this any longer.

"Forgive me for I must ask again. Arpad, you are aware of the position bestowed upon this child, right?"

I changed the subject before he could get the chance to go on and on about how happy he is.

"Ohh! Yes, yes, I'm aware, I'm aware, Fia. You have asked that question so many times already!"

He replies in a fervent manner. Is he actually thinking about it?

"Then you must also be aware of how dangerous this position is, correct?"

As I remind him so, a belligerent frown forms on his youthful face which reverts back to his usual carefree expression in a split second. I prefer this Arpad more than the Arpad who acts like a fool.

"Fia. "

He spoke in a composed voice. After a pause, he continued.

"I do not care for what dangers befall him or what position has been bestowed upon him. For me, he is my only child. Even if I have to fight off the world, I will still not fail to protect him. Please trust in me."

He pledged in a much more serious tone.

"Hm... I'm glad you aren't being careless. I will allow a-"

Before I could even finish, he had already jumped me leading to me having to instinctively put up a barrier.

"Uwaaah... what was that for?!"

He murmured in a low pained voice while hovering above the ground as he had been forced into the air from the recoil of crashing headfirst into the barrier.

"Idiot! The baby is still sleeping on my lap. Before protecting him from others you need to protect him from yourself!"

I retorted. This is already the nth time he had attempted such a wild stunt.

"I... I... I will take care of the next time around."

He said awkwardly.

"You said that the last time too. You aren't allowed to hold the baby for another day!"

"What! I haven't held the baby for a single time today!"

He replied in a truly despaired voice.

"You think I'm some sort of fool like your great self? I am well aware that you had entered the room with Sheath Magic while I had been asleep. Just how many times will you use that little trick?"

"Huh! But I had revised the magic formula to make it undetectable... Ah, no! Aren't you being way too harsh towards me, Fia...? Even though I love you so dearly... "

"You sure do, Arpad. Now, out at once before I throw more mana bolts at you!"

"Nooo! I am leaving, I'm leaving!"

And there he goes storming out again from whence he came while screaming something incomprehensible like 'A King shouldn't be treated like this'. Like I care about that.

Though he would certainly be back in no more than 3 hours. He had been imprudently neglecting his responsibilities ever since I entered my last months of pregnancy.

I hope he doesn't do so anymore or I will have to deliberately keep him out...

Breaking from my thoughts, I glanced towards Aurinus who was yet so peacefully sleeping on my lap and wondered what his future would be like.

A year passed by in peace but it seemed trouble had paved its way into our lives much sooner than I had expected.