*creak*

Fate: “Uhh...hhhhaaahh….”

-Well...guess that’s another sleep...

*yawn*

-Interrupted…

Fate thought this, but he was mostly just shifting blame for probably sleeping until Jacob came, to whoever woke him up. Fate looked up and saw a large, masculine figure. It was not his mother, nor was it Jacob since the physique was beyond his.

-Who the hell?!

Needless to say, Fate was quite shocked.

….

-So this is my newborn son?

Issac gazed at the infant in the crib, checking its condition with great interest.

-I woke up, with my beloved in my arms. It was a pleasant way to start the day, yet she reminded me that my child had already been born! I was so groggy last night that I couldn’t even think straight...

Indeed, Issac’s child had been born six months before, yet he could not be there for the birth. His lordship had instructed him to quell the insurrectionist barbarians on the Plains of Keld, so he could not attend. Yet he kept his wife’s safety and the safety of his potential heir in his heart all the while. Thus, when he was reminded, he left his wife’s embrace and charged straight for the room Jacob had mentioned!

-I don’t understand why my Agate’ had insisted there was something wrong with the child. He has many features of my beloved, no physical abnormalities, or temperament issues that I can see…

His wife had told him that she sensed darkness that could not be comprehended, shrouding the child’s soul. This had worried him since his wife had been an important member of the church of Luna and her judge of character had never been false or unjust.

-He does look a little scared, but that’s normal albeit disappointing since he’s never gazed upon his father’s face. The fact that he hasn’t once cried, according to Jacob, does worry me, however.

Issac held out his large hand to his son, attempting to gauge its response.

…

-Ok seriously, who is this guy? He just randomly came in and started staring at me, but now he’s holding out his hand?

This might be another trick from my mother. It could be that this is to test whether I will be obedient to strangers or just her. In which case...this could be trouble…

-If this is a test and I do obey, then that will just be deepening the hold she has on my mind. On the other hand, if this isn’t a test, I’ll just end up looking like an ass and possibly get punished for it!

Fate tried to think of the possibilities of each decision, but he just kept wracking his brain till it hurt like breathing in car smell. Meanwhile, Issac’s hand was still held outward, anticipating some sort of response. Instead, all Issac was seeing, was that his child was gripping the sides of their head and looking visibly displeased.

Issac: “Hello there…”

-He spoke, I didn’t expect that.

Fate stopped all of his think and put his attention on this odd stranger.

Issac: “I’m your papa.”

-This guy’s my dad?! He’s pretty damn huge! Then again, that might just be the fact that I’m so small…

Issac: “Can you say, papa?”

-...What?

Issac: “Can you understand me? Can you say p-a-p-a?~”

-How would a child understand you at this age? But I guess this means this isn’t a test...or is it?

Again, due to the nature of the previous tests and Fate’s previous life as an autistic student who was murdered, he complicated a very simple matter.

-This could just be overcomplicating things, but...If this man really is my father, he might be trying to help my mother with these tests! It might also be possible that in their families, children can speak at an extremely young age. I can’t say for sure though!

…..

-I know that he’s young, but he should have some feeling of who I am. As for me asking him...I guess I just wanted to indulge in fantasy. After all, my Agate and Jacob haven’t reported giving him any books and we haven’t decided on instructors for him, but maybe I just wanted to…

“Pw-aa-p-p-wa.”

Issac: “...”

-Did he...just...speak?

“Pwa--p-pwa!”

Issac couldn’t believe what he was hearing! His six-month old son was speaking to him, even if it was in a childish manner!

-But...he hasn’t even picked up a book yet! Does this mean he’s...a prodigy?! Such a thing is unprecedented, yet not unwelcome. This gives me something to brag about to his majesty! After all, the first prince could only start speaking at a year old!

Issac wasn’t even the least bit disturbed by his child’s intelligence. In fact, he believed it to be a joyous sign from the gods, despite the fact that if the gods knew of Fate’s existence, they would most certainly want to have him killed.

Issac: “That’s right, I’m your papa! Ha ha aha ha aha!”

At this moment though, Fate was thinking something entirely different than his father.

…

-I decided to speak just to gauge his response and he goes full-on psychotic, overjoyed parent mode?! Ughhh, whatever! If this gets me labeled as a genius, then fine. After all, the ‘Witch’ said that I would get access to learning materials in a year, but she didn’t say how.

The Witch had left the details of his gaining the required materials to understand magic, skills, and his situation rather vague. Perhaps this is because she knew that he could make the right decisions needed to obtain them...Or maybe she was just giving him a motivator...or she just didn’t care and told him something so he’d stop worrying.

Issac: “How did you learn to talk, though? Your mother and the servants haven’t even given you books yet!”

-Is he actually trying to get me to answer? The hell am I supposed to tell him?! That I can understand him fully and am a reincarnated person, possibly sent here to doom his entire world?!

Fate, although internally conflicted, decided to stay completely silent. Hopefully, Issac would not suspect anything and just pass it off as the ability to copy what he said. Even if that showed that he might be intelligent, it didn’t prove sh*t about his identity!

Issac: “I guess you can’t understand me...that’s ok though! If we get you good teachers and help you learn, I’m sure you’ll get along with everyone! Then I can use this as an excuse to get some time off from his majesty!”

-What?! I could guess he was busy since he wasn’t even able to attend his own son’s birth, but he’s busy enough that he’s going to try and get a leave of absence from royalty, using me as an excuse?!

*creak*

The door opened again.

-Oh, what now?!

Through the door stepped Agatha and Jacob, two faces that Fate was already very familiar with and they with him.

…

-Why is my beloved shouting so much in its room? Did it do something to him?! I knew that its soul being unreadable was a bad omen, I only hope that I’m not too late!

Issac: “I guess you can’t understand me...that’s ok though! If we get you good teachers and help you learn, I’m sure you’ll get along with everyone! Then I can use this as an excuse to get some time off from his majesty!”

-What?! Did it somehow entrance my beloved into obeying its commands?! I must save him!

*creak*

Agatha quickly barged into the room, with Jacob in tow. Her confusion spiraled around in her mind, trying to comprehend what was unfolding in front of her.

Agatha: “Beloved, what is happening at this time of day that you need to yell so loudly?!”

Issac: “Oh, my Agate! Come look, our child is so intelligent!”

-Intelligent?! It’s a child that can’t even work up the strength to cry! It managed to get a massive fever from scrambling around in its crib just days after it was born, how could it possibly be that intelligent!?

Agatha: “I-is that so..?”

Jacob: “M-my lord! *cough* My lord...you must elaborate or we won’t understand, what do you mean the child is intelligent..?”

Issac simply turned and gave them curious stares.

Issac: “I meant what I said! The child can talk!”

-It can speak...at this age?!

Agatha was speechless, she had always believed her child to be inferior to an average one. The fact that it never cried, the fact that it never seemed to do anything, and the fact that it was being trained in obedience as one would a dog! Yet this child, her child, could speak at an age where most couldn’t even form coherent thoughts!

Issac: “Come on, say mama! M-a-m-a!”

The child simply looked at him with a gaze that one could mistake for a dead fish. Agatha did not want to believe that the shift from dead-eyed to soul-piercing meant anything, but what did it mean in this case?

-He just got back from where, but I did not think he would be so delusional as to think that…

“M...a...mw-a…”

Jacob: “!”

Agatha: “!”

Agatha and Jacob both felt chills run down their spines as if someone had just poured a cold bucket of water over them…

-The way it spoke...It’s as if...it was genuinely trying to make it as clear as possible…!

Issac: “Awwww, how come you worked so much harder for mama’s name...You must love your mama a lot, don’t you? Hear that my Agate? The child loves you more than he does me…*sniffles* I’m so sad!”

Jacob: “M-my lord, this is unpr-rec-ceden…!”

Agatha: “Y-you are right, my beloved! I-it...h-h...t-the child truly is intelligent!”

-What is this feeling?! It’s like there’s a sword stuck to my spine, just waiting for the right time to slide in and wreak havoc! Beloved said that it put much more effort into pronouncing my name, almost as if to signal me that something was wrong!

She didn’t like it one bit. She had probed this child in person and through Jacob for several months, noting nothing special in its behaviors that were even worth batting an eyelash over. Yet it had suddenly started talking and it already sounded like it was acutely aware of its situation and surroundings! She felt the dangerous feeling from its soul gradually pooling and growing as if to envelop and swallow her whole!

-No! I cannot think like this! I am a noblewoman, High-Priestess of the Church of Luna, and this...thing’s...mother! I shall not be intimidated by mere name-calling! No matter what happens, I must stay in control of it!

Agatha: “If...the child...is already at such a level at this age...I will arrange for proper instructors and study materials to make full use, of…!”

Issac: “Wait...Did you give the child a name yet?”

Agatha: “I…”

-Come to think of it...I never gave it a name…

After her child was born, Agatha had no intention of naming it so soon. Additionally, the condition of its soul concerned her more than giving it a name that might spur emotional attachment. But somehow, at this moment, a name repeatedly reverberated through her mind like an eternal echo…

Agatha: “Fate.”

Issac: “Fate? Why that name, my Agate?”

Agatha: “!”

-I didn’t mean to say that! Where did that name come from?!

Agatha: “.....”

Issac: “Just a spur of the moment thing? I do like it though, it has a certain ring to it. Perhaps hinting at the great destiny that shall belong to our house and our child!”

Agatha: “Yes...I’m sure that’s why I...thought of it…”

Agatha had no idea what had happened. It was as if her mouth had acted against her will and spewed out a name that sounded like another bad omen! Little did she know how right her feelings were, for she had simply acted in a simple script set by a goddess she didn’t even know existed…

Issac: “Then it’s settled!”

Issac picked up his child and held him high in the air.

Issac: “From today onwards, your name is Fate!”