Alexander left Victoria to rest in bed and had his other maids draw a bath for him in the attached bathroom.

The private chamber was reserved for his exclusive use. It was designed to accommodate any of his needs, which could be quite particular.

One of his bathmaids brought him breakfast, a lovely tray of fresh breads and fruits with his morning tea, which he sipped as he relaxed in his tub.

His maids helped him bathe, cleaning him of any remaining fluids and scrubbing him down until he was fresh and clean.

He was tempted to flirt with them as they washed him, but he decided against it. He was pretty tired and would be late if he didn't finish getting ready soon, much to the dismay of the maids.

They had been so eager to spend time with their Master after seeing the state of his room that it left him feeling guilty for leaving them with nothing. He promised the girls that he would spoil them next time.

With his bath finished, they began to dress him, a task they also enjoyed immensely. They flitted around him, helping him into his clothing. It was a beautiful suit that Victoria and the maids had commissioned from the royal tailor.

The outfit was all white, from his crisp, white dress shirt to his pure white slacks and jacket, with a hint of gold stitching woven throughout the fabric.

Alexander thought it was quite gaudy, but they insisted it looked stunning on him. They even made him wear the matching shoes.

After bidding his maids farewell, he made his way to the cathedral just as his watch struck ten.

It was a grand building with towering buttresses and countless stained-glass windows. It evoked a sense of awe in nearly everyone who saw it.

As he climbed the steps up to the entrance, he was met by a familiar girl in a nun's habit.

She had beautiful navy blue eyes and auburn hair pulled into a ponytail resting on her shoulder. She was about a head shorter than Alexander.

Her lips were pursed, and she was frowning as she stared up at him with bags under her eyes.

"You have some nerve, you know that? Dumping those dusty tomes on me the day before the ceremony!"

She shouted at him. Alexander sighed and nodded to her.

"I'm sorry, Grace. I'll make it up to you later." Alexander said with an apologetic grin.

"You better! I have been up all night cross-referencing those shitty books because Victoria was panicking about some great catastrophe," she said with a huff and crossed her arms.

Her navy blue eyes took on a golden hue as she stared intently at him for a few moments before snorting in disgust.

"I can't believe you were having lovey-dovey sex with your maid all night while I toiled away trying to help you!" She growled.

"Ugh... I wish you would stop doing that. You know I hate it when you try to look into my mind like that," Alexander grumbled as he held his head in pain. He hated the feeling of her invading his thoughts.

He and Grace have a very ambiguous relationship right now. They were childhood friends, brought together because their mothers were quite close. She was the daughter of the previous Saint and was currently the acting head of the church.

He had no idea where she got her foul mouth from, as her mother was the very picture of a proper lady.

Grace ignored his whining and smiled up at him mischievously before leaning in close and pressing her relatively modest body against his, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

His hand was forcibly brought between her legs, where he could feel her excitement. She reached up and grabbed him by the collar, pulling his face down so she could press her lips against his.

Alexander was shocked, to say the least, when Grace suddenly kissed him. They weren't in a particularly private setting.

She pulled back and licked her lips; her golden eyes returned to their original color as she looked into his with a seductive grin.

"This is your fault for showing me such a depraved scene. I'll be collecting on your debt after the ceremony." Grace whispered seductively to him before releasing his collar and entering the cathedral.

'This is why I have such a hard time with this woman. I can never tell what she's thinking while she can always read me like a book.' Alexander thought as he watched her sashay away.

He sighed and shook his head before following her into the church, passing by the mortified guards standing by the door.

This wasn't the first time the men had chanced upon something they really wished they hadn't, and with a glance from Alexander, they resolved to purge it from their memories.

Various servants and nuns were running about the interior, preparing it for the ceremony. Some were hanging banners and setting up decorations, while others were polishing every last pew in the building.

Dozens of paladins were also present, preparing the security for the event and coordinating patrols. They looked at him with disgust as he passed by, a relatively common occurrence.

Alexander was reasonably popular with the nuns, so he figured that this and his poorly hidden relationship with Grace was the reason for their contempt.

Still, it was their duty to protect him and all those who would attend today's event. And they would not let their disdain for him interfere with their assignments.

The passing nuns looked at him and smiled. They all knew he was a womanizer but couldn't bring themselves to hate him. The older ones remembered when he used to come by and help out as a child, and the younger ones dreamed of being taken in by such a handsome prince.

He waved back to a few girls who caught his eye, grinning at their cute reactions, as he followed Grace into a side room.

They eventually arrived in a small conference room with a table between two couches in the center.

The walls were decorated with various religious artifacts, from paintings and tapestries to statues and books on religious philosophy. Alexander and Grace sat down on opposite sides of the table, and she began to shuffle through some papers.

He took the opportunity to inspect her again.

Grace was twenty this year, just a couple of years older than him. She was gorgeous, her flawless pale skin still with a touch of redness from their earlier encounter.

She was rather disappointing in the chest area, but Alexander was not one to care. After all, he was more of an ass man himself, and although she had a slim figure, she was very gifted where it counts.

Her most defining feature was her navy blue eyes. They were almost unnatural in color and took on a golden hue when she used her power.

Her hair was a beautiful auburn color, and she had an oval-shaped face that was complimented by a cute button nose. Despite her small mouth, her lips were full and looked very soft.

She wore her signature nun habit, a modified standard uniform that was tighter and shorter, revealing her plump thighs underneath. The cloth hugged her slender frame quite nicely. The outfit really emphasized her delicate features.

He smiled and looked away as she glanced up from her papers at him and frowned, catching him staring.

"Can you stop ogling me for two seconds, please? I'm trying to organize the information I collected for you over the past few weeks. I had it all sorted out until your maid dumped those accursed tomes on me." She said with a huff.

Alexander shook his head.

"I can't help it when you're so beautiful, Grace. How can I not appreciate your divine figure? But if it will make you happy, I'll do my best to hold out until tonight." He replied with a cheeky grin.

"Ugh! You're so infuriating!" She cried out, slamming her hands down on the table, her cheeks burning a brilliant crimson.

She could dish it out but was hopelessly weak against his teasing. It was very endearing to him how she could say the most depraved things but have her demeanor completely crumble at just a few of his words.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop; I'm sorry," Alexander said and raised his hands up in surrender.

"Hmph, I'll let you off for now," Grace replied, trying to regain her earlier composure before continuing.

"We are short on time, so I will give you an abridged version of what I discovered. While there was indeed a way to strengthen blessings in the past, it was a well-guarded secret only found in the central archives of the former capital."

She looked up at him to make sure he was actually listening and not just eye fucking her again. Satisfied that his attention was where it should be, she continued.

"Unfortunately, it is unknown whether or not any of the tomes in those archives survived the war, and even if they did, they are now far behind enemy lines. So you'll have to give up on it."

Alexander nodded; he had been prepared for that and was not particularly disappointed.

Grace took a deep breath and continued.

"And next, regarding the strengthening of bloodlines. When I was studying the records, I discovered that several powerful individuals managed to refine their bloodlines. All of them had one thing in common. They all powered up during their awakening ritual. It seems to be something only the goddess herself can grant. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask her. I will warn you, though, that every single one of those people met a horrible fate."

Alexander sighed. He had a vague idea of what was required, and he wasn't exactly happy. His grandfather had told him that this world operated on a rigid set of rules. Everything must maintain the balance; great power requires great sacrifice.

He nodded as Grace explained the last of her findings.

"Thank you, Grace. I have some leads and a general idea of what I should ask the goddess now. I'll make it up to you after the ceremony. I owe you for this."

"Yes, yes. I know. It's not like I went through all that trouble for nothing. You better show me how grateful you are later." She said with a sly grin before looking away in embarrassment and clearing her throat.

"W-Well... Anyway. You are about to have an audience with the goddess, so make sure you are prepared." She said in an attempt to change the subject.

Alexander nodded.

They talked amicably for a short while before Grace had to leave to conduct the ceremony. Alexander pondered what he would ask the goddess.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he did not want to squander it.

Eventually, a guard came to fetch him. It was finally time for him to awaken as a full-fledged member of the royal family.