Chapter 14: Be a real man
"Hey, don't foul!" I shouted at Violet.
"What are you talking about? It's called a shoulder challenge!" Violet replied. For some reason, Violet, who is usually shy and passive by nature, turns into an incredibly aggressive woman whenever we play football.
I cursed the day I taught this girl football. For a moment, I thought about teaching her cage fighting and bullying her, but as a prince, I didn't want to be known as the guy who beat up his sister, so I gave up on that idea and stood up, glaring at Violet.
It was impossible for her to beat me, coming from the world where real football was invented, but since she had already awakened, both her physical and Kaizer powers were much higher than mine.
"I'm going to paint you blue now..." I said with a grin. I was about to show her my football technique that would make a Brazilian proud. As Violet watched me intently, I directed the ball to the right, but just as she moved her foot to my right, I twisted the ball to the left and saw her fall to the ground. I swiftly shot the ball towards the goal.
"Goal!"
"How did you do that?"
I extended my hand to her and helped her up. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded slightly and said, "Thank you." She had suddenly reverted to her old shy and passive self. Sometimes, I wonder if this girl has two distinct personalities.
"Are you being nice now? I thought you wanted to cripple me throughout the match...-Ahh!" She suddenly hit my arm and puffed her cheeks, looking at me, but she looked so cute that I forgot she even hit me. Just as I was pinching her cheeks hard, I heard someone approaching. A woman of above-average beauty, with large breasts struggling to be free from her shirt, was coming towards us.
"Your Highness, Third Prince Ethan. I have come to deliver a message on behalf of His Majesty. It has been decided that your Awakening Ceremony will take place this evening," the woman said in a robotic voice.
"Understood, I will be there," I said with a now serious expression.
The woman slightly bowed her head and turned back, leaving with the sound of her high heels echoing.
"I have to go now, Violetta. It's already dark and I need to prepare," I said.
"If you need anything, you can ask me or mom," she said and came closer. She whispered in my ear, as if trying to ignore her blushing face. "Don't worry, it will go well," she said and quickly left.
I looked at my sister in surprise, but the Awakening Ceremony was definitely the most important thing in this world, and frankly, it was going to be a very important day for me, too. But interestingly, I'm not very nervous and I feel like it will go well. After all, in most of the stories I read in my previous life, the main characters always had very strong traits.
In some stories, it was said that the main character was weak, but that only lasted for a few chapters and then the main character would gain a powerful ability. Wait a second, why do I still think this is a classic novel world?
Maybe my perception of reality got distorted because I died once? I should be nervous on the most important day of my life, which has been given to me and perhaps will never be given again, right? What if I'm a talentless and powerless main character? Wait a second, main character? Why do I think I'm the main character?
"..."
"....."
I guess I should hurry to my room before I go insane.....
When I got to my room, I quickly put on some nice clothes, but now that I'm dressed, I remembered a detail I had forgotten about the awakening ceremony!
"Why the hell is there another stupid tradition like this?!" I pounded my fist on my clothes. Yes, I have to be naked during the ceremony!
When I got undressed, I stood in front of the mirror and actually.... not so bad.... With my beautiful sea-blue eyes and black hair, I didn't look as good as the other six-year-olds. Of course, only my mom has seen the tiny dragon underneath, and I don't want to show my dragon to anyone!
Not because it's tiny (that's normal for a 6-year-old), but because the thought of showing my innocence, especially to my archenemy Fiona, makes me angry.
Anyway, I dressed myself involuntarily. After all, I couldn't allow the servants to see me naked. Once I was dressed, I quickly left the room and saw my personal guard, Emilia, standing right by the door.
"Good day again, Your Royal Highness. Are you ready?" she said with a neutral expression.
"Yes, let's go," I said with a serious expression. Emilia nodded and walked behind me. As we walked through the long corridors, Emilia came up to me and said, "Don't worry, Your Excellency. Whatever happens, I will protect you with my life for the rest of your life.
I looked at her and smiled. "Thank you. You have never let me down."
She gave a sincere smile, seeming genuinely pleased. We continued on our way and finally reached a large door. There, the King, my mother, Isabella, and Fiona were chatting with each other. I approached them and first bowed my head for a few seconds while looking at my father.
"Raise your head, my child! Today is your day," Richard said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said, and after seeing the smile on Richard's face, I noticed a slight worry. Honestly, Richard was not a bad father for a busy king, but I couldn't say he was a good father, either. He would visit me or take me hunting occasionally and treat me very well, but he never fulfilled the minimum amount of time a father should spend with his child.
However, it must be remembered that he was a very busy man.
My mother suddenly hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, "No matter the outcome you leave this room with, you will still be my litle son ' she said with a warm smile.
"I know." I said, and before she let go, she kissed my cheek.
Then Isabella approached me and hugged me tightly. "What your mother said goes for me, too. You will always be our little Ethan," she said, and gently stroked my hair.
"Thank you, but I still won't disappoint you," I said, putting on the expression of a proud child. I did this to prevent Fiona from giving me an insincere compliment, and when I looked at her, I saw a disgust she couldn't hide on her face.
"Now go and be a real man," my father said, and pushed me into the room.
As the doors closed behind me, I examined the room. In this blindingly white room, there was only a similarly white shape in the center. The only non-white things in the room were the windows high above, and soon I saw my mother, stepmothers, and father pass there to watch me.
When I looked at the shape in the center, a tremendous survival instinct erupted within me, but I controlled myself and undressed.
Then, as I approached the shape, I realized it resembled some kind of closed eye. "Where do I remember this from?" I thought. I shook my head and focused on the present. Since I was already told what to do a few days ago, I approached the eye even more and made a slight cut in my hand with a small knife. I let a few drops of blood fall on the eye.
As silence ruled the room for a few seconds and I thought I had done something wrong, just as I was about to let another drop of blood fall, the eye suddenly opened.
At that moment, it felt like a volcano had activated inside my body, and I was shaking from the pain. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"