Once Upon a Time

That day, the Queen of Great Titaia, the sole woman cherished and adored by the Goddess of nature, the All-powerful Goddess of the World, made an announcement that shocked the Kings of the Three Kingdoms on the Continent of Okeanos.

Andrhea Flora Titaia, the Queen of Great Titaia's name, stated:

"I, the Queen bestowed with the name and devotion of Goddess Gaia, shall resign as Queen Titaia right now." She spoke with dignity and grace, exuding a heavy pressure.

Her hands appeared to be full with something wrapped in a thick white blanket on both of her hands.

"And...." The Queen gently raised the blanket.

A very little face popped from between the blankets, as seen through the big magical screen.

The three Kings from three different Kingdoms who were watching from the big magic screen that floated on the hall's ceiling were recognized immediately.

A baby. Besides her tiny face, the baby's entire body is concealed by a thick blanket, so they are unable to see what her whole body looks like.

"Ba... by?" Three people were watching the baby, who appeared to be asleep as if she was unaware she was being watched.

"This baby was chosen to be the next Queen of Titaia."

The Queen pressed her forehead on the baby. Even though all she did was give her a sweet kiss, she acted as though she was bestowing a blessing as a former Queen.

One of the three Kings who had neatly tied up shoulder-length deep reddish-brown hair, Gauis, yelled out in shock and horror as he was unable to hold it as the three of them were gathered in the large hall.

"Your Majesty The Queen! You pointed to a newborn baby who it wasn't even obvious would inherit Goddess's powers and become the next Queen?!"

Instead of being enraged at the objection from one of the Kings, Andrhea grinned broadly.

"That means this kid is exceptionally remarkable because she can be the next Queen even before she gains her powers." She smiled proudly, resting her cheek against a sleeping baby's chubby cheek.

"W—What...." Gauis couldn't respond to Queen Titaia's firm statement.

'... Kid? Even though it is very clear that she was only a few days old?' The three Kings had that thought as they observed the baby's condition on the other side of the screen.

As if that hadn't shocked them enough, she calmly started speaking again.

"By the way, I'm planning to hide this cute kid somewhere till she grows up!"

She played with the baby's tiny little hands before proceeding in a relaxed tone.

"I suppose I'll keep it hidden until she's between the ages of 10 and 16. Until she performed the Spirits Contract Ceremony, at least, you people were unable to locate her."

!!!

When the three Kings heard Queen Titaia's words, they began to panic.

One of the Kings, who was standing with his arms folded, raised his hand to ask.

"Your Majesty, may I ask?"

"Yes."

"Where do you intend to hide the new Queen?"

Andrhea erupted in laughter. "Hiding wouldn't be necessary if I told you where."

Andrhea's casual response was met with a simple nod from Zephyr, who had fire-yellow hair. "I see...."

"So... Hmm..?" 

Andrhea wanted to continue, but the last King, who had been quietly listening in, finally spoke out.

"Your Majesty stated that the baby had been chosen to be the next Queen of Titaia. Will the baby be given the name 'Titaia' like the other Queens?"

The person known as 'Titaia' is undoubtedly a human female who has been granted the title of Queen of Great Titaia and has undoubtedly received affection from the Goddess Gaia, albeit not as much as the first Queen got.

Even so, until the ninth Queen, Andrhea Flora Titaia, was elected, every Queen had the name 'Titaia' behind her full name.

As a result, humans started to believe that the name 'Titaia' was a prerequisite for a human female being to become the Ruler of the Galatea territory, which was known as a divine land because it was blessed with the protection of Goddess Gaia.

Because of this, people started adding Great to the name of the Titaia because they started to believe that anything connected to the 'Titaia' was sacred and shouldn't be mentioned casually.

The other two Kings looked at Aelius, the blue-haired person who dared to ask the most forbidden question because it was impolite to ask someone who had the world's highest title.

Even yet, Andrhea wasn't offended and replied confidently, "Yes," she added in a warm voice, "this baby already had it."

"Elara... Titaia is her name. You should all start remembering her name."

The three Kings were so stunned that their hearts temporarily stopped beating.

'A newborn named Titaia?'

'Doesn't that mean this baby will be the youngest Queen of Great Titaia's in history?!'

'Is this a positive or negative omen?'

The three Kings deliberated deeply in their minds. Seeing their surprised expressions, Andrhea was reminded of something.

Andrhea recalled something former Queens had told her around 500 years ago when all the Elemental Wings gathered to piece together the prophecy they had received.

[This time, Goddess Gaia will lavish Her love on a human child. It is stated that Her affection was at its peak during this period in the Okeanos Continent's history.]

And, up until now, the Elemental Priests have been preoccupied with deciphering the prophecy that Goddess Gaia whispered to them 500 years ago.

They had no idea which human child would be filled with the love of a Goddess who was highly esteemed by all living beings.

[Goddess Gaia, who has saved them from the world's annihilation.]

They believe that this human child will not become Great Titaia's next Queen because Goddess Gaia only refers to children as 'human children', not 'Titaia's children'.

The three previous Kings were overjoyed when they heard the prophecy because they believed the child would be born as their biological child.

But, despite their long wait, they never had a child whom Goddess Gaia adored.

"Perhaps this time...." Andrhea murmured, and at that moment her hands began to uncontrollably glow translucently.

However, she gave a casual smile as if she didn't mind and cast a quick glimpse at the magical screen in front of her.

"So, do you have any further questions?"

"..."

When the Queen of Great Titaia suddenly declared that she was passing over the position and territory of Galatea, the authority of all the blessings and protections of the Elemental Spirit Kings gathered into the newborn's hands, and the three Kings panicked to death.

Even though Goddess Gaia had agreed. They couldn't calm down because they hadn't verified whether the baby was truly qualified to be the Queen.

Would the Baby Queen be able to summon upon Elemental Spirit Kings who could bless and protect their heirs using her authority as a Queen Titaia? 

When the others were still overwhelmed with difficult thoughts, Aelius raised his voice.

"What if one of the Kingdoms is in danger, and the new Queen is unable to help properly because 'she's still a child'?"

Even though Aelius's question could be considered impolite, Andrhea was not upset since he doubted the ability of the next Queen.

"Hahaha! That is your fault if it happens!"

"My... f,fault?" Aelius blinked his eyes, stuttering.

"Blame yourself because none of you as Kings could persuade the new Queen Titaia to use her powers to save your Kingdoms!" Andrhea responded enthusiastically as if she had been anticipating Aelius's question.

"Isn't the blessing from Elemental Spirit Kings still protecting the three Kingdoms till we appoint the future Kings? After all, how could our heirs get the blessings and protections if the new Queen is hidden!" Gauis finally managed to express his displeasure once again.

!!

Andrhea's eyes narrowed as she smiled widely.

"Do you want to know... how?" Andrhea's voice was gentle and seductive, but the three Kings recognized it as a threatening tone.

"N—No, Your Majesty!"

Andrhea laughed at Gauis's reaction, who instantly covered his mouth.

"Then you understand why I only told the three of you rather than announcing the entire continent, right?"

Aelius simply nodded. "If Her Majesty reveals the true cause, the continent will soon fall into chaos."

"Yeah, so you guys thought of a way to make this continent less chaotic later," Andrhea continued, "right, I don't have much time left either."

Andrhea, the lady in a simple white gown, had long, light green hair that trailed down her torso like tree roots, she turned her body and slowly started to fade strangely.

'The Queen's body... it seems odd.'

The three Kings had the same idea, but they didn't dare to express it because of the tense atmosphere. Also because they couldn't teleport immediately to where the Queen Titaia was, the three Kings could only remain silent and do nothing.

The white blanket she had been carefully carrying since the beginning began to fall onto the grass.

"Oh, I have a farewell present for the three of you! I'll tell you one piece of information about the identity of this little Queen." Her fading fingers touched the baby's chubby cheek.

When they heard the word 'information', the three Kings' ears perked up.

"Identity...?"

"Yes." Andrhea, who was almost fully gone, smiled. "This child is the daughter of one of the three of you."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Their faces quickly turned white. They looked at each other as if they were doubtful of their listening abilities.

"Can you figure out who the father is?"

"W-W—WHAT?!" They all screamed in surprise.

"Isn't it intriguing that the next Queen of Titaia is a Princess from one of three Kingdoms? Hahahaha!!!"

A woman's enthusiastic laughing resonated in the three of their ears before entirely disappearing.

'M—My daughter...?'

Their gaze is now fixed on the big magic screen, which depicts a small baby lying on the grass, and the magic screen begins to distort and disappear in seconds.

The sight of a baby sleeping comfortably had faded from their vision.

"Send a secret order to the investigating team to find a baby named Galilea!"

"Look all over the continent!"

"Don't let the baby's whereabouts get public!"

That day, following the news of the retirement of the current Queen Titaia and the appearance of the new Queen, who turned out to be a newborn baby.

It turns out that the baby is the daughter of one of the three of them, which makes the three Kings unable to sleep for the next few years.