Mother

"ONCE AGAIN, AKI, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING SO FAR!" Caroline bowed, with Princess Rei, Layla, and Aemila following suit, as they returned to the living room. 

"I think we are a bit past this, aren't we, mother?" Aki jokily replied. "I'm fine with the choice Ao made as long as it was his choice," he explained, with everyone sitting down.

"Anymore surprises, Aki?" Lalya asked, "After all the things that happened, I'm ready for the next one." She giggled before she slumped over the armrest with exhaustion.

"Why were you looking for an ice monster, mother?" Aki asked, noticing her demeanor shifted slightly each time it was brought up, "I can see why Princess Lili needed to have one, but why you?" 

"It's part of our Royal Tradition, Aki," Caroline answered, "For a person to properly be accepted as a true royal member, they must tame a powerful monster, or at least that's what our doctrine states." 

"What does that mean?" Aki asked, "Why is that required?" 

"The First King & Queen of Garlia were powerful monster tamers and wanted to make sure the future generations maintain that, so they created the Council of Thirteen to enforce their beliefs," Caroline explained. "To be properly considered a Queen by the Council, I need to have a powerful tamed monster to maintain my status in the Royal Family, especially as a commoner and outsider. The Council only allows me to remain in the Royal Family because of my extremely rare Ice abilities, so they've allowed me to be called Queen by name only."

"In other words, I'm just a figurehead to them as I do not possess any real power to order troops or move funds in an emergency," Caroline faked a smile, upset at being powerless after all this time. "At least, my sons & daughters wouldn't have to struggle like me, especially Princess Lili, who now tamed an Elder Ice Slime. I'm sure it'll be a big surprise to send a few of them to their graves," she chuckled softly, as an awkward mood filled the room. 

"Hmm....why not send them all to their graves then?" Aki suggested, as he stood up and walked over to Caroline. "Hold out your hand, mother," he requested, kneeling, and proceeded to take out an object wrapped in a black shirt from his inventory. He quickly unwrapped the shirt and dropped the sky-blue egg into the Queen's hands as it started to release a wave of cold air. 

"W-Wait! I thought you said you didn't find it," Caroline yelled, with her lips trembling, knowing she was holding an Ice Hawk egg. "You lied to me??!!?" she exclaimed with tears of joy falling down her face.

"Of course!" Aki replied, returning to his seat, "I needed to know if I can trust you with it first, especially after you attacked me earlier," he explained. 

"Aemila, look!" Caroline quickly moved the egg towards Aemilia, with Aemilia quickly changing seats and sitting next to Aki.

"C-Cold!" Aemila stuttered, "I can see it perfectly fine from here!" she stated, with Princess Rei & Layla also moving to the other end of the long sofa. 

"By the way, I have no idea how to hatch it," Aki stated. "It's currently in a dormant state, which means it is not alive in a certain way as I was able to store it in my inventory without any issue," he explained. 

"Isn't it simple? It needs its mother's warmth?" Caroline answered as she gently placed both her hands over it. 

"Huh? How does that make sense?" Aki asked, "The Ice Hawks aren't even warm-blooded!" he rebutted. 

"She meant mana, Aki." Aemila stated, "For a monster egg to hatch, it's supposed to receive mana from its mother before it can hatch." 

"Why didn't she say that!" Aki stated, "Why does this family have to play some mind games?" as he recalled Prince Albert's natural skill of misinterpretation. 

The crowd began to watch as Caroline began to gently pass her mana into the Ice Hawk egg as it began to wobble a bit. 

"Oh? It moved!" Caroline exclaimed as the egg stopped. 

*Appraisal*, Ice Hawk Egg (Status: Awaken) / S-Rank

"Leave it to a mother to immediately understand care for a child." Aki thought to himself, realizing he had made the right choice to entrust it to the Queen's hands. "I can leave now, right?" he asked, standing up and beginning to leave. Suddenly, Aki's vision started to distort, and his body started to sway side to side before falling to the carpet-covered ground.

"AKI!" Layla yelled, "HE IS BURNING UP!!" as she placed her hand on his forehead. 

"Call for a doctor!"Caroline ordered, with the sound of Aemila's rapid footsteps disappearing into the distance. "You will be alright, I promise we will take good care of you, so just rest, okay?" she calmly assured Aki as his eyes closed shut.