The midwife quickly cleaned and wrapped the child before bringing him toward the bed.
Antony helped Roxanna shift around until she could sit more comfortably against him.
The moment their son was placed in her arms, everything changed.
Roxanna stopped breathing for a moment, her blue eyes widening. The child continued making unhappy little noises until she drew him closer against her chest.
Then, slowly, he calmed as he startedto nurse.
Roxanna stared down at him. Antony saw the exact moment her eyes filled with tears.
"Oh."
Her voice broke.
His arm tightened around her.
"Honey?"
"He has your hair."
He looked more closely now. The tiny strands were unmistakably golden.
She carefully brushed one finger against them.
"Antony...look."
"I see."
Then the child opened his eyes; they were a bright, impossibly clear blue with tiny flecks of light shimmering inside them.
Roxanna covered her mouth.
"He has my eyes."
That was all it took for her tears to fall. Antony felt something tighten painfully inside his chest.
Roxanna laughed softly through them as she pulled their son closer.
"Sweetheart, look at him."
"I’m looking."
"He’s beautiful."
Antony stared at his son’s wrinkled face. There was a very brief internal conflict between honesty and survival.
"He is."
She turned her head, as though sensing his conflict. He immediately corrected himself.
"Extremely beautiful."
"You hesitated."
"I did not."
"You absolutely hesitated."
"I was emotional."
"Antony Urelias."
"Honey, he just came out. Give him a few hours."
Roxanna stared at him, her eyes narrowing as the implications of what he was saying slowly came to her.
The midwife coughed suspiciously into her hand.
Antony cleared his throat.
"I mean, he’s perfect."
Roxanna’s expression broke and she began laughing. Antony smiled despite himself, leaning forward until his forehead rested lightly against hers.
Their son shifted between them. For several seconds, none of them spoke as her laughter faded into quiet tears.
"We have a son."
He swallowed.
"Yeah."
"We actually have a son."
"I know."
She looked at him.
Five years of marriage.
It had been seven years since the strange woman with white hair had wandered into his territory and changed absolutely everything about his life.
He kissed her forehead.
"You did it."
"We did it."
"You did considerably more."
"That’s true."
He laughed softly.
"Never doing that again?"
Roxanna looked at their son, then at Antony.
"We’ll discuss that later."
His eyes widened.
"That’s not a no."
"Sweetheart."
"Right. Later."
The room had grown strangely quiet. Antony didn’t notice at first since he had been too focused on Roxanna and the infant in her arms.
Then the golden light returned.
This time it didn’t come from any formation, it came from the child. A faint halo formed around his tiny body who had just finished nursing.
The healers froze and the midwife took one step backward.
Roxanna’s expression changed.
"Antony."
"I see it."
The manor shook like something enormous had breathed beneath the earth.
Far below them, at the center of Urelias Territory, the Territory Core responded. Antony felt it instantly through his connection as Lord.
His eyes widened.
The Red Territory Core pulsed twice before a pillar of golden light erupted from somewhere beneath the manor and shot into the sky.
Outside, Angels began shouting.
The clouds above the territory split apart as a vast ring of light expanded across the heavens.
Antony heard the familiar sound.
A system notification.
Except this one was louder than anything he had ever heard before.
[World Condition Fulfilled.]
He stopped breathing.
Roxanna stared forward.
Another prompt appeared.
[The world has recorded the birth of a naturally born Divine-Blood Descendant.]
Roxanna’s face went pale.
"No, no no no," she mumbled in rapid succession.
Antony’s stomach dropped.
The prompt continued.
[First recorded natural birth of an SSS-Potential Descendant since the Descent.]
[World Announcement commencing.]
"WHAT?"
He nearly jumped off the bed but she grabbed his arm.
"Sweetheart."
"It’s announcing him?!"
"I can see that!"
"To everyone?!"
Another chime sounded, then the message changed.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT]
[A child possessing an SSS-Potential Bloodline has been naturally born.]
[Race: Angel.]
[Parents: Protected.]
[Territory Location: Protected.]
[Achievement recorded.]
Both of them stared in disbelief and horror while rheir son yawned.
Antony slowly looked down at him.
"You have been alive for less than five minutes."
The baby blinked.
"You are already causing problems."
Roxanna smacked Antony weakly on the chest.
"Don’t call our son a problem."
"The entire world has just been told that an SSS-potential Angel baby exists!"
"That part is concerning."
"Concerning?"
She looked toward the window where golden light continued illuminating the sky.
"Very concerning."
Before he could say anything else, another sound appeared.
It was different from the first, quieter, closer and personal.
[Special Condition Fulfilled.]
[Lord Antony Urelias has successfully established a natural bloodline.]
[Marriage confirmed.]
[First Descendant confirmed.]
[True Family recognized.]
His brows furrowed.
"What is this?"
Roxanna leaned slightly toward the floating screen, though Antony suspected she could only see the portion being displayed publicly between them.
The next message appeared.
[Unique Authority detected.]
[Compatibility confirmed.]
[Family System awakening...]
His eyes widened.
Roxanna whispered, "A system?"
"I already have the Lord interface."
"This isn’t the Lord interface."
"I noticed."
Golden lines spread across the translucent screen.
[Family System successfully awakened.]
[Core Principle:]
[Protect your family.]
[Nurture your descendants.]
[Develop a home worthy of those you love.]
Then another prompt appeared.
[Family Member Registered.]
[Wife: Roxanna Urelias.]
[Race: Divine Angel.]
[Rank: SSS - SEALED.]
Antony’s mouth opened while Roxanna’s eyes widened.
The next message followed.
[Family Member Registered.]
[Firstborn Son: Unnamed.]
[Race: Unknown Angelic Variant.]
[Potential: SSS.]
[Bloodline Evaluation: Incomplete.]
[Warning: Bloodline exceeds current system analysis.]
The room went utterly silent.
Then...
[Family System Starter Reward issued.]
[Territory Development Authority unlocked.]
[Your family’s prosperity and your territory’s prosperity are now linked.]
[New Main Mission generated.]
[Main Mission: Build a Home Worthy of Your Family.]
[Current Territory Core: RED.]
[Objective: Evolve Urelias Territory Core from RED → ORANGE.]
[Additional conditions will be revealed after initial evaluation.]
[Reward: Family Territory Trait.]
Antony stared from at the screen, to Roxanna, to their son and then back at the screen.
For ten years, his greatest achievement had been keeping his territory small, peaceful, comfortable, and uninteresting enough that the monsters ruling the larger regions barely remembered he existed.
Now his son had been alive for several minutes and the entire world knew an SSS-potential Angel child had been born.
Furthermore, a completely unknown system had attached itself to Antony.
And his first mission was telling him to upgrade the territory he had intentionally kept at Red for a decade.
He slowly leaned his head back against the headboard.
"Honey."
She was still staring at the prompts.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I think our quiet life just ended."
She looked down at their son.
The little boy had apparently decided that announcing his existence to the entire world had been exhausting because his eyes were already closing.
She smiled, then she looked back at Antony.
"Probably."
Antony sighed deeply.
Their son fell asleep.
And somewhere far beyond the peaceful borders of Urelias Territory, countless Lords had just received the same announcement.