Reborn in another world as a Hermaphrodite

Unfortunately, just like every other time, Alex was defeated with barely any scratch made to Sarah.

The mage level made zero differences as it only gave him more mana to use, which wasn't really the thing he needed to beat her.

But unlike the previous fight, he was immediately kicked out of the dream as everything faded to black.

When he could see again, bright sunlight had already illuminated the bedroom.

He was back in his bed, with the morning already arrived despite feeling only a few hours had passed.

As he examined his body, he could feel his mana had already broken through the level 2 mage requirement.

"Alex, you awake?" Katherine's voice suddenly appeared outside the door.

"Yeah, I'm awake... I'll be out for breakfast in a bit."

---

When Alex arrived at the dining table, everyone was a little confused by his big smile.

Until Katherine and Amelia both noticed what was different about him.

"Alex, you reached level 2 mage last night?" Katherine asked, looking a little intrigued by the speed.

With a nod, both Sophia and Mary looked a little shocked as they were expecting him to take at least a few more days.

"How did you reach level 2 mage so fast?" Sophia curiously asked.

"Just hard work," Alex replied, not wanting to make them jealous over the tutoring he had gotten.

Before Katherine could ask any further questions, Amelia suddenly pulled him closer and whispered.

"You want any reward from your aunt? I can give you another round of that stuff."

"Sure..."

"What that stuff are you two talking about?" Katherine asked, as her suspicion was now on Amelia instead.

"Nothing! Don't worry about it... Come on, Kate, do I look like someone who would hurt their nephew?"

Katherine looked at the two for a second before backing down, not wanting to pursue an answer in front of Luqing and Meiya.

"Whatever... Anyway, are you three ready to represent the Duchess's kids for the coronation in two days?"

"I'm born ready."

Mary excitedly stated that she had never thought of being a part of a nobility.

"Are there things we need to do?"

Sophia asked, looking much calmer than Mary. But her voice indicated she was excited for it as well.

"There are a lot of things you need to do..."

Half an hour later...

"So you three got the instruction?"

As the three kids nodded in agreement, Katherine turned her attention over to Amelia.

"How about you? You ready for the coronation?"

"Me? What do I need to do?"

Amelia looked back at Katherine with a confused face. She didn't expect to have anything assigned to her.

"What do you think? You forgot the guardian assigned you to be the successor after me?"

Within a second, a portal appeared right next to Amelia. But Katherine quickly got up and pinned her to her seat.

"You're going to sit and listen. I don't want to be embarrassed by my younger sister doing something stupid in my coronation."

"Fine, fine..."

After another half-hour of explanation, Amelia finally understood all the rules she had to follow.

With all four of them informed, Katherine turned her attention to the last two sitting on the table.

"Miss Meiya, can I have a small request?"

"What is it?"

"I want to hire you as my bodyguard. You're the only one I know who can defeat an archmage."

Meiya considered it for a second before nodding in agreement.

"I can do that. But I have a request of my own."

"What is it? I'll try to fulfill it."

"Can I bring my daughter with me? I don't really want to be separated from her."

Luqing was caught off guard by Meiya's request, but Katherine was more than happy to accept it.

"Of course. She can go with you any time you want... As long as she agrees to it."

Meiya looked over to Luqing, who nodded in agreement since the person she cared about was now gone.

"She could probably be the kid's guard instead," Amelia suggested.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea... Luqing, do you mind taking care of them?"

"Duchess's wish is my wish."

---

The next two days were more difficult than the nonstop meditation that the kids had to do.

They were all forced to go through formal etiquette again, this time being measured much harsher than before.

Even Amelia was forced to join in after Ava came back to administer a single etiquette test, which revealed she barely remembered any of it.

With the coronation day finally arriving, the entire city had become much livelier than before.

Everyone was waiting for the new Duchess as they all stood outside the fence that the knights had set up.

Hundreds of lower nobility, along with the same delegate from other dukes and the emperor, came to watch on the side.

As the front door to the castle finally opened, the coronation had officially begun.

---

When Katherine stepped out of the door, she could feel everyone's attention looking at her.

Most were curiosity, while some were disliked or even feared. But they all kept their mouth shut as the band began to play the music.

After the music ended, a carriage stopped right at the entrance before an old man stepped out.

"Sorry for arriving late." The old man quietly apologized as he stopped right in front of Katherine.

"No problem."

"Ahem, as the goddess of the moon lives above us. Lady Katherine, do you honor her with faith and respect?"

"I do."

"Do you fulfill the sacred duty of fulfilling her wish to care for the poor and help the weak?"

"I do."

"With utmost respect, Lady Katherine, may the goddess bless you."

The old man hands a staff out of nowhere to Katherine, who looks at it for a second before lifting it into the air.

Suddenly, the sky started changing color, with what used to be a sunny day to now complete darkness.

However, the cloud wasn't blocking the sun. Instead, it was a black dot in the sky.

"Goddess answered!"

Everyone started to panic as they didn't expect something like this to happen.

Even the priest and Katherine were a little confused by what had just happened as if they had not planned it at all.

Meanwhile, the nobility and the emperor's delegate seemed slightly concerned by what had just happened.

"Is that a solar eclipse?" Alex murmured as he quickly realized the moon had completely blocked out the sun.

After a while, the cloud blocked off the black dot before the clouds moved again, revealing the sunlight had reappeared again.

"Mr.Smith, do you know what this means?" Katherine asked everyone in the crowd finally calmed back down.

"It's a good omen! The goddess has approved Duchess Katherine, my Highness."

"Oh really... That's nice of her."

The announcement seemed to have energized the city's citizens, who began chanting the Duchess's family motto.

"By Her Light, We Stand!"

"By Her Grace, We Rise!"

"Under the Moon, We Are One!"

---

After the coronation, Katherine again received a ton of gifts that piled up in the storage room.

But this time, some of the gifts were from the citizens and merchants themselves rather than just from the nobility.

"Mom, what was that black dot?' Mary curiously asked, with Sophia looking just as intrigued.

"I don't know... I had never seen that happen before."

As Alex thought back to what he had seen earlier, he couldn't help but feel that the timing was just awfully suspicious.

But seeing how genuine Katherine looked, he knew it wasn't her plan for it to happen.

There was clearly someone behind it who set it all up to make some sort of statement to her.

"Mom, I don't think this is really a good omen..." Alex raised his concern.

"What makes you think that?" Katherine curiously asked as she stacked up one of the gifts.

"It makes you stand out too much... It's almost like someone is trying to frame you for some treason or something."

Katherine froze for a second before resuming, her face looking a little alert as if she had just had the afterthought.

"You're worrying too much, Alex. I'm not even an archmage. Who am I a threat to?"

The reassurance did not change Alex's mind at all. But he chose not to discuss it further.

"Mom, are we going back tomorrow?" Sophia asked as she unpacked one of the gifts.

"Not yet. We'll go back on the last day. There are still two days left before you all have to go back to school, right?"

"I guess... But I want to head back early."

"Why?"

"I just don't like being in the castle. It just feels too fancy for me." Sophia finally revealed her answer.

Katherine thought for a second, then nodded in agreement.

"How about this? We'll head back a day before you all have to go back to school. Sounds good to you all?"

"That sounds good to me," Sophia replied, looking over to the other two, who nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I don't mind it," Alex stated.

"Same here," Mary added.