From the four corners of the room appeared four virgin girls from the town and about the same age as Beatrice, offering four lamps and placing them around her chair. Thus, the feast has arrived. Beatrice was now nervous again. The maid Daman went to Beatrice to help her take off her shoes. She felt her heart beat faster than when she was in the room. Why hasn't father come back yet? What about Damiana? Lady Elena went in and out expecting her husband and daughter, but there was still no movement. Another man entered the Great Hall, and Beatrice thought it was her father, but it wasn't. He stood in a corner of the room, looking at her with a kind smile. Beatrice also politely smiled back. She knew him, it was Timon Hummingway, the Voice of the Emperor, and also a close friend of her father. But the person Beatrice needed most right now was her father, no one else. Without seeing him, Beatrice began to lose her confidence.

An unhappy face entered the Great Hall. Damiana did not forget to give her a sharp gaze, followed by father and uncle Talbot. Seeing Frankie, Beatrice immediately seemed to have completely recovered from an old wound. The muscles in her body relaxed, and Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, on the Bell Tower, the bell keeper began to ring the full thirteen carols, marking the thirteen-hour countdown before the actual ceremony began. Each time the bell rang, Betarice glanced to the left, then to the right, the ringing of the bell matching her heartbeat. As soon as the last bell rang, her eyes closed, and her ears heard nothing but two annoying beeps.

Everyone was silent, the dignified space like darkness covered the entire auditorium. There was no sound but the pounding heart of the whole crowd. All eyes were fixed on a girl who had just turned sixteen. Beatrice clasped her hands together so that no one would see them trembling. Scholar Daemon, guardian of the Sacred Shrine, slowly walked over to Beatrice with a scripture in hand and a brown mantle smeared with dirt; with round chains wrapped diagonally from shoulder to hip as an adornment. Behind him was a disciple carrying a brass basin, which contained a kind of deer fat called Holy Oil. The scholar looked sternly at Beatrice, one look was enough to silence her. The light from outside shone through the glass pane on one side of the wall, shining directly into her seat as if the blessing of the gods was being sent from that light. The missionary opened the book and read aloud:

“Beatrice Elizabeth Swift.”

"Yes, father," she replied softly.

“Are you ready to take the oath?” said the Daemon's voice as deep as a tower bell, and resounded like an impermanent chant.

"I'm ready," Beatrice growled heavily.

“Will you uphold and guarantee all your vows for the rest of your life?”

“I swear,” Beatrice replied firmly.

A bell was rung, everyone in the Great Hall kept absolute silence.

“Do you solemnly promise and swear that you will lead the people of Ubberst, from young to old, from girl to boy, from barbarian to learned man; to protect them, feed them and teach them?”

"I solemnly swear."

Another bell rang. Outside, the crows chirped a few times and then flew away.

“Do you solemnly promise and swear that you will be absolutely fair, reward and punish without concern in all your decisions?”

"I swear."

A deer stopped grazing, raised its head to look at something around it. Another bell rang. The deer lay down with a silver arrow through the middle of its body. The sound of a flowing stream.

“Will you do your best to protect and obey the laws of the Old God and the New God, protect the purity of the clan and bloodline, protect the inviolability of this land?”

A cod jumps to the surface of the water. Endless stream. On the shore, a bear was waiting.

"I will."

Another bell rang. The black bear was able to hold the fish in its mouth in one shot.

“So… May the Old God and the New God protect you on your predetermined path. I declare… Beatrice Elizabeth Swift, to become the next heir to Ubberst, and to be crowned immediately upon the death of the current lord.”

A piece of ice cracked, the whole surface was floating in debris. The river seems to come back to life after a period of rest. A prolonged ringing of bells ended the swearing-in.

Scholar Daemon closed the book, and the disciple took a step forward, carrying the jar of Holy Oil. He smeared a little oil on the tips of his index and middle fingers, then rubbed it over the center of Beatrice's forehead, saying:

"On your forehead I rub Holy Oil, may the Old God and the New God give you wisdom."

Then he stepped back, looked at the lord and his wife and Damiana, motioned for them to rub the holy oil on Beatrice. Frankie stepped forward, he did as Daemon did. Beatrice held out her palms, Frankie rubbed the Holy Oil in a straight line that extended to both palms. He said:

"I rub Holy Oil on your hands, may the Old God and the New God give you maturity."

Frankie smiled at her daughter, then stepped down to take Elena's turn. The lady in the light blue dress walked over to the basin of Holy Oil and took some on the tips of her two fingers. She turned to look at her daughter, then knelt down. Beatrice lifted her skirt up to reveal her bare white feet. Elana spread a long line of Holy Oil on her feet and said, as she rubbed:

"On your feet, I rub Holy Oil, may the Old God and the New God give you good health."

The last person to perform the ritual oiling for Beatrice was also the one she didn't expect the most. Damiana slowly walked over to the oil basin, not forgetting to turn to Beatrice with a devilish smile and eyes. She took the necessary amount of oil and walked in front of her sister, rubbing the oil on the center of her chest. Damiana says:

"On your chest I rub Holy Oil, may the Old God and the New God give you...", Dami suddenly stopped as if on purpose, "...give you a heart."

Done, Dami smiled and turned to leave. Beatrice sighed in relief. In her mind, she imagined that she would ruin this sacred ceremony. But she did not know how she could be so good-natured that everything went smoothly!

The first two ceremonies of the ceremony have been completed. Beatrice was beginning to feel hungry, but she was not allowed to show any discomfort or voice out. She had to be as silent as a statue, and remained that way for the rest of the day.

Lord Frankie once more approached his daughter. He took out an heirloom dagger with a gilded hilt and engraved family crest. He heated the tip of the knife over the flame from one of the four surrounding lamps, then spread a thin layer of Holy Oil over the blade. Talbot now brought in another copper pot with half-full wine. Talbot held the pot in the center and waited. Frankie took Beatrice's left hand and laid it on her back, cutting a line in her hand. The sharp knife quickly made a cut in her hand without causing her too much pain or feeling anything, only seeing red blood begin to ooze out. Afterward, Frankie also took a knife and cut a line on his left hand, and then knitted his and daughter's cut palms together. The two's blood mixed into a stream that flowed straight down into the pot of wine that Talbot was holding. All three held that for a while, neither short nor long, until the wine changed from white to a completely red color. Elena came over with two white sheets to tie the cuts in their hands. It was called the Blood Transfusion ceremony, when a former lord passed on blood to the next. Later, Beatrice would be the one to pass it on to her son or daughter, as Frankie did to her today.

The pot of blood wine was then distributed to everyone in the Great Hall. Everyone will drink them all to show their acceptance of this inheritance. Losing a lot of blood and not being able to eat or drink made Beatrice a little dizzy. But instead she had to put on a normal face as everyone enjoyed the booze. In a corner of the room, Damiana also had a silver wine glass in her hand. She glanced at the red liquid in the glass, then up at Beatrice, who was sitting so tall. When no one was around, she snorted coldly and poured the glass of wine on the floor. Dami pretended to raise her hand to wipe her mouth as if she had finished her meal and then left.

Past noon, it's time for the baptism. Beatrice was escorted from the Great Hall to the Sacred Shrine. In the shrine there were already four nuns waiting for her. No one but them is allowed in. A nun stepped in front of Beatrice and said sternly:

“My lady, please take off all your clothes.”

Beatrice dared not have any doubts, immediately followed her every word. Beatrice first took off her fur coat, then her long, gorgeous dress. At this moment, Beatrice had only a thin layer of cloth covering her body like the wings of a dragonfly. She was starting to get a little shy at the eyes that were staring at her. Beatrice took a deep breath, then stripped off the fabric, revealing her tight bodice and crotch fabric. Beatrice wasn't used to stripping when many people looked at her like this, even if they were women. But with no other choice, she was forced to take it all off so that she could perform the ritual. Beatrice reached behind her back, undoing the knots to loosen her shirt, then undoing it completely. Beatrice's round breasts seemed to be freed from bondage. Next, she reached down and pulled the lining off. At this moment, Beatrice's body had nothing to cover, revealing an infinitely perfect body. In the final step, Beatrice reached out and untied the hairpin, removing even the intricately tied braids. A long, shiny hair was let down.

But for some reason these nuns were cold as money, they did not show any attitude, on the contrary Beatrice felt their coldness. Another nun stepped up and said:

“My lady, please kneel before the Gods.”

Beatrice, without a piece of cloth, slowly stepped closer to the statue of the god. In Ubberst, people worship both the Old God and the New God. The former God is Goddess Ghana - Goddess of Birth, Growth and Prosperity. Meanwhile, the New God was the Thirteen Knights in the final battle against Lapunta. Beatrice knelt down, straightened her back, and looked up at the two huge statues. Four nuns, two on each side, stood around Beatrice. The oldest spoke up:

“My lady, you may take an oath before the Old God and the New God.”

Beatrice drew in a breath for courage. The oath was made known to Beatrice last night. She just hoped she still remembered the teachings of last night well.

“I…” Beatrice hesitated, the silence scaring her. “I… Beatrice Elizabeth Swift… wash away all the dirt on me, my mistakes, my sins. I send my soul to the gods to be forged into a worthy daughter under Your command."

Fortunately, Beatrice was able to carry out her vows smoothly and without tripping. After reciting the vows, a nun pulled Beatrice to her feet and led her to a large tub of water that had been prepared. The water tank is empty, nothing. The nun told Beatrice to step right into the center and kneel down. Beatrice obediently obeyed. She knelt down, then waited for what happened next. But Beatrice couldn't have imagined that what followed would be so terrible that it would become her nightmare. The nuns picked up buckets of water and poured them over her. Beatrice cried out in pain that echoed throughout the shrine. She had to take a full bucket of hot water until it burned her whole body. Beatrice burst into tears, she felt the skin on her back almost peel off, a painful sensation to the very end.

When the hot water ran out, they poured more cold water with ice crumbs inside. She jerked up, not having the strength to scream. Her whole body trembled, her fingertips and toes could not feel anything. Her mind was dizzy, and her ears couldn't hear anything. The nuns say that's what an heir must take, the scorching heat will burn the sins, and the bone-chilling cold will wash away all the mistakes. But Beatrice didn't hear anything. She was forced to soak in that water not for a while, but until dawn the next day. Every hour, a bucket of hot and cold water would be poured over her. And so on, and so on, until dawn the next day, the tub was just full. Only after going through all, Beatrice was officially recognized. Like it or not, Beatrice was forced to complete them, because it was her destiny!