TMKWPL CH 16

Chapter 16

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Practicing How to Call 'Mum'

The orphanage was full of children with painful pasts, so they were often wary, and even kids the same age found it hard to become friends easily.

So a situation like becoming friends so naturally was something completely new to Nia. Still, the child who had always endured everything just to survive might have thought that this situation wasn’t all that different.

In the end, Nia believed that in order to stay here, she had to do whatever Ivonne wanted.

“Th-this is bad….”

At Ivonne’s added comment, Nia ended up avoiding her gaze, gripping the teacup in her hands tightly instead.

“Nia, look. This is serious. I don’t have any allowance anymore.”

“…Huh?”

“So, you know, my mum said that merchants shouldn't just accept something for free. But you’re my first girl-friend, so I can't just take things without giving something back….”

Muttering that the toy looked expensive, Ivonne fell into deep thought.

Nia blinked at Ivonne’s unexpected reaction. And one of Ivonne’s words made Nia’s heart start to pound.

“…Nia, is you’re friend?”

“Yup. You’re my first girl-friend and it’s fun, right? Big brother and even Cézar get easily tired playing with me. Boys are useless.”

Ivonne crossed her arms and shook her head as if fed up.

…Nia is Ivonne’s friend.

Contrary to everything she had known until now, Nia had gained her first-ever friend her own age. Her chest swelled, and her peach-like cheeks flushed red.

“Hmmm…! Got it!”

Ivonne, slapped her palm with her small fist.

“I Ivonne Berna swear on my name. I’ll promise to help you practice calling her Mum! Then we’re even, right?”

At Ivonne’s sudden declaration, clenching both fists with resolve, Nia was happy but hurriedly shook her head. She had already tried practicing alone, and it hadn’t worked.

“No! Everyone says it’s fine, but that’s all a lie. Ivonne knows! My mum, you see? She says she likes me more than my big brother, but when we fight? Then right away, bam! She hits right here, right here!”

Ivonne puffed out her cheeks in anger, as if recalling a bad memory.

“…Does it hurt that much?”

“Yeah. If you tell my mum this spot hurts, you’ll get hit for sure. But you might cry.”

With a serious face, she pointed to her side, warning her.

Unfortunately, to Nia, Ivonne’s mum had now become something like a monster she must never meet.

“Ah… no. Nia’s okay.”

“I thought you were dumb, but you’re smart, huh? Hehe. Then now, try saying ‘Muuuum~!’”

Nia opened and closed her mouth, but in the end covered her flushed cheeks with both hands, heated from embarrassment. Even though she practiced with her reflection in a mirror, doing it in front of someone else seemed too hard.

“…I can’t do it…!”

“Phew. Nia, you’re in big trouble. What’re you gonna do when you grow up? At this rate, you won’t even get married, you won’t even be able to make cookie dough!”

Ivonne let out a big sigh, crossing her arms, and skillfully reused something she often heard herself.

“…What do I do. Sniffle…”

Nia didn’t even know what getting married meant, but Ivonne’s words still shocked her innocent heart.

• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •

Children cry at the drop of a hat, and laugh just as easily. Watching Ivonne and Nia chatter excitedly in the front yard, Lucia finally understood that saying.

Ivonne was the same age as Nia, and her height was similar to Nia who was smaller than most kids their age. But her drive and energy were so overwhelming that she looked like she could march straight into war as a general.

Was Gilliana been like that as a child?

Giliana went to the kitchen to get some desserts for the commander’s tea time and placed them on the living room table. A tart topped with seasonal fruit, chick-shaped mousse cakes, uniquely shaped macarons, layers of stacked crêpes, and more.

The desserts she brought with a disgusted look were small in size, yet for some reason there were more than ten kinds.

“Heath”

Lucia called out to him softly. From somewhere nearby, Heath, who had been quietly observing, flinched as if he’d done something wrong. Perhaps it was because he tried to secretly send Nia to the temple without the commander knowing earlier that day.

Even after quite some time, spatial transfer was still a high-level spell. Traces of mana residue would remain.

And Heath’s mana had a unique quality. If Lucia noticed it, he could easily be exposed.

“When you’ve exerted yourself, something sweet is good. Come here.”

“Huh? Commander? Are you talking to Heath right now? Seriously, what effort did he even make? Today, Heath—”

Lucia was silently listening to Giliana's story about how Heath ended up looking after Nia. But something Lucia said earlier made Heath’s eyes widen. Had he been found out after all?

Though usually indifferent, Lucia was especially sensitive when it came to the quarters where Nia, the Saintess, was staying. So it was only natural that she had already checked traces of Heath’s mana the moment she arrived. And although she was now hearing that he’d been alone with Nia, she wasn’t imagining anything strange.

Just letting Heath subtly know that I was aware, is fine. Him getting all fidgety and cautious around somehow me makes me feel bad.

Heath looked into Lucia’s blue eyes, gazing straight back at him as always. In her eyes, he saw no disappointment, no anger, no suspicion, which he had half-expected.

Only then did he look back at himself and know the reason why a corner of his heart had been so uneasy since the child arrived.  

I was jealous of Nia. The commander changed so much because of her, and I had always though that she might abandon me now.

Jealousy and anxiety swallowed him. Heath spoke quietly to Lucia.

“Commander… what would you do if I disappeared?”

“Haha! I told on you and now you’re sulking, huh?”

Gilliana laughed, calling his question ridiculous, but Heath ignored her and kept his eyes on Lucia.

“What would you do?”

“Is there somewhere you want to go?”

“……”

When he didn’t answer, Lucia pondered for a moment.

“Just tell me when you’ll be back, and go.”

“…I said disappear.”

“I told you. I plan to use you for a lifetime.”

Though her tone was lazy, her answer was familiar from when she was seventeen.

“Did you save me just to use me too?”

“Of course. I’m about to form a Knights’ Order. If possible, I’m planning to use you for a lifetime.’

“…For a lifetime? …But I can’t even use magic.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll make you do the cleaning.”

But to Lucia, who could read and control a rampaging mana, had known perfectly well that he was obviously lying. Heath truly hid his mana, making only small, trivial magic tools. Even though his talent couldn’t really be concealed, and even amid the looming threat of war, Lucia had never once spoken about his power, even as he stayed behind her without using his magic.

To Heath, she was the only person who truly wanted nothing from him. And he forgot that fact.

“…You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Despite the apology, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Gilliana sensed the strange atmosphere between them, but seeing Heath finally sitting right next to Lucia, she handed him a dessert plate and started complaining about something else.

“Ugh, I’m sick of it. Because of overlapping events, my whole family’s been stuck mass-producing these things. Thank goodness I used Ivonne as an excuse to escape.”

Who would have thought that the knight, known for her monstrous strength in the Black Knight Order’s, is the youngest daughter of the family that makes cute desserts. Looking at Gilliana’s small, lean body, that nickname felt like one of the world’s great mysteries.

Vernon came out of the bathroom and plopped down roughly into the remaining seat on the sofa. The doodles that still hadn’t been wiped off his face seemed to perfectly reflect his mood.

“…Hah. I’m sick of it too. Does this make any sense? Why do I have to suffer over Gilliana’s family matters as well?”

Normally she wouldn’t have let that prickly comment slide, but today Vernon was a benefactor who deserved to be treated with courtesy. Gilliana smiled gently for once and quietly moved the desserts in front of him. Then she waited obediently for his review.

“Sweet.”

“That’s right.”

“…Yeah.”

“…Is that all?”

When Gilliana demanded a better reaction, the group repeated their comments again, as if rewinding a tape.

“…Haha.”

Gilliana swallowed her irritation, was it a mistake to bring these desserts to people with no sense of taste?

“Oh, right. Commander. We’re also supplying these desserts to the kindergarten.”

“Okay.”

“Huh? Commander? This isn’t something to be so calm about, is it?”

At the inexplicable scolding, Lucia cast her an indifferent glance.

“I mean, it’s enrolment season. If you miss the timing, you’ll have to hire both a nanny and a private tutor. What are you going to do after your leave ends? And this year, with so many new nobles flooding in, they say acceptance rates are even lower.”

Gilliana gestured with her fingers like counting money, enthusiastically explaining that a knight commander’s salary wouldn’t be enough to hire a private tutor.

“……”

Kindergarten. Education.

Lucia, a novice mother who had planned to raise the child with the control stone and simply hire a nanny once her leave ended, never even considered this.

To begin with, Eldarion Academy belonged to the imperial family, a place where imperial relatives and nobles sent their children to board until their debut. An attached kindergarten to such a prestigious academy was, in truth, unnecessary for noble families who naturally hired nannies or tutors from infancy.

But because the Empire was newly established, many newly appointed noble families had no social ties, and to compensate for that, the imperial family created the attached kindergarten to integrate the nobility. She knew of its existence as it was even located right next to the Knights' Order, but she had never dreamed she would be involved with it.

Still, Lucia had no intention of sending the child to a crowded place. She didn’t want the special child to stand out.

…A private tutor, then. Should I coax the emperor for advanced payment?

Since she’d produce enough merit anyway, and now that the emperor’s foresight of her becoming  a future Grand Sword Master, the emperor would probably split open his golden goose to give her what she wanted. Lucia found herself thinking of him as her human bank.

“For reference, our Ivonne has already had her consultation—”

“Oh? Gilliana, it seems that’s not the case. There’s already a book by the Marchioness of Lewins here.”

While wiping off the remaining doodles on his face, Vernon pointed to a book on the table.

“Huh? You mean the kindergarten headmistress’ book? Wow, preparing in advance for the interview, the commander really does think of everything! Oh my, Lord Leon was an angel even as a child. Look, there are pictures from when he was a baby!”

The Marchioness of Lewins?

No wonder the boy on the back cover looked familiar.

So the author of the recommended book was Leon’s mother, and the kindergarten's headmistress as Gilliana had mentioned.

So that’s why this book caught my eye.

But was it really something to make his face blush over? Anyone would be embarrassed seeing the baby photos of someone they liked, but Lucia had no way of knowing that.

Thinking of Leon’s expression from earlier, she noticed the children approaching. Their cute faces drooling as they looked at the desserts. Ivonne had already stuffed her mouth full the moment she arrived, but Nia just hovered hesitantly.

Without even swallowing what she was eating, Ivonne reached for another dessert, then suddenly turned her head at Nia.

“Nia. Hurry.”

Ivonne beckoned to her impatiently. But Nia didn’t touch the desserts at all, instead circling shyly near the back of Lucia’s sofa.

“Um… Ivonne.”

At Ivonne’s urging, the child cautiously rose onto her tiptoes and whispered into Lucia’s ear. Unable to speak in front of people, Nia’s words led Ivonne to come up with a desperate solution.

The moment Lucia heard it, her face stiffened. Gilliana and Vernon, watching, clutched their chests with a knowing look.

As soon as Nia finished speaking, she ran back out to the front yard, following Ivonne who was laughing. The children’s laughter and play filled Lucia’s dulled senses.

“…Mum!”

She had told her to say it, but hearing it actually felt as though the world had frozen. Unlike the shy yet lively voice she’d just heard, the echo in her heart felt hollow and empty.

She recalled a memory from her own childhood, where she would pull back a covered portrait in the empty count's mansion, murmuring that word to herself.

In the front yard, Nia seemed to be receiving praise, bowing her head to Ivonne, who was even smaller than she was. Their hair was a mess, but the two children kept laughing endlessly as they looked at each other.

Watching them, a single question rose in her mind.

…Is this what a normal daily life looks like?

Nia would one day become a Saintess summoned by God, but right now she was simply a child playing naturally with a friend. If this was normal, then a life without a friend like Ivonne was not normal at all.

Perhaps Lucia, who had endured one of the loneliest childhoods of all, understood this better than anyone. Raising a special child in an ordinary way. That was the vow she had made when she saved the child.

“Gilliana. The interviews are still ongoing, right?”

Lucia made up her mind. She would send Nia to kindergarten.

As she listened to Gilliana’s endless explanations and watched the children, she saw Ivonne spinning like a windmill, showing off to Nia.

Chapter 15

Chapter List

Chapter 17