TMKWPL CH 4

Chapter 4

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Operation: Rescue the Saintess (2)

One has to look at the sky to catch the stars.

But of course, Lucia is unlikely to be the saintess' mother.

Even then and now, Lucia thought the reason the child mistook her for her mother was only because of her black hair.

This has been a thousand-year-old prophecy, and the temple has been collecting information on the black-haired saintess for centuries.

Even in that temple, there were only about fifty people listed with black hair on this vast continent.

But, regardless of that fact, if someone were to look into this child's pure eyes and hear those magical words, they would feel an impulse to become her mother at least once.

"No. I am not your mother."

However, Lucia was not that kind of person and her serious answer seemed to greatly disappoint the child.

It was as if the light and sparkle in her golden eyes faded and quickly darkened.

"But I came to save you. This place is dangerous, so I'll take you somewhere safe."

Lucia didn’t notice the child’s shocked reaction and motioned for the child to follow her, but the child didn’t move at all.

Lucia was flustered.

Her plan was this:

Rescue the unfortunate saintess; find a house on the outskirts; hire a trustworthy nanny to raise the child in secret until she awakens as a saintess.

I thought it was a pretty good plan and return this morning.

But she didn't know that something was missing.

That trust is needed, even for a non-human, speechless animal.

…I see. She probably doesn’t know how to speak.

She had assumed that the child would naturally follow her, according to her flimsy plan, but she was completely off the mark.

In the end, Lucia approached the child and reached out her hand as if to lift her up.

“…Annie has to stay here.”

The child muttered, who had turned her head with a look of resignation.

So, it wasn’t that she didn’t understand what Lucia said.

She was relieved.

"Annie…can't go. Here is dangerous...if I don’t clean, it hurts."

Surrounded by a foul smell, she hadn't noticed, but it seemed the child was right, and there were regularly gathered excrement everywhere. But it didn’t seem like something a child would do in this huge warehouse.

But more than that, something else bothered her.

The saintess was a child sent by the gods. It was written that she had a resilient body that could survive even if she fasted for days, despite appearing fragile. She remembered the horrific death of the saintess before the regression.

So, she was sealed in the Tree of Sin, which was wrapped in a fancy word as the Tree of Life, and lived for several years.

But this child is hurt?

Lucia hurriedly removed the cloth the child was wrapped in and examined her body. The child resisted her rough touch, but the little strength she had was no match for Lucia.

“No! No! It hurts! It hurts!”

It was strange.

Despite the rough resistance, Lucia lifted her and checked her thoroughly, but there were no wounds.

At that moment, white light gathered in the child’s hand. The child, trembling and desperate, hurriedly extended her hand toward Lucia with a pitiful gesture.

It was the third evidence, divine power.

“This. This...! No wounds. Now come out well, there...many, many circles…!”

When she held the lamp to the wall the child was pointing to, there was a whip rolling around and numerous check marks lined up.

"……!"

...I'll tear them to pieces.

A vein stood out on Lucia's forehead. She couldn't help but notice that it looked nothing more than a hideous mark to confirm divine power.

It was a reality much harsher than expected.

To think that such small whips were done on her body. This meant that in her previous life, the saintess had lived not only being sealed but also lived a lifetime of suffering.

Lucia's indifferent face, which usually didn't bat an eyelid at the sight of most things, suddenly twisted.

“Tell me, how did you end up here?”

Judging by the fact that she knows how to speak, it was clear that the child had grown up among people.

I will find them thoroughly and make them suffer the same.

The child, unable to respond, was just struggling to free her wrist that Lucia was forcibly holding her.

But Lucia did not stop asking questions.

At her serious questioning, the child who was trying to escape, went limp as if all of her strength was drained.

He shook her head and squeezed out a strangled whimper.

“… Orphanage. Mom, dad…not there.”

The child’s head dropped and her small chin quivered. Trying to surpress her tears, her pitiful golden eyes burst in tears.

"……."

……If she had parents, she wouldn't have called me mommy.

She was foolish.

For a child who was already struggling with these wounds, revenge was important only to Lucia, who felt guilty toward the saintess.

She realized her own insensitivity only after touching the child’s wounds. She blamed herself again for her ignorance, which was similar to her not knowing anything before the regression and handing the child over.

"I'm sorry."

It was truly an old apology.

Her rough hand that was holding the child's wrist lost its strength and loosened. Then, the child, who quickly broke free, hid herself even further in the corner.

Lucia, looking at the child sobbing with a heavy heart was troubled because if she didn't take the child today, the situation would only worsen in the future.

Although she erased the information about the child at the temple, the smugglers associated with this place would not stand by.

Anyway, I have to take her with me….

If she had been her usual indifferent self, things would have been simple. It was not difficult for an adult to take this helpless child away without any consideration.

But Lucia stared blankly and instinctively sensed that this was different from those cases. She just stood there for a while, listening to the child's sobs echoing in her ears.

It was an unfamiliar sound that she had never heard before in her childless surroundings.

She compared it to her own childhood. Lucia's childhood was completely different from the young saintess she is now. She rarely sobbed, hid, or answered anyone.

The reason for this was definitely her temperament, but it was probably due to her birth and the environment. Her mother died giving birth to Lucia. And even her father who is still alive never saw Lucia even once until her coming of age ceremony.

Also, the governess and maid, who were like parents to the young Lucia, were unusually silent. Having grown up in such a dry environment, she was indifferent to everything, like a doll.

Though she still know it was wrong thanks to the influence of her colleagues who she lived together with in the Knights Order after reaching adulthood. But even after realizing she was lonely, she had already grown up enough that there was nothing she can do.

I was already accustomed to loneliness, and swinging my sword was the only stimulus for me to live. So, I gave up everything and waited for death alone in a place where no one was around until the age of ninety.

The child was similar to herself, who had grown up without parents, but also different.

Maybe the child still had expectations of her parents, to the point where she called her ‘mommy’.

If so, does this mean that there is still a chance for the child to grow up to be an ordinary child, unlike my lonely self?

An ordinary child.......

But the child is a saintess. It is practically difficult for a saintess to become an ordinary child under ordinary parents.

There are many temptations in the world that can even make a true family abandon their kin. Speaking of family, she frowned when she recalled the many ugly things she experienced about family during the war time.

After standing for a while, the child’s hair were trembling slightly.

…Rare black hair. Five years of training. Five years old…

The child's hair was the same colour as her, an popped up. And with that, the noises that had been wandering around in her head disappeared, and words formed freely from her mouth.

“I am also just like you.”

The child's face which was covered, flinched in surprise.

“I grew up without parents, so I don't know what parents are like.”

In her confession, the child peeked out from between her hair and looked at Lucia.

“And I won’t know in the future either. But unfortunately, there is only one way to protect you.”

‘Since you are a special child, your parents need to be also special to protect you.’

“And that is for you and I to become a family.”

“......Family?”

The young saintess blinked.

“In other words, I'm going to be your mother.”

In her opinion, if she was the saintess who could purify the black pollution that would destroy this world, she would have to be the strongest woman on the continent to protect her.

Lucia, like herself. Reached out her hand to the child. For no apparent reason it was an outrageous offer, almost like a threat or blackmail.

But strangely, did her clumsy suggestion reached the child?

The child with a dark complexion began to sparkle again when she touched her pure white gloves. But that was only for a moment.

The child, who had been looking at Lucia’s hand with sparkling eyes for a while, darkened again as she looked around at the birds and the filth that had fallen on the ground.

"......This is where I am.”

The child had the look of a pitiful beast that couldn’t escape even though the leash was loose.

Lucia let out a small sigh.

“Hey! The lock!”

“What? The lock’s broken?”

A rough male voice came from the entrance of the warehouse.

Then the child quickly became anxious. It seemed she knew who the man is.

Lucia's expression turned grim as she recalled the wall covered in graffiti.

Still, if she got rid of them right now for personal revenge, the child might be afraid of her. She held back her rising anger as best she could and wait for next time.

As the men tried to enter, the birds fluttered in their cages, making strange noises.

In a state of panic, the child hugged the cage as if to protect the birds. If the birds didn't stay still, the men would probably do something bad.

And as Lucia watched, an amusing picture formed in her mind.

“Child, will you open all the doors of the cage?”

“......?”

“If you open the door, the birds will fly wherever they want.”

The child blinked her eyes in confusion.

Lucia hurriedly began to open the cage doors as if to show the child. And when she shook the cage, the birds began to come out one by one, making a loud noise.

When the last cage door was opened and the birds escaped, the wooden beam blocking the warehouse almost broke in time. Lucia reached out again to the frantic child among the fluttering birds.

This time, it was Lucia's firm hand, full of conviction that she would not let go. The child stared at the hand held out in front of her again. Her eyes hesitated, as if faced with a forbidden apple she shouldn’t eat.

“Let’s go. Together.”

She pointed to the birds preparing to fly away.

Just then. The warehouse door swung open with a loud noise.

Countless birds began to flutter and flew toward the open door, and the two large men panicked, their vision obscured by the falling feathers.

In the meantime, Lucia covered her face with her hood.

"What the! There! Who the hell are you?!”

"What are you doing! Hurry up and catch them! They're expensive!"

The child hesitated, seemingly anxious at the men's shouts, then finally grasped Lucia's hand with all their might.

"……!"

After a long and winding journey, Lucia finally held the small hand that she couldn't afford to lose. Only now did a refreshing smile finally appear on her lips after such a long time. She gently lifted the child and cradled her in her arms.

The child blinked in surprise at the unfamiliar warmth.

And before that startled expression could settle, Lucia summoned an aura blade into her hand and hurled it at the graffiti-covered warehouse wall, as if to vent her anger.

“Ugh! What was that?!”

The ground shook as if there had been an earthquake, and the men crouched, losing their grip on the birds. Lucia passing through the wall that was blown open and lightly climbed onto the roof.

Behind them, the magnificent birds flew freely toward the sky, creating a spectacular scene.

Chapter 3

Chapter List

Chapter 5