TMKWPL CH 5

Chapter 5

• ────── ✦ ────── •

Parental Leave

Lucia, who had brought the child home in a hurry, took off her coat and put down her gloves. The child simply stood on the small mat in the entrance of the training centre without moving a single step.

Even someone as oblivious as Lucia couldn't help but notice the child's strange behaviour, and she had a feeling she knew why.

I didn’t think it was this bad...

The child in front of her was covered in all sorts of filth, as if she had fallen into a cesspool. The only thing that was clean were her eyes.

“.......”

Those clear eyes turned to the white gloves Lucia had set down.

The black clothes were fine, but the gloves were covered in unknown black and brownish stains

The child who saw it was startled by her own residue and quickly bowed her head.

Lucia roughly knew why but found it a bit awkward.

She had to be at the imperial palace in a few minutes to present herself to the emperor, and she has barely enough time to change her own clothes.

“Shall I show you where to wash?”

The child nodded eagerly, as if waiting for the words.

Lucia went to the bathroom and turned on the warm water.

The child, who had been standing still, flinched and cautiously tiptoed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her as soon as Lucia came out.

At that age... did she bathe alone?

Lucia's mind suddenly became confused as she tried to remember her distant childhood.

She first went to the dressing room to change into her uniform to handle today's matters.

Then, a voice came from the bathroom.

“…Ex… excuse me…”

The child had just come out of the bath. She was completely soaked, like a tofu wrapped in a seaweed peeking out from the bathroom.

“What's the matter?”

“.......”

When she didn't answer, Lucia walked over to check on her.

*Knock* *Knock*

“Commander. Are you awake? It’s time to go to the palace.”

It was Vice-Commander Berl.

The child, alert as a cat, was startled and quickly closed the bathroom door.

“Alright. I understand.”

She was worried about the child, but knowing Berl’s personality meant that they have to leave immediately, there was no time to delay.

“Child, it won’t take long, so stay here without moving. Do you understand?”

Lucia whispered against the bathroom door, and the child inside the bathroom answered softly.

"Yes..."

Having confirmed her reply, she let out a small sigh, opened the front door, and addressed Berl, who was waiting politely.

“Let’s go.”

• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •

Inside the swaying carriage.

The imperial palace was close enough to walk, but since Berl had already prepared the carriage, she had no choice but to get on.

Now, Lucia found herself sitting across from Berl.

She has been staring at Berl, who has been sitting across from her and fidgeting restlessly.

Right now, questions about whose funeral he had just attended were pouring into his mind, but he couldn't also dare ask about the commander’s whereabouts.

Berl....... Was he in his 30s?

He wasn’t.

For some reason, Lucia was confident that she knew her colleagues well. But that was just a passing thought, she wasn’t that sensitive to others.

Contrary to his appearance, the image of the Black Knights in the imperial court was quite arrogant.

Berl, with his dark brown hair and neatly combed forehead, contrasted sharply with the image of those arrogant Black Knights from the imperial court.

So, he always kept himself tidy to avoid being a burden to the commander. That was the problem. His neat appearance, despite being in his twenties, often caused misunderstandings.

“Berl.”

“Ye-yes, commander!”

Berl, fidgeting, answered in surprise when his captain spoke to him.

"How old is the child?"

He clearly told me his child was born before he entered the training centre.

Lucia was confident, even though Berl wasn’t even married yet.

Strangely enough, Berl seemed deeply moved by her question, clasping his large hands together.

“Commander, I’m so relieved you remembered...Caesar is five years old this year!”

I see. His name is Caesar so they must be a boy. It’s a pity it’s not a daughter, but I’m glad I have someone to ask.

“Berl, when you raised the child...”

Just as Lucia was about to continue, Berl suddenly bowed deeply.

“Commander! Thank you again! Thanks to your consideration, my older sister did well during her parental leave and returned safely!”

She almost choked even though she hadn't eaten anything.

Only then did she realized that the story she remembered was about his sister from 5 years ago.

“......Yes. Is she doing well, then?”

“Yes! Of course. She's proudly returned as an administrator in the White Magic Division!”

Lucia was quite flustered even though it didn't show on her face,

Berl's eyes became moist as he looked at her.

Sniff

... How gruelling must the training have been for her to speak like a spirit of an old man? I was just waiting for the day she would return, barely able to handle being her substitute… I still have a long way to go. A long way.

His commander was usually quiet, but he was worried about how much she had changed in five years.

Even though the commander didn’t know his age—or much else about him, he still looked up to her with respect. He was once again moved and pledged his loyalty from the bottom of his heart.

Watching Berl’s strange expression, a particular phrase suddenly caught in Lucia’s mind.

"......But just now, did you say maternity leave?"

"Oh, yes commander. Didn’t you not reach an agreement with the leader of the White Division’s Commander? Thanks to that, my sister was able to spend quality time with her child.”

The White Divion’s Commander?

Oh, Leon Lewins?

There was a time she duelled with the leader of the White Divion, once considered her rival. They must have dueled with some sort of wish at stake.

At that time, she had accepted out of boredom and won, but since she had no wish, she instead granted leave to a woman who had to take a short leave upon learning of her pregnancy.

"……That's a great idea."

As if something had occurred to her, the corners of Lucia’s tightly set lips curved slightly.

• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •

Parental leave.

It was the most powerful blow in recent years.

Because of it, the absent-minded emperor seemed to take quite some time before sensation returned to the back of his throbbing head.

Her reason for requesting parental leave was simple.

Just staying by the child’s side for decades was unreasonable.

If she did that, she would not only drift away from being an ordinary child but might also leave home once adolescence hit.

To create an environment where the child could live free even without her beside them side, she needed to eliminate those involved in sealing the saintess. And to do that, it was best to remain an imperial knight, where information was easier to obtain.

And then there was the control stone. The child's divine power was immense.

By her estimate, even at that young age, the child likely rivalled a high-ranking priest.

It would be ideal if the child could conceal that power like they did, but expecting that from a young child was unrealistic.

She already had a control stone stolen from the temple, but even a genius like Heath would need a solid half year to refine it.

And this dilemma was unexpectedly solved by Berl.

Six months of parental leave.

The emperor stared blankly, as though struck, while Lucia organized her plans in her head.

But she had already stated her position, and she had no time to wait for him.

The saintess was alone back at the training grounds.

After bowing lightly and attempting to leave—

“… Wait, wait. Stop! Stop right there!”

At the sight of her smooth crown, the emperor snapped back to his senses and grew frantic.

T/N: the smooth crown or top of her head probably means that her hair is neat and free from baby hairs or bed heads poking out.

“You. Are you making fun of me? Parental leave? Asking for parental leave when the child is five-years old, what kind of nonsense is this—!”

“No, no. Is that even right? Did you give birth to the child and raised the child for five years in that training centre on that hill?”

The emperor, who had been pouring out words nonstop, pointed to the small training centre on the hill visible from the terrace.

It was the place he gazed upon with fondness every morning, envisioning the future of having a Swordsmaster.

Seeing where he pointed, Lucia nodded lightly in affirmation.

“......That's ridiculous. Then who is your husband? Answer me!”

Still holding onto a faint hope, the emperor waited for her words with uncertainty.

But,

“Yes. He was a herbalist who came to gather herbs. But while gathering herbs on the cliff, he fell and ended up not gathering herbs and died. I heard that in his last moments, instead of herbs, he was holding a clump of grass that looked like herbs……”

It was absolutely ridiculous.

She, who had lived a life without needing to lie, was brazenly spouting the excuse she had briefly thought of in the carriage. And that too, without any trace of sadness that a widow should have.

There was a moment of silence between them.

Then,

“Right now. Are you joking right now!? Do you even know how many of those damn herbs there are?!”

The emperor face twisted with rage and stomped his feet, unable to believe the situation. Then, he sighed as if calming down, wiped his face, and faced Lucia with a stern expression.

“You. That has to be a joke. If it’s true, and if you actually gave birth, then you wouldn’t have been able to become a sword master. Then that means……”

The emperor coldly turned his face away from Lucia.

Clasping his hands behind his back, he picked up his crystal goblet and stared into the distance like a lonely ruler burdened by thought.

To an onlooker, it might have looked like a cold, decisive monarch casting away a cherished subordinate.

But she saw it.

The three fingers that were holding the heavy crystal glass pretentiously were trembling violently.

He stood above all in rank, yet was more pitiful than anyone. She knew he was overwhelmed by being the Empire's first emperor.

A man so recklessly affectionate that he would march to war alongside others even without power of his own.

Lucia, who had saved his life more than once because of that foolish kindness, knew that weakness firsthand.

“Abandoning one’s duties to live a private life in an imperial training facility is a grave crime.”

Straining to sound imposing, he continued awkwardly, as if imitating the lonely backs of rulers he had seen elsewhere. He clearly wanted to appear charismatic.

Tsk. Is it because of alcohol that he died early?

Lucia did not want to play along with his lonely acting, but in the end, she picked up the large quill pen next to the approval document.

And she infused her sword energy into the feather she held. Shortly after the red sword energy made the feathers dance finely, she sharply swung it toward the glass the emperor was holding.

*Swish*

“What, what the?! You—did you attack me!? Have you finally gone mad?!”

Startled by the sensation of something passing by, the emperor shouted, convinced she had attacked him.

Lucia calmly held up the now-smaller crystal goblet in her hand.

The crystal goblet that the emperor had only poured to the brim with whiskey, was now overflowing.

It was strange.

That goblet was definitely the one he had been holding—

“......?!”

In his hand remained only the round, transparent top portion of the heavy goblet—the part he had been holding with just three fingers for show.

And the cut was made from a…feather, not with a sword.

The feather in Lucia's hand was dripping with red sword aura.

No matter how skilled a Sword Master was, sword aura could not be stabilized on something flimsy—unless it was a solid metal like mithril.

Even an emperor who could barely wield a blade knew that much.

Yet this was a feather.

The emperor’s mind raced, the sound of his thoughts almost echoing through the vast hall.

She might have surpassed Sword Mastery itself…

The legendary Grand Sword Master—said to possess power surpassing that of an entire kingdom’s knights alone.

If Lucia came close to that realm at just twenty-five years old...

The emperor’s face bloomed brighter than the flowers adorning the imperial palace.

“…I know. Of course I know! As expected of you…!”

“A hundred percent paid parental leave. Maintenance of the training centre dormitory. And—”

As the emperor approached with raised hands, she swiftly brought the goblet up to his face.

“Here. I’ve reduced the size of the glass according to your age. It wouldn’t do for Your Majesty to go around unable to lift his own drink.”

The emperor checked the size of the glass after her words, which said she had shrunk it according to his age. It was nearly cut in half.

“…You really—today, I swear I’ll—!”

How dare a subordinate openly discuss the emperor's lifespan?! He fumed and trembled, having been teased by her again today.

But knowing that she was concerned about him and meant to tell him to cut back on alcohol, he eventually could only snort as he watched the door she had exited through.

Chapter 4

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