TMKWPL CH 7

Chapter 7

• ────── ✦ ────── •

Reuniting with Young Colleagues

“Your name is Annie, was it?”

The mother and daughter meet today. Naturally, they hadn’t even properly exchanged names yet.

“I'm sorry, but I'd like you to change your name. It might be hard to get used to, but...”

The child, repeating Lucia’s rules over and over in his head so as not to forget them, thought about her own name when she spoke.

“Filthy Annie! Stinky Annie!”

No matter how she thought about it, there were no good memories attached to it. As if shaking off her past at the orphanage, the child quickly nodded before Lucia could even finish speaking.

Honestly, even without that, he had already decided to listen to anything Lucia said.

“Alright. From now on, your name will be—”

Knock. Knock.

“Shhh.”

Lucia put a finger to her lips, gesturing for the child to be quiet. It must be Berl, who had found out about her leave of absence. Since he was sure to be annoying, she decided to pretend not to be there.

Footsteps lingered for a moment, then faded away.

Did he finally leave?

Just as she and the child were about to relax, the sound of a window opening came from somewhere. Lucia reflexively put her hand on her sword. Assassins were sometimes sent by neighbouring kingdoms to keep a new Sword Master in check.

A rustling sound came from the living room, and Lucia drew her sword, pressing it to the intruder’s neck. The man froze, lifting both hands high.

“Huh?! Commander! It's me! Me!”

Looking closely at the face at the tip of her blade. A man of fairly tall stature with light blue hair and droopy eyes. The fact that he called her Commander meant he was an old colleague, but his youthful face was unfamiliar and her memory was hazy.

“Huh? Aren't you going to put the sword away? Was it because you haven’t seen me in five years?  It's me Vernon! Vernon Javier, the shadow!”

“The shadow...Vernon?”

At the nickname he muttered irritably, Lucia’s memory resurfaced. The Black Knights’ information broker. Their third ace. Vernon Javier.

Once Lucia was certain he was an ally, she sheathed her sword.

“Whew, I almost had to change my pants.”

Vernon said jokingly and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Just then, someone else appeared from behind him.

“Huh?! What's this?”

A sharp woman's voice.

Someone sprang roughly through the same window Vernon had entered.

Red hair, short stature, muscular build, and overwhelming strength—the Black Knights’ second ace, Gilliana Olivia.

“There’s a kid who looks exactly like the Commander?!”

Gilliana widened her catlike eyes and shouted as she spotted the child huddled in the corner of the living room.

And another person.

As if they were connected like a string of sausages, this time a boy with white hair entered and murmured while staring at the child and Lucia with empty eyes.

“…Small.”

This boy was the genius in creations coveted by the magic tower, the first ace of the Black Knights. Heath.

The three who suddenly appeared, wandered around the dormitory shamelessly, as if it were their own home.

“...Where did you lot come in, instead of using the door?”

Lucia was annoyed. These people had completely ruined the relaxed atmosphere she had with the child. But she couldn't get too angry with them, because—

“Pfft. Just like the vice-commander said, you really do talk like an old man now.”

As expected, Vernon failed to read the mood. He covered his mouth unable to hold back his laughter.

“Huh?! That’s true. Commander, what happened to you in five years? Even the way you talk has aged so much?!”

“...Old?”

Vernon, like a raccoon; Gilliana, like a fierce cat; and the inscrutable boy, Heath.

That’s right. While Lucia herself wasn't skilled in manners, these guys were even more brazen than her.

Lucia watched the fearless trio, remembering the last time she saw them before she retired.

Even then, she thought their speech was rude due to senility, but even after regressing they were the same as before.

Still, they weren't wrong.

My way of speaking… Is it that noticeable? That won’t do. I should fix it.

Even though she had returned to her younger body, it was not easy for a person over ninety-years-old to immediately adopt the speech patterns of a twenty-year-old. Plus, Lucia was so unconcerned she hadn't even realised her way of speaking was strange until now.

Just then, Gilliana grabbed the child by the armpits and hoisted her up.

“Whaah~! Isn’t it fun, right?! Little commander?”

“...!!”

The child was being thrown around precariously, like a piece of paper flying in the wind. Her face went pale, almost to the point of fainting. It was clear she was not having fun. Lucia hurriedly snatched the stiff child from Gilliana's hands.

“Huh? What's wrong, commander? My niece goes crazy if I did that.”

“Tsk, tsk. Gilliana... To earn the hatred of the commander’s child. Now watch me, do it like this.”

Vernon gave a sly wink and took a candy from his pocket. But offering it to a child already frozen stiff was completely pointless.

Lucia shook her head at the pathetic pair and checked on the child she was holding. The child's head was resting weakly on her shoulder. She bent down to listen, and thankfully, her breathing was even.

......Is she asleep? Suddenly? Is this normal for kids this age?

Physically strong, Lucia hadn't noticed, but this five-year-old had not eaten or slept since dawn. No matter how much she was protected by divine power, a child was still a child.

“For now, I'll go to the bedroom, so you idiots should quietly wait here.”

At her warning, the three left behind began trembling all over.

“Damn it, the commander is really pissed. What should we do...!”

“Oh dear, why did you mess with the child... Gilliana, may you rest in peace.”

“...You idiots?”

With a panic look on their faces, the knights nervously looked at each other.

Lucia went upstairs to the bedroom.  As she laid the child on the bed, her tangled black hair made her look even more exhausted. She brushed the hair away from the child's forehead to check her temperature. Perhaps because she was the saintess, she was healthy and didn't have a fever.

“...Mm.”

Lucia quickly pulled her hand away as the child stirred. As she turned to leave the child who had fallen asleep again,

“Lusha...”

The child opened her eyes and mumbled.

“Yes. That's right. That's my name.”

“...My name...”

The child mumbled, fighting against the sleepiness creeping up her eyelids.

“Oh.”

Lucia suddenly remembered someone before she could say the name. A name she had never met but had missed her whole life: Lavinia Cluer.

“Your name is Nia.”

“...Nia, Nia.”

The child mumbled the name for a while, taken from Lucia's mother before falling back asleep.

• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •

“So, you can't tell us about your husband, but that you have a child?”

Vernon couldn't believe it. He had the same thought as the emperor.

From his perspective, rather than making excuses that involve herbs that only appears seven times, it would’ve been better to say it was confidential.

Lucia, sitting on the sofa, nodded.

Sweat trickled down the faces of the Black Knights’ aces. They were dead serious.

Heath, who was physically weak, soon collapsed to the floor. As Heath collapsed, Vernon and Gilliana cried out desperately to Lucia.

“Commander...!”

“Commander!! Please...!!”

The reason for their desperation?

As punishment for entering through the window, Lucia had ordered them to hold a riding stance until she told them to leave.

“Heath, come here. That’s enough.”

Heath, who had collapsed, opened his eyes at Lucia's command and sat down on the plush sofa, catching his breath.

“That sly fox!! Commander! Why only him...?!”

“Right!! We're all knights! That's discrimination!”

At their unfair cries, Lucia had a good idea.

“He's young. You can switch to stance number two, then.”

“No, ma’am!”

“No, ma’am!”

Vernon and Gilliana's united shouts was a rare sight.

“...Sigh.”

It was amusing to see their lively appearances after so long.

“...Wow. I thought our commander knew nothing about men.”

“Right, she already has a child. Commander, you're a senior in life now, haha.”

“What?”

Lucia glared at Vernon and Gilliana, who were still joking despite being drenched in sweat.

“Ah, that was supposed to be a thought... Ah, haha.”

“A-Ahem.”

The knights tried to joke around when the mood lightened, but quickly began sweating and avoided Lucia's dry stare.

“But Commander, how did you raise her so secretly? I don't see a nanny anywhere.”

“Right? Commander, did the child lived somewhere else?”

Even in their agony, curiosity took precedence, and they began to moving around the house again in a riding stance.

They thought as long as they maintained the stance, they could do anything.

But no matter where they looked around, there was nothing else. The training centre only had weapons hanging on the wall, a formal reception room, and a few drawers.

Just as she thought, this environment was in no way suitable for raising a child.

...Somewhere else?

“...Yes. Her father was raising her until now.”

She felt proud of herself that her reflexes to lie had improved after the medicinal herbs incident.

“I see. Then you'll need to hire a nanny. You're not the type who can raise a child yourself, right Commander?”

She had already agonised it over, but she couldn't accept hearing it from someone else. When Lucia's eyes flashed toward Vernon, he quickly corrected his stance.

“A-Ahem. No, I mean, it would be difficult for you. Alone...”

“No. I don't need a nanny or a maid for now. How hard can it be to raise a small child?”

Lucia's boastful words made even Heath, playing dead on the sofa, shake his head.

“...Commander. I've never said this before, but I truly respect you.”

It was an unexpected confession from Giuliana. And……

“But this is too much. You'll kill the kid before you can even send her to the academy kindergarten!”

For the first time ever, there was no trace of laughter on Gilliana’s usually energetic face. And pointed around the room. Dishes piled up from just one day without a maid, dried-out ingredients, a bathroom full of dirty waste water, and stained wooden floors.

Of course, she had only just rescued the child from the dirty warehouse, and this mess was a good excuse to keep the child here.  But the truth was, she had no intention of cleaning it herself.

It was also true that a dirty environment didn't bother her much, so she intended to leave it to the child for a while. If it didn't get cleaned, she wouldn't have to think of another excuse to keep the child here.

But if she were to actually raise a child, this environment was unacceptable.

Cornered by their justified criticism, Lucia found herself unable to come up with another excuse.

“Sigh, I guess I have no choice. Gilliana, how about you handle the cooking? I'll be in charge of the child and education.”

“Alright, Vernon. And Heath, you'll handle the cleaning, right?”

“...Okay.”

They were seriously discussing their roles, as if they were planning a military operation. Lucia watched them with a look of disbelief.

“You're all talking nonsense. I won't allow it. Leave.”

At her cold reaction, Vernon had expected this. He pulled out his trump card. It was a sheet of luxurious gold-embossed paper.

[You have some very loyal knights. They all came to me at once, saying they would also take leave while you were on yours, and now it’s giving me a headache. The empire is on the verge of ruin with so many talented knights on holiday, so you need to take responsibility.]

The handwriting was rough, and underneath was the emperor’s seal. How did they get the emperor, who usually clapped like a seal, to write the letter himself?

Even though their sly intentions were painfully obvious, the knights leaned in with bright smiles, like innocent children.

At that sight, something dark and deep inside Lucia’s chest began to slowly boil.

Chapter 6

Chapter List

Chapter 8