Chapter 16
Practicing Calling Me "Mom"
The orphanage housed many children with painful pasts, making them wary and making it difficult to simply become friends, even with peers.
So, this situation of naturally becoming friends was a first for Nia.
However, the child who had only endured to survive might have thought that the current situation wasn't much different.
Ultimately, the child thought that she had to do as Ivanne wished in order to stay here.
"This is a big problem..."
At Ivanne's added remark, Nia ended up avoiding the issue, holding onto the teacup she was holding even tighter.
"Nia, look. It's a big problem. I don't have any allowance left now."
"...Yes?"
"So, you know, my mom said. You shouldn't just receive things from merchants. But you're my first girl-friend, so I can't just receive without giving back..."
That toy looked expensive..., Ivanne pondered seriously.
Nia blinked her eyes at Ivanne's unexpected reaction.
And one of the child's words made Nia's heart flutter.
"...Nia, friend?"
"Yeah. You're my first girl-friend, isn't it fun? My brother and Sejar get tired quickly. Boys are useless."
Ivanne crossed her arms and shook her head as if she was fed up.
'…Nia is Ivanne's friend.'
Contrary to her expectations, Nia's heart swelled with the fact that she had made a friend of her age for the first time in her life, and her peach-like cheeks flushed red.
"Hngh... Good!"
Ivanne in front of her seemed to have realized something, and she hit her palm with her small fist.
"I'm Ivanne Berna. I swear on my name, I'll help you practice calling me 'Mom'! This is how I'll repay the debt! Right?"
At Ivanne's sudden determination, clenching her fists, Nia was happy but quickly shook her head.
She had already practiced alone, but it was something she couldn't do.
"No! Everyone says it's okay, but that's all lies. Ivanne knows! My mom, you know? She says she likes me more than my brother, but when she fights with my brother? She immediately twists me right here, right here!"
Ivanne recalled a bad memory, puffing up her cheeks in anger.
"...Does it hurt there?"
"Yeah. If I tell my mom that it's grown here, I'll be able to receive it right away. But, tears might come out."
The child pointed to her side with a serious face, warning her to be careful.
Unfortunately, Ivanne's mother had now become like a monster that Nia should never meet.
"Ah... No. Nia is okay."
"I thought you were stupid, but you're smart? Hehe. Then now, say 'Mom'!"
At Ivanne's words, Nia opened her small mouth, but eventually covered her flushed cheeks with her hands due to the rising heat.
Even if the person watching was herself in the mirror, as she had practiced, it seemed difficult in front of someone else.
"...I can't do it...!"
"Hmph, Nia is in big trouble. What are you going to do when you grow up? At this rate, you won't even be able to make cookie dough, let alone get married!"
Ivanne sighed heavily and crossed her arms, using the words she usually heard at this opportunity.
"...What to do. Hngh."
Nia was innocent, shocked by Ivanne's words, even though she didn't even know what marriage was.
*
Children cry easily and laugh happily.
Lucia understood those words as she watched Ivanne and Nia excitedly chattering in the front yard.
Ivanne was the same age as Nia, but she was about the same small height as Nia, who was smaller than her peers.
But her ability to take action was so great that she had enough energy to be a general even if she went to war right now.
Was Gillianna like that when she was young?
Gillianna took out some of the desserts from the kitchen and placed them on the table in the living room for her captain's tea time.
Fruit tarts with seasonal fruits, chick-shaped mousse cakes, uniquely shaped macarons, layered crepes, and so on.
The desserts she brought with a disgusted look were small in size, but for some reason, there were more than 10 kinds.
"Heath."
Lucia called him quietly as she looked at them.
Then Heath, who had been quietly watching from somewhere, flinched as if he had done something wrong.
He must have been caught trying to send Nia to the temple without the captain's knowledge today.
Even after a long time, space movement is high-level magic.
There is a residual flow of mana left.
Moreover, Heath's mana has unique properties, so if Lucia discovered it, he could have been caught.
"When you use your strength, something sweet is good. Come here."
"Huh? Captain? Are you telling Heath that now? Seriously, what strength did he use? Today, Heath..."
Lucia was silently listening to Gillianna about the incident in which Heath came to take care of Nia.
But before that, Heath's eyes widened at what she had said.
So, she found out.
She is usually indifferent, but she was sensitive to the dormitory where the Saintess Nia was.
It was natural that she had already checked Heath's magical residue as soon as she arrived.
Besides, she was now listening to the fact that he was alone with Nia, but in fact, she didn't imagine anything.
However, the reason she subtly conveyed to Heath that she knew was because she was concerned about him being conscious of her ever since something happened with Nia.
Heath looked straight into the blue eyes that looked at him as usual.
There were no other words visible in it, such as disappointment, anger, or speculation that he had feared.
Only then did he realize the reason why he had been uneasy in one corner of his heart since the child came.
It was because he was jealous of Nia.
He thought that the captain, who had changed because of that child, would abandon him. That thought spread, and jealousy and anxiety covered him.
Heath said quietly to Lucia.
"Captain, what will you do if I disappear?"
"Haha! You told on me and got sulky, sulky!"
Gillianna laughed at his question, saying it was absurd, but he looked straight at Lucia without caring.
"What will you do?"
"Is there somewhere you want to go?"
"..."
When Heath didn't answer, Lucia thought for a moment and said.
"Just tell me when you're coming back and go."
"...I said I'm disappearing."
"I told you. I'll use you for the rest of my life."
It was a troublesome tone, but Heath remembered her familiar words from when she was 17 years old.
'Did you save me to use me too?'
'Of course. The royal guard will be created soon. I'm going to use you for the rest of my life if possible.'
'…For the rest of my life? …My magic doesn't come out.'
'Hmm, then I'll have to make you clean.'
Of course, Lucia, who had the ability to read and distinguish runaway mana, couldn't have been unaware of that obvious lie.
And Heath really hid his magic and only made small magical tools.
Even if he had only made useless things, he couldn't have hidden his abilities, but even in the midst of the war crisis, Lucia had never mentioned it until now, hiding behind Lucia and never using his magic.
To Heath, she was the only person who really didn't want anything.
The boy realized that he was the one who had forgotten her.
"...I see. Sorry."
Unlike the words of apology, a faint smile appeared on Heath's lips.
Gillianna felt the strange atmosphere between the two, but she handed Heath a plate of desserts, who was now sitting close to Lucia, and began to complain about other things.
"Ugh, it's so tiring. Because of the sudden overlapping events, all the people in my family are working hard to mass-produce these things? I'm glad I got out with Ivanne as an excuse."
The youngest daughter of a store that makes such cute desserts is the Black Knights' powerful knight.
Looking at Gillianna, who has a small, lean body, that nickname was one of the mysteries that was hard to believe.
Vernon, who had just come out of the bathroom, sat roughly in the remaining seat on the sofa.
The indelible graffiti on his face seemed to represent his current mood.
"...Hoo. I'm also tired of it. Does it make sense? Why do I have to suffer because of Gillianna's family's work?"
Originally, she wouldn't have stayed still at his prickly words, but today Vernon is an benefactor who deserves to be treated like a king.
Gillianna smiled kindly for once and quietly moved the desserts in front of him.
Then she waited quietly for his review.
"Sweet."
"It is sweet."
"...Yeah."
"...Is that all?"
When Gillianna demanded a more sufficient response, the group repeated the words one more time, as if rewinding a tape.
"...Haha."
She suppressed her anger, thinking that it was a mistake to bring these desserts to the fools who didn't know the taste.
"Oh, right. Captain. But these are desserts that will also be delivered to the kindergarten."
"Okay."
"What? Captain? I don't think you should be so calm?"
At the unknown nagging, Lucia's indifferent gaze went to her.
"Seriously, it's the time to recruit students. If you miss the time, you'll have to hire a nanny and a tutor, so what are you going to do when your leave is over? Besides, this year is the year when new nobles are flocking in, so the chances of passing are even lower."
Gillianna was actively informing her captain that the captain of the royal guard's salary was not enough to hire a tutor, making a money sign with her fingers.
"..."
Kindergarten. Education.
Lucia, a novice mother who was planning to hire a nanny and raise her child appropriately after her leave was over and the Control Stone was finished, had never thought of it.
First of all, Eldarion Academy is affiliated with the Imperial Family, where the Imperial Family and nobles board their children until their debutante.
The affiliated kindergarten in such a prestigious Academy is, in fact, unnecessary for noble families where it is natural to hire a nanny or tutor in early childhood.
However, because it was an empire that had been established not long ago, the people who had become new nobles had no place to build relationships, and the Imperial Family created the affiliated kindergarten to compensate for this and to integrate the nobles.
Its location was right next to the royal guard, so she knew of its existence, but she never thought that she would be involved with it.
However, Lucia had no intention of sending her child to a place with many people.
She had no intention of making her stand out because she was a special child.
...A tutor. Should I coax the Emperor and get some advance payment?
Anyway, she would give him credit, and now that he had sensed the Grand Sword Master, he was an Emperor who would cut open the belly of a golden goose and give it to her, so Lucia was thinking of a human bank.
"For reference, our Ivanne has already had a consultation..."
"Oh, Gillianna. It seems that's not the case. There's even a book by Marquess Ruwin's wife here."
Vernon pointed to the book on the table to Gillianna as he erased the remaining graffiti.
"Oh? You mean the kindergarten director's book? Wow, pre-investigation to prepare for the interview. As expected, the captain has everything planned! Oh my, Leon was an angel even when he was young. Oh my gosh, there's even a picture of him as a baby inside?"
No, she hadn't thought of it at all. Marquess Ruwin's wife.
No wonder the boy on the back cover looked familiar.
So, the person who published the recommended book was Leon's mother and the director of the kindergarten Gillianna was talking about.
'So that's why this book caught my eye.'
But was that something to blush about?
It was an embarrassing matter that anyone would blush if someone they liked saw their childhood appearance, but Lucia had no way of knowing that.
She recalled Leon's appearance from earlier, and before she knew it, she saw the children approaching, drooling as they looked at the desserts with their cute faces.
Ivanne had already put a lot in her mouth as soon as she arrived, but Nia was just hesitating.
Ivanne was about to touch something else without swallowing what she was eating, but then she looked at Nia as if she remembered something.
"Nia. Hurry."
Ivanne gestured to Nia as if urging her.
But Nia didn't even touch the dessert and just hovered near Lucia's sofa with timid steps.
"Tsk. Quickly."
At Ivanne's urging, the child carefully raised her toes and secretly whispered in her ear.
Ivanne's last resort was that Nia couldn't speak in front of people.
Lucia's face hardened at Nia's words, and Gillianna and Vernon, who were watching, grabbed their chests with knowing faces.
As soon as the child finished speaking, she ran back to the front yard, following Ivanne, who was laughing.
The children's laughter and playing came into Lucia's ears and eyes, which had become dazed.
'…Mom!'
She told her to say it, but when she actually heard it, it felt like the world had stopped.
Unlike the shy and lively words she had just heard, it was a hollow and empty echo.
She remembered a time in her childhood when she lifted a hidden portrait in an empty Count's mansion and blankly recited those words.
Nia was being praised in the front yard, giving her head to Ivanne, who was smaller than her.
Thanks to that, her hair was a mess, but the two children were constantly laughing as they looked at each other.
Looking at that scene, a question came to her mind.
'…Is this a normal daily life?'
Nia is a child who will become a Saintess who will be called by God in the future, but now she is just a child playing with her friend, which is a natural child's appearance.
If this is normal, then the daily life of a child without a friend like Ivanne is not normal.
Perhaps it was a fact that Lucia, who had spent a more lonely childhood than anyone else, knew better.
Raising a special child normally.
That was what she had sworn when she saved the child,
"Gillianna. Is that interview still in progress?"
Lucia decided.
To send the child to kindergarten.
As she listened to Gillianna's endless explanations and looked at the children, she saw Ivanne spinning sideways like a windmill and showing off to Nia.
