Chapter 28
The Black Monster's Reinstatement
-Knock knock
Someone knocked, as if trying to snap Emily out of her hair-pulling frenzy, and it turned out to be the priests who had come for the baptism.
Emily quickly shook her disheveled hair, tidied herself up, and called out.
"Come in!"
As the door opened, two figures entered, wearing long hats, priestly robes, and white masks.
One of them, presumably an assistant priest, wore a plain robe with only a belt and carried holy water.
After a neat bow, the children were called forward one by one, and holy water was sprinkled on their heads with a short blessing.
And finally, Nia's turn began to approach, and the priest, noticing the child's hair, approached Archpriest Mordor and whispered quietly.
"Archpriest Mordor, she has black hair."
Archpriest Mordor was quite surprised.
Although not throughout the entire continent, black-haired children born in the Empire were specially managed, making it difficult to pass through the screening net.
Of course, since the Empire was formed by many nations, black hair could unexpectedly appear, but not in the capital, where small temples were located everywhere.
He examined the child's record book given to him by Emily.
'The parents' names are... Lucia? Could it be that they're talking about the Black monster? If so, does this black hair mean it's genetic?'
Archpriest Mordor recalled the temple, a sea of blood with the corpses of enemies, from the last war five years ago when the temple was attacked.
Lucia, drenched in thick blood amidst the corpses rampant on the pure white temple floor, was like a killing machine devoid of emotion.
The child of that monster was before his eyes.
However, unlike Lucia's bloodline, the child's clear Golden eyes were quietly touching Archpriest Mordor's heart, as if filled with nostalgia.
As if possessed by that strange warmth, he unconsciously emitted Divine Power and reached out to Nia.
Just as the golden Divine Power emanating from his hand was drawn to the child before him,
-Creak
"Oh my, you shouldn't come in now. Gasp! A, a Black Knights uniform...?!"
As Emily exclaimed, looking at the opened door in surprise, a small boy appeared in uniform, hardly a man.
"...Heath!"
Nia, though Heath wasn't particularly affectionate towards her, still ran to his side in delight.
"Nia, do you know him? What's going on?"
Heath, despite Emily's question, shielded Nia, who was clinging to his side, and silently watched the priests.
In that strange standoff, Archpriest Mordor spoke politely.
"This is the last class. We must return now."
"Ah, I see. I'm sorry. We're in the middle of a baptism ceremony, so unless it's urgent, would you mind leaving?"
But Heath didn't budge.
And at his own slow pace, he took off his necklace and put it on Nia.
"Oh my, did you really barge in just to give her a necklace? Even if you're a knight of the Imperial Family, this is a Kindergarten. If you have no business here, please leave immediately!"
Emily, who had become sensitive from constantly thinking about her future, tried to chase him away somewhat irritably, and Heath rolled his eyes at her.
Then he muttered gloomily.
"It's my father's keepsake."
"You should say thank you quickly, Nia. You've bothered your brother. The necklace is very pretty."
The priest and Archpriest, who had come from the temple, coughed awkwardly, and the transformed Emily put Nia's necklace inside her Kindergarten Uniform with a kind face, tidying up her clothes.
Having finished his business, the sly Heath left the classroom, and the baptism ceremony passed without incident.
*
Lucia rushed to the Sparrow class.
She happened to see the Archpriest leaving, so she was about to go in to check on Nia, but someone grabbed her wrist.
"...Heath?"
"It's over."
"What?"
At that moment, something small popped out through the opened door and clung to Lucia's skirt.
"...Mom!"
As the child peeked out, her bangs were damp from the holy water she had just received.
And a silver chain visible around her neck.
"...This is."
The necklace Heath had shown her this morning.
This morning, Heath had seen the Notification slip while organizing his bag.
It mentioned the temple baptism ceremony, but he was too tired and fell asleep without realizing it.
But after waking up from a short nap, Heath quickly embedded a Control Stone in his necklace and, fortunately, managed to give it to the child just in time.
"...Sorry, Captain. I couldn't tell you."
Heath looked a little gloomy.
"Thank you, Heath."
Lucia hugged the boy and breathed a sigh of relief.
If there was any fault, it was her own for not preventing it in advance.
Besides, this silver necklace was Heath's father's last possession.
To be exact, it was Heath's mother's keepsake, but it was the last necklace left by his missing father.
No matter how little attachment Heath had to his parents, the necklace he wore every day couldn't be meaningless.
To use such a necklace for something she didn't even know the full story of, Lucia once again felt grateful for his trust in her.
But Heath knew that the warmth he felt in Lucia's embrace was the true meaning of family to him, more than that cold necklace.
If there was anything that such a boy wished for,
"...I still won't be your brother."
Lucia, who vaguely understood the meaning of Heath's sulky voice, smiled softly.
"Teacher, why are you there? Is it fun?"
"Shh, shhshshshsh! Ah, Ivanne. Can you go over there and tell them it's dismissal time?"
Emily, who quickly hid on the platform upon seeing Lucia, whispered softly.
But Ivanne, as if finding the sight amusing, ignored her words and squeezed in next to her.
In that cramped space, Ivanne proudly handed Emily a drawing she had made.
"This is Teacher."
At that moment, Emily was moved and unfolded the drawing, and in that drawing...
There was something that could be called a corpse rather than a person, lying against an all-black background, with faint, empty gray eyes filling its face.
"......"
Are you drawing my funeral in advance, Ivanne?
Emily, who would truly have no way to make a living if she left this country.
She thought she would somehow endure just the first semester, but in Ivanne's sparkling eyes, she saw her own reflection, identical to the drawing, and a single tear flowed.
*
Near the capital, the Great Temple dedicated to Goddess Asir.
In the Archpriest's office there, Archpriest Mordor, who had returned from the baptism ceremony, handed a document to the person sitting across from him.
"Archpriest Ahilun, here is the child's information."
"Hmm. The child of the captain of the Black Knights, and His Majesty the Emperor is the witness. It's unique, but..."
Archpriest Ahilun, who had taken off his mask and was reviewing the documents, replied.
He was a man with long, calmly flowing blonde hair, more slender and beautiful than a woman, and had a strange atmosphere that made it impossible to guess his age.
"I would like to investigate further."
Mordor couldn't forget the strange energy he felt from the child's Golden eyes, even though the child showed no reaction to Divine Power.
Moreover, the child suddenly appeared without any fanfare, despite being the daughter of the most notorious Black monster in the Empire.
That's why he had deliberately mobilized his connections in the Imperial Family to obtain Nia's information.
But the documents contained no significant information, only that the Emperor was registered as a witness to the birth of an already grown child.
The reason for this was that she had been training alone for five years, and because she had become a Sword Master through that training, no one could even ask why she suddenly had a child.
"I see. I heard there was no reaction to Divine Power, but is there something that still bothers you?"
Archpriest Ahilun asked gently in his usual soft and slow tone, even in the face of unfounded suspicion.
He was a virtuous man who had been born with tremendous Divine Power from infancy, did not waste that power, and rose to the position of Archpriest at a young age by serving the people.
As the legendary figure calmly asked about the situation, Mordor realized his mistake and his face turned red.
"Ah, I'm sorry. That is, well..."
As he tried to hide his embarrassment and explain,
-Knock knock
Someone knocked on the door.
"It seems we have a guest. Shall we talk more about it next time? Ah, and it would be best to shred the paper with His Majesty's name on it. Thank you for your hard work today, Archpriest Mordor."
As if he had a prearranged appointment, Archpriest Ahilun quickly wrapped things up.
At his resolute demeanor, Mordor couldn't say anything more and turned around.
As he bitterly left the office, a guest was indeed waiting right in front.
As expected, the guest was Duke Anton Artiam Kilgis.
As the Duke who inherited the blood of the first priest who served Goddess Asir, it was not strange for him to visit the temple as if it were his own home.
But Mordor froze the moment he passed him.
For some reason, his whole body trembled from a dark chill that contrasted with the warm feeling he had felt from the child today.
*
Black Knights, Captain of the royal guard's office.
Lucia, who had come to work after a long time, dropped Nia off at Kindergarten early in the morning and changed her clothes in her room.
She thought it was fortunate that she could leave her there so early since it was a Kindergarten attached to the Imperial Palace, and she stretched leisurely and opened the window.
The fact that not a speck of dust flew in with the incoming breeze suggested that the place had been well-maintained despite being vacant for half a year.
And sitting in her chair, she naturally picked up a parenting book.
She hadn't had as much time to read as she thought, so she was trying to read it here.
"…A children's quarrel. Nia is a timid child, so I don't think there would be a quarrel. Is this such a big problem?"
Lucia skimmed through the document, noticing the considerable number of pages dedicated to the children's fight.
-Bang-
"Oh? Captain? You were here? Sorry, I thought you weren't here and came in to tidy up…"
Vernon scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Lucia silently pointed to the two-piece suit hanging behind him.
"Wow. As expected! You're doing great! It's better for them to adapt to some extent before they find out you're the captain, even if they find out later."
"I agree."
He was right.
Even just going to the academy today, no one was afraid of her, no one avoided her unnecessarily, and no one picked a fight.
Lucia thought that if she could hide it until graduation, it wouldn't be so bad.
"So, are you returning to work today? Many people have already gone to the Training Grounds. Let's go!"
Vernon looked more excited than when he was in the dorm.
Lucia nodded, seeing him like that, closed the book, and followed him.
They soon arrived at the Black Knights' private Training Grounds.
It wasn't small, but it was already crowded with quite a few people.
Even though it was autumn and cool, they were sweating as they did physical training.
"The Captain has returned!"
Vernon waved his hand at the members and shouted, and the members in black uniforms turned their heads all at once like meerkats.
It had been a long time since she had faced them in such a proper place.
The members, confirming Lucia's appearance, quickly ran over and straightened their ranks.
"Black Knights! Captain Lucia! Welcome back!!"
The men in the black formation lined up and saluted all at once.
As soldiers, they stood at attention in front of their captain with stiff faces, but they were so happy that the corners of their mouths were curved in smiles.
But feeling that something was missing, she looked around and noticed that Berl was not there.
"Where's the Vice-Captain?"
The somehow excited atmosphere subsided, and one by one, they began to avoid her eyes.
Even the confident and straightforward Gillianna looked hesitant.
"Vernon?"
"Ah, sorry. The Vice-Captain went to get permission to use the Grand Training Grounds."
Perhaps because it was a formal gathering and not just the dorm, Vernon's attitude was more soldierly than before.
But that stiffness didn't seem to be just because he was a soldier.
"Why are they getting permission for the fourth quarter now? Everything should have been finalized in September."
"……."
The guys who never stopped talking when they were nagging were strangely silent.
Lucia sensed that something was wrong.
"Vernon, bring me this year's Grand Training Grounds schedule."
She dismissed the members and called only the aces.
And a moment later, Lucia scanned the documents that Vernon brought.
"……."
She had a hunch, but as expected.
The schedule she received showed almost no record of the Grand Training Grounds being used since April.
The Grand Training Grounds had a swordsmanship sparring area, training Mana Scarecrow, archery training range, and more.
It was a place equipped with the latest training equipment where one could experience various weapons besides just wooden scarecrows or simple swords.
Of course, many knights wanted to train here, and because of overlapping times, they were allocated schedules each time, but for some reason, the name of the Black Knights could not be found.
No matter how much she looked, the Black Knights' use of the Grand Training Grounds had stopped from the time Lucia took childcare leave.
