Chapter 29
The Black Monster's Reinstatement (2)
"...Why didn't you tell me?"
Heath, Gillianna, and Vernon swallowed hard.
They seemed to have expected the commander to be angry.
However, they had already used her childcare leave and even said they would be there with her, so it seemed difficult to bring it up.
But, just because the commander was away, they couldn't make it so the Grand Training Grounds couldn't be used.
Perhaps the Commander-in-Chief was away.
As expected, Helbert, the Commander-in-Chief, was at the top of the list of people who would have come running the moment she took childcare leave.
He was also her godfather and quite a flamboyant person, so it couldn't have passed so quietly unless he was away.
In that instant, Lucia pictured Berl struggling in the Grand Training Grounds.
Those big-bellied bastards who had made it so the Grand Training Grounds couldn't be used for half a year just because the Commander-in-Chief and the commander were away wouldn't easily change the schedule now that Lucia had come.
She frowned for a moment as if her head hurt,
"Everyone, follow me."
"C-Commander?"
At her resolute command, the Black Knights, who were in the middle of physical training, stopped their movements at once.
And they quickly wiped away the sweat flowing down their faces and followed Lucia's retreating figure.
-Thud, thud, thud.
The great movement of the Black Knights cutting through the heart of the Imperial Palace with heavy steps.
Five years of special training and half a year of childcare leave.
The overwhelming spirit of the Black Knights, who had not shown their presence during that time, startled the workers of the Imperial Palace they encountered, and they quickly scattered or hid wherever they went.
It seemed like a prelude to the repercussions that would occur in the future.
A vast Grand Training Grounds with a clear, chilly autumn sky.
The four pillars embedded at the edges each had emblems symbolizing the royal guard, as if symbolizing the lofty honor of victory in the past war.
And in the middle, among the numerous state-of-the-art facilities, the vice-commanders gathered, their voices rising as if they were arguing.
"It's not possible. Our training schedule is already set and cannot be changed."
As the vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights spoke on behalf of the others, the vice-commanders of the Yellow and White Knights became a little uncomfortable.
They had only been called in to request schedule approval, so it felt like watching a fire across the river, but they were bothered by the fact that they had been complicit in bullying.
Furthermore, the vice-commander of the White Knights was from the Mage Division and had a separate training center, so she was flustered and didn't know what to do, caught up in the fight.
"The commander has returned to duty and can immediately approve the Grand Training Grounds request that we've been asking for so much, so what's the problem?"
Berl said with an uncharacteristic stern face, as if he had made up his mind.
However, the capable vice-commander, who was the real power of the Scarlet Knights, didn't bat an eye at his appearance for some reason.
He chuckled and leisurely replied, adjusting his sleek glasses.
"What can we do? The aide to the Commander-in-Chief's office approved it. You should have applied for a revision sooner."
Currently, the Grand Training Grounds could be booked four times a year, quarterly, and applications had to be submitted with the approval of each commander according to the set schedule.
However, coinciding with Lucia's leave, he cleverly excluded the Black Knights' details from the application to the newly appointed aide and submitted it with the documents approved by his commander.
As a result, the Black Knights, unable to apply for a revision because they had no commander, had not been able to use the Grand Training Grounds for half a year.
"Are you talking about getting approval from an aide who hasn't even grasped the work yet? Yes, thanks to you, we haven't been able to use it for the past half year."
"If you're so dissatisfied, why didn't you strongly suggest it to your commander who is on leave?"
Berl paused at his words.
Certainly, he could tell the commander as he said, but even if he did, unless Lucia officially returned to duty and signed in front of the aide herself, there would be no way to overcome the Scarlet Knights' commander's approval, who was always on standby.
But he was not stiffened solely because of that.
When Lucia first brought people from the Dark Guild, there were only two Black Knights.
A mere female commander and a boy, Heath, who hadn't even grown up yet.
At the time, no one knew Lucia's skills, who didn't interact with anyone, so no one applied to join, and even after that, no one paid attention to them because the commander was a woman.
In that situation, the first person to apply on his own was Berl Altrout, a member of the Scarlet Knights.
During the war, while Lucia and the Commander-in-Chief's royal guard, who had not yet properly formed a royal guard, were at the forefront, the Scarlet Knights were stationed in the rear to protect the villagers.
However, dealing with young enemy soldiers who surrendered after sneaking into the village was not easy for him.
The person who educated Berl, who was so soft-hearted, was the current vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights.
'Don't hesitate. You must annihilate all enemies. If they are adults, they will turn around and plot, and if they are children, who knows when they will grow up and harbor resentment.'
Due to his words, all the hostages captured at the time died.
In the end, the Scarlet Knights, who had caused many casualties until the Commander-in-Chief came to the rear, was an incident that would have been recorded as the worst if the Emperor had not covered it up.
Berl, who was battered by that incident, applied for a transfer to Lucia's place, a desperate decision because he couldn't quit being a knight.
Now he was the most loyal vice-commander.
As Berl stiffened at his words, he sneered with a face that said he knew it would happen.
"You're still hesitating like that, Berl Altrout."
"That's not hesitating, it's called consideration for me."
At that familiar voice, the expressions of the Yellow and White Knights' vice-commanders changed.
It was strange to be trembling as if wearing short sleeves in the middle of winter, so they turned their heads,
"...Commander?"
Behind Lucia, a black mass was passing through the entrance of the Grand Training Grounds and stepping into the shade of the central wisteria.
The vice-commanders immediately bowed their heads in respect.
"Commander Lucia. Congratulations on your return to duty."
Lucia still stood silently in front of them, and when the vice-commanders raised their heads, she said.
"Stop the wordplay, my kids need to use this place, where do I get approval for the schedule change?"
"......"
The vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights swallowed hard as if he had made the wrong move.
But that was only for a moment,
Remembering that the Black monster in front of him had become a mother, he didn't think there was anything to be afraid of.
Having a child had given her more affectionate people, but at the same time, it had also created people who looked down on her.
"Commander Lucia. Of course, it's possible. But didn't you just say it was consideration?"
"So?"
"Our royal guard have suffered for over five and a half years due to the commander's absence. So shouldn't the Black Knights show consideration for at least as long as your leave? So wait and don't miss it next year..."
Certainly, it was true that they had taken over some of the work that required a commander in place of the Black Knights several times.
But it wasn't a very troublesome task, and the vice-commanders of the Yellow and White Knights broke out in a cold sweat at his words, which were once again trying to draw them into the same side.
They wanted to say no here, but it was also true that they had kept their mouths shut about not being able to use the Training Grounds for half a year.
Lucia stared blankly at the face of the vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights, who continued to babble.
'Why is he talking so much?'
The atmosphere of the royal guard, who had returned after a long time, seemed to have changed a lot.
At this point, it felt like they were better at talking than the nobles who always sat and talked instead of speaking with swords.
'During the war, they used wordplay to make others take the sword, and this is the treatment they receive for surviving?'
That's right.
The reason why she was able to bring in a criminal group without much resistance at the time.
It was because she promised to put them on the front lines, which they wanted.
No one at the time imagined that the Black Knights, who were organized as cannon fodder, would actually not die and win every battle.
Lucia was angry that they were being treated like this as soon as the war ended, using the excuse that there was no commander, instead of being grateful for their life-risking sacrifice.
She looked at the vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights in front of her and picked up a weapon that looked quite sturdy from the nearby state-of-the-art weapon rack.
It seemed to be a mace that the royal guard often used these days.
After swinging it lightly a few times, it seemed to be a powerful weapon that gathered rotational force and poured out power in one blow, as if attack was defense.
Then, at that sight, the vice-commander of the Scarlet Knights took a step back and said urgently.
"W-What are you doing, you're a grown adult! Formally request a duel as a knight!"
Had he misjudged?
Looking at her crazed eyes, it seemed like it wouldn't be a big deal for her face to be wiped away with that mace, let alone being a mother.
Lucia mulled over his words, and suddenly remembered an impressive sentence she had read in a childcare book this morning.
"A person who cannot be considerate is not an adult. When such children fight over toys..."
As she rhythmically spun the mace, she put Sword Aura into it and threw it with all her might.
Then,
-Kwa-gwa-gwa-ga-gang!
The mace, which flew past the vice-commander's face, became a seed of destruction, and the pillars embedded in the Grand Training Grounds were slowly collapsing like dominoes.
The sound made a huge roar that seemed to shake the sky, and the fragments began to destroy everything in the training ground.
"They say to get rid of the toy that is the cause of the problem."
"W-What, what are you doing!"
"The Grand Training Grounds, the Grand Training Grounds...!"
"Commander!!!"
Those caught in the chaos shouted, but Lucia continued with an indifferent face.
"It doesn't make sense for other royal guard to use it when my kids can't. I will tell His Majesty from this moment on. From the moment the Grand Training Grounds is rebuilt, the booking will be won through competition. I hope you have great skills as well as that flamboyant eloquence at that time."
At this time, the last pillar fell, and the Grand Training Grounds, which had always been magnificent, was instantly turned into ruins.
The roars echoing in the Imperial Palace, which felt like a fanfare announcing her spectacular return to duty, were probably not just felt by the vice-commanders here.
The Emperor's office.
The interior was dark, with candles lit to block the morning sunlight.
The Emperor was sitting at a huge, luxurious desk, smoking a cigar, and the atmosphere was so smoky that it felt like a dark underground lair.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, Chancellor Federin Luwins has arrived."
"Yes, you sent the others out, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the chancellor entered, the Emperor spoke in a low voice that sounded like a cynical boss from the underworld, as if scratching his throat.
"...You've come."
He took a big puff of the cigar he was holding and exhaled, and his eyes flashed through the smoke.
The chancellor looked at the scene,
"It smells like strawberries, Your Majesty."
The chancellor ruthlessly drew the curtains and opened the window in the Emperor's immature office.
Then, the morning breeze blew in, carrying away the musty smoke and the refreshing strawberry scent.
The Emperor frowned insignificantly at the sudden intense light.
"Ugh, my eyes...!"
"Please refrain from doing that in front of me from now on. It's not good for this old man's rhinitis."
Strawberry-scented health tobacco, a vanity item he found after promising Lucia to abstain from alcohol.
The Emperor carefully trimmed the expensive tobacco and muttered sarcastically.
"Come on, how much difference does it make..."
"The first time I saw Your Majesty was when you were secretly defecating in the garden. It seems like only yesterday that you cried and said you were giving fertilizer..."
"Ahhh! Okay, okay! Anyway, what about the Crown Prince's annulment? What happened?"
The Emperor waved his hand urgently with a reddened face at the chancellor's words, which poured out without a moment's hesitation.
Then, Chancellor Federin slightly raised the corners of his mouth with a long white hair that was now either silver or white, and narrow eyes that did not reveal his expression.
He had worked with the late king since the days of the Eldarion Kingdom, so the current Emperor seemed like a child to him.
"It was a dramatic settlement after half a year. We agreed to settle with a diamond mine."
"What? No, how much money is that? If we give that..."
The Emperor, who had been listening indifferently, frowned at the story of the mine.
"If the consolation money given by the Empire is small, it is easy to be looked down upon, Your Majesty."
"...Tch."
Anyway, the Emperor, who was always right, shrank in front of him.
"It's been settled well, so will you now tell me the real reason for the annulment? Do you have a Crown Princess candidate in mind?"
In fact, they should have solidified their friendship with Perendel, a great power of similar size to the continent, through a royal marriage as originally planned.
However, the Empire, which had now become the country with the most Sword Masters on this continent, had nothing to regret.
That's why the chancellor agreed, thinking that the immature Emperor was finally trying to organize the genealogy among the nobles through an engagement within the Empire.
"Ah, well. I do have someone in mind. That is... today..."
The Emperor, who was always good at making absurd plans.
Seeing him rolling his eyes like a raccoon, it was certain that it was an unexpected person.
'Today? Could it be Commander Lucia, who returned to duty today? An unexpected woman...'
"...It's not Commander Lucia, is it?"
