The Monster Knight Wants Maternity Leave (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6
Lucia hurried back to her barracks at the training facility and quickly opened the door.
It hadn’t taken as long as she’d expected to persuade the Emperor, but because she’d used him as a guarantor to register the child’s birth, the bureaucratic process itself had taken considerable time.
‘It’ll be quite amusing to see his reaction when he realizes the child he vouched for is the Holy Maiden.’
He’d taken the bait without even noticing she’d deliberately dropped hints about the birth registration right in front of him.
Even if the Emperor wasn’t deeply involved, Lucia believed he still bore responsibility—he’d been the one who first entangled her in the Holy Maiden’s sealing scheme before her regression.
Imagining the Emperor’s furious reaction, Lucia’s lips curled into a faint smirk.
As soon as she arrived, Lucia hurried straight to the bedroom where she thought the child might be.
But the bedroom was completely empty.
So was the sitting room.
And the kitchen too.
Unable to find the child anywhere, Lucia suddenly recalled the voice she’d heard from the bathroom just before leaving.
‘Surely not still…?’
Opening the bathroom door, she saw the child precariously standing on the slippery edge of the tub, desperately reaching out as if trying to grasp something.
Startled by the sudden opening of the door and the presence of someone, the child looked up—and immediately lost balance.
Lucia swiftly caught the falling child.
The child, now safely in her arms, opened tightly shut eyes and looked up at Lucia.
Those wide eyes were filled with disbelief, as if unable to comprehend how she hadn’t hit the floor.
Carefully setting the child down, Lucia asked,
“Why are you still like this?”
“……Towel…….”
The child, huddled right where Lucia had placed her, mumbled softly.
In that instant, Lucia’s gaze instinctively turned toward where the towel was always kept.
‘……Ah.’
The bathroom towel sat neatly folded on a high shelf—far out of reach for a half-sized child.
Moreover, the child was still completely naked, and judging by the time, nearly half a day had already passed.
If the Holy Maiden had been an ordinary child, she would’ve likely caught a cold by now.
The moment Lucia realized her own careless oversight, she felt the child’s gaze fixed on her from a distance.
When their eyes met—the child, who had been staring at Lucia’s boots—suddenly looked away, appearing anxious and guilty, as if she’d committed some grave mistake.
At Lucia’s feet, tiny feathers and grimy debris floated lazily across the entire bathroom floor, clogging the drain.
And these messes were now staining Lucia’s gleaming black military boots, making them look as though she’d stepped straight into a mud puddle.
The child kept watching Lucia nervously, pupils still trembling.
Apparently, the child was deeply troubled by having made such a mess.
But,
‘I’d better take off my boots quickly.’
Unfortunately, Lucia failed to grasp the child’s true feelings.
After all, once something dirty has been washed away, it’s only natural for the filth to end up on the floor.
Watching Lucia vigorously shake off the dirt from her boots, the child finally couldn’t hold back her tears and began sobbing pitifully.
To Lucia, this sudden outburst of crying was utterly bewildering.
Completely baffled by these inexplicable tears, Lucia thought,
‘Ah, I see. I should’ve handed her the towel first.’
She hastily grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the child’s body.
Yet instead of stopping her crying, the child shrank even farther away.
Staring at the sobbing child, Lucia blinked in confusion.
‘……Is this not right? I’m pretty sure I always dried myself off after bathing.’
Reflecting on her past, she realized she’d never once lived independently—not even once since childhood.
During her upbringing, she’d been a noble daughter; after severing ties with her family, she became an imperial knight.
Except for wartime deployments, she’d always had maids attending to her needs—even past the age of ninety.
Thus, aside from swordsmanship, Lucia possessed absolutely zero practical life skills.
As she reviewed her own lifestyle, a profound doubt struck her.
‘……Me? Raising a child?’
Only now, a full day after her regression, did Lucia begin to grasp the enormity of what she’d gotten herself into.
She finally realized this fate would prove far more difficult than any achievement she’d accomplished in her ninety-year life.
.
.
.
The child wore Lucia’s smallest blouse, which still hung comically large on her tiny frame.
She sat across from Lucia at the dining table, thoroughly intimidated.
Bread, meat, fruit, and a clump of green leafy greens.
Perhaps it was because the greens looked exactly as they’d been freshly pulled from the earth—barely resembling proper food.
Despite seeming hungry, the child hadn’t touched any of the food before her.
Watching the child, Lucia felt a pang of frustration.
She’d saved the Holy Maiden.
She’d declared she’d become the child’s mother.
And yet.
At this rate, would the child even survive healthily until her awakening—let alone grow up as an ordinary kid?
Setting aside her own lack of domestic skills, there was an even more pressing issue.
‘Just how much money does raising a child actually cost?’
Looking back, she realized she’d never once worried about money in her previous life.
Even after cutting ties with her family without a single coin, her knight’s salary had always been more than enough to afford maids. After retiring early, war bonuses had kept her so comfortable that she’d even declined titles and estates out of sheer laziness.
But what about now?
It had been nine years since she’d severed ties with her family—and five of those had been spent in this special training program.
During training, all necessities had been provided, and her salary—unnecessary as it was—had been donated straight to the knights’ operational fund.
Which meant she’d soon receive her salary again, but currently possessed not a single penny in savings.
Staring once more at the child wrapped in her rolled-up blouse, Lucia sank into despair again.
Yet if she hadn’t rescued the Holy Maiden today, she wouldn’t have been able to bring her here so smoothly.
‘Right. Stay positive. The documents are burned, her identity remains hidden, and no official mission’s been assigned.’
Exactly eleven years remained until the child’s sixteenth birthday—the day she’d awaken.
During that time, Lucia would hide her existence using the Control Stone, work as an imperial knight, gather intelligence, identify those involved in the Holy Maiden’s sealing scheme, and eliminate them one by one.
……Even so.
‘Now I have to worry about tomorrow’s meals.’
This training facility was strictly isolated from the outside world—a place dedicated solely to rigorous practice.
Until now, even the maids assigned here only came when no one was around, so Lucia had never actually seen their faces.
Which meant that service had effectively ended the moment her maternity leave began.
Ironically, this timing wasn’t entirely bad—neither Lucia nor the child was ready to face outsiders yet.
‘If I hire a maid, she’ll have to call me “mom.” But forcing her to say it feels wrong… and I certainly can’t cook myself right now…….’
As Lucia’s expression darkened with worry, the child lowered her head and whispered,
“……Annie go back…….”
Lucia doubted her own ears at the child’s unexpected words.
‘What did you say?’
Hadn’t coming here meant she wanted to stay together?
But upon reflection, the child had never actually said she wanted to stay.
Though flustered, Lucia calmly asked,
“You mean the orphanage? Why?”
Hearing this, the child glanced briefly at the dirty white gloves Lucia had left on the table, then lowered her head even further.
Truthfully, the child didn’t want to go back.
Warm water, a smooth and spotless bathtub.
Though brief, these were luxuries she’d never experienced in her entire life.
But more than those comforts, what she truly couldn’t let go of was this sweet moment—standing before a woman who looked so much like the mother from her dreams, promising to become her real mother.
Was it true that dreams always meant the opposite?
But the child remembered.
The serious adult face. The long sigh directed at her.
It all matched exactly what orphaned children described after being sent away for misbehaving.
Unlike noble children, orphans learned two things as soon as they could read:
How to care for younger children, and how to help with housework and farming.
Five years after the war ended, adoptions mainly addressed labor shortages.
Helpless girls were adopted to serve as nannies or maids, caring for households and younger siblings, while boys were taken to assist with manual labor.
Moreover, Annie hadn’t even been adopted into an ordinary home—she’d been sold as a cleaner to an empty, filthy warehouse.
Standing before Lucia, who’d offered to adopt her despite all this, the child fully understood her own position.
Since she’d done something wrong, it was time to wake from this dream and return.
Meeting Lucia’s questioning gaze, the child told the truth.
“……Annie. Dirty. Not stay here.”
Her limited vocabulary was simply unavoidable.
Hearing the child’s dejected words, Lucia glanced around the room.
‘I see.’
Indeed, this was the Imperial Knights’ training facility.
Decorative weapons hung on the walls; aside from the sitting room and dressing area, there wasn’t even a common sofa or ordinary furniture—just stark, barren space.
Worse, today’s incident had dirtied the usually spotless floor, making the place resemble a shabby old office.
Clearly, as the child said, this was absolutely no place for a five-year-old to live.
“You’re right. That’s fair.”
“……!”
The child was utterly shocked, as if struck by a falling stone from the sky.
She’d expected the adult before her to think this way—but hearing it aloud felt vastly different.
Trembling her soft little chin, she struggled to hold back tears that threatened to burst forth.
This time, it was Lucia who panicked.
She’d merely agreed with the child’s statement, yet the child looked ready to break into full sobs at any moment.
Had she made a mistake?
Lucia retraced the situation.
So far, the only place the child had been in this quarters was the bathroom.
And the moment she’d started crying…….
Lucia looked down at her soiled boots, then reconsidered the child’s words.
‘Could it be…… she thinks “dirty” refers to herself?’
Though she’d never imagined such a possibility, it was the only explanation that made sense. She decided to test it.
“Could it be… you think the bathroom being dirty is……”
The moment that dreaded word left Lucia’s lips, the child’s suppressed tears finally burst out.
“……Waaah! I, I messed up…….”
“…….”
‘So that’s it.’
Lucia finally understood the situation—though far too late.
But now, faced with this misunderstanding, the notoriously uneloquent Lucia found herself utterly at a loss.
Should she say it wasn’t dirty?
Should she tell her not to worry since she could just call a maid?
Both sounded reasonable yet wrong—she simply couldn’t tell which words would be appropriate.
Despite having exchanged only a few words with the child, Lucia couldn’t predict how she’d react based on their brief interactions so far.
Overwhelmed by the child’s thunderous wails echoing to the ceiling, Lucia’s mind went blank.
The legendary Black Monster Knight—
No matter how powerful she was, she was utterly helpless before a crying child.
Just then,
Her wavering eyes caught sight of the open bathroom door.
And leading from there all the way to the entrance—tiny, distinct footprints clearly marked on the floor.
Lucia rolled her eyes, then firmly declared to the child as if she’d found a solution.
“Orphanage. I can’t send you back.”
The child, sobbing so hard her whole body shook, froze at Lucia’s decisive words.
“You clean it up yourself—then we’ll see whether you stay or go.”
Lucia jerked her chin toward the bathroom and the dirty floor.
“……!”
To Lucia’s surprise, the child seemed even more shocked than expected—her tears stopped flowing altogether.
Of all things, she’d used housework as leverage to pressure such a small child.
Though a twinge of guilt flickered, intimidation felt easier than comfort to her—this was simply the best she could do.
“This isn’t something you solve by crying. Understand?”
Expecting the child to cry even harder at her firm tone, Lucia was surprised when the child merely closed her gaping mouth, fidgeted her tiny hands, and quietly wiped away her tears.
Even that reaction was unexpected.
“This isn’t my home. So it must be kept clean. You can clean it yourself, right?”
The child nodded vigorously.
To her, Lucia’s words sounded like a promise: *If you clean, you can stay.*
For the child, this was an unparalleled opportunity.
Now curious about where exactly she was, the child asked,
“Then… where is this place…?”
“……Strictly speaking, it’s part of the Imperial Palace, I suppose.”
Even with Lucia’s uncertain tone, the child was startled.
Because suddenly, Mia’s words from long ago echoed in her mind.
The Imperial Palace—where glittering people lived, free from worries about tomorrow’s chores or meals, like a heavenly paradise.
‘……So it really is like that.’
The child’s expression grew somber once more.
No matter how much this woman claimed to become her mother, she was clearly a dazzling, distant figure—nothing like herself.
The child looked straight into Lucia’s blue eyes.
In her mind, those beautiful, gentle eyes would vanish forever if she failed at housework here.
This was serious. Already, tears welled up at the thought of losing her first-ever mother.
‘Don’t cry. Crying makes you a nuisance.’
But tears kept gathering despite her efforts.
For the first time, the child pondered how to stay with someone.
Given all her past mistakes, the only way a five-year-old could make amends was clear:
To clean harder than anyone else who ever entered this place.
If she worked diligently enough, maybe—instead of sighs or stern faces—this woman would smile at her again, just like when she’d held her hand.
And if she smiled, maybe—just maybe—she could stay by her side a little longer.
Determined not to let her stubborn tears fall, the child clenched her eyes shut and nodded resolutely.
‘Oh, thank goodness.’
Unaware of the child’s solemn resolve, Lucia decided to coax her a bit more.
“This is troublesome. Even if we overlook the bathroom, how long will it take to clean this wooden floor…?”
“Don’t, don’t worry! Annie will try hard……!”
Seeing Lucia troubled, the child clasped her tiny hands together desperately, hunched her shoulders, and cried out.
Ah, what pure innocence.
At that moment, Lucia’s heart ached with deepening guilt—so much so she nearly groaned aloud.
“……Alright then, remember this. My name is Lucia.”
“While you’re here, let’s make a promise. From now on, you won’t tell anyone about your time at the orphanage. And.”
Regardless of Lucia’s words, the child kept nodding repeatedly.
“You haven’t forgotten, right? Look here.”
“……?”
At the child’s mechanical nodding, Lucia locked eyes with her, emphasizing the single most important rule she must follow.
“It’d be best if you start calling me ‘mom’ as soon as possible.”
“……!”
Hearing this, the child’s already large eyes widened like a rabbit’s, then she ducked her head and mumbled into her chest.
Though Lucia thought the road ahead would be long, the child’s hidden face flushed warmly—like the evening sun spilling through the window.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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they’re so cute i’m gonna cry 😭😭 i adore them sm