The Monster Knight Wants Maternity Leave (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
The squad members arriving at the training camp on the hill.
As they had said, Vernon taught Nia, and Gilliana prepared meals suitable for a child.
And, as always, Heath cleaned the place using magical items he had crafted himself, without lifting a finger—except for the spot the captain had specifically told him not to touch.
Thanks to their efforts, the training camp quickly transformed into a clean, warm place that even a child could comfortably stay in, filled with the comforting aroma of food.
Indeed.
It was, quite literally, the perfect setting for communal child-rearing.
Yet now, those very grateful and admirable squad members were staring at Lucia, seated beside me, as though she were the most wicked stepmother in the world.
“…Captain. I didn’t think you’d be this severe.”
“Exactly, Chief. She’s only five years old—how many days has it been already? She’s not a salt-mine slave or anything.”
“…Yeah, that’s true.”
Having scolded her, they turned their pitying gazes once more toward something wriggling on the floor of the dormitory.
At the end of their stares was Nia, gripping a neatly folded rag with her tiny hands, diligently crawling across the wooden floor to scrub it clean.
“Captain, shall I clean it?”
When Heath spoke,
“No, no! Nia, Nia will do it herself!”
Was this the power of the Saintess?
The small child declared this cheerfully and earnestly, and Lucia, overwhelmed with guilt, felt utterly blinded by that radiant innocence.
Thus, the four fully grown adults sat stiffly on the sofa, shifting their legs restlessly and awkwardly, merely watching as the child crawled nimbly about, scrubbing every corner.
“Gah… Such a tiny child…”
“Damn it! I want to help. At this rate, those stains won’t come off at all.”
Just as they said, the child’s movements were clumsy, and moreover, it was extremely difficult to remove the deep-set black stains from the wooden floor with water alone.
“Well then, that’s even better.”
At Lucia’s quiet mutter, the two men leapt off the sofa and retreated to a corner, whispering to each other while glaring at her with utter disdain.
They’d always been like this—perfectly in sync, even in their contempt.
“…Well, she must have her reasons.”
Despite their commotion, the child silently continued her task.
The one small consolation in this pitiful scene was that the child, who had previously trembled so violently at the sight of strangers, now seemed to be adapting surprisingly well—perhaps because she’d found a purpose.
“…Captain, it’s already May.”
Heath spoke beside Lucia, who was watching Nia closely.
“Hmm. It is May.”
“…”
Seeing Lucia like this, Heath rolled his eyes.
When Heath fell silent beside her,
“It’s your birthday.”
Though Lucia spoke indifferently, Heath’s lips twitched upward ever so slightly—as if acknowledging she’d hit the mark.
He quickly turned his head away before she could notice.
‘How dull. You’re not even going to do anything special anyway.’
Lucia deliberately avoided looking at him, as if she’d already anticipated exactly this reaction.
Heath was the boy Lucia had picked up during her first monster-hunting expedition when she was seventeen, and he knew well this recurring habit of hers around this time of year.
Among all the squad members, he was the only one who had secretly visited her every May throughout her five-year training period just to see her face.
Perhaps he was also the only one who truly knew the Saintess wasn’t her own child—but Lucia understood something else.
That Heath would never press her with accusations.
‘Now that I think about it, have I ever given him a present? Maybe I should get him something this year.’
She thought this briefly—but knew full well she’d forget about it again soon enough.
-Knock knock.
When had this training camp, a place no one ever visited, started getting so many callers?
As soon as Lucia heard the knock at the door, she remained perfectly still, intending—as always—to ignore it completely.
But two squad members with perked-up ears…
Seeming eager to play butler for this residence, they sprang up with light steps and flung the door wide open.
“What is it?”
“Who’s there? Who?”
‘They act like it’s their own home.’
Even though this wasn’t even her house, Lucia found their natural ease irritating.
“Sent by Lord Leon Luwins.”
‘…What? Leon Luwins?’
Lucia recalled the man who had threatened her just days ago with terrifying intensity.
“Huh? That Leon Luwins?”
“The White Robe Mage Captain? Let me see.”
Vernon quickly snatched the delivery note from the courier.
“It’s real, Captain! The White Robe Captain sent something!”
With an expression of deep annoyance, Lucia slowly rose from the sofa.
And the moment she stood, she was genuinely surprised by the sight at the entrance.
Boxes wrapped in adorable paper and tied with large and small ribbons were being steadily carried in by couriers, filling the space completely.
“…What in the world is this?”
While Lucia stood stunned, Vernon and Gilliana clapped their hands over their mouths.
Their eyes, fixed on their captain, shimmered with tears of emotion.
“…It’s love!”
“…It’s love!”
Despite their inexplicable cheers, Lucia remained speechless as wave after wave of gifts poured in.
Soon enough, they’d multiplied all the way into the living room, blocking every passage in the house.
The dynamic scene resembled someone’s heart—once restrained—now racing forward uncontrollably, brakes released.
*
[I won’t hide it any longer.]Written on the card the intimidated courier dropped as he fled.
‘What does this mean?’
Leon Luwins.
He was the son of the Imperial Chancellor, a staunch conservative—by all appearances, a flawless gentleman without a single blemish.
Thus, Lucia assumed he might disapprove of her behavior as morally unacceptable.
True, she’d fulfilled her promise to the Emperor by becoming a Sword Master—but she’d also borne a child during those five years, making her, in his eyes, an immoral knight.
Moreover, his intentions seemed even more suspicious because the gifts appeared to be randomly assorted, without regard for the child’s gender.
‘If he were truly kind, he’d have sent only girls’ items. Could this mean he wants us out of here?’
Perhaps Leon disliked her using Imperial lodging for personal matters and was trying to drive her out by flooding the place with gifts…
…Of course, that wasn’t it at all.
Lucia was completely mistaken.
Leon simply hadn’t known the child’s gender, so he’d sent everything.
Though she felt a flicker of irritation, she decided—as usual—not to dwell on it.
Such conservative nobles always removed those they disliked in their own elegant ways, and she was long accustomed to such harassment.
Right now, what truly annoyed her was Vernon and Gilliana, gleefully tearing open the many gift boxes.
“Wow, so cute! Look at this! Such a tiny dress? Though I’d prefer something a bit more… um, wild.”
“Look at this! Such an exquisite rocking horse as a child’s toy? It must’ve cost a fortune—truly a marquis’s household!”
“Stop opening them. It’ll be hard to return them later.”
Lucia said firmly, her expression hardening as she watched their antics.
“Whaaat? Chief? That can’t be right!”
“Exactly! Why return such wonderful gifts?!”
They clutched the presents to their chests like Gollum, glaring at Lucia defensively.
“Don’t you see there’s no room left to stand?”
Lucia looked at them pityingly, as if they were hopeless.
But, of course, it went right over their heads. They just beamed back at her proudly.
“Captain, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but returning such clearly intentional gifts would be impolite.”
Vernon replied seriously, then whispered to Gilliana,
“Gilliana, since Lord Leon is being so proactive, how about we help him out?”
“Good idea. It’s not easy to go this far for someone who already has a child. This must be true love!”
Unlike Lucia, who lacked any sense of nuance, they understood the gifts’ meaning perfectly.
However.
‘Right. Returning them would be impolite.’
Avoiding a fight was not in her nature—one of Lucia’s core principles as a swordsman.
Her expression darkened, as if contemplating bloody vengeance.
Anyone who knew the situation would’ve felt an urge to pat Leon sympathetically on the shoulder.
“Chief! Look, clothes that actually fit Nia are finally here! Wow, there must be at least thirty sets!”
Gilliana tore open several gifts wrapped in identical paper and exclaimed.
Out came simple, modest dresses suitable for a small child.
They looked far more fitting and comfortable for Nia, who was still awkwardly wearing Lucia’s oversized clothes.
‘Come to think of it, where’s Nia?’
The child who had been scrubbing the living room floor was nowhere to be seen.
Since the gifts had just arrived, she couldn’t have gone outside—so she must be in the kitchen or the reception room.
Peering through the gaps between boxes toward the open reception room door, Lucia hurriedly cleared a path—only to find no child, but a large box with tiny feet peeking out, inching slowly forward.
“Nia.”
At the sound of her name, the child fumbled the box in her hands—but Lucia quickly caught it before it fell.
“I’m sowwy…!”
The child immediately hid her hands behind her back, crying out in alarm.
Meeting Lucia’s startled gaze, Nia stammered,
“A-ah, it’s just… so many things came in. But, but this one’s clean…!”
The child babbled incoherently, wriggling her hands as if they were stained with something filthy.
“…”
Lucia was slightly shocked.
This was a development she’d never anticipated.
‘…She’s still worrying about it?’
After all, it had been a full week since they’d brought her from that hellishly filthy place, and though Nia hadn’t interacted much with the squad members, she’d been responding well—and crucially, had even slept in the same bed as Lucia, the only one available.
In Lucia’s mind, anyone who truly believed themselves unclean wouldn’t have done that.
Yet there was something Lucia failed to notice.
There was no five-year-old child sleeping nervously perched on the very edge of the bed, even in their closest shared space.
She’d never lived intimately with anyone before, so she didn’t realize how unnatural this distant coexistence with the child truly was.
Just then—
“Little Chief! Try this on quickly. Isn’t it pretty?”
Gilliana approached Nia, holding up a fluffy white dress.
Adorned with countless small, flat bows, it looked both adorable and comfortable.
But the child immediately stepped backward as far as Gilliana had approached, and declared firmly,
“Nia, Nia won’t! Nia won’t change! Nia will keep wearing this…!”
She clutched the short sleeves of Lucia’s shirt tightly around herself, as if afraid it would be taken away.
“Aww, but that outfit’s dirty now—let’s put on something new~!”
Gilliana’s well-meaning but tactless remark seemed to wound the child deeply; her golden eyes shimmered violently, and tears quickly welled up.
“Huh? Why? Don’t you like it? Little Chief?”
Flustered, Gilliana waved the tiny dress frantically in front of the child, who shook her head vehemently and retreated further—as if the dress itself were a monster.
It felt just like that first day they’d met—only the rags had been replaced by Lucia’s blouse.
Though Lucia had taken the child under the flimsy pretense of making her fix her own mess, the child’s heart had never left that warehouse—not even a single step.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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they’re so cute i’m gonna cry 😭😭 i adore them sm