Chapter 301
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 10 Years Later (2)
Near the Northern Imperial Palace, there is one academy.
However, this place is different from the Imperial Academy in the heart of the capital.
Most of the students are boys and girls fifteen years old and under.
Once they turn fifteen, they move on to the main academy in the center.
Until then, the children of prestigious families attend this place, the Youth Academy.
Of course, I had no idea such a place existed until I became the Duke.
I'd spent my whole life in the orphanage, living off wild strawberries from the mountains and fields with Mago.
「Bay Laurel Academy」
The beautiful academy walls and arched entrance.
Today, they were flung wide open for all to see.
Climbing the hill and entering, a vast field and benches spread out.
Normally, those benches were mostly empty.
The children had almost no time to play outside due to their rigorous imperial education.
But today was different.
「Class A, assemble in a line!!」
「Class B, prepare for the relay!!」
Teachers shouting through amplification magic.
Children moving in perfect order at their commands.
“Kyle, you got this!!”
“Don’t tense up, just focus ahead and run!!”
And the parents cheering them on.
Perhaps because most were from the empire’s upper class, it was mostly mothers who had come to watch their children.
Slipping in among them in my knight’s uniform felt strange.
“Hmm….”
I covered my mouth with my fist and cleared my throat.
Then, I quietly approached the benches where the parents were watching the children.
As expected from an upper-class academy, no one was sitting on the benches.
The school had already prepared luxurious leather chairs.
Most of the ladies sat primly, cheering on their children or checking their schedules in between.
However, a few mothers with strong competitive spirits stood and cheered.
One of them made eye contact with me, dressed in my new knight’s uniform.
Her gaze naturally drifted to my chest.
To check if I was her equal.
I didn’t find the look unpleasant.
In upper-class society, gauging someone’s level was essential for survival.
“Hello, I suppose your wife’s father has come?”
Somewhat awkward imperial tongue.
She was clearly from upper Bakal.
“Yes, nice to meet you. Haha….”
I stood on tiptoes, scanning the surroundings for my children.
“You’re a new knight?”
“Yes, something like that.”
I answered absently while searching for the kids.
Then, the woman who looked to be in her thirties, from Bakal, struck up a friendly conversation.
“How curious. You’re the first new knight I’ve seen among the parents. What family are you from to get your kids into this prestigious academy—.”
She was subtly asking how a newbie knight had enrolled his children here.
I replied curtly, unperturbed.
“I have no family. My wives are many.”
“Ahh—I see. So you’re a pillar husband….”
The woman muttered under her breath with an “of course” expression.
She especially seemed convinced when she said “pillar husband” and stared at my face.
“Found him, Ian!!”
I shouted upon spotting the boy lined up as the first runner in the relay.
A boy with beautiful silver hair like a wolf and jet-black eyes.
“…!”
Hearing me, the boy looked up.
And with a strikingly handsome, refined face—whose child was he?—he flashed a bright smile.
「Runners, to your marks!!」
At the academy teacher’s call, the children took their positions on the track.
The other students waiting on the benches cheered enthusiastically.
“Ian, you got this!!”
“He’s so handsome!!”
Especially the girls his age cheered for Ian fervently.
Well, even I could see the boy had an incredibly handsome face, no idea who he took after.
Pale skin and mysterious silver hair.
Combined with those deep black eyes.
It felt like gazing at a silver wolf cub on the snowfields.
Bang―――!!
With the crack of the starting pistol, the runners took off all at once.
And as expected, in the lead was our eldest son.
“Galerhead, don’t lose!!”
The noble lady beside me shouted loudly.
She seemed to be the mother of the boy running neck-and-neck with our Ian.
But no matter how hard he ran.
Once Ian, inheritor of two Grandmasters’ blood, kicked into high gear, he pulled ahead with overwhelming speed.
The girls screamed at the sight of him surging forward.
――――――!!
Ian completed the lap in a flash.
His next runner was a girl.
Dressed in gym clothes, with jet-black hair and a lithe build.
She reached out to Ian with her characteristic sharp, upturned eyes.
Was there some unspoken bond between those with great athleticism?
The same-age kids passed the baton smoothly.
Then, with leopard-like speed, she widened the gap from the other runners even further.
“You’re doing great, Lili!!”
I cheered loudly again, arms crossed by myself.
The noble lady beside me looked at me curiously.
I’d cheered for the first kid too.
But now this second girl with different hair color as well.
She furrowed her brow briefly, then refocused on her own child.
Lili completed her lap with a confident expression.
Each time she exhaled roughly, her sharp fangs glinted.
「あ――. Class A is dominating!! They’re already half a lap ahead of second place!!」
The girl with Eastern pale skin and Western features sprinted with all her might.
Some boys who liked her shouted, cheering Lili on.
“….”
The noble lady tilted her head at the overwhelming athleticism.
Then she naturally pondered whose child Ian and Lili could be.
Having married in from Bakal, she didn’t yet know all the parents by name.
But soon her mind went blank, unable to think of such things.
That new knight beside her who’d been bothering her from earlier.
That is, I had cheered vigorously for the next runner after Lili too.
“Helena, no slacking, Daddy’s watching!!”
“…?”
The first two kids I’d cheered for had completely different hair colors.
And now the third was blonde too—what, three households?
But that wasn’t the only issue.
Class A’s final runner.
The girl kneeling on one knee before Lane, waiting.
She was famous enough in the empire that even the lady from Bakal knew her.
「あ, Class A’s final runner, Princess Helena, receives the baton!!」
Lili sprinted hard and finally slapped hands with the blonde girl, Helena.
At the same time, in her characteristic sharp voice:
“You better not slack off again!!”
The empire’s First Imperial Princess received the baton.
As she sprang up with full force, her radiant golden hair whipped beautifully.
“I got this, Lili.”
As the princess began running lightly, the boys sprawled out exhausted from their races all lifted their heads at once.
They stared blankly at Helena’s form.
Barely nine years old, yet already her mature, sensual eyes were striking.
Gray irises sparkled brilliantly amid her golden locks.
The students dazed, entranced by her imperial gaze.
But they soon snapped to attention.
A powerful chill emanated from the parents’ seats, instinctively cowing them.
I gave the boys a cold, formal smile.
Only after they shrank back did I switch to a kindly one to cheer Helena.
「Whose daughter is she? The best!!」
A booming shout claiming the empire’s First Imperial Princess as his daughter.
Hearing it, not just the noble lady beside me but all the other parents turned to stare.
Especially the one who’d dismissed me as a pillar husband—she covered her mouth with her hand.
Her pupils trembled as she slowly backed away from me.
“….”
Helena, who had been jogging as if out for a leisurely stroll.
Hearing my cheer, she waved gracefully.
Clearly just nine years old.
Perhaps like Lea, she had a remarkably calm and mature air.
But unlike that noble bearing, her pace was quite slow.
Thanks to that, the trailing runners were closing in fast.
Fortunately, Lili and Ian had built nearly a full lap lead, but it was only a matter of time before they caught up.
「ああ……!! Class B’s runner, Rupert, is closing in fast. He’s narrowed it to less than half a lap!!」
Even as the announcer’s urgent voice rang out, Helena remained relaxed.
She jogged briskly without so much as glancing back at her pursuers.
When fewer than twenty steps remained to the finish line.
The other students stood, watching the princess anxiously.
Panting breaths right behind her.
Rough footsteps too.
Close enough to feel in Helena’s radiant hair.
Yet the princess stayed nonchalant.
Just as the tenacious pursuer stretched for the finish line.
She took a light step forward and crossed first.
As if she’d calculated in advance that at this pace, she would win for sure.
「First place is Class A! Princess Helena of Class A takes first!!」
To celebrate Class A’s victory, the teachers set off pre-prepared fireworks.
Instead of my busy wives, I leaped from the benches and ran to the children.
Ian and Lili, and Helena breathing shallowly with a grown-up smile.
I approached the praiseworthy boy and girls and hugged all three tightly.
“You really are my son and daughters…!!”
The kids reacted each in their own way to the tight embrace.
“Having Dad here let me run even better.”
Our Ian calmly crediting me.
Just like Irina, his heart was truly kind.
“This is basic. Well, with Daddy here, I pushed a bit harder—.”
Lili, arms crossed alone, chin held high.
Her hair in Lydia-like pigtails bobbed proudly.
“Yes, yes—. Daddy’s so happy thanks to you—.”
I grinned foxily with sly eyes.
I patted their shoulders, praising them lavishly.
But.
Unlike those two so full of childlike energy….
“Welcome, Father. You must be tired from coming.”
Our Helena had such a peculiar vibe.
“If it weren’t for the sports day, you’d be resting in the garden hammock.”
Was it because she took after His Imperial Majesty?
With eyes just like Lea’s mature gaze, she patted my shoulder instead.
“Since you’re watching us today, I specially asked Mother to give you the day off.”
“Uh, uh…. Really?”
Helena clasped her hands behind her back leisurely.
Same age as Lili, yet she was already half a head taller.
“Yes, go rest in the vegetable garden.”
“Alright, thank you—.”
In the end, I acknowledged her maturity and stroked her head.
The hitherto composed girl cleared her throat, embarrassed by my touch.
Only then did she seem like a little girl.
「The next event is flag snatch. Parents must participate too, so fathers, please come forward!!」
“Huh…? I have to join too?”
“Yes, you give us piggyback rides, and we snatch the opponents’ flags.”
Ian explained the rules calmly.
His black eyes sparkled through his silver hair.
‘If I’d arrived late to the academy, that would’ve been a disaster….’
“Win this one, and Class A takes the overall championship.”
Helena added, slowly smoothing her hair.
“Got it. Then shall I loosen up a bit after so long?”
I rolled my stiff shoulders.
Meanwhile, the other fathers from the VIP seats began coming onto the field.
Some were knight order officers, sturdy and brimming with strong mana.
To face such formidable opponents, I shook out my uniform jacket.
Then Lili gently tugged my sleeve.
“What’s up, my girl?”
“Don’t you remember Mother always said to wear your medals and badges for official events?”
Lili looked up at me with her sharp red eyes.
She plunged her hand into my pocket and pulled out a handful of medals.
“Kneel down.”
At the petite girl’s command, I grinned and knelt willingly.
The cub leopard, still with baby fat, grumbled as she pinned them on herself.
「Empire’s Greatest Sword.」
「Member of the Imperial Family, Golden Lion.」
「Guardian of Bakal-Leon Diplomacy.」
「Honorary Medal of Hawthorne Kingdom.」
「Royal Medal of Samard Kingdom.」
And more—countless medals the children pinned on one by one.
For a lazy playboy, I had quite the titles.
To outsiders, we looked like a friendly father and his three kids.
But.
From the other parents watching from afar, it was pure terror.
Their eyes twitched beneath at the thought of piggyback fighting the Empire’s Greatest Sword.
“I’ll leave them to you all—.”
Finishing the colorful sticker game on my uniform, I flashed a sly smile.
The parents gulped deeply.
However, they still had some confidence.
They thought someone among Class B’s parents could stand against me.
“Veil—. So even you couldn’t withstand the princesses’ nagging?”
A familiar voice from afar.
I turned with the kids.
That moment.
“Even the world’s Grandmaster has his weaknesses—.”
Richard Stonefield.
The Captain of the Order of Radiant Knights, walking onto the field with his daughter, Lina.
Fitter than ever from his captain duties.
He chuckled, gazing leisurely at me.
“Then, like old times, shall we have a go?”
“Sounds good. Let’s see if you’ve improved.”
Before the children, the intense auras of Swordmaster and Grandmaster rose.
Ian watched worriedly, Lili confidently sure I’d win, Helena with disdain.
“Father, this is a kids’ event…”