喵绅HCMOIC士网页版

Chapter 182

There are a few things I’ve noticed since becoming a third-year student.

First of all, academy life, which was quite fun until second year, has become a bit boring.

Ah, don’t get me wrong.

When I say it’s boring, I don’t mean the academy itself is bad, but rather that I feel that way because the people around me are either gone due to their own circumstances or don’t have time.

First of all, Selena is back to her grad school life and thesis preparation, so I barely see her even once every three days.

Eloise, Lav, and Lefia, who were relatively relaxed in their first year, are now filling their schedules with lectures due to the pressure of graduation scores.

‘Lastly, the four friends who used to be so noisy have already graduated and are no longer at the academy.’

Meanwhile, I have my student life plus my activities as an Imperial War Hero, so I’m quite busy.

I attend lectures during the week, give lectures on weekends, and occasionally get invited by the church when I have some free time.

So, my body is busy, but my mind is incredibly bored. It’s a very strange situation.

Because of this, I’ve been longing for summer vacation more than ever.

I’m hoping the attention on me will die down a bit around that time, and more importantly, I have definite plans to visit Lasker with Lefia.

“Midterm exams start tomorrow. Don’t forget, everyone. You’re third-year students now. If your grades are low and you fail, you’ll be very busy not only in the second semester but also in your fourth year.”

After the midterm exams, which I’m actually looking forward to…

“Oh my, it’s already final exams. As I said last time, grades! Please, everyone, I hope you have a relaxed fourth year. Some of your seniors couldn’t.”

After passing the final hurdle of final exams…

“Students, you’ve all worked hard this semester. I hope you have a wonderful vacation, and I’ll see you in good health at the first lecture of the second semester.”

The first semester of the academy had finally come to an end.

All that was left was to visit Lasker with Lefia during the vacation, but….

Waaaah— Waaaaah!!—

“Oh my, my little niece. Why are you so sad today?”

“That’s strange. She usually stops crying when her uncle holds him.”

“Indeed, Your Highness.”

I came to the Imperial Palace to inform them that the vacation had started and that we would be visiting Lasker in a few days.

But for some reason, my little niece, unlike usual, wouldn’t stop crying no matter how much I tried to soothe and hold her.

Waaaah! Waaaaah!!

“Karl. Hand her over to me.”

In the end, my sister, unable to watch any longer, took Lily. But even in her mother’s arms, my niece’s crying continued. No, it got even louder when she left my arms.

They say young children grow up crying, but this crying was different.

The Crown Prince and my sister must have sensed it too, because they even called the royal physician and priests, but all they heard was…

“She doesn’t seem to be sick.”

In the end, even after being passed from my sister to my brother-in-law, and then from my brother-in-law to me…

Waaaah!!

My little nephew, Lily, kept crying, seemingly upset and dissatisfied about something.

* * *

“…Is she asleep?”

“Yes. Karl, I think she’s exhausted from crying so much.”

My sister lets out a sigh as she looks at Lily, sound asleep in her cradle.

Oh my. I never imagined my sister would sigh like that.

Just how much damage did the baby’s crying inflict on her?

“It’s strange. She’s not sick, but she cried even when you held her.”

“Nothing we did could soothe her. I thought she might be ill.”

Because of that, it took over an hour before I could finally tell them what I came here for.

“We’re scheduled to leave in three days.”

“How long do you plan to stay, brother-in-law?”

“A month at most. If there’s no particular reason, I’m thinking about two weeks.”

“If you stay too long, the Lasker people might feel uncomfortable, right?”

“To be honest, yes. We have to consider their side too. Like it or not, we’re in a cooperative relationship with them now.”

By now, the Lasker Queen’s power would be incomparably stronger than before.

It wouldn’t be shaken even if a former challenger who could have ascended the throne through the opposition appeared.

Rather, showing an even firmer stance in front of her would reveal the unshakeable nature of her royal authority to the world.

But that’s one thing, and the thoughts of the surrounding officials might be different.

They always say that power is about assuming the worst-case scenario, so it’s understandable, but on the other hand, I wonder if it’s really necessary.

Honestly, if we told Lefia to be the queen, she’s not the type to draw her sword and say, ‘I’m inheriting the throne, sister.’

She’s too kind. She would just say she absolutely won’t do it.

“It’s very kind of you to consider the relationship between the two countries. But as I said before, don’t be too humble. Just as they have their pride, our empire has its own.”

And when that pride is damaged, it’s obvious whose displeasure would be more fearsome.

At the Crown Prince’s last words, I felt a sense of reassurance filling my head.

“Anyway, it’s time for you to leave. Don’t you have a lot to prepare for? You also need to organize things that will happen while you’re away. Two weeks is not a short time, brother-in-law.”

“The Crown Prince’s advice is indeed reasonable. Then I shall…”

Waaaah—

“Oh dear.”

“Oh.”

Both the Crown Prince and I let out a sigh almost simultaneously at the sound of crying coming from the cradle.

The head maid rushed in to soothe my niece, but my sister stopped her and took Lily herself, rocking and comforting her in an attempt to quiet her cries.

Waaaah! Waaaaah!!

But her efforts were in vain.

My niece once again cried out loud enough to wake the dead.

She had only been asleep for about 30 minutes. Did she recover all her energy in that short time? She was crying so pitifully.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this, my dear.”

Even my sister couldn’t hide her bewilderment as she held my niece, not knowing what to do.

‘Could it be that she instinctively knows I’ll be gone for a while?’

I was so desperate that I even thought about that. Maybe that’s why she’s crying so sadly.

It’s absurd, but since it’s my niece, I thought it might be possible.

“Sister. Can I hold her for a moment?”

So, I decided to try a last-ditch effort.

“Oh dear, my little niece. Lily? Stop crying. Your uncle will bring you a wonderful gift when he comes back. Okay? Something you can play with when you’re older, something really cool and pretty.”

Waaaah— Waaaah!

“Uncle will give this gift only to Lily. So let’s not cry and wait until then, okay? If you cry like this, Uncle’s heart will ache so much that he won’t know what to do.”

Then, something amazing happened.

Waaah…

Even though she’s clearly at an age where she can’t even properly recognize things, let alone understand words.

Lily’s cries gradually began to subside, as if she understood what I was saying.

I was so stunned by this unbelievable event that I was momentarily speechless.

Waaaah…!

As if asking why I wasn’t comforting her anymore, Lily whimpered again, so I quickly patted her back.

Then, my niece, who had truly stopped crying, soon fell into a deep sleep.

“Oh my.”

“My goodness.”

As I held the small, warm baby in my arms, the Crown Prince and my sister exclaimed in unison.

Even the head maid was covering her mouth, trying to hide her surprise.

After holding Lily for about 10 minutes and confirming that she was sound asleep, I handed her over to my sister.

“Brother-in-law.”

Just as I was about to leave, the Crown Prince quietly approached me.

“This is something that came up in a discussion a while ago. I wasn’t thinking about it, but after seeing what happened today, I think I need to bring it up.”

“…If you’re thinking of giving me more work, I respectfully decline. My schedule is already full, Your Highness.”

“Don’t worry about that. If I really need you to do something, I’ll adjust your schedule so that my orders take priority.”

“…”

That’s very touching, Your Highness. Should I just use the sister card?

Waaaah. My brother-in-law is bullying me.

If I do it just once, I bet my arms and legs that the Crown Prince will call me the next day begging for help.

“Anyway. Actually, there’s been talk of appointing you as our daughter’s godfather.”

“Godfather? Me? But I’m already her…”

“Uncle, but godparents can be anyone but the parents. In fact, it’s often close relatives who are appointed.”

Godfather. I hesitated for a moment, but soon shook my head.

“Why not?”

“I’d rather hear my niece call me uncle than godfather.”

“Hmm. If you don’t want it, I can’t force you.”

Of course. And besides, there’s already someone with the same name as me, so if I also become the godfather… Ah, never mind. Forget I said that.

“So, what kind of gift are you going to bring for our daughter?”

“What else could be better than a sword from Lasker? I just received a good sword, so I think I’ll bring a nice sword for my niece as well.”

And if Lasker doesn’t give me a gift this time?

Well, then I’ll just have to pull out my trump card, the talking greatsword.