The Dawn Unaware Of The Dusk

After exiting Domr's office, Gelda said, "Good morning. You sure are late."

Lilith replied, "Well, my investigation wasn't fruitful."

Gelda raised an eyebrow. "Just one month in the knighthood, and you're already investigating thieves? We both graduated from the academy only three months ago. Take it easy."

"I can't do that," Lilith said. "One day, after my father retires, I'll be the one who has to become its captain. I can't afford to slack off."

Gelda smirked. "Says the same person who gambled away their entire month's salary right after that investigation."

Lilith's face turned red. "It's not what it looked like!" she screamed.

"Sure, sure," Gelda teased.

In the present…

Her husband entered the room, followed by Tenebris, who said warmly, "My love, he's as beautiful as you."

Lilith smiled. "Liebe is beautiful—the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. A baby with the face of hope."

Then, Liebe started to cry.

Tenebris said, "He must be hungry."

Gelda entered the room and said, "My lady, the child is beautiful. He's the spitting image of you. Looks like the Vice Captain of Blue Rose has finally settled down a bit."

Domr entered next and declared proudly, "Finally, the House of Faust has an heir. And from his magic power, I can already sense that he has inherited our signature ability. For a newborn, his mana pool is remarkably lively."

"Oh, I think you should hold him," Domr said.

"Thank you, Father," Lilith replied. As she gently held Liebe, he stopped crying. A small orb floated above her hand—a Void Orb. Seeing it, Liebe smiled.

Gelda said softly, "My lady, you should get some rest."

Domr announced, "It's time. Let's start the celebration! At last, the House of Faust has an heir!"

The celebrations carried on deep into the night. The birth of Liebe on November 17th truly felt like a beacon of hope. His arrival seemed to fill everyone around him with warmth and light.

Then Jewel arrived.

"My lady," she said breathlessly, "the heir to the House of Faust… He is truly like his mother. I'm sure he'll be a great one."

Gelda chuckled. "By the way things are going, Jewel, this kid will be a better knight than you in the blink of an eye."

"Whattt?" Jewel exclaimed.

Lilith laughed. "Your daughter's grown quite a bit too."

Jewel smiled. "Well, she's now 20 months old."

"She's definitely gotten bigger," Lilith said.

"Well," Jewel added, "Elodie is three months in, so maybe soon my house will also have an heir. Sooo… can I get some extended leave, Vice Captain?"

Lilith grinned. "Congrats! Maybe your kid can be friends with Liebe. And no—you already sleep till 3 PM. How much more leave do you need?"

"Worth a try," Jewel said. "And we named her Rosi."

"That's such a beautiful name," Lilith said.

"The magic power coming from Liebe… I can feel it. He has a strong attribute and a huge mana pool to draw from. Can I hold her?"

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "He. Liebe is a boy."

"Ohh," Jewel blushed. "He looked so much like you that I thought he was a girl."

"Same," Lilith chuckled.

Just as Jewel tried to hold Liebe, the baby started to cry. Jewel began singing a lullaby, but Liebe cried even harder.

Lilith said, "Maybe I should hold him."

"Sure," Jewel replied, handing him over.

The moment Lilith held Liebe, he stopped crying and started to smile.

"How is this baby smiling already?" Jewel said. "He was crying just a second ago!"

Domr explained, "It's because of your light-based magic. The baby has dark-based magic, so instinctively, it reacts against your aura and starts to cry."

"No wonder," Jewel sighed.

Domr narrowed his eyes. "And by the way, shouldn't you be on active duty right now instead of slacking off?"

Jewel gave a sheepish grin. "Well, sir, about that… Since everyone was enjoying the celebratory spirit, I thought—why should a Black Rose elite miss out? So here I am."

Domr sighed. "From nothing to an S-class Black Rose elite, and you're still as immature as ever. One of these days, you'll be the cause of my death."

"Father," Lilith said gently, "don't about death like that in front of the newborn baby."