The Dawn Unaware Of The Dusk

In the presence of Liebe, time passed in the blink of an eye. Lilith, Tenebris, and Liebe were a happy family. Seeing this, Gelda thought, Such a beautiful child with jet-black hair… it seems as if this family came from a fairy tale. And seeing this, Gelda couldn't help but think, Maybe being a mother isn't so bad after all.

Three months after Liebe's birth, Gelda was officially assigned as the knight responsible for taking care of him.

Lilith said, "I'm proud to leave my son in the care of one of my friends—someone I trust."

Gelda replied, "Yeah, I'll take care of Liebe as if he were my own."

Lilith smiled. "Now that puts my soul at ease, especially since I'll be working again from tomorrow—at least from home."

"Good to know," Gelda said. "And maybe soon, hopefully, I'll get married and be blessed with a child of my own."

Lilith laughed softly. "If that happens, I'll be able to rest easy knowing Liebe will have a friend."

A few days passed, and during a break in her duties, Gelda went to check on the baby. As she entered the room, she saw Liebe playing with a small dark orb. Lilith took the orb and examined it, puzzled—neither she nor Tenebris had given him such a toy. Then, right before her eyes, the ball vanished.

Lilith looked back at Liebe and saw that the ball had reappeared around him, and he was joyfully playing with it again. That's when she realized—the toy was something Liebe had created himself. Alarmed, she rushed to call a doctor.

When the doctor arrived and examined Liebe, he said, "He's perfectly fine."

Lilith, concerned, asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Children usually start using magic after gaining basic consciousness, which is generally after the age of 12 months. But in rare cases, magic activates subconsciously. He's just an early bloomer. From the look of the orb, he's been practicing."

Lilith frowned. "But how…?"

"Don't worry. If you see any more irregularities, just call me. From what I can tell, this phenomenon is due to his extremely high mana resonance. He can create things earlier than normal. A knight might be able to explain this better than me."

Lilith flew straight to the Black Rose HQ and barged into Domr's office.

"Father, look!" she exclaimed.

Domr looked up from his desk. "I'm a bit busy right now, but what is it?"

"Look here," Lilith said, showing him the small orb. As he looked, the orb disappeared.

"Watch!" she insisted, and the orb reappeared in Liebe's hand.

Domr's eyes widened. "Liebe is already able to create things from magic?"

"No way!" Domr said in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

Lilith explained, "The doctor said Liebe has an incredibly high amount of mana resonance."

"So what does that mean?" Domr asked.

"It basically means he can synchronize with the natural mana around him. His mana waves are already forcing surrounding mana to match his frequency. That's why he could create something so early—and the ball he made is so perfectly spherical."

"May I take a closer look?" Domr asked. As he took the orb, it disappeared again.

"Well," he said, "his mana waves may be able to resonate, but his range hasn't developed much yet—not in all areas anyway."

As Domr examined the orb earlier, he was clearly impressed.

"Lilith, go home. We should celebrate tonight."

Later that day, when Lilith returned home, she found Gelda in a panic.

"Liebe is gone! He's not in the baby room!"

Lilith chuckled. "Yeah, I know. He's with me."

Gelda sighed in relief. "Ohhhhh, thank goodness. By the way, I have something cool to show you."

"Something cool?"

"Liebe—show your mother!"

Liebe joyfully created the orb again.

Lilith sighed. "Unfortunately, I already found that out today… and I panicked."

"No need to panic," Gelda said. "When I saw it, I had him checked by a doctor. The doctor said he was fine, so I thought I'd keep it as a surprise."

"It was more of a heart attack than a surprise," Lilith said dryly.

"Don't you see it? He's a prodigy! He was born for a reason. Only a lioness can give birth to the king of the jungle—and he will be the king every creature reveres!"

Liebe started crying.

"There, there," Lilith said. "I'll feed you once we're inside."

After feeding him, Liebe fell asleep. Later, Tenebris returned home with Domr, who was holding a bottle of 100-year-old wine.

"100-year-old wine?" Tenebris said. "What's the occasion, sir?"

Domr grinned. "You don't know?"

"Afraid not, sir."

"Let's sit down for dinner—then I'll explain."

Later, as Tenebris entered the bedroom, he asked, "What happened? Why is your father so happy tonight?"

Lilith smiled. "Wait—you don't know?"

"No."

"Look at this," she said, showing him the small orb.

"What is it?"

"Our son used magic to make this."

Tenebris teared up. "Really?"

Lilith nodded. "Such a talented baby."

Tenebris gently picked Liebe up from his crib and carried him to the dining table. As they sat for dinner, Domr stood up and said:

"Everyone, today is a day of celebration.