Chapter 627: Knight at Home
"Lyra, it’s time for breakfast..."
A gentle female voice came from the kitchen in the east of the yard, entering Lyra’s ears.
Hearing her mother’s words, the pink-haired girl who had been staring blankly at the sky softly put her two soft and smooth silk-stockinged feet pitch-black little leather shoes. After slipping inside, she first gently stroked the pleats at her ankles, then pulled the silk stockings taut with her fingers to prevent wrinkles under the soles, before standing up and walking downstairs.
Maybe... she had imagined it...
The Kingdom of Velys had already been driven back, and the Valeria Empire had established numerous no-fly magic zones along the border between the two countries. How could anyone possibly fly at such a high altitude without using mental energy or elemental particles?
Even the strongest knights or mages couldn’t achieve that. Not to mention, this was the relatively underdeveloped northeastern region of the Empire, where commercial activities rely on the transportation outposts established by the late Duke Charles to expand the territory. There simply wouldn’t be any flying objects here except birds.
Stepping out of the main house, feeling the sunlight on her shoulders, Lyra, who hadn’t noticed the small dark light moving across the surface of the blazing sun, gently stroked the fur of a well-behaved puppy in the doghouse, then drew a ladle of water from a nearby water vat to wash her hands before entering the kitchen and sitting down at the dining table.
Compared to the cold outdoors, the kitchen with its lit fire was noticeably warmer. Lyra gently touched the wooden long chair by the skirt edge, her eyes gazing at the stove not far away where charcoal was still burning. Probably due to the recent removal of the stove lid, the spot she touched was slightly warmer than body temperature, and the smooth finish felt very pleasant against her skin.
Nothing could be more heartwarming than entering a cozy, steaming kitchen in the dead of winter to enjoy a delicious meal.
Today’s breakfast at Lyra’s home consists of beef pies and mushroom soup. The former were kept in a small basket, and due to the generous use of seasonings, the air was filled not only with the natural wheat aroma from the pies but also with the scent of various spices.
As for the mushroom soup, Lyra noticed some potatoes and cauliflower in it. The soft-cooked mixed broth contains slices of brown mushrooms, looking incredibly appetizing.
Five years ago, Lyra’s family would never have been able to afford such a luxurious breakfast. Back then, meat, expensive and only eaten during celebrations or festivals, was out of reach, and even the seasonings in the mushroom soup were sparingly used. Typically, they’d just prepare two or three black breads and a little vegetables and call it a meal.
Only because they consider Lyra’s need to grow, her father will sometimes sell animal hides he’d hunted and skinned at the market, using the money to buy milk instead of well water to supplement his daughter’s nutrition.
Similar nutritional supplements included eggs, though every time Lyra ate them, she’d detected a faintly alcoholic taste. The eggs her father bought after selling his homemade coarse barley wine were stored in wooden barrels still containing residual alcohol, so boiling them in water inevitably left a trace of flavor.
Fortunately, those hardships of the past no longer needed to be endured. Lyra was now a legend, officially recognized as the Empire’s Holy Light Knight. Even if she didn’t actively take care of them, nobles would go out of their way to curry favor with her, properly arranging every aspect of her parents’ lives.
Of course, Lyra had always been a filial and sensible daughter. On her first day back home, she mounted her Holy Sword, cleared out a whole mountain full of game, from wild boars to mountain chickens, and fish from the lake, all unable to escape detection by the auxiliary mental energy detection field of the "Sword of Light," though this made the hunting itself somewhat devoid of fun. Still, Lyra’s intention was merely to gather ingredients for home use, and the surplus she distributed among the neighbors who had once taken care of her.
These people had also helped Lyra greatly throughout her growth. The very reason she could gather the tuition and travel expenses to the capital was thanks to their loans. Although the debts had long been repaid, the bonds of affection remained.
"So much meat... I wonder when we’ll finish it all."
Looking at the large pile of pork, chicken, and venison frozen with ice magic in their storage shed, the woman sitting beside Lyra sipped her soup, her tone slightly admiring.
"Your father used to hunt half a day for one wild boar, and probably wouldn’t have gotten as much as you did this time."
Indeed, when they saw Lyra pull out such a massive haul from her Sword of Light, the elderly couple nearly dropped their jaws. Father and daughter spent the entire afternoon processing all the games.
It had to be said, when it came to skinning and butchering, the Sword of Light wasn’t as practical as a dedicated hunting knife.
Upon hearing this, Lyra fluttered her eyelashes playfully and replied.
"Well, I am a pretty powerful knight now."
"A few mountain boars are nothing to deal with."
Compared to the practical exams at Elizabeth Academy of Magic, where powerful magical beasts with elemental crystals put up fierce resistance, these ordinary wild animals didn’t even have a chance to struggle.
Across the table, her father nodded, taking a large sip from his wine glass before speaking after a moment.
"With so much, it’ll probably last us until spring."
"That thing responsible for freezing... what was it called again... a magical energy appliance..."
"Quite remarkable. Not only good for meat, but it can chill barley wine too, more effective than leaving it outside to freeze."
Hearing her husband’s words, the middle-aged woman who had just finished cooking looked up and noticed small ice chips floating in his glass, speaking softly.
"On such a cold day, drink less chilled barley wine..."
"The house is warm. A chilled drink feels good."
In the slightly stuffy kitchen, with hot pancakes on the griddle and fresh mushroom soup just out of the pot, anyone with a decent stomach would find a glass of chilled barley wine just right.
Looking at her father across the table, dressed in a thick coat, Lyra didn’t mention the refrigerator, whose internal structure she hadn’t asked about, but whose crystal components alone were worth far more than hundreds of pounds of meat, and instead agreed with her mother.
"Father, you should listen to Mother. Drink less of the chilled stuff."
Astrid had told her that alcohol wasn’t good, that drinking too much or too little could harm the body, let alone when paired with food at extreme temperatures.
Hearing his daughter say the same, the man finally nodded in response.
"Just this one glass."
Then he switched to drinking warm barley wine.
Lyra’s lips curled slightly upon hearing this, as she picked up a beef pie and took a bite.
Onion, egg, chopped celery, and beef, bursting with rich, seasoned sauce into her taste buds.
The mouthful was packed with meat and wheat fragrance, warming her entire body once swallowed, no worse than what she’d eaten at Liya Tower.
Watching as a bite was taken from the pie in her daughter’s hand, and noting the sauce clinging to her pink lips, the woman gently nudged the plate of mushroom soup closer to Lyra, also placing the spoon within her easy reach.
Sitting in the warm house, listening to the crackling of burning firewood, and the occasional drip of melting ice from the icicles outside falling onto the frost-covered ground.
After a while, the kitchen door was pushed open by the dogs, a yellow and a white one walking in with their tails up, then obediently pushed the door shut again.
Lyra fed the dogs while chatting with her parents, her sapphire-blue pupils sparkling with tiny points of light.
Being with family feels so wonderful.
The only regret... is that the person I love isn’t here...
She asked her parents once again why they wouldn’t move to the new house she’d bought in town. The couple gave the same old answer: they’d spent most of their lives here, knew everyone around, and didn’t want to go elsewhere.
Lyra understood and supported her parents’ decision. As a daughter, the only thing she could do was use her savings to provide them with magical energy appliances, like air conditioning, convenient hot water flasks for drinking, and rapid clothes-drying blow dryers. Her village-bound parents only knew these items were expensive, but had no idea their actual value far exceeded their expectations.
Forget milk and eggs, this set of magical appliances cost nearly as much as a house in Imperial City.
Taking a sip of soup, Lyra reminded her parents again to take the health-preserving magic potion she brought back on schedule. It was good for their eyes, stomach, and overall health. The couple nodded in agreement, and the conversation shifted suddenly to her future plans.
"Lyra, now that you’re back... are there still unresolved matters?"
To outsiders, Lyra had achieved fame and returned home in glory. Only her parents felt lingering fear.
After all, Lyra was a veteran of the front lines, having participated directly in the Valeria Empire’s counter-invasion war against the Kingdom of Velys. Although the elderly couple couldn’t access firsthand battlefield information, they knew the horror of war was unimaginable for ordinary people.
At home, the worst injury Lyra Beckett had ever suffered was a splinter from chopping wood. But on the battlefield, any random accident could lead to their precious daughter’s death. Even if not fatal, any irreversible physical injury would be unbearable for them.
Fortunately, she had returned completely intact.
Hearing her mother bring up this topic, Lyra slowed her chewing of the beef pie slightly, her two legs wrapped in delicate silk stockings quietly closing together, softly hooking under the chair’s base.
Officially speaking, she had already graduated from Elizabeth Academy of Magic and was a completely free individual. The title the Empress had bestowed upon her was essentially honorary, no land, no servants, just a monthly stipend drawn from the imperial treasury.
In other words, Lyra had no real reason to return to the capital now, at least that’s how her parents saw it.
"... ..."
After swallowing a small piece of beef pie, Lyra pursed her lips and answered softly.
"Well... there are still some matters..."
Astrid couldn’t leave the capital for the time being, and Lyra wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone in Imperial City to handle the upcoming purges of the former Velys nobility and the perilous magical energy overhaul reform.
On a personal emotional level, she wanted to see Astrid, to live together with her. On a philosophical level, she wanted the Kingdom of Velys, which had started the war, to face mild punishment, and to seek justice for the fallen soldiers so they could rest in peace.
After that, regarding the magical energy appliance reform that would benefit the entire Empire, she also wanted to contribute, to help Astrid Calliste shoulder the immense pressure from all sides.
Her lover was already walking the ideal path she wished to follow. Whether out of love and responsibility, or personal ambition, she ought to return to that familiar city.
"The Empress will hold a reckoning for Kingdom of Velys’s invasion after the New Year. I need to be there in person for the related events," Lyra said softly.
"As for the longer term, the new Empress is a good ruler. The future Valeria Empire may undergo a series of civil reforms... I’d like to lend a hand to the Regent princess..."
This was the complete unification of personal ideals and emotions. Even though staying home like today, enjoying a warm and cozy morning, was joyful and comfortable, Lyra felt there was always something higher than that.
The corpses are buried beneath the frozen soil. The families that never received their children back. The pitiful people are still starving and shivering in rags.
Having experienced war and witnessing noble arrogance, she couldn’t bear to stand idly by, indulging in pleasures like the majority of the Empire’s upper class, accomplishing.
As her words faded, Lyra unconsciously pursed her lips, her expression somewhat complex.
But... would Father and Mother understand her?
When she said she wanted to join the military, the two in front of her had eventually expressed understanding. Yet at the moment of her actual departure, the worry overflowing from their eyes, Lyra could still clearly see it even today.
That day, facing the "Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment," if she had truly died, her parents would have been utterly heartbroken.
After a while, her father asked gravely.
"Should it be safer than your previous enlistment?"
"Yes, virtually no danger."
Regardless of whether the reckoning action would involve much bloodshed when actually carried out, Lyra was now an early tier Arcanist mage, wielding the Sword of Light. If she really couldn’t win, she could retreat. Those capable of killing her head-on were practically non-existent.
As for the subsequent magical energy appliance reform, Lyra, who considered herself politically untalented, would merely serve as Astrid’s sword, adding another layer of protection for the Regent princess’s personal safety.
Hearing their daughter’s words, the middle-aged woman took another beef pie for Lyra, speaking gently.
"As long as it’s not dangerous, it’s fine."
"If you want to do it, and can promise to come back safely..."
"...I support you."
She had one hundred percent faith in her child, just as when Lyra once said she wanted to attend the magic academy in the capital, the middle-aged village woman who had never left Morin Village or Koster Town immediately urged her husband to gather the tuition, paving the way for her daughter’s future.
Hearing his wife’s, the man who had been drinking barley wine didn’t show any misunderstanding on his face, only sighed quietly in his heart and spoke softly.
"I’m the same as your mother."
He had only this one daughter, but his daughter only had this one life. She had achieved achievements far beyond what the couple could ever reach, and she should pursue her own ideals and dreams.
As long as Lyra stayed healthy, happy every day, and did what she wanted, that was enough.
With her family’s approval, Lyra’s eyes crinkled with a smile, about to say she’d return to visit them periodically, when suddenly her mother spoke up.
However... Lyra...
"This time you’re going to the capital... is it also for that very good friend..."
