When Milton retreated, Leila got up from her seat and walked over to Bess. ThenâŠ
âElizabeth.â
She quietly and firmly spoke her daughterâs name.
âWahhh! Wahhhhhh!â
Bess started crying louder when her mother began to approach her. It was as if she was trying to let the world know that she was still sad. But Leila only repeated herself firmly.
âElizabeth.â
âWahhh!! Mom. Dad⊠dadâŠâ
Elizabeth was to tell her mom about how unfair her dad had been. How could he tell her that she had to wash up first before getting a snack? For Elizabeth, this was more than enough reason for her dad to become a villain in her world. But Leila had no intentions of indulging her tantrum and continued to speak firmly.
âStop crying, love.â[1]
âWaa⊠aâŠâ
Her dad was a pushover, but her mom was unyielding and tantrums never worked on her. Elizabeth was beginning to lose her will to continue in the face of her motherâs firm determination. There was no lecturing, no physical discipline, and no grandfather to spoil her[2]. But Queen Leila managed to correct her daughterâs bad habit by suppressing it with her overpowering dignity. She simply waited for her daughter to stop crying. Once Bess stopped crying, Leila called over a maid.
âWash her up and give her a snack.â
âYes, Your Majesty.â
And that was the end of the situation.
Elizabeth must have been tired after crying because she quietly nestled in the maidâs arms and meekly went to get cleaned up.
Milton stared at Queen Leila in amazement.
â...How did you do that?â
He already knew that she was like a nine-tailed vixen, but he never thought itâd be helpful in parenting. If he had known it would be like this, then heâd have learned from her much sooner. Seeing him staring at her like this, Queen Leila spoke to him firmly.
âThatâs because you say yes to everything and let her climb up all over you.â
âNo, butâŠâ
âIâm glad you love Bess, but if you love her, then itâs necessary to say no to her too.â
âI know that, butâŠâ
âYou canât just âknow that.ââ
Queen Leila spent the next couple of minutes nagging at Milton about parenting. She started off by telling him that he couldnât give Elizabeth a snack before she even had her meal and ended by telling him he wasnât a genie in a lamp that could grant all of Elizabethâs wishes; basically, Queen Leila pointed out all of Miltonâs faults, one by one.
âAll right, I got it. I wonât do it again.â
In the end, Milton surrendered. He decided to leave most of his daughterâs education in Leilaâs hands. He had realized that even if he loved her, no, because he loved her, he couldnât just let her be raised willy-nilly.
***
âParenting is the real war.â
After eating dinner and Elizabeth had fallen asleep, Milton retreated to his bedroom with his beloved wife. This time, that woman was Violet.
âBut, isnât she still cute?â
âYeah, sheâs so cute I want to die.â
Milton looked happy again. Could there be anything else in the world that could make a person so happy just by thinking about it? It was amazing.
âAhem⊠But Leila is right. It doesnât seem like itâs good to say yes to everything and pampering her.â
It seemed like Milton had learned something after getting the whole parenting experience.
Violet responded to him as she personally helped Milton out of his overcoat and hung it up.
âBut I find myself being envious of Bess.â
âHuh? Why? Whatâre you talking about?â
âI have⊠never been loved like that by my father.â
At those words, Milton realized something. Violet had never been loved by her father or received any attention from him; she had only been used and taken advantage of by him.
He began to wonder whether he was hurting her by causing her to remember the emotional pain she had gone through in her childhood as she watched him pampering his daughter. When she saw Milton looking at her, Violet grinned.
âDonât worry about it, Iâm all right becauseâŠâ
She pressed her face against Miltonâs chest.
âIâm so happy right now. So happy I wonder if itâs okay for me to be this happy.â
Her words rang with sincerity
âViolet.â
At that moment, Milton loved her so much. He lifted her face and kissed her as hard as he could. He gently lifted her onto the bed and untied the laces of her dress. ThenâŠ
âAh, wait. I⊠I have to get ready first.â
She lightly pushed him away and reached over to get something out of the drawer next to the bed.
âThatâsâŠ?â
She smiled at Miltonâs question.
âThe date[3] should be fine, but just in case.â
What she took out was a birth control pill.  It was something she always took before she and Milton made love to each other but this time, Milton grabbed her wrist before she could swallow it.
âYou donât have to take it. Itâs okay for you to get pregnant now too, isnât it?â
Milton knew that Violet had been deliberately avoiding pregnancy.
While the Lester line didnât matter since the child born from Queen Leila would become a member of the Lester Kingdomâs royal family, the heir to the title of Grand Duke Forrest would come from either Sophia or Violet, and Violet wanted Sophiaâs child to have that position.
Truthfully, Violet, as a princess of a country, had a better bloodline than Sophia, who was just a daughter of a noble family. But disregarding bloodlines, Violet had always been aware that she was Miltonâs third wife. While a new rock could remove a rock that was already embeddedâŠÂ Violet couldnât bear to push Sophia away like that when Sophia had been so kind to her. That was why she had been putting off her own pregnancy until Sophia had gotten pregnant and given birth to a son first.
Milton had always known Violetâs inner thoughts and had been grateful towards her. But now, Sophia had given birth to a child and that child was a son. The issue of succession was solved and there shouldnât be any problem with Violet getting pregnant now.
âYour child will be very adorable.â
Milton softly kissed Violetâs slender neck as he spoke. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she pushed Milton away once again.
âIâm sorry, but not yet.â
âWhat?â
Milton never thought Violet would refuse.
âWhy? The issue of succession should be fine now, so why?â
Milton spoke cautiously.
âAre you waiting until William gets a bit bigger? Thereâs no need for that.â
âNo, thatâs not it. That was a concern, but itâs not just that now.â
âThen what is it?â
âIâll tell you tomorrow morning.â
âTomorrow morning? Why canât you tell me nowâŠâ
âI want to show you than to tell you.â
â......â
When Milton stared at her in confusion, Violet continued to talk shyly.
âJust listen to me tonight, okay?â
She swallowed the birth control pill and untied the laces of her dress. With a rustle, the dress fell down to the floor and Violetâs pale skin was revealed...
âLetâs think about tomorrowâs business tomorrow.â
Milton decided to push off his questions until tomorrow and focus on his beautiful wife in front of his eyes.
***
The next morning.
They had been passionately making love until the early hours that Milton had slept in and woken up rather late. But when he woke up, the lovely wife he should be holding in his embrace wasnât there.
âHuh? Whereâd she go?â
Just as Milton was looking for Violet, who had woken up first, a maid entered and spoke to him.
âYour Grace, Grand Duchess Violet is waiting for you. Please get ready and come with me.â
âHuh?â
Without even knowing the reason, he followed after the maid. He had been dazed in the beginning, but he quickly woke up as they continued to walk. The place they arrived at wasâŠ
âWhy the training hall?â
It was Miltonâs personal training hall. Violet was waiting for him there with her hair neatly tied back and in her armor. Milton was puzzled when he saw her looking completely different from the woman he shared a bed with last night; currently, she looked like she belonged on the battlefield.
âViolet, itâs the morning. Whatâre you doing?â
âI thought it would be better to show you in person. Will you be my opponent for a while?â
Milton wasnât quite ready, but he still listened to her request.
âIâm sure she has a reason for this.â
He wasnât wearing his armor, but he picked up a sword from the side and faced her.
âItâs just sparring, but Iâll be giving it my all, so you do the same thing, okay, honey?â
âGiving it my all but⊠hm.â
If Milton had been troubled before, it was all gone after he saw Violet taking her stance. He realized that he couldnât halfass it when he saw the atmosphere around her. ThenâŠ
âWhoooooâŠâ
Violet steadied her breathing and immediately rushed forward. She didnât broadcast her movement; it was so smooth that it was like she was gliding on ice. She went in low and swung her sword toward Miltonâs ankle. He stepped back and dodged her attack, then he swung his sword down towards her. He hadnât put in his full strength behind the attack, but his sword still slashed through the air and was falling toward Violetâs head, however⊠Before it could reach her, Violetâs body moved smoothly out of the way while moving her sword toward Miltonâs chin.
âOof!â
Milton managed to dodge the blow by leaning back, but thanks to that, he was unbalanced. Without missing a beat, Princess Violet kicked Milton in the abdomen.
SMACK!
âKeughâŠâ
Although he had a six-pack, Milton keenly felt his wifeâs kick. He staggered back but quickly straightened out his stance. He finally realized something.
âShe got stronger, much stronger than before.â
He quickly checked her stats.
[Violet ron Florence]
Grand Duchess LV. 4
Strength - 91 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Command - 85
Intellect - 30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Politics - 20
Loyalty - 99
Special Traits - Recklessness, Fierce Combat, Commando, Intuition
Recklessness LV. 8:Â Able to fight while ignoring your own injuries during battle. However, your rational judgment will be greatly reduced
Fierce Combat LV. 8: Activates when you are in a precarious situation. Brings forth an ability up to 80% higher than normal
Commando LV. 9(MAX):Â Ability to jump into the fray against many enemies. When executed, it has a high probability of causing the opponentâs formation to break down. It also reduces the enemyâs morale.
Intuition LV. 7: Pre-emptively sense critical situations that approach your troops
âHow⊠Violet?â
Milton was stunned. Violet looked at him calmly.
âIâll really start now.â
And from her sword appeared the symbol of a Master, an Aura Blade.
âW⊠wait a minute.â
âHere I go.â
Milton tried to stop her, but Violet didnât hesitate and ran forward. He had no choice but to bring forth his own Aura Blade.
CLANGGG!
The sound that rang out was incomparable to anything before, and the two began to fight in earnest. Â Having gotten rid of the idea that Violet was worse than himself, Milton began to spar with her sincerely as Violet too gave it her all without going crazy. After 200 moves were exchanged, the two separated and put away their swords before their sparring became more intense.
âWhooooâŠâ
Violet adjusted her breathing as she put away her sword while Milton looked at her in disbelief.
âI knew she was a genius, butâŠâ
He had never thought she would suddenly become a Master. He had trained Rick and Tommy hard and tossed them on the battlefield, but they were still struggling to overcome the mental wall to become a Master. They were still an intermediate Expert, yet Princess Violet had managed to get over that same wall by herself in the palace.
This wasnât possible with just talent alone. In order to rise to the level of a Master, she must have trained and polished her skills every day without taking a single day off. Â Having experienced the result of her effort, Milton looked at her with a complicated expression.
âThis is why⊠you said no, isnât it?â
He understood why she was reluctant to conceive right now. Princess Violet nodded.
âThe war isnât completely over, right?â
1. The original didnât have the word âlove,â but because the sentence had a softer nuance to it, I added it in because âstop cryingâ was too hard and commanding.
2. Referring to how grandparents always try to stop their children from disciplining their grandchildren
3. Fertility date for those who didnât get it
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