Monarchs Celestia

Extra Chapter

Past Events

Lucia Gardner, the second daughter of Luke Gardner and Alicia Gardner. Lucia had an older sister named Alice. Alice was older than her by three years, so by the time Lucia turned two Alice was already preparing to go towards Azonia Academy of Magic. Lucia’s mother Alicia, passed away when she gave birth to her.

Her passing brought sadness to the entire Gardner manor once more. Alicia’s personality was very lively and cheerful. Everywhere she goes she would always have a smile on her face and never showed any sign of sadness. She was kind to everyone and was a living proof that the Gardner family was happy and prosperous.

Lucia would always hear stories about Alicia from the maids. Lucia has always felt a sense of guilt for the death of her mother. When she reached the age of three, Lucia decided that she would replace her mother.

Ever since then, she would always greet the maids and the guards with a smile on her face. There was only one time, Lucia greeted her father Luke. It was right after she decided to replace her mother. She wanted to show Luke that she could also become like her mother, lively and cheerful like from the stories she heard from the maids.

Right after she greeted all the maids and guards, she went straight to Luke’s office. She opened the door and said “Gooooood Morning Father!” with a lively tone. Lucia was expecting Luke to be happy and overjoyed, but what she got was something that she would never forget.

Luke was busy and tired at the time as he has been doing paperwork all night. Luke still hasn’t moved on from his wife’s death and tried to avoid Lucia as much as possible by doing lots of paperwork. Luke continued to do his paperwork right after Lucia greeted him. And with a calm and tired voice he said “Lucia, if you’re trying to imitate your mother, you shouldn’t do so. Just be yourself, because you can never be like her. None of us can.”

These words echoed in Lucia’s head over and over again. Lucia closed the office door and ran to her room as fast as she could with tears in her eyes. Maria saw the poor Lucia running down the hallway and thought of what happened to her. Maria immediately stopped what she was doing and went straight to Lucia’s room to comfort her. She knocked on the door three times.

“Lady Lucia, may I come in.”

The young Lucia at the time is still determined to replace her mother. She thought that if Maria saw her crying like this, everyone in the manor would reject her for taking away her mother’s life. She immediately wiped her tears and tried to answer Maria.

“I was just changing Maria, you don’t have to worry, you can return to whatever it was you were doing.”

Maria let out sigh

“You’re gonna have to lie better than that, Lady Lucia.”

Maria opened the door and saw Lucia rolled up in her bed, facing away trying to hide her puffy eyes after crying. She closed the door behind her and sat down on the side of the bed.

“Can you tell me what happened, Lady Lucia”

“Father said I could never be like mother and that I should just be myself.”

Maria let out a sigh

“I think that Master Luke is right, you shouldn’t feel any guilt for the death of your mother. I believe that Lady Alicia was happy when she gave birth to you. Lady Lucia, do you think Lady Alicia would be happy if she saw you forcing yourself to be like her because you are blaming yourself for her death? No right, any mother would blame herself if her child was unhappy because of her. If you still decide to do so, then you shouldn’t push yourself that hard. When you’re with me, you can just be yourself Lady Lucia.”

Lucia unwrapped herself and threw herself around Maria’s arm.

“Thank you Maria, I feel much better now.”

“You’re welcome, Lady Lucia.” Maria answered with a smile on her face.

Later on Lucia would decide to avoid Luke. As for Luke, unaware of what he did, Maria would let Luke know of what he did and Luke would decide that it would be best for him to avoid Lucia as well.

At the age of five, Lucia was sent to Azonia Academy of Magic. Lucia was excited throughout the trip thinking of how she’s going to see her sister Alice. She also wanted to try getting honor while at it. But unfortunately during the entrance exam, Lucia failed.

Lucia went home with nothing but disappointment. Luke received a letter from the Academy the next day explaining how Lucia failed. It said on the letter, that despite her sister Alice having so much potential, Lucia on the other hand showed no potential to magic whatsoever. It was as if she was born with no mana at all. It was rare for someone to be born this way.

Luke was shocked by the results as he was expecting her to have at least an average result. As both him and Alicia had a decent potential for magic. The academy also suggested for Lucia to take the entrance exam again in three years to see if there’s any change.

Luke was saddened by the result. But he knew that her daughter was more disappointed and crying in her room.

Luke was thinking of what he was gonna say to his daughter as he was going there. By the time he reached Lucia’s room, Maria was already there comforting her. He stood by the door and thought that Lucia would feel much better if Maria was the one comforting her and not him. So he decided to leave without saying a single word to his daughter.

Despite Lucia being behind by three years, she still hasn’t given up on seeing her sister Alice. Now that Lucia is eight, it was time for her to retake the entrance exam again. But before she was sent, Luke hired a Magic analyst to see if there’s any change at Lucia’s mana threshold.

The magic analyst was shocked by the results he found. It was the first time the magic analyst had seen someone with no potential to magic whatsoever, and described it as a rare phenomenon. Lucia was shocked and disappointed by the result. She thought that eight years

had passed and nothing had changed at all in terms of her magic potential.

Lucia ran out as fast as she could with tears streaming down her face while Luke chased after her. In Luke’s mind, he thought that this was the time for him to redeem himself for neglecting his duties as a father for the past eight years.

Lucia ran out of the manor and headed straight for the town. The guards at the door had no idea of what was happening and opened the gate for Lucia. Luke was pissed at the guards for opening the door. But to him at that moment, Lucia was more important than some stupid guards as she is currently headed into town where there’s many people.

Luke was worried that Lucia might get kidnapped. Lucia arrived at the town and was searching for Maria who was currently out buying groceries. By the time Luke reached the town, he had already lost sight of Lucia. It was at that moment that Luke began to notice something off.

Luke continued to look for Lucia, but then a man suddenly touched his shoulder. The man told Luke not to look behind him. Luke began to notice that everything seemed to be turning gray and the people on the streets were suddenly gone. It was as if time had stopped and Luke was alone with the man behind him. Luke was too scared to even move a single muscle. His instinct immediately told him that this man was not someone he could win in a fight using magic. The man told Luke something he mustn’t forget, and the current location of where Lucia was.

After the man told the location of Lucia, everything was returned back to normal. Luke looked back to see where the man had gone but the man was nowhere to be seen. Despite being shocked by what just happened, Luke went for the location that the man told him. And there she was, Lucia crying while Maria tried to wipe her tears.

Luke continued to walk forward and eventually Maria would notice him. Lucia looked at the direction of his father. Luke couldn’t hold himself and embrace Lucia in his arms.

“I’m sorry Lucia, for being such a bad father these past eight years. I’m sorry if I said something hurtful. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you needed me. I’m sorry for neglecting my duties as a father.”

Lucia embraced her father and cried on his shoulders. She too wanted to say something but for some reason her voice wouldn’t come out. Maria picked up the groceries that were on the ground and decided to return to the manor so the two could have some alone time together.

Nine years have passed and Lucia is 17 years old. Her relationship with her father has gradually become better. Luke has also been putting the effort on their father and daughter relationship. Lucia’s relationship with her older sister Alice is very far from close.

Lucia tried to become close to Alice when she went to the Academy with Luke. It was during an event in which honor students fight other honor students. Alice treated Lucia as if they were not related and made her look even worse for having no mana.

Lucia has already received criticisms for having no mana from other nobles. But Lucia paid no attention to them for she already knows that her family reputation would only go down further. Alice had also received her fair share of criticism for being related to Lucia. But unlike Lucia, she took it seriously and showed them who’s boss. This was the only time Lucia tried to get to know Alice.

Luke went to the royal palace for some important meeting and has been gone for two days. Lucia has been staying in the manor and has been hearing things that a war has started. From what Lucia heard, the neighboring nation of Aria is planning to invade the nation of Fliedan.

It was so sudden that even the merchants guild which is the main source of information were shocked when the king of Aria declared war. What’s more weird was the citizens living in the Capital city of Aria. They simply accepted it and continued their normal routine as if nothing was happening. When Lucia asked some of the maids if the war would reach this nation, the maids answered that this nation is already a part of the war as it has already allied itself with the nation of Aria. Lucia told the maid to keep her updated on what’s happening in the war.

A day has passed and Lucia has heard that Luke will be coming back soon. Lucia plans to ask Luke what exactly is happening in the royal capital. When Luke arrived, Lucia went immediately to the front door. Lucia stood by the front looking confused as Luke was with someone. She could tell that it was a royal knight with his blonde hair and sword.

“This is Kye Kaynes, a royal kn... former royal knight of this nation. He will be staying in the manor for the time being. Maria, please arrange a room.”

“Yes master Luke”

Why would a former royal knight suddenly come here? Is what Lucia thought.

Lucia then asked his father if she could speak with him privately in his office. Lucia and Luke went to his office, while Kye followed Maria to his room. Luke closed the door.

“I’m going to guess that you wish to know what’s happening don’t you Lucia.”

“Yes, I want to know what’s happening in the royal palace.”

“I’m gonna be honest to you Lucia, I am having a hard time understanding everything that’s going on. But I’m gonna tell you what I know. The meeting I attended consists of all the lords of this nation. During the meeting, the king said that he has sent some of this nation’s military forces to the nation of Aria. As for the details of the contract, all the king said is that it will benefit this nation. One attendee insisted on the king for the details of the contract. But the king decided to kick him out of the meeting and told everyone that it would be best not to question anything. This is unlike the king at all. The king used to be more childish and caring, but is also wise and has a great sense of leadership. But now, it seems like he has no human soul. He’s not the king I’ve met before.”

“I’ve heard that the royal knights have betrayed the king, is that true?”

“Yes, the royal knights have betrayed the king. They apparently attempted to kill him the night before the lords meeting. I don’t buy it at all to be honest. The king had also replaced them with new one’s. The following day I went to the library to do research on the current king of Aria. But this proved to be rather useless as there are no records regarding their current king. I even asked the one in charge of keeping records. But all he said is that there are currently two kings that have no records and one of them is the king of Aria. We all know how mysterious the current king of Aria is, but this just proves that they’re trying to hide something. Something enough that might cause other nations to take action if it was discovered.”

“What about the roya.. Former royal knight that came here with you?”

“You mean Kye Kaynes?”

“Yes, why is he here?”

“I simply bumped into him when I went to the merchants guild last night. It would seem that he knows something he shouldn’t have, and now the royal palace is searching for him. I will ask him some questions after we’re done here.”

“Wouldn’t it be risky if he stayed here? What if someone finds out?”

“Rest assured Lucia, I already asked him to change his hair color and the sword he carries. He also wouldn’t be leaving this manor for a while. As for the information I got from the merchant’s guild. It would seem that they do not wish to share anything related to the king of Aria despite of how much money I offer. So my trip to them proved to be rather useless. I think it would be best for us to stop doing research on the king of Aria before we learn something dangerous. As for the future of this town, I still need time to think. I’m afraid that’s all I know, Lucia.”

Lucia left Luke’s office and started to head to her room while thinking of what Luke just said.

Later that night, Kye went up to Luke’s office to tell him what he knows. Based on what Kye told him, the king of Aria has the ability to control others. Some royal knights were controlled by him and made it seem that the royal knights had betrayed the king. It was only for show so the king would remove the previous royal knights and replace them with the new royal knights that the king of Aria picked. All of the previous royal knights were going to be executed, but a few escaped and Kye was one of them.

Luke is unable to decide on what to do. This nation is practically already under the nation of Aria. The king of Aria having the ability to control others made Luke question how he obtained such power. The only reason the king of Aria didn’t personally take the throne was pretty much because of the people. A sudden change of throne would make its citizens wary of them and some may even cause a coup d’etat if they didn’t like their rule.

Luke decided to play along and pretend to not know anything about the king of Aria’s ability. Going against the royal palace is basically challenging two nations and Luke isn’t stupid to do that.

Two months later, Luke received a letter from the palace saying that his daughter Alice Gardner was killed in the battlefield. She was part of the first wave that the king had sent to the nation of Aria. She fought courageously in the face of the enemy and died with honor. Luke informed everyone in manor of her passing and everyone mourned for a few days.

Everyone in the manor showed their condolences to Luke and Lucia. Luke put up a brave face in front of everyone but cried in his sleep for a few days. Lucia on the other hand was saddened and felt that if she hadn’t given up on getting close together, then the two of them would’ve had more happy memories together.

Another two months would pass and Luke assigned Kye as Lucia’s personal guard. Luke thought that as the war continues there’s a chance they could be assassinated as he is one of the lords that govern a massive land in the nation of Eclain. He also did not want to lose another daughter in the war.

As for the war, the nation of Aria, Eclain, and Oshea has created an alliance to invade the nation of Fliedan. Despite being overwhelmed by three nations, the nation of Fliedan has still managed to hold their ground. The nation of Eclain is where Ecriner town is located and is one of largest towns in the nation. According to the information Luke has received, the allied nations plan to split the land after they defeat the nation of Fliedan.

Three years have passed since the war started and to everyone’s surprise, the war is still going on. The Fliedan nation has barely lost any land and is still standing strong. Luke had received information that the nation of Fliedan is being supported by three powerful individuals. The three individuals seem to have unique abilities. Abilities that do not follow the normal laws of the world. One of them has the ability to heal any wound and revive a dead person. The second one would seem to have the ability to turn a weapon into something else. As for the third one, the spy had lost communication before finding out his ability.

Luke thought that if their power did not follow the laws of the world, that would mean the principles of magic do not apply to them. There was also a possibility that there are more unique abilities like the king of Aria and these three individuals.

Lucia and Kye’s relationship would become obvious to everyone in the manor. Lucia asked his father Luke for permission. She expected Luke to be against it as he wants Lucia to marry another noble for political reasons. But to her surprise, Luke would allow them. She asked for the reason as she knows Luke can be persistent at times. But Luke would avoid answering this question.

Lucia has changed over the years, she still imitates her mother Alicia, but knows not to push herself. Only Maria, Luke, and Kye know her real personality. Quiet, but caring and gentle. She would come by the town every so often to visit certain shops and Kye would be forced to go there with her. Lucia felt comfort whenever she was with Kye and would show who she really is.

The two were viewed as a happy couple in the manor but Maria kept an eye on Kye. Maria thought that Kye is just there to play with her precious Lucia’s heart and then dump her once Kye gets what he needs. Lucia caught on Maria’s paranoia and told her that nothing of the sort would happen. But no matter how many times Lucia tells her, Maria always kept an eye on Kye.

Five years would pass since the war started and Lucia is now married and pregnant with Andrew. Luke had ordered Kye to take his pregnant wife Lucia to live in an isolated house that the Gardner owns. It is south of Ecriner town and will take almost the entire day to travel. Kye asked for the reason as he thinks it would be best if they were to live in the manor. Luke never gave an answer and told Kye to take one of the maids with him.

Luke would also order everyone in the manor that no word should get out that Lucia is pregnant. The baby must be kept a secret. Lucia knew that Luke must have a reason for all of this, but Luke would always avoid answering the question.

The war ended two days after Lucia and Kye moved to their new house. The nation of Fliedan was conquered by the three allied nations. Luke got a report that the king of Aria and the king of Oshea personally came to the battlefield and ended it. No one saw how they did it, but the nation of Fliedan surrendered.

The three nations increased their borders as they have now occupied the nation of Fliedan. The king of Fliedan was killed but the prince and princess managed to escape. Later on, the nation of Eclain would declare an order that people must only marry someone from the same social status. The reasons were not made public and the majority of the citizens were not affected by this. Refugees from the now fallen nation of Fliedan scattered across the world. Some deciding to stay at their so-called home while facing descrimination from the citizens of the three nations.

Three years would pass and Andrew Kaynes is now three years old. Luke will receive a letter stating that Lucia Kaynes and Kye Kaynes relationship has been found out by the royal capital. They are demanding to hand them over. Luke didn’t know what to do and continued to ask himself how the royal capital found out.

Luke would decide to send a letter to Lucia and Kye regarding the matter and told them that he will do everything he can to delay their sentence. As for their son Andrew, Luke has no choice but to let him live in the manor for the time being.