Chapter 10: Could you be quiet?

I don’t remember exactly when it began.

Life went on as usual.

We slept together, ate together, and then each of us went to work or school.

But at some point, very subtle changes began to appear.

Elizabeth, who used to cling to me like sticky rice, gradually began to pull away.

She said she wanted to sleep separately, bought her own bed, and started spending more time in her room.

When I came home later than Elizabeth, she didn’t even say something like “You’re back.” She just nodded and returned to reading her novel.

Even during dinner, it felt cold.

No matter how much effort I put into cooking, she would just eat and leave.

In the past, she would exclaim, “Wow! This looks delicious! Dad, you’re the best!” with such enthusiasm…

But hell truly began in her second year of middle school.

Once she became a second-year student, she stopped talking to me altogether.

Even if I spoke to her first, she’d just respond with, “Yeah. Mm,” and move on.

Silence swallowed up the house.

“Dad! I told you not to open my door without knocking!!”

One day, Elizabeth got furious and ignored me for an entire week.

I started drinking alone in the early mornings, sighing to myself more and more.

I missed the days when she used to curl up in my arms with a novel.

I shared my situation with my fellow laborers—William, Belty, and Mr. Nodis.

Since they all had kids, I thought maybe they’d have a way through this.

“Puberty, huh?”

“Welcome to hell, Leo.”

“So even the top students from elite schools go through puberty too, huh?”

I was dead serious, but the guys just laughed like it was amusing.

“Just endure it. That’s the only solution~”

“At that age, friends are way more important than parents.”

“You’ve got it easy, really. The girl next door—James’ daughter—ended up getting pregnant out of nowhere.”

“Oh, that one? Yeah, she gave birth and raised the kid too.”

“Right. Became a mom at fifteen.”

Hearing those stories made Elizabeth seem like an angel.

At a glance, she seemed to get along well with her friends.

She was pretty and kind, so she was probably popular.

Academically, she was ranked first in the second year.

The top of her class.

She inherited her intelligence from her biological father, Emperor Marcus.

“Anyway, here’s my point. Just accept it. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means she’s becoming an adult.”

“Exactly. Don’t try to control it. There’s a reason people joke about ‘second-year syndrome’.”

“It won’t last long. It’ll probably be over by high school. Just think of it as building memories.”

“…Is that so…”

Talking to these veterans of child-rearing helped ease my worries.

Right, it’s not something strange.

It’s normal.

I never had puberty.

I was suppressed by my parents and thrown out into the world at thirteen.

Thinking about that actually made me feel better.

At least Elizabeth wasn’t spending her childhood in misery like I did.

I set my worries aside and got back to work.

“Haah.”

I hoisted a log onto my shoulder.

It was a support beam for a newly built five-story commercial building.

The thickness was enough that two grown adults would need to wrap their arms around it, and it was over 12 meters long.

***

Leo lifted the entire log and carried it.

The ground beneath his feet sank from the sheer weight. His muscles bulged as if they were about to burst.

The workers didn’t seem too surprised—they were used to it.

Thud!

He moved all five logs that would serve as the building’s pillars.

Now all that was left was to dig the foundation.

“You won’t need to dig today.”

The supervisor spoke.

As the workers exchanged puzzled looks, a large wagon appeared at the construction site.

A young mage stepped out.

“A mage will be doing the digging.”

“What about our pay?”

“You can rest until the digging is done. It’ll probably be over quickly.”

“Sheesh… Mages are expensive, aren’t they? Guess the building owner’s in a rush.”

“Seems that way.”

The workers sat down on the ground to rest, disappointment on their faces.

Since there was no work, there would be no pay.

“Is this the spot?”

“Yes. Just dig within the marked area, to about six meters deep.”

The supervisor slightly bowed as he addressed the mage, who was young enough to be his son.

The mage gave a casual nod and swung his staff.

An invisible force surged from the staff, churning the earth.

It was as if a giant hand were scooping the ground.

“Whoa.”

“Mages really are amazing. Just twirling a stick around and they earn several times our daily wage?”

People watched in awe.

Mages were rarely seen.

They usually ended up in the military or academia.

Even with high pay, they avoided working at construction sites like this, thinking it was beneath them.

Besides, they made plenty of money elsewhere anyway.

Leo drank some water and watched the magic.

‘Not very efficient. Telekinetic magic at the basic level. And even then, he needs a staff to cast it?’

About five minutes later, the mage had finished digging.

It was rough and patchy.

Like it had been gnawed on by a rat.

A disappointing level of skill.

The young wizard spoke confidently.

“All done, right? I’ll be on my way now.”

“What? But there’s still so much left…”

The manager trailed off at the end of his sentence.

The ground had been dug up, but it was such a shoddy job that manual laborers would have to be called in.

“I’ve done my part. The rest can just be scraped off with a shovel, can’t it? Besides, it’s time to pick up my nephew from school.”

“Ah… right. Understood.”

Even though the job was done poorly despite the high pay, the manager just let the wizard go.

“Well, sorry about that. Everyone, grab a shovel.”

The manager awkwardly called the workers over.

“Don’t apologize. I was itching to get started anyway.”

“Tsk, tsk. That kid’s got no future. So full of himself.”

“What a crappy job. He made it harder to dig, not easier.”

The workers had no hesitation picking up their shovels.

After all, they were getting paid.

Leo also grabbed a shovel and stepped into the pit, evening out the bumpy parts with heavy scoops of dirt.

His pace was noticeably faster than the other workers.

He was easily five times more efficient than an average laborer.

***

After about an hour, Leo climbed out of the ground.

Before they knew it, evening had come.

“You really did a great job. Here, have some coffee.”

The manager handed Leo a warm cup of coffee.

He was very fond of Leo.

Leo’s efficiency was easily double that of the average worker.

No, not just double—he was practically irreplaceable.

He could carry massive materials like logs and stone all on his own, and hold ropes solo—he was a jack-of-all-trades on site.

Naturally, he was paid accordingly.

Not quite as much as a wizard, but comparable to a major corporation employee.

If he worked long hours into the evening, he earned 400,000 Harts a day.

That was enough to hire two regular workers for a day, but no one thought it was wasteful.

If anything, they felt it was too little.

But Leo only accepted that much.

“Here’s 500,000 for today.”

The manager handed him a thick envelope of cash.

On tough days like today, the pay was higher.

Leo didn’t count the money.

He trusted the manager after working with him for so long.

Before heading home, he said to the manager, “I’ll be working full-time again this month.”

“Really? You’ve been working full-time for almost two years straight. Are you sure?”

“Yes. I need to pay my daughter’s tuition.”

“You said it was for Lenz Academy, right? That must be ridiculously expensive.”

Lenz Academy was a school for the upper class—there were no scholarships.

Leo used to work three to four days a week so he could spend more time with Elizabeth.

But since they hardly talked anymore, there was no reason to stay home, so he started working full-time.

“I wonder if you’re really okay…”

The manager was both glad and concerned that Leo would be working full-time again.

Construction paid well, but it wore the body down.

Even if you earned a lot, the money would all go to medical bills in the end.

He was young and strong now, but when he got older, it could be dangerous.

“I’m fine. I’m used to physical labor.”

“Alright. But if you ever feel sick, let me know right away.”

The manager looked at Leo with sad eyes.

To outsiders, Leo was a father sacrificing his body for his family.

That wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t entirely right either.

If his body were so easily broken, he wouldn’t have made it into the Imperial Guard.

***

On his way home, Leo stopped by the market.

Elizabeth had gone out to meet her friends.

She might be home by now.

Elizabeth liked roasted chicken.

Leo bought groceries.

As he was walking home with his arms full of food, he ran into Elizabeth.

She was chatting with her friends, smiling in a way she never did with Leo.

“Elizabeth. Fancy seeing you here.”

The girls turned to look at him.

Elizabeth clamped her mouth shut.

It was because of how Leo looked.

His body was covered in sweat, dirt, and dust.

His hair was matted.

He reeked with an indescribable stench.

“Ah, hello…”

Her friends greeted him awkwardly.

“Let’s go.”

“W-What? But he’s your dad…”

“I said let’s go.”

Elizabeth led her friends past Leo.

Leo almost reached out to stop her, but when he realized how he looked, he hung his head.

Elizabeth and her friends fell silent.

Especially the friends—they were overwhelmed by the situation.

They’d seen Elizabeth’s father at school pick-up.

He was tall and well-groomed, with a soft demeanor.

A nice person.

From his appearance and refined tone, they assumed he was a businessman or an officer.

But the man they just saw had clearly come straight from hard labor.

Now they understood why Elizabeth never introduced her father.

Lenz Academy was basically a networking hub.

It admitted royal children, foreign nobility, even members of the imperial family.

Education came second.

Connections were what really mattered.

Many students visited each other’s homes to build rapport.

But Elizabeth never invited anyone over.

Now her friends thought they understood why.

Elizabeth was beloved by everyone—young and old. She was pretty, smart, and kind.

Boys liked her, girls liked her, even professors liked her.

Of course, that meant she was also the target of jealousy.

“You should’ve told us, Elizabeth~”

One girl teased playfully.

Beatrice had always been annoyed by Elizabeth, but stuck around to stay in the group.

“What’s there to be ashamed of? There’s no such thing as a lowly job. Even if your dad’s a laborer, you’re still our friend.”

That girl’s father was a Marcus.

Her tone was clearly mocking, and the others didn’t know how to react.

They nervously glanced at Elizabeth.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth remained calm.

“Still, that was harsh. No matter what, he’s your dad. How could you ignore him like that? Even if you don’t like him.”

Suddenly, Elizabeth stopped walking and looked at Beatrice.

Her eyes were deep and dark—like the bottom of the ocean.

“Beatrice.”

“Y-Yes, Elizabeth?”

“Could you shut up?”