“My lord? What brings you here so suddenly?”

“Shuria is injured. Examine her.”

“Pardon? Miss Shuria?”

Rumel looked at me with widened eyes. I was just lying down on the sofa with Aspeiran’s help.

Thanks to Aspeiran finally releasing the binding magic, I could now move freely. I waved my hand, savoring the freedom I had finally regained.

“Rumel, it’s been a while!”

“Yes, it has been a while, but where and how did you get hurt?”

Rumel approached the sofa and examined me with worried eyes. His voice was filled with distress.

Beside me, Aspeiran explained the details of the incident.

“While walking the moonlight wolf pup, she leapt up like a hunting fox and slammed her whole body into the ground.”

“Who voluntarily crashed into the ground with all their might? It was an accident.”

I actively protested against Aspeiran’s nonchalant fabrication of the situation. Of course, he didn’t even pretend to listen.

Aspeiran flicked his finger. The screen in the corner of the examination room flew over and surrounded the sofa.

“Treat her, Rumel.”

“Yes. Miss Shuria, excuse me for a moment.”

Rumel carefully removed my coat and the shirt I was wearing underneath. He asked.

“You said you fell, right? Is there anywhere that particularly hurts?”

“My right arm feels like it’s dislocated. My right knee is also throbbing a bit.”

Rumel closely examined my body. Fortunately, the arm was just a bit shocked in the muscle, and only light bruises were on the right knee and thigh, which had hit the ground first.

“It’s fortunate that no bones were injured.”

Saying that with a faint smile, Rumel applied ointment to my injured areas and wrapped them in bandages. Then he handed me a new ointment jar and a potion.

“Apply the ointment consistently, and drink the potion before bed. It will relieve muscle pain.”

“Thank you, Rumel.”

“It’s just my duty.”

When the treatment was over, Aspeiran removed the screen again. Seeing me sprawled on the sofa, he suddenly picked a fight.

“When I first saw you, you were lying in bed and suddenly threw yourself on the floor, so it seems your hobby is to have intense embraces with the ground. I might lose the monster caretaker I just got. This is troublesome.”

I was too drained to retort and just slumped. In my place, Rumel countered Aspeiran’s words.

“Please don’t stress the patient, my lord.”

“Are you going to die if you don’t nag? If so, I’ll gladly listen.”

“It’s not nagging, it’s advice.”

“What advice. You cling to everything about me like a stubborn old man who’s seen it all, yet you’re the only one urging me to take a queen as soon as possible. Do you know that?”

‘Queen!’

I suddenly sat up at the appearance of the most interesting topic. Aspeiran and Rumel were already engaged in a fierce verbal battle.

“Since you brought it up, I’ll say it once more. Now that the country has stabilized to some extent, shouldn’t you hold a royal wedding as soon as possible to secure an heir?”

“Damn, I dug my own grave. How many times have I told you? I have no intention.”

“Why do you have no intention? Then what do you plan to do about the succession?”

“There’s Yulisis, isn’t there?”

Aspeiran used his cousin brother as a shield against Rumel’s sharp attack. To think even Yulisis, the protagonist of , would appear. The conversation is getting more and more interesting.

Rumel asked in a tone of incomprehension.

“Why is Lord Yulisis suddenly being mentioned?”

“Yulisis also inherited the direct bloodline of the Roakin royal family. So his children are also qualified to inherit the throne of Roakin.”

“Are you saying you’re going to take Lord Yulisis’s child? My lord, Lord Yulisis’s child is the heir to the Gransia imperial family.”

“Yulisis and his wife love each other to death, so they’ll probably have at least three or four children. One of them should be fine.”

“My lord! How can you think of taking a young child away from their parents!”

Rumel shouted in shock. I despaired along with him.

As, I thought you would marry even if just for an heir… To think you were planning to bring Yulisis and Bonita’s child.

Rumel and I grabbed the back of our necks and staggered. However, Aspeiran’s face was utterly insensitive.

“Let’s end this conversation here. Shuria, let’s go. I’ll take you back.”

As he said this, Aspeiran’s gaze kept drifting towards the wall clock.

Only then did I realize that I had taken up too much of Aspeiran’s time today.

I have some sense of propriety too. I couldn’t cause any more trouble for As here.

I politely declined.

“Thank you. But thanks to your care, I can walk on my own now.”

“Don’t push yourself unnecessarily.”

“It’s not pushing myself. I’m really fine.”

After I refused twice, Aspeiran didn’t insist anymore. He lightly tapped my forehead.

“Go back carefully. Then let’s meet again in two days.”

“Yes! I’ll see you then!”

Aspeiran left the examination room first. Rumel went to the door to see Aspeiran off and came back.

Sitting in front of me, Rumel suddenly opened his mouth.

“It seems the lord is paying a lot of attention to you, Miss Shuria.”

“Is that so?”

I scratched the back of my head and chuckled. Rumel muttered while fiddling with his chin.

“This might be…”

“Pardon?”

I asked again because I didn’t hear the latter part properly, but Rumel didn’t repeat it.

Rumel’s dark brown eyes were twinkling strangely.

My first meeting with Aspeiran was a failure in many ways.

But I can’t give up just because of one embarrassing memory. I tried various things to appeal my competence without giving up.

First, agility.

“It’s when puppies run in sync with their guardians and jump over obstacles. It’s good for developing the puppies’ perception skills. …Ah! Cutie! Sit! Wait! Don’t break it!”

Cutie suddenly got excited and broke all the hurdles I had prepared before we could even start properly, so it failed.

Second, tug of war.

“My lord, this is called tug of war, where you play by pulling on a toy the puppy is holding. This satisfies the puppies’ hunting instinct and gives them a sense of achievement… Ouch! Huh. It’s already torn.”

All the toys were torn within seconds, so it failed.

Third, frisbee.

“If I throw this disc, the puppies will fetch it. Shall we start with Tiny? Fetch! …Tiny? Tiny, fetch! …Oh, why did our Tiny suddenly lose interest~”

Tiny, who used to do it enthusiastically when it was just the two of us, suddenly became shy with Aspeiran present, so it failed.

Lastly, nose work.

This time, I specially brought some scrap fabric and even made a nose blanket for nose work.

The unique appearance of the nose blanket, my plausible praise of nose work, and our three puppies actively participating. All the preparations were perfect.

And so I believed without a doubt that this time would be successful, but…

“Now, I’ve hidden the treats, so… Awesome, find… Ugh?! Cu-Cutie? I’m sure I isolated you… Oh no, you broke the fence!”

While conducting nose work training with Awesome, Cutie, who was waiting, couldn’t hold back and rushed in, so it failed!

All failures, failures, failures.

And at the end of each “Today’s Training Time with the Lord,” our Aspeiran always conveyed the same meaning with his expression.

‘What on earth is she trying to do?’

At those times, there was only one thought in my mind.

My grand plan, appealing my competence to Aspeiran and building trust.

It’s completely ruined.

“Sigh…”

I sat on a bench in front of the fence and brushed Awesome’s fur. Every time I recalled the past meetings with Aspeiran, deep sighs kept coming out.

“What should I do… Hm? Awesome, what should I do?”

“Whine.”

Awesome got up as if to comfort me and licked my face. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. What a cutie.

Right, nothing will change if I just stay down like this. Instead of wasting time, I should find a new method.

What other plausible training is there? Or should I try the failed ones again?

‘While emphasizing how much the children have improved…’

It was at that moment when I was deep in thought. Someone tapped on the fence I was leaning on.

“Miss Shuria!”

“Oh my!”

I shuddered and turned my head to find familiar faces. I stood up with a bright smile.

“Knights! What brings you here?”

“Good afternoon, Miss Shuria. We just stopped by on our way.”

Six people in knight uniforms waved at me cheerfully from beyond the fence.

They were Aspeiran’s royal knights whom I had become acquainted with while occasionally encountering them during walks with the three puppies.

Captain Tillis Garta of the 2nd Guard, standing in the middle of them, winked and said.

“Those guys just came without thinking, but I rushed here because I could hear Miss Shuria’s deep sighs from the fir forest. Is something wrong?”

She was particularly close to me, not only encountering me almost every time during walks but also occasionally visiting the breeding center.

Even so, it’s a bit awkward to confess, “I want to make the lord’s heart mine, but it’s not going well.” That would sound strange.

I waved my hand.

“Thank you for your concern. But it’s nothing.”

“They say troubles and sorrows become lighter when shared. Are these cuties not listening perhaps?”

Captain Tillis smiled, looking at Awesome who was sticking close to my side. Awesome turned its head away coyly.

Everyone, including me and Captain Tillis, laughed loudly at that adorable sight.

The other knights who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Captain Tillis and me added their words.

“If there’s anything you need our help with, please let us know. We’ll come and help anytime!”

It was reassuring. There really are only good people in Roakin.

I conveyed my gratitude for the knights’ goodwill.

“I will! Don’t say you don’t remember next time, okay?”

“Of course!”

“We would be truly happy if you allow us to help. Actually, I admire you, Miss Shuria.”

The knight who said that, seemingly embarrassed, scratched the back of his head and continued.

“You’ve tamed these monsters like this. It’s really amazing.”

Hearing such praise while in the midst of continuous failures made me feel somewhat undeserving. I petted Awesome’s fur with an awkward smile.

“Amazing? It’s not like that. The children are so smart and good that I hardly do anything…”

“Oh, Miss Shuria. That’s exactly what’s amazing and wonderful about it. It seems you unconsciously think of them as ordinary puppies, but they’re monsters. They’re different from regular dogs.”

Captain Tillis said as if chiding me.

At those words, I felt like I had been hit on the head with a hammer.

‘Different from regular dogs…’

Ah.

I jumped up from my seat.

“I got it!”

“Huh? What?”

“Thank you, everyone! Thanks to you, I found the answer! I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I’ll go ahead!”

I left the puzzled knights and the three puppies behind and immediately rushed out of the breeding center.

I finally figured out what I’m lacking, what I need to do!