Cutie, Tiny, and Awesome are monsters.

No matter how they look on the outside, no matter how well-behaved and good they act in front of me, that fact does not change.

But until now, I’ve been constantly applying only ordinary dog training methods to the three mommies. Was that really the right choice?

Shouldn’t I have devised a new method more suitable for monsters?

Then let’s think about it. How exactly should one properly care for and raise monsters?

No, before that, what exactly is a ‘monster’?

Only then did I realize. What I lack now is knowledge about monsters. Shouldn’t I first know what monsters are in order to raise the three mommies properly and excellently?

‘Let’s study.’

From now on, I’ll dedicate all my free time to studying monsters.

As soon as I made up my mind, I rushed out of the breeding facility to find books that could provide knowledge about monsters.

The destination was the Royal Library, said to be in the west wing of Princhia Palace. It was said to be huge, perfect for finding the books I needed.

In fact, asking the researchers for help would be more certain than searching through books… But I haven’t been able to meet the researchers even once since the breeding facility construction was completed.

It seems they even take care of defecation, sleeping, and three meals a day all in their own research labs. They must be incredibly busy with research.

Thanks to that, I’ve been eating alone ever since opening the breeding facility.

‘I’m lonely.’

I wish someone would eat with me. I sniffled bitterly.

Anyway, getting help from the researchers was completely out of the question, so I had no choice but to rely on books as the next best option.

‘But is it okay to use the Royal Library freely?’

Since it’s a library in Princhia Palace where all of Roakin’s state affairs take place, it might be a place only officials can use.

‘Hmm…’

I guess it would be better to ask Asp for permission in advance, just in case. While I’m at it, I can kill two birds with one stone by seeing our favorite face.

Humming a tune, I headed to the unmanned carriage storage installed in various places around the castle.

This small unmanned carriage, which I had already used a few times, looked similar to a rickshaw, but instead of a person or horse, it was connected to a cute and elaborate deer-shaped doll.

I heard it’s a vehicle made with some kind of magical engineering. I’m not sure about the operating principle, but anyway, it could be easily controlled with pedals and a steering wheel, so even a mechanical idiot like me could handle it easily.

“Alright!”

As I started it up, the cute deer doll tapped the ground with its hooves.

Well then. Let’s go to have an audience with our great sovereign.

“I’m~ a fisherman who catches people~ You are~ my rainbow-colored fish~ Swimming through the unpredictable sea of the heart…”

Humming a strange self-composed song with incomprehensible lyrics, I drove the unmanned carriage. It didn’t take long to reach the north wing of Princhia Palace where Aspeiran’s office was located.

After parking the unmanned carriage and going to the north wing entrance, I saw two knights walking out leisurely. They were the royal guard knights I had met a few times while walking the three mommies.

“Oh, Miss Shuria! Good afternoon!”

The knights recognized me and greeted me. I greeted them back cheerfully.

“Hello! Are you getting off work?”

“Yes, it’s time for our shift change. What brings you here, Miss Shuria?”

“I came to see the sovereign. But this is my first time at Princhia Palace, could you tell me where I should go?”

“Oh, if you want an audience with the sovereign, you should speak to that chamberlain over there.”

The kind knights even personally handed me over to the chamberlain. Thanks to them, I was able to reach Aspeiran’s office smoothly without getting lost.

In front of the sovereign’s office, there was a separate assistant’s office where assistants and attendants waited and worked. The assistant with a tired face nodded after hearing my introduction and purpose.

“I’ll ask right away. Please wait a moment.”

The assistant disappeared into the office. And soon after, the office door opened.

The waiting attendant said:

“Miss Shuria, the sovereign says to come in.”

I swallowed once and carefully stepped through the door.

The office, decorated with a combination of cool white, deep navy, and bluish gray, exuded a chilly pressure like its owner.

Aspeiran was sitting at the huge and sturdy-looking white work table in the center of the room. I bowed in greeting and glanced around the office.

In the spacious room, there was a large bookcase densely filling the right wall, two display cabinets, and a simple work table used by Kiara, the chief assistant. Other than that, no other furniture or decorations were visible.

But it certainly didn’t feel shabby or empty. I blankly looked up at the huge portrait hanging on the left wall.

In the frame, a beautiful man who could be believed to be the god of beauty was looking down at me with a majestic face.

As if the painter had carved their passion into a brush and ground their soul to mix into paint, the portrait of the sovereign was delicate and full of spirit.

That alone was enough decoration. Even if only that portrait was hung in a large hall, it would feel like a lavishly decorated ballroom.

That’s how overwhelming a single moment of Aspeiran Roakin captured on paper was.

“If you came to see me, why are you so absorbed in a scrap of painting?”

How long had I been staring blankly at the portrait? Aspeiran chided me in a voice full of displeasure.

Only then did I grab hold of my senses and turn my head towards Aspeiran.

“It’s such, such an amazing portrait. Is it from the coronation?”

“Well… Kiara, when was that painted?”

At Aspeiran’s question, Kiara, who was sorting documents at her desk, answered.

“The coronation portrait is hanging in the White Night Room along with the portraits of past sovereigns. That portrait was painted on Your Majesty’s birthday last year, and the portrait in the reception hall was painted on the Foundation Day of the year you ascended the throne. And…”

“I see. That’s enough. Those court painters never seem to get tired of it. They really paint incessantly.”

‘Of course they would. With our sovereign being so beautiful, what painter in the world could resist painting?’

I smiled contentedly and reverently appreciated the vividly moving Aspeiran in reality.

Sparkling sunlight poured in through the huge glass windows stretching out behind Aspeiran, rare to find in Belloy.

Aspeiran, bathed in sunlight, exuded a holy aura. If I had been a court painter, I would have happily picked up my pen, shedding tears like broth every minute and second.

Come to think of it, doesn’t the court painter have a few simple sketches of Aspeiran besides the formal paintings?

‘…I should make friends with the court painter later and get some.’

What a brilliant idea. I smiled mischievously, not taking my eyes off Aspeiran. Aspeiran narrowed his eyes.

Finally, he said coldly:

“Canis, draw the curtains.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Canis, who was standing guard behind Aspeiran, faithfully carried out his lord’s words.

The thick curtains blocked the sunlight, and the halo behind Aspeiran disappeared.

Thus, the not easily witnessed majesty of Holy Aspeiran flowed into an irretrievable past.

‘Ugh, how frustrating. I should have had a camera!’

Swallowing my regret, I fumbled to take out what I had brought.

“I came to see you because I have something to report. Here…”

What I handed to Aspeiran was a report I had written while observing the three mommies.

It seemed highly disrespectful to barge into the sovereign’s office out of the blue just to ask to use the library, so I deliberately brought another matter.

“This is a table recording the weight and measurements of the Moonlight Wolf Dog taken every morning for the past 4 weeks. There hadn’t been much difference until now, but when I measured this morning, it had suddenly grown noticeably.”

I was originally going to report this at the regular meeting. Is this enough of an urgent matter to warrant suddenly meeting the sovereign?

Fortunately, Aspeiran showed interest in my report.

“It started growing? I was half giving up since it hadn’t grown at all since capture, but this is surprising. Do the researchers know?”

“No. I haven’t seen their faces lately. It seems all the researchers are in their own labs, but I’ll go find them and inform them as soon as they come out.”

“Never mind, just leave it. If they’re holed up in their labs, they won’t open the door even if you go. They’ll come out in a week.”

A week? They’ve been stuck in their labs for almost 4 weeks now.

‘Should I… mention this?’

While I was pondering, Aspeiran placed my report on one side of the table and called Kiara.

“Kiara, go check on the Moonlight Wolf Dog today or tomorrow. Also check if the magic control device is intact. It will be less wary of you, whom it has met once or twice, than of an unfamiliar magician.”

Hearing those words reminded me that Kiara was not only the sovereign’s chief assistant but also a skilled magician. She was the second daughter of a famous magician family, wasn’t she?

That’s good. I prefer Kiara, who is more familiar, to come rather than other magicians.

Kiara bowed at Aspeiran’s order.

“Yes, I will visit at 1:25 PM tomorrow when Your Majesty’s schedule is briefly open.”

With those words, the matter of the three mommies’ growth was concluded. Right. Let’s just not mention the researchers. Those people will figure it out on their own.

I glanced around cautiously before mustering up the courage to bring up the main point.

“And, Your Majesty.”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not that a problem has arisen, but there’s something I need to ask Your Majesty’s permission for.”

Aspeiran raised one eyebrow at my words.

“If you want to do it and need to, you can do pretty much anything. There’s no need to ask for permission for every little thing. Do as you wish.”

‘Wow.’

How can our Asp say something like a male lead in a romance fantasy novel? As expected, Asp will treat his lover really well when he gets one.

Unable to contain my excitement, I shrugged my shoulders and said:

“Then, may I use the library in Princhia Palace?”

“The library? Of course…”

Aspeiran, who was about to answer readily, suddenly frowned. His gaze was fixed on one spot on the desk.

He tapped the table. Then he suddenly picked up a piece of paper and started writing something down.

After a while, Aspeiran handed me that paper and ordered:

“Read this. Out loud.”

I was puzzled but obediently accepted it.

Reading wasn’t particularly difficult. Whether it was a possession bonus or not, I could speak this world’s language without any problem, as well as read and write the characters fluently.

I quickly skimmed the text with my eyes first. It’s an unnecessarily complicated text like an English exam passage.

But this much is nothing. I read the text out loud proudly.

“Books, which express thoughts, emotions, knowledge, and the like on paper through writing or pictures and bind them together, have been used since ancient times to convey to others what one knows, for example, orally transmitted stories or history. The birth of letters also signifies the birth of civilization…”

“Stop.”

Aspeiran stopped me as I was reading fluently. He stroked his chin and abruptly asked:

“You, how can you read the Ellos script?”