“The moonlight wolf pups really follow Miss Shuria well.”
“Don’t they? They’re such good children.”
It’s natural for anyone to feel happy when their children are praised. The doting guardian’s shoulders rose sky-high with pride. Shuria spoke triumphantly.
“They’ll surely grow to be excellent explorers!”
“If that happens, His Lordship will be overjoyed. Well then, shall we check on the moonlight wolf pups’ growth? Can you hold them so they don’t run wild?”
“Of course.”
Shuria first tied the other two to a post, then held Cutie’s leash short. Kiara explained about the examination she was about to perform.
“Monsters are divided into three growth stages according to their mana capacity. Larva, sub-adult, and adult. You already know this, of course.”
No, she didn’t know.
But Shuria nodded nonchalantly as if she had known all along. If she admitted to not knowing such basic information here, her credibility would surely plummet.
Unaware of Shuria’s calculations, Kiara calmly continued her explanation.
“I’m going to check the mana capacity of these moonlight wolf pups now.”
“By checking the children’s mana capacity, we can tell how much they’ve grown and when they’ll become sub-adults, right?”
“That’s correct. It won’t take long.”
Good. The situation was handled well.
Shuria held Cutie firmly and signaled that she was ready. In response, Kiara extended her hand and sent a purple light towards Cutie.
The light swept over Cutie’s body once. Cutie shivered slightly but remained seated quite dignifiedly.
After that, the other two were also examined in turn. Lastly, Kiara checked the mana control devices of the three pups.
“They’re functioning normally. They should be able to handle the next growth stage without any problems.”
“How are the children?”
“Judging by their mana capacity, they’ll likely grow into sub-adults soon. When they become sub-adults, they’ll get quite big. About three times their current size…”
“…Oh.”
“Adult moonlight wolves are larger than eight-person sleds, you know.”
“…Wow!”
Shuria rolled her eyes. How big would an eight-person sled be? It must be huge anyway. And to think they’d be even bigger than that…
‘H-how will I control the kids when that time comes?’
It’s already a problem when they become sub-adults. It’ll be hard to handle their energy levels all by myself…
After thinking that far, Shuria decided to put her worries aside for now. She couldn’t afford to get lost in thought with a guest in front of her.
‘Let’s see Kiara off first, then think about it.’
Shuria smiled brightly and bid farewell.
“Thank you for taking the time to come here today, Miss Kiara. Then, next time…”
“Before that, just a moment. I have something to give you.”
But it seems she had more business besides examining the three pups. Kiara interrupted Shuria’s words and rummaged in her bosom to take something out.
“This is from His Lordship, to be given to you.”
“From His Lordship?”
Shuria received the flat tag that Kiara handed over. It seemed to be made of thinly sliced white stone, with a fine blue-gold tassel attached, making it look very luxurious.
Kiara explained.
“It’s your identity tag, Miss Shuria. Every adult citizen of Roakin must have one.”
“Wow, it’s so pretty!”
“I heard you’ve been using a gold tag whenever you needed an identity tag in the palace. Now you can use this instead.”
“Thank you for bringing it.”
Shuria’s face turned slightly red as she gently stroked the surface of the identity tag. Now she really felt like she had become a citizen of Roakin, a subject of Aspeiran.
Kiara stared intently at Shuria, who was smiling dreamily, lost in sentiment.
‘Cute.’
Those round, blushing cheeks look like perfectly ripe red jade. But if you were to poke them with a finger, they’d probably be the softest thing in the world.
‘What a wonderful creature.’
The heart of the Chief Assistant, who had always been strict with rules and cold to everyone, warmed up as if a fireplace had been lit. In a slightly softer state than usual, Kiara presented her third item of business.
“And this too. Please accept it.”
What Kiara handed over was a red pouch embroidered with an antique pattern. It was so large and heavy that it was hard to believe it had come from inside her coat.
‘Where and how did that come from?’
Shuria suppressed her curiosity and quickly accepted the pouch. She could feel something hard inside the cloth. Gauging the weight of the pouch, Shuria asked dazedly.
“What is this?”
“It’s Miss Shuria’s salary for this month.”
“Salary?”
“Yes.”
Peeking inside the pouch, there were indeed flat gold coin-like objects filling it. After the initial surprise, Shuria struggled to keep her rising smile under control.
Oh my. To think they’d give a salary, a salary!
She hadn’t even expected it, given that they were already providing food, clothing, shelter, and the welfare of regularly seeing her favorite face!
But of course. That’s right. The Aspeiran I know is the kind of boss who considers providing basic necessities as a fundamental duty and also ensures proper monetary compensation for labor.
My heart… is swelling…
‘Lifelong loyalty, loyalty! I must save diligently and spend a warm retirement.’
Meanwhile, unaware that Shuria was singing a ‘Praise Song for Our Lord’ in her heart, Kiara calmly continued speaking.
“Since we’ve never hired a monster caretaker before, there was a long discussion about what an appropriate salary would be, but in conclusion, it was decided to be 5000 aroms.”
“…5000 aroms?”
“Yes. Your salary will steadily increase in the future depending on your performance and circumstances, Miss Shuria.”
Shuria fell into thought for a moment. Then suddenly, she started to look uncomfortable and hesitant. A troubled expression.
Kiara gave her a puzzled look. Could it be that she’s not satisfied with the amount? Was there a previously agreed-upon amount?
Intending to relay any issues to the lord on her behalf, Kiara asked.
“If there’s a problem with the amount…”
“No, no! That’s not it. There is a problem, but. Um.”
Shuria lowered her eyes and fiddled with the pouch. Soon, she exclaimed with a face of firm resolve.
“I…! I don’t know the currency units here…!”
What’s 5000 aroms? How much is it worth?
Kiara’s mouth opened slightly. Indeed, that was a problematic issue.
Cupping her cheek with her hand, Kiara murmured as if sighing.
“I was shortsighted. Of course, you wouldn’t know the currency of Elros, coming from Elbas.”
“Ahahaha.”
“If you have some time to spare, may I offer some assistance?”
“I’d be grateful if you could!”
The two moved to sit side by side on the pergola.
Kiara took out a small pouch from her bosom. A few coins spilled out of it.
As she laid out the coins on the pergola, Kiara began her explanation.
“About 500 years ago, a great empire called Arcan ruled the entire continent. Then a great war broke out… and the continent was divided into seven countries.”
“Ah, I’ve read about that in books.”
“You’re quite eager to acquire new knowledge, Miss Shuria.”
Kiara smiled faintly before continuing.
“Although it was divided into seven countries, thanks to the peace treaty centered around the city-state of Lubable, exchanges within the continent continue actively. That’s why the currency used during the Arcan Empire era is still in use today.”
“Is only one type of currency used across the entire continent?”
“The three desert countries known as Sharbia, Parsa, and Bashad do have their own unique currencies, but they’re not widely used. The same goes for the currency of the island nation across the sea. So, Miss Shuria, you only need to know about Arcan’s currency.”
Shuria nodded her head. After confirming Shuria’s response, Kiara continued her explanation.
“There are two types of Arcan currency units. Arom and Penel. 100 Penel equals 1 Arom. There are five types of coins in use, but… I only have four types with me now.”
Shuria examined the coins Kiara had arranged on the pergola. One small brown coin, two different-sized silver-gray coins, and one gold coin.
Kiara picked up each coin and explained.
“This brown coin is worth 1 Penel. Among these silver-gray coins, the smaller one is 10 Penel. The larger one is worth 1 Arom. The gold one is worth 10 Arom.”
Kiara placed the coins on Shuria’s palm so she could examine them closely. Shuria looked at the coins carefully. Each had a different picture engraved on it.
Shuria returned the coins and asked.
“You said there were five types in total, right? What about the other one?”
“Lastly, there’s a coin worth 100 Arom. It’s a square-shaped gold coin, so it should be easy to recognize. By the way, all the coins in Miss Shuria’s salary are 10 Arom coins.”
Shuria peeked into her salary pouch. Gold coins piled up. With a total of 5000 Arom, there should be 500 10 Arom gold coins inside.
I should take this to my room right away. After tightening the mouth of the pouch well, Shuria carefully asked Kiara.
“Then, my salary of 5000 Arom… how much is that, relatively speaking?”
“Hmm.”
Kiara pondered for a moment before answering.
“Recently, the average monthly living expenses for a six-person commoner household residing in Belroy City was 2340 Arom. Does this example help you understand?”
“Uh…”
So my monthly salary is about twice the monthly living expenses of a family of six?
She thought it was a lot, but honestly, it was hard to grasp.
‘But asking for more explanation…’
Shuria glanced at Kiara, who was looking at her watch.
As busy as Aspeiran was, Kiara here was undoubtedly a very busy person too. So keeping her here any longer would surely be an inconvenience.
‘Ah, never mind. I’ll naturally figure it out later when I go shopping!’
In any case, she had received a lot of help from Kiara. Shuria smiled brightly and expressed her gratitude to the excellent one-day economics teacher before her.
“I understand everything now. Thank you so much for the detailed and kind explanation! I will definitely, absolutely! repay this favor. How about having a meal together sometime later? I’ll find a delicious place.”
Crescent moon-shaped eyes, a heart-shaped widely smiling mouth, round cheeks.
Shuria’s pure smile, without a trace of shadow, flew like a meteor shower and struck Kiara’s heart intensely. Kiara stumbled slightly.
‘Cute.’
So cute… I want to do anything for her.
An intense desire burned in Kiara’s heart.
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition