Chapter 109
* * *
The beastmen’s castle was a pure white castle with a watery hue, naturally blending with the surrounding natural environment.
It was also a place so beautiful that anyone who saw it once would naturally exclaim in admiration.
Asil entered the castle riding on Snowa.
“To become an excellent spy, when hiding, no matter what happens, you must never make a sound!”
As she was giving a long speech about spies while heading to the dining room, an adult beastman in human form passing by greeted them.
“Ah… you came.”
It was Winter, the snow leopard beastman with softly glowing silver hair and beautiful emerald green eyes.
With an intellectual image, he was Briana’s third husband and Snowa’s biological father.
Winter, with drowsy eyes as if not fully awake, complimented Snowa.
“Your fur is very handsome.”
“It’s Asil’s handiwork.”
Because Asil had poked with strawberry stems and then messed it up wildly with her front paws on the way here, Snowa’s head had become a bird’s nest.
Snowa put Asil down and then licked his fur smoothly.
In the meantime, Asil looked up with round eyes at the documents Winter was holding.
Words like “human” and “war” were glimpsed in the documents, piquing her interest.
“What’s that?”
“This? It’s a report.”
“What kind of report?”
“It’s a report that says a black dragon who wants to grow tall must drink strawberry milk three times a day. Now, go drink some strawberry milk quickly.”
Winter, with sleepy eyes, faithfully answered and pushed Asil toward the dining room.
But Asil grabbed Winter’s pant hem with both front paws, stood on her hind legs, and steadfastly held on.
“I know that’s not what it says.”
Who are you treating like a baby beastman. I’m all grown up now!
Winter looked at Asil stuck like glue for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“Want to see?”
Then he knelt down and showed the report.
Upon checking the contents, Asil unknowingly opened her mouth wide.
“A black dragon who wants to grow tall must drink strawberry milk three times a day, at the same time every day. Right?”
“…….”
“If you don’t believe dad, it won’t work.”
He lightly patted Asil’s head, released the magic cast on the report, and leisurely disappeared.
Asil, with an expression as if hit on the back of the head, stood dazed for a while and muttered.
“…Ppiyappi.” (…No way.)
Yes, no way. I definitely saw the words “human” and “war” in the report!
Normally, she would have just thought “It’s a secret report.” and let it go.
But now, she absolutely could not let it go.
Because fierce conflict was ongoing with imperial humans in the northern outskirts far away.
Asil quickly made and drank a glass of strawberry milk, then declared to Snowa and the rabbit friend who came to the dining room looking for her.
“I need to go see snow leopard dad’s report.”
Asil’s sharp intuition was telling her. That earlier, snow leopard dad definitely used some trick.
Snowa, biting his tail, spoke maturely.
“You shouldn’t cause trouble in adults affairs.”
“Then brother stay here. I’ll go with rabbit friend.”
“Kyuu!”
The confident rabbit cried out and stepped forward.
Snowa’s yellow eyes landed on the rabbit. Come to think of it, that one’s male too…?
Whether beastman, human, or animal, Asil could not be left alone with a male.
In the end, Snowa raised his chin with a noble expression.
“Sometimes it’s okay to cause trouble.”
But Asil was already going alone with the rabbit friend.
“To become an excellent spy, you need to be able to secretly see snow leopard dad’s report too.”
“Kyuuu!”
“No, why are you two going alone!”
In panic, even the tail he was biting dropped. Snowa hurriedly followed behind Asil and the rabbit.
“Together!”
* * *
Asil found where Winter had gone by smell.
It was toward her mom, Briana’s study.
“We must not get caught, so let’s crawl flat.”
Asil, as if a real spy, lay flat on the floor with Snowa and the rabbit and crawled.
She didn’t forget to attach many strong-scented tree leaves to erase the smell.
They stealthily approached mom’s study like that, but unfortunately, the door was tightly closed.
‘If I open this, I’ll definitely get caught.’
Then I won’t hear the story, and I’ll get scolded for disturbing mom and dad.
In the meantime, Snowa and the rabbit stuck to the door and pressed their ears. To eavesdrop even a little.
But Asil did not do that.
Asil had wings, so she flew to the study window that mom always left open for ventilation.
After safely entering that way and looking around, she saw snow leopard dad talking with mom.
“I found out who the commander leading the conflict on the human side is.”
What, as expected, it wasn’t about growing tall!
Asil secretly went under a nearby sofa and held her breath, listening to Winter’s story.
‘Commander of the conflict, who on earth is it?’
About half a year ago, a major incident occurred in the empire.
The empress collapsed from an unknown illness.
The palace physician pointed to grass that only grows in the beastmen’s forest as the cause.
Grass that acts as poison to humans was actually in the tea the empress enjoyed drinking.
Thus, the empire held the beastmen responsible.
The beastmen naturally refuted, and eventually, conflict with humans broke out over that incident.
If the empress died, it would likely turn into full war.
‘It must be a human in a very high position.’
Only then could they be a commander.
While Asil swallowed dryly, Winter continued dryly.
“The head of the Skya marquis family, Karon Skya.”
“Skya? Why them?”
Briana narrowed her brow at the unexpected person.
Even though he’s the empress’s nephew, why would he go to the battlefield?
The Skya family, which was a ducal house just 7 years ago, had long been demoted to marquis.
Because they lost their divine beast and were pointed to as accomplices in the Fear rampage incident.
The previous Duke Skya, who gave blood without knowing anything, was also a victim, and since Karon was the empress’s nephew, it ended there, otherwise, the family would have completely fallen.
Anyway, it was a family far from swords, venerating literature.
If strategizing in the capital, maybe, but coming to the battlefield to directly command felt strange.
A certain guess floated in Briana’s mind after thinking for a moment.
“Ah— perhaps to gain merit?”
Gaining merit on the battlefield could instantly recover the honor lost 7 years ago.
“Still, the empire wouldn’t send only Skya without a divine beast to face us… There must be another commander.”
Because the imperial family hid information as much as possible to exclude possible spies, even with Arcian in the human world, they had no information on the opposing commander.
Thus, Winter added what he found this time.
“Yes, there’s one more. The head of the Monlepe ducal house, Edenber Monlepe.”
‘What?!’
Asil inwardly screamed in surprise at the unexpected name.
Her husband is commanding the ongoing conflict?!
“Of all people, the Monlepe ducal house.”
Briana, frowning, pressed her temple.
In the original work, because the empress didn’t wake for long, war spread to the beastmen’s forest mainland, but in reality, how it would go.
Winter shared his guess for Briana, who had a headache.
“Hmm… This is just my thought, but the Monlepe duke seems to be avoiding escalation as much as possible. I don’t know the reason, though.”
“Really?”
“Yes. From the battle patterns, it feels that way. The rate of prisoners returning alive too.”
“What’s going on?”
She knew from Arcian that Edenber had opposed war with beastmen for years.
However, Briana was skeptical even while hearing the report.
Because as someone who knew the original, Edenber was by no means a pacifist.
Then perhaps—
“Because of Asil.”
“Asil? Why Asil?”
“Well—”
Recognizing the hidden female lead’s identity is basic for a romance novel male lead.
Briana swallowed the sentence that reached her throat.
She should have noticed when Asil kept saying husband, husband.
Somehow, this story’s female protagonist seemed to have changed from Selena to Asil.
‘Damn.’
No matter how much the male lead, it was unforgivable. How dare he touch my daughter who wouldn’t hurt even if put in my eyes?
‘Our Asil is absolutely not allowed!’
Briana ground her teeth.
Only Winter, unaware of the circumstances, had a puzzled face.
“The one who kidnapped Asil years ago was the duke, right? But he doesn’t know Asil is a beastman.”
“I have a guess. If my prediction is correct, he’ll have goodwill toward us. Perhaps this war could end soon.”
If only the empress could be woken, ending the war was a matter of time.
Briana, who knew the original, knew well how to wake the empress.
The key was how to deliver that to the empire.
‘If Edenber is on the beastmen’s side, telling him would work.’
The concern was which beastman to send as envoy to him.
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