By Zephyria 
The Duchy of Ernhardt was a meticulously designed city.
Centered around the ducal castle, the width and length of the roads in the four cardinal districts were as consistent as if they had been laid out on a game board.
Alleys meant only for pedestrians were 3 meters wide, roads for both people and carriages were 7 meters, and roads reserved solely for carriages were 15 meters. Furthermore, the straight boulevard leading from the very heart of the Duchy of Ernhardt to the ducal castle was 30 meters wide.
The proportions and shapes of the residents’ housing, knights’ garrisons, hospitals, banks, shopping districts, parks, temples, and other major facilities in the four districts were perfectly identical. Every building was erected at a precise angle so that no shadow encroached upon another.
In the mornings, the scent of baking bread wafted similarly from windows opened in the same direction, and at sunset, the magic lamps, all set at the same height, lit up simultaneously.
Regardless of rank, all residential buildings featured outer walls the color of ripening wheat and navy-blue roofs, while the knights’ garrisons were surrounded by red brick walls, stacked high like spires.
The hospital buildings had dazzlingly white outer walls with wide rooftops instead of roofs, and the bank buildings were overall imbued with a subtle, golden dawn-like glow.
The shopping district buildings had outer walls of the same color topped with green roofs. While shop owners could decorate their signs as they pleased, the size and height of the signs were strictly regulated.
Among the three parks in each district, the largest one was adjacent to the temple.
In each temple, there were statues of the eight gods, as well as sculptures of the current Emperor and Empress—namely, myself and Ruben. Since there had often been Emperors who claimed divinity, no one in the Empire questioned it and accepted the new myth of the tenth god.
The wind, the water, the people, and the carriages all flowed along their designated paths as if swimming.
By climbing the eight high spires of the ducal castle or the control towers located at the center of each district’s knights’ garrison, one could see beyond the towering walls of the castle.
To the east, one could see the bustling Goblins and Orcs, along with the Dire Wolves they raised.
The primary businesses of the Goblins and Orcs who came to stay in Ernhardt’s territory were gems and salt.
Marine creatures, including armor crabs, were a threat to humans who had not awakened their Mana, but to them, they were merely a slight nuisance. Naturally, transporting goods to and from the mines and tending to the vast salt pans was accomplished without difficulty.
The export of gems was prohibited, so they were all supplied to the Duchy of Ernhardt in exchange for a monthly salary, but salt was an infinite resource, so it fetched a price based on how much was sold. Because of this, a few greedy Orcs traveled beyond the Eldos Mountain Range to sell salt as far as Owen.
Since it was not easy to conduct diplomacy in the body of a monster, I heard that they accompanied Sierren’s knights when entering Owen’s lands. Even though they did not share a language, they got along well thanks to their mutual care for one another.
Once, while out on patrol, I happened upon a group of knights and Orcs; seeing them acting quite affectionately—giving each other piggyback rides and swapping clothes—remained a pleasant memory.
Far to the south lay the lands of humans.
Dozens of familiar counties, the Duchy of Valentia, and the road leading to the capital stretched far into the distance.
Even these days, when the existence of portals was taken for granted, a fair number of people still entered and exited the castle by walking along the well-paved boulevards. Mostly, residents of nearby territories walked to avoid complicated identification procedures or to save on portal fees. Occasionally, those who wished to travel across the country, like the Imperial couple, took carriages.
Because of this, knights stood guard twenty-four hours a day near the south gate of the ducal castle.
Ruben had painstakingly decorated the road leading from the Ernhardt territory to the capital.
Trees were planted uniformly on both sides of the road. He had carefully chosen species that would provide shade overhead in midsummer and block the biting winds in midwinter. Landscapers trimmed the trees to the same height every season, making it quite a spectacle when standing at the end of the road and looking into the distance.
Several sculptures were also placed along the way. I honestly don’t know why he felt the need to craft life-sized sculptures of those wyverns and place them by the roadside. Was he trying to use them as scarecrows? The decorations, which increased one by one with each passing season, were so ornate that some residents occasionally went on outings just to admire the carvings.
Inwardly, I wondered if it was necessary to decorate a road—not even a building—to such an extent, but since Ruben seemed happy, I let him do as he pleased.
Turning my gaze west, the gently sloping ridges of Eldos Mountain were visible.
Initially, I intended to keep the monsters that circled around and could communicate, and send those that couldn’t over the northern part of the Yuil Mountains.
However, for me now, there were no monsters that could not communicate. Just as Oasis commanded Sandworms, Spiritus commanded Ogres, and Gano Paquin commanded wyverns, numerous monsters who had succumbed to overwhelming power bowed before me.
After pondering what to do, I decided to raise only those clever enough not to run wild after my death or during my absence near human lands, and persuade the rest to move beyond the northern Yuil Mountains.
Monsters that could not adapt to the changes and tried to prey on humans, or those who had become violent due to the Wicked Arts of black magicians, were also captured and thrown beyond the northern Yuil Mountains whenever they were spotted.
It was inevitable that monsters would prey on other species of monsters, but I took care to keep their numbers constant so that no single species became overwhelmingly dominant or went extinct.
Thanks to this, the monsters of Eldos Mountain currently did not hunt humans. They no longer tore people apart to display as trophies of strength, and raids on human villages had decreased significantly.
The Widdrow Duchy, which had relied on monster by-products for its livelihood, also underwent a great change.
Duke Widrow trained magicians capable of communicating directly with monsters and used the existing knights to surround civilians, opening the way for ecological tourism in monster protection zones.
Many areas that had been forbidden until just a few years ago were opened to the public. Magicians and civilians collecting rare plants or medicinal mushrooms, as well as the mercenary groups and knights protecting them, ascended and descended the ridges of the Eldos Mountain Range daily.
Deeply influenced by this, a great number of magicians and alchemists gathered in Ernhardt.
High-level magicians and alchemists were famously wealthy. They spent as much as they earned, and earned as much as they spent.
The city’s prosperity brought about a generous spirit. The laughter of the residents never ceased.
In these days, when one might wonder if a more peaceful era could exist, the only noisy place was the Ernhardt ducal residence.
To be precise, only the domain of Justitia Heart Sierren—the main mansion of the Duke of Ernhardt, the two annexes, and the greenhouse—was such a disaster that it was hard to watch.
Right now, I was standing in a hollow dressing room devoid of furniture, facing five torn skirts and the owners of those clothes.
Let’s not raise my voice. I must stay calm. To act as I had been taught, I took several deep breaths, struggling to soothe my boiling insides.
My head felt hot seeing this creature, who wasn’t even a frog, leaping around with limbs spread wide.
“Nooooo! Mika is mean! Ruben! Ruben!”
“…I told you not to call your father’s name so carelessly. Now, put this on…”
“No! I hate you! No!”
I snatched a stone table flying haphazardly through the air.
Tears were already welling up in those distorted eyes. To think that those deep, pitch-black eyes—so like Ruben’s—could feel this malicious. No matter how many times I saw it, I still couldn’t believe it.
When she woke up in the morning, she was humming happily, and I thought I was safe, but before I knew it, one of the hair-ties from her twin tails had vanished. The lace on her dress, which had been thoroughly ripped, hung down in shreds like ribbons.
It was the second day since Ruben, busy with state affairs at the end of the year, had left for the Imperial Palace.
Titi had become more ferocious than any monster in the world.
Unable to endure any longer, I raised my voice.
“You brat!”
“Daddy brat!”
The little one, who feared not her father, did not listen even when scolded. She only glared at me and stomped her feet.
I was sick and tired of deploying an Aura Barrier every time those tiny feet struck the floor to prevent the building from collapsing, but it was still not a pretty sight.
Whenever something didn’t go her way, Titi would throw everything around her with all her might. She was strong enough to rip out and throw not just objects like tables, chairs, and sofas, but even the fireplace.
Naturally, we couldn’t leave her entirely in the hands of the servants, so Ruben and I raised the child ourselves. Since Ruben was always busy with state affairs, I, who could block any chaos the child caused, mostly lived by Titi’s side.
Despite this, Titi liked Ruben more.
It couldn’t be helped. Strangely, Ruben understood every single one of this creature’s babbles.
When Titi said “Ah,” he would say, “Right, you need this,” and bring it. When Titi said “Uh,” he would say, “We can’t do that. Let’s do this instead,” and bring something else.
Perhaps it was because I didn’t understand her immediately no matter how much she spoke. The Titi before me was often grumpy, just like today. The maidservants, unable to watch, peeked in and handed me toys and new clothes.
I shook the doll I had just received in front of her eyes.
“Sigh… I’ll give you this, so Titi, let’s be a good girl.”
“No! I won’t!”
It was a futile effort.
Titi, now even more agitated than before, let out a scream and quickly turned away. I hurried after her as she tried to fly off and pulled her into my arms.
I broke into a cold sweat trying to hold her without hurting her as she flopped and struggled like a freshly caught fish.
Since there was no way to soothe the creature who scratched, kicked, and whined with everything she had, I had no choice but to wrap her tightly in a thick blanket like a baby again today.
“Nooooo-!”
“What do you hate so much? Hmm?”
“Ruben, Ruben…”
“No, I told you Daddy is busy right now.”
“Mika dummy!”
I, too, missed Ruben.
It was truly strange. I thought I was good at looking after children.
Michael and Asdel had been docile since they were young. Even if they cried and threw tantrums, were they going to break bones or knock down walls? When they whimpered, it was usually because they missed human touch, and they would stop quickly just by being held.
I heard that Rubel was also kind and quiet, a child who didn’t require much attention from a young age. I had no idea who this creature took after to be like this.
As expected… was it Lucilla? But since they are blood kin connected by Mana, how could she resemble Ruben’s sister? It was a complete mystery.
It wasn’t as if I asked her to study, or asked her to eat. I simply told her she had to put on clothes to go out, and I couldn’t understand why she was throwing such a fit of sorrow.
Since she said she didn’t like any of the clothes I gave her, I had called all the servants and carefully selected the garments, but it made no difference.
“Rubeeen…”
“I told you he’ll be back soon. Just three more nights of sleep, and…”
“Huu, u, huuuuuu…”
“…Sigh…”
I hugged the struggling creature tightly with both arms. I had washed her in the morning, but her forehead was already wet with sweat. It would be a total disaster to wash her again; what would I do?
Since Ruben had repeatedly emphasized that Titi was still young and needed to develop proper washing habits, these days I helped her brush her teeth and wash her face in the morning and gave her a water-play bath in the evening.
I wonder if I’d be scolded if I used a Clean Artifact behind Ruben’s back.
As the struggling baby sobbed, tears welled up in my eyes too.
The only time Titi acted pretty and docile was for exactly one day after she was born.
This violent baby, thinking she was a cat, began climbing curtains and chandeliers the very next day after birth. She scratched every piece of wallpaper in sight, and if I looked away for even a moment, she would put every piece of gold and iron in the room into her mouth, chew them, and swallow.
It took exactly one month for Spiritus, who had been moved by the sound of being called “Godmother,” to be driven away.
She left the Ernhardt ducal castle on the day she held Titi in her arms, massaged those chubby limbs, and had a handful of her hair ripped out.
The last words she left were these:
‘I had forgotten why I never raised a hatchling. Good luck.’
…Still, back then, she used two hands and two feet to move.
Now, at 40 months old, Titi could fly in the sky without wings. Even I can perform water-walking or air walking, but I don’t know how to simply fly circles in the sky; I had no clue how such a thing was possible.
I snatched all the candlesticks being shot like arrows from the air and returned them to their original positions. I was utterly appalled by how she had stealthily learned my Telekinesis and used Mana to cause havoc while being held.
When I blocked the surrounding Mana so she could no longer do violent things, she struggled so hard in frustration that her face turned bright red. The thick blanket bundle flailed wildly.
Ruben had told me several times that I shouldn’t just suppress her with force when Titi got angry, but even if I knew it in my head, when I was left alone with the baby, I simply couldn’t hold out without using force.
Swallowing a sigh, I patted her back. Very slowly, the lump wrapped in the blanket withered and calmed down. The sound of her sobbing made a part of my heart ache again.
Sighing deeply, I rubbed the tip of my nose against her damp crown.
“We’re going to the annex.”
“Hic, hic, Sie-…”
“That’s why I’m asking why you won’t listen.”
The annex was a space Ruben had prepared. When Titi did something that deserved a scolding, she could sit quietly and organize her thoughts; all dangerous things were removed, and only a single chair for the child to sit on was fixed to the floor.
Strangely, she didn’t seem to struggle this much when going to the annex with Ruben, but when I took her, she resisted with her whole body, flailed her limbs, and caused an absolute riot.
Holding the defeated Titi and coaxing her as I walked, I saw familiar faces in the distance before I had even crossed half the garden.
“Oh! It’s Titi!”
“Am I not visible at all?”
“…And Titi’s daddy. Oh, why is our Titi so angry today? What did Daddy say?”
“Hiiiiiing, Bear-mooo…”
It was Marianne and Benjamin.