Chapter 55

Giant Tarantula. As the name suggests, it's a monster that resembles an incredibly large spider. This Giant Tarantula was notorious for its lethal power. 'It's already hard to kill, let alone capture it alive, which is several times more difficult.' Even professional monster-hunting mercenary groups would struggle to kill a Giant Tarantula. Yet, he caught one alive? 'Impressive.' Indeed, the protagonist isn't just anyone. Considering Alexis's age, it's quite an achievement. He's just a 14-year-old kid. Thinking about how he grew from a little kid, I felt proud. 'He's grown well. Enough to catch a Giant Tarantula.' But then, I started to worry more. Catching a notorious monster like the Giant Tarantula without getting hurt is no easy feat. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. 'Why don't we have a video communication stone?' If I had the protagonist's advantage, I would have developed a video communication stone first. A sigh escaped me in disappointment. [Why? Don't you like the Giant Tarantula?] Alexis asked, seemingly misunderstanding my sigh. "How could I not like it? It's just that..." I'm worried, that's why. I'm worried if he pushed himself too hard. If he got hurt trying to capture the monster. 'He tends to overexert himself and pretend it's nothing.' But worrying won't change anything. In situations like this! 'We need more hospitals.' It's better to plan. So that if he gets hurt, I can confidently say, 'Is there a hospital nearby? Go to the hospital!' Of course, I'll still be worried. 'My precious stock.' If the first prince becomes the emperor, Astra will fall. That's why I've invested everything I have in Alexis. If he doesn't perform well, it will be very troublesome. 'No, my stock is rising steadily.' He caught a Giant Tarantula at just 14. My enthusiasm surged. When I feel this motivated, I need to work harder! I asked Alexis clearly. "Did you get hurt?" [Not really.] "Not really? Did you get hurt or not?" [I didn't get hurt.] Just as I was about to ask if he really didn't get hurt, other voices joined in. [Miss? Miss? I want to say hello too!] [Miss, how are you?] [It's Glee!] [Please let us hear your voice more often!] They were the children from the Eglitz training camp, who had now been promoted to trainees. Excited to hear my voice after a long time, they noisily joined the communication. [Miss, we're─!] [Move aside.] I heard Alexis sigh. But seeing the children join without hesitation, it seemed they got along well. 'That's good. He's not lonely.' Sending Alexis to the training camp was a good decision. In the original story, Alexis suffered a lot. He almost rolled around in misery. So I hoped he would grow up without any setbacks, unlike in the original. 'Well, it's hard to avoid setbacks due to the secret of his birth.' But if only good things happen from now on, it will be better. I wanted to pave a smooth path for the protagonist who had suffered. 'Is this how the readers who leave comments feel as online moms?' I listened contentedly to the bickering between Alexis and the children. After a noisy commotion, Alexis spoke into the communication stone. [Anyway, I'll send it to you.] "But the tarantula can't cross the border." [What about the egg?] The egg shouldn't be too hard to smuggle in. It's basically similar to an ostrich egg. But the Giant Tarantula's egg is really hard to get. The Giant Tarantula hatches its eggs inside its body. "Do you have an egg?" [Yeah, I got one by luck. If I tame it from the egg, it'll be good for you too, right?] Of course! Thinking so carefully, he's indeed smart. I nodded in satisfaction. 'It feels like the investment is paying off.' I'm an investor. I don't just invest emotionally. 'I've invested seriously.' I'm not just an investor for Alexis but for the entire Eglitz mercenary group. How much money and time have I invested? After repairing the training camp's outer walls, it started leaking. After fixing the ceiling, the stairs collapsed. After repairing the stairs, the knights got a contagious disease. 'Even the communication stone I'm using now, I bought it.' It was incredibly expensive. Why is this tiny communication stone so expensive? My hands shook when I bought it, really... The commoner inside me, not the duchess Erylot, screamed, 'This is such a bad deal!' 'You can only haggle when there are many sellers.' For high-end products like communication stones, the seller sets the price. I almost cried when I bought it, but the communication stone was essential. I have a network of information that is the source of my power. Being able to communicate with this network anytime, anywhere, is incredibly important. More important than money! Besides, 'I've relied on the Eglitz mercenary group to capture the monsters I've tamed so far.' They are invaluable. '...' Well, not completely invaluable... They are valuable, but I use them! Money always feels precious when it's spent! [If you have something to think about, take your time.] Alexis waited patiently for me, who was lost in thought. 'Ah, I hope he didn't notice I was thinking about money.' I cleared my throat and called out to Alexis. "Alexis." [Yeah.] I was surprised. His voice seemed deeper than before. 'Is he hitting puberty already?' It's amazing how much he grows even after a short time, but I pushed aside my thoughts and spoke. Since I can only communicate through voice, I wanted to express my concern clearly. "Be careful and come back safely. Don't lose another arm." [I know.] "Are we hanging up then?" [...Yeah.] 'Is there anything else to say?' Just as Alexis waited for me, I waited silently. But there didn't seem to be anything else to say. "Then I'll hang up!" I ended the communication first. Then I expressed my excitement, which I couldn't during the call. 'Wow! A Giant Tarantula egg!' I clenched my fist and jumped onto the bed. Lying on the soft bed, I rolled around, flailing my arms and legs. Many things are going smoothly. 'First, my second blessing.' Now people know I have two blessings. The blessing people originally knew about me is <Reading Ancient Languages>. It was very useful when I wanted to impress my grandfather, but now that I've read all the ancient history books, it's no longer useful. 'So I read the last part of the book as slowly as possible.' But the number of pages in the book is fixed, and the value of my blessing kept decreasing. I could feel my evaluation dropping day by day. The fundamental difference between commoners and nobles is the presence of a blessing. 'Without a blessing, I'm no different from a commoner.' Especially since I have a commoner mother, I often received harsh evaluations. 'If my blessing becomes useless...' I would be treated like a commoner. Of course, the fact that I am a direct descendant of Astra wouldn't change. But. 'I can't just sit still.' No matter how talented the twins, Balzac and Joshua, are, I am my father's most cherished daughter. If I'm treated like a commoner, it will affect the evaluation of my family. 'That's why I created a new blessing, <Taming Monsters>.' Of course, with the achievements I've made so far, I wouldn't need a second blessing if I stayed in Astra's territory. But my current goal is higher. 'Hehehe.' To enter the central government of the empire! The snobbish nobles in the capital have impressive blessings. They wouldn't recognize a blessing like <Reading Ancient Languages> that has already lost its value. 'But <Taming Monsters> is different.' Taming monsters. A unique blessing that no one has. Because no one has it, everyone will be curious. -Can she tame all monsters? -How many monsters can she tame? -What abilities can she display using the tamed monsters? They will be full of questions. Given the countless types of monsters, they will think there are countless types she can't tame. The image of the central nobles falling over in surprise at the sight of me taming monsters came to mind. I smiled. 'I hope the egg arrives soon.' No matter how well I train with the white birch flute, it's not the same as taming from a young age. Adult monsters try to attack me even if I only hold the white birch flute. But it's different with the young. If I show my face and train them with the white birch flute from the moment they hatch or are born, they will recognize me as family. 'But it's really hard to get a young monster.' Monsters raise their young in their 'nests.' To get a young monster, you have to destroy the 'nest' where the monsters live. 'That's almost like a war... I don't want to destroy a nest just for my needs.' In the end, I've only properly tamed two monsters so far. The steel crow, Ragon. The shadow monster, Ombre. 'How cute will the Giant Tarantula be?' Han Ji-hyuk would probably say my taste is weird again. * * * The next day. The twins and I got into the carriage to go to the duchy castle. I was rubbing my sleepy eyes when Balzac rested his chin on my head. "Your room's light was on late last night." I was excited about the tarantula egg and read some monster-related books before sleeping. 'How did he know that?' "How did you know my light was on?" "..." "..." The twins' silence was unsettling. I glared fiercely at Balzac and Joshua. "Did you check if I went to the 'nest' while I was sleeping again?" "No!" "..." "No." If you're going to deny it, at least get your stories straight. Balzac denied it too quickly, and Joshua denied it too late, probably because he was glaring at Balzac. "I told you not to bother Ragon!" The twins looked at my steel crow, Ragon, as if it were their enemy. They once rode on its back and were terrified. Since then, they've been living with books like <How to Roast Delicious Birds>, <Various Ways to Cook Birds>, and <Chef Back's Home Cooking - Bird Edition>. They were always trying to let Ragon loose whenever I wasn't looking. Balzac laughed awkwardly. "Listen to me. Raising something means... It's better to be safe and..." "Balzac, you secretly raised an alligator." "..." Han Ji-hyuk almost got swallowed when he accidentally entered the room where Balzac was raising the alligator. This time, Joshua laughed. "It's better to keep animals that many people raise. You can get a lot of information when they're sick or when you're raising them─" "Joshua, you said raising black piglets was fun." "..." While laughing and saying that to a corrupt official? I glared at the two of them. "Ragon will be raised in the duchy castle." "Why!" "..." "Because you always try to let him loose." Balzac and Joshua were quiet for a moment, then muttered, "The duchy castle..." "If you do anything to Ragon this time, I'll really run away." "We won't!" "Okay." The two of them turned pale. By the time the conversation ended, we had arrived at the duchy castle. We walked together to the new chapel hall. There's a reason we all gathered at the duchy castle today. 'It's the annual evaluation day.' We headed to the new chapel hall recently built in the duchy castle. If it were any other test, the two of them would have started late, but today is different. They started early with me. 'Well, it makes sense.' The results of the annual evaluation have become extremely important in recent years. This is because Grandfather, disappointed with the second generation, instructed a more thorough evaluation of the third generation. 'The more thorough the evaluation, the clearer the results.' As the reliability of the evaluation results increased, Grandfather began to see the annual evaluation as an objective measure, and its importance grew day by day. 'It's not an exaggeration to say that the rankings for the year are determined here.' When we arrived at the hall, a grand chandelier greeted us. While the other halls in the duchy castle are beautiful, the new chapel hall is special because it's a newly built building. The interior is decorated with a combination of classic and modern styles, making it a feast for the eyes. 'Oh, someone's already here.' I thought we were the first to arrive, but someone was already in the hall. The first thing I noticed was his tall stature. Next, his good looks, though not as handsome as my father. Finally, his golden hair and red eyes, just like mine and my father's. 'Golden hair and red eyes are rare.' My father and I have golden hair and red eyes. It's a very special case for two generations to have golden hair and red eyes. This is because golden hair and red eyes are symbols of Astra. The first head of the Astra family had golden hair and red eyes, so Astra people place great significance on these traits. They even have an occult-like story about it. The first head of the family prayed that only outstanding children would inherit golden hair and red eyes! -That's the legend. While it's a legend, many people believe it. 'Well, I have benefited from it.' How else could a commoner like me be accepted into Astra because of my golden hair and red eyes? Among the third generation, only two have golden hair and red eyes. Me, Erylot Astra. And Blizen Astra.