"Stop it! Stop it! We failed this time but we can always try another time, why commit suicide by jumping into the lake?"

Herald persuaded as he tried to drag her away from the lake.

Aster struggled to stretch her neck to the lake, and got disappointed when she found nothing was there, "no, I didn’t. There was this snake monster talking to me in the lake! He ran off when you came. He wanted to come with me to our human world for a plastic breast augmentation surgery."

"..."

What is that?!

Herald had no idea what she was talking about, "snake monster? There was still a little monster left?"

"Yes, there was." Aster too had no idea why he was so surprised. This palace was for monsters anyway. It was a monsters’ world.

"No!" Herald waved no and understood that she didn’t get him, "it was my fault. I just wanted to create a breezy, pleasant atmosphere, but unexpectedly it went out of control and the wind became a little bit heavier."

"It was you?! You blind-eyed king referred to me as shameless and didn’t even give me a second look. Did you see that?!"

"Don’t, please don’t freak out. I know I was wrong. I will have it carefully controlled next time, I promise it won’t happen again."

"Next time?! There won’t be a next time! Your king gave me one of these looks! How can there be a next time?"

Aster raged.

Herald led her under a tree beside the lake, and whispered to her, "who said that! Our king must mean much more to you than he has shown. Just now, when I cast the wind and he noticed you, he drove away with his sleeves all the monsters sneaking around waiting for your show. I myself too have just rushed back from a valley afar! That was why I was puzzled that there was still a snake monster."

"Really? You mean it?" hesitantly Aster started recollecting her confidence as she heard it.

Aster used to hear a lot from her writer friend Risa that if a man was interested in a woman, he would always have his way of wooing her no matter he was a vendor or a lord.

Aster heard Herald’s story, contemplated and started to doubt that tough wolf king must be playing hard to get with her.

The more thinking she gave it, the more she felt so. Her confidence was boosted on a grand scale. She banged her fist on the trunk, "your king is so weird, why can’t he just be man? I’m very busy!"

Risa must be worried to death, and she has a career by the way!

"..."

Herald’s lips twitched when he found Aster had an exponential growth in her confidence, maybe you could call it over-proud.

He cut to the chase, "you have never be in love right?"

Aster didn’t know why and but flushed suddenly, "no I haven’t, so what?"

"Having never been in love means you know nothing about man!" Herald was so sure of it, and he took back Aster to the little yard and explained, "this behaviour of the king, has many interpretations! It doesn’t have to mean he is now interested."

"What?" Aster broke down in a second, and wouldn’t want to control herself from yelling.

Herald calmed her down hurriedly, " but there is one thing we can be sure of, which is that he takes you differently than the other women trying to get him in bed."

"Who said I want him in bed! I want it platonic! Plah-ton-nic!" Aster corrected solemnly, and asked him, "what about these other women tried seducing him?"

"Dead!"

"..."

Aster picked up her broom and started to sweep for real.

Maybe she should stop trying and listen to Adalwolf, do some labor work. It would be asking for it if she kept trying to behave like a whore before him.

He was not a well-tempered man apparently. And anyway, she should stop forcing herself to him, that would only make things worse... maybe she should take a break and found the right way.

Herald too believed it was necessary for her to be discouraged for a while so far, he bid her farewell and flashed off while brooding on a new way. Aster was left to sweep alone in the yard, she put on her own overcoat when she was taken here, leaving two bare legs in the air, and engaged herself in some serious cleaning work.

And she was doing her sums.

She didn’t know if the snake man would come back for her any more. If he was able to get her out of the Monde, she wouldn’t have to rack her brains and try every way to seduce that wolf.

Meanwhile, just several steps away, the wolf that gave her the headache was standing right there.

Adalwolf was going invisible and standing beside her; he came just now. Noticing her still naked legs, flames of fury just rose and burned out of nowhere.

Stupid woman, corruption of public morals!

And went out in public!

Shame!

Suddenly, freezing cold wind whistled by, and Aster’s legs shivered. She dropped the broom, breathed warm air into her hands, and went into that humble cottage.

She had re-worn her own clothes when she was out again. She raised her head and got puzzled by the clear blue sky and the big golden sun, "monstrous weather in a monstrous world... the sun is burning but it’s cold as in the pole?"

Adalwolf now didn’t see her legs exposed to the air anymore, with which he was satisfied and withdrew the wind he cast.

But then he frowned at her dirty clothes and dissatisfaction was all over his eyebrow.

He snorted and left.

The sound scared the ghost out of her, she thought the wolf king came again. She grasped her broom and looked around, but found it was a false alarm, "that wolf has driven me mad," he wiped his sweats on her head.

It was the same day in the afternoon, after Aster had some homemade barbecue, two little monsters came visiting with a heavy case, and put it in the bedroom.

Aster recognized these two girls who’d taken care of her, the one with pointed ears was Pointie, and the other with a horn on her forehead was Hornie.

"What... what is it?" Aster inquired them.

"Clothes! My lady. The king bade that now since you are laboring all day, a uniform is naturally needed. The good ethos of the Monde can not be corrupted. If you disobey and refuse to wear, he’ll have you killed."

Aster heard these girls passing the word solemnly, she felt so very helpless. What she finally did was accept it with tears of gratitude for keeping her life and saw the two off to the gate. She waved her hands, "do send my appreciations and regards to your generous king, I’ll work hard. Drop by as often as you like!"