“W-What do you mean?” Dialugia asked.

“It’s just like I said,” Kang Hyun-Wook replied.

“Ah…”

Dialugia was shocked. She seemed to be having a difficult time accepting that she was the reason why her daughter had strayed from the right path. And I was sure she was having different thoughts about it.

‘Even I knew why things turned out this way…’

This family wasn’t created in a normal way. Dialugia and I didn’t have anything in common, and we didn’t really like each other. If anything, we were kind of uncomfortable around each other. Of course, I had already made up for our not-so-good first meeting through the enormous nest, as well as the warm, high-quality food. But even if I tried hard to forget about it, the impression I had gotten of her back then wouldn’t disappear. Obviously, we hadn’t really been making any physical contact, and we had never exchanged loving words as well. When I thought about how Smartie had been watching us the entire time, it could definitely be one of the factors that brought about her change.

After checking our expression, Dr. Kang Hyun-Wook was about to start talking again and even though she criticized me earlier by saying that we didn’t need an expert, Dialugia was listening closely.

“Of course, I haven’t completed my diagnosis just yet, but that’s what I think. Your daughter…”

“You can call her Dialuria,” I informed him.

“I’m sure you already know that Miss Dialuria is showing symptoms of excessive obsession over her father. I’ll have to watch her a bit more, but she’s showing early signs of the Electra complex and it’s likely that she has been influenced by your bad relationship with him,” he continued.

“Ah…”

“Usually, this kind of obsession is caused by the feeling of her not wanting to lose her father to her mother, but your case is kind of different. Moreover, it’s also a very rare case…” he paused.

“Please continue,” I requested.

“Hm, before I explain, I think it’ll be better to give you a bit of background. I’ve been told in advance that you don’t have enough time to devote yourself to your family,” he started.

“Ah… that’s right.”

“It’s only natural that you’re busy since you’re the most famous person in Lindel right now. But that is the reason why you have been spending less time with your daughter, and I’m sure there isn’t much you can do about it. I think Miss Dialuria believes that the reason why her parents aren’t spending a lot of time with her is because of her mother, but of course, the actual cause is a bit different…” he added.

“Ahh…”

“I-It’s because of me?” Dialugia stuttered.

“Yes. Miss Dialuria doesn’t know exactly what her father does outside. She doesn’t know what kind of work he does, what his position is in society, and what kind of responsibilities he has. I’m sure she had heard some rumors, but your daughter is currently looking at a single truth—her father hasn’t been spending a lot of time with her,” he continued.

“I-I see,” she commented.

“She may have come to the conclusion that the reason why her guardian isn’t coming home as often is that Mr. Lee Ki-Young doesn’t cherish Miss Dialugia. It applies even more if your daughter had seen Mr. Lee Ki-Young with other women. Excuse me for saying this, but I have seen a case similar to this when I had just entered this continent, but they were monsters, not humans…” he added.

Kang Hyun-Wook was extremely cautious because he was afraid that Dialugia was going to get mad for comparing dragons to monsters, but it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out. Dialugia was indeed a transcendent being compared to humans, but Smartie was still at the age where she acted based on her instincts.

“You can tell us,” I said.

“Hm, I remember a case like this one among the griffons living in a typical patriarchal society. I worked for a long time at the griffon training ground, but I only encountered a case like this once,” he started.

“...”

“The situation was pretty similar as well. It happened after a male with numerous female partners became obsessed with one female griffon. Not only did the male stop giving attention to the other females and stopped going to them, but I remember him shunning the children that belonged to them as well. In the end, one of the baby griffons that didn’t receive their father’s attention started having strange thoughts,” he continued.

“W-What kind of thoughts, Doctor?” Dialugia asked.

She started asking him questions, and she didn’t seem angry about the fact that he had used griffons as an example, even though they were monsters.

“My mother isn’t a charming woman and that’s why my father doesn’t love her. That’s probably why I’m not getting any love from him either. It seemed like these were the type of thoughts the child had back then,” he replied.

“Huh…”

“Miss Dialuria’s case is a bit more serious because in the case I told you just now, the griffon didn’t show any signs of the Electra complex. I’ll have to look into it more to see why Miss Dialuria is showing signs of excessive obsession toward her guardian…” he added.

It was probably because of her unique habit.

“She’s likely trying to become a charming female to take her father for herself. And the reason why she has been ignoring her mother matches up as well,” he continued.

“Oh dear…”

“She probably thinks that her mother is just an annoying, worthless being. It’s also likely that she’s questioning how her mother even ended up being with her father. And controlling her will only get harder. If her mother takes care of her with all her might, it’ll become even harder to control her. Usually, the burden during this time—I mean, the child will start ranking its family members. And if you believe you can overcome all this by giving her even more love than before, then you’re mistaken.” Kang Hyun-Wook pointed out.

“So the more she does it, the worse Dialuria’s symptoms will become,” I chimed in.

“You’re right, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. It’ll only make your daughter feel resolute about her thoughts. Obviously, all this is nothing more than an assumption, and I can’t guarantee that my assumption is correct just with one look,” he reminded us.

But it made sense…

‘No… it’s like he’s a psychic…’

I checked him with my attribute, but he didn’t have any special skills that allowed him to analyze a person or monster’s behavior. This examination was something only a professional who had seen, heard, and worked on many cases could do. Considering that he had made a living out of his talent back on Earth and even on this continent, he obviously wasn’t your normal human being.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to befriend him…’

He would be helpful in the future. Dialugia had to have been thinking of the same thing because she quickly spoke up.

“I-Is there a way to fix this? If this continues…”

She even looked like she was about to cry, which was understandable. She expected Smartie to grow just as much as the love she had been giving her, but Smartie was ignoring her mother instead. In addition, Smartie had even ranked her as the lowest within the nest, so she was understandably stupefied. Naturally, the biggest emotion that encompassed all this was the guilt of not providing Smartie with a normal family.

‘I feel kind of bad…’

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I was the major cause of the problem. Dialugia was probably thinking that she had done something wrong and that was why this was happening, but I was obviously the culprit. Naturally, I had to fix this.

“I’m sure there’s a way,” I commented.

“Yes, there’s a way and honestly, it’s quite simple,” Kang Hyun-Wook started.

“It’s regaining her authority as her mother and showing that she and I have a good relationship,” I replied.

“That’s right. Miss Dialugia’s role is important, but your role is very important as well. Mr. Lee Ki-Young and Miss Dialugia should…”

“I understand what you’re saying,” I interrupted him.

I also had to spend time with Dialugia and not just with Smartie.

“If possible, show her a lot of affection and it’s important that you draw a line for your daughter. This area is your mother’s area and it’s not a place you can just go into. You must help her understand that her mother’s rank isn’t third,” he explained.

“Hm… I see,” I commented.

“Of course, Miss Dialugia’s role is important. If you’ve been pouring all your love for her up until now, it’s best if you start reducing that love from now on. I’m sure it won’t be easy, but it’s necessary. Likewise, you must show your daughter that you’re spending a lot of time with Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” he added.

“Okay…”

“I’m sure it’ll be difficult because it’s not easy to change a thought already embedded in your head. It’d be nice if I was just worried for no reason, but it’s likely that your daughter will intensely reject it at first,” he warned.

“Intensely reject? Then, wh-what should we do?” Dialugia stuttered.

“You need to keep going. You have to be stern, Miss Dialugia,”[1] he answered.

“Oh… I see.”

“I’ll say it again since it seems like you’re heart is soft when it comes to your daughter, Miss Dialugia,” Kang Hyun-Wook said.

“...”

“You have to be stern.”

It sounded like a famous line[2] I had heard from somewhere, and I was sure that line would keep repeating in Dialugia’s head. She had to have made up her mind because she nodded, bit her lips, and even tightened her fist. Even though she looked that way, I didn’t expect her to change much, but I wanted to compliment her for being somewhat determined.

‘I have a lot of acting to do.’

I was worried to the point that I was even having useless thoughts like having a private lesson with Ahn Ki-Mo.

The next day after our first consultation, I asked Kim Mi-Young to push all of my plans back, even if she had to force it, and headed to the nest. Naturally, I had to comfort Jung Ha-Yan, who wanted to spend all day with me, and because I was afraid that her eyes were going to watch me, I gave her a small homework, which was to do some research with Max. It was likely that she wouldn’t keep an eye on me if she was focused on something else. After tying up the sleeping Juliena in her sheath as if I was binding her, I left her in my room and left. I thought the present Lindel wasn’t ready to properly face the sword yet.

Anyway, I had a very important assignment.

‘Smartie Rehabilitation Project.’

We had decided to try the solution Dr. Kang Hyun-Wook gave us, and today was the first day. I was ready, but I had doubts whether Dialugia was ready or not. Anyway, the bowstring had already been pulled and the arrow was already in the air. Without starting anything, nothing would change.

When I walked to the nest with heavy steps, I saw Smartie panting from far away.

“Kyaaaaah! Pant, pant! Pant!”

I was sure she had already heard from her mother, but I guess she didn’t expect me to visit two days in a row because she looked extremely excited. In addition to her tail turning into a propeller, she was also running toward me while drooling. Her large eyes were so cute, that I unknowingly thought about how I wanted to hug her. However…

‘You have to be stern.’

After slightly dodging, I immediately entered the nest and hugged Dialugia, who was waiting for me. Maybe it was because we had already talked about it ahead of time, but Dialugia also ran toward me and hugged me. Obviously, we looked awkward doing it.

“You’re here,” Dialugia said.

“...”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

I heard a screech from behind me.

1. Although the original term was ‘Miss Guardian,’ we went with ‘Miss Dialugia’ as using a name is more common in English. ☜

2. The famous line he is referring to is a line from a Korean drama, Sky Castle. “Housewives living at the exclusive Sky Castle community use every way they can think of to get their children into Seoul National University.” ☜