The Queen

Moving on

After her desire to be a ruler became clear, she tasked Harvey with the job of scouting locations and possibly information.

A few days passed, Harvey came back with fabulous information, she was immensely pleased. East of the Beast city, about a week leisure travel, and 2-3 day beast travel, Harvey reported of an abandoned city smaller compared to the Beast city.

The city used to be thriving due to it being located in a valley, and another factor, was the area being well protected by natural structures. However, with the uprising of economy and agriculture in Beast city, it was quickly abandoned.

Nova learned that a few tribes stayed within the walls of this abandoned city, finding peace amongst themselves. And although she hates to separate a working democracy, she's selfish and wants to rule for herself.

Harvey was quick to pack up his small hut and all seeds to the plants he had access to, leaving instructions to his cute apprentice. Who Harvey had taken in when he became Nova's male.

Many were sad to see the enchanting woman go, she commanded a presence like no-other and was well sought after in the village. They learned quickly, though, Nova was picky about her males and maintained a professional distance from the males that showed an interest in her.

Harvey strutted throughout the village with his head held high in pride, boldly knowing everyone heard their night of passion and when his mark claimed its place right below her heart.

As Nova carried a handmade saddle, she reminisced on the expected but surprising things she learned. Firstly, Harvey, her cute little kitten, who blushes at the slight touch, is a two striped beastman.

She found that knowledge, achievements, and strength play a part in gaining a stripe, which was a surprising fact, but also only solidified her appreciation towards the male leopard.

Second, she made Harvey aware that she would be attaining a few more males. To which he was surprisingly calm about, Harvey explained that it was expected of females to take multiple males to protect and provide. The hidden weight Nova had on her shoulders lifted when she had heard her first male utter those words.

And last, Nova finely made clear her origin, a lie, a well orchestrated story. She gave him a story of the Beast Immortal and his daughter, Nova.

A quick and simple story of a deity raising a child, gifting her with fertility and knowledge. As she aged, her empty heart yearned for a family from her womb and the loyalty she had seen from people down on the mortal plane. The Beast Immortal noticed her gazes of longing and vowed to set her free.

Which left her where she is now. Nova was lucky to learn that her made-up immortal being is an actual deity worshiped by the people here. Harvey told her of the harvest festival that was held for the immortal's favor and continual graciousness.

Another weight left the woman's shoulders when Harvey's attitude only changed slightly upon hearing her false background story. Why more female leads don't think of something similar or convincing lies to tell in those select few novels she was able to read, Nova will never know.

With a final goodbye and polite smile to the women and beastmen of the village, Nova watched in hidden delight as her first male shifted into his beast form. While not her first time seeing it, being able to is a rare treat, as Harvey is self-conscious over his more lean and speed based form.

He insisted that a buffer and high stamina form are the typically attractive things here, however Nova was quick to quiet him with a passion filled night. No one is allowed to degrade her men, even themselves.

Harvey shook adjusting to the lesser used form, with the movement sleek, glossy fur rippled over lithe muscles, sending a murmur through the still gathered crowd.

The females whispered and gawked at the unusually attractive sight as the men glared for the first time feeling threatened by the male physician.

Nova was stuck between wanting to strut like a peacock and show off his mark on her skin, and violently blinding all of them for even witnessing an event that was rare even to her.

The murderous thoughts were quickly vanished as Harvey's large silky head nudged her hand that was holding the specially crafted saddle. With a sigh and a quick brush of her fingers over the top of his head, she began strapping the deer leather saddle on his back.

Harvey gave a cute chuff and a deep guttural growl and purr mix as Nova settled on his back for the journey.

Their first stop, the Leopard tribes land.

Muir was the next beast man she was hoping to, obtain, in a way. His ability to fly was useful for traveling, info gathering, and communications. His build and three striped strength granted him the stamina to traverse long distances, making trade deals and trading in general so much easier. And with his keen eyesight, his scouting ability would be top tier, such as when they were looking for Qing Qing in the original. He would be very useful all in all, although her memory of the webtoon was not the best, mainly because of her repeated disappointment in Qing Qing's decisions.

There had been multiple times, Nova dropped the webtoon and then picked it back up, the art was decent but what made her want to keep going back to it was the gorgeous men, as shallow as that sounds.

And Nova supposed she shouldn't be too harsh on the high schooler, knowing that someone that young would be quickly overwhelmed by everything, whether they were prepared for it or not.

The white haired woman leaned forward, hoping to help reduce the wind friction, as well as maybe get a few minutes of sleep. All the planning and revising learned information, is wearing down on her, ever so slightly.

The steady gallop and heat radiating from the beast beneath her quickly lulled to a restful sleep.