PLML 32

CHAPTER32

Fortunately, Lina’s condition stabilized not long after. However, because she would be overwhelmed with fear at the mere sight of a monster, Cotton Candy wasn’t allowed to leave Jaina’s room for the time being. It was to make sure that Lina wouldn’t run into him by accident.

“Cotton Candy, roll!”

“Kkyuu~”

Cotton Candy curled up into a ball and rolled across the floor.

“Cute pose!”

“Kkyaang!”

Lifting his front paws and blinking his chocolate-colored eyes, Cotton Candy was immediately scooped up and smothered in affection by Jaina.

“How can you be this cute, Cotton Candy…”

Jaina tousled his fluffy fur. Cotton Candy looked up at her with innocent eyes, then gently licked her hand with his moist tongue.

Knock, knock, knock—

The sudden urgent knock snapped Jaina out of her moment with Cotton Candy.

“Who is it?”

“Pardon me for intruding.”

Without waiting for Jaina’s response, Revan opened the door. His usually calm face was now pale.

“Has Lina come here by any chance?”

“No. Why?”

“Lina… is missing.”

“What?”

Jaina left Cotton Candy in the room and followed Revan to the room they shared. As he’d said, there was no sign of Lina.

“She must’ve gone out on her own… Her outerwear and shoes are missing.”

“…That can’t be. Lina is too timid to go anywhere alone.”

Revan’s voice trembled ever so slightly. He couldn’t hide his growing anxiety, fearing he might lose his only sister.

“Let’s calm down first and go look for her together.”

Jaina grabbed Lina’s neatly folded pajamas from the bed and headed to the kennel where Poppy was kept.

“Poppy, can you follow this scent?”

“Ruff?”

Poppy tilted his head and sniffed the pajamas.

“Grruff, snort!”

Catching the scent, Poppy barked excitedly and darted off. Jaina and Revan chased after him.

“Revan, over there!”

They finally spotted Lina in the distance—but she wasn’t alone. A massive, indistinct monster loomed over her, threatening to strike at any moment while Lina trembled in fear.

Revan drew his sword, but before either of them could reach her, the monster was already closing in.

‘We’re going to be too late.’

“Poppy! Take it down!”

“Ruff!”

In the blink of an eye, Poppy vanished from sight.

With a ferocious snap, his sharp teeth shredded the monster’s body. The creature vanished, leaving behind only a black core of dark magic.

“Lina!”

Revan rushed forward and wrapped his shaking sister in his arms.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lina, eyes still wet with tears, nodded.

“Why did you go out on your own? That was dangerous.”

“Hic… I just… wanted to give this to Lady Jaina…”

Still sobbing, Lina extended what she’d been clutching in her arms. A bunch of crushed white flowers fell to the ground, and Lina cried even harder at the sight.

Poppy, who had been eyeing the flowers curiously, slinked over and suddenly gobbled them up with his tongue.

“Poppy! You can’t eat that!”

“Ruff?”

Looking sheepishly at Jaina, Poppy spat the mangled flowers back out.

‘Oh no…’

Seeing the drool-covered, unrecognizable remains of the flowers, Jaina rubbed her forehead. Poppy, sensing his mistake, flattened himself to the ground and wagged his tail playfully.

“You think you can get away with that cute act?”

“Whimper…”

“No treats for you today.”

“Ruff!”

Poppy thumped his tail against the ground in protest.

“Pfft…”

Lina, still sniffling, burst into laughter at the scene.

“Lina?”

Revan looked at her, surprised.

“I’m sorry… for going out on my own…”

Jaina smiled softly at Lina, who apologized in a small, deflated voice.

“You went out just to give me those flowers?”

“Yes… I didn’t get to thank you properly, Your Highness…”

“Thank you, Lina. The fact that you thought of me makes me very happy.”

The three of them—and Poppy—returned to the field where Lina had picked the flowers and made flower crowns together. Lina even opened up to Poppy, and he, in turn, showered her with affection.

“Since our parents passed, I haven’t seen Lina this happy,” Revan said, watching his smiling sister with teary eyes.

Thanks to Lina and Poppy, Jaina and Revan had grown even closer.

“Kyahhh!”

Jaina screamed and threw her blanket over her face. The sharp sunlight stung her eyes.

Ashins’s nagging voice echoed in her ears, still half-asleep.

“Do you know what time it is? And you’re still sleeping.”

“What time is it…”

“It’s already past seven.”

Sigh…

Jaina let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes groggily. She wanted to ignore Ashins and go back to sleep, but she knew he wasn’t someone who’d just walk away.

Ashins clicked his tongue at her as she squinted and dozed off sitting up.

“Lazy girl. Get up and get ready to go out.”

“…What?”

Were they going out today?

No matter how hard she thought, Jaina couldn’t recall any scheduled outings. In fact, she had planned to stay in for the time being—she hadn’t even heard from Ferrus yet.

‘Then why is he telling me to get ready?’

Before Jaina could ask, Ashins left the room.

“Ellie, did I say anything about going out today?”

“You never mentioned any plans to me, my lady.”

“Right?”

Jaina washed up and changed into something comfortable. While Ellie was brushing her hair, Ashins returned.

“You’re still not ready?”

“I’m just finishing my hair now.”

Ashins sat on the edge of her bed with a dissatisfied look.

“By the way, Lord Ashins, where are we going?”

“Do I have to explain everything to you?”

‘You never told me in the first place, so how am I supposed to know…’

Jaina forced a smile despite her twitching lips.

“I don’t recall us making any plans to go out.”

“Of course you don’t. I never said we were.”

“Ah… so where are we going?”

“The combat monster training grounds.”

‘Oh, that makes sense… Wait, what?’

The combat monster training grounds.

A facility for training monsters for battle.

Monsters were ranked by their abilities. Young or weak ones, like the black slimes that ruined soil, were F-rank—so feeble that ordinary people could kill them.

But there were terrifying A-rank monsters, like the Belligus Dragon, which once wiped out an entire royal extermination squad. Some monsters flew in the sky or tore the ground apart—impossible to handle with human strength alone. That’s why they trained battle monsters that could be controlled with special devices.

“Lord Ashins, why are we suddenly going to a place like that?”

Ashins replied with annoyance.

“When an adult says we’re going somewhere, just follow without questions.”

‘Ugh… he’s like the ultimate boomer.’

He looked like a child, but his attitude was that of a grumpy old man. Jaina sighed inwardly and reminded herself to respect her elders as she forced a smile.

“What are you bringing him for?”

Ashins scowled at Revan.

Jaina didn’t particularly want to bring Revan either, but a clause in their contract left her no choice:

If Jaina Blake goes outside, Revan Dimir must accompany her.
If she comes to harm and he fails to guard her—regardless of the reason—he will face consequences.

If any incident occurs while Revan is more than 5km away from Jaina Blake, his qualification as her guard knight will be revoked.

Teoris had added this clause knowing full well how independent Jaina was. She often refused to be followed by guards—but if she knew someone else might be punished for her actions, she would at least try to bring them along.

As Teoris predicted, Jaina accompanied Revan to avoid causing him trouble.

‘There’s probably no danger with Ashins around, but still…’

“Teoris said I should always take a guard when I go out.”

“Why would you need a guard when I’m here?”

“Of course, with Lord Ashins here, there’s no need. But, just in case…”

“You don’t trust my power?”

Jaina coaxed and flattered him, praising his overwhelming magic and greatness for quite a while before Ashins finally allowed Revan to come.

‘Raising this guy is like raising a child. I’m never having kids.’

“By the way, Lord Ashins, where’s the carriage?”

Jaina looked around.

It would take over an hour by carriage to get to the nearest combat monster training ground. Surely they weren’t walking? But there wasn’t even a horse in sight.

“Why take a carriage when I’m here?”

‘Right, right. With Lord Ashins around, who needs guards or carriages…’

A golden ripple shimmered in Ashins’s hand, and a black staff appeared. At its tip sat a purple gem, glowing gently—the same color as Ashins’s hair. A magic circle formed beneath their feet.

Jaina recognized it from her books.

Golden dust-like particles shimmered along the edges of the circle and wrapped around their bodies. The surroundings darkened briefly—then suddenly changed.

“Wow…”

Jaina couldn’t help but gasp.

Ashins had used Multi-Teleport. Even solo teleportation consumed a huge amount of mana, so teleporting multiple people was an incredible feat. And yet, Ashins didn’t even look tired.

“Well? What do you think?”

Ashins grinned at her, clearly proud of himself. Jaina played along.

“Truly amazing. As expected of Lord Ashins.”

“This is nothing. Let’s go.”