Even if she was a princess serving as the Supreme Commander of the Border Guard, there was no way for her to disobey the King’s orders.
“…I’ll be there shortly.”
“I shall wait.”
With that, the King’s image gradually dissipated.
Liana, who had kept her head bowed until the illusion of the regal-looking middle-aged man disappeared, roughly raked her fingers through her hair once the light from the communicator vanished.
Her expression was so terrifying that even a wild beast woken up by someone pulling its nose hairs would have tucked its tail if it saw her face.
Liana ground her teeth in fury.
“Damn it! That old man just refuses to die. With how twisted his insides are, it’s a miracle his organs are still intact. Damn lucky bastard!”
“Your Highness, you should refrain from saying such things…”
“Kyle, are you saying that because you don’t understand what I meant?”
Kyle averted his gaze under her frosty stare. He couldn’t deny that her reaction was understandable.
Liana’s father—the King of Rowen—was a miserably greedy old man.
He had summoned Liana simply because her name was gaining renown among the people.
From the King’s perspective, a princess more respected than himself was no different from a thorn in his side.
He was probably planning to marry her off to some royal or noble from a faraway country.
“…That damn old snake.”
Worry, my ass.
As the furious commander ground her teeth, Kyle and Ayle exchanged glances silently.
‘We should probably go with that.’
‘Yeah.’
At Kyle’s curt nod, Ayle snapped his fingers soundlessly. A faint shimmer of blue magic left the command tent.
Normally, Liana, sensitive to magic, would have noticed immediately. But she was too busy fuming about the King’s words to detect it—thankfully.
While Liana was contemplating the King’s assassination, Kyle shifted his gaze toward a sudden presence running toward the tent.
A few seconds later, Ayle, who had slipped out quietly, returned with exaggerated urgency.
“Commander! The one you entrusted yesterday has finished treatment!”
“What?”
“You know, the puppy you brought from the battlefield yesterday. They say it’s opened its eyes after the treatment!”
At Ayle’s overly dramatic report, Liana’s fierce expression softened.
Realizing why Ayle brought this up, she shot him a half-glare. But soon, she let out a small laugh.
“You really know how to wiggle your way out of trouble…”
No one could lift Liana’s mood before it turned into a full-blown explosion better than Ayle.
The King’s annoying command had already been given. She could throw a fit when she arrived at the palace.
“Well, fine. Let’s go.”
The ominous aura that had nearly shattered her desk vanished, and Liana returned to her usual self as she strode forward.
The place she headed was her personal quarters—located opposite the makeshift war council tent.
She lifted the curtain and entered, revealing a small black furball sprawled out on a white blanket.
“You’re here, Commander.”
“How’s the pup?”
Liana, who had barely acknowledged the greeting, took a slightly more cautious step toward the round, black creature.
So it supposedly opened its eyes? Looks like it’s still dying to me.
The little black puppy lay on the soft blanket, wrapped in white bandages around its left foreleg and abdomen, breathing heavily.
Anyone could tell it was gravely injured.
“For some reason, healing magic wasn’t very effective, so I applied medicinal herbs instead. Even potions didn’t help much—this seemed better.”
Sitting at the edge of her bed, Liana reached out slowly and gently stroked the black furball’s head.
“Kiing—kyung—”
Half-opening its eyes, the little creature whined as it looked at her.
Far from rejecting her touch, it rubbed its head against her palm, staring at her with bright golden eyes—almost as if it was saying, It hurts…
“Hurts a lot, doesn’t it?”
Liana whispered softly with a sympathetic gaze, stroking the pup even more gently.
“Kyle, if I’d been born a small animal, do you think I would’ve gotten scolded less?”
“…Brother, just stop talking.”
Kyle shook his head with a sigh at Ayle’s mumbled joke.
Thankfully, Liana paid no attention to them, busy examining the small pup.
Tsk, still no signs of improvement.
At least the little furball’s bleeding had stopped, but it still couldn’t move at all.
“Seriously? Neither magic nor potions work? Do we just wait for its broken leg to heal naturally?”
“That’s our best option for now. It seems to find comfort when infused with mana… I think it’d be best if you did that, Your Highness.”
The mage stood up with a nod in response to her frustrated mutterings.
The creature had opened its eyes and passed the critical point, and now that its owner was back, the mage planned to return to healing wounded soldiers.
“Hm, okay. But just in case, stop by tonight and treat it again.”
“Yes, then I’ll excuse myself.”
“Alright, go.”
The healer quickly gathered his things and left Liana’s tent.
As he exited, Ayle, who had been waiting outside, cautiously approached.
His face full of curiosity, he seemed eager to get a closer look at the black puppy that had taken over Liana’s bed.
“More importantly, Your Highness, where did you pick this thing up? It’s definitely not just a normal animal.”
It looked like a puppy, sure, but considering neither healing nor divine power worked on it, it was clearly not ordinary.
With her mood somewhat lifted thanks to the recovering furball, Liana casually responded while gently stroking the pup, whose golden eyes blinked up at her.
“I picked it up from the Forest of Death. If it’s not normal… it might have monster blood mixed in?”
She hadn’t given it much thought at the time, too focused on its injuries, but now that she looked at it, its ears were oddly round for a puppy.
And with healing and divine magic having no effect, it was definitely no ordinary animal.
“Come to think of it, even Rune was scared when he saw it.”
When Liana returned holding the furball, Rune had gotten all defensive.
Thankfully, he calmed down once she reassured him.
That comment made Ayle’s expression go pale.
If that ferocious white horse was scared, didn’t that mean this little creature might carry the blood of a high—or even top-tier—monster?
“What the hell… Why?! Why again?! Was Rune not enough, and now you’re bringing in another monster?!”
Ayle, who had always had a bad relationship with Rune, struggled to express his outrage.
What was wrong with his lady? Why couldn’t she pick normal animals?
But it seemed he was the only one feeling that frustration.
“At least pick a different animal! Again?! From the Forest of Death?!”
Liana was the type to call the horse—who was twice the size of a normal steed due to its monstrous heritage—”cute” and hug him.
And her knight… he wouldn’t even stop her if she brought home a monster the size of a house.
Among the three of them, Ayle was convinced he was the only sane one.
Liana, of course, ignored Ayle’s rant and focused entirely on examining the furball.
Naturally, Ayle exploded.
“Brother! Tell her this is insane!”
“Don’t be rude.”
Kyle, already aware of how this would go, sighed and dragged Ayle away—though Ayle’s shock still didn’t subside.
The next morning, another unpleasant piece of news arrived from the capital.
Or rather, an unpleasant man brought the unpleasant news with him.
“Thank you for your service, Princess. I’ll be taking over here now, so you can rest easy.”
Count Riche, his face greasy and shining, wiped sweat from his neck and smiled smugly.
“…You’re my replacement?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right! His Majesty the King personally appointed me to oversee the border, so I rushed right over, ha ha!”
As Count Riche narrowed his fat-covered eyes with a smirk, Liana’s face twisted.
She had planned to stall for a month before returning to the capital.
But seeing how the precious teleportation mages were mobilized to rush this man over—it was clear her recall had been decided even before yesterday’s communication.
She was seething inside.
Of course, the fury wasn’t just about being recalled.
This man standing in front of her stoked her wrath just as much.
Calm down… calm down, Liana Robellin.
She resisted the urge to reach for her sword and instead opened her mouth with effortful composure.
“If I recall… Count Riche, you’re not exactly known for your swordsmanship.”
And not just swordsmanship—he was practically clueless about tactics or military operations altogether.
Liana was the Supreme Commander of the Border Guard.
Her station sat not only at the boundary of the Forest of Death but also along the borders of both the Empire and the Northern Kingdom.
She had to hold off the monsters from the forest and remain vigilant against the uneasy peace with the Northern Kingdom—not to mention the frequent skirmishes that broke out from time to time.
And now the King was replacing her with this fool, who knew nothing of warfare?
“Oh, come now! Don’t be so cold. Believe it or not, I was quite the dashing swordsman in my youth!”
That was more unbelievable than a dog reciting Shakespeare.
