“Finally admitting it?” Elia smiled warmly as she leaned closer, her finger lightly tapping Iana’s nose.
“Honestly, you’re such a cute girl, yet you keep insisting you’re a boy.”
“What’s cute about that? I’m obviously handsome.” Iana retorted.
“You saw it too, right? If it weren’t for me just now, Veronica and Lillian would’ve been in serious trouble.” Iana lifted her chin proudly, a very self-satisfied expression on her face.
“Yeah, yeah, my little Iana is the best.” Elia affectionately ruffled Iana’s hair, her eyes gleaming as if she were looking at her own son-in-law.
“Who are you calling family?” Iana took a half-step back.
“Since when did I become yours?”
Elia tilted her head and said, “You’re Lillian’s lover, and Lillian is my disciple. What’s wrong with saying you’re family?”
“Who’s Lillian’s lover?” Iana jumped up and down anxiously upon hearing Elia’s words.
“You can’t let anyone else hear that, especially that silver-haired Silver Dragon Clan girl.”
After hearing Iana, Elia stroked her chin thoughtfully and spoke slowly after a long pause.
“You mean Ethelrina, right? You’ve always seemed pretty afraid of her. Can you tell me what scares you about her?”
“Afraid?”
“I’m not afraid, I just don’t want to compete with her. Otherwise, how could she possibly be on my level?” Iana tilted her head, blushing slightly, her tone full of disdain toward Ethelrina.
Elia wisely chose not to expose Iana’s lie.
Kids have their vanities, and a bit of admiration is perfectly normal.
As long as Ian and Lillian eventually end up together, Elia would be satisfied.
Though perhaps she would never see Ian and Lillian’s wedding, since she couldn’t leave this space.
“Back again, little Ian? Running into trouble?” Elia played dumb, knowingly asking to gauge Iana’s reaction.
Iana crossed her arms and lifted her chin arrogantly.
“Hmph, if I hadn’t gone easy on those mud sculptures earlier, they’d have been smashed to bits. They couldn’t even touch the hem of my clothes.”
Elia held back a laugh, her tone full of surprise.
“Wow, little Ian is really amazing. Looks like next time I should take a good look at your heroic posture.”
“Well, of course.” Iana blushed, her gaze flickering.
“But those little guys aren’t worth my effort. Next time, I’ll show you what it’s like to fight a big shot.”
While Iana and Elia were boasting, Lillian, lying nearby, rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up.
Seeing this, Iana’s mood quickly shifted; she no longer felt like bragging to Elia.
“I can’t let Lillian see my true identity, or who knows what she’d think of me.” Iana immediately activated the Senro Breath Pearl, hiding her magical aura and Dragonkind traits.
“W-Where is this?” Lillian looked around, confused.
“You’re finally awake.” Iana approached her gently.
“Think of this as a mysterious space where we’re safe.”
“Eh.”
“Why are you here, Iana?” Lillian covered her mouth in surprise.
“Where are Veronica and Ian?”
“You mean them? They left for now, but don’t worry—we’ll catch up with Veronica soon.” Iana wiped the sweat from her brow nervously as she answered Lillian’s questions.
“Oh, and this is Elia. She said she’s your master.” Iana quickly changed the subject.
“Master? I don’t have a master.” Lillian replied seriously.
No sooner had she spoken than Elia clutched her chest dramatically, taking a step back.
“My disciple, you don’t even remember your teacher! After all I’ve taught you!”
Lillian looked even more confused.
“But I’ve never met you. I don’t have a master.”
“Waaah, little Lillian’s grown up and doesn’t recognize her master anymore.” Elia wiped away nonexistent tears.
“Looks like my dream of relying on my disciple in old age is shattered.”
‘Seems like you’re just sad no one will support you in your old age’, Iana thought to herself.
Because Elia was somewhat playful and prone to jokes, Iana sighed and explained to Lillian, “She probably isn’t a bad person.”
Lillian nodded hesitantly but still looked at Elia with suspicion.
“It’s okay. As long as you and Ian live well together, nothing else matters. Even if you don’t know me as your master, it’s fine.”
“???”
Lillian was shocked by Elia’s words.
What did she mean by “living well together”?
Besides being teammates, did she have any other relationship with Ian?
“Don’t mind her. She’s lost her mind again.” Iana whispered cautiously into Lillian’s ear.
“When will you send us back? We still have to continue the competition.” Iana asked.
“Already want to leave so soon? Fine, fine, I won’t keep you then. Go on.”
“Oh, right, little Lillian, come here.” Elia’s words came out like a machine gun aimed at both Iana and Lillian.
Elia took a golden stone from Lillian and gently tapped it with her jade-like finger.
“This is a Soulstone, condensed from a skill I had before passing. Use it well,” Elia instructed.
“All right, my time is running out. You two should head back now.” Elia said.
After a dizzying whirl, Iana and Lillian were sent back—this time right to the place where the Stone Gate stood.
Iana steadied herself and opened the Stone Gate.
On the other side, Veronica came into view.
Veronica had already woken up and frowned as she looked at Iana. “How did you get here? Where’s Ian?”
“Ah, Ian went off in another direction. I also came here to compete and accidentally ended up here.” Iana wiped the sweat from her forehead, trying to explain.
Veronica clearly didn’t believe her.
“How can you prove it?”
Veronica’s sharp gaze fixed on Iana .
Even though they knew each other from the Starry Dream Café, this was a dangerous place, and trust was hard to come by.
“Lillian can vouch for me.” Iana, stumped for any other excuse to prove herself, turned to Lillian.
Lillian was stunned for a moment but saw the pleading look in Ian’s eyes and instinctively nodded.
In Lillian’s mind, Ian and Iana should know each other.
Otherwise, Ian wouldn’t have let Iana temporarily bring her to the orphanage before.
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