Chapter 74: Beneath the Gentle Smile

Salma slowly opened her eyes, a roaring tornado of dark emotions burning behind her pupils. Her fingers clenched against her palms so violently that her knuckles turned stark white, the blunt force of her grip leaving deep, purplish bruises across her own palms.

Her daughter... her poor, innocent daughter had suffered so much in the old world. If it had not been for that mysterious warning call delivered to the lecherous bastard back then, Salma could barely bring herself to imagine the alternative.

Summer’s fate would have ended up identical to her friend, discarded and broken in the dark.

A heavy, lingering frown carved its way onto Salma’s forehead.

Who was the person on that call?

Because it certainly had not been Salma. Nor had it been anyone operating under her command. In fact, it could never have been anyone from her main bloodline family.

If those arrogant Al Mansari elders had known that her daughter was still breathing, they would have personally executed the child themselves to preserve the purity of their line.

Then who could have possibly stepped into the shadows to intervene?

’Derrick,’ Salma summoned inwardly, sending her voice echoing through their shared soul connection.

’Yes, Young Miss,’ Derrick’s voice resonated back instantly through the shadow link. He was visibly taken aback, wondering why his master was communicating through their mental bond rather than speaking openly inside the cab.

’Do we have any allies?’

Derrick was completely caught off guard by the question. He hesitated, considering the bloody history of their clan.

His young miss’s temperament had earned her an endless list of powerful enemies across every major faction, but not a single genuine ally.

’The shadow legion will always remain your true allies, Young Miss!’ Derrick declared, his mental tone full of absolute loyalty as he straightened his posture in the trailing vehicle.

Salma’s left eyebrow twitched violently. She almost grimaced, resisting the sudden, powerful urge to reach across the distance and slap his face as hard as her shadow mana would allow.

’I am asking a real question, you utter idiot,’ Salma spat mentally, maintaining a serene, gentle smile outwardly toward her daughter while completely exploding with rage through the link.

’No, Young Miss,’ Derrick answered thoughtfully after a brief silence, his voice dropping into a serious register. ’We have no such allies.’

’Then do you think there is anyone alive who possesses enough power and a valid reason to protect my daughter from behind the scenes?’

’Obviously not, Young Miss,’ Derrick answered with absolute confidence.

Then who was it?

The fleeting image of a tall, imposing man flickered through Salma’s memory for a single, agonizing second. Her heart skipped a violent beat, the sudden intrusion turning her entire mood thoroughly sour.

’That bastard would never,’ Salma spat silently, her soul burning with cold contempt.

A shameless betrayer like him would never go out of his way to protect anyone other than himself. Salma gritted her teeth even harder, the iron taste of fresh blood touching her tongue.

Yet, it remained an undeniable, frustrating truth that aside from that man, no one else in the world possessed the immense authority required to silence the Supreme Commander’s son.

If that was truly the case, would he eventually come searching for Summer as well?

A sudden, sharp wave of panic washed over Salma’s chest, causing her breath to hitch.

Would that man try to steal her daughter away from her now? In her momentary loss of composure, her hand tightened its grip on Summer’s tiny arm without her realizing it.

"Mother, you are hurting me."

Salma snapped out of her dark thoughts instantly, removing her palm as if she had been burned. Summer pulled her arm back, her small, dark eyebrows furrowing into a deep scowl as she rubbed her sleeve.

"You want to fight?" Summer demanded, her crimson eyes narrowing into sharp slits.

To Summer, Salma’s current tense posture and shifting aura screamed a direct invitation for a combat challenge. In truth, the little girl was immensely curious to test her current physical strength against her mother in a real brawl, eager to assert her own dominance so Salma would finally stop pinching her cheeks at every given opportunity.

Every single drop of the foul mood that had plagued Salma vanished the exact moment she locked eyes with her daughter’s pouting face.

The sheer absurdity of the eight-year-old child challenging a high-tier bloodline master was too adorable to resist. Unable to hold herself back, Salma reached out with both hands, grabbing Summer’s chubby cheeks and pulling them outward in a fond, relentless squeeze.

Summer rolled her eyes toward the ceiling of the vehicle, letting out a soft, muffled groan of complete defeat.

Inwardly, Salma was practically glowing with overwhelming joy whenever she looked at Summer’s current physical form.

In truth, she secretly wished Summer would revert all the way back into a helpless infant, allowing her to finally fulfill all the motherly duties, soft lullabies, and fond care she had been robbed of providing during Summer’s actual childhood.

Summer, of course, could not fathom the chaotic mess of emotions swirling inside her mother’s head.

Salma’s moods shifted as rapidly as the northern weather, completely unpredictable from one minute to the next.

But Summer knew with absolute, terrifying certainty that whatever her mother was currently thinking while wearing that weird, gentle smile was undeniably bad news for the structural safety of her cheeks.

Farther back in the convoy, Derrick watched the quiet interaction through the rear windshield of his own transport, a rare, soft smile touching his weathered face.

He loved seeing his young miss finally experience a moment of genuine warmth after decades of bloody isolation.

However, as the warmth faded, Derrick turned his attention back to the strange question his master had asked through their soul link. He began sifting through their past records, trying to deduce what Salma had been searching for.

Slowly, the blurred memory of a certain hated face surfaced in Derrick’s mind, instantly turning his own expression dark and cold.

’I hope to God it is not that bastard,’ Derrick thought, his fingers resting heavily on the hilt of his shadow blade. ’Because if he ever dares to show his face near the young miss again, I will be the very first one to tear his throat out.’

While on one of the trucks, Ella, Ilas, Angela, and the Professor gathered together.

"Imani is too much. Why’d she separate us from Chubby cheeks?" Angela complained. She hadn’t even finished hearing Summer’s full adventure in the dungeon, and now they had been split into different transport vehicles.

"She is hateful indeed. I can practically smell her disgust for Chubby from streets across," Ella said.

"She’s too much," Ilas nodded her head in agreement.

"Can you guys be silent? Don’t reveal the boss’s identity out loud," the Professor looked around nervously, adjusting his glasses to seal the lips of the twins. "I did not gather you three here for complaining, but to make a plan."

"Plan?" Angela raised her brows, her curiosity instantly piqued.

"Do you guys want to stay weak?" the Professor asked, lowering his voice. "The boss will continue to increase her strength, and there will inevitably come a point where we become completely pointless in her life."

The three girls exchanged lingering looks. None of them wanted that outcome to happen. They wanted to stand beside her, not be left behind in the dirt.

"Then what’s your plan?" Angela asked.

A mysterious smile appeared on the face of the Professor.

"Do you like candies?"