"Oh, Liana?" Javier called out, his tone laced with his usual playful mischief.
"Yes, young master?" she replied, her expression calm but watchful as always.
"I don't want my mother to worry about assassins," Javier said, his face unusually serious for a moment. "Can we use a monster attack as an excuse instead?"
Liana tilted her head slightly, raising an elegant brow. "And how are we going to do that, young master?"
A wide grin spread across Javier's face as he reached into his magic storage, the air shimmering faintly as he rummaged through its invisible depths. With a dramatic flourish, he pulled out the massive, hulking bodies of five trolls, their grotesque forms sprawled across the forest floor.
Liana blinked at the sight, her composure only briefly slipping. "You've been carrying those... this whole time?"
