"I, I..."

Facing the large and robust demon dog, the young girl's voice lost its usual precise intonation, either from the tightening of her throat due to nerves or mixed with a choking sob.

"I've made up my mind, yes, I will definitely do it."

She repeatedly encouraged herself, taking several deep breaths.

Raising her hands, she began to gather power, making the gesture to summon the Demon-Born Flower.

After several seconds, there was no change in her palms.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, why can't I summon it?" Dorothy looked at her hands in surprise.

"Woof—"

The sleeping Pale Hound startled Dorothy, as the glistening tears in her eyes began to accumulate more and more.

Closing her eyes, the girl called out again, her effort evident as her knuckles turned white from the exertion, clutching her arms.

However, the plant demon hidden within her still didn't appear.

"Forget it, come back for now."

Li Ang gestured for Dorothy to return to the secret passage.

"If you can't summon the Demon-Born Flower, the demon will wake up."

Originally, Li Ang wanted to witness what the so-called bloodthirstiness of the Demon-Born Flower was like, so he intended to push Dorothy a little further.

The system stated that her connection to the Demon-Born Flower needed to be controlled through willpower, yet she was too nervous to muster this will, failing even to summon the flower.

Wild Pale Hounds are usually quite alert, but this one had its intelligence suppressed and was a bit overfed, hence its deep sleep. However, dragging it out too long might still cause it to notice.

The room guarded by the demon dog could only be reached through the secret passage, theoretically making the sounds here less likely to be heard outside, but making too much noise could still pose a risk.

It seems her power is rather unique and can't rely on mere force; she needs to constantly engage in an internal struggle to manage it.

Hearing Li Ang's call, Dorothy still didn't move immediately. She bit her lip and said, "I can do it, let me try again."

"No, look at the situation clearly."

"But this is the last time, if I don't succeed, you will leave..."

Li Ang went over to grab her arm and pulled her back into the passage.

After closing the secret door, Li Ang turned around and scolded, "Idiot!"

"When you realize you're not strong enough in battle, you must immediately adjust your strategy.

"I wanted you to show determination, not to act recklessly. You won't die, and you mustn't mess around. Injuries, broken limbs, once these happen, they can be quite troublesome."

"Even if I lose an arm, it can grow back."

"A strong recovery power is a last resort; the pain and sensation of dismemberment can sometimes crush your will, rather than serving as a means of training. Do you think just relying on forcing yourself, what result will you get? That would be failure, even worse than failure!"

With her eyes lowered, Dorothy bit her cherry lips lightly, listening quietly to the reprimand.

As Li Ang scolded, she slowly raised her head, the watery light in her eyes shimmering in the dim light of the narrow space.

On instinct, Li Ang thought she was about to cry out loud, yet he saw her delicate, silk-like pale skin gradually turn blushing, her breath slightly rapid, gently blowing out a sweet flower-scented air through her lips.

The girl's voice was extremely soft: "Anything else?"

"What else?"

"I mean, you're right, you can say more."

Dorothy's originally mature and elegant appearance at this moment displayed the pouting look of a child who had done something wrong, a peculiar gleam in her eyes.

"I indeed realize I'm cowardly, pampered, a troublemaker, I've come to recognize that, and I want to change, to become a qualified Sky Knight. But on my own, I'm always not quite there, so you can push me more."

Her eyes downcast, her toes tapping the ground, the slender neck that was somewhat visible was already blushing, her earlobes with smooth curves akin to cherries.

"Scold me more, maybe this way, I can change as you expect."

Li Ang scratched his head, feeling that the situation was starting to head in an unexpected direction.

"I'm trying to identify problems, not simply scold you. How should I say it, you..."

Li Ang paused mid-sentence, unsure where to start.

The problematic young girl before him, her issues might not just be the previous ones, but also included deeper, harder-to-handle aspects.

Realizing that Li Ang was a bit confused by her, Dorothy snapped back to her senses slightly, and her face showed a hint of panic.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... it's been such a long time since someone scolded me with the intention of making me better that I suddenly had a strange feeling, sorry for saying weird things."

Dorothy quickly wiped the corner of her eyes with her knuckle.

"I just suddenly thought, maybe if you are a bit stricter, you could push me to change faster."

Li Ang asked, "Didn't you previously say that your father and brother were not good to you? They wouldn't scold you?"

"They... they wouldn't. They just hate me, plain hate."

Dorothy turned her face to the side: "When I say scold, I mean sincerely hoping I can improve, like you just did. They mostly belittle and ignore.

"If every time I acted pampered, every time I was weak, someone scolded me properly and told me what to do, would I be a bit stronger now?"

The girl leaned lightly against the wall, and unconsciously, she twirled the ginger yellow hair tips between her fingers as she spoke.

"When I was young and naive, my mother would discipline me. As a child, I only found it annoying, but before I realized that it might be her caring for me, nobody was looking after me anymore.

"As you kept telling me things along the way, I suddenly thought of her."

Li Ang softened his tone as much as possible and asked, "Your mother, is she?"

"She fell ill and passed away. There are too many unknowns in the Nebis World; she contracted a strange illness from nowhere."

"She was a princess of the Elf Kingdom, you know. She met my father during an adventure and married him later, fully supporting him in building his territory and developing his business. But somehow she got sick after having my two brothers and me, and it became progressively severe.

"After she was bedridden, she never accompanied me again, with father and brothers always around her, and the house always full of different adults coming in from outside."

"And your Demon-Born Flower?"

At this point, Li Ang suddenly had a vague suspicion.

"As expected of the Elder Sky Knight, you've thought of it. The Demon-Born Flower was something protected by her kingdom. By having its seeds symbiotically transplanted, my mother's illness could be cured.

"My grandfather was the king there, and he firmly disagreed. My mother at first didn't consider this option, probably due to their general apprehension about such demonic entities among the Elves.

"However, if she left, father's business would stall, so eventually she figured out a way to obtain the seeds of the Demon-Born Flower. This was a once-in-a-century opportunity."

Li Ang asked, "How did the seeds end up with you in the end?"

Dorothy lowered her head as if trying to recall, eventually shaking her head and saying, "I don't remember."

"Don't remember?"

"Father and my brothers say I was a born bad seed. I heard it was a very powerful thing, and so I wanted to grab it, and thus I secretly took it when my mother was preparing to plant it. Thus, they say I killed my mother."

Li Ang frowned: "Why is it them saying it? You had no awareness back then?"

"I don't know, I just don't know."

The Lady lifted a hand to cover her forehead, her face completely shrouded in shadow.

"I only feel like I had a dream, of mom planting the seeds on me, but I can't remember the before or after events. I mentioned this dream to them once, and at the time, father looked so terrifying that I never brought it up again."

"After mom passed away, I just fell asleep beside her, and the Demon-Born Flower grew inside me.

"Because of me, mom didn't survive, and what father and my brothers said was indeed the truth."

"When I did wrong, they never told me what was right, they just... said I perhaps shouldn't be alive."

"Stop it."

Li Ang halted Dorothy, preventing her from letting her emotions spiral out of control along with her memories.

He believed there was something off about the story, but clearly, now wasn't the time to discuss it, as Dorothy suddenly stood upright and walked toward him, her faint fragrance coming closer.

"What are you doing?"

Staring eye-to-eye at Li Ang from a close distance, she gathered herself a little, her gently moving lips carrying a soft, unsupported tone.

"After eight years, I understand that I can't leave everything for others to handle. Yet I'm still not competent enough on my own. If you, Li Ang, could always spur me on from behind, perhaps I might truly be corrected."

Seeing Li Ang not speaking, she raised her hand to her neck, undoing the choker around it.

"Scold me more, even if much harsher; it's okay. You see, I am actually used to it."

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