MTMLF★CH 44

Chapter 44 

The Massacred Purifiers

“You know this part well, so we’ll skip ahead,” Vincent said.

He quickly flipped through the pages.

Jaina also scanned the sections she already knew from the novel.

“In the end, because of the beastfolk’s resistance, the western continent’s invasion and conquest failed. The human alliance army returned to the west.”

“But didn’t many humans stay behind in the east?”

“Yes. That’s why the beastfolk realized they would lose their land if they didn’t unite—just like humans did. So they created a nation. That nation is the Empire of Lespina.”

Lespina was founded by the beastfolk and the humans they had captured during the war.

It was a way to prevent the west from ever invading the east again.

“And they needed a lot of people to build a country. Since the beastfolk population was small, they had no choice.”

“I see…”

“And there was also an unexpected gain.”

“A gain?”

Instead of answering, Vincent turned the page.

A word immediately jumped out at Jaina:

[The Appearance of Purifiers]

“…!”

Surprisingly, the history book had a very detailed section about Purifiers. Jaina’s eyes widened.

“In the early years of Lespina, the empire was unstable. The war had just ended, so you had beastfolk filled with hatred, and humans who had been forced here—they had to live together.”

Beastfolk hated humans.
Humans feared beastfolk.

Even if they lived in one country, the hierarchy was obvious. Mixing was difficult—like oil and water.

“That’s when the ‘Purifier’ appeared.”

The page was filled with an illustration:
A long-haired woman stood with her arms open, smiling gently with a radiant light behind her. Beastfolk with animal features knelt at her feet.

Bathed in the light coming from the human woman, the beastfolk wore peaceful expressions.

“A Purifier’s aura calmed the beastfolk’s violent instincts. Fierce predators, in particular, became stable thanks to their power. Because of that, running the country became much easier.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Yes. Some even said the god of this land gave Purification power to humans to bring peace to the east.”

Jaina had heard that most stories about Purifiers were lost. She didn’t expect such detail in a book. As expected of the Cecilier family—they knew far more history than other beastfolk.

“There were beastfolk who died when their powers went out of control, so the Purifiers’ existence made sense. But…”

Jaina hesitated.

If Purifiers helped so much in the early days, why were they gone now?

Even though she was a Purifier, the novel never explained why Purifiers disappeared. Maybe Vincent knew the answer.

Vincent spoke with a cold voice.

“That’s because the humans killed all the Purifiers.”

“…What?”

Jaina thought she heard wrong. But Vincent continued casually.

“At first, even the beastfolk didn’t really understand the Purifiers. Before fighting with humans, beastfolk rarely used their powers excessively.”

Then, the first known Purifier became the mate of a predator beastfolk.

That’s when the existence of Purifiers spread.

Even though beastfolk didn’t like taking human mates, fierce predators were all captivated by Purifiers.

“But the beastfolk who took a Purifier as their mate never met a good end. The Purifiers grew weaker and eventually died.”

“That means…”

“Yes. Later, they discovered it was humans who did it. Humans killed other humans simply because their fellow humans became mates to beastfolk.”

“Oh…”

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Beastfolk had no reason to kill Purifiers—they calmed their unstable powers.

But humans killing other humans?
It was absurd… but also something Jaina had seen often in her original world.

She let out a bitter laugh.

“Jaina, are you shocked?” Noah asked softly.

“No, I’m alright,” she said.

Noah gently took her hand and held it tightly.

“Don’t worry, Jaina. We’ll never let anything happen to you.”

“…Thank you, Noah.”

Noah already knew she was a Purifier. His eyes sharpened as he spoke protectively.

Jaina smiled at him, but inside, her emotions were heavy.

Maybe the ones who could harm me aren’t just beastfolk…

She had only been worried about beastfolk discovering her ability.
But it was humans who killed Purifiers in the past.

No matter how strong the beastfolk were, they couldn’t protect her from every threat.

She suddenly remembered the druids—the ones who stole the original Jaina’s power in the forest.

Maybe the real Jaina chose to stay hidden in that forest…

Even if she was exploited, maybe she thought it was better than being killed outside.

Druids had special abilities similar to beastfolk powers.

For them, killing a weak Purifier would’ve been easy.

Jaina exhaled slowly, overwhelmed by everything she had learned.

“It seems today’s lesson was too heavy for a human lady like you,” Vincent said carefully.

“N-no. I’m sorry.”

Even though Vincent was cynical about humans—and harsh when talking about Purifiers—he still tried to be gentle when he saw Jaina struggling.

“I’m fine. Please continue.”

“…Very well.”

Vincent nodded and turned the page again.

Jaina glanced sideways.

Noah was still holding her hand.

His small hand held hers tightly, as if he would never let go.

Strangely, that alone made her feel a little better.

A soft smile returned to her face.

“Then we’ll continue the next part in the following lessons.”

“Yes, teacher. Thank you for today.”

When the lesson ended, Jaina bowed politely.

Noah then spoke:

“Jaina, I’ll escort Teacher Vincent out. You should go inside—Ella will wake up soon.”

“Oh, you’re right. Thank you, Noah.”

Noah also said he had questions for Vincent, so Jaina stepped aside for them.

She left the room.

Noah watched her back until she disappeared.

Then his expression instantly turned icy.

“Was it His Highness who ordered you to monitor my lessons?”

“…?”

Vincent chuckled, amused, but Noah only glared silently.

Grinding his teeth, he said:

“Did you really have to tell Jaina about Purifiers being murdered by humans?”

Vincent smiled faintly.

The boy was exactly like someone he knew.

“She needed to know eventually.”

“Jaina is… never mind. I’ll say this—I’ll be watching you from now on. So be careful with what you say.”

Now that Jaina was gone, Noah’s tone turned sharp like ice.

Moments ago he had been a sweet, gentle boy beside her.

The contrast was shocking.

He even wore clothes he normally wouldn’t touch—just to act cute in front of Jaina.

Vincent held back a laugh.

“You and His Highness must care about Jaina a great deal.”

“Of course. Jaina saved my father’s life.”

“Ah, yes, that story…”

Vincent stroked his chin.

His eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Have you ever considered that humans might have been behind that ‘incident’ too?”

“…What?”

Noah’s blue eyes darkened.

The ocean-blue color filled with dangerous intent.