Chapter 9

As she closed her eyes, it felt as if her emotions were spreading out and enveloping everything around her.

An intangible bond developed between them, a melody beyond the range of ears, but lucid for the heart.

Chirp chirp!

Birds tweeted in response to the Siren’s power.

Buzz—

Bees buzzed around an audience of vibrant blooms, nature’s euphony blending into the pleasant ambiance.

Aria outstretched her hand towards the sky.

The wind brushed past her fingertips.

Leaves swayed in the breeze along with the Earth’s unvoiced singing.

‘How lovely.’

She was always singing in tune with an orchestra.

Not to mention, this was the first time she sang outside.

Count Cortez would always watch her closely, in fear that she might escape. That’s why she couldn’t go outside as freely as she wished to.

He would not hesitate to kill animals that approached Aria with his crossbow.

Under the count’s restraint, singing was only allowed indoors, the basement where private parties were held, and inside the emperor’s cage.

“Tender and beautiful fronds of my beloved plane tree,”

But now, Aria sang at her own discretion.

She could hear the birds’ hymn, the insects climbing the grass with serene ease, and the soft breeze caressing her.

“Let fate smile upon you.”

It was almost dawn.

“May thunder, lightning, and storms never bother your dear peace,”

The drizzling stopped.

“Nor may you by blowing winds be profaned.”

Aria leaned over the trunk. A soft smile spread across her lips as she heard the regular beating of its heart.

Golden rays of light came down as woven strands, falling onto the trees as it conjured the most brilliant mosaics, reflecting from each leaf and branch. Making the scenery become something so enchantingly beautiful.

“Never was made a plant more dear and loving or gentle.”

Suddenly, the mighty sun breached the horizon, and the sky exploded with gorgeous colors.

The light surrounding the cherry trees gradually faded, and golden rays escaped the buds as they bloomed into flowers.

“Ugh!”

Aria almost fell over.

She felt dizzy for a moment, so she held onto the tree to support her body.

Her body temperature dropped as she was still wearing wet clothes. She was cold and clammy, and she trembled slightly.

‘Did I overdo it?’

Aria had intentionally left her wound unattended and got soaked all night.

The power of her songs became stronger when she was sick and close to losing consciousness.

People exert miraculous powers that go beyond the limits of their bodies when they are in crisis.

Aria was the same.

‘Though I can’t hold it any longer…’

As much as Aria seemed to have lost her mind, she would always notice her condition beforehand, and right now, she was about to faint.

Thump-thump—

Someone was walking on the grass.

She turned her head to the direction of the sound.

A man stood directly in her line of sight.

Shocked, the man was at a loss for words.

“Y-you, you were talking. No….”

“…….”

“That angelic song! No, you were singing, and the tree was…”

‘Is he a servant?’

Aria observed the man’s attire.

He then smiled as if he had come to his senses.

“As expected, I am blessed.”

“……”

“Hey, say something, will ya? You wouldn’t be able to deceive anyone even if you kept your mouth shut.”

‘Did he think it was my weakness? How foolish.’

The man, who had been shouting a few times, began to give up after Aria just stared at him absentmindedly.

He started talking to himself.

“I knew it was strange. It doesn’t make sense that her origin was kept a secret, especially since she’ll become the future Grand Duchess.”

Aria’s origin was top-secret.

Only the representatives of each department, including the butler and the head maid, knew.

Aria asked them to keep it a secret.

‘There’s nothing wrong about taking precautions.’

But because of that, the attendant seemed convinced that Aria was not of noble origin.

“I can report this to the butler, but…”

He glanced at Aria from head to toe and let out a chuckle. Then, he whispered, “Why don’t you sing more for me, huh?”

“Sing the song from before. Then I’ll pretend that I don’t know anything.”

Aria stared at him indifferently; she was already familiar with such snaggers and arrogant glances.

“100 million Zahr.”

“…What?”

“The price of one song.”

It was a ridiculous price.

He looked at her, slack-jawed with disbelief. ‘What kind of song costs 100 million!’

If Aria sang three songs, he could buy a residence within the capital!

“Hey, you don’t seem to understand the situation….”

The servant began boasting about his evil deeds, and he threatened Aria that he had driven out an innocent maid by framing her as a thief.

The servant’s name was Toby.

His technique to survive was finding others’ weaknesses and framing them to get rewarded.

However, Aria did not listen.

“Would you be able to handle the weight of the song, when you can’t even afford the price?” Aria replied with a bored tone.

At that moment, the sky flashed behind Aria’s back, and lightning came. A brilliant shock of white blazed throughout the sky, forking towards the unsuspecting ground – the thunderous boom followed after, with its warning a bit too late.

Boom—!

Toby shuddered, his teeth grinding in suspense.

‘What the hell, it was just thunder and lightning,’ he thought.

However, the situation was quickly reversed.

Aria stepped forward towards him, and he unwittingly stepped back.

Then, he tripped on a stone and fell onto his butt.

“Wa-wait a minute.”

Toby couldn’t fathom how he had just felt threatened by a child much younger than himself.

Aria stretched her hand out to him.

“You have to compensate for your past mistakes,” she spoke before singing the song that he wanted.

Toby felt transfixed at the moment; he was unconsciously lost and speechless by her mere presence.

He held his breath.

‘Ah…

This must be how the nomads felt when they found an oasis.

Or the religious fanatics who finally witnessed God before their eyes.

Aria whispered, putting her lips next to his ear as she left him dazzled by the ethereal melody.

“You won’t tell anyone what you saw today. You must atone for your sins and pay the price.”

At the same time, Toby snapped himself out of the trance.

‘Pay the price?’

Ha, how funny! It was ridiculous to see a little girl with a cute rabbit mask scolding him.

He tried to laugh out loud.

But strangely, he couldn’t make any sound. It was as if his throat was clogged.

‘Uh, what the…? What is this?’

He tried to move his hand, but he couldn’t lift even a single finger.

Aria passed by his stiff body. She acted as if he was just a stranger on the other side of the road.

Then, his feet moved by itself.

He couldn’t stop.

‘N-No! Stop it!’

Toby’s face was as white as chalk.

His body moved like a puppet doll.

He was going insane inside, desperately trying to move, screaming for help, yet nothing came. His expression remained calm on the outside, and so was his behavior.

He walked against his own will until he stopped.

In front of him was the 3rd Knights Division’s headquarters. They were in charge of protecting the security of the territory.

He knocked on the door, and a voice told him to come in.

“What’s the matter?”

In front of him was none other than the commander of the knights. He was rumored to be extremely cruel when interrogating suspects.

‘Oh, no…!’

Toby had one more secret he couldn’t tell anyone.

He had leaked information about the Valentines internal affairs several times.

The Valentines were notorious, so every piece of information about them was sold at a very high price.

‘I was confident that I would never get caught!’

This was very bad.

The time during which the Grand Duchess was struggling between life and death was when the Grand Duke and the heir were frequently traveling.

The traitor will be thrown into the beasts’ cage without any reconsideration.

‘Oh, dear God, please! Future Grand Duchess, I was wrong! I admit my wrongdoings!’

No matter how much he prayed, it was already too late.

Toby opened his mouth and spoke, “I came to confess all my sins.”

* * *

‘My face feels hot, and my ears hurt.’

She could hear the muffled voice of someone shouting ‘Young Miss, Young Miss!’ from a distance…

‘So noisy.’

Slowly and reluctantly, Aria uncovered her face.

She blinked, closed her eyes, and blinked again.

She rubbed her eyes and scanned her surroundings.

‘Where is this?’

Her eyes were blurry, so she couldn’t figure out where she was.

She leaned against the wall.

“……it hurts,” she muttered.

Her head felt like it was going to burst.

“….Suddenly disappeared?”

At that moment, Aria’s vision returned to her.

It was Lloyd’s voice.

“She did not suddenly disappear. She wasn’t in her room in the first place….”

Then, she heard voices answering his questions.

‘Is that… Head Maid Betty?’

Aria could hear Betty stamping her feet.

“I was the last one to see her.”

“Yes?”

“I threatened her. I had said that I would kill her.”

“Yes?!”

With such a bold confession, Betty seemed to be at a loss for words. She was silent and couldn’t answer anything for a while.

“Th-then, it won’t be strange if she hid because she was terrified….” Betty stuttered.

“It is too dangerous for a young lady to roam alone in this mansion. And especially because she’s from outside the border!”

After a moment of contemplating silence, he spoke, “I’ll take responsibility in finding the rabbit.”

Lloyd’s footsteps went farther away.

‘Idiot. You’re going the wrong way.’ Aria thought as she listened to the footsteps of the boy walking towards the opposite direction.

Aria tried to raise herself, but she didn’t even have the strength to do so.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of birds chirping.

She turned her head, only to find a white pigeon sitting on the windowsill.

‘Carrier pigeons.’

Some pigeons were trained to send letters.

“Little birdie.”

“Cuckoo!”

“I have a favor to ask of you,” Aria said to the bird.

“The farthest room on the highest floor of the main palace.”

“Coo!”

“Send them this message.”

She hoped the bird could convey her words correctly. Though it was unlikely, she placed her faith in miracles.

The bird spread its wings and flew out of the window as if it had understood Aria’s words.

‘Did the bird understand my request?’

That couldn’t have been possible.

She tracked the bird’s location with her keen senses.

However, her knees began to give out.

With one step backward, she crumpled like a puppet whose strings were suddenly cut.

“Milady!”

She could hear someone yelling from afar, “Hurry, call the doctor!”

Everything became fuzzy, and by the end of the words, she was out cold…

Song Quote: “Ombra mai fu” from opera Serse by George Frideric Handel.