Chapter 13

Right before dawn, Aria was suddenly awakened by a strange noise.

‘What…?’

The sound had come from the window.

Rousing from her deep slumber, she drowsily walked towards the knocking sound on her bedroom window.

She opened her eyes, her eyelashes lightly batting against her cheeks as she rubbed the dreams away.

“Coo!”

‘Huh?’

Aria opened the window.

It was the white pigeon from before.

The pigeon circled around her before it slowly landed on her shoulder.

“Hello there. So we meet again.”

Aria lifted her finger to stroke the pigeon’s head. The pigeon closed its eyes and tilted its head to match her touch.

‘Whether it’s humans, hounds, or pigeons, everyone responds the same way when their head gets patted.’

She chuckled.

“I must look like a fool, talking to a pigeon and all.”

The pigeon nibbled her fingers in response as if saying, “Are you ignoring me now?”

Aria, with a quaint expression, wrapped her bitten finger around the bird.

“Coo!”

“H-huh?”

The pigeon flapped its wings and pointed at its leg.

There was a letter tied up around it.

Aria unwrapped the letter and read its contents.

[It’s saddening to say that I am about to die.

But the spring you brought to me was ever so brilliant that I wonder how warm summer will be.

How prosperous autumn can be.

How white the paradise of winter must be.

I’ve thought of this for a while.

So somehow, I’ll hold on to my life for as long as I’m allowed to.

– To the Spring Fairy -]

The letter was from the grand duchess.

Aria read it over and over again.

‘The pigeon precisely flew to my bedroom window.’

Aria immediately slammed the window shut and quickly squatted on the floor. Her pulse pounded like a booming drum inside her ears.

Was she exposed?

‘No, the pigeon could have just flown back to me because I was the one who sent it there in the first place.’

Aria opened the letter again.

The grand duchess called her the ‘Spring Fairy’. Could this mean that she won’t ask Aria to reveal her true identity?

‘This feels strange.’

She just wanted to do something to prevent the Valentines’ Massacre.

However, she never expected to receive a letter.

‘She said she would hold on to her life.’

It wasn’t a request to save her life, but a letter of gratitude to Aria.

With the hope Aria had shown, she would like to cling to her life and make a bold ambition to get through it somehow.

‘I’ve never met the grand duchess in person.’

But Aria wanted her to live no matter what.

She ran straight to the garden and picked up a freesia flower.

Aria tied a note to the bird’s leg, put the flower in its beak, and sent it to the sky.

[I will show you the wonders of all the seasons.

Whether it’s spring, summer, autumn, or winter.

I will bring the promise of seasons to come until spring arrives again.]

* * *

Aria needed to find a place where she could practice singing in secret.

She had thought of it as soon as her fever had gone down.

After blooming dozens of cherry blossoms with her ‘Song of Life’, she felt her 10-year-old body reaching its limit.

Her powers remained the same, but her current body couldn’t withstand it because she hadn’t been trained at all.

‘I could die if I tried singing the song of healing or destruction…’

But in order to heal the Grand Duke’s wife, she had to do it.

She held out a card.

[I’m not sick anymore.]

“Hmm, I still think you have a mild fever,” Diana said, touching Aria’s forehead and neck.

Aria stood up from her seat, pretending not to hear her.

“You have to rest one more night… Hey? Young miss, are you listening to me?”

She tried to escape, but she was caught right away. Aria shook her arm a few times before giving up.

Then after a while, she looked up at Diana with her big puppy dog eyes.

“No. You have to rest.”

“…..”

“Stop giving me those puppy-dog eyes. It’s useless.”

“……”

“I said, no!”

“……”

“Sigh…”

Diana sighed and finally raised both of her hands as a sign of surrender.

“Where do you want to go?”

[Garden.]

Aria was currently banned from viewing the flowers.

“Alright, I’ll allow it just this once…”

Diana reluctantly agreed after Aria persistently insisted that she was not allergic to pollen.

“However, you must come back before sunset.”

[Yes.]

“If you get lost, ask anyone around for help.”

[Yes.]

“Do not hold back because everyone is willing to help.”

[Yes.]

The conversation took longer than she thought it would.

She had to raise the [Yes.] card several times before Diana actually let her go.

After a while, Aria finally went to the garden.

She looked around as she pretended to admire the flowers in the garden.

‘The perfect place where I can sing freely.’

Thump-thump!

Suddenly, she heard footsteps that ran towards her at a high speed.

Aria hurriedly turned back to run, but it was too late.

With rapid acceleration and a more bounding motion, the creature came right at her.

“Bark!”

“Aaah!” Aria shrieked as she was sent reeling backward and fell.

Her heart almost leaped out of her chest.

“……”

She stared at the panting wolf who was wagging its tail enthusiastically.

It was fortunate that she was alone. What if someone else was there?

“You’re very naughty,” she lectured the wolf while gently touching its snout.

It shouldn’t hurt, but the wolf whined, drooping its ears and legs.

‘It sure knows how to make me feel bad.’

She was thinking of scolding it a little more, but it was too cute. She couldn’t help but smile at the wolf.

After Aria got up from the ground and confirmed that no one was around, she whispered to it.

“How did you get here?” Aria asked while shaking off the dirt on her butt.

“Bark!”

“You ran because you missed me?”

“Woof, woof!”

It seemed she was right.

Aria studied the wolf’s reaction. It seemed to be able to understand what she had just said.

‘Are we really conversing right now?’

“Hand.”

As she stretched out her palm, the wolf raised its paw nicely over her hand.

“Get down.”

The wolf lowered himself and leaned on the ground.

Aria was deeply impressed with the wolf. She was able to communicate with animals and could even order them around.

It was beyond her expectations.

‘That’s why my father was so afraid of animals approaching me.’

She laughed bitterly as she recalled Count Cortez, who had hysterically dictated on killing any living creatures that came close to her.

“Do you know a place where people don’t normally visit? Somewhere I can sing without anyone interfering. A secret place, perhaps.”

“Woof!”

“That’s where your leader is?”

“Woof, woof!”

‘The place where the leader of the pack resides in…’

Aria envisioned the alpha, who was in charge of leading the pack of wolves. It didn’t seem so bad to sing in that place.

Aria climbed onto the wolf’s back and wrapped her arms tightly around its neck.

“Please guide me there.”

Then, the wolf immediately ran towards their destination.

Moments later…

Aria found herself standing in front of the Grand Duke of Valentine.

The leader of the wolves.

“……”

“……”

Aria and the grand duke stared at each other awkwardly.

On the other hand, the wolf wagged his tail and panted like crazy, as if asking for praise after fulfilling her order.

“Wha-what the…”

Dwayne, the grand duke’s personal aide, pulled out his sword, thinking it was an enemy attack.

Confused and terrified at the same time, Aria hugged the wolf’s neck tightly.

‘Is this the grand duke’s office?’

She was already skeptical along the way. The background kept changing rapidly as the wolf ran, and she had noticed the main palace getting closer.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Huh?”

The Grand Duke of Valentine.

Tristan observed Aria riding his hound as he put a cigarette in his mouth.

“I didn’t expect a child to ride my hounds like a horse,” he said as he lifted Aria up.

Aria grabbed her old bag like it was her lifeline while her eyes darted constantly.

The grand duke’s smile deepened when he saw the distressed expression on Aria’s face.

“I implore you politely. Won’t you treat my dependable canines as mercifully as possible?”

‘How about treating me kindly first…’ Aria thought, as he swinged her body around the air like a doll.

The Grand Duke of Valentine must not know the meaning of ‘polite’.

“What shall I do with this devilish young lady?” He asked, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke.

His way of speech was very stiff and formal. He sounded a bit weird.

‘I can’t say that I came here to practice singing… .’

Aria rummaged through the old bag and pulled out her card. She struggled while thinking of something to write, but the grand duke just stared at her patiently.

‘Your Grace?’

It’s too strained.

‘My Lord Grand Duke?’

However, Aria was not his servant. If she lowered herself too much, it wouldn’t make her look good.

After contemplating for a while, she decided on the perfect title to address the grand duke.

[Father.]

Aria held the card close to her nose.

She tried to look grumpy about being lifted in such a discourteous manner.

[I came because I wanted to see you.]