The Spirited Young Lady (1): A Stable, Swaying Ride
Riding atop Kong's back, Aria let her tension melt away, rubbing her cheek against his unexpectedly soft fur.
The fresh scent of the forest and earthy aroma wafted gently around her.
'Sleepy...'
Aria bobbed her head, fighting off drowsiness. Seeing her struggle, the fairy Tipheri flying alongside spoke up.
(It'll take a while to get there, so just relax and sleep. Kong and I will keep you safe.)
The doll-like adorable fairy stroked her hair with her tiny arms, and Aria finally closed her heavy eyelids.
'So comfortable... no more of those strange noises...'
For the first time in ages, Aria fell into a deep slumber.
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The tomboyish young lady who loved frolicking in the grand mansion's beautiful garden.
Aria Bellentia.
She had grown up showered in her father the Bellentia Count's boundless love, cared for by kind servants. Protected by knights like doting uncles, she swung wooden swords at scarecrows and ran breathless through the vast orchards filling the plains. Playing with the retainers' children who visited the mansion was the joy of her life—she spent vibrant, happy days.
Yes, that had been her life.
Unlike her shining past,
now Aria evoked pity and fear from everyone, enduring parched days of torment one after another.
Aria's life had changed in an instant. The grand, spacious mansion was trampled by strangers' boots and stained with blood before burning to ashes, leaving her to live in a cramped, rough wooden hut.
Thrust into this awkward, unfamiliar place, Aria suffered from the uncomfortable stares and noises around her. Her father's groans of agony, vomiting blood day after day from beyond the walls. Marrian's sighs heavy with worry. Above all, she couldn't bear the servants—who once treated her warmly—now looking at her with eyes mixed with fear.
Aria's once lively spirit was eroded by her surroundings, leaving her dejected and too scared to meet anyone's gaze, always staring at the ground.
Unlike her joyful days at the mansion,
every day now was utter agony.
Unlike the gentle father of before, his lessons had turned strict and intimidating. When they ended, she'd return to her faded room, curl up in a dim corner,
close her eyes, and soak the wooden floor with tears. Plugging her ears against the cacophony of voices ringing in her head, she'd relive nightmare memories.
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Aria huddled in Marrian's arms,
hiding in the corner of the room, holding her breath. Marrian tried to soothe her anxiety with trembling hands, but Aria didn't even notice, just staring out the window.
Fire arrows and spells streaked through the dark night sky, clashing chaotically. One blazing fireball like a meteor hurtled close, crashing not far away.
BOOM!!!
"Kyaaah!!"
The deafening roar shook her skull, the impact jolting everything, the towering inferno pillar scorching her face just from looking. All of it defiled and destroyed the peaceful home she knew.
"Nanny... I'm so scared..."
"Miss..."
Aria burrowed into Marrian's embrace, trembling and squeezing her eyes shut, but the chaos beyond rang clear in her ears.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Stab!
"Waaah!!"
"The main gate's breached! Push forward!"
"Uwaaah!!"
"Fall back inside the mansion! Hold out and fortify!"
The brutal clash of metal, screams, and shouts. Even a child like Aria knew what they meant—invaders storming in, defenders fighting and dying to stop them. And the screams drew ever closer.
The barrage of noises tormented her. No matter how she plugged her ears or grimaced,
they echoed inside her head, pure misery.
"N-Nanny, my head's spinning, it's so loud... I feel like I'm gonna puke..."
"I-It'll be okay... Miss, the Count will surely drive off the enemy..."
Thinking Aria was just scared, Marrian tried to comfort her crying charge like her own child, but her own voice trembled with fear.
Marrian stroked Aria fiercely to forget her terror. Aria winced, the noises still pounding in her skull.
Piiiieeeee—
Inhuman voices tangled in a chaotic web. It sounded violent and messy, but she instinctively knew—they were calling her. Too frightened, she dismissed it as hallucination, desperately denying and ignoring them.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
CRASH!
Sudden heavy footsteps—and the door to Aria and Marrian's room burst open as if it would shatter.
"Marrian! Hurry and prepare to leave!"
"Gasp...! My lord!"
Seeing who entered, Marrian gasped in shock, drawing a sharp breath. Aria slowly opened her eyes, peering toward the door. Her pupils shook.
"D...Dad..."
"Ngh... hack... A...ria..."
There stood her dearest, kindest father, drenched in blood, barely upright with the knighthood commander's support.
To anyone else, it looked like the knight cradling a corpse—there was no other way to describe the Count's dire state.
Thick black blood dribbled from his mouth,
his eyes' vital spark flickering as if about to extinguish. Yet for his daughter's sake, he clung desperately to life's thread.
The knight supporting the Count shouted urgently at Marrian.
"Marrian! Pack light— we have to get out now!"
"The army? The mages and reinforcements—"
"All the family mages are dead, and the imperial reinforcements refused to march because the battle's turning against us!"
"Wh-what? No... that can't be..."
"Snap out of it! For Miss Aria's sake, move!"
Shaken by the knight's bellow, Marrian pulled herself together,
quickly grabbing jewels and gold coins.
Aria, stunned by her once-unshakable father's wretched form, went blank and let the evacuating servants lead her away. When she came to,
she was aboard a speeding carriage.
Snort! Snort!
"Hyah! Hyah!"
Whoosh! Crack!
The horses' ragged breaths and driver's frantic whips.
Opposite her in the carriage sat Marrian and her fainted father receiving treatment from a priest, while several carriages moved in orderly formation around them.
"Incoming arrows! Protect the horses! Shields up!!!"
The knight commander on horseback guarding the carriages glanced back and yelled—arrows and multicolored spells flew toward them.
Pfft. Thunk.
BOOM!
Aria turned to the window: the knight swung his glowing sword, batting away spells and arrows to shield the carriage. Soldiers fired crossbows from the vehicles to hold off pursuers, but there were just too many.
Aria stared blankly at the incomprehensible scene. Her father's thick blood stench. Marrian's sobbing. Soldiers' death cries from arrows. The knights' hopeless groans.
Lost in a shock no child could bear, the once-vague noises now rang crystal clear.
(Emilia, we'll help you. Just say the word.)
(We'll destroy everything tormenting you.)
(So tell us, Emilia.)
The voices addressing Aria dripped with obsession and desperation, seducing her. They begged her to use them, to acknowledge them, to look their way.
Unthinkingly, Aria responded to the insistent unknown voices echoing in her mind.
"Get rid of them... the ones tormenting my dad, my precious people."
In that instant, a faint alien snap echoed in her head.
Kriiiick...
The sound of tangled threads knotting tight.
No sooner had she spoken than the world outside the carriage erupted—the rear surged with massive upheaval.
KABOOOOM!!!!
"Wh-what the hell?! Uwaaah!!"
Neiiigh!!!
Deafening noise, horses and men screaming.
"N-no way..."
Marrian's last horrified gasp—and Aria blacked out.
From that moment, Aria's life changed forever.
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When she opened her eyes again,
Aria was in an unfamiliar place. Not her lifelong mansion, but a rough wooden hut fit for commoners. Looking around,
the servants who once felt like family now eyed her with fear.
As if she were something dangerous they dared not approach.
They bore wounds she'd never seen before,
and some were simply gone.
Something was wrong. Then curse-like voices whispered past her ear.
(What's wrong? Are they bothering you?)
(Want us to punish them?)
(Just say it—we're always on your side.)
(We'll protect you, forever.)
They spoke to her like innocent children. But it was one-sided, unwanted attention and love.
Aria had been branded with a curse: the love of beings embodying nature's purity and cruelty in equal measure.
Aria said nothing.
She just held her breath.