The Spirited Young Lady (3): Heartbreaking Tale
After breakfast was over, it was finally time to talk.
The dining area quickly turned into a consultation spot.
Aria was clearly a noble lady who had been raised with great care. So why had a girl of her status ended up alone in the middle of this perilous forest, threatened by goblins?
Now it was time to hear the reason.
Aria and I sat facing each other, while the fairies, who had become our audience, gathered around us. The shift in atmosphere left Aria visibly flustered.
To make the conversation smoother, I asked the fairies to translate Aria's words, and I spoke to her in the gentlest tone possible to ease her burden.
(Sorry for startling you at first. You were pretty shocked, huh?)
“Yeah... a little.”
(You don't have to speak formally with us. Please, just be yourself.)
“For real?”
(Yeah.)
“Heehee, thanks!”
Only then did Aria smile comfortably, as if she'd tossed off stifling clothes. Her voice brimmed with energy now that the restraints were gone.
Perfect. With her tension eased, it was time to get to the point.
(I've been wondering about this... Aria, can I ask you something?)
“Uh... what's weird, Kong?”
Aria averted her eyes from mine, like a kid caught sneaking cookies.
(A little girl like you being alone in the middle of the forest? That doesn't add up.)
“……”
Aria fell silent at my question. Whether caught off guard, surprised, or just reluctant to speak, she clutched the hem of her dress with a complicated expression.
(There must be some circumstances, but Aria...)
“……Yeah.”
Aria barely managed a reply, head bowed and hands clenched.
(This place is too dangerous for a kid like you. So tell me how you ended up in this perilous forest.)
“...Just give me a moment to think. It's... messing with my head right now.”
(Okay, take your time. I'll wait as long as you need.)
“Thanks.”
Aria let out deep sighs repeatedly, her face showing anxiety and unease. Yet she showed no sign of lying—just trembling lips as she finally spoke.
“The thing is...”
What Aria bravely shared was this: She possessed a special, powerful ability. When she responded to the mysterious voices echoing in her mind, dangerous phenomena like magic occurred against her will.
Flames would suddenly erupt from thin air, or water would lash like a whip. It felt like nature itself was acting with a will, rampaging wildly.
I listened up to that point and kept a straight face outwardly, but inwardly I was stunned. Her description closely matched the spirits I'd encountered and dealt with so far.
A spirit...? Or something else?
It sounded like a spirit, but... something was off. If willful spirits wanted Aria, they would've appeared and caused chaos by now. Why only respond to voices? And why did these dangerous events happen to her? I looked at the girl before me. To my eyes, she was just a child.
That special power wasn't a blessing to Aria—it was a curse. A force too immense to control was like a bomb ready to explode at any moment.
Unable to regulate her ability, she lived in constant dread, trying to ignore the voices and suppress her power. But as if mocking her efforts, words slipped out unconsciously, destroying her surroundings and hurting people.
As these unintended accidents repeated, people began to revere her while fearing and shunning her.
The villagers of the pioneer settlement, who once looked at her with pity, now hid eyes filled with terror. Even the servants who had been like family avoided her gaze. The comfort from her ever-present knight and nanny rang hollow.
Days tormented by ceaseless hallucinations were painful enough, but what truly broke Aria was something else.
It was her family's decline from its once-glorious past, and her father's drastic change after that day.
As she mentioned her father, Aria's eyes reddened, tears welling up.
Seeing her pitiful state, I sensed the root cause stemmed from him.
(Aria, it might be hard, but can you tell me what 'that day' was?)
“...Yeah.”
When did it start? A sinister unrest began stirring in Aria's once-peaceful Bellentia territory.
Tension thickened on the faces filling the mansion. Servants who used to greet her with warm smiles now kept their lips sealed. Knights in pristine uniforms patrolled the corridors day and night in heavy armor, faces flushed with alertness.
Above all, her gentle father's transformation felt the strangest. From beyond his tightly shut office door came sharp arguments and harsh shouts that a young Aria couldn't comprehend.
Children being the most sensitive to such changes, Aria grew anxious watching her paradise crumble.
On the day the ominous shadow strangling the territory grew ever darker, a storm-like silence shattered—and disaster struck abruptly.
An inexplicable massive army invaded Bellentia territory. Though Aria stayed safe in the mansion with her nanny, she could never forget the violent war cries and agonized screams from outside.
Her father and his forces fought desperately but ultimately lost. To preserve the family, they fled to their last remaining land: the remote Bellentia Pioneer Village, a wilderness outpost.
Life after the evacuation was pure misery in a word. Daily routines had become colorless compared to her shining memories. No one wanted to befriend her, fearing her. She wasn't free, deemed too dangerous. Aria couldn't accept this wretched reality.
Above all, her father's changes were unbearable.
After arriving at the pioneer village, he began treating her strictly. Despite his grievous injuries leaving him half-paralyzed from the battle, vomiting blood daily, he issued stern rebukes for even minor mistakes in lessons.
The sharp sting of the rod on her calves for the first time in her life burned like fire, but the heartbreak tore deeper.
Pleading tearfully to her nanny and knight brought only sad eyes repeating, “You must endure.”
The unidentified voices plaguing her mind, the fearful stares around her—days like sitting on thorns. One such gloomy day, wandering near the house, Aria glanced at the forest absentmindedly.
Suddenly, an intense urge to be free surged impulsively. Exhausted to her limit, she fled into the woods.
The forbidden forest everyone warned against approaching, yet Aria felt exhilarating liberation.
No voices tormenting her, no cold stares, no father's scoldings. There, she played like a normal child.
But the joy didn't last.
By the time she realized she'd gone too far, she was lost deep in the tangled woods.
Tears welled in the isolated reality without her guardian knight or soldiers. Trembling with anxiety, trying to backtrack her steps—then a eerie wail brushed her ears.
Grrrrr... Gruuhhhk...!
Turning slowly to the chilling, nightmare-like sound, glowing eyes and savage teeth gleamed from the darkness. A forest monster stared at her.
Aria bolted forward instinctively. Tears blurred her vision from terror, her dress tore on branches, knees bled from tripping on rocks—but she didn't stop. Thorny tentacles writhed behind as the monster closed in tight. But a young girl's stamina had limits; just before collapsing, breathless—
Desperate to live, Aria unwittingly unleashed the suppressed voice.
“Help me!”
Her scream echoed through the forest, and nature responded: Roots from the earth writhed alive, snatching the monster.
In an instant, the roots shredded it to bits before her eyes, flinging unrecognizable meat chunks aside, then approached slowly as if seeking praise. Utterly shocking from Aria's view.
Frightened by the roots fixating on her, she screamed again.
“Stay back!”
The roots halted as if stunned, and Aria turned and ran.
Exhausted after running far, leaning on a tree gasping—misfortune struck again.
Keeheeheet!! Kehehehk!
This time, a goblin pack. Goblins lurking for tender prey drooled from the bushes, encircling her.
No escape, no strength left—Aria desperately climbed a tree. Thanks to childhood play with retainers' kids? Just before they grabbed her, she made it up safely.
Goblins tried climbing after; Aria kicked their heads with her legs, resisting.
The day darkened; goblins hurled stones and branches, waiting for her to tire.
As her mind faded, a massive roar shook the air.
Aria and the goblins froze in terror—
A black behemoth crashed into them amid tremors.
It was me.
And so Aria's tale ended.
Hearing her circumstances, the fairies and I couldn't hide our dismay.
A child's life upended by adults' selfishness and egos, tormented by an unwanted power—it was heartbreaking.
But pity was pity, reality was reality.
This place was far too dangerous for a child like Aria.
I gazed at her sobbing, tears streaming, and spoke carefully again.
(You must have been through so much.)
Throat choked, Aria nodded silently, pouring out tears.
(But Aria, this isn't a place for you. You have to go home.)
She shook her head fiercely at my firm words.
“No... I don't wanna go!”
(Aria...)
Her puffy, tear-swollen eyes trembled as she stared at me.
“I miss my family, but... when I'm with you, Kong, the voices in my head stop! Those sounds were torture. Here, no one fears me... So I don't wanna go! I won't! Waaah!”
The voices—presumed to be spirits—don't reach her when she's with me?
Is that possible?
No, wait—
Why me, of all things?
Stunned by the revelation, her emotions exploded.
Like unleashing all pent-up grievances, the child wailed uncontrollably.
I rose and approached her.
Gently lifting her small body, I patted her back wordlessly. Pat. Pat. Pat.
My shoulder grew damp with her tears, but my hands didn't stop.
After a long while, her sobs subsided.
I met her eyes again.
“Hic... Kong, can't I just live here? I'll be good, help with chores...”
(I'd love to live with you too, Aria.)
“Then...!”
(But your father must be desperately searching for you. Everyone's worried sick.)
“Daddy hates me...”
(That's not true. Maybe he's acting strict to protect you.)
“Why?”
(I don't know the details, but adults' worlds are more complicated than they seem.)
Aria buried her face in my shoulder, deep in thought.
I waited silently for her decision.
Alpha, the other fairies, and Gail had gathered close, watching her with worried eyes.
Moments later, Aria lifted her head, pleading earnestly.
“Then, Kong... be my friend.”
(Friend?)
“Yeah. Promise you'll visit often even after I leave. Please.”
Though my insides were rotten middle-aged uncle, I wasn't the type to refuse a child's plea.
And how could anyone reject those eyes?
I stroked her head gently.
(What are you saying, Aria? We're already friends, right? We ate and played together—that makes us friends.)
“R-Really...?”
(Really.)
I offered my pinky.
Thankfully, pinky promises existed here too—Aria reached out.
My finger was too thick for a hook, more like a grasp, but it didn't matter.
“Then this is a promise.”
For a moment, her eyes seemed to shimmer—perhaps a trick of the light. A nostalgic glow, but fleeting, so I brushed it off.
“Yay! Now we're friends!”
Aria beamed genuinely at the fact, promising to meet even after parting.
—Click.
Then, an impossible sound rang out, and a subtle sensation like something connecting tugged at my chest.
Before I could question it—
The watching fairies rushed to Aria, clamoring to be her friends too.
(Hey, no fair—only promising with Kong!)
(Be our friend too!)
In the happy chaos as Aria made promises with each fairy one by one, my small doubt quietly faded away.