n

n

n

nTranslator & Editor: Latte

n“Shh, Aria. You must never speak, alright?”

nAria’s mother, Sophia, had been feeding her potions ever since she was born.

nAfter drinking the potion, Aria was not able to say anything. She became mute.

nShe couldn’t even cough.

n“You’re a pathetic failure who should’ve never been born!”

nAria’s expression sank.

nWhy did she have to be beaten and cursed by her own father?

nHis facial expression was one of absolute disdain. He abhorred her. To him, she was nothing but a burden on his shoulders.

n‘I can speak. I have a name, too…’

nShe blamed her mother.

nThe mother who would never visit unless it was to deliver potions.

nThe mother who would scold her when she didn’t drink the potions.

nThe mother who had never read her fairy tales or sung her a lullaby.

nThe mother who had never even embraced her…

n‘Does she even love me?’

nAria knew nothing.

nShe could only watch her as the days went by.

nWhen she turned 10 that spring, she learned everything.

nSophia had passed away.

nHer vocal cords were completely torn.

n“She took her own life. It was said that she committed a violent crime.”

nShe knew of the truth only after she overheard the maids’ conversations.

nSophia tried to protect her from Count Cortez.

n‘I was a Siren.…’

nSiren.

nNamed after an ancient creature, it was an ability that ran through Sophia’s veins.

nThe ability to charm, lure, control, and heal others by singing.

nSirens were mythological creatures that only existed in legends.

nHowever, 12 years ago, Count Cortez found out that they truly existed. So he kidnapped a Siren and introduced her to the world.

nThat Siren was Aria’s mother.

n‘Is that how I was born?’

nHer whole body trembled.

nThe news pained her, but it was incomparable to Count Cortez’s domestic violence towards Aria.

n“How dare you run away from me, you b*tch! I won’t be your nanny!”

nIt hurt. A lot.

nThat day was the worst day of her life.

nAria sat there, tears pricking her eyes, pale hands trembling with fear and sadness.

nShe tried to block out the screams, but it was impossible, the noise kept ripping her heart.

nShe felt more pain than the human body could bear and she genuinely believed she would die.

n‘I have to run away.’

nShe had thought of escaping before.

nBut she was only ten years old.

nFurthermore, It had only been a while since she discovered her mother’s true intentions, which were to protect her.

nSuddenly, Aria let out a scream.

n“Agh!”

nShe wailed because she couldn’t endure the pain any longer.

n“Haha, yes! There’s no way that a Siren’s daughter can’t speak. How dare you try to deceive me?”

n“No! Stop it!!!”

n“How beautiful… like the voice of an angel, as clear and as soft as a feather….”

nIn the end, Aria ended up following her mother’s footsteps, living the life of a Siren.

nThe powerful nobles begged her to sing, offering her all of their wealth and shamelessly kissing her feet.

nThe secret social parties of the imperial family and aristocrats turned into a gathering to listen to the songs of the Siren.

nThey did terrible things.

nShe saw many things she shouldn’t have seen.

nShe heard things she shouldn’t have heard.

n‘I didn’t want to know any of this…”

nShe prayed to God every day.

n‘Please save me.’

nBut God never responded.

nDue to her overwhelming talent, the Siren’s songs became even more popular.

nThe people worshipped her as if she were a deity.

nThey begged her to save them.

nUntil… the worst comes to the worst.

nRumors began to spread throughout the empire.

nThe Siren was rumored to be a monster, not an angel of salvation who borrowed the voice of a God.

n“The legendary monster deceived all of you…,” Saintess Veronica said with teary eyes in front of the believers.

n“I also got addicted to her songs and most of the palace officials went crazy. The Emperor too….”

nHer tears seemed so real that the congregation in the square became agitated.

nThe nobles went crazy.

nThe emperor became a tyrant.

nThe empire fell to ruin.

n‘And it’s all the Siren’s fault.’

nThe Siren was a fake.

nNot a sacred being, but a horrible monster.

nThe real one was Veronica, the saintess from the Holy Empire.

nThey shouted in anger, “The imperial family is over because of the monster!”

n“We must clean up the imperial palace that has become a den of heathens!”

n“Be in power, oh Holy Being!”

n“This is not just treason. It’s blasphemy! The Siren’s declaring a holy war!”

nThe benevolent saint shook her slender shoulders slightly.

nWar was inevitable.

nShe raised her head as if she had made a decision.

nTheir eyes rest upon golden arcing rays that fell behind Veronica’s fluttering blonde hair.

n“I will save all of you.” Veronica pledged.

n“Wow!”

n“I will purify the palace and grant God’s grace so that no more innocent sacrifices will be made.”

nSaintess Veronica.

nThe protagonist of a perfectly woven heroic narrative.

nAnd Aria, the villain who ruined the empire, the root of all evil.

n‘I drove them to madness? Really?’

nEven Aria herself was confused.

nThe imperial family, the aristocrats, the commoners… They all said that it was her fault.

nThe war had begun.

nMen and women of all ages were mobilized for war.

nThey were dragged unconditionally, unable to refuse the conscription.

nFrom the street outside came a peculiar, blood-chilling sound. It was like the low snarling of many voices, and it grew louder and louder until it became a sullen, muttering roar.

nThe knights called the scene a ‘purification process’.

n“Execute the monster!”

nWhen the public sentiment arose, the emperor hid Aria in the depths of the palace.

n“Execution? No. You have to sing like a bird for your entire life.”

nThen he broke her leg, covered her mouth, and held her captive inside a small birdcage.

n‘How long have I been here?’

nAria burst into tears.

n“……”

nThis is how she dies.

nShe gazed upon her bloody palms and clenched her fist.

n‘Yes, I’ll just die.’

nOnce the last remaining Siren dies, no one will have to suffer like her.

nAria gave up everything.

nBut no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her emotions from coming out of her rotten heart.

n“Do you want me to kill you?”

nAria shifted her gaze to the source of the voice.

nLloyd Cardence Valentine.

nThe devilish Grand Duke who was said to have murdered all of his relatives and cut off their limbs at the age of 18.

nHere he was, staring at a woman with a broken leg, trapped inside the emperor’s cage and dying.

n“Because you called for me.”

n“I called for you?”

n“The Devil.”

nThe Grand Duke of Valentine.

nA despicable tyrant like the emperor, but he was also a murderer, and he worshipped the devil.

nRumors said that he sold his bloodstained soul to the devil.

n“Call me when you need me.”

n“……”

n“Your songs can be heard everywhere.”

nIt was as if the devil had offered her a contract with her soul as collateral.

n‘He’ll kill us all…’

nAria was dying anyway. What else would she rather do than revenge?

nA bird with a broken wing will not be able to fly again even if its cage was opened.

nBut at the brink of her death, Aria chose to…

n“Come, sweet death.”

nCall upon the devil.

nThe Grand Duke, who barged into the palace, murdered all those who stood in his way, with a single sword.

nEveryone last one of them, all…

n…except for Aria.

nThe screams tore through the room like a great shard of glass. They were the kind of strangled cry that belonged to those not long for this world

nEvery face was stained with red splatter, and limbs lay at unnatural angles underneath the light of the chandelier.

nThe night was filled with terror.

nAria was the only one who saw the light of salvation behind the Grand Duke’s back.

n“Too bad. Could I have listened to your song one more time if I had come a little earlier?”

n“……”

n“I wanted to hear you singing.”

nShe answered slowly, “Has my song corrupted you, too?”

n“No, I corrupted you.”

nHe picked up the finest herb leaves that had been scattered nearby in a languid manner.

nThen he stuffed it into a smoking pipe and bit it in his mouth.

n“Let’s go to hell together,” he said as he pressed the pipe to his red lips and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

n“I apologize. If you hadn’t called me in, you could have gone to heaven.”

nHell.

nThe scene in front of her looked like hell.

nThe imperial families and nobles on the floor were lifeless. Their bodies were scattered in multiple places, stained with dried blood; crimson and the room was filled with a nasty butchershop odor.

n‘Furthermore… the emperor died.’

nGod asked us to forgive our enemies.

nSacrifice yourself for others.

nDeny yourself.

nGod…

nBut even on the verge of death, the vengeance of a devil was far too sweet.

nIf the price of her revenge was hell, then she was willing to pay for her sins.

n“Sing, I want to sing.”

nFor the first time in her life. Aria wanted to sing on her own volition.

n“Listen to me.”

nHer voice didn’t come out well and she could barely open her lips.

nBut the Grand Duke was still willing to listen.

n‘The Devil who took me to Hell.’

nHer savior.

nHe held her in his arms, the pain that weighed on her heart slowly died down.

nAll of her senses gradually escaped from her body as she began to fall into a deep sleep and a faint smile hung around her face as she blinked her last second…

n* * *

nAria had passed on.

nBut as the numbness of sleep slowly faded from her limbs…

n‘…a floral scent.’

nShe smelled the scent of spring.

n‘Is this… Hell?’

nHer eyes opened, her eyelashes faintly batting against her lids when she blinked and she gasped in a breath.

nA familiar ceiling covered her vision.

nIt was the attic ceiling that she had been locked up in until she was ten.

nShe pondered for a while, her breathing beginning to steady.

nHow odd she thought, there was no sharp pain in her chest anymore. It had pained her a lot when she breathed.

n‘It doesn’t hurt anymore.’

nShe touched her face.

n‘No burn marks? Why can’t I feel them…?’

nShe sat up, dragged her feet off the bed, and cast her eyes around her surroundings.

n‘The cage is gone.’

nShe wasn’t locked up. She was free.

nShe could move her whole body freely. Her legs weren’t crippled, her wounds were gone, and she could actually speak.

n‘It’s not a dream.’

nHer limbs hadn’t been without pain these past few years, yet here she was, her body was perfect, younger, and healthy.

nAria jumped to her feet and ran towards a small window.

nThe petals, which heralded the end of winter, fluttered.

n‘It’s spring.’

nThe spring greeted her as butterfly wings greeted the air. The sky was blue, the flowers bloomed, and the sun brought a welcoming warmth that coated her pink-calamine hair.

nIt was a beautiful landscape, something she thought she would never see again.

nAria reached outside the window and grabbed the petals that scattered through the air, holding them in her hands as if she were praying.

n“Ah.”

nShe was resurrected.

nThe devil has given her another opportunity.

n“…I can talk.”

nShe didn’t drink the potion because her mother had died.

nThe fact that she still lived in the attic meant that her father had not heard her voice.

n‘Father.’

nCount Cortez.

n‘The one who ruined my life.’

nShe sought revenge then, and she will do so now.

nHer revenge was all that would make her whole again.

nThe first thing that popped into her mind, was not the surprise of turning back in time, or the confusion regarding her unusual surroundings, rather…

nIt was the seven letters of revenge.

n‘He must be drinking by now.’

n‘He should have been drinking in that place since morning.’

nAria wanted to visit her father.

nSo she opened the door of the attic without hesitation and immediately headed underground.

n“Gasp!”

n“Goodness! You scared me.”

n“What, how…?”

nThe maids were dumbfounded at the sight of her leaving the attic.

nAria brushed past them carelessly.

nShe will soon meet her so-called father in the wine cellar.

n“What are you…?”

nCount Cortez was too drunk to fully grasp the situation.

nHe was confused about Aria’s sudden appearance, and he held a wry expression.

nBut when Aria began to sing, his face brightened and he was soon bathed in astonishment.

n