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nChapter 40

nAnd then the song flowed.

n“Along the sacred stream,

nThat calmly here is flowing;

nEnlivened by the songs of birds among the pines.”

nAt that moment, Hans’s arm, which had been holding Aria tightly bound, flinched and trembled.

n‘Are you singing in this situation?’

nIs this kid going crazy because she was terrified?

nHowever, the absurd feelings faded as the cold air melted away in an instant.

nShe sings very well….

n“On we’ll ride away;

nOn the stream we’ll ride away;”

nThe melodies that were softly wrapped around his ears continued as if flowing through a river.

nThen the snake stopped towering.

nTo be precise, the eyes of the prey, which were controlling the snake’s behavior, became hazy. And he blinked his eyes.

nNow, as if he didn’t know what he was doing here.

n“Through wavelets shimm’ring brightly,

nCarelessly rowing lightly,

nWe’ll reach soon the steeps”

nA song of peace.

nIt was a song that made one lose all their intentions to kill in an instant.

nEven people in a hostile relationship could temporarily hold hands.

n“Where warble the birds sprightly.

nMay the god, keep you from dangers,”

nThe melodies that soared to the limit fall from the sky like spring flowers dancing in the wind.

nHans stretched out his hand into the empty air.

n‘I have a mission to do….’

nA gentle melody that gently embraces his whole body.

nHe felt strangely drained. He obviously didn’t have time to delay until earlier and thought he had to move quickly.

nSoon it didn’t matter.

n“Till we arrive at the pool just in view,

nWhere wild swans, those snowy wing’d strangers,”

nHe didn’t want to do anything.

nHe just wants to stay in this place and listen to this song endlessly.

nThis place…..

nBut where is this place?

nAh, Valentine Grand Duchy.

n‘What about that.’

nValentine.

nHe used to think they were evil and meant to kill, but he doesn’t feel any hostility anymore, and he doesn’t feel like fighting at all.

n“Come and join we their meeting!

nAh! come join we their meeting!”

nHans had no choice but to let go of the hand holding Aria.

n***

n“Why do people split sides and fight and start wars? It would be nice to get along like us.”

nHans, who decided to be a pacifist as of today, muttered lamentably as he tucked his chin.

nAnd the prey of the rat sitting quietly next to him nodded his head as if in agreement.

n“You’re on a mission to kidnap me?”

nAria asked a question.

n“Huh. I was going to make a threat after paralyzing you with a taxidermist. By offering an antidote, that doesn’t exist, as a condition.”

nThen Hans spit out all the truth without hesitation and was speechless himself.

n“What the hell of a third-class villain idea is this? Whose idea is this?”

nThe prey then stared at Hans. Hans murmured as if he had remembered it too late.

n“Ah… it was me.”

n“…”

n“I was the third-rate villain.”

nThe pacifist Hans looked quite shocked by his personality.

n‘It’s my song, but it’s really…’

nSometimes it’s scary to see.

nAria wondered how he would react the moment he regained his sanity. She was convinced that he would spit out swear words out of great anger and shame.

n“No antidote?”

n“No. It’s still unfinished.”

nThen, after 5 years of wandering in the dark on the gutter, it seemed that the taxidermist would be completed.

n“It’s not a real snake, is it?”

n“Chimera. A created creature.”

n“Chimera…..”

nAria thought about it for a moment.

nIt was kind of weird.

nEven though it was his master’s command to keep(?) snakes in his body, he couldn’t show an intention to attack her.

nIt was because it was a life that was not born naturally.

n‘That means you were trying to use an unfinished poison for me that didn’t even have a proper antidote.’

nShe thought so and looked down at the jaguar in her arms.

nHad it not been for this child, she would have been dragged into the gutter by now, and she would have been used as a threat till her death.

nShe is conscious, but her body is frozen like a doll, and she is unable to move.

nShe can’t do anything

n‘It’s as terrible as a previous life.’

nAria looked around her. She wanted to dig further, but alas, before the crowds flocked, she had to decide how to deal with this.

n“Are you going to hand us over to the guards like this?”

nBut she didn’t want to. She was almost attacked, and she didn’t want to let it go that easily.

n‘More than anything else, the gutter rat.’

nEven if she hands those two over to the security guards, the gutter rats won’t take any damage.

nShe couldn’t leave them like this.

n‘Perhaps it was because of Vincent’s case that they had proper vindictiveness… ‘

nShouldn’t they be properly informed of what will happen if they make hasty tricks?

n“Are you of high rank in the gutter?”

nThen he put his hand on his waist as if she was asking the obvious and answered confidently.

n“Of course. I’m trusted too, and I have quite a few younger brothers.”

nIt seemed so.

nHe came up with a seemingly dangerous plan to infiltrate Valentine’s Castle and kidnap the fiance of the Grand Prince himself, and even put it into practice.

n“It means that I am confident in my skills and that I am being trusted.”

nHe doesn’’t sound like someone who always does things imperfectly everytime.

n‘That prey must have been selected for its ability to hold taxidermist in the body, and the limb was…’

nAria glanced at Hans up and down.

nHe suddenly appeared out of the emptiness where there was no one and knocked her down. She felt the flow of magic overflowing the moment he touched Aria’s hand.

n‘He must be a wizard.’

nThat’s pretty outstanding too. Though he never rebelled and he was beaten by a song of peace, because he had no idea that Aria was a Siren.

n“Then let the pacifists do this.”

n“Huh? What does that mean…”

nAria remembered the song she once sang to be engraved in the soul.

n“Love is a rebellious bird.”

nAnd she started singing.

nA song that makes the opponent completely obey.

nIt was an enchanting song.

n***

n“Miss! I came running after hearing that you were alone… Uwaaak!”

nCarlin, who quickly put out the fire and ran to the garden, screamed.

nBecause Aria was lying on the grass and she was babbling. Next to her was the jaguar, groaning as it bit her hem to somehow put her in a safe place.

nBut it seemed impossible to even carry her on its back as Aria couldn’t lift a single finger.

n“What the hell is this!”

nThe shaman was startled and grabbed her quickly.

nAnd he looked thoroughly. Her body was limp as if she had run out of energy, but it didn’t look like anything was wrong.

nHe was relieved in his heart.

nThe fire broke out at a coincidental timing, and he ran, just in case, but it was fortunate that nothing happened.

n“Thank you. My body suddenly lost strength and I couldn’t move.”

n“Wait, did you suddenly become like this while walking?”

nHe stuttered, pale white. He was making an expression that he did not know that such a glass-like body existed in the world.

nAria added one more word, ‘would that be possible?’.

n“You know. I can now sing a song of healing.”

nShe smiled faintly as she turned her gaze to the healthy jaguar.

nIt was detoxified before the body was completely hardened with the taxidermist’s poison, so there will be no particular aftereffects.

n“Yes? How? No, wait… Didn’t I tell you not to use your powers until you’re all better!”

nYou used your powers forcibly and this is what happened! I knew it!

nCarlin groaned, screaming and nagging.

nWhen Aria, who had been attacked in her eardrum, made a groaning sound, his voice soon diminished.

n“You’re in a strangely good condition after something like that? Your energy is pretty stable…”

n“I borrowed Carlin’s energy last time, but once I made a passage, it was easier from there.”

nIt was absurd.

nShe succeeded in using someone else’s power once, and then succeeded in managing the energy entirely with her own power?

n‘Are you saying that you only hear the theory once and apply it at once without trial and error?’

nWhat kind of genius do you have to be to be able to do that?

nCarlin stuck out his tongue without saying a word.

n‘Is this how other people feel when they see me?’ he thought to himself.

nAria was beyond the scope of understanding him, who prides himself on being a genius.

n“Why did you suddenly sing a song of healing?”

nCarlin didn’t ask, but he looked around for a moment.

nSeeing Aria’s condition, he was so startled that it was too late to realize.

n‘.. it smells bad?”

nIt was too terrible to the point of wanting to vomit, and it was an unpleasant stench as if something unpleasant was sticking to the whole body.

nHe knew this smell very well.

nThe smell of the gutter.

n“No way, a gutter rat is here? Did they leave?”

nAria looked up at him with a look of how he knew that.

nShe sniffed a few times and noticed.

nIt was an incredible dog nose.

n“No, his limb.”

n“What?!”

nCarlin was stunned at those words.

n“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

n“I took care of it on my own?”

n“Oh my God….”

nHe was speechless, so he stopped and touched his forehead.

nIt looked like Aria had no realization that she was ten years old. Even if she had a side effect of knowing the future, that doesn’t mean she becomes an adult.

n“So there’s a fire, and the lady sings a healing song… What the hell happened… Ah, am I finally getting killed by my employer?”

nI knew this day would come, Carlin murmured.

nHe was speaking with a serious face.

n“No, I’m going to keep it a secret that the gutter side sneaked in.”

n“No, you don’t have to. Of course I’m going to get killed, but they’re aiming for the Miss who will be the Grand Duchess of Valentine. As an example, they should be punished.”

nThe shaman answered sharply.

nHe hated seeing the gutter rat more than dying because the rats looked down on Valentine.

n“I’ll blow up the gutter!”

nCarlin, who was thought to be rational, sounded like Tristan and Lloyd for a moment.

nAria thought to herself, ‘It seems like you’re a Valentine too’

n“You know what self-destruction means?”

n“How can I not know.”

n“Self-destruction?”

n“Why are you suddenly acting like an idiot?”

nAria shook her head and added,

n“It’ll going to be like that soon.”

nLyrics quote: ‘Flower Duet’ from Delibes’ opera Lakmé

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