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nTranslator: Latte Editor: BakaReem

n“Oh?”

nThe man glanced over, the corners of his lips fighting a smile and his eyebrows slightly raised. Suddenly, he broke into a fit of laughter.

nHe was amused at the scene.

nAfter seeing Aria collapse, the beasts lowered their bodies and laid on the ground.

nThey stared at her with puppy-dog-eyes, asking to be stroked.

n‘I’m saved….’ Aria thought, grasping her beating heart.

nNot far away, Count Cortez had fainted with foam in his mouth.

n“Are you insane? What are you guys doing?” he snarled, scowling at the beasts’ absurd acts.

nThe beasts immediately hid behind Aria’s back.

n“Ha, how amusing,” he leered.

nThe man approached Aria.

nAria stared at his feet, which left bloody footprints onto the overused dirt path.

nHis steps grew closer to her every second, and once he stopped, Aria lifted her head towards his.

nThe man was tall.

n‘Too tall…’

n“Who the hell are you?” he glowered.

nInitially, his eyes resembled a dead fish’s; empty and dull. His facial muscles were just as loose. There was no anger, no sadness, no joy nor resentment. He simply seemed… bored.

nBut now, his eyes expressed sentiment.

nInstantly, emotions flashed through his elaborate marble-like eyes, brimming with astonishment.

nHe stared at her, wondering how someone so dainty could tame his hounds so easily.

nHe was clearly interested in her.

n“You’re wearing a strange mask.”

nHe thoughtfully gazed at the large mask covering her face.

nThe mask was a relic left by Aria’s mother.

n“My hounds respond instinctively to strong magic. These dogs obey me because no one else could oppose my power.”

n“…….”

n“Could you be stronger than me?”

nImpossible.

nThe man was overwhelmingly powerful.

nHe was far stronger than her.

nNo matter how talented Aria is, she was nothing but a mere ten year old who had never been trained.

n“You look weak.”

n“……”

n“Like an insect.”

nThe man observed Aria from top to bottom.

n‘Sirens are the friends of animals.’

nBeing able to interact with them was one of their unique quirks.

n‘To think that this ability could save me from the monsters of the Ingo Mountains.’

nAria glimpsed at the beasts. They had transformed from ferocious-looking wolves to gentle sheeps.

nThey licked her mask, acting vulnerable and cute, making it hard for Aria to come to her senses.

nHer mask was now dripping with saliva.

nTruthfully, Aria had never used her ability to communicate with animals.

nThis was because she had never encountered them.

nOr to be exact, she wasn’t allowed to…

nShe still remembered the horrific incident…

nCount Cortez always kept her under surveillance and watched her every move. If an animal approached her, he would not hesitate to level his crossbow and shoot them to death.

n“Did you call that animal? You want its help?” he mocked, “Ha, how ridiculous! Don’t even think of running away from me!”

nHe picked up his crossbow and fired a bolt.

nThe bolt struck the animal and blood splattered on Aria’s face.

nThe animal whimpered, its body gradually losing warmth. Blood pooled around it, tinting it’s white stomach crimson.

nIt vacantly stared at her, eyes slowly losing its luster. Aria paled as the odour of death rose in the air like invisible smoke.

nThe animal was as cold as the ground it laid on. It was now dead.

nEver since then, Aria had vowed to avoid animals so that such miserable things would never happen again.

nShe had never considered interacting with animals again, but the hounds before her looked strong.

nTheir skin was thick and sturdy. A bolt would probably feel like a prick of toothpick to them.

n‘How cute.’

nOne of the hounds looked up at her with its big, round eyes. Its soft, furry ears flopping over as it tilted its head.

nShe hesitated for a moment, but soon gave in to the cuteness and patted him gently.

nThen, the other hound rolled over, displaying its tummy and asking for a belly rub.

n‘So adorable…!’

nShe stroked its belly.

nThe beasts looked similar to wolves, but Aria had finally realized why they were called dogs.

nTheir fur felt like silk against her skin and glistened in the moonlight, reflecting it like a pure, black mirror. Aria could not resist petting them.

n“Tch!” the man clicked his tongue, “You might as well get buried in the fur…”

nHe could no longer see Aria. The beasts’ bodies were so large that their massive fur covered Aria’s tiny self.

n“You better tell me who you are once you get inside.”

nThe man grabbed her by the back of her neck and lifted her up.

n* * *

n“Your Lordship is very courageous,” commented an old man with slick gray hair.

nHis name was William, and he was the Valentines’ butler.

n“You are the first people to enter the Valentine Mansion.”

nHe placed a mug on the table.

n“Your Lordship is very lucky too. Your life was saved thanks to the little lady,” he said to the Count.

nAria leaned towards the mug and peeked at its contents.

nThe sweet fragrance of chocolate lingered throughout the room, but it was not hot chocolate.

nShe wrapped her hands around the ceramic mug, letting the warmth flow through her fingers.

n‘What is this?’

nShe swirled the mug and the brown liquid circled around. It looked just like hot chocolate too, but it was also condensed.

nThen she poked her finger inside.

nSquish—

n‘Soft!’

n“Is this marshmallow?”

nThen, the butler whispered something to her in a very small voice.

n‘Drink… melon? It tastes like melon? Is that what he said?’

nAs Aria stared at the mug, the man wearing a black cloak finally opened his mouth.

n“I need to go to the hunting grounds,” he said while casually leaning against the wall.

n“Right now?” the butler questioned.

n“I need to feed the hounds before the mountain animals eat all their prey.”

nCount Cortez’s head was a mess, he couldn’t grasp the situation.

nFinally, he raised his head and asked, “Wh-where in blue blazes are we?”

nThen, the Count shouted his words.

n“Our family’s personal knights and mercenaries became dog food!”

nHe glared at Aria, redirecting his anger toward her.

nGrr—

nThe hounds lying beside Aria got angry and threatened him.

nFrightened, the Count averted his gaze and lowered his head.

n“I shall repeat my words. Your Lordship was only able to survive because of Miss Aria here,” the butler added.

nA moment later, the man spoke.

n“I will compensate you.”

n“……”

n“Do you have any other complaints?”

nCount Cortez was speechless.

n“But, the amount…”

nThe butler nervously turned towards the man..

n“Give him as much as he pleases.” He replied, annoyed.

nCount Cortez bit his lips. It was a good deal, but unfortunately, he had come for something else.

n“Actually, I came here because… I wanted to introduce my daughter to your son,” he stammered.

nThe Count was afraid of him. After witnessing such brutal slaughter, he thought that the man was no different from a monster.

nHe anxiously glanced at Aria, gesturing for her to take off the mask.

nBut Aria did not move.

nThe Count gave an awkward smile and quickly glazed it over.

n“Ahem, she will show you her appearance later. I assure you that she is my real daughter.”

n“Then why have you been hiding her?”

n“…Because she’s mute.”

nThis one sentence cleared up the whole situation.

nThe reason why the Count married Aria’s mother, a commoner, was because she was a Siren.

nHe wanted to acquire the power of the Siren and pass it onto his bloodline.

nBut the Siren’s daughter was mute, so she had little to no value.

n“Even if she can’t sing, she can become a great tribute to the duchy.”

nAria wasn’t able to speak, so she could never reveal his dirty secrets.

n“If you pay the proper amount and take this child in, the House of Cortez will never step foot inside the duchy ever again,” he laughed.

nHe was like a merchant explaining the value of a high-end product.

nThe Count continued, “One flaw is that she wasn’t taught how to read and write, but she learned it at will. If you ever want to discipline her, you can just inflict a little pain on her arms.”

nAria listened to his words.

nCount Cortez actually tried his best to prove her value.

nAria just told him to sell her to a great house, but she didn’t expect him to do such a good job.

n‘I just hope the Valentines will accept me…’

nUnfortunately, the butler was not impressed.

n“The Count of Cortez, you came here without prior notice, made a fuss within the mansion, and insulted the Grand Duke’s name.”

n“When have I ever insulted His Grace?!”

n“The reason we condoned your rudeness is because your father, Count Maestro Cortez, wrote the masterpiece of the century under the auspices of the Valentines.”

nCount Cortez’s face flushed.

nHe had just been told that the reason he survived was only because of his father.

nThe butler continued, “The Valentines encourage art and respect the value of geniuses. So I suggest that you hold back before further staining the Cortez family name.”

nIn truth, what he meant was ‘If you cross the line any further, then we will not hesitate to kick you out.’

nThe Count was very much ashamed and hurt, for it was the first time that he had ever been disgraced by someone of lower status.

nAria, on the other hand, was impressed.

nThe butler had already known who Count Cortez was.

nThe Count had always been compared to his genius father. He had lived his life in his father’s shadow, thus leading him to develop an inferiority complex.

n‘It was unusual for butlers to talk back to guests, but he is the butler of the devil, so…’

nAria couldn’t believe it. To have gathered such detailed information on an intruder without prior notice, the butler was incredible.

nAria glanced towards the butler and their eyes met.

n“Oh, I see. Is the young miss unable to drink because of her mask?”

n‘Huh?’

nAria was puzzled.

n“There must be something that the Duke wore during the last banquet…” he murmured.

n“I’ll bring you another mask so you can finish your cocoa,” he said kindly.

nHe changed his attitude in an instant.

nAria learned that the chocolate-smelling-beverage was called ‘cocoa’.

nShe felt embarrassed. The devilish butler, who seemed to be a vicious character, turned out to be surprisingly kind.

nOr at least… only to her.

n‘Why…?’ Aria wondered.

nSuddenly, the hounds started barking.

n“Woof! Woof!”

n“Bark! Bark!”

nA heavy silence ensued, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere.

nThe Count had a bad feeling, so he took Aria’s cards.

n“Don’t do anything foolish and stay calm,” he threatened, clenching his teeth.

nSubsequently, he grabbed hold of her arm.

nThe hounds became even more violent. They growled, baring their sharp teeth at the Count.

n“Argh!!!”

nThe man grabbed the Counts wrists and twisted it to an unnatural angle.

n“Alright, I’ll take her in,” the man said, taking off the black hood that covered half of his face.

nAria stared at him in awe.

n‘The Grand Duke of Valentine!’

nAs expected, the man was Lloyd’s father.

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