SBFCV 04

Chapter 4

It was at that moment.

Someone came running with urgent footsteps. As the attic door burst open, everyone’s eyes turned toward it.

“Th—the master just sent Sally to the capital to fetch a dress suitable for a young lady.”

A maid spoke while panting for breath.

“You came at the right time. We were just talking about that…”

“They’re sending that kid… no, the young lady… to the Valentine Grand Duchy.”

Everyone instantly lost the ability to speak.

As if they had agreed beforehand, their chatter simultaneously came to an abrupt stop.

“And she’s being sent as the grand prince’s bride.”

All the maids turned to look at Aria.

Their faces were pale with guilt. It was understandable—they had stood by while the child was abused, and some had even taken part in it.

“They haven’t even issued an official announcement to recruit brides yet.”

But the maids knew the truth.

Nobles reached marriageable age no later than fourteen, and it was almost unheard of to go past that age.

The grand prince had just turned fourteen this year.

“She—she was going to die anyway.”

“Exactly. Before she ever gets a chance to harm us, she’ll be sacrificed to the demon.”

Once every generation, the Valentine Grand Duchy opened its castle gates.

It was when they searched for the bride who would bear the next heir.

But that position was essentially a death sentence—one where you gave birth to a successor and died shortly afterward.

Every duchess who married the grand duke had grown sick and passed away not long after childbirth.

There were countless rumors about it, but no one knew the truth.

Once you became the grand prince’s bride, you were forced to cut off all ties with your family and acquaintances for life.

A sacrifice in all but name.

They called her “bride,” but everyone meant “offering.”

“She can’t even talk. Isn’t it better for her to be locked away there forever? What’s she got to fear?”

Aria quietly listened to the maids while recalling what happened last night.

Enthralling a count without a siren’s tear was easier than breathing.

She had simply mixed one line into her song—Sell me to the grand duchy immediately.

Should I do to them what I did to Father?

No… there was no need.

They claimed she had nothing to fear, yet they exchanged nervous glances.

Aria rummaged through the small, worn bag on her shoulder.

It was the bag she carried everywhere back when she couldn’t speak—used for communication.

Inside were an ink bottle, a quill, and countless cards.

She wrote a sentence on a card and held it out.

Bring it again. Something edible this time.

Their eyes widened. Their expressions said Did I see that right?

“Y—you’re… ordering me?”

Aria watched them with a flat expression, then lightly kicked the soup bowl by her foot, knocking it over.

Right now.

With a tense look, she stared at the maid who had brought her tea.

All she had done was firmly ask them to take away food unfit for humans, but somehow an entire tea service began even though she never asked for it.

Luxurious desserts she didn’t know the names of.

The sweet smell stung her nose.

This does feel like a noble lady.

How long had it been since she was treated as a human and not a bird in a cage?

Aria took a sip of tea, then gestured for them to leave.

“If—if you need anything, please call us anytime.”

As if.

You won’t be given a chance to make up for anything.

Her gaze passed over each maid who had covertly tormented her.

Live your whole life fearing the day I take revenge.

Aria curled her eyes into a smile.

Between her long, pale-pink lashes, her ruby red eyes shimmered softly.

Her smile was sweeter than the desserts covering the table.

The maids froze and stared blankly, entranced.

Then her rose-petal lips parted.

—Get out.

Reading her lips, the maids flinched as if burned and fled the room.

Their footsteps faded completely.

They definitely froze when I smiled.

So it was that unpleasant.

Aria touched her now-unscarred cheek.

When she had been a siren, Count Cortez repeatedly told her:

“The ones you’ll face are nobles of the capital. Their tastes are demanding, and they can’t tolerate the slightest flaw.”

Back then she had a massive burn scar covering one side of her face.

Still… it’s better to cover it.

She knew the expression people made when they saw something unimaginable.

Back then, it was the look nobles wore when her mask accidentally came off.

Wearing a mask had been part of her daily life.

She decided she would do the same again.

“Are you even going the right way?”

Count Cortez slammed the wall behind the coachman’s seat irritably.

The guide sitting there answered with a trembling voice.

“I—I don’t know. I’m following the path, but we haven’t even gotten past the entrance of the mountain range…”

“If you don’t know, who does!”

He had finally reached his limit.

The count yelled, “Stop this carriage right now!”

They had arrived at the mountain range in the morning, but the sun was already sinking.

After days of nonstop travel, both the count and Aria were exhausted.

“Damn arrogant demon bastards… Reviled by the world, yet they act like they’re something.”

The count muttered viciously.

Valentine was a land of mystery.

Surrounded by the Ingo mountain range and forests, isolated from the outside world. Outsiders were strictly forbidden entry.

They screened even diplomatic envoys and merchant guilds with extreme scrutiny.

So, of course, they ignored the count’s request to meet.

Aria thought while watching the count fuming:

They didn’t even send a reply to his letter.

The Cortez family had produced generations of musicians.

Among them, the previous head—Maestro Cortez—was a genius conductor and composer.

He was called the Father of Music and was still praised as the greatest musician of all time.

Even a music legend like Cortez is nothing to Valentine.

Naturally, that bruised the count’s pride.

He immediately hired a guide to force his way into the duchy.

“We should turn back, my lord,” said the guide from the Adventurer’s Guild.

He had introduced himself confidently, boasting he was the best in the field.

But now he looked terrified—excessively so.

“This job was impossible to begin with. No one knows the path from the Ingo mountains to Valentine Castle. No one has returned alive!”

The count, who had paid him a large sum and even added danger pay, glared as if ready to kill him.

“You accepted the contract. If you don’t see it through after taking the advance, you’ll repay it with your life!”

“If you kill me here, you’ll die in this place too, my lord!”

The count yanked open the carriage door and jumped out, drawing his sword.

He pressed the blade to the guide’s throat.

“Decide whether you die now or die with me while finding the castle.”

“Ugh—”

While they squabbled pointlessly, Aria’s attention was elsewhere.

She reached her arm out the window and focused all her senses.

A sharp sting ran across her skin.

This is… a barrier?

A siren’s power originated from spirit force.

Siren’s spirit force.

A mage’s mana.

A priest’s holy power.

A shaman’s magic.

All had different sources, but the essence—energy—was the same.

Mastering one allowed you to sense the others.

A massive barrier wrapped the entrance of the mountain range like a wall.

Likely an illusion-type barrier.

Such barriers trapped intruders in an illusion loop, making them believe they were moving while they circled endlessly.

Many fought and killed each other in panic, or even ended their own lives.

Of course they won’t let us in easily.

Just then—

As darkness settled over the forest, beastly cries echoed from all directions.

Grrrr—

The ground itself seemed to tremble.

“Ah!”

“W–what is that!”

The Cortez knights and hired mercenaries all drew their swords.

Tension carved into their faces.

“That’s why I said we should go back…” the guide whimpered.

“Damn it, so the rumors were true—climb the Ingo mountains and monsters get you.”

“Monsters?”

“Deformed beasts. Several times bigger than normal predators…”

“What? And you say that now?!”

“You never let me finish whenever I tried!”

Aria had heard the rumors too.

It was one reason people believed the Valentine family worshipped demons.

“It’s the demon’s curse…” someone muttered.

“Graaaaaaah!”

A horrific scream split the air.

“S–save me…!”

In an instant, screams filled the surroundings, mixed with chilling sounds that provoked primal fear.

Aria never took her eyes off them, but even she couldn’t see what had happened.

Only that it was too fast for the eye to follow.

Something has begun.

By the time she realized it, everything was already over.

Knights, mercenaries, and the guide—all were slaughtered beyond recognition.

It was a one-sided massacre.

At the center stood a single man.

Draped in a black hood from head to toe.

“Interesting.”

His voice was so heavy it made her whole body tense.

He raised the corner of his red lips.

“When did Valentine’s dignity sink so low? Small fry daring to run wild, unaware of their place.”

Calling it “cruel” wasn’t enough.

Aria felt no emotion at all—the memories from her past were too vivid for this sight to shock her.

This method… is unmistakably…

Around the man, beasts with glowing blue eyes growled.

The monsters the guide described.

“My hounds will feast well today.”

He called the monsters “hounds.”

Even though they looked like gigantic wolves—three times the size of real wolves.

The man met Aria’s eyes.

Faded gray eyes.

Cutting through the mist of blood, he pointed at her precisely.

“Kill her.”

Had she ever felt so powerless? As if a tidal wave was about to swallow her whole—her body folded and she sank to her knees.

The beasts lowered themselves, growling, closing in inch by inch.

Her eyes squeezed shut.

“Kyiing—”

But no pain came.

Instead, she felt a warm breath and a soft, damp sensation.

She opened her eyes.

“Huff… huff.”

One of the monsters was licking her hand—wagging its tail like a dog.