LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 199
Chapter 199. Side Story 5
“……Princess. Princess Aria? Are you listening?”
Aria snapped back to attention. She pulled her tense lips into a forced smile, struggling to shake off her dazed thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking a bit. Could you say that again?”
“Ah, right. You’ve been really busy with your business lately, haven’t you? The new body chain that’s just come out…”
Aria nodded absentmindedly and smoothed her brows while the noble youths chattered away beside her.
It hadn’t been long since Kashmir had become a wreck after the Empire’s founding anniversary party. The incident had left her mind half gone and still not fully recovered.
She thought that once inside the Duke’s Mansion, she’d never have to see such sights again. It seemed like she could be forever happy.
Yet, just to tease Aria’s inflated hopes, she had to witness Kashmir being sacrificed once more.
‘I am so powerless.’
Aria did her best to not show her twisted insides and pressed her brows together. As much as she wanted to throw everything aside and dash out, all she could do was ensure that Kashmir’s reputation didn’t get tarnished here.
“Ah, speaking of which, I heard Princess Kashmir hasn’t been well for a while. Is she feeling better now?”
One of the noble young ladies chattering in front of Aria suddenly asked. At that awkward timing, she couldn’t manage to maintain her composure.
“……My sister, you see.”
Aria murmured in a voice that sounded like it was being strangled, barely twisting her trembling lips. In reality, Kashmir was a sword master who had no business being sick, but she couldn’t say that; she had to make excuses.
‘Say something, you fool. Anything.’
Yet, Aria stood there dumbstruck, unable to utter a word. Even though all she had to boast about was her social skills.
The prolonged silence left the noble youths with puzzled expressions. Aria felt a cold sweat trickling down her back.
‘If you can’t even do this, what use are you?’
Just as she forced her mouth open to say something…
“Ah, Princess Aria. There you are.”
The voice that assisted Aria was familiar yet strange.
Everyone around hurriedly bowed to show their respects. Awakening to the moment, Aria quickly lifted her head and looked at him with bewildered eyes.
“I present His Highness, the Second Prince.”
With misty lavender hair and a sweet demeanor that seemed to melt away, he had dreamlike blue eyes that curved beautifully. His gray uniform suited him as if they were one body.
It was the Second Prince, Serenon Solatine.
‘My sister’s disciple?’
That was the first thought that crossed Aria’s mind. He was a prince with immense power, threatening the throne due to his incredible popularity in the social circle, but Aria always thought in terms of Kashmir.
‘Why is the Second Prince here for me?’
As Aria offered a vague greeting, she couldn’t shake the feeling of oddity. Both she and Serenon were active in the social circle, so they’d seen each other many times, but they only exchanged pleasantries; they weren’t particularly close.
As Aria narrowed her eyes in confusion, Serenon smiled gracefully.
“I have something to say to you, Princess. If it’s not too much trouble, could everyone step back for a moment?”
“Ah, yes, of course!”
At Serenon’s gentle request, the noble youths surrounding Aria swiftly parted. Among them, Aria found herself a bit dazed, and Serenon lightly gestured for her to come closer.
“Would you come here?”
Their azure eyes met with an entirely different atmosphere.
“……Alright.”
Even though Aria couldn’t shake off her doubts, she took hold of her dress and walked over with a stiff gait.
She couldn’t refuse a prince’s command, and she also wished to escape from the current situation.
Serenon effortlessly led Aria as his escort. The unusual pairing of a prince and a princess drew many eyes to them, but both Aria and Serenon were used to such attention and walked unperturbed.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
Once they reached a quieter area, Aria uncrossed her arms and spoke.
Seeing how he had called her aside this way made her think it was about something serious concerning Kashmir, but in reality, she was just thankful to have been pulled away from the fatigue of the crowd.
“Ah, actually, I don’t have anything special.”
“……Pardon?”
Serenon turned back to Aria and said it cheerfully. Aria was left dumbfounded.
“I called you because you seemed rather tired over there. Was that too much involvement? I was reminded of my teacher; he speaks of you often.”
Serenon’s cloudy blue eyes observed Aria’s complexion. In that moment, she couldn’t suppress the feeling of melancholy that surfaced.
Even when she briefly tried to set aside her thoughts of Kashmir, her world revolved around Kashmir. She kept thinking about Kashmir turning into a wreck and plummeting from the sky, making it hard for her to act normally.
“It seems something is bothering you.”
In that moment, Serenon sensed something was wrong with Aria’s demeanor. He casually sat down at a nearby windowsill.
“Do you need some time alone? If so, I can step aside. But if you need a place to vent your worries… I could be that person. I tend to keep my mouth shut.”
Serenon smiled softly.
“There might be things you could say in front of someone you don’t know.”
Aria was a rational and defensive person. Normally, she wouldn’t have let slip anything about her inner thoughts while trying to guess Serenon’s intentions.
“……There is someone I truly like, but I don’t know what to do about it. I genuinely care for him… but he keeps getting hurt, and sometimes I resent him. I don’t even know what I should do for him.”
Thus, the fact that she replied so straightforwardly indicated how unstable Aria’s state was.
It was impulsive, but perhaps it was because Serenon was a stranger that she could casually spill her thoughts.
Serenon blinked slowly. It may have been such private words that he didn’t understand what she meant right away. Just when Aria thought to downplay everything.
“I have someone like that too. Someone I like and admire.”
Serenon spoke in a low tone.
“My elder brother always shines brighter than I do. He always moves ahead, and I can only follow in his footsteps. I can only shine by being in his light.”
‘If Serenon’s brother is anyone, it must be Diego the Crown Prince.’
As Serenon’s words flowed slowly and truthfully, Aria quietly listened. Although she and Serenon weren’t close, she understood each other’s characters well enough. Both Serenon and Aria sat at the pinnacle of the social circle, making them very guarded with their words.
Thus, they could openly share things they couldn’t easily express to others in this empty space.
“At first, I was envious of that. Why is my brother a sun from birth while I am merely a moon? I often blamed myself for not shining as brightly as he does.”
What Aria felt most strongly while listening to Serenon’s story was a sense of kinship. Both of them had elder brothers who shone brighter than them. Serenon’s situation mirrored her own so closely that Aria couldn’t help but listen intently.
“But at some point, I began to think that there would be things I could do from my place too. That’s when I started learning to wield a sword. At least that is something I can do better than my brother.”
Serenon boasted with a smile. His lavender hair shimmered in the moonlight as he sat by the window.
“The sun and moon shine in different ways; neither is wrong. They are just different. The moon surely has things it can do as the moon.”
‘The moon, as the moon.’
That simple phrase settled deep within Aria’s heart. As she met Serenon’s gaze, he smiled gently.
“We might be somewhat similar after all.”
Serenon playfully extended his fist towards Aria.
‘A person who fits with the moon.’
Aria paused for a moment, looking at Serenon under the moonlight. He seemed to shine brightly even in the dark without sunlight.
Tap.
Aria bumped her fist against his.
They were essentially alike.
From that moment on, Aria began to push forward with the thought that she could do something too.
Time flowed like a river, swiftly. Aria, positioned at the forefront of the social circle, could read the currents of change without directly stepping into politics.
‘War will break out.’
Aria was no fool; she couldn’t ignore it.
‘And my sister seems to be preparing for the war.’
With her genius mind quickly calculating everything, Aria began to assess what she could do.
Since she had earnestly learned magic, she could participate as an attack mage. But that felt too dangerous, and she figured Kashmir would block her.
‘Healer. Let’s go as a healer.’
Not too front-line, yet a position where she could help people. Moreover, as a half-fairy, she could use her powerful healing abilities effectively.
Aria resolutely decided to join the war alongside Kashmir as a healer.
“Don’t be ridiculous! How can you go to war?”
Kashmir’s rough reaction, returned after her unilateral declaration, was one she had already anticipated.
She knew that there was no malice in Kashmir. It was purely concern, stemming from love.
“Have you ever asked for my opinion, claiming it’s for my sake? Isn’t it all for your satisfaction, sister?”
But Aria learned over fifteen years of mental exhaustion that love doesn’t always lead to good outcomes.
Her world was still small. But she was no longer alone.
She had a troublesome yet useful sword, and there was always Kaisar silently supporting her. They were not bound by blood, nor did she consider them family, but they were undeniably good comrades and allies.
There was also Serenon, who was easy to talk to and often suggested meeting up.
The House of Crisis had its reputation in the social circle.
Aria could no longer allow this world to hold her back.
“I am not a baby bird that needs to be kept safely in a cage! I am not a pretty rose that can’t move in the flower garden! I can protect someone too, and I can move!”
Shining convictions or innate goodness could not be her reasons. She was too dirty a person to use such reasons. Yet, her determination to step forward was clear.
She didn’t want to stay here any longer, receiving only protection.
Aria still loved Kashmir deeply. She wished for her happiness, and she was the one with the most stake in Aria’s world.
“If you respect me as an equal, then please support my choice.”
But now, she wanted to make herself the protagonist of her own life. She no longer wanted to make others the main character.
It wasn’t because her feelings for Kashmir had diminished. It was to love more healthily and happily.
With you and me together, she decided to make herself the protagonist of her life, pouring an appropriate amount of love at an appropriate pace.
“If you truly love me, then believe in me.”
Thus, this would be her first choice made as her true self.
The small world built on comfort and misguided love was shattered, and the bird began to fly.