Chapter 144

"…Achoo!"

Aria, riding in the carriage, suddenly sneezes and sniffles her nose. Then Vincent started nagging her as if he had expected it.

"I thought so. Even if I warned you like that, you jumped into the river without hesitation, so what if you fell ill again?"

"I'm not ill."

"You're still saying that!"

Vincent went on a rampage.

Aria reflexively frowned at his loud, ringing voice. Then Lloyd, noticing the hint from her, put a blanket over Aria's shoulder and said,

"It's noisy. My head is ringing."

A gentle and careful hand, yet a cruel tone of voice.

At the same time, judging by the way he separates his words and actions, he has already transcended dual personality towards Aria.

"Now you have become one body."

Lloyd can even read her subtle facial expressions.

Vincent was taken aback by the fact that his older brother, who seemed to have no trace of human affection, had become like that.

"Anyway, I know that Sister-in-law is in a bad condition right now. I assure you, when you go back, you will collapse and fall ill."

"If you were that worried, you should have jumped into the river with me."

Aria responded playfully.

"If we had gone together, would I have been a great burden? On the contrary, I helped the two of you because I didn't go. I was a big help."

Ordinary people would react with embarrassment and apologetic response here, but Vincent was still different. He murmured for a moment, and spoke boldly.

"Sir Cloud would have carried me across the river with me as a burden."

She didn't know that a mention about Cloud would come out of Vincent's mouth first. Aria's eyes widened in surprise.

"I just told the knights not to come to the Imperial Palace because they were not allowed to enter the main palace anyway. I didn't think I'd get caught up in this….."

Surprisingly, Vincent seemed to regret not bringing Cloud here.

"You hated him so much."

"It would be nice if he shuts up when he is by my side, but if he's not by my side, he's necessary. Anyway, there is no knight like Sir Cloud."

He muttered, stroking his chin. Although it was acrimonious, it was a fairly generous evaluation for Vincent's standard. He said that he was in charge of the head and Cloud was in charge of the body.

"I'll tell him literally what you said."

"What? Why do you have to… I don't want it."

"I'll definitely tell him."

"I don't want it."

"You don't want it, so I have to tell him more."

"Do you have any hard feelings for me?"

It was when Aria was making fun of Vincent.

"It's definitely a bit odd."

Lloyd was lost in thought and added a word.

It was because of Vincent's words that she might collapse again.

"Aria's health is always at a standstill."

"Because it is."

When she was young, it made sense because her immunity was weak and she wasn't getting enough nutrition.

"But even now, she'll collapse if you overdo it a little bit."

Vincent added, tilting his head strangely.

"I've heard that she was born with weak natural energy and her health is bad, but Sister-in-law is full of energy, right?"

It's not that easy though. As he murmured, Aria avoided his gaze, pretending to be looking out the window.

"By the way, I didn't tell you in detail what happened inside the cave."

And she naturally switched the topic with something that Vincent might be curious about. She then began to explain her story in a verbose way.

She was unaware that Lloyd was staring at herself with black eyes.

"So, does that mean that Sister-in-law is a descendant of the royal family?"

"A distant descendant."

Even though it is a fallen dynasty. Even the land they ruled has sunk to the bottom of the sea, so it was embarrassing to even say that she was a descendant of the royal family.

"Oh my God, you have all the memories of the first Siren."

Vincent's eyes twinkled with interest.

"What information did you have?"

"I really don't know…"

Juan's memory, Aria tried to use it. But she wasn't aware of all the information at once.

By analogy, it felt as if she had inherited a library full of books.

"Like finding a book in a library, my head only recognizes the information I need at that moment."

"Aha, you ask a question and you get an answer."

"It's similar, but it doesn't mean just asking a question, it's like finding out when you desperately need it."

"Well, it's absurd to accept other people's memories all at once."

Vincent added so and nodded his head in understanding.

"Then, it's unclear when and what information we'll find out. If it's Sister-in-law, she's strong enough without having to remember her ancestors' memories."

And she showed an openly disappointed expression.

"Well...."

It would be better if she didn't need this information forever.

'You never know what's going on with people.'

The carriage entered the Ingo Mountains.

Aria fixed her gaze outside the window and her eyes were half closed without speaking. But at some point, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Kyak! He, help!"

A child's scream was heard not far away.

"…Stop the carriage, please."

"What?"

While Vincent was bewildered in the confusing situation, Lloyd immediately knocked on the wall on the side of the carriage and made it pull up.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Aria immediately slammed the door and ran out.

"Sister-in-law?!"

As she ran, she stumbled upon a stone for a moment. Lloyd, who had been following right behind her, hurriedly grabbed her.

"Hold on tight."

And then ran after putting Aria's arm around his neck. It was because someone's scream was clearly audible in Lloyd's ears too.

As she ran in Lloyd's embrace, she was able to reach the destination in an instant.

"Kyaaak!"

Many animals lived in the Ingo Mountains. Vicious animal that would look like a monster to the eyes of ordinary people outside the border.

When they arrived at the scene, a giant rabbit was trying to eat a child. It seemed to be the same species as the carnivorous rabbit she had seen in the hunting groundskeeper's hut.

"Stop!"

Aria descended from Lloyd's arms and ran to the carnivorous rabbit.

Lloyd let Aria go without anything. Because he knew well that no matter how ferocious a beast, they would turn into a gentle sheep in front of Aria.

As far as Lloyd knows, it has never been without exception.

Because he was sure she would be safe.

"Stop… ugh!"

So when the beast exposed its teeth towards Aria, he couldn't figure out what was going on for a moment. Until the rabbit suddenly comes out with its teeth and almost bites her.

"Ah...."

Aria looked down at her hand with a blank look.

Just before she was bitten, she quickly pulled her hand away so she was only scratched, but if it wasn't for that, her flesh would have come off.

As she paused, the rabbit, which had inflated its size, once again ran towards Aria, its mouth wide open.

That was then.

A song she never heard flowed into Aria's head. As if a sheet music that has been covered unfolded before her eyes.

'This is Juan's memory....'

The song was engraved in her mind in an instant. She didn't know why, but she had a gut feeling that she should sing this song right now.

When Aria was about to open her lips according to her instinct.

"...how dare."

Lloyd, who noticed the situation a beat later, drew his sword in a murderous burst of energy. He hadn't even wielded the sword yet, but the rabbit, crushed by Lloyd's energy, shrank in an instant.

Like an ordinary rabbit.

Either way, Lloyd raised his sword high as if he would cut off the rabbit's head. But Aria stopped him.

"Don't do that. I'm just a little scratched."

"No, you almost got hurt. Don't protect it just because it's an animal."

"I'm not protecting it. If an animal that can't attack me attacked me, I should ask why."

Aria added.

"Like Lloyd kept one of the assassins alive without killing them."

"Ha...."

Lloyd looked down at Aria with a complicated gaze for a moment, then let out a sigh. She wasn't actually thinking about that, but it's obvious that saying so convinces him.

"Yeah, let me interrogate it somewhere."

Lloyd grabbed the ears of the trembling carnivorous rabbit who had suddenly become weak and small, and lifted it up.

The rabbit that was floating in the air swayed.

"Ah, rabbits shouldn't be held like that…"

Lloyd's eyebrows rose high.

It looked quite uncomfortable and was on the verge of running away. Aria let out a sigh and had no choice but to give up on that.

"Why did you do that?"

Aria asked a question and looked at the rabbit carefully for a while. The rabbit's pupil shook severly and moved its bright red nose for a long time.

"It said it didn't even know? It was sorry."

"Ah, tell it to say its last will."

"Lloyd, calm down."

Lloyd, who is acting as if he would eat the rabbit right away, made Aria sweat.

"Animals, especially wild animals, can't attack me. It must have been something unusual. It could happen again, so we need to figure out what's going on before we kill it."

Meanwhile, the screaming child crouching on the floor cautiously got up.

"Uhhh…"

Then, the child ran with tears and clung to the hem of Aria's skirt.