Chapter 73

'... Even if it's the latter, nothing will happen.'

Aria didn't worry at all. Because it was Valentine.

Rather, she had to worry about the distributors, whose soul Lloyd would rip out with his hands.

And if the price of diamont goes up, they'll get some resentment, but it's a matter of finding the cause and dealing with it quickly.

'It would be nothing.'

Aria ignored it.

'Anyway, more important than that matter.'

Aria looked into Lloyd's eyes as if to confirm again. In fact, she was staring at him for some other reason.

'It's still black.'

Aria was relieved. Today, too.

Fortunately, the jet-black eyes had not yet faded to gray.

'Things aren't going to get any better.'

Still, Grand Duke Valentine was losing his malice, and Lloyd was inheriting his malice. She could not find a way to purify the devil's malice.

It was just the Siren's song and Gabriel's divine power to prevent malice from corrupting.

'I kept trying, but the devil's malice could not be purified by the Siren's song.'

The past days when she was motivated to do it right away were overshadowed.

'Not yet.'

But it was obviously not that there was no way at all. Because her healing song worked well for Sabina, who was about to die of malice.

The question was, how to find a way....

'If there is no information, there is too little.'

Aria didn't know very intimately about her own race, the Siren, in fact. All she knew was the rumors she had only heard from the nobles and information from Count Cortez.

'Besides, obviously, I was known as the only surviving Siren.'

She couldn't even get information from the same Siren.

If Sophia had been alive, she might have told her many things, but she was already dead by the time Aria returned.

'I even mobilized Vincent to investigate in every way, but to no avail....'

It was just nonsense information that Aria already knew or didn't know.

'It can't be like this.'

Time flew by, and the year of Valentine's Incident was approaching.

What will happen this winter? It is at most several months ahead.

"Perhaps...."

Aria trailed off.

"Are there any Sirens still alive?"

"Well. They have lived in hiding from generation to generation, so it's hard to know."

What if Sophia was only lucky enough to be caught, and a horde of Sirens were still living away from the world.

'I might be able to get the information.'

If she is lucky, she'll get help. Aria almost had a little bit of hope. But it was so unlikely that she soon regained her composure.

She wants to seize even the slightest possibility.

"I can look it up if you want."

Then Lloyd pulled out a piece of paper from among the graves of documents and held it out.

Without even rummaging.

'I thought it was just a pile of papers, but did you remember exactly where it was?'

Aria lowered her gaze with a slightly tired face.

Upon closer inspection, it was a list of new route development projects. It was also so risky that there were only things that no one would invest in. So, to put it bluntly, they will sink as soon as they set sail.

"I think it's a scammer…"

Even the names of the families were unknown.

"At least they had the will to set sail."

Really? Have they read any exploration novels?

Aria looked through the list in the paper without any expectations.

'Wow, some wanted to sail to Navron Sea. I was told that there was not a single ship here that returned safely.'

They were adventurous and have plans and were almost suicidal. If one is bored, but full of money and wants to scatter money in the air, it's the perfect investment.

"Even if they have a will to go, I think they will get the money and run a boat and run away. Why was this in the approved documents?"

It was so stupid It's strange that Dwayne didn't take it out first.

Then Lloyd answered,

"It's a business that will fail if it's not Valentine's. It seems that the Grand Duke's aide also put it in as a joke."

Meanwhile, Tristan was still called the Grand Duke.

So what will Tristan be called if Lloyd inherits the title of Grand Duke from him? Previous Grand Duke?

Aria thought inside.

"If you don't have any clues, it wouldn't hurt to hang around here."

Well, it does.

Come to think of it, the Siren itself was often dismissed as a legendary monster until Sophia appeared. Even if there were records, it was recognized as a novel rather than a history book.

'Siren doesn't leave a trace and is hiding....'

She was wondering if she could find those vain dreams by unraveling all the world. But even if she does.

"It's like finding a needle in the desert."

"If it's not enough, you can send more."

Lloyd said indifferently.

Valentine's capital was rotting because it wasn't overflowing, and there were countless people who wanted to invest.

"You're going to do it even though you know it's an investment that is sure to fail?"

"What's that about?"

Aria had only seen the nobles whose family was faltering due to failed investment, so Aria was dumbfounded at Lloyd's waste of money.

'If you think about it, that's the only way to find the Siren. It's a serious waste of money, but....'

Aria paused without continuing her thoughts.

She found a familiar name in the documents.

"…Atlantis?"

A city of legends, the hometown of the Sirens who were submerged in the sea 1500 years ago. It was the only old story Sophia told her while she was alive.

"This person."

Aria pointed her finger at the one claiming to find the treasures of Atlantis.

Some may have known Atlantis. Because it's on the record.

But it's rare that people with a sane mind set out to find a legendary treasure that no one believed ever existed.

"Can you call this person?"

Either they're a bragger, crazy, or really know something.

Aria put her hopes up for the last time.

***

"It's a secret, but I'm descended from the royal family of Atlantis."

He was a crazy bragger.

Aria let out a sigh at the thought that she had been expecting too much and she was an idiot. She took the time to listen seriously, and there he goes talking nonsense.

Besides, that man's eyes.

'You're not cheating on me. It seems he really believes that he is a descendant of the royal family.'

How surprising.

How did it happen?

If he had been a scammer, she would have charged him with trying to deceive Valentine and kicked him out, but if he was out of his mind, it would be ambiguous to do so.

Aria looked at the man with pity for a moment, then stood up from her seat. The she commanded the Black Falcon

[Send him back.]

"Wa, wait! I'm not lying. Trust me!"

'Yes. You seem to really believe that, but....'

She knew the truth.

Atlantis is the Siren's hometown. Although this is the only known truth in the world.

'If there is a royal family in Atlantis, the descendant will be me, a Siren.'

Aria thought to herself. It wasn't even funny.

And since it was a dynasty that was already buried in the water 1500 years ago and disappeared, what was the use of the royal family?

But the man, who had been brutally dragged by the Black Falcon's hand, suddenly strained his neck and shouted.

"There is proof!"

Proof?

"We have a family heirloom. Look at this! There's a map that opens the door to Atlantis!"

"….."

"….."

He took the moment as the Black Falcon stopped for a moment, and quickly rummaged through his clothes.

And he pulled out something unknown from his arms.

It was a mass of something covered in barnacles.

'Sea trash?'

To be honest, it looked like that. There was a lot of stuff stuck together and the shape was distorted, so she couldn't really recognize it other than a lump.

"It was said that if the ancestors sailed on a boat with this map in their arms, the entrance to Atlantis would be opened."

The Black Falcons who watched the scene silently exchanged glances. Then they put their finger next to their head and turned it around.

He seemed to have gone crazy, so they were saying to get rid of him quickly.

[If it's that simple, why haven't you opened the entrance until now?]

"That, that!"

The man panicked and stuttered.

"My family was poor from generation to generation, so I didn't have enough capital… In fact, there was no one in my ancestors or family who seriously tried to explore like me…"

It was just too obvious.

Who believes in one story passed down from generation to generation and goes out to sea carrying barnacles, that looks more like thrash.

'It looks like that person was really trying to do that.'

Aria asked.

[Why are you so serious?]

"That, actually…"