Kaak, kaak,
As the sky gradually turned red, the smooth cries of the raven echoed through the forest.
Had it found its target? The raven, soaring the skies with its wings spread wide, slowly glided down and landed on the arm of a woman.
That woman’s name was Saelli.
She was the one who had rescued a girl from the riverbank a few days ago.
The size of the raven was so enormous it was beyond that of an ordinary child, clearly indicating it was no ordinary creature.
And the fact that such a raven had landed on her arm meant she was no ordinary woman either.
With nimble fingers, she began to untie the knot binding the raven’s leg.
With one arm occupied by the raven, she had to use only her other hand, but perhaps she was used to it as she quickly untied the knot and retrieved her intended object.
A beautiful stone glowing in blue fell from the raven’s leg and landed in her hand.
“Kaak~♬”
“Rami, I’m always grateful. Thank you for today as well.”
Saelli pulled a large chunk of meat from her pocket and offered it to the raven, fresh and red with blood still dripping.
Thud.
“Oh my.”
The raven, called Rami, seemed pleased and let out a high-pitched cry as it took the meat. Since it wasn’t eating it right away, it seemed to have somewhere to take it.
Flap, flap, the raven began to shake its wings. A signal that it would soon be flying away.
“Well then, see you later.”
“~♬”
With Saelli stroking its head in response, Rami soared into the sky and vanished, leaving behind a gust of wind.
Saelli put away the pebble-sized stone and stood still until the wind created by the raven subsided.
A few seconds later, the forest that had been gusty became quiet once more.
“….Hoo.”
She pulled the stone back out from her pocket.
It was a smooth, crystal-like stone that she could swear was not naturally smoothed. A white aura shimmered around it.
The sight of the stone surrounded by unusual energy resembled the aura emitted by an earring worn by a man who once planned a conspiracy driven by greed.
A shamanistic tool.
An object imbued with a curse by a shaman. Its types varied from instruments that could curse and kill someone to everyday items like a fire starter.
However, the bright energy radiating from the stone indicated it was definitely not a tool with the same purpose as the cursed black pearl used to curse a princess, as it was very clean and pure.
“Then, shall we see?”
Crack.
Having sent off the raven, she glanced around a few times to confirm no one was watching and began to exert pressure on her hand.
The shamanistic tool slowly began to crack.
Whether it was designed weakly from the start or her strength was just that overwhelming remains a mystery, but there was no doubt something significant was about to happen.
From the increasingly large cracks, strong beams of light burst forth, intertwining and coalescing in the air.
The beams twisted like knitting and soon took on a thin rectangular shape.
The glowing panel quickly projected something that could be called an image.
First, a city surrounded by high castle walls came into view.
At the top of the tower, a flag resembling a white droplet flower was hanging.
That was the national flag of the Tesillia Kingdom.
“…….”
Indeed.
The displayed image was the scenic view of the Tesillia Kingdom from the sky.
It seemed that the people captured within it were living their daily lives, unaware they were being watched by someone.
A peaceful country where everyone was bumping into each other as they went about their lives.
Whenever the raven flew near the talking people, their voices could be heard streaming from the remains of the tool.
It seemed it was a high-tech device that could even record voices.
Saelli, holding the now fully broken stone, listened closely, watching the image.
She continued to watch the projection without pausing it.
The first place the raven visited was the marketplace.
The most densely populated area in the kingdom.
It seemed the raven quickly flew through the market alley, as the voices that suddenly broke through were deafening.
Thus, Saelli wrinkled her face for an instant, but immediately, fully engrossed in the stories being told, lost her ability to think of the noise and doubted her own ears.
The rumor was as follows.
“The first princess ruthlessly killed her younger sister and threw her off a cliff.”
“Wh-what!?”
Rumors circulate everywhere and anytime. Well aware of that, Saelli tried to ignore such absurd claims and sought the other incoming information.
However, the core of the rumors all revolved around the same story.
The disappearance of Aris Akaia, known as ‘the light of the kingdom’ for her gentle demeanor and polite nature, who always brought smiles to people.
The royal palace concluded it was the doing of Duke Aquitaine, but far too many questions lingered.
On the market streets, rumors buzzed freely that the true culprit behind the princess’s disappearance was none other than the first princess herself.
Some spoke of Princess Anna tormenting Princess Aris in secret for a long time.
Others claimed that Princess Anna had gone mad due to a curse and had caused this incident because of it.
There were even reports of Princess Anna, bloody and dazed, walking into the royal palace.
At this point, it was clear that it had surpassed the realm of ordinary rumors.
False rumors are usually forgotten quickly. Such synchronized topics rarely arise significantly.
In other words, these remarks carried a certain level of credibility.
Smoke doesn’t rise without fire, right?
It seemed her worst fears were coming true, she thought.
Swish.
“…..Is this truly the case?”
After two long hours, the video concluded and the investigation was over.
Slowly, Saelli drew a small sword from her possession.
Half-broken, it had been lodged in the girl’s belly since the moment she first discovered her.
Moreover, it was the very weapon that had stabbed her repeatedly.
The blade bore the emblem of the ‘Akaia’ family of the royal family of Tesillia Kingdom.
Yes. The culprit was the victim’s sister.
Such a horrific tale.
The child bore so many scars. Especially on her calves and backs of her hands, arrows had been deeply embedded, and the wounds looked like they had been stirred up.
She doubled over, overwhelmed by the rising nausea. But no matter how much she opened her mouth and inserted her fingers, there was nothing to come out.
Dropping, dropping. Only a few drops of bile fell onto the soil.
“I had a feeling from the start. And I didn’t want to believe it.”
Slowly, she caressed the blade’s edge.
If this cold piece of metal had been pushed into her stomach, the pain was unfathomable. And even more so, the perpetrator of that heartbreaking act—was the family she cherished.
Saelli finally understood why the child had lost her memory.
How shocking it must have been. So much that she had wished to seal that memory away.
Had she not pulled her from the river, had she not healed her, the child would surely be dead.
To think that her sister, who should have protected her, had become blinded by jealousy and attempted to kill her?
Saelli trembled with rising rage.
This was unacceptable, an act that betrayed humanity. That’s the conclusion she reached.
“There are things a person can do… and things they must never do….!”
She remembers.
The gentle younger sister, who, even in the face of life and death, repeatedly called out ‘sister’ while thinking only of her.
Despite being at an age where one would typically throw tantrums and act spoiled, she was a kind-hearted girl who even thought more of Saelli, who was treating her instead of complaining.
Though she lost her sense of self, crying out in despair, she alone remembered the name of the one who tried to kill her—Princess Anna—and cherished those two letters.
A good girl who stayed up at night not out of fear for her future, but out of guilt for those who had forgotten.
Thus, Saelli thought she could never forgive it.
“You do not deserve this.”
She threw the broken pieces she held in her hand to the ground, shaking her hands as if they were filthy, leaving not a single fragment untouched.
Then she stomped down fiercely atop the remains.
Crack, they shattered with a loud noise. Saelli kicked the pile of remains as if they were not worth seeing.
As the powder danced away on the wind, she began heading straight for her home.
Wondering what words to convey to the waiting child, Aris.
“I can’t tell the child waiting for me… such a miserable reality, can I…..!”
Her contemplation was far from over.
