'I'm sorry, Peanut. You have to go. But I wish you know that I'm always there by your side wherever you are.' It was a voice that had often appeared in her dreams ever since she lived in the Chavau family residence.
She couldn't remember her name or her background. People around here often told her that she was an abandoned child, and for the fifteen years she had heard the ridicule of those around her, Aria couldn't help but believe their words.
She was unwanted, and her parents had abandoned her to this Chavau family.
She didn't understand why her parents didn't throw her away and let her die.
Wouldn't it be better if she died if they didn't want her?
The Chavau treated her quite well, but not too well to accept her as one of their family. They always said, 'nothing is free in this world.' If Aria wanted a mouthful of rice, she had to earn it by working.
In a way, Aria was a maid in the Chavau residence. At the same time, she was an unwanted guest. They sent her to an academy where ordinary humans like her learned about the four realms. And each academy had at least one kind of non-human creatures, such as a fae or a werewolf boy.
Aria had neither human nor werewolf friends but befriended almost all the elves living in the mortal realm. The human kids avoided her and ridiculed her as soon as they knew she was an abandoned child.
Even one of the werewolf leaders, an Alpha candidate in Ortaeux, also bullied her. She was locked in storage or doused with dirty water when she walked through the bathroom door.
Things like this made her fume in a fury, but she could do nothing to strike back at the future Alpha in the werewolf realm. On the other hand, she was never afraid of the arrogant boy or another non-human being. All she needed to do was stay out of trouble and stay low.
What a great life she had!
"ARIA!! WHERE ARE YOU?" and here it is… the voice of the ugly old witch. That was this house's mistress's nickname given by Aria secretly. Old ugly witch, evil mistress, and other mockery names she created for her so-called benefactor.
"I'm coming!"
Aria directly came out of her room and dashed toward her mistress. "Yes, my lady." her demeanor changes into a polite and humble maid.
"Do you know what time it is now?"
"Five o'clock, my lady."
"Exactly. It's five o'clock, and you're late for breakfast for my kids. You should prepare lunch for the distinguished guests who will come here."
Late? Aria woke up on time as usual, and it was the chef who prepared breakfast for the Chavau's young ladies. Usually, Aria would wash dirty clothes and blankets that were piled up in the laundry tub at this hour.
She never deals with food issues, let alone have to cook and serve meals for distinguished guests.
"Yes, my lady. But isn't the chef the best choice for serving the most delicious food?"
"You will help him." was the witch's response in an indisputable tone.
If Aria had not been indebted to this family, she would have long left this place and started living her own life.
"Yes, my lady."
The witch mistress humphed at her attitude and walked away, not caring to look at her maid any second longer.
Aria stuck her tongue out at that ugly older woman and then walked towards the kitchen, where she met the chef of this house.
"Morning, Rousell." greeted Aria in a cheerful child-like manner.
"Morning, miss Aria." Rousell gave her fresh bread from the oven. "Watch out for the heat."
Aria giggled and ate the bread before starting her daily tasks.
The only one who treated her kindly in this house was the chef alone. The man was in his late fifties, and he treated her like his own daughter. Therefore, Aria already viewed him as a father figure.
Rousell couldn't give her gifts or luxury items like those of a teenage girl her age. But the man always remembered her and brought her souvenirs every time he went to the market to buy groceries.
For example, the older man brought her a fascinating flower that only grows in a specific area or a glass ball that has been thrown away by its owner in the mortal realm. Little things like this mean a lot to Aria.
Not only that, Rousell always set aside one delicious meal to tuck into Aria's room in the middle of the night. Whatever delicious food the Chavau family ate had been tasted by Aria.
Every time Rousell wanted to give her a souvenir or set aside a small portion of food for Aria, the chef had to do it carefully not to be caught by his master.
Otherwise, Lady Chavau would have locked Aria in the attic for days without giving her anything to eat or drink.
Aria was often punished and bullied by lady Chavau's two daughters, but the girl never complained. On the contrary, the girl looked more radiant and filled with positive energy every day.
When Aria turned sixteen about two years ago, the boys in her class noticed Aria's beauty and tried to woo her, making the girls go green with envy.
Their bullying got worse, but Aria never let the humans oppress her. Whenever someone taunted her, she would fight back and retaliate. But she couldn't defy back if the one who attacked her was a werewolf or an elf.
Fortunately, since the Alpha candidate had graduated from the academy and was more focused on leading the pack, no werewolves bothered her. The elves never bothered her because they considered her to be their group.
What remained were the foolish human girls who had been blinded by needless jealousy. There was nothing to be scared about toward those jealous girls.
She wasn't even afraid of the two daughters of the Chavau because they were all human. However, the Chavau's young ladies were worried that Aria's increasingly visible beauty would steal their prospective husband.
Maybe that's why the ugly witch mistress told her to stay in the servant area all the time.
After all, the guest of honor who will be coming here will be Alpha from the White Bridge Pack, who has the white wolf as the leader. She heard the Alpha was coming with his Luna and their only son.
The ugly witch Chavau expected one of her daughters to win young Alpha's heart and hoped that her daughter would be his mate.
Well, Aria doesn't care nor wants to be the future Luna. She just wanted to live freely, and she still had nine months before she graduated from the academy and left this so-called home.
Oh, how she couldn't wait to get out of this damned house!