"...2 days of being under hysteria and trauma..." Ainaira cringed as she recalled what happened in the past few days.
She realized how fragile her mind is the moment something would remind her of her previous life, especially the voices. But, now that she's calm and no longer under stress, she can focus on much more important things.
Such as: What made Aeron collapse, why did he have an evil aura around him, and what's up with that pink-bunny boytoy No.3(Max)?
Thinking about the matter and what she has to do to uncover the truth, she was immediately demotivated. She was curious but she isn't going to do too much work for a reason like that.
She's actually taken an interest in it but couldn't find any passion and desire to start an investigation. So, she's back to square one; going with the flow and letting life take its course.
"It's not that important, the answers will eventually come..." She said to herself while covering her face underneath the pillows.
Remembering that she'll leave for the Union Academy, today is her last day to spend time with Ainsley and pack her belongings. She called for her maids, told them to pack and then she went off to find Ainsley.
"Sister!" Ainsley immediately hugged her the moment he saw her.
"Are you feeling better?"
(He looked like a worried little puppy.)
Ainaira ruffled Ainsley's hair and nodded.
"What do you want to do today?" She asked him.
"Let's practice some more magic!"
Ainaira looked at him blankly. She noticed that Ainsley enjoyed learning, too much in fact. She doesn't care about what he does in his free time but she was getting worried that he might not be able to experience his childhood if he kept studying.
"Is there anything else aside from magic? I'm leaving tomorrow and I can only return during the academic break."
Ainsley thought about it for a moment. "Hmm...but I enjoyed learning magic with you the most."
"Urk...well..." Ainaira honestly just didn't want to do any magic. Her current condition is not stable enough for it.
(Oh, there was that, right?)
Ainaira remembers in her first life that the daughter of Count Bert, Enna Bert, hosted a unique tea party every month. Nobles from ages 6-20 could join it.
Ainaira knows why she hosted a tea party like that. Enna was often stuck babysitting her younger sibling and that limited her social interaction in high society. She hosted this unique tea party where younger nobles can attend. Other families really liked this idea, their children can be "friends" with kids their age. In the end, they just wanted the innocent young children to make connections.
(And...it doesn't hurt for him to have a few friends, right?) From Ainaira's memories, Ainsley was always alone. He never had friends, even if he had a better life with the Duke and Josephine.
Ainsley patiently waited for his sister to suggest their activity today.
"What do you say, should we go to a tea party?"
—
An uneasy air settled in the room. Every noble was stiff and cold sweat dripped down from their faces.
"L-Lady Ainaira... I didn't expect you to come..." A girl with brown chestnut hair and radiant golden eyes said nervously. Her name is Enna Bert. the host of the tea party.
"Didn't you give me an invitation?" Ainaira said with a tired voice.
"A-Ah...yes I did..." Enna averted her eyes to the side.
"U-Umm...about what we talked about earlier..." A random noble from the back spoke up.
Ainaira tilted her head, with a face that could only be described by "cluelessness". "What were you talking about?"
"She didn't hear us?" Each noble in the vicinity started whispering.
Ainaira silently gazed at the masses. sighing at their stupidity. A slight smirk left Ainaira's face. (It's so easy to deceive these ants...)
There had been a rumor circulating the nobility– No, the whole empire as of late. The Crown Prince was dumped. And the person who dared to do this? It was none other than the obsessive daughter of the Dharmanath household, Ainaira Dharmanath.
Ainaira ignored the nobles who kept murmuring about her latest rumors, instead, she was looking at Ainsley, who was with nobles his age. He was alone in a corner with his head looking on the ground.
(How sad…) She thought with a disinterested look on her face. Although she was also alone, just like him.
(Hm? There she is) Ainaira eyes were fixated on a 12 years old girl with deep burgundy hair and bright orange eyes. Yvonne Chaniel, the second youngest daughter of Count Chaniel. She will be the one that would lead the Witches' force in the future war.
(Alright, time to make Ainsley a friend.) Standing up from her seat, she approaches the pink-haired boy.
"Ainsley, why don't you try talking to them?"
He gave her puppy eyes, wishing to get out of the party.
Ainaira sighed. "If you talk to at least one person, we'll do something else."
"Ok..." Ainsley sulks as he scans the group of kids, choosing who is the best person to talk with.
"Try and find someone who has similar interests as you." Ainaira advised Ainsley.
"How do I do that?" He asked.
(Talking to them might be too overwhelming for him...teaching him how to be observant will take a while...) Ainaira thoughts aimlessly wander as she thought of a solution to his question.
But before she could conclude her thoughts, Yvonne herself waved at Ainsley. He looked at his sister, to which Ainaira smiled in response.
"Are you a sorcerer?" Yvonne whispered in Ainsley's ears.
Not knowing how to respond, he nodded. "...K-Kind of..."
Yvonne's eyes sparkled in delight. "Let's go somewhere!'' She didn't wait for a response and dragged Ainsley where no other nosy noble would disturb them.
(Impressive, so she's talented enough to feel other people's mana at such a young age.) Ainaira was pleased. She was able to finish one of her missions today. She smiled at Ainsley who was looking behind at her, clearly nervous. "Good luck." She silently mouthed.
Her warm eyes turned dull. She glance at the nobles who are busy gossiping.
There's two reasons why Ainaira attended this tea party. The first reason was to find a friend or two for Ainsley while she's busy at the Academy. The second and main reason was to steal something from the Bert household.
She walked down the cold and silent hallway, and stopped when a large portrait of Count Bert was infront of her.
Click—
The portrait opened when Ainaira tugged the frame. There, revealed a long stairway going down into a dark basement.
Ainaira started slowly walking with her index finger emitting a warm light of green flame.
Click– Clack– Tap–
In the midst of silence, her footsteps kept echoing. An old and creaky door was at the end of the stairs, and after she opened it, she saw a dirty stone room. There were many bookshelves with books about Dark Magic and potions.
Ainaira smells an aroma of iron and decaying flesh. Scanning the room, there were skeletons of dead humans, some still had skin on them. Jars of human body parts were displayed on top of a table where various torture tools were perched on top.
Ignoring all the dead bodies, she opened a drawer with a vial filled with violet liquid.
She put the vial in her secret pocket, and Ainaira smiled in satisfaction.
In Ainaira's first life, Count Bert was obsessed with demons, and wanted to command an army of them as a Demon Lord. So, he kidnapped homeless people off the streets and injected these unknown liquids into them until one would succeed.
Eventually, the Count was unable to control the demons and they wrecked havoc at the capital, causing many deaths. Jamil single handedly killed the most demon and was hailed as the Hero of the Empire.
This purple liquid is actually Dragon Blood. Dragon Blood is a base that can be used as a deadly weapon or the most potent healing potion. Of course, Count Bert didn't know it was Dragon Blood and that he had to mix in other kinds of ingredients to get his desired effects.
How did Ainaira know all this? She was the one who helped Count Bert in successfully creating the serum for turning humans into demons. She was also the one who tampered with Count Bert's control over the demons, which caused the outbreak.
The voices simply told her to help him and cause hundreds of deaths. She doesn't know how Count Bert got a hold of hundreds of crates filled with Dragon blood, but she does know where it was.
"Wh-Who are you!?" There was a panicked voice quivering behind Ainaira.
"Count Bert." She slowly turned her head. Her voice was devoid of all emotions.
The count fell down to the ground, shaken by the darkness he saw in her eyes. In horror, he screamed, but no voice came out. As he struggled, his body suddenly fell limp. In just a few moments, he could not even move a single muscle, and after a few more moments, he stopped moving altogether.
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When Ainaira returned to the party, Ainsley was now talking to Yvonne without being nervous. (They're getting along well.) She thought.
The day ended with Ainaira finishing her objective, even if there was an unexpected variable she had to clean up after.