The young man returned every day without fail, after the fairies finished examining me. He would arrive, sometimes with a body full of wounds, other times with clothes so neat that they seemed to hide any wounds he might have had.
His name was Aiden, at least that's what he told me. I didn't know if it was true or not, but I called him by that name.
From what he told me, Aiden was a young man from the Count family whose land was located not far from the forest. It was within an hour's walk, so it was very close.
Despite being the firstborn, Aiden was treated unfairly and inhumanely due to being an illegitimate son and a Hybrid. The servants and other staff in the Count's mansion would constantly beat and mock him because of that small thing.
He was determined to excel in swordsmanship, but his younger brother, who was born of the Count's blood, always bested him. His brother received special treatment, always being coddled and praised by their tutors.
Aiden's sword teacher was just a mercenary, in stark contrast to his brother's mentor – a former royal knight who always fought to protect the realm. It was no wonder that their abilities differed so greatly.
Whenever Aiden lost a sword fight to his brother, the Count would summon him to be beaten, stabbed, or subjected to other forms of torture. It was a cruel and inhumane practice, but unfortunately not uncommon among humans.
For some reason, I felt like I had heard a similar story before, though I couldn't quite recall where.
Aiden and Linden – their names sounded familiar to me, as if I had heard them somewhere before.
Every time he visited, Aiden would greet me with a smile. He would climb onto my lap and play his music, then recount the events of the day. He would laugh heartily when speaking of good things, but his laughter would turn bitter when he spoke of the bad things.
It pained me to see a young man who had gone through so much at such a young age. He deserved better. Why would the world be so cruel to a boy like him? It's not fair.
This young man is such a cute and soft-hearted person, but his environment made him like this.
"I made something for you," Aiden said, pulling a small iron box from his pocket. "I stole it from Linden's music teacher. He won't notice it's gone. Ahem, this is a song I dedicated to you."
He then began to play the harmonica, not from a leaf this time, but from a real musical instrument. I was genuinely touched. Ah, he truly was a good young man.
He even gave me a beautiful gift. The melody he played made me feel calm, comfortable, and warm all at once.
The gentle breeze joined in harmony with the melody that the boy played. It made me feel happy, peaceful, and comfortable.
This boy really knew how to make someone feel special.
It was great, but it felt very dangerous.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Aiden's visits felt like an everyday occurrence to me.
He came here almost every day, playing music with my leaves and telling me stories happily - even though I couldn't respond to anything he said. But he continued to do so, as if he knew that I was alive and always listening to him.
[Camouflage Skill Increased!]
[The user can now transform into small fairy and dwarf-like creatures.]
Oh? Finally, my camouflage skill has reached level 3. After a year, that's all I could achieve. Maybe it would take decades until I could transform into a human.
At level 1, I could only change the color of my leaves and bark. At level 2, I could transform into small animals like insects and small reptiles. I often transformed into fireflies at night - but because I couldn't create enough Mana in the form of fireflies, I stopped doing it and only used...
And at level 3, I finally could transform into a fairy... aaaaaa!! That was one of my dreams for the past 120 years!! Finally!! Finally!!! I could transform into a fairy.
"It's my 11th birthday," Aiden said, interrupting my daydream. He was sitting on my branch, swinging his legs. "Unfortunately, I think this is the end of our meetings." Aiden said.
What did he mean? Was he not coming here anymore? Was he leaving?
"I have to go to the border, that damn father of mine ordered me to participate in the war. It's so annoying. He knows I'm weak with a sword, yet he sends me to fight," Aiden complained, looking out towards the lake with a distant gaze. "I want to kill him."
Aiden smiled and then turned to me. "If I become the ruler of the Exellar region, I will definitely create a safe place for you, so you can come to my territory." He spoke confidently with a smile on his face. He then stood on my branches and looked ahead. "I, Aiden Claudius Hargeroar, swear to be your friend and protect you. So, don't worry, my friend." He said.
I wasn't stunned by his deep and firm words. However, I was surprised when he spoke his full name and the name of the territory he resided in.
Exellar - I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before.
And also, this boy's full name... for some reason, I couldn't remember it well. A name that should be very familiar to me.
As if I had heard it many times before...
Black mane, eyes as blue as sapphires, a hybrid... he is, Ayden Claudius Hargeroar... that's right. Ayden, not Aiden... because all this time I thought he was Aiden, I didn't realize that he was Ayden - one of the antagonists in a transmigration genre novel that I often read in my past life.
There were many reincarnation and transmigration genre novels that I read. However, that novel left a deep impression on me because of its dark and gloomy story. The main story tells about a female protagonist named Rossa Adelaide who comes from another world.
She was reborn as Rossa Adelaide - the only daughter of the Listern Count family. She was a beautiful and kind woman. Because she remembered her past life, she was also a strong and great person.
Somehow - she was loved by the spirits and gained elemental powers that allowed her to use four different elements at once - a very rare and unusual thing in this world. Because usually, even a talented elementalist can only use a maximum of two different elements. But Rossa was very different from most people.
She could use four elements at once and was dubbed a genius by the kingdom's people.
She was engaged to the second son of Count Exellar, Linden Hargeroar - Ayden's younger brother. Linden liked Rossa from the first time they met - but as the main female character in the transmigration story who was pretending to be innocent and didn't understand that, Rossa didn't know that Linden liked her.
It was cliche. The main character didn't know that the male lead liked her - so the story would last a little longer and wouldn't end right away. Even though Linden already made a great moves, Rossa will never understand it.
But when Ayden returned from the battlefield and he first met Rossa, Ayden fell in love with the girl's kindness - which made him restless in the darkness and desperate because the first person he loved was his younger brother's fiancé.
Ayden always watched over Rossa wherever she went, whatever she did, and whoever she met. And when he realized, he was stalked her. Terrorizing her in the darkness and the hidden figure - made Rossa feel scared all the time.
After telling Linden about the person who was stalking her, Linden searched and found out that Ayden was the one terrorizing Rossa. He then told Ayden to stop doing it, but Ayden refused.
What kind of villain who will stop when the main characters tell him to stop?
Ayden spent his childhood on the battlefield to give the Hargeroar family success, a big name for the kingdom, and after returning from the war, he only received a little recognition. He was even forbidden to fall in love - which made Ayden angry and frustrated.
He then used the power of darkness to kill Linden - but he was eventually defeated by the heroine, Rossa.
In the end, Ayden died killed by Rossa - the woman he loved with all his heart. Devoting the rest of his life to her, Ayden couldn't hide his disappointment and heartbreak when he received unexpected treatment from the woman.
And although the happy ending was the end of the story, Rossa couldn't live normally because she was still in Ayden's shadow. The girl lived in vigilance against everyone around her.
That was all written in the novel.
And this boy is Ayden from that story, a very sad antagonist figure, a figure that really made me feel sorry, and as a person with high empathy, I can't just sit and watch a cheerful boy like this have such a bleak future.
But wait a minute. I am a tree. In the book, it was written that before returning to the Exellar region, Ayden would cut down a tree on his way back from the war - and it turns out that tree is a sacred tree that can give him unlimited magicalpower.
That means I am that sacred tree.
Realizing this fact, I couldn't help but feel nervous. What should I do? Should I prevent Ayden from cutting me down and changing the course of the story? Or should I let things happen as they did in the novel?
As I pondered these thoughts, Ayden climbed down from my branches and looked back at me. "Don't worry, my friend. I won't let anyone harm you. You're special to me," he said with a warm smile.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for things to turn out differently for Ayden in this world.
But then again, the future is always uncertain. All I can do is wait and see what fate has in store for us.
*To be Continued*