Chapter 96

That was to say the Third Princess was beautiful, with a pair of emerald-green eyes. It was just a pity that, compared to a blank expression, she wasn’t much better.

Livra was cared for by Anna.

Although Anna also felt this princess was very strange…

Unlike the ridicule of the rest of the world, she only felt sorrow.

In the age when a child should have been the most mischievous and playful, Her Highness, apart from studying royal etiquette every day, had nothing else to do. When she returned to her bedchamber, she would sit in the middle of the courtyard, gazing up at the sky. She would look for several hours, then sensibly tidy up her things and go indoors to sleep, not needing anyone’s care.

——At the same time, she had no joy whatsoever.

When Anna asked Her Highness what toys she wanted, Livra blankly shook her head and said she didn’t need anything.

She didn’t need anything, but Anna still took it upon herself to catch a little bird in the courtyard for her.

She hoped this little bird could accompany Her Highness as she grew and bring her a bit of happiness.

In fact, it truly had an effect.

Although Livra still showed little expression, when she looked at the little bird in the cage, she actually took the initiative to walk over and speak to it, even if the words she spoke were perhaps incomprehensible even to herself. The bird tilted its head, chirping back, equally without meaning.

Even so, the young girl felt, for the first time, the allure of communication.

From then on, no matter where she went, Livra would bring the little bird along.

There was no need to keep it shut in a cage. The bird wouldn’t fly away. It would perch on Livra’s shoulder to keep her company.

It was as if it were the sky Livra often looked up to.

The sky responded to her, letting fall this white feather, allowing an existence that had once been far beyond reach to gradually come to mutual understanding.

Anna felt she had seen hope.

She kept encouraging Her Highness, telling her not to speak only to the bird. Riding this momentum, could she occasionally go and talk with children her own age?

But unfortunately, Princess Livra still didn’t seem inclined to do so.

She shook her head and held the little bird in her arms, as if showing off her friend to Anna.

Hmm… Her Highness was very impressive, wasn’t she?

Even if it was only a little bird, Her Highness had succeeded in making the first good friend of her life.

Originally, Anna believed that as long as she gave Her Highness time, everything would gradually improve.

Until one day.

A royal palace parade.

It was when His Majesty the King, on a whim, decided to hunt in the neutral zone at the border between the Kingdom and the Demon Domain. He set out with an imposing procession of carriages and brought along several of his most cherished children to let them hunt with him at the edge of the Demon Domain.

Incidentally, he also wanted them to see in advance the harsh environment there, so different from the Royal Capital.

At that time, Princess Livra, only seven years old, also went with His Majesty’s retinue on the expedition.

Naturally, Anna accompanied her as an attendant, along with Her Highness’s favorite little bird, which was fortunate enough to see the vast world beyond the Royal Capital.

Originally, that parade had been proceeding smoothly.

It was almost the day before they were to return to the Royal Capital.

Truly, there were unpredictable storms in the heavens…

They encountered a torrential rain that lasted through the night, causing a mudslide that buried their encampment in the mountains.

Fortunately, a powerful protector of the royal family within the convoy used magic to forcibly block the mudslide, preventing casualties. However, this sudden disaster temporarily scattered Princess Livra’s convoy from the main force.

Misfortune never came alone.

While this splintered convoy was waiting for the main force to send a search party, they were beset by bands of mountain bandits.

There were not many soldiers guarding Livra. They fought with their lives, inflicting heavy losses upon the bandits, but ultimately, outnumbered, they fell one after another.

When the last soldier collapsed, there remained only the young Livra outside the wrecked carriage, and Anna, who clutched Her Highness tightly in her arms.

Those bandits, having lost men and grown furious, were in a rage. But when they saw the royal emblem on the convoy, their leader immediately burst out laughing!

"Ha ha ha! This is worth it, worth it! What did we just stumble upon? Looks like this is the Kingdom’s little princess? Brothers! Come with me and capture her. We’ll demand a king’s ransom from that old king, and from then on, we’ll disappear here on the Demon Domain’s border. They won’t dare touch us! Uh… why isn’t this little wretch crying? That’s strange."

Livra looked at the blood all over the ground. The blood on the edge of the blades had even splattered onto her expressionless face.

For the first time, she felt pain in her heart.

Someone had died to protect her… and she herself had no power to change that outcome.

She could only sit there, watching them fall and die one by one.

But she didn’t know how to cry.

If she cried… would everyone come back?

She just felt somehow sad…

All she remembered was Anna clinging to her, shielding her, hoarsely shouting warnings to the bandits who drew closer step by step.

"You bandits… leave at once! Do you know who she is… Are you not afraid His Majesty the King will have you torn limb from limb?"

They were not afraid, for bandits lived each day with blades at their throats.

The moment the blade was about to fall upon them—

Anna had already resolved to die together with the bandits. She quietly gripped the broken blade in her hand, determined to take down anyone who approached, no matter what.

But at that critical moment—

——The little bird on Livra’s shoulder flew out.

A white feather swept past Livra’s eyes.

In that instant, she seemed to see again that bright, endless sky.

The bird flapped fiercely, pecking at the bandit leader’s head. For a moment, it threw the bandits into confusion. None of them had expected a bird to suddenly appear.

That friend who had never truly “communicated” with Livra…

It was as if it understood everything.

But how could a little bird stop a bandit?

The impatient bandit leader seized the fluttering bird in his hand and smashed it violently onto the ground.

All the sounds in the world… seemed to stop in that moment.

It no longer moved.

White feathers scattered all over the ground.

The final low cry seemed as though it was calling to the sky, and also as if it were saying a last farewell to Livra, its friend.

"Li…little bird?"

The bandit was still cursing under his breath.

"Tch, what a damn thing, wasting my time, bloody hell."

Livra only felt… at that moment, she couldn’t hear anything anymore.

The rumbling thunder, the trembling of the earth, all became lifeless.

Because she cried.

It was heavier than the muffled thunder crashing down, more unrestrained than the rain driven by the fierce wind.

Livra’s first wailing cry of her life tore her heart apart.

She covered her face and sobbed, calling out for the "bird."

Only to suddenly realize she hadn’t even managed to give it a name.

——"Is your name Livra?"

——"What should I be called?"

So it turned out that what the bird had tried to say to her back then… was this.

Her crying shook the dark, overcast sky. A bolt of golden lightning appeared overhead.

The bandit leader looked up, wondering how today’s weather could be so strange.

And then he saw…

That golden flash of lightning was striking straight down at them!

"Dodge! Quick, dodge! Aaahhh—!!!"

Too late to escape.

That lightning seemed almost alive. It bypassed Livra and Anna entirely, and struck every last bandit, reducing them all to charred husks without even giving them time for a final scream.

The lightning also spared one other thing.

——Those white feathers strewn across the ground.

Livra no longer remembered much of what came after.

But she would never forget… that girl who seemed to descend lightly on wind and lightning.

Her long silver hair fluttered like a dancing phoenix.

Clearly, she didn’t look much older than Livra herself.

But the figure who turned and extended her hand was so immeasurably grand.

She could no longer remember precisely what she looked like.

What she did remember was that she was smiling then.

She remembered, too, the words she said as she patted Livra on the head.

"Phew… that was close, that was close, almost didn’t make it in time. I knew this area was unstable! Are you two all right? Hm? What’s with this little crybaby? Tch… I’ve got a younger sister who likes to cry, too… how troublesome. I’m no good at comforting kids."

"That emblem… is it the royal family’s? Ah… what a sin. Oh well, there’s no one else around anyway. Little one, listen to me—don’t cry. No matter if you lose a friend or lose your family, don’t cry. Crying won’t solve anything."

"You have to become strong."

"Strong enough to protect your friends, so this kind of thing will never happen again. Look, if I hadn’t come, you would’ve been finished, wouldn’t you? That’s why I’m able to protect my own family! Hehe… so you have to work hard too, little one! So you won’t have to be sad anymore. Ah… I call this ‘punishing evil and upholding good!’"

——"Punishing evil and upholding good."

That phrase remained etched in Livra’s heart ever since.

The moment she stopped crying, the rain passed, and the sky cleared.

A seven-colored rainbow rose into the heavens. At the same time, the voices of the convoy searching for Livra were already echoing from the distant hills.

Anna, who had been frozen in terror, finally came to her senses. She called for help toward the convoy, shouting that Her Highness the Princess was right here!

Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl who had arrived on lightning turned and left in a hurry.

She rose into the air as if weightless, soaring up into the blue sky until she seemed to merge with it completely, disappearing without a trace.

Was that… an angel?

An angel from the world the little bird had come from?

It must have been…

Livra wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She went to gather up the white feathers scattered on the ground, carefully wrapping them in the handkerchief she held to her chest.

Later, Livra buried that handkerchief in the small courtyard before her bedchamber.

After that, in the courtyard, the cries of birds grew more numerous—many, many more.

Livra often lay in the little courtyard with her eyes closed, recalling the silver-haired girl’s words from that year.

She would caress the earth beneath her hand, remembering the bird’s voice.

Sun rose and moon set.

The passing years urged blossoms and dew to flourish, unfurling the grandeur of the seasons in turn.

And when she looked up again—

At some unknown moment, the branches had grown thick and leafy, and flowers had filled the whole garden.

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