Chapter 76: Airella Agresta

I am Ariella… Ariella Agresta.

“Ugly girl! Green eyes!”

The fruit thrown by the boys in front of me stained my head with a cold chill.

I hugged the jade pendant in my hands tightly, not feeling even a spark of desire to resist.

Because… I was not my parents’ biological child.

I was a foundling.

When they found me in the forest, there was only a swaddle, the jade pendant in my arms, a bag of gold coins, and a note requesting that I be named Agresta.

No one knew who had abandoned me, and no one cared.

My adoptive parents took me back to a small village.

The children my age in the village were afraid of my appearance and refused to play with me.

But one day, they overcame that fear and cautiously threw a small stone at me.

“Mon… Monster! Go die!”

The stone grazed my forehead, and a sharp pain instantly surged between my brows.

I slowly crouched down, covering my forehead.

When I opened my eyes again, there was bright red blood…

“She’s hurt! Pelt her!”

It was as if they realized such attacks were effective and that I would not fight back.

They became even more aggressive, pelting me together.

I felt wronged, but who would side with a helpless, foreign girl?

There were no knights from stories, no prince charming to stand up for me.

My childhood was just like that — lonely and freezing.

…

Eventually, it was the village adults who stopped them, saving me from further harm.

However, I could see in their eyes that I was still an outlier who could never fit into the village.

“Fire… There’s a fire! Run!”

A shrill cry suddenly shattered the village’s peace.

I snapped my head up and saw that the thatched hut at the edge of the village was already engulfed in a towering blaze.

Thick smoke billowed, obscuring half the sky.

Immediately afterward came the wild roars of magical beasts, filled with bloodthirsty fury, making the ground tremble slightly.

I shook with fear and gripped my jade pendant.

I wanted to find my adoptive parents, but I saw them leading their own child, running toward the mountains without looking back.

They didn’t even spare me a single glance.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

The flames drew closer, and a scorching wave of heat hit my face.

The smell of charred plants mixed with the stench of magical beasts filled my nose, making me feel sick.

I stumbled backward and tripped over something, falling heavily to the ground.

My palms scraped against the gravel, and blood seeped out, but I couldn’t even feel the pain.

I only felt cold all over.

It turned out that in the face of life and death, even my abandonment seemed so insignificant.

Understanding all of this, I sat between the entrance of the village and the center of the fire, losing the strength to resist.

For some reason, as I sat amidst the tide of magical beasts, I was not harmed.

These beasts seemed to ignore me entirely, devouring everything around them without sparing me a single look…

The beast tide ended, leaving nothing but the remains of villagers and the corpses of magical beasts.

From now on, where was I supposed to go? No one knew.

“Am I a step too late…?”

I struggled to lift my head.

A giant wolf, pure white all over, tread through the firelight.

On its back sat an old man in a long robe with silver hair, a white beard, and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

The moment he saw me, his pupils suddenly constricted, as if he had seen something incredibly shocking.

“This…”

The giant wolf landed steadily in front of me.

The old man flipped down, walked quickly to my side, and used his rough hands to gently lift me from the ground, draping a heavy coat over my shoulders.

“Child, come with me.”

His voice carried a faint, undetectable tremble.

Then, he said solemnly, “From today on, I am your grandfather.”

….

That day, the village was destroyed by fire and the beasts scattered, but I felt as though I had found a real home.

Grandfather took me to a small village deep within the Dalian Mountain Range.

The adults there had mastered the ability to command magical beasts for generations.

The adults said that magical beasts were partners we relied on for survival and our only way to live within the great mountains.

My new home was a small wooden cabin.

Grandfather taught me basic magic and how to communicate with gentle magical beasts.

He told me, ‘All things have spirits. Do not use force, only your heart.’

Grandmother made steaming hot meals for me every day and sewed beautiful dresses.

When I had nightmares at night, she would hold me tightly and say, “Ariella is the most beautiful child, Grandma’s little treasure.”

They never asked about my past or mentioned where I came from.

They simply used the most simple, pure love to melt the ice in my heart bit by bit.

I gradually stopped fearing contact with people and no longer felt inferior because I was different.

I began to learn how to laugh, how to accept magical beasts, how to help Grandma with chores, and how to follow Grandpa into the mountains to watch the stars.

It turned out that this was what warmth felt like.

In this world, perhaps there really was light.

I began to wonder if the world beyond these mountains also held such lovely, gentle people.

“…”

“Nonsense!”

I held the admission notice for Avelina Academy, listening to my grandparents arguing in the study.

My heart was filled with unease.

“Sending her to school in such a crowded place… What if someone discovers her ability!” I had never seen Grandfather so stern before, and it startled me.

I knew… Because this power was too rare and hated by too many people, it was impossible to stand out or live freely in this world.

I sat alone on the steps of the wooden cabin, looking at the brilliant starry sky surrounded by mountains.

The comets at the edge of the sky seemed so free.

Could they see someone as insignificant as me?

I couldn’t help but think that, and a flutter of excitement rose in my chest.

I wanted… to go see it.

I had long heard from the village people that a Forbidden Magical Beast was buried deep beneath Avelina.

It was said that even a sixth-tier Mage — an existence close to a god — could do nothing against it.

I had intended to give up, but while tidying Grandfather’s study, I accidentally discovered a parchment scroll.

Engraved upon it… was a map of the underground labyrinth of Avelina.

And the place it led to was exactly where the Forbidden Magical Beast resided. After that day, I finally made up my mind.

I secretly packed my bags and, under the cover of night, intended to head to Avelina alone to see what this so-called “hall of all mages on the continent” was really like.

“Woof!”

Hearing Reel bark behind me, I feared he would wake my grandparents.

I whispered, “Shhh… Reel! Don’t ruin this for me!”

Reel was my first magical beast partner, the offspring of Grandfather’s silver wolf.

He had been with me ever since I started learning to control beasts.

I walked to the village entrance and took one last look at the village that had truly raised me.

Tears couldn’t help but fall.

If I left now, perhaps… I wouldn’t see them again for a long, long time.

“Ariella…”

Just as I was about to ride Reel away, a familiar, gentle voice came from behind me.

“Grandmother!”

I immediately became flustered, not knowing how to explain.

She wore her usual kind smile and said to me, “Your grandfather, that old stubborn fool… He’s lived his whole life in fear. He wouldn’t dare let his precious granddaughter venture out on her own…”

She slowly took out a bag of gold coins. It was likely their life savings.

“Go do the things we old fossils couldn’t do. Go see the world. it belongs to you young people.”

Grandmother stroked my back and helped me braid my hair, as if giving me her final blessing.

“Maybe you’ll even meet a boy you like? Hoho… Back then, the old man and I…”

‘A boy I like?’

I had always longed for a handsome, gentle, and considerate man to fall in love with in the future, then get married and have children… I didn’t know what that felt like, but looking at my grandparents, it must be a very, very happy thing…

Remembering the light in Grandfather’s eyes when his silver wolf gave birth to Reel… I knew that he must feel regret in his heart about not having biological children.

What did it feel like to be a mother?

I longed for that too.

After leaving the village, everything went very smoothly.

Although I got lost on the way, I managed to make it in time for the start of school.

I didn’t attract any controversy because of my appearance either.

The world was vast and full of wonders, and there were many people who looked similar to me.

Until…

“Have you seen this witch?”

A knight in front of me questioned the town residents.

I wore my hood to hide from sight, a sense of confusion growing deep in my heart.

Why was the world always like this?

Even though… even though I saved them and drove away the mountain bandits and robbers, I was still hated and wanted…

I remembered my childhood experiences.

People would always rather believe what they wanted to believe and trust their own intuition rather than the truth.

Just as I began to doubt whether leaving the village was the right choice, I bumped into a boy.

“Whoa!”

“Ah…”

“You, don’t you have eyes when you walk?”

In that instant, I suddenly understood exactly what others felt when they first saw me.

….

Black hair and brown eyes, tall and handsome, dressed in noble attire… I had never seen anyone who looked like him.

In the following days, I did some investigating… and discovered that the owner of this territory was the Hawk family.

Every member of the Hawk family looked like that, without exception.

Later… I was saved by him and pulled into a cave.

I originally thought he was just like those people who blamed others without reason, but…

“However… it’s not you I’m afraid of, but the various kinds of malice you carry on your back…”

“This different power will cause speculation, doubt, and fear. This malice will gradually devour a person who was originally kind.”

“And when this malice exceeds what a person can bear, the truly frightening things will appear.”

I could feel it.

My heart… began to throb unintentionally.

Because of this so-called playboy.

For the first time, it beat so clearly.

…

Ever since I was kidnapped by the Church and brought back, I had been in constant pain.

But I didn’t want him to worry.

‘Why… why are you so weak!’

I originally thought my talent was something that could protect me and help others.

But I was wrong… Even after so much time has passed, I still can’t protect anything.

I can’t even protect myself…

‘Go find the Forbidden Magical Beast.

You’re so weak, Lin Yue won’t like you!’

My own voice surfaced in my mind.

‘No, no! If you destroy the academy, you’ll be a witch forever! Besides… what if you put everyone in danger by doing this!’

I slowly stood up, my hair obscuring my vision…

‘Do you still want to be like before… when you were a child, before you enrolled, and now?’

The darkness in my memory slowly blinded my eyes — the malice of my childhood, the beast tide, the grievance of being a wanted fugitive… I knew I was always causing him trouble.

I knew I didn’t deserve to be by his side at all, so… I…

“So, that is why you chose such a risky method, right?”

In an instant, the world turned into a brilliant white.

“Ah…”

A large hand suddenly tore through the boundary between reality and memory, grabbing her wrist.