Chapter 37: What’s wrong with that? (1/2)
After enjoying the amusement park for a short period, Lanya led Arima's group to a building in its center. That building looked like a modern mansion and even had a pool on the roof.
”Ugh, I don't care anymore,” Arima blankly commented as he observed the mansion. His group easily entered the mansion thanks to Lanya. It felt like everyone there knew about her. They were escorted to a room by a maid and were left waiting there.
”Ooh,” Arima exclaimed and headed to the table in the center of the room. He sat down on a couch and started to eat all of the sweets prepared for the visitors. Lilis and Lanya shrugged and began to eat with him. Night laid down in the corner of the room and closed his eyes.
They waited for around five minutes before a figure barged into the room and leaped on Lanya to hug her. She had a petite figure, gold hair and eyes, and a beautiful pair of transparent wings. She truly looked like a fairy.
”Lanya!” She beamed as she was hugging Lanya and the latter smiled in return.
”Vinia, it's good to see you again.”
”Yes!” Vinia then calmed down and let Lanya free. When she inspected Lanya with a closer look, she tilted her head, ”Have you gotten bigger?”
Lanya chuckled and wryly smiled, ”Yes.”
”It's a shame… It was fun to have someone as small as me,” The princess casually uttered an extremely selfish statement and then finally concentrated on the other people present in the room. ”Who are they, Lanya?” She looked at Arima who was idly stuffing himself and Lilis who was smiling brightly as she stared back.
”They're friends of mine.”
”Humans, huh?” Vinia muttered, ”So? Why have you come here after all this time?”
”Of course, I wanted to see you. I'm extremely thankful to you, so I thought it was time for me to come visit you.”
Vinia laughed like a genuine little girl, ”Then let's talk. I want to know what happened to you since the last time we met.”
Lanya was caught off guard. She glanced at Arima and hesitation was clearly plastered all over her face, ”But…”
Vinia's eyes widened, ”What? He doesn't know about your past?”
Arima frowned and gazed at them, ”Go on. It's not like my attitude toward you will change in any way,” He stated and swallowed the last bit of his biscuit.
Lanya acquiesced and began to tell her story. It took her around ten minutes to disclose the whole thing.
As she had said before, she was born in the Republic in a small village. The only paternal figure she had was her mother. The latter never told her about her father and she basically grew up without knowing anything about him. She lived a peaceful life until she was ten. When Lanya turned ten years old, the village discovered that she had monster genes in her.
”Apparently, my mother…had been assaulted by a monster and I was the child that resulted from that.”
At the age of ten, some strange marks started to appear on her skin. It wasn't long before she and her mother became the target of the village's hostility. In the end, Lanya's mother was pushed to her limits and forced to a corner until she committed suicide. It wasn't like she was trying to flee responsibilities or that she didn't love her daughter, it was merely because she alleged that the village would be satisfied with her death. Furthermore, she was physically weak and didn't want to cause trouble for her daughter who was already stronger than average thanks to her bloodline.
Ultimately, Lanya was chased out of the village like an animal. The villagers didn't kill her. Probably because the guilt they were feeling after pushing a weak woman to suicide and perhaps also because they had realized how ugly their actions were; only too late.
So, just like this, Lanya first cried and mourned for days before she initiated her trip to places that even herself didn't know about. She was just like some sort of fugitive. She had to hide her appearance from others and work at the guild to be able to eat.
Her life continued like this until she met Vinia who was out of her homeland to meet with others royalty with her father. Vinia took care of her and they quickly became friends. But after a few months, Lanya insisted on leaving and Vinia helplessly agreed and gave her some food, weapons, and clothes to use.
At that time, Lanya's goal was the monster territory and her father that lived there. Her only purpose was pure vengeance. It was an immature and reckless thought.
While she was in the monster territory, she learned how to fight and survive. And it was also then that she received the inheritance of Chronepsis. Her body stopped growing and at the same time, her body stabilized and reverted to a normal human appearance. As he gave her the inheritance, Chronepsis also offered her the information about her father.
After everything was said, Lanya unhesitatingly attacked the lizard clan to find her father who actually had a small nobility title. She succeeded in her assassination but was captured in the process to finally be sold to a certain vampire and bought by Arima sometime later.
Arima, Lilis, and Vinia attentively listened to her, even Night perked his ears.
”I see, so the reason you insisted on leaving this place was for revenge…” Vinia mumbled and bitterly smiled, ”No wonder you didn't tell me anything. You knew I would've stopped you… You received the power of a god and he encouraged your revenge. That's outrageous.”
Apparently, the spirit princess was a bit mad against Chronepsis for giving Lanya information about her father.
Arima finished his tea and rested his back on the couch. He crossed his arms and indifferently looked at Vinia, ”What's wrong with that?”
Lanya didn't expect those words and her eyes widened.
”What do you mean?” On the opposite, Vinia's eyes narrowed and glared at Arima.
”Revenge. Who are you to proclaim that it's a bad thing? People who say revenge is stupid and nonsensical are cowards who can't accomplish it. Vendetta, vengeance, revenge, retribution… They're all the same. That's what you call justice.”
”Justice?”
”Yes. Revenge can also be referred to as a punishment. That's what justice is. Not the disgusting thing people call laws, tainted with misplaced and useless morals,” Arima voice got colder, ”If you dare to say one should not seek for revenge, you are indirectly expressing that the criminals should be left alone although they crushed the lives of innocent people. Is that your belief, princess?”
Vinia fell silent for a moment. Her eyes drifted toward Lanya who was sighing in relief as a faint smile appeared on her face. The main reason she was irresolute to tell her past to Arima was because of her origins and the fact that she sought vengeance on her own biological father.
Vinia shook her head and stood up. She stared at Arima, ”You were the one who saved her so I shall thank you for that. But,” She released her aura of the eighth level inside the room and maybe the entire mansion shook, ”If you make her sad or if something happens to her, I will then take your advice and give justice.”
Arima chuckled while Lilis couldn't resist the urge to burst out laughing, ”You have great resolve, little girl. You want to protect your friend, that's admirable,” She praised Vinia as if she was talking to a child. She smirked and pointed at Arima, ”But you shouldn't threaten someone who can single-handedly destroy your country.”
”Sorry?” Vinia was shocked by those words. She urgently turned toward Lanya and the latter shrugged in response. Vinia felt like she had done something really stupid and embarrassing as her cheeks reddened. She retrieved her aura and stiffly bowed in front of Arima, ”I'm sorry… I got carried away.”