Becoming the Villain's Family

Chapter 2

'I didn't want to know any of this..."

She prayed to God every day.

'Please save me.'

But God never responded. Due to her overwhelming talent, the Siren's songs became even more popular. The people worshipped her as if she were a deity. They begged her to save them. Until... the worst comes to the worst. Rumors began to spread throughout the empire. The Siren was rumored to be a monster, not an angel of salvation who borrowed the voice of a God.

"The legendary monster deceived all of you...," Saintess Veronica said with teary eyes in front of the believers.

"I also got addicted to her songs and most of the palace officials went crazy. The Emperor too...." Her tears seemed so real that the congregation in the square became agitated.

The nobles went crazy. The emperor became a tyrant. The empire fell to ruin.

'And it's all the Siren's fault.'

The Siren was a fake. Not a sacred being, but a horrible monster. The real one was Veronica, the Saintess from the Holy Empire.

They shouted in anger, "The imperial family is over because of the monster!"

"We must clean up the imperial palace that has become a den of heathens!"

"Be in power, oh Holy Being!"

"This is not just treason. It's blasphemy! The Siren's declaring a holy war!"

The benevolent saint shook her slender shoulders slightly. War was inevitable. She raised her head as if she had made a decision. Their eyes rest upon golden arcing rays that fell behind Veronica's fluttering blonde hair.

"I will save all of you." Veronica pledged.

"Wow!"

"I will purify the palace and grant God's grace so that no more innocent sacrifices will be made."

Saintess Veronica. The protagonist of a perfectly woven heroic narrative. And Aria, the villain who ruined the empire, the root of all evil.

'I drove them to madness? Really?'

Even Aria herself was confused. The imperial family, the aristocrats, the commoners... They all said that it was her fault. The war had begun. Men and women of all ages were mobilized for war. They were dragged unconditionally, unable to refuse the conscription. From the street outside came a peculiar, blood-chilling sound. It was like the low snarling of many voices, and it grew louder and louder until it became a sullen, muttering roar. The knights called the scene a 'purification process'.

"Execute the monster!"

When the public sentiment arose, the emperor hid Aria in the depths of the palace.

"Execution? No. You have to sing like a bird for your entire life."

Then he broke her leg, covered her mouth, and held her captive inside a small birdcage.

'How long have I been here?'

Aria burst into tears.

"......"

This is how she dies.

She gazed upon her bloody palms and clenched her fist.

'Yes, I'll just die.'

Once the last remaining Siren dies, no one will have to suffer like her. Aria gave up everything. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her emotions from coming out of her rotten heart.

"Do you want me to kill you?"

Aria shifted her gaze to the source of the voice.

Lloyd Cardence Valentine.