The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

"This should be it, right?" Aria sighed as she gazed down at the pipes, wondering if she was even going to fit into this space. "How on Earth did Lucy manage to discover this kind of thing... It's not exactly exposed, you know? She must've snooped around intentionally." Aria chuckled when she thought about it.

She prepared to go down, looking at the depth of the pipe and measuring her jump.

She then jumped down, managing to grip onto the narrow platform on the sides of the furniture.

"..Alright, one more step.." Aria prepared to get down even more and fall to the ground. Just then, a loud shout ensued.

"Who is there?!" Unexpectedly, before Aria was able to show herself, the kid that resided inside this room called out to her.

'Well, what I am doing is indeed creepy.' Aria admitted as she decided to get out now.

"Young master Lucas, do you still remember me?" Aria spoke, jutting her head out from the fireplace and letting her long hair fall downwards. In other words, to any other unsuspecting person, she would've been regarded as a vengeful ghost that was out to get their lives or something.

"I-I remember you. You are the maid who sent me the letter yesterday right? Your name.. It was Aria." Lucas gulped, a bit frightened. Yet, he still kept his composure, showing his clear ability to keep calm in extreme situations in such a young age.

"Aww, you remember me with such a connotation? I don't know whether to feel good or bad.." Aria dropped down from the ceiling, swiping off some dust from her clothes and hair. She placed both of her hands on her hips, looking at Lucas who was completely weirded out by her antics. "However, yes. I am Aria, the maid who wrote you the bloodied letter yesterday. I still smell blood around this area. You haven't disposed of my letter, is that correct?"

"..Why are you here?" Lucas questioned back instead of answering the question.

"I am here to consult you on something. Do you know the extent of your potential?" Aria's gaze was meaningful as she looked at Lucas, like a venomous snake trying to pry into the hearts of its prey.

Lucas instinctively took a few steps back and pursed her lips. "What do you know about me?"

"Oh, you best bet that I know a lot. For instance.. I was able to know that you could comprehend the language I wrote in. Do you think that it was a coincidence? I will tell you that it really wasn't, I knew exactly what I was doing."

"But- that.."

It didn't make sense. Correct. To Lucas, he was the only one who knew about himself. He allowed no one else into his personal space, and this fact would not change until it was far in the future.

To dispel Lucas' doubts even more, Aria continued to speak.

"You stole books from the shredder, taking whatever you can get and solidifying your knowledge with that." Aria added. "You would read one book over and over again because of your lack of content, but even that isn't enough. You crave more. You want to acquire more knowledge, submerge yourself in books. You know that you are a very talented individual, but you aren't allowed to procure the necessary resources you need to deepen your understanding."

With such an elaborate description of himself, Lucas couldn't help but gulp his saliva.

"..Who are you? I made sure that nobody would see me. And the things you said.. Nobody should be able to know all that in detail if they never entered my room, let alone a new maid who didn't even know the simplest of rules in this manor." Lucas gritted his teeth, feeling threatened since he didn't know what Aria's intentions were to approach him.

"I am here to help you. I'm not here to sabotage you, but rather help you get more information, and grow. If you follow me, I will guide you to a point where.. once I leave, you would be able to fend for yourself until your future comes into place. Remember, Lucas, you are very bright. In the future, you will be recognized, and will meet people who is happy to work with you."

"..Those are all empty promises! If I'm not able to get out of this manor anyway, how would that happen? It only takes my mother's last straw to break in order for my life to be thrown out and discarded. I would be fed to the dogs the moment I annoy one of my family members. To escape such a place, it is simply impossible."

"You will. In the future, you will escape. But for now.. I have my own mission that I can't disclose to you, but it requires me to help you. So.. in exchange for me extending my help to you, won't you let me assist you?" Aria smiled as she extended her hand and spoke.

Lucas was in a trance as he heard Aria's voice. In truth, no matter how hard he tried to act strong and deny Aria's request, saying that it was just lies, he did wish for someone like her to come and take him out of the living hell that is the Delmonte's house.

Aria's words were correct, and it all stuck out to him. Stabbing him deep in the heart since he felt like all of his weaknesses had been explored. It made him feel vexed, but Aria was completely right.

His worth. His potential. It was something that the Delmontes' did not deserve in the slightest.

After thinking for a while, and debating on whether or not Aria was trustworthy, Lucas came to a conclusion. He would try to accept this strange maid's offer.

It all began from this simple day, when Aria visited his room and stormed his mind up, giving him the first ray of hope in a while.

But would it all go to according to her way? Her best wishes for Lucas, her feelings that made him want to make sure that he doesn't encounter any problems along the way?

Or perhaps, Lucas Delmonte was only Lucas Delmonte because those terrifying, traumatic moments that made him have to crawl up the cliff of hardships with bloodied fingers. Perhaps if it wasn't for those moment, Lucas wouldn't become the hegemon that he was years later.

Aria had a mistake that she repeated.

She was too confident. Too confident for her own good. She misunderstood what her task was supposed to be. The System never specified what she had to do. In the first world, she was thinking too much, and it ended up in a disaster with the dragon killing everybody on sight, and Noel still left on the ground with much more pain that he was originally in.

Instead of making it better for him, she made it worse. Because not only his sister and the townspeople died, but she, a newcomer who he got fairly close to during a short time also died. One more casualty that he was sure to remember.

What did she do in that world except for worsening the situation? Nothing.

Aria did help Lucas out. She treaded along the path in her own way, trying to nurture the young boy until he was imbued with lots of useful knowledge that was sure to help him. She was under the premise that as long as she powered him up, then everything would be fine.

She never thought about what the System entailed when it sent her to these realms.

The System sent her there without powers. Perhaps, she was just meant to be an audience. Waiting until a 'traumatic' part of their life occurred. Wait for the sidelines, watch with her own eyes and take in the memories of her former comrades. What they had to go through.

Perhaps helping was not the cure to their misery, but instead more poison.

If she knew this earlier, then nothing bad would've happened.. right?

Lucas Delmonte would have survived for longer. He would have grown up into the figure that Aria knew.

But instead of letting him grow on his own, Aria was too confident. She knew Lucas. She knew what he needed, what he was like. And she tried to enforce those things into the child Lucas.

Little did she know, her actions were the beginning of a disaster.

That month was Aria's third month of staying in the alternate realm. She was spending time with Lucas happily, teaching him stuff.

Lucas deviated from the original story that he lived through. He became livelier, and much more easy to talk to from their first meeting. He also began to secretly sneak out of his room and go into unknown and hidden places with Aria so that the madam would not be able to find him, but he would still be able to experience the outside world.

It was all going so well.

So why.. Why was there a dead Lucas in front of her?