The carriage came to a stop with a slight squeak as its wheels finally ceased rolling over the earthen forest floor. Inside, Aria—her expression as unreadable as ever—reached for the door handle and calmly opened it.

  "Are you not going to wake your maid?" Esmeria whispered from the shadow at her feet, her tone laced with a subtle note of amusement.

  Even though it wasn’t strictly necessary, in case of an emergency, Esmeria had planned on using the maid as a distraction so that Aria could make her escape if anything went awry.

  Aria merely tilted her head toward the voice before replying coolly:

  "She’d just be in the way."

  This response surprised Esmeria, as it revealed just how confident Aria was.

  Esmeria let out a quiet chuckle and murmured,

  "Very well, then, let’s go."

  Without hesitation, Aria dismounted the carriage with fluid movements and strode alone into the forest. Around her, the last remnants of daylight filtered through the branches as the sun dipped below the horizon.

  As Aria advanced, the temperature slowly began to drop, and darkness gradually enveloped her surroundings, swallowing the path behind her. Although this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—since it amplified the effectiveness of Esmeria’s powers—one would normally expect Aria to start hesitating. Yet, despite the diminishing light, she neither stopped nor showed any sign of wavering.

  Aria walked with the same calm one might display in a library, completely unmoved by the forest’s eerie atmosphere.

  It was one thing to execute a surprise attack, like what happened in that shop, but quite another to face wild beasts for the first time; and that was precisely why Esmeria couldn’t help but wonder:

  Was Aria already that confident in her abilities, or did she believe that if something went wrong, Esmeria would swoop in to save her?

  From within her own shadow, Esmeria observed her with fascination and curiosity. Most humans—even seasoned adult fighters—would show at least a hint of tension in such an environment. But Aria… she didn’t seem to harbor the slightest trace of nervousness, despite being just a girl.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  A crackling sound echoed through the underbrush, interrupting Esmeria’s thoughts. Aria heard it too and, without turning her head, said in a low voice:

  "Tell me the direction."

  After a brief moment of concentration, Esmeria sensed the presence of beings lurking in the forest’s shadows.

  "They’re behind, a little to the right," she replied.

  Without needing any further instructions, Aria halted and narrowed her eyes—a move that puzzled Esmeria slightly. Moments later, the first predator emerged from the foliage.

  A wolf with dark fur appeared, its eyes gleaming with an amber glow in the dimming light. Its body tensed, poised to pounce on the girl, but the instant it bent its hind legs to leap, Aria subtly moved her hands.

  From the darkness beneath the wolf, sharp, dark spikes erupted, impaling it in an instant. A howl of agony tore through the air as the creature convulsed briefly before going limp. Warm blood splattered across the ground, darkening the earth where it lay.

  The other wolves, which had been creeping closer in the gloom, froze. As soon as they witnessed their companion fall so swiftly and brutally, their primal instincts took over.

  "Who's next?" Aria said dryly, leaving even Esmeria at a loss for how to respond.

  Not even she could wield her powers with such precision!

  A couple of trembling gasps shattered the silence before the remaining wolves turned tail and fled, disappearing into the trees.

  Aria remained motionless for a few seconds, as if expecting them to return. But when it became clear that another attack was unlikely, she relaxed her fingers and stated in her characteristically unflappable tone:

  "Locate their position."

  Still amazed by how effortlessly the girl had handled the situation, Esmeria closed her eyes for a moment and extended her perception through the shadows. All she could sense, however, was the echo of the creatures retreating hurriedly.

  "I can’t… they’ve fled pretty far," Esmeria said, a note of incredulity in her tone.

  "Then, can we call the exercise over?" Aria asked without a trace of emotion.

  Esmeria let out a soft laugh.

  "Yes, yes, that seems about right."

  Once again, Aria had shown not the slightest hint of fear or doubt during the encounter, but…

  Can one even call that a fight?

  I could take that wolf down in an instant!

  A part of Esmeria’s mind reckoned that what happened in the shop had been pure luck—after all, she had underestimated the cunning of those humans. They were monsters.

  Real monsters!

  And yet, Aria had confronted the wolves with the same nonchalance as if she were simply reading a book in her room.

  'Is it because of us?'—Esmeria hastily concluded, wondering if the proximity of beings like herself or Elizabeth had influenced Aria’s perception of danger. For ordinary humans, encountering a vampire with an exposed aura is typically a stifling experience, but for the Night Spectres, the effect is even more pronounced.

  Perhaps spending so much time with them had yielded this outcome.

  Esmeria smiled from within her shadow, pleased.

  'Without a doubt… Miss Aria will be a great fighter in the future.'

  For her part, Aria simply turned on her heel and began walking back to the carriage, her mind already drifting to thoughts of the meal that awaited her.