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A few years ago,
At a large mansion stood quietly behind tall wooden walls.
Its architecture was different from most buildings on the island.
Curved rooftops extended over polished wooden halls, lanterns hung beneath the eaves, and a carefully maintained garden surrounded a pond filled with koi.
Everything about the estate spoke of wealth, but there was also a certain quietness to the place.
It was the kind of silence that came from a household where everyone understood that its name carried weight.
In one of the mansion's courtyards, a young girl stood barefoot on the polished wooden floor.
It was Aria… but younger.
Her long blue hair was tied neatly in a ponytail behind her back, and she wore a simple Japanese-style training robe with wide sleeves and a dark sash around her waist.
Both hands were wrapped around a wooden sword as she faced an elderly man dressed in dark traditional robes.
The old man stood with his hands behind his back, his expression stern.
