"Uh-oh," Liana whispered with dread, her fingers gripping Bertha's dress as she moved to hide behind her, trying to press herself between the older woman and the wooden spice table. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her eyes widened with fear.
Bertha looked down at her in confusion. "What is it?" she asked, startled by Liana's sudden withdrawal and anxious tone. "Why are you hiding?"
"Miss Agatha is in the market," Liana said, her eyes darting across the crowd. "She's coming this way. I think she saw me."
Bertha's head turned sharply, her eyes scanning the faces in the growing crowd with suspicion and concern. It didn't take long for her to spot the woman in question. Agatha was approaching from the east side of the market, striding with authority, her expression fixed in a tight, sour frown. Her skirts swayed stiffly with each step, and at her side walked Rosie, a younger maid of lower rank.
Bertha's eyes narrowed, already bracing for a confrontation.
But she was not the only one who turned to find the source of the fear. From across the market, another pair of eyes searched for the person bold enough to strike fear into the heart of the girl who had caught his interest.
Prince Sion's eyes found Agatha immediately. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew Liana's fear was not exaggerated. The energy that clung to the woman was stifling and highly negative.
"I knew I wasn't hallucinating when I saw that little brat," Agatha sneered the moment she reached the spice stall. Her sharp eyes locked onto Liana, who had pressed herself deeper behind Bertha. "My eyes weren't deceiving me at all. How did you manage to leave the mansion? And what are you doing in the market of all places?"
"Mind the business that brought you to the market, Agatha," Bertha replied, her voice calm but with a steel edge behind her words.
Mock surprise spread across Agatha's face. "What? Wait, now you suddenly know what it means to mind one's business?" she said, twisting her lips into a dramatic pout. "You surely were ignorant of that concept this morning when you were all over my business. Now I'm returning the favor and you suddenly gain insight? Wow, Bertha, what a hypocrite you are."
"I did not interfere in your business," Bertha said steadily. "I only gave you a little piece of advice to stop bullying your employer's daughter, that's all."
"An advice?" Agatha repeated mockingly, throwing her head back. "Oh, I almost forgot. Well, I hope Mr. Rancher is aware of this little outing, because if he's not, then here's my own little advice for you, Bertha. Start preparing your mind because you're soon going to be unemployed."
That was all it took for Liana's heart to drop.
A soft sob escaped her lips and her tiny figure stepped from behind Bertha, trembling and wide-eyed. Her face crumpled with worry as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Please, Miss Agatha, don't tell Father," she cried, stepping closer. "It's not Bertha's fault. It's mine. It was me who begged her to take me along with her to the market."
"Shut that spoiled little mouth of yours before I shut it for you," Agatha snapped, her voice sharp and full of venom.
"I'm begging you," Liana said again, her hands clenched together. "Don't tell Father. Please."
Agatha clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I think it's time you get a suitable caregiver who will put you on the right path," she said coldly. Then, her gaze turned back to Bertha, and her lips twisted again. "As for the almighty Bertha who thinks she's better than everybody… all I can say is bye-bye."
She turned to Rosie and gave her a nod. "Let's go."
Fear and desperation clawed at Liana's heart, and before she could second guess herself, her body moved on its own. She rushed forward, grabbed Agatha's hand, and dropped to her knees in the middle of the market square.
"Please, Miss Agatha," she begged through her sobs. "I'll do anything you want. Just please don't get Bertha fired. I beg of you."
Agatha whipped around with an angry glare. "Let go of me, little brat," she said, yanking her hand free and pushing Liana backward with one firm shove.
Liana stumbled, her small body falling back, but Bertha caught her just in time, wrapping her arms around the girl to prevent her from hitting the ground.
"Don't you dare push her like that," Bertha said sharply, her tone rising for the first time.
Agatha scoffed. "What will you do, huh? You're in trouble already, so you better watch your every step."
With that final jab, Agatha turned and resumed walking toward the market exit, Rosie hurrying after her.
From his spot in the shadows, Sion felt something inside him snap.
He had watched the entire scene unfold with growing rage, but it was the moment Agatha pushed Liana that sealed her fate. His fists clenched at his sides, and he felt the grinding of his teeth, his jaw taut with suppressed fury.
"That is exactly why I hate some humans," Sion muttered under his breath, his eyes never leaving Agatha's retreating form. "So vile, making a child cry and beg without showing even an ounce of mercy."
Before Bernard could react, Sion turned sharply and began walking with purpose.
"Where are you going, my prince?" Bernard asked, his voice tense.
"I'm going after that witch," Sion replied, his voice cold and void of hesitation.
"You can't do that," Bernard reminded him with frustration. "We have a mission."
"Wait for me here," Sion said without stopping. "Don't move until I tell you to."
Bernard sighed heavily, watching the prince disappear into the crowd. He turned his head to look back at the girl and the woman who had caused all this, but to his surprise, they were no longer at the spice stall.
Sion made his way back to the car, threw open the door, and pulled out the black balaclava. He slid it over his head, the fabric masking his face completely. He also grabbed a different jacket—thicker and darker than the one he had been wearing—and threw it on. Once ready, he followed Agatha's path again, his eyes zeroing in on her and Rosie just as they were approaching a parked taxi.
In a blur of supernatural speed, he raced across the distance, swept both women into his arms before they even realized what had happened, and vanished from the street. The taxi driver, who had just opened the door for them, blinked, and they were gone, as though they had never been there at all.
The wind howled across the midpoint of the mountain where Sion had originally planned to watch as the market burned down. He arrived in a flash of movement, setting both women down roughly on the rocky ground. Agatha screamed, and Rosie let out a trembling gasp as they scrambled to their feet.
Sion turned to Agatha first. "Stay. Don't move."
The command was quiet but firm, and with a flick of his fingers, an invisible force anchored Agatha to the spot. She froze in place, unable to even twitch.
Then Sion turned to Rosie, who stood trembling like a leaf.
"Your name is Rosie, right?" he asked, his voice eerily calm.
Rosie nodded furiously.
"If you spill a word about seeing that little girl or that woman at the market today to her father or to anyone else," he said, his voice slow and deliberate, "I will find you, cut off your tongue, and feed it to you. Understood?"
Rosie gave another frantic nod, too scared to speak.
"Good. Now scram."
Rosie turned and fled, not looking back even once.
Now Sion turned his full attention to Agatha. Even from a distance, he could feel the fear radiating from her like heat.
"Why are you scared?" he asked, walking slowly toward her. "I thought you had it all figured out."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers again. The force holding her vanished, and Agatha staggered backward, finally able to move.
Her voice shook. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"
"When we meet in the afterlife, I might consider giving you an introduction," Sion said, his eyes beginning to glow deep red. "As for what I want—your life, of course. Dead people don't snitch."
He pulled down the lower part of the balaclava, revealing sharp, elongated fangs and a wide, wicked smile.
Agatha's eyes stretched in disbelief. "Please have mercy—"
She never finished the sentence.
In the blink of an eye, Sion was upon her. He wrapped his hand around her neck and sank his fangs into her flesh, piercing through skin and muscle with ease. Her screams were muffled, her limbs twitching until finally, silence fell.
"Sion?" a voice called from behind him.
He froze. He knew that voice. Only one person would recognize him even if he was completely covered from head to toe.
He pulled back his fangs, and snapped Agatha's neck when he realized she was still barely alive. He let the limp body fall to the ground. Blood dripped down his chin, which he licked clean as he turned to the one who called his name.
"Uncle Zen," Sion said, cracking a smile.
Zen exhaled in resignation. "Come with me."
He held out his hand. Sion took it without hesitation, and the moment their fingers touched, they vanished from the mountaintop.