The wind whipped harshly against Kaelith's face; his cold eyes swept over the man riding the carriage. His lips pulled up into a smirk at the dread written all over the man's face.
"How is this possible?" the man muttered in horror as he stared at the toddler behind him. The carriage had been wrecked as if it was crushed by a giant.
The flap of the carriage danced to the music of the wind, revealing the dead comrades inside. The man's eyes widened. He quickly pulled the reins; the horse stopped with a loud neigh, their hooves stomping against the damp soil.
"Oooo!"
The carriage shook. Kaelith swayed, as his little body could not handle it. He lost his footing, falling off the carriage. His eyes widened. He muttered to the ring, but nothing happened. 'This is unbelievable… a great demon like me falling off a carriage.'
He braced himself for the impact; however, the feeling of crashing into the ground never came. A white rippling energy formed under him like a cushion. When he turned to his side, the air ripped apart as if it was sliced open by a sword.
A golden energy swirled in circles with a humming sound. A female foot stepped out first from the portal, her long navy-blue gown covering her legs, before her whole body came out.
Agnes' irises turned golden. With a flick of her finger, the white energy floating under Kaelith began to move back towards her, carrying Kaelith along.
'Here she is, finally,' Kaelith sighed.
Agnes carried him when he got close to her. Her brows deepened, her hand searching around his body. "How are you? Were you hurt? You must have been scared," her voice cracked as she pulled him close into a hug.
"I'm fine." His voice was cute, but it held the coldness that could cut through steel.
Agnes' eyes lingered on his face. She knew he had always been cold and didn't like to be touched. "Mama is just worried."
Meanwhile, the carriage had already come to a stop, the man driving hid behind the wheel of the carriage.
"A toddler just had two grown men killed. This is no child… this is a monster in baby form." The man trembled, peeking from behind the open space at Agnes and the baby.
Agnes glanced at the wrecked carriage, and she didn't need to be told that this was Kaelith's handiwork.
"I can see that you can handle yourself just fine." Her voice dripped with anger.
Kaelith stared at his mother, his head tilting to the side. "You look angry, did I do something wrong?" He blinked innocently at her.
"We'll talk about this when we get home." She turned around, heading back to the twirling portal.
"But Mama, one man is still alive." His voice turned cold—too cold to belong to a baby. Agnes felt shivers running down her spine.
She swallowed. "Don't worry about him." With that, she entered the portal, carrying Kaelith in her arms.
As soon as the portal disappeared, the man sighed in relief. He wiped away the sweat he hadn't realized was forming on his skin.
"I need to tell the master that the child is a demon." He stood, walking hurriedly toward one of the horses. He began to loosen the rope that was binding it to the carriage.
He held its reins tightly, pushing himself up on the horse, but he stopped midway. Something whooshed through the air.
He looked around frantically, but he could not see anyone. He turned, climbing onto the horse. As he pulled the reins, a silvery iron sparked in the night air, slitting his throat. Blood sprayed like a water pump, painting the dark air red.
The man's eyes widened, but before his face could form any expression, he dropped dead on top of the horse. The horse neighed, blurring through the woods.
In the woods, a black figure clung to the trees like an ape. The silvery steel returned back to them, and before the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into the cover of the trees and the dark sky.
…
In Agnes' room, Plum paced around the room, her brows knitted in worry. The maids that had been with Kaelith knelt in the middle of the room, cold sweat dripping from their faces that looked so pale as if they were staring at death's face.
Plum muttered curses under her breath. If this was one year ago, she wouldn't have cared about Kaelith—she would have even loved to end him.
But now everything was different. She had watched him grow, fed him, and read books to him. She had even protected him from the countless assassinations, but right now she felt useless, like she had failed him.
"My lady, where are you?" she muttered, her fingers drumming against her thigh.
"Plum… Please, we… We didn't know when the young prince had disappeared. I swear we were watching him. One moment he was in front of us and the next he had disappeared. I swear!" one of the maids cried out, her little frame trembling.
Plum glared at her. "Your bodies would have been under the ground by now if not because of the Empress' grace. You all knew why you were tasked to watch over him. But you allowed someone to kidnap him right under your noses." Plum's voice dripped with venom. "Pray nothing happens to him. If anything happens to one single hair on his head, you will be paying with your heads." She drawled, her voice was eerily low.
The maids trembled more under her burning gaze.
A humming sound filled the room before a golden portal appeared in front of them. The mere force from the portal made their hair flutter around.
Agnes, with Kaelith in her arms, stepped out of the portal. Her eyes were cold and calm.
The portal disappeared right behind them. Agnes' gaze swept sternly over the maids' trembling frames. Their heads bowed to the ground.
"Your Grace, please have mercy upon us. We will never make this mistake again. I promise… I'm the only child of my parents, and they depend on me for their support," the maid cried, sweat dripping profusely from her face.
Agnes turned around, walking toward her dark brown chair. She sat on it gracefully, facing them.
"You both disappointed me greatly," Agnes began. "My son would have been dead if I was a second late, and that is all because of your lack of responsibility."
Kaelith stared at his mother as if she had just said what she wasn't supposed to say. 'I'm not that fragile.'
"And you all know the rules. And it must be followed and obeyed." Her voice dropped cold.