Nara's eyes glinted and she was about to pull another rope which was hidden under the cloth bags but she heard a smack.
She looked up to see a petite back covering her. The girl tumbled to the side due to the force of the slap. When the teen faced her, she realized it was Ysa who received the slap from Sylvia. She had a pained expression on and the side of her face is starting to swell.
Sylvia noticed that her attack was thwarted but she didn't care as she raised her hand and balled it into a fist before swinging down once again.
Nara didn't notice it as she was staring at the little girl who received the slap for her. Ysa looked up to see Sylvia starting her assault again and she instantly paled, ignoring the fact that a pair of big, doe eyes was watching her with curiosity.
"Stop it!" the girl screamed as she dashed towards the baby. Nara was surprised to feel a hand pulling her away from the cloth bags, at the same time making her evade the deadly punch of the crazy servant.
She was suddenly wrapped in warmth as she felt her world spin. When she realized what was happening, she could hear multiple thuds, as if something hard-hitting the flesh. Her wide eyes looked up to see Ysa's face wrenched in pain, but she didn't let out a sound as she kept her arms firmly wrapped around her without hurting her.
Then her brain registered the angry shouts of Sylvia, which some of it she couldn't understand due to the limited vocabulary that she has, but Nara knows that Sylvia is seething in hatred.
She was a little panicked about Sylvia's attack but she already had a plan ready for it, but Ysa's intervention rendered her plans useless. There was another trap hidden underneath the bundle of rags, but now she couldn't reach it.
Nara became distressed as she squirmed in the teenager's hold, but Ysa only tightened her grip in return. Ysa's eyes opened to look at her and smiled. She tried not to flinch as the kicks kept raining down on her to appear more convincing but failed. Well, Ysa didn't think that a baby will notice it so she just gave her a forced smile to reassure her.
Of course, Nara isn't convinced, but her body was too weak to struggle. She wanted to break free to at least set her plan in motion and at the same time help Ysa, but she wouldn't let her go.
This made Nara frustrated as her tears were almost about to fall and her lips started quivering. She felt like an idiot thinking that she can outwit an adult who is much stronger and faster than the current her, with a body of an infant who still can't talk.
She felt weak as she watched this thin, barely teen girl get beaten up because she thought that things were going to go smoothly according to her plans and didn't think everything through.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and a flurry of footsteps came inside. As Ysa was keeping her head down for protection, Nara didn't get to see the people who entered. All she heard was more unintelligible shouting. She caught some words like "stop it" and "calm down" as well as Sylvia's angry shrieks as she was taken away.
While Sylvia was being apprehended, Ysa immediately scampered to her feet and shuffled away. Her grip around Nara's body was tight and her body was stiff as if she was scared that Sylvia will somehow break free and attack them again.
"Chief Maid Sylvia! What in heaven's name are you doing?!" A loud voice boomed behind them. The room fell silent as heavy footsteps echoed in the room.
A young man was walking in their direction. His strides have a sense of urgency but he was quick and firm. His dark hair that reached his shoulders was tied in a ponytail with a few stray strands falling to the side of his face. The usual frosty expression on his face was tinged with anger and worry.
He was wearing an intricate black uniform, but it was full of wrinkles as if the young man was in a hurry. It was clear that he rushed to get here with the way that he looked.
Upon seeing the young man's arrival, Ysa's embrace softened and a sigh escaped her lips. "First Young Master!"
'Safe at last.' Ysa thought as she recalled the heavy-looking fist Sylvia was about to throw at the Little Miss earlier and her heart dropped again. Luckily she survived this ordeal with only a few bruises.
She took a look at the baby in her arms to check if she was okay and was flustered upon seeing that fat tears were now rolling down the little bun's cheeks. Her initially rosy cheeks were now pale and her lips we trembling with her mouth open in a soundless wail. She looked down and noticed the baby's tight grip on her clothes.
It was when the young man shouted that the little bun seemed to have found her voice and she let out a tragic cry.
Everyone was startled at the sound and the young man instantly sped up and was immediately at Ysa's side.
"Let me." The young man said sternly, his cold eyes falling on the girl. Ysa froze on her spot before she stiffly passed the wailing baby to him.
The ice in his eyes immediately thawed, replaced with warm affection as he hugged the soft bundle close to his chest and patted her back. Everyone held their breaths as they watched the usually cold young man whisper in a soft voice as he rocked his arms to placate the little one.
Only after seeing the baby's tears dry and her wails turn into hiccups did the young man turned to face Sylvia who had stopped struggling. His face which is as cold as the harsh winter made her stop in fear. Her head was down and if you look closely, you can see that her body is slightly trembling.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Chief Maid?" the young man's eyes were on fire, but his voice was low and cold. Everyone froze at his question even though they know that it was directed at Sylvia.
The perpetrator, Sylvia, began to visibly shake as she avoided the young man's gaze.
"F-First Young Master Shen, i-it-it is all a misunderstanding--"
"Are you saying that I misunderstood the way you look like you were eager to kill my sister?" Luca's question made Sylvia look up with an indignant expression. But when she met Luca's eyes, her heart dropped before she shrunk into herself.
"I-I was not trying to harm the young miss! It-it was because the young miss seemed to be possessed by a demon and I was trying to save her."
Luca frowned and the servants felt the temperature drop. Many weaker ones started to tremble and shrunk their necks.
"Are you implying that my sister is a demon?" Luca asked.
Sylvia perked at the question. She thought that maybe she can convince Luca so she nodded without realizing that his frown grew deeper at her response. "Yes! She is definitely one! First Young Master Shen, you should know that I've been taking care of the young miss for a few months now and I have been noticing a lot of peculiarities from her for long. I only haven't told you anything as I am afraid that no one will believe me."
Luca watched as Sylvia babbled and bad-mouthed his sister, his eyes narrowed.
It seemed to him that this chief maid of theirs is starting to be unruly after a few years of being treated well in their family. He could remember that while she was taking care of them when he and his brothers are younger, she would ignore them to do as she wishes, only going back when one of them started to fuss.
He had almost forgotten it as it happened a few years back and Luca didn't hold that much of a grudge since he adopted an independent attitude when he was little. He would be the one to look after his younger brothers, making him more mature than his age.
At first, he was a little grateful for Sylvia for allowing him and his brothers to become independent at such a young age. Even though the reason was Sylvia ditching her work for leisure, Luca found no problems with it when he was the recipient of such actions.
He just didn't think that the same will happen to his younger sister. What's more, she's only less than a year old!
Seeing how hard his baby sister cried in his arms, how tight her little hands grasped his shirt, and how her little body trembled as she hiccuped against his shoulder, a fire burned inside Luca and his glare sharpened.
Sylvia didn't seem to notice this as she was absorbed in her own story of how Nara plotted to kill her when she was alone in this storage room and how she only acted to protect herself.
Meanwhile, everyone in the room, including the guard who rushed and led their young master in, looked at Sylvia in astonishment.
What is she saying? A little baby girl attempting to kill her so that no one will know of her deeds? What can a baby know? The other servants didn't know what to say as they watch their chief maid spout nonsense after nonsense.
The people who were restraining Sylvia badly wanted to gag her, but seeing their young master listening to Sylvia with an increasingly dark face, they kept silent.
Nara watched as her brother seethed in anger. She can barely understand what Sylvia was saying with how fast she's speaking, but she's sure that Sylvia was telling Luca that she was possessed or something.
She can't be blamed for thinking so. It was the fault of those in charge in the underworld that they forgot to let her drink that memory erasing soup. Now someone was freaked out from her 'non-baby' antics.
'But this woman had such disgusting thoughts. I couldn't control my face when I heard that stupid plan of hers.' Nara sneered in her head.
Still, Nara felt a little guilty about the chaos that she started. She's a baby right now. She shouldn't have done things that would raise suspicions.
What if her family abandoned her if they suspected her and believed that shrew Sylvia? What if acting this way would make them misunderstand and abandon her. Or worse, kill her?
Nara didn't want that. She might have known a little about her family, but she still didn't know the rules of this world. Maybe a raging baby will be beheaded for being unruly.
Nara shivered at the thought and Luca noticed this. Mistaking it as her sister still feeling frightened, Luca shifted his hold to gently pat her back.
Upon seeing how worried and mad her brother was, she wanted to calm him down. It was her fault in the first place. She sniffed and reached out to touch his cheek.
Luca was startled at the cold sensation suddenly falling to his cheek and looked down to see Nara's big reddened eyes watching him. She was sniffing now and then as she patted his cheek again.
Luca's heart melted at the innocent look on her face. Most people would be apprehensive towards him because of his cold nature. Even the twins would hide if he gets angry, but seeing Nara's small face looking up to him at this moment, his raging heart suddenly felt at peace.
Luca reached out to her hand and gave it a little peck before lightly pinching and poking her chubby cheeks. He's having an urge to take a bite at her cheeks seeing how plump it looked.
Sylvia noticed that Luca wasn't paying attention to her story and she stammered. Her eyes rested on the little demon in his arms and she inwardly seethed.
"First Young Master, please don't be seduced by that demon! You'll fall in her traps and sooner or later you may find your whole family dead!" Sylvia shouted.
Hearing her words, Luca's eyes snapped to hers with raging fury. "Are you cursing my whole family? How dare you!"
It was only now that Sylvia realized that her words are inappropriate and she paled in fear. "N-No, First Young Master. That isn't what I--"
"First, you cursed that my sister is a demon, now you're wishing for my whole family to die? How nice of you, Chief Maid Sylvia. I appreciate your service to our Shen family, but what did we do to deserve those words? We pay you, we give you status, we protect you and this is how you repay us? By cursing my family?" Luca sneered.
"But I'm telling the truth! That little imp is definitely possessed by a demon and she's fooling us all!" Sylvia retorted.
She felt that everything is going downhill and it all started when Nara was born. Sylvia is certain that Nara is a jinx sent to ruining everyone's lives starting with hers.
There was a crazy glint in Sylvia's eyes as she glared at the bundle buried on Luca's chest. "If she's not a demon, then how does she keeps hiding from us servants? How did she get up to that beam? I don't think that a child not even one year old is this capable!"