Chapter 3
Beside the door stood a youth, his age scarcely reaching eighteen winters. His form was lean, almost ethereal, yet his visage spoke of a striking handsomeness, marked by eyes as blue as the clearest skies. A chill emanated from his very being, etching a portrait of aloofness. Clad in a loose ivory shirt and ebony trousers, his presence bore an air of understated elegance.
And there he was—the scion of the Tiyan family, the young master known as Darren Tiyan.
His frigid gaze settled upon the crimson tableau, the life essence splattered like a macabre masterpiece. His thoughts, a locked vault unknown to any. Such a sight would induce shock and terror in most souls, a scene that conjured the visceral horror of a life violently extinguished.
Yet, the young master remained untouched by emotion. His countenance was a placid mask, his eyes, pools of tranquil ice. At last, his gaze found Sia, who returned his stare with an aura of reverence.
Within Hamilton, a tempest raged—a desperate plea for his young master to flee, to escape the clutches of impending doom. Unseen by him, Sia's admiration bloomed like an unspoken symphony. Hamilton's eyes shifted, landing upon the young master, only to find the youth's gaze ensnaring his own. With a deliberate step, the young master commenced his approach.
Hamilton trembled with fear, his heart a frantic drumbeat in the presence of impending tragedy. The specter of his young master's demise loomed large, an unbearable thought.
Yet, in the enigmatic silence, Sia remained still, an enigma that Hamilton struggled to decipher. Was she biding her time, he wondered.
As Darren drew near, a shiver coursed through Hamilton's frame. His young master's hand, pale and cold, reached out and made contact with his face. It was an icy touch, but strangely soothing, a reminder of the young master's innate kindness.
Desperation swelled within Hamilton. He longed to convey the imminent danger lurking in the room, to protect his cherished young master. But his limbs were paralyzed, his voice silenced. He grappled with his own powerlessness, a silent plea resonating within him. The specter of witnessing his young master's death weighed heavily on his soul, a fate he must strive with all his being to prevent.
Left with no words, Hamilton resorted to the silent language of his eyes. His gaze pointed firmly at Sia, conveying a desperate plea. The young master, ever perceptive, grasped the unspoken message. In response, a fleeting yet exquisite smile graced his countenance, as ephemeral as a cherry blossom in full bloom.
That delicate smile carried a message of assurance, a calming touch that began to assuage Hamilton's fear.
But as swiftly as the smile had materialized, it dissolved, leaving only the young master's unyielding gaze in its wake. He directed that chilling intensity at Sia and posed a question that hung like a blade in the air, "Do you possess the antidote?" His words, steeped in frost, awaited a response that could tip the scales between life and death.
In response to his query, Sia's answer came in the form of a subtle nod. With a fluid motion, she retrieved a small syringe from the pocket of her suit and tossed it gracefully to Darren.
Hamilton's astonishment swirled within him like a tempest. "She... she listened to him? What in the world is happening here?" he mused, his thoughts a whirlwind of perplexity. Wasn't she the assassin, dispatched to end his young master's life? The enigma deepened, leaving him to ponder, "Who is she, truly?"
As Hamilton grappled with his bewildered thoughts, Darren approached him, syringe in hand. With a precise injection, the antidote coursed through Hamilton's veins. Paralysis receded, and the connection with his own body was slowly restored. Relief washed over him, a balm to soothe the tempest within his soul.
As Hamilton's condition improved, a fleeting smile graced Darren's visage, akin to a brief moment of respite in a storm. Yet, like the delicate petals of a sakura tree, that smile swiftly faded. Once more, his unwavering gaze fixated upon Sia, his already frigid eyes plunging into an even colder abyss.
"Why are you here?" The words fell from his lips, but in their cadence, lay the weight of command—a demand for answers that brooked no evasion. Darren's demeanor had shifted drastically from his usual affable self. In this moment, he wielded authority like a blade, a stark contrast to the kindness and warmth he customarily extended to Hamilton and those in his inner circle.
For Hamilton, this transformation in his young master was unprecedented, a revelation of a facet he had never before witnessed. It was a stark departure from the easygoing persona Darren had always embodied, particularly when interacting with his family. In the presence of his parents or his sister, he had been the quintessential elder of the household, a paragon of congeniality. This newfound expression and tone of voice painted a portrait of a young master uncharted and enigmatic.
For a fleeting minute, Sia's silence hung in the air like the pregnant pause before a storm, her contemplation veiled in uncertainty. Then, with an unexpected grace, she sank to her knees before Darren, a gesture that left Hamilton utterly astounded.
The tumultuous whirlwind of thoughts within Hamilton's mind swirled with even greater intensity. "What in the world is truly happening here?" he wondered, each passing second adding a layer of confusion to the enigma shrouding this peculiar scene.
"To protect you, master," Sia's voice finally broke the silence. It was a voice that carried a paradoxical quality—it held a softness that seemed incongruous with the chilling sensation it sent down one's spine. She bowed low, her words infused with the utmost reverence for his young master.
Hamilton's own incredulity deepened. "Wait, did she just refer to the young master as 'master'?" The implications of this revelation, this unfamiliar address, only compounded the intrigue of the situation.
"I'm not your master." Darren's words cut through the air, his voice carrying a weight of authority that brooked no dissent. Around him, a palpable aura of darkness seemed to coalesce, an unyielding force that bespoke a formidable presence.