Bang!
Zani found herself on the ground, inside a dark room.
A few distances away was a burning fire, used to light up the cave.
Seated close to the fire were two individuals; judging from how they were dressed, one could label them criminals without having to feel guilty about it.
One of them had a blade strapped to his back, and the other was sharpening his dagger.
One thing they had in common was the masks they had on.
Zani couldn't fully remember how she ended up in such a strange place.
All she knew was—she was just coming out of the bathroom when she suddenly ran into these two men.
At the time, they were dressed as workers in the castle.
It wasn't until one of them wrapped a cloth around her mouth that she realized they were criminals in disguise.
Everything else was a complete blur.
Now that she had regained consciousness, she could clearly see their faces.
The man with the sword on his back now said,
"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this? I mean, she's still a little kid."
The second one stopped sharpening his dagger and turned to look at Zani for a while.
"It's for the princess; besides, since she is so young, she'll fetch a better price."
"That's all good and all, but she is the prince's servant. If we get caught, we are so done for."
The second sighed, standing to his feet.
"Which is why we are selling her off with our identities hidden."
He then walked toward Zani, picking her up by the hair with a smile on his face.
It was clear she was in pain, as seen on her face.
But in that moment, she was so weak that she didn't bother to fight back.
"You're quite pretty; the prince really did choose well."
At the mention of his name, Zani's eyes widened, thoughts flooding into her head.
'What if His Highness comes to look for me?'
'Am I going to get in trouble?'
'I don't want the young master to worry.'
She was well aware of the kind of person Sylus was.
Knowing him, she figured he was probably trying to look for her.
Before she could say anything, the second threw her back to the ground.
"Too bad the princess doesn't fancy you. Whatever she doesn't like, we will dispose of."
He then made his way to his colleague.
"They should be here any moment now, so let's discuss the price a bit."
It was almost impossible for criminals to enter the castle, let alone speak with the princess.
Martin always made sure his children's movements were monitored at all times.
If the princess truly was behind Zani's abduction, then she had to have done it some other way.
No one would be surprised if she used her star blessing for it.
Zani once again scanned the room, checking if there was any way she could escape.
Unfortunately, the whole place was sealed off.
It didn't take long for her to give up.
She had been in a similar situation before, with her mother.
Bad, powerful people will always trample on the weak; it's just how the world works.
Zani was aware of this. There was no point fighting back; she couldn't.
Her eyes began to water, trying to hold back her tears.
When, from nowhere, she heard a voice echo inside her head.
It felt like a dream.
That voice belonged to Sylus for sure; there was no mistaking it.
Zani quickly sat upright, both hands on the ground, as her face was now etched with newfound hope.
Hearing his voice again, Zani couldn't help but cry.
If she were to try and say anything, she was sure she would bawl her eyes out.
As such, she took a minute to collect herself.
Zani paused and looked toward the two men.
There was silence for a while.
Zani listened.
Without wasting a single second, her eyes darted toward the entrance of the cave.
Sylus continued,
Look around. Do you see any item that may look out of place? Something that could link to a key?>
Zani looked around once again, and this time, she found what she was looking for twice as fast.
On the floor, beside the second criminal, was a flat, blue, glowing rock.
Zani gulped down her saliva.
She was never the violent kind, but even she knew when and where she needed to be violent.
Soon after, Zani was standing on her knees, picking up a rock that was present beside her at the time.
It was big, and surprisingly, Zani was carrying it with ease, using both her hands.
The two criminals were still speaking amongst themselves, so they didn't know the little girl they had kidnapped was right behind them.
Right after Zani raised the stone to slam it against the second man's head, the man with the sword noticed it and immediately shouted,
"Watch out!!!"
But by then, it was already too late.
Slamming the rock on the second's head, something inhuman happened.
His head imploded from the force and then turned the rest of his body into smushed meat on the ground.
The impact was so heavy, the ground cracked, and the stone broke into smaller pieces.
That was not the strength of a five-year-old.