"Why were you staring at me?"

Hearing that childish voice accusing him, Damien raised his sleek eyebrows and tilted his head.

"And what proof do you have of that accusation?" He retorted with a sneer.

'Stupid short height!' Yvonne cursed her short stature as right now she was standing before this arrogant boy with her neck tilted upward to look at him.

Earlier, when their group had reached them, she had noticed Damien who continued to stare at her as though he was searching for something.

Therefore, to figure out what exactly was on his mind, she had gestured to the balcony and had begun walking in its direction when everybody else's attention had been diverted.

She did not have to wait for long as soon after she had entered the balcony, she found this boy following after her.

Now, as she stood before him, their vast height difference was an obvious disadvantage to her.

While her sixth birthday would be here in no time, she had not yet made any substantial growth in the height department which was being rubbed in her face right at this moment.

Damien did not know what was on her mind but after taking a look at her sullen face, he was sure that whatever it was, she wasn't too happy about it.

Once Yvonne was done sulking about her short stature, she glared at the boy who had dared to ask her for proof of his stalker-like behavior.

"I could feel your eyes boring holes on my back while I was conversing with those ladies!" She declared the proof that she had of his antics.

However, Damien did not refute her words, instead, he rubbed his chin and appeared to be in deep contemplation about something.

Yvonne waited to see what he was up to and rolled her eyes when he was taking too long to come up with a valid explanation for his behavior today.

Ever since she had first met him in 'Willows', the pie shop where he had scammed her out of money in exchange for a slice of that mouth-watering pie, she had held a grudge against him.

This was also the reason why she could never speak to him eye-to-eye and also why she never addressed him as 'Master Damien' like she did for Topher and also for Taylor before he became her new brother.

'With that arrogant behavior, he cannot expect me to be courteous to him in any way.' She scoffed at the boy who was still silent.

However, she was right as Damien had never once expected her to be courteous towards him.

After all, he too disliked this little girl who managed to get on his nerves every time he interacted with her.

Finally finding the words that he was looking for, Damien gazed into those amethyst eyes and tilted his head.

"So you sensing my gaze is proof that I was staring at you?" He inquired which made Yvonne's jaw drop.

'It took him so long to ask this silly question?' She sneered at him before nodding her head in acceptance of his words.

"What else would I need as proof?" She retorted and saw him nodding as well.

"So you wouldn't refute my claim when I say that I sensed bloodthirst coming from you earlier, now would you?" He added as his lips curved into a mocking smile.

These words caused Yvonne to pause and ponder about what he was talking about.

Damien, having sensed her confusion, decided to help her out further to conclude this conversation before those two bull-headed boys came barging in to snatch her away.

"When we were discussing your rumors, I vividly recall a fierce aura of bloodthirst originating from your position but it was gone before anyone else could sense it." He revealed to aid her in figuring out which instance he was speaking about.

This brought a look of realization on the little girl's face which he had grasped at a glance.

Yvonne clenched her jaw for this boy had caught the changes in her aura which had lasted just for a second.

It was true that for a moment, she was indeed displeased that her efforts for so many months to stay away from the public's eye were destroyed due to someone's loudmouth.

All she wished to do was find out who was so idle to spread false information about her and bring her into the limelight.

'I managed to stay out of the King's sight but this person had thwarted my plans with such ease!' She exclaimed, still under the impression that the King was oblivious about her interference in the new policies.

However, she controlled her anger before it could rise again, especially when that sharp boy was right here.

Yvonne looked up with a frown and tilted her head in confusion.

"Bloodthirst? What might that mean?" She muttered with an innocent look on her face, pretending that she had no idea about the meaning of that word.

She could not reveal that she did have thoughts of finding the culprit and teaching them a proper lesson for messing with her plans.

Therefore, she played the 'innocent child' card which she could abuse due to her appearance and age.

Since she was now in the body of a child, it would not be strange for her to behave in this way as it was common for children to not know the meaning of every word.

Sadly, she had forgotten that she was known as the smartest child in all Amarthea and not to mention that the person standing before her was not a fool.

"Drop the act." Damien scoffed after taking a glance at how she was batting her lashes to appear cute before him.

'That trick did not work in Willows and it won't work now.' He blinked his eyes without uttering another word.

Noticing his stubborn behavior, Yvonne let out a groan as this was the only person who always seemed to look through her act no matter how good she was.

This made her stop pretending as she regained her straight face and did as he had told, dropped the act, and got straight to the point.

"Would you like it if someone said that you were sick enough that you are about to die?" She tilted her head and interrogated with a scoff.

However, contrary to the scowl that she was expecting, Yvonne found the boy's lips contort into a bitter smile which flashed for a second before it was gone.

'I did not hallucinate for sure.' She was confident that he did seem sad for a moment there but that was gone now.

Their eyes met as Damien folded his arms across his chest and sighed.

"What do you plan to do about it now?" He inquired, sure that she had something in mind to deal with this issue.

'That kind of bloodthirst does not just appear without a conviction of what to do next.' He surmised as she must have concocted a plan which was why she had such a stern look on her face back then.

His speculations were right as Yvonne did come up with a plan when her mother had revealed that they were using this banquet to curb any further rumors.

Since they had handled that aspect for her, she was free to deal with the culprit who was at the epicenter of the rumor.

"You do not have to bother about that." She replied with a roll of her eyes.

Damien had already guessed that she would not share her thoughts with him but he had to try thanks to his curiosity about her way of dealing with things.

Ever since the first time he had met her, he knew that there was something different about her.

The Yvonne that others were familiar with was not the same person standing before him.

'This side of her… Only comes out when she is speaking to me.' He sneered as he had seen her true self which was nothing like the angelic child she often pretended to be.

"If that is all then I will be leaving." Yvonne declared for staying here any longer might alert her brother of her disappearance.

Damien turned around and watched as the little girl began stepping towards the door of the balcony to enter the hall once again.

Watching her walking away from him brought a strange sensation, making him clench his fists.

"Don't…" He called out to her before he knew it.

Frowning at what he had just blurted out, he had to come up with a proper explanation for stopping her.

Yvonne glared at the boy who had halted her steps and raised her brows in question.

"Don't do anything stupid." Damien completed his sentence to the best of his abilities and watched how she rolled her eyes at him following which she disappeared from his sight.

Once he was left alone on the balcony, turned around and leaned his back on the pillar next to the door that was now shut.

'Don't do anything stupid?' He scowled at what he had said and ran his fingers through those brown strands of his.

While he was beating himself up for the lame advice that he had given to him, he realized something that had not struck his mind for a long time now.

'She stopped avoiding my gaze…' He recalled how she would treat him, not sparing a single glance towards him but that seemed to have changed in recent times.

'Whatever.' He shrugged though a pleasant smile had formed on his lips as he prepared to return to his friend's side.