Mimi had just finished dressing after her bath, her hair loosely tied while the morning light warmed the room. She was fastening the last ribbon on her robe when a soft knock came at the door.
Her maid hurried to open it.
Another maid stood there, hands politely folded.
"Madam Yue requests to see the Princess."
The maid returned to Mimi, saying "Your Highness… Madam Yue is outside. She wishes to see you."
Mimi stilled.
For a second, she was just standing there, not saying anything.
"…Tell her to wait in the sitting room," she finally Said
---
When Mimi entered the sitting room, her steps pause immediately.
Madam Yue stood there,looking nothing like the graceful woman she remembered.
Her eyes were swollen and pale, as though she had spent the whole night awake.
Then Mimi remember how lovely and caring this very woman standing before her was ones to her before. Then the pain that came after.
"What… happened?" Mimi asked quietly. Her voice cracked before she could stop it. She didn't even know how to face this woman anymore, not after everything that have happened.
Madam Yue stepped forward slowly, her voice hoarse.
"Congratulations on your wedding, child."
Mimi blinked. Child. She hadn't called her that in years.
Madam Yue swallowed hard, then bowed her head deeply.
"Please… forgive us. Forgive Yue Rong… for everything she did. Please don't hate her."
Mimi's breath caught.
Madam Yue pressed a folded letter into her hand.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
Mimi opened it.
Only a few words were written, but they cut deep.
Her hand trembled. Seeing what was written on it.
Her eyes stung as a single tear slipped down her cheek.
"I could never hate Yue Rong," she whispered. "How could I? I only wished she would find her way again."
Madam Yue voice was barely a whisper. As she said "She… ran away from home."
"What?" Mimi's tone sharpened with fear.
"Where could she have gone?" She searched Madam Yue's face desperately, but there were no answers there.
"We don't know," Madam Yue said, her voice breaking.
"We searched everywhere. Relatives… friends… places she loved… everywhere. It is as if she vanished into the air."
Mimi reached forward, gently taking Madam Yue's cold hand.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I'll speak to Lianyi. We will look for her. She won't be alone. She won't be abandoned."
Madam Yue finally crumbled, tears spilling silently.
Mimi held her trembling hand a little tighter.
"Whatever happened in the past… belongs to the past, Yue Rong had once been like a sister to me. And if she is willing, she will always be. We will look for her"
____
Back at Lianhua.
Yuyan had not passed a single day without trying to track Tian Yu.
Every day and night she tried.
The more she attempted to cast the tracking spell, the more the barrier repelled her and the more she broke.
She could barely eat nor sleep.
Her once-bright face was pale, her hair tangled from sleepless nights, her robes wrinkled and loose around her thin frame.
As Mei pushed open Yuyan's door , her look froze her.
Yuyan sat on the floor, books and scrolls scattered around her, her hair uncombed, her eyes distant and empty.
Mei almost screamed.
"Yuyan!" she cried, rushing in.
Yuyan didn't move nor blink.
She stared into the air as if her soul had drifted somewhere far away.
Mei's heart cracked. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she knelt in front of her.
"Yuyan… what are you doing to yourself?" she whispered, voice shaking.
She cupped Yuyan's face gently, as if afraid she might break apart.
For a moment Yuyan didn't react, as if she didn't even hear her.
But Mei's sobs pulled her back.
Slowly, Yuyan's empty eyes shifted, meeting Mei's tearful gaze.
Then...
the wall inside her collapsed.
Yuyan covered her face and broke down.
"What have I not done, Mei?" she cried, voice trembling.
"Tian Yu… he has decided to forget about me. I have tried—I have tried everything to track him… to find him…"
Her shoulders shook violently as more tears streamed down.
"I can't reach him. I can't even feel him."
Mei pulled her into a tight embrace, crying with her.
"Please stop crying… he's fine," she whispered. "We will find him one day. I believe it. I truly do."
But her own voice trembled with fear.
After a moment, Mei wiped her tears and asked softly,
"Have you tried tracking him outside Lianhua? Maybe… maybe the barrier is here. Maybe it's stopping you."
Yuyan froze.
Then her eyes widened slightly.
"Mei…" she breathed, standing up quickly. "I have to go." she said as realization and hope, surged through her at once.
Mei stood up too. "I'm coming with you."
"No," Yuyan said sharply. "This journey is too risky. You're human. You can't withstand Ji Woo's tricks."
Her voice softened. "I won't risk your life."
Before Mei could protest...
Yuyan vanished.
____
Meanwhile… inside the Witch Palace
Ji Woo had been watching Tian Yu for months.
Ever since the training… the transformation… she had never taken her eyes off him.
She stood before her large crystal, Fang Leng beside her, both watching Tian Yu swallow the poison that his fake wife had been feeding him.
Fang Leng crossed his arms, irritation sharp in his voice.
"Is he not ready yet?"
Ji Woo didn't answer.
Instead, she whispered a spell and the crystal shifted, showing Yuyan suddenly appearing in a forest, casting a spell, then disappearing again.
A dry, cold laugh escaped Ji Woo's lips.
"So. She finally noticed," she hissed.
She stormed out of the chamber.
"Send for the General," she ordered.
A young witch trembled, bowing quickly as she rushed away.
Moments later, a massive man entered, his presence suffocating, his eyes hollow and lifeless as if no soul remained in him.
He bowed instantly.
"Your Majesty."
Ji Woo's eyes gleamed with cruel excitement.
"Send your best men to Tian Yu," she commanded.
"Force the beast out of him. Do not kill him. But be cautious...he is still a vampire prince. He has the royal blood line. I believed you know what that means.?"
The General nodded silently.
Ji Woo's smile widened, as she said.
"His wife is going to see him soon…"
She leaned forward, whispering with venomous delight...
"Let's see how he feels after killing the woman he loves."
Her laughter echoed down the stone corridor, cold and merciless.