The entire street went completely silent. The vendor stared at me in complete disbelief while I carried the crate toward the stall beside him.
“…You are helping me.”
“You looked like your spine was losing a battle.”
“That is not royal behavior.”
“That sounds like a weird rule.”
Several nearby demons started staring openly now.
One older woman whispered softly, “She touched market crates.”
Another whispered back, “The prince allows this?”
And just like that I mingled among the demons.
Third POV
And somewhere above the crowded streets, hidden along a distant balcony, the demon quietly watched the entire thing.
Unease flickered across the council member's face. “The district is responding already.”
Below, more demons approached Eva carefully. Cautiously. Like they expected this to be a trick. Instead Eva spent the next hour helping vendors reorganize damaged stalls after a recent fire spell accident while arguing with two elderly demons about soup recipes.
One of them was wrong. By the end of the afternoon, frightened children had stopped hiding from the royal guards entirely. Actually worse, they’d started following Eva around. One tiny demon girl tugged lightly on her sleeve before offering her a glowing silver flower nervously.
The entire market froze again. Because apparently offering gifts to royalty was a huge deal. She crouched down automatically to her height before taking the flower gently. “Thank you.”
The little girl blinked up at Eva in shock. Then smiled shyly. And the atmosphere across the district changed completely. Warmer now . Like the fear had cracked open without anyone realizing it.
Far above the streets, the demon stared silently down at the scene while the council representative beside him muttered quietly:
“…She’s building loyalty accidentally.”
Meanwhile across the city:
Nina’s assignment had become something entirely different.
The outer districts near the southern gates were rougher than the capital center. Dangerous enough that palace guards escorted merchant caravans through the territory regularly.
Which apparently meant the council expected Nina to stay safely behind the guards. Instead,she climbed onto the front wagon beside the lead driver.
“Nope,” she informed everyone calmly. “If something attacks us I want front row seats.”
The guards froze in horror. The younger brother, meanwhile already seemed deeply in love already. The journey through the southern district stayed peaceful for approximately twenty minutes.Then screaming erupted farther down the road.
Instantly the guards reached for weapons while civilians panicked around overturned supply carts near the marketplace ahead.
A huge shadow beast snarled between the buildings while frightened demons backed away desperately. Several guards hesitated.
Nina didn’t.
“Move.”
Before anyone could stop her, she jumped directly off the wagon and grabbed a fallen spear from one of the stunned guards nearby.
The younger brother swore again before following her. But Nina got there first. The shadow creature lunged toward a terrified child trapped near the market stalls and Nina stepped directly in front of it without hesitation. No fear. No pause. Just immediate reckless protection.
