The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 115: Leaving the nest is always an emotional process

Chapter 115: Leaving the nest is always an emotional process

"Sweetheart,"

Oh, how nice it was, waking up to the sweet voice of Natha. I immediately rolled to my side, chasing the source of the voice--and almost falling off the couch.

Ugh--damn, I forgot that I was sleeping in Zia’s bedroom. Ot rather...I passed out. The mischievous girl was somehow able to smuggle some wines from the cellar, and somehow, we ended up donning a few bottles on our own.

"Be careful there," thankfully, the voice wasn’t just a fragment of my imagination or drunken stupor. I felt Natha’s cold hand supporting my body, and carefully shifting me back to the couch.

Slowly, I blinked my eyes and took the chaotic condition of the bedroom; mainly from candy wrappers and snack packaging though. Oh, and empty bottles. Also, a lot of pillows and blankets from other rooms since we built a fortress last night--Angwi would be sooo pissed about this.

I looked up and blinked again to make sure it was really my Demon Lord in front of me. "Natha?"

"How are you feeling?" Natha crouched down and brushed my hair aside.

"Mm...a bit queasy..."

He chuckled in response and procured a glass of water from who knows where, which I accepted with gratitude. I looked around while drinking, spotting Zia and Jade sleeping while holding into each other on the bed. I almost laughed at that and choked in the process.

"Seems like you’re still drunk," Natha laughed softly while patting my back and taking the glass before I dropped it. "Why are you drinking so much when you can’t hold your liquor?"

I contemplate the question for a bit before answering with a grin. "Because it’s a party!"

Natha laughed again and patted my hair. "Alright," he took my hands and hauled me up. "Let’s get you better, shall we?"

My feet landed on the soft pink fur carpet wobbly, and I gripped Natha’s arms with a giggle to balance myself. "Carry me!" I raised my hands and Natha picked me up without a second thought.

"I’m going to do that already," he told me with a smile, as I circled my arms around his neck and leaned my head into his shoulder, feeling giddy and happy for no reason other than the Demon Lord’s unexpected appearance.

...huh? Right--why did Natha here? I lifted my head and stared at his handsome face as he carried me through the hall and tilted my head in confusion. "Why are you here?"

"To undo the naughty seal and help you pack,"

He answered so nonchalantly that it got me taken aback. Oh, right! I was supposed to move out tomorrow, which meant I had to finish packing my things today. Err...actually, I was supposed to do it yesterday, but Zia’s tantrum and our impromptu party occupied my mind instead.

"I’ve told Angwi to take care of your personal stuff in the suite, and you can tell me about the other."

"Other?"

"Don’t you want to bring over some books?"

"Oh, right!" I nodded enthusiastically, but got a headache right after, so I stopped and groaned into his shoulder. He chuckled and patted my waist which he held gently, for some reason chose to climb the stair rather than take the elevator or teleport as usual.

And it got me...and it got me time to ponder and feel. Those feelings that I shove away with the small silly party and everything. With every step that Natha took, my fingers clutched his clothes tighter.

"Natha..."

"Mm?"

"If you get tired of me one day, can I still live here? I don’t need to stay in the suite, but can I take one of the guest rooms?"

He paused his step for a moment, but immediately walked again like nothing happened. His hand, which was still on my side, patted me again, as if pacifying an unreasonable child.

"Don’t be silly, that kind of thing won’t happen," he said with a scoff. I was about to protest and shouted ’IF’, but he already spoke again. "But if someday, somehow, I was inflicted with a curse or an illness that makes me crazy and forget you--because that’s the only possible explanation, that I turn crazy--I already told Angwi to take you away and ensure your safety. You can ask her to stay here if you want, then."

I gripped his clothes tighter. "Promise?"

"I promise. You can ask Angwi if you want to make sure."

"Mm," I pressed my face on his neck, feeling my heart heating up, as if there was a flame burning out some unknown fears left behind there. And I felt so much lighter because of it.

I was glad...I was glad that Natha still answered my silly, stupid question. I was glad that he accepted my anxiety, even if he could not understand it. Of course, I hoped we never had to go through that dreadful future, but knowing that even when it happened I would still have a place to come back to, made me feel safer.

"I like this place," I mumbled, feeling dizzy and a bit sleepy, but also content in Natha’s embrace.

"I will be disappointed if you don’t," Natha laughed at my remark. "I built this place for you, after all."

"Huh?" I replied dazedly; hearing him but not really registering his words.

But Natha did not reply to me, just patting my side while carrying me through another set of stairs. I had no leeway to think about it further, since I drifted to sleep again, until Natha put me down in front of the washbasin and helped me sober up.

* * *

I didn’t regain my full cognition until I got my usual morning herbal drink. At that point, Natha had somehow washed my face, changed my clothes, and seated me at the dining table.

That first sip of warm herbal drink immediately cleared the haziness left in my mind, and I drank it up in one go. The hot and slightly spicy soup that the servants prepared helped me further, so by the time I finished breakfast, I got rid of my hangover.

Thankfully, I didn’t throw up again this time.

With refreshed mind, I walked around the tower with Natha to tell him what I wanted to bring to the castle; mainly just books from the library. Natha would tell me which one was already available in the castle, and which one hadn’t. It took us a lot of time to go through the whole library, and it was only after we were done that I realized Natha was here during working hours.

When I asked him, he told me that he had a leeway now, since he wouldn’t have to go back and forth so much like before, which made me feel kind of guilty. But it also convinced me even more that this decision of moving to the castle to be with him was the correct one.

Anyway, you know what was one of the best things about living in a magical world? Convenience.

Moving company? What was that when we had a perfectly spacious dimensional storage bag? For simplicity purposes, I’d call it inventory--so I could pretend I was in an RPG game or something. With just a swish of a hand, the cases and footlockers filled with books and trinkets were sucked into the void just like that.

And boy...I had no idea I owned that many clothes. Where were they even came from? I definitely never shop for those before. Except for special occasions, the golems were the ones who usually prepared my clothes, readying them in the dressing room while I took a bath. They would prepare several sets of outfits for me to choose from, but I had no idea where exactly they kept all of those.

Now that I thought about it, I always wore different outfits each day, except for my nightshirt. Seemed like it was true, that if we didn’t see it, we wouldn’t realize it. Since the entirety of my closet was obscured from me, I didn’t realize Natha had provided me with a whole clothing shop for a closet.

And he told me to just bring something casual that I liked best because there was already another dressing room full of clothes personally for me in the castle.

Yes, my Lord, I understood how wealthy you were.

Of course, I didn’t forget to pack those failed products that would become my long time project now. Natha gave me my own dimensional storage ring, by the way, yay! I could shove as much as Jade’s candies over there.

Zia also hastily put together all of her novels and tied them prettily with some ribbons before putting them into my hands. The fierce look in her eyes told me that she would give me quizzes on them to check if I really read the books.

Guessed I really needed to read them thoroughly then.

That night, we held another party; a normal dinner party this time. Angwi had seated the three of us and given us a silent lecture about how bad we were eating all of those candies and unhealthy snacks and drinking all of those wines. So we only had a big dinner, with all the demons residing in the tower eating together.

Doun, who had been the closest to me aside from Angwi, told me with a sad face that he’d wait for my next training session, and gave me all of the notes he made based on what his grandmother told him about the druids. Even the golems made the dinner filled with my favorite foods.

It was all jolly but also weird because it felt like they were sending me off to another continent while in fact, I was only going to the Capital, which could be reached in two seconds by the portal gate.

But I guessed...that was what made it feel like home.

Lastly, I took Jade first thing in the morning the next day and climbed to the rooftop, bidding goodbye to the elemental birds. Especially for Jade, who would be, essentially, leaving its nest. It became some kinda rite of passage for Jade, as the other adult birds surrounded the juvenile bird and they pressed their forehead against Jade’s. It was fascinating watching the pattern on their head glowed with each process. In the end, the elder elemental bird--the one who gave me Jade’s essence--pressed its forehead on mine, and I understood that they asked me to take care of their youngest.

And then, we walked through that gate again.

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