The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 131: A first family gathering would never not be nervewracking

Chapter 131: A first family gathering would never not be nervewracking

Natha brought us to a path that I had never thread before.

I only knew it also led toward the administrative district where his office was. That was why I thought it would be a formal delegation meeting, and wondering if it was alright to be at such a meeting without changing into something more formal.

I unconsciously kept looking down at my outfit on the way. Not that I was disheveled or anything, but I only wear a casual day shirt and thin coat because I thought I’d be spending today indoors; what with the fitting and that Zia was here...

Definitely never plan to meet some delegations from another realm. I mean...I thought it was supposed to be Zia who met them, not me?

I wasn’t even doing anything with my hair today, only tying it in a simple high ponytail so the fitting could be done easier. At the very least, I should have worn a more formal suit or something...right?

"You look good, don’t worry," Natha pinched my cheek after I looked down for the nth time already, trying to smoothen that stubborn wrinkle on the bottom of my shirt--courtesy of me laying down on the rug to read one of Eruha’s homework.

My eyes narrowed at his words--I did not trust someone who said ’I think you look good always’ to evaluate my appearance.

"You’re fine. It’s just a casual luncheon," Natha laughed at my dubious stare. "We’re not even doing it in the great dining room,"

For your information, the ’great’ dining room was this place with a very long table where formal dinners between the Lord and important guests usually being held. It had chandeliers and lavish decorations and everything--you know, to show that he was the wealthiest of them all.

"Then..."

Weren’t they foreign delegations, which meant official guests? Where would they be having lunch if it wasn’t in the great dining hall? Was there even another place they could use? It wasn’t like they’d be having lunch in the worker’s cafeteria, right? Not even the vassals ate their meal the--

Ooh...

"Is it there?" I turned to look at Natha. "Where you used to have breakfast with your vassals?"

"Yes," Natha answered with a smile and praise me with a pat on my head--which resulted in Jade, who was perching on my crown, kicking his hand.

Of course, Natha now had his breakfast with me, in the suite--with a few additional guests sometimes. So I never set foot in this room, since I wasn’t comfortable enough to share my meals with those who still harbor animosity with me. And Natha never made me to, so...

Thus, this would be my first time in that room. It was, of course, conveniently placed in a junction. One path would lead to the administrative district, and another path would end up in residential quarters where vassals and executives who did not bother to own a place in the city would stay--like the siblings and Eruha.

When we entered the room, aside from the guards flanking the doors, there were six people there. Five of them had the pinkish skin and pointed tails that Zia had, wearing the formal clothes I expected myself to wear five minutes ago. They all raised from their chair when we--or rather, the Lord--came to the room. Looking at them faithfully bowed their heads made me think that Natha really had his clutch on the Realm of Lust.

I realized that the food had been prepared on the serving table already, just waiting for the Lord to arrive. A servant was standing there to wait on us, bowing slightly before starting to move and preparing the seat for me and Zia.

"My Lord, Lady Zidoa," one of the incubi, which I presumed to be the leader of the delegation, greeted Natha, and then Zia, before shifting his gaze at me. Jade had jumped to my shoulder then, so my head wouldn’t look like a bird’s nest.

Natha put his hand on my waist, and then, just like how he did in front of his vassals when I first came here, announced me. "My bride will join us, if you don’t mind."

"Of course not, my Lord."

Now; I said I had already used to be seen as Natha’s bride... lover...fiance, whatever. But--but, this was the first time he introduced me as such to someone that wasn’t from the castle, and it was...churning my guts. Like there were butterflies, but they flapped their wings too fast.

Gosh--would it feel like that during the banquet?

Thankfully, my own fluster did not prevent me from nodding politely, before Natha ushered me to my seat; the first one on his right side.

"Hmm...she’s not here..." Zia sighed quietly as she took a seat next to me. I was confused for a second, and then remembered about the one she mentioned, that she actually liked--Aleena, was it?

"Is that so?" I looked around, and accidentally caught the gaze of the servant, which immediately came to me to pour the wine into my glass. I didn’t drink during luncheon, but I thanked the demon anyway.

"My pleasure, milord."

As we waited for the food to be served to our plates, Natha introduced me to the delegations, although it was quite hard to memorize them while the servant piled the food on my plate. And Zia didn’t seem to care for all of that, although she did hold herself back from pursing her lips, rather busying herself by playing with Jade instead.

When they were done, I leaned toward Natha and whispered. "So...is that like a hobby or something?"

"What is?"

"Pretending to be a servant?"

Natha smiled, and while I thought I was whispering quietly, it seemed to be not quiet enough, because the table suddenly grew silent as if everyone could hear me. I paused and looked around in surprise, since they were all looking at me.

"Yes, you could say it’s a hobby,"

Turned out, they weren’t all looking at me--or rather, not just at me, but someone who was suddenly already behind me. Yes, that servant that I had been observing for the past five minutes or so. I looked up at the servant--who turned out to be a she--and watched as she morphed into a completely different demon.

Completely different, but also still familiar. Because it felt like looking at a grown-up version of Zia. A succubus with pink skin and a set of pointed ears and tail. She looked really similar to Zia, almost like they were sisters, except for her iris, which was red.

"Sister Aleena!" Zia exclaimed in surprise--well, the only one who got surprised here, apparently.

The Succubus, a real adult one, leaned down and planted a kiss on Zia’s temple, before looking back at me. "But how do you know? I don’t even tell Lord Natha."

"Because your acting sucks," Natha answered her with a smirk.

"Nonsense!" she straightened her back and pursed her lips. "My disguise is perfect!"

Her appearance was perfect, yes. She could even transform her body shape along with the clothes, as well as her voice. I had heard that succubi did have the ability to morph into anyone so they could become their target’s dream, although not to the extent of what shapeshifters could do.

However...

"I’m very selective about the ones serving my bride," Natha told her. "They would never brazenly look him in the eye, and they know how much food he took in a single meal, or that he did not drink wine during lunch."

"...huh,"

"And they don’t call him ’milord’, Aleena. Study a bit more."

Yep, all he said. At first, I thought that the servant in this part of the castle might not know about my eating habits. But then I remembered Panne said to me that Natha specifically told all the servants about this. And when she didn’t call me ’Young Master’, I knew something was up.

Natha should have realized it, but the fact that he said nothing meant the ’servant’ was in a rather high position, because Natha saw it as amusing rather than transgressions. They should be quite close too for that, so I deduced it was someone from Lust, probably the ’real’ leader.

[Master, that one weird. Why paint the skin?] Jade had asked me that earlier, and also...

"I’ve never encountered a servant with such intense mana," I added. Different from shapeshifters who literally transformed their shape to a molecular level, succubus’s disguise was done through glamour; illusion magic. Which meant, she would have to coat herself in mana to work the magic.

In my sense, it felt like she was actively working the mana in her body, which a servant wouldn’t need to.

The red eyes narrowed, before they shifted to Natha, who was only smiling deeply. "Well, a prank or two don’t really matter, right?" she laughed softly as she took a seat across from me, winking playfully. "We’re all family after all."

"Technically," Natha chuckled.

Oh, right. They were of the same clan, although Natha obviously looked different. But they were all very good-looking, just how Nightwalkers usually were. Although they weren’t necessarily of the same blood, they were still the same clan, and their ancestors shared a brotherhood oath by drinking a cup of their shared blood.

Sounded disgusting, I know, but there was magic and whatnot included there, so let’s see it with an open mind.

Anyway, they were more or less still family; distant cousins, if you must. That was why, despite being official delegations from foreign land, the luncheon was done casually, in a place where Natha had meals with his vassals. If anything, rather than being too casual or rude, this was actually a show that Natha still considered them a part of his inner circle.

Although one could also say it meant Natha saw them as his subordinates.

But hey--there was truth in that.

That being said, calling this a family event made me think if I was right to be there. I still had no idea why Natha brought me here. To prepare me for the meeting with the elves before the banquet? To give mental support to Zia? Or did I have to attend some luncheons with foreign delegations from now on?

"Well, Val will be part of the clan too, right?" Zia suddenly said, shattering my pondering.

I blinked, looking at her in reflex. She grinned at me, and I suddenly felt very conscious and very...embarrassed. I turned away and caught Natha’s gaze instead and...it didn’t make it any better, because he gave me that charming, gentle smile.

And with that bewitching smile of his, he replied to Zia’s question. "Of course."

Oh, God almighty! Might you give me the ability to open a dimensional tear so I could crawl away and be spared of this embarrassment?

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