The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 143: A boost in confidence sometime comes from the strangest place

Chapter 143: A boost in confidence sometime comes from the strangest place

I was so forgetting that the banquet was actually held for three nights.

The first night was a kind of opening gala, when the high society came to give their greetings. The second night was some kind of cultural exchange night, and the last night would be a prelude to ’going away’ where the Lord would announce the start of the annual inspection journey.

During the second night, representatives from the citizen of the realms, as well as foreign delegations, would start to attend. There would be a cultural show, from singing to traditional dancing, as well as the spread of culinary from every corner of the realm--I guessed this was why most of the foreign delegations came in this day.

On the contrary, the local high society rarely came in this night, except for those who liked parties and shows in general, or had some business with foreign delegations. Thus, I wouldn’t be able to see much of them, but I would be able to see a lot of exciting things, so I felt it was fortunate.

And I was glad I could use the outfit that Arta and the other seamstresses made for me, since it was beautiful. It looked plain when I just stood still, a usual combination of a long white tunic and outer coat with wide sleeves in midnight blue color. Once I moved, however, the bottom edge of the coat and the tunic, as well as the wide part of the sleeve, would shimmer slightly, and the carefully sewn hidden gems would reflect the light, making it look like stars peeking behind the night sky.

And most importantly, hidden within the silver embroidery was a temperature control enchantment that would keep me warm through the event. It wouldn’t be pretty to keep shivering while I walked with Natha, would it? What if they thought I was being afraid of him?

"Ah, such a masterpiece," Arta sighed after she weaved the last strings of pearls into my hair.

[Master so pretty!]

"Mm, mm," Zia nodded enthusiastically. "You look stunning, Val."

"Oh... thank you," I replied sheepishly. It was rather embarrassing being looked at and complimented like that. Felt nice, but embarrassing nonetheless.

"This can be considered to be Val’s debut, right?" Zia asked, jumping down from the chair she was sitting in, and I almost tripped because of that.

Debut? Debut?!

...oh right, it would be the first time I appeared in public. I was driven by adrenaline since the whole debacle with Zir’Kal, but now that things had settled, I was suddenly scared again. "Will you be there again?" I asked Zia, trying to not make my voice squeak.

Thankfully, the succubus nodded. "I didn’t plan to, but since you’ll be there," she shrugged. "I also need to watch sister Aleena because I think she’ll end up drinking until she’s wasted tonight," she added with a sigh and a shake of her head. "I’ll take Jade with me and we’ll go with Arta, then we’ll meet you there."

"Oh, okay," I nodded, still a bit worried and anxious to be in a large social setting without my friends.

At least, until I saw Natha at the end of the stairs, like two days ago, with eyes gleaming like a pair of moons.

"Isn’t he beautiful?" Arta said excitedly as she ran down the stairs. Looking at her, you’d think that she was happier than me for how I turned up.

But I still found my heart thumping in expectation, looking at Natha who stretched his lips and said calmly. "He’s always beautiful," he smiled, as if saying things like that was easier than breathing for him. And as if it wasn’t enough, he added in a softer tone. "But he’s exceptionally ethereal today."

Today, he said; the silver eyes gazed at something more than the clothes and the gems wrapped around me. Today, he said, like he was talking about the trial I did this afternoon rather than my appearance.

And it morphed my nervous smile into something more joyful. "You don’t look bad yourself," I said, as I stopped a few steps in front of him.

His suit and long overcoat, cut in a way that complement his figure nicely, were in the same silver embroidery and midnight blue color as mine, but without the subtle glimmer of the gems. Perhaps because there were already shining moons in his eyes.

I giggled slightly, and when he tilted his head curiously, I said with a small laugh. "Matching outfit,"

He raised his brows, before smiling softly and offering his hand. I giggled again when he kissed the back of my hand like some kind of prince charming in fairy tales--if prince charming had blue skin and dark horns, that is.

And then he pulled me closer, and whispered. "I would like to kiss you right now, but I think Arta will berate me for ruining your makeup, so I’ll save it for later," he brushed my lips softly before putting his hand on my waist.

"Shall we?"

As the air began to vibrate with mana, I asked confusedly. "Huh? We’re not going to walk?"

"I don’t want to tire you out before the banquet," he smiled, and then added teasingly. "Maybe after."

Hey--I smacked him in the arm, and his laughter reverberated in the room before we disappeared. When the black feathers scattered afterward, I was already looking into an empty hallway and a huge double door.

Well, not empty, since there were several servants and the festival committee there. I could hear the sounds of festivities outside; people murmuring, songs playing, footsteps scampering...all behind that huge double doors with guards ready to open them.

So there it was, the venue hall, and suddenly my palms felt clammy again, as my heart started to beat fast. Oh...was this what they called stage fright?

"Val," Natha called out, and I almost flinched, since he usually only used my name if he want to scold me, or talk about something serious. But from the way he stroked my nervous cheek, it seemed like he wasn’t about to berate me for something.

"Yeah?" I replied weakly, and regretted it immediately--it showed how nervous I was, how pathetic...

"You did well earlier," he said, cutting my thought. "Too mild for my taste, but nevertheless..."

Huh? Oh? Oh--he was talking about the business with the Incubus. I blinked stupidly in response, since I did not expect Natha would bring that up now.

He cupped my cheek, and stared straight into my eyes. "Be proud," he said, in a firm yet gentle tone. "You are fine, you are strong, you are beautiful," he ran his fingers through my hair, careful to not damage it, and continued. "I’m the lucky one to have you--do not let anyone make you think otherwise."

My breath caught for a moment, but the more I took his gaze, the more I absorbed his smile, the calmer I became. Him bringing out the thing I did today made me recall the feeling of confidence and authority that I experienced when I faced the Lord of Lust.

I firmed my gaze and nodded. "Okay," I said, as I took the elbow that he offered.

And then the double doors swung open to a balcony with intricate, black railing. Suddenly, as we stepped through the doors, the world grew quiet. The music stopped, and the murmuring died down.

There were guards, there were Lesta and Eruha there too, waiting for us apparently. My vampire teacher and his dark-skinned boyfriend--maybe--giving me a confidence-boost smirk. Lesta proceeded to announce our arrival and my heart skipped.

Whoo--alright, I can do this. I took a deep breath and exhaled it, and managed to pull off what I thought was a neutral face. Didn’t know about poker faces or whatnot, but at least I didn’t look like a total nervous wreck--or so I hope.

Natha looked at me and smiled, so I guessed that was a sign that my expression was good enough. And then he looked forward, putting on his usual, business face, and I followed beside him, walking toward the railing.

I could see it then, the banquet hall. The large domed venue with a beautiful fountain as a central piece, and big, lavish crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. To my left, a large stage had been set up on one side of the hall, and a viewing platform had been arranged on the other side, a raising platform as high as the balcony where we stood now.

As Natha spoke with a sound amplification spell to greet the guests, I observed the crowd below. It looked like a melting pot; there were demons, who, from the more humble clothes, seemed to be the citizen’s representatives; and then there were Elves and Drows and demons from other realms; and finally, there were those who seemed to be ’noble’, the member of high society. All of them, including the castle staff on duty tonight, looked up as Natha spoke.

But even if I was naive and ignorant most of the time, I still knew that the one they looked at was me.

Uff--I felt it so much that it stung my skin. Intrigued gaze, surprised look, dubious stare--all kinds of eyes were on me, which made me remember the time when my attending professor would come with his army of residents to examine me.

Unsurprisingly, I spotted the High Elf lady, Issa, at the far end of the viewing platform, away from the other guests. It was clear that she felt uncomfortable, and one look from her as our eyes met told me enough that she--and her entourage--was only there to meet me. She nodded at me, and, recalling the chaotic way we parted yesterday, I gave her a smile in return.

I felt a sudden tug on my side, and only then realized the arm I had been holding was already on my waist. I turned to Natha, and was caught by surprise at the way he looked at me--which I couldn’t describe other than he looked as if he was displeased by something. But it was only there for a second before disappearing, replaced with another smile as he lead me toward the stairs.

Confused, I caught a glimpse of demons still staring at me and the increasing sounds of murmur.

Huh? Huh? Did I probably make a mistake?

"Na--my Lord," I called out quietly, about to ask about something that seemed to displease him earlier. But he already beat me to speak.

"If you’re not going to call me by my name, then I better hear you calling me pet names, sweetheart."

"Hu--huh? But I don’t have...your..."

"Why don’t you?" Natha replied with a raised brow and a smirk. "Why don’t you have one for me?"

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