The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 144: Even bad memories could serve as a weapon if used properly

Chapter 144: Even bad memories could serve as a weapon if used properly

Did this Demon Lord just ask me to give him pet names in the middle of the stairs leading to a freaking banquet?

He chuckled when he saw my face, and told me casually to think about one before shifting to a more casual topic. "Tonight is supposed to be filled with performances and cultural exchange, so there wouldn’t be a lot who will come for an audience," he said, holding my hand so I wouldn’t trip on my long coat and roll down to the banquet floor unsightly. "I already spoke to most yesterday night anyway."

"Mm," I nodded, torn between trying not to step on the edge of my coat and contemplating pet names for a Demon Lord, all while maintaining a calm, natural, hopefully elegant expression.

Not easy, I should tell you.

As we neared the bottom of the staircase, he walked in front of me and turned around when he reached the floor. "All you have to do tonight is enjoy the show, alright?" he reached out his hand again, with the same smile he showed me in the suite earlier.

This time, I responded with more focus, returning his smile and nodded. "Alright,"

Or so I said.

But to reach the viewing platform, we have to travel through the hall, which meant...through the crowd. We could actually go to the platform through the balcony, but that would beat the point of attending this banquet. So here we are, navigating through lots and lots of people--demons. Drows. Not the elves, since they were staying far on the viewing platform already.

Well, I said navigating. But all we did was walk straight through the path that was opened by the guards. And they stared--stared like we were a celebrity on a red carpet. Coincidentally, we truly walked on a path of a red carpet, so the only thing missing was probably the camera blitz and reporters.

But, when there were newspapers, there would be journalists, so there might be some actually lurking around, just without a microphone.

Honestly, I didn’t really remember how it went. I followed Natha’s steps, looking forward, and when I met some people’s eyes and they bowed, I nodded back. I wanted to look around, but I didn’t think it would look good for me to gawk--not very elegant, you see.

What I did notice was that there were lots of different races of demons here. Eruha did explain to me that the realm of greed was the commercial center of the demon realm--which was understandable--and so there were many demons and drows, or sometimes elves, who came to this place. In conclusion, the realm of greed, especially L’anaak Eed as the capital city, was the melting pot of the demon realm.

I had to say that although it felt intimidating at first, I felt more and more comfortable as time passed. Or rather, I just found out that it was actually not that bad; everyone was civilized, and not approaching me and Natha on our walk, and after a while, I could kind of mute the intense stares.

I wondered if Natha also muted everyone’s thoughts, because his eyes weren’t as sharp as usual. A bit cloudy, like if we weren’t focusing on the scene in front of our eyes. But he must have been used to this kind of setting, since he had to do it every year anyway.

And then we arrived at the bottom of the stairs and we had to climb again. Hmm...was this why Natha said he didn’t want to tire me out before the banquet?

There were already some people there, including the elves, who immediately stood up and walked toward us. They started with their greeting as usual, and I responded in kind.

"Are you faring well, Your Excellency?" the elf lady, Issa, asked.

So she still stubbornly called me with that. But it was fine. I had a mission to be elegant tonight. "Thank you for your concern, Lady Issaelmier," damn, her name was like a tongue twister. "Fortunately, I am fine. Lord Natha wouldn’t permit my attendance if I am not well."

Was I still salty? Yes, yes, I was. And the elves knew this, so they just smiled politely at my little snark.

"We are glad," the elf lady smiled gracefully. Damn, it made me want to learn how to smile like that. "We just wanted to see if you’re okay, and since you are, we shall take our leave now."

Huh? So they were truly here just to check up on me. Oh...it made me feel kind of bad now for being so cold. "I...would like to extend my gratitude for your gifts," I said immediately, before they could retreat. "They are very...helpful, to me."

The elf lady paused and raised his brow, probably didn’t think I would thank her because it was originally a gift to appease my anger. "We merely returned something to its rightful owner, but it pleases me that it could assist you in any way."

I returned her smile and gave them a farewell greeting. And then I saw she was hesitating for a bit, glancing slightly at Natha, who had been observing us wordlessly.

"We should like to meet you one last time, before we depart from the realm."

Ahh...I understood. So she thought Natha might not let me? "I’m sure we can make some arrangements," I said. Well, Natha never said I couldn’t meet whoever I wanted, so...

"It would be our utmost pleasure," Issa nodded. "Until then," the elves bowed slightly at us, greeted Natha, and then retreated from the platform. I could see everyone looking at them as they walked past--after all, although elves weren’t rare in the realm of greed, High Elves were only ever here for official government business.

After watching them walk away, I turned to Natha. "It’s fine, isn’t it?"

"Of course," he said. "It is your right to see whomever you want to see. It’s always good to make connections, as long as they don’t try to kidnap you."

"You kidnapped me, though," I whispered, and when he responded with a wink, I couldn’t help but giggle.

Oh, this event really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Especially after we sat down, and Zia and Arta came, and Jade flew to perch on my shoulder, and the show finally started.

Oh, it was beautiful! It wasn’t as boisterous as the festival I saw in summer, but it was colorful all the same. Perhaps because it was a performance done in the castle, it was neater, with a sense of sophistication and grandeur. There were magicians in charge of manipulating lighting and effects, and the orchestra played music with instruments that I had never seen. The sound rang through the entire hall, and the dancers with colorful, beautiful costumes filled the stage.

And by God--a performance with magic effect was truly one of a kind. They flew, they slid across the floor, they played with lights and breeze and bubbles and everything. There was fire roaring, ethereal dancing princesses, and breathtaking swordmeisters whirled and pranced with their blades.

It was wonderful! Oh, it was so wonderful that my little bird flew away to see it closer, giggling and screaming joyfully, sending me images from different angles like my own personal drone. But I got a little trippy after a while unless I closed my eyes, so I told Jade to stop doing it and warned the bird not to fly too close and disturb the performance.

Beside me, with hands that never left my waist, Natha kindly explain the background of each dance and performance; where they came from, the lore behind them, and the symbolism they entailed. Arta would tell me about the clothes, what the colors represented, where they were produced, and why they used that fabric. Eruha filled in my curiosity about the magic effects that were being used and Lesta told me about the musical instruments.

Splendid. Everything was splendid. It was truly a festival but with a different vibe from the one I experienced in the summer. One of the dancers let the scarf that she used fly to the viewing platform, right in my direction, and she blew a kiss from the stage as it landed on my lap. I laughed, holding the intricate lacy scarf with delight, and after that, many more performers interacted with me in a similar way. It almost felt like they were performing for me, and it was wonderful.

"Is it fun?" Natha asked when the performance shifted into something more calm and solemn; a concert with a brilliant choir.

Was it fun? I laughed and pecked his cheek as an answer, before focusing back on the show.

Of course, it was fun! I didn’t like crowded places, but watching concerts and performances was one of the things on my bucket list--back when I was still hopeful about recovery. And I could see it from a VIP place too, so what’s not to like?

It would be better, of course, if I didn’t have to suffer the unsettling stare from a group of demons.

Remember that there were three of Natha’s vassals that still disapprove of me? Yep, that was them. It was actually only two this time, because one of them--the giant one--was in charge of guarding the castle with Haikal. They came to me before the show started, exchanging pleasantry with Natha, but blatantly ignored me.

Which was fine, but quite annoying. They didn’t act antagonistic or make any drama, but their condescending stare was...icky. Arta and Lesta had told me, that those three--Hagai, Bhawa, and Kulmut--were not Natha’s ’people’. They were the Lord of Greed’s vassals, but not Natha, in the sense that their loyalty lay in the realm of greed itself. Unlike the other seven demons, those three came from the family of elders--the old families that were the original dwellers of the land of greed. And those elders, possibly, was the one who sent the ’rat’ Natha mentioned.

If this was a fairy tale, Natha would have gotten rid of them all in a jiffy. But tis not, and he couldn’t get rid of the elder’s representatives in his household just because they were displeased with his choice of spouse. Much of internal realm conflict was at stake, so all Natha could do was try to protect me and make me as comfortable as he could without risking civil war.

Funnily enough, their blatant disregard and condescending stare did not faze me much. They didn’t make me as nervous as I did when people looked at me with curiosity.

Because I had too much experience with that kind of attitude. It reminded me of the way my relatives looked at me, or the nurses that were being paid to make my life more miserable. It was the same reason I could stomach going to Lenaar’s banquet the night Natha took me away. I was just used to it, and while it still irked me, it wouldn’t make me timid or cower in inferiority--in case that was what they aimed for.

I just stared at them impassively, and when they finally looked at me, I could see their hesitation and faltering steps. I tilted my head, and they greeted me dryly before walking away.

And that was it, no necessary drama, thankfully.

Anyway, that was the only annoying thing that happened that night, so overall, it was still a blast. The staff brought us every sample of the food, and I had an excellent party with Zia and Jade and the other friendly vassals, before Natha sent me back because I was getting sleepy from eating too much.

Still, every time I thought about those two demons, I felt a bit annoyed. Maybe it was the cumulative irks piling since the meeting with the elves, and all the debacle with the Incubus. And when I came to the research tower with pursing lips the next day, Izzi suddenly suggested something to let me blow off some steam.

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