The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 145: It Means War

Chapter 145: It Means War

Aleena lowered his gaze and stared at the beautiful, intricate pattern of the rug. It would be so unfortunate if it was to be marred by...say, a splatter of blood.

Because the way the Lord of Greed looked at them now, felt like the guillotine was already right behind their neck.

Aleena, and most certainly her brother, the foolish Lord of Lust, thought the matter had been resolved with the druid’s ’curse’. But yesterday, one of the elders flew from the realm of lust and arrived at the castle just past midnight; exhausted and pale.

Oh, no--the matter was not even remotely closed.

The elder told her that the Lord of Greed had demanded his presence, anon. And now, the next day, she was here, in a room usually employed for secret conferences; soundproof, magic-proof, escape-proof.

The Lord of Greed was sitting on his chair, regally irate. She couldn’t see it in his face, but she could feel it in her bones; a cold of fear so intense it clawed into her most heinous nightmares and dragged it up so it could choke her, choked them. She felt her fear, and she felt the other demon’s fear as they merged and shove back into their soul like continuous invisible torture.

And all the while, the silver eyes just looked at him with the coldness of the northern ice plains, the cruel gleam within cleaving like a blizzard.

"My Lord, could you please...take mercy on this old one?" the elder, who was actually in a better condition than the other younglings, begged the Lord of Greed.

The silver eyes blinked, and the infernal coldness was receding. It was still there, though, like a noose around their neck. The elder bowed his head, and the Lord of Greed stood up.

Aleena was still a baby when Ra Natha led the movement to get rid of the Spectres. She was in school when he became the Lord, gaining the title of Matsa for his name. For the Lust citizens, including her, he was a hero.

For the elders and the authorities, he was a ticking bomb.

They had made a pledge to that bomb. Two pledges; to never betray him, and to lend him the Key when the time came. Their subservience to the Nightmare didn’t just come from the fact that he put the crown in their Lord’s head, but also all the financial aid and leeway he had given them.

Should Natha decide they were no longer in his favor, he could shut all of his banks and trade companies in the realm of lust, stopped the financial aid, ban them from trading with any of his affiliates, and isolate them in their own land. No other regions would help them because Wrath and Pride were in his hand, and he was in good friendship with Gluttony and Sloth. Envy...the Lord of Envy, the Doppelganger, would be too scared for the repercussion of plunging their own land into an economic crisis.

Nobody thought money could control the whole realm before, but Matsa Ra Natha was there to put them in a chokehold. And that was why, no one would ever think of touching this Nightmare’s nerves.

And yet, they tickled that bomb’s fuse.

Or rather, her brother did. But her brother was the freaking Lord of Lust, whose action could be seen as the representation of the whole Lust inhabitants.

Of all the stupid things this Incubus could do, why--

Aleena clenched his fist and shut her eyes to calm herself down. Zia had told her much about the human; how sheltered and ignorant he was of the world, how miserable his life was before the Lord brought him here, how he never touched, or was touched by anyone but the Lord. She wanted to beat her brother herself because of that, so how should the Lord of Greed forgive them easily for the transgression?

"I had asked for an explanation," the Lord finally spoke. "But none of you give me that."

"I told you--"

"Silence!" the elder grabbed Zir’Kal’s head to make the Incubus lowered his gaze. "Pardon the young one, Lord Natha."

The Nightmare stared at them silently, with cold eyes that reminded them of that excruciating fear they felt earlier. "I know you are made of folly, Ra Zir’Kal, but you’re also a coward. I know someone is telling you to do what you did."

While the delegations were surprised, Aleena just closed her eyes. She already had an inkling, and she had cornered her brother to tell the truth, but he was adamant that he only did it as a prank.

No. That couldn’t be. No matter how foolish Zir’Kal was, he should know how scary their Lord Cousin was. He was the Lord of Greed, and the Lord of Greed was always possessive of their treasures. Whether it was material goods or people. Even if Zir’Kal didn’t know the extent of the Lord’s love for the human, he should know not to touch Natha’s possession.

And yet he did. And he came on the unexpected occasion when the human was alone in the bedroom, as if...as if someone told him about it in advance. Even if he didn’t know about the human being there, just his presence in another Lord’s bedroom was already problematic.

If she could tell it was suspicious, the Lord would feel it more. "I don’t need to hear your denial," Natha said. "Surely you know already why I called you here, Elder Azaree?"

Aleena glanced at the elder. She knew the elders didn’t like Natha’s influence and control of their court, and saw it as a threat. But there were still some who sided with the Nightmare, especially those who knew his father. "I will try to uncover it, Sir."

"I don’t want you to try, I want you to do it with your life on the line." The silver eyes glinted like the blade of the guillotine. "I want an answer, a name--names--in front of me, by the time I come back to this castle in a month’s time."

"I told you there’s no--"

"Ra Zir’Kal," the Nightmare glared at the stubborn Incubus, who still seemed like he didn’t understand the extent of what his ’prank’ could cause. The name was spelled out in sharp fury and disgust, with a cold that coiled around the Incubus’s nerves, rooted him to the ground.

The Incubus, who had never received any threat against his life before due to the sheltered and pampered life he had, couldn’t find it in his bone to make any movement, to even move his throat for a swallow. It was a primal fear that seeped past the protection of the Key, and he started to realize what having an alpha seed meant.

Because as the Nightmare spoke, his core shook, telling him to obey, in a very different sense than his charm.

"If you ever show your face in front of my bride again," the silver eyes glowed like the tip of a blade. "It means war."

The eyes shifted to the elder and the rest of the delegation. "If you don’t give me the details of your deal by the time I come back here, it means war."

The elder hid the clenched of his fist behind his sleeve so as to not keel over, and that cold eyes pierced into him next.

"If you try anything foolish while I was away," the Lord stretched his lips. "It. Means. War."

It was a straightforward warning, and they knew the Lord of Greed wasn’t one to speak empty words. The land of greed might not be bestowed with excellent soldiers, but not every war had to be fought with cold weapons.

The elder sighed; the bomb was on the verge of exploding, and they only had one more chance to stop the fuse, or get rid of the bomb once and for all.

In the midst of this, the Lord of Lust suddenly muttered. "I thought we are family..."

It was uttered like an accusation, as if questioning the moral of crushing your own relatives just for a light mistake.

That, in itself, was a mistake.

"It’s BECAUSE we are of the same clan, that I even let you easy like this!" the Lord of Greed snapped, and the room rumbled as he slammed his hand on the armrest.

For the first time since they entered the room--no, for the first time in their interaction with Ra Natha, this was their first time seeing him expressing his anger with a loud voice. He was usually calm even in his anger, since he could express it simply by inflicting them with fear. His fury was always cold, but devastating.

But this was different.

The Lord stood up, and every step that he took sent a blast of cold air, and when he stopped in front of the Lord of Lust, it was akin to soaking bare naked in an ice lake during the coldest night of winter. Within the blizzard.

"If it’s not for the clan," he looked down at the shivering Lord of Lust. "You would not be here at this time, breathing the same air as me," he lowered his head, so the Lords were of eye level, and spat. "You’d be in your own castle, watching it crumble as I razed it to the ground," a cold finger touched the Incubus’s chest, "And I’d be sure to rip that key out of your heart."

The Lord of Greed stood up, eyes sweeping each and every pale face of the demons in front of him. "You weren’t even doing anything when my family asked for help. So never--" he shifted back to stare icicles at Ra Zir’Kal, "--ever, talk to me about being a family."

He stared down until the Incubus lowered his head with a stuttering mumble, before turning back to approach the window. "We can do it peacefully, and you’ll be able to live longer," he said, the silver eyes gazing with longing at the research tower, trying to find the soothing breeze to quell his fury. But remembering his most loved one only boiled his anger more. "Or we can do it the hard way."

It was their sign to retreat, and the elder dragged the whimpering Lord of Lust away. Not everyone left, however, for Aleena still standing there. It wasn’t because she wanted to stay, but because the Lord of Greed had rooted her to the ground, making her unable to move her limbs.

Thankfully, she could still speak. "Lord Natha--"

"I’m giving you a chance, Ra Aleena," the Nightmare said, without removing his eyes from the place where his beloved was supposed to be. "Only once."

He stared at the succubus through the reflection on the window. "Do you have what it takes to be a Queen?"

Aleena felt the restraint on her gone then, but she was too stunned to make any movement. "My Lord--"

But before she could say anything, there was suddenly a loud sound that rattled even the building where they stood. A loud, explosive sound. And when Aleena looked at the Lord, for the first time, she saw the Nightmare’s pale face.

"Sweetheart...!"

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