The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 190: Can a patient have some calm and peace?

Chapter 190: Can a patient have some calm and peace?

I blinked once, and then twice, looking at the bed canopy.

I lay there for a while, and only after recognizing the heavier feeling of my body did I finally sure that I was no longer in a dream. Instinctively, I patted my body, checking if I was dressed--which, thankfully, I was.

By the flooding sunlight inside the room, I knew it was close to midday already. That, and how famished I felt. The fireplace was roaring though, as if it had just been replaced, even though the weather wasn’t that cold today. I could even say it was rather sunny and warmer than usual.

Wriggling my fingers and toes, I raised my arms and stretched out in the bed, turning to the side. Of course, I knew Natha would have already been up and about at this time of the day, but I still wanted to bury myself in his pillow and inhaled his scent as usual.

For some reason, I really missed him, even though I technically fell asleep in his embrace.

But when I was about to grab his pillow, I couldn’t find it. In fact, it seemed like I was the only one sleeping there, based on my center placement in this big bed.

Blinking in surprise, I raised my body and sat down, looking at the bed in confusion. Did he move me after waking up this morning? Why?

I tilted my head, trying to find an explanation. But I had no leeway to do that because my head suddenly flooded with an aggressive, agitated voice.

[MASTER!!]

Did my bird just scream in capital?

[MASTER!!]

"Uhh...Jade? Can you turn it down a little--"

[MASTER!! Master is awake! MASTER!!]

Huh? What kind of reaction was this? I tilted my head again, wondering where my little companions were. Just then, I heard a sharp wooshing sound, and the next thing I knew, I was headbutted by a colorful little bird and a flaming gecko until I lay flat on the mattress again. Flower petals were raining down around me, and the bald stalks scattered on my side.

[Master!!]

Jade pressed its green head against my chest as if it wanted to sink inside my skin, and the gecko was slapping my shoulder with the flaming tail. I wanted to ask what was going on, but the bird was busy wailing, and the little gecko’s blue eyes were flaming so fiercely that I couldn’t help but lay there like a stone, confused.

I had no idea what happened, so I just raised my hands and patted both of their heads--and what do you know; they cried harder.

"Uhh...guys? Why are you like this? What happened?" I asked them after tens of minutes passed and Jade still sobbed on my chest, while Ignis was grumbling hard. "Why are you acting like we haven’t met for days--"

And then Jade cried even harder, and I froze. Blinking in surprise, I turned to look at Ignis. "Don’t tell me..."

"Hmph!" the little gecko turned its face away.

I grabbed them and raised my body again. "Wait--it really had been days since I woke up?"

"Took you long enough!" Ignis turned away completely now, and grumbled again. "Stupid Master! Making me worry and everything! Stupid!"

Whoa--did I just get dissed by my own contracted beast?

But I decided this was not the time to concern myself with that. "How long?"

"...three days."

"Wow..."

So...I was basically in comatose for three days? No wonder my body felt so refreshed. Although...it also felt sticky from sweat and the elemental bird’s tears.

[Master...Master gone! Master not here! Body here but not here!] Jade sobbed atop my palm, hugging my thumb with its wings.

Huh? What was that supposed to...

"You mean...my soul wasn’t here when I was asleep?"

The green head nodded. [Jade bring Master flower every day but Master not wake up] the bird told me tearfully. [Jade look for flower again today, and Master here again!]

Ah...so that was why it was raining petals earlier. Jade must have taken the last batch of autumn roses and some winter flowers from the garden. Was the bunch inside the vase on the nightstand brought by Jade too?

I patted the green head and wiped the bird’s tears. "Thank you, baby. I’m okay, now. I was just gone a little bit to get healed."

[Heal? Master sick?]

"No, no," I shook my head, and then turned toward the Salamander. "Ignis, can you see my soul again?"

The sulking gecko turned its head slightly, and the bright blue eyes narrowed. But after a second, the flame blazed wildly, as if expressing Ignis’s surprise.

"Your soul!" the gecko crawled closer again, hopping onto my shoulder. "Your soul is not broken anymore!"

It was weird that I couldn’t see it myself, but others could. It was nice hearing that though, that me and Valmeier were one now. That my soul was no longer cracked.

"Your circuits look better," Ignis continued. "There’s still some blockage, but the wall is thicker now."

Oh...so it was true that I’d get better after my soul healed completely. Well, after all, magic was the property of the astral body, which was the vessel of the soul. I put my free hand above my core, feeling the new kind of warmth and pulse; feeling him.

"So...you’re really gone to get healed?" the flaming head tilted a little bit.

"Of course," I nodded. "And it’s not like I knew I would end up in that pla--"

CLANG!

I paused at the sudden loud noise. I was so focused on talking with my little companions that I didn’t realize the bedroom door was being opened. When I looked up, I saw Panne standing frozen with one hand on the door handle, while two housemaids gasped as their equipment dropped to the floor behind him--which was the source of that loud noise.

"Young Master!" Panne walked in hurriedly, looking like he was out of breath even though he was fine a few seconds ago. "Oh, God--Young Master!"

I blinked as he almost stumbled in his hurry. Panne was usually reserved and cool, but he was fumbling so much just by traveling from the door.

"Careful--" I said, but he grabbed my outreach hand, pressing his thumb over my pulse.

"Are you alright? Is your body--should I call the physician?"

I hurriedly pulled my hand back from his grasp and patted his shoulder lightly. "Calm down, breath," I told him. "I’m alright, don’t bother the physician. Can you get me some water instead? I feel parched..."

"Of-of course! Right away!" and then he disappeared, leaving the maids standing blankly at the door.

"Umm...are you here to clean the room?" I asked the maids. One of them nodded awkwardly in response, so I gave them a smile to lessen their nervousness. "You can continue, don’t mind me. Ah--sorry for the petals," I looked around the mattress. "Can you gather them in a bowl or something?"

It took them a few seconds to respond, which they did with a stuttering ’yes’ before scrambling to pick up their tools and entering the room with their eyes on the floor. I thought they wouldn’t be able to work properly with me still lounging in bed, so I shove the blanket away and shifted to get down from the bed.

Or so I tried, but it seemed like I had been sleeping for too long so I lost the strength in my feet. The moment I tried to stand, I stumbled--or was it karma because I nearly laughed at Panne earlier?

[Master!]

"Young Master!" I was grabbed by tiny wings and Panne’s hand, preventing me from disgracefully falling to the ground. My legs trembled for a while until I sent mana flowing there, rejuvenating my muscle until I found my balance.

"I’m okay now," I told them, but Jade was persistently holding into my sleeve, and Panne copying the bird stubbornly.

In the end, I gave up and asked them to take me to the rocking chair on the balcony while waiting for the maid to finish their cleaning. Panne took a clean blanket and wrapped it around me--even though Ignis’s presence already warmed me up--before leaving again to get me a warm drink.

Jade had stopped sobbing by now, and nestled itself in the crook of my neck, wrapping itself in my hair as it lay there. Leaning back on the chair, I took a deep breath, remembering my ’dream’ again, if it was really a dream. Inhaling the scent of approaching winter made me miss the rich earthy scent of the garden and the log cabin, and the warmth of the sunlight surrounding the lady gardener that called herself a Mother.

Hmm...

There were a lot of things I wanted to ask her, but I had no chance. She came when I still felt overwhelmed by Valmeier’s memory, and wiped my tears before taking me in her embrace. I couldn’t remember much, but I seemed to hug her back, and she stroked my hair and back too.

But then she told me I had to go back, because I had been there for too long--despite feeling like it was only half an hour or so. She told me we would meet again, and we could talk properly then. After she gave me a light kiss on my forehead, I woke up.

And three days had passed, it seemed.

Now that I had time to process it, I didn’t have to think too much about what kind of ’dream’ it was--what kind of realm.

Mother...yes, I guessed she really was a mother--the Mother.

"Ignis..."

"What?"

"Have you met the Goddess?"

Ignis, who was sunbathing on the railing, tilted its head. "Mother? Yes, before I got rebirthed from my predecessor’s ash."

Ah...it felt so familiar, the phrase. Rebirthed. As I thought, legendary and mystical beasts were her children too. Suddenly, Ignis raised its head and looked at me with widened eyes. "Are you telling me you were meeting her when you sleep?"

"Just for a bit," I shrugged. "I couldn’t talk to her much, since I had other business."

"I see...so that’s why you spent three days. The divine realm seems to have that effect--or so my past memory says," the gecko nodded before continued sunbathing.

[Master meet Mother?]

"Do you know her too, Jade?"

The little bird shook its head. [No, but Jade hear Mother’s voice when Master first touch Jade]

"Ah, when you were born?"

Jade nodded enthusiastically, making my hair tangled even more around the plump body. It felt like fate or something, that all three of us had met or heard the Mother--the Goddess of Nature. I chuckled while trying to untangle the little bird from my hair, and while we struggled with it, my drink came.

It didn’t come with Panne, however.

"Young Master!" Arta slid through the balcony door and tackled me to the chair, letting out sobbing sounds not unlike Jade earlier.

"Tight! Too tight!"

"Let him breathe, Arta," Lesta’s voice came too, followed by a smacking sound.

Arta got pulled away from me, and as I took a deep breath again, Lesta put the warm mug in my hands with a smile. "Welcome back, Young Master."

Oh, finally--a calm response!

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