The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 234: Pettiness, more often than not, is the best motivation

Chapter 234: Pettiness, more often than not, is the best motivation

"Nat..." I closed my eyes and pressed my lips, but he wasn’t stopping. I felt his cold fingers on my jaw and his cold lips all over my face. "Naaat--"

"Just a bit more," he whispered, kissing the corner of my closed eyelid.

It was a nice surprise at first, waking up to him staring at me, and then being pulled to his lap and receiving a rain of kisses that made me giggle in delight. But after thirty minutes, it felt too much, wasn’t it?

"Come on, we need to get ready," I laughed and patted his cheek. "And I’m thirsty,"

That one seemed to work, because he gave me one last kiss on the lips before releasing me. Well, not really, because he carried me and put me down on the armchair below the window, where sunlight poured down and brought a little bit of warmth.

It felt nice there, because this was Natha’s chair, so it was filled with his scent and manaprints. It got even nicer when Natha brought me my warm herbal drink, which I continued to consume even after I was fully healed.

As I enjoyed the warmth spreading inside my body, Natha was sitting on the armchair and stroking my head, twirling my hair between his fingers in silence. I realized at that point that he acted like this because of what I was going to do today.

Uh-huh. The trial.

I couldn’t tell what was on his mind, though. Did he just want to pamper me before the event and say nothing to make sure I wasn’t nervous?

I wasn’t nervous, though.

Perhaps because I had a chance to let go yesterday, speaking honestly to the egg, and even hearing a reply. I found myself extremely relaxed, and I even slept really well.

You know that feeling before a big event like an operation or something, and you would get a gut feeling whether things would end up smoothly or not? Yeah, I strangely felt like I was in a zen mode. Just...calm and happy?

It was a nice day, after all. The sky was bright, but there was a bed of snow below, so it painted a beautiful view as I looked outside while sipping on my drink.

The chef and the servants had come back, so we had a full table of food today, which Natha fed to me eagerly. There were more vassals joining the breakfast this morning; the twins, Eruha, Opti, and Caba were there, so it was quite a merry meal.

Jade didn’t really like it though, when I ate with a lot of people, because I paid the little bird less attention. I usually chatted with the others so I often forgot to feed Jade its favorite jelly. But I fed Jade well today, and threw in some candied fruit on the jelly plate.

"Can I bring Jade and Ignis?" I asked the others after finishing my main course, patting the little bird that munched on a candied purple berry.

They paused for a bit, probably didn’t think au would speak about the trial on my own first. "You can, but they can’t do the trial with you," Natha replied after a while.

Oh, that’s a relief. But...hmm, would it be a good thing to do? Or would it be better to let them wait here in case...you know--in case something bad did happen? I didn’t want to traumatize my little bird after all.

But they knew about the trial because they were there when I talked to Zia, so I didn’t think Jade would like it if I left them behind.

I poked the bird’s bulging cheek and looked at Ignis. "Do you want to come?"

"What kind of question is that?" the Salamander scoffed in response.

[Jade go with Master anywhere!]

I laughed at the little bird’s cheek which was sneered by melted sugar. "Okay," I stroked the green head and looked toward Natha and the vassals again. "Is there like a dress code or anything?"

The twins looked at each other before shrugging and replying with a deep, suspicious smile on their faces. "Depends on what effect you want to give."

"Hmm...what if I want to annoy them?"

Arta clapped her hands and sighed. "Oh, that is so~ my specialty!"

"Good," I nodded in satisfaction. "Get me ready, Arta."

With a bright smile and blazing eyes, Arta stood up and saluted. "Yessir!"

* * *

Arta’s initial idea of making it annoying was decking me in the most extravagant outfit, as if we were about to party or something, until I bonked her head. "I have to walk across the water--do you want me to get stuck from the weight?"

She giggled and admitted that she got too carried away. And then she took out an outfit that was still one of my best, but it was more casual. It was a ’going away’ outfit, in white color with an accent of blue on the lining and the embroidery. It was also one of the outfits which was made in pair with Natha’s.

And of course, Arta told Natha to wear the same one beneath the black robe he would still use when he put out the beacon.

She didn’t need to tell him though, he was already wearing it, so Arta gave him a thumbs up.

And then we departed.

This time, I didn’t wait in the watchtower, but came directly to the tower to watch Natha put out the fire. Ignis was grumbling, telling me if they would snuff it out, they should have fed it to him instead. I laughed softly and promised the Salamander I would look for some more fire mana stone. Jade also offered its red candy and red jellies, but Ignis said the most delicious fire was the one that was white in color, which shocked the little bird.

"That’s nice, Young Master, keep doing it," Lesta whispered behind me.

I raised my brow a little bit, and in the corner of my vision, I could see the Elders had arrived at the Temple. Some of them looked at me in palpable annoyance, which I guessed was what Lesta meant by good.

Well, they probably wanted me to act all nervous, probably scared to the point that I couldn’t manage my appearance. But here I was, in nice clothes and laughing with my companions as if I were on a stroll.

I glanced once in their direction, and surprisingly, Hagai’s grandfather was nodding at me. Huh--was he really on my side now?

Eh, who cares?

Except for Hagai’s grandfather, the Elders could be divided into three kinds; the one who looked expressionless as if they didn’t care, the one who looked worried, and the one who looked annoyed. And those who looked annoyed got even more annoyed when they saw Natha come down and shed his black robes.

I bet seeing us coordinating our outfits made you foam in the mouth, huh?

Natha nodded to the clerics as a signal and then held my hand, guiding me to follow the clerics. We walked toward one side of the Temple where the clerics touched a pillar. The said pillar then shimmered and slid open, which reminded me of the treasure room and the secret room inside the pillar.

This time, it wasn’t a room, but a descending stairs, which I climbed down while holding hands with Natha. The stairs and the corridor itself were made of carved marble, and the torches along the walls were made of gold. Rather than going into a sacred lake, I felt like we were going into a secret treasure room; a vault full of gold and gems! Even Jade and Ignis thought so.

But soon, the stairway came to an end and I could see the glittering lake. Before that, however, my eyes caught the magnificent room containing this underground lake. The room itself was lit up with lamps fueled by magic stones, and the ground was made of dark granites. There were marble statues of the Demon God, Lord An’Hyang, around the lake itself.

The most eye-catching thing, however, was of course the altar in the middle of the lake. It was big enough for a few people to stand, but there was no statue or anything there. Just seven torches making a circle above an octagonal platform.

For now, the torches weren’t lit. But it was said that the torches would light one by one throughout the trial to indicate that the Demon God was accepting the trial taker.

While I was busy sightseeing, the clerics were busy preparing the trial, and the Elders were busy whispering among themselves. I guessed if Natha hadn’t been there, they would have already spoken out loud, but pfft--coward.

I knew some of them were thinking that I only took this trial because I was desperate to be with Natha, and it made me want to sneer. Was Natha’s pettiness rubbed on me? Maybe. Sometimes, pettiness is the best motivation.

"Are you ready?" the Head Cleric asked me in a soft voice. At least, the clerics had been nothing but cordial with me. They were not as friendly as the Lord Castle’s staff, but they also did not face me with scorn.

Which was surprising because I thought they would be the ones who hated me the most, seeing as Valmeier used to be a priest of the human realm’s Goddess. Perhaps they were the first side that Natha lobbied regarding my case?

I nodded at the Head Cleric’s question, and I felt Natha’s cold hand on my shoulder, massaging lightly. I looked up, putting a smile on my lips, and Natha gave me a kiss on my forehead. His lips lingered longer than usual, firm, but I could also feel they were quivering for a bit.

"You have to be good, okay?" I told Jade, before giving the little bird to Natha. Unfortunately, Lesta couldn’t come down here, so I had no babysitter, and Jade wasn’t really close with Eruha--the only vassal who could come down with us.

For a change, Jade did not protest, clinging to Natha’s collar while nodding to me. Perhaps the little bird felt the solemn atmosphere and realized it was a serious situation.

"I’ll see you soon," I patted the little bird, and rubbed Ignis’s head, before looking up at Natha, whose lips were smiling but eyes were rather cold. I tiptoed and kissed his lips lightly, giving him the brightest smile I could muster. "You too. I’ll see you soon."

"Okay," Natha replied firmly, and with that, I turned around to face the steady lake.

One of the Elders came to the front, and seemed like he was about to open his mouth, probably to provide a preface or whatever. But I wasn’t really in the mood to hear some bullshit about why they demanded this trial or whatever. It would just be filled with lies and gaslighting crap.

So before the Elder could speak, I just walked straight toward the lake. "I don’t need your glib," I looked at the Elder and shed my outer robe to the ground. "Let’s get this over with."

"How impertinent!"

"Yes, I know you are," I waved my hand to the side. "Move out, you’re in my way."

I was told, during my childhood, that I had to respect Elders; elderly people. But my grandfather also told me that respect was earned, and that I did not have to give my respect to those who did not deserve it.

And that old demon with scorn and hatred in his eyes was definitely not deserving my respect.

I didn’t know if Natha told them to, or it was just the protocol, but the clerics told the Elder to get back and one of them guided me to the edge of the lake. The cleric stopped a few steps from the lake and spoke.

"You may enter the lake," the cleric said, and then added in a whisper. "Good luck."

And so, after taking a deep breath, I walked into the water.

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