The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 268: All good things in life started with a C

Chapter 268: All good things in life started with a C

"You look free," Natha commented casually instead of greeting his teacher, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

Or was it their way of greeting?

"How can I receive you if I’m not free?" she curled her lips and replied with a shrug.

Yep. Definitely their greeting.

Although...it was kind of unexpected. From the way he talked about his Teacher in reverence, I thought Natha would be more...polite and reserved. But it almost felt like we were in the presence of his aunt or something.

"And more importantly; how can I receive this sweetling hiding behind you?"

Oops? I grinned and shifted slightly so I wouldn’t be standing behind Natha, although I still did not let go of his hand. Bending my waist to give a polite greeting, I spoke rather hesitatingly. "Umm...good afternoon. I’m Valen."

"A lovely name, isn’t it? Full of vitality, like a new sprout of the spring," she smiled, looking at me with twinkling eyes. It surprised me because she made me realize the connection my name had with Valmeier--a hopeful sprout. "You may call me D’Ara."

Huh? Really? Her name? Just like that? I looked at Natha, who just shrugged casually.

"Why don’t you sit down first," she waved her hand, and a golem came to pour us tea before we even took a seat.

The moment my body touched the sofa, the cup also touched my hands, delivered by the swift golem. It was such a perfect temperature that I could drink the tea right away. Now that I had wet my throat, I looked at her again and mustered up the courage to speak.

"Umm...is it really alright for me to call you by your name...Ma’am?"

"Well, it’s not like you can call me ’Teacher’ like this brat," she flicked her finger toward Natha, who rolled his eyes in response. "Since you’re already under my youngest’s tutelage."

Oh, right. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that she was technically the mother of Sada and Eruha. Or that she was more than two millennia old. Sitting there sipping on her tea with a book on her lap, illuminated by the soft sunlight of an unchanging world...

Ignoring her immense beauty, she did look normal.

"After you live as long as me, things like honorifics and such just feel pointless and boring," she let out a sigh.

I guessed...it was kind of like how money did not matter anymore for the wealthiest man in the world?

"She just feels lonely," Natha whispered to me, which was bad, because I almost couldn’t hide my smile by drinking my tea aggressively.

"That’s right, I’ve kind of felt lonely lately," D’Ara surprisingly agreed with Natha easily. "So why don’t you leave the sweetling here to accompany me, hmm?"

"What are you talking about, Teacher? There’s no way someone as wonderful as you could ever feel lonely," Natha smiled charmingly, being polite all of a sudden, even straightening his back like a gentleman.

She scoffed and raised her empty teacup so the golem servant could pour her a new one. But just before she was about to drink it, she paused and looked at the surface of the tea in contemplation.

And then, she suddenly shifted her gaze to me. "Where’s my candy and chocolate?"

I blinked for a few seconds, before recalling the voice I heard on the way here. Oh, right! So she paused drinking her tea for a snack. Swiftly, I took out the beautiful basket filled with premium products from the store; the jewel-like candy, the beautiful chocolates, and decadent-looking cookies. The store clerk said the package was carefully crafted and chosen to fit all kinds of taste buds, which was why it was the most suitable for a gift.

"Ah! Here! They are the best ones I’ve eaten so far," I told her while placing the basket on the table. A golem immediately worked to unpack the basket and laid down the product neatly, even arranging them on plates.

Looking at them made me salivating again, because they were truly the best. But when I thought about it again, compared to someone who had lived for millennials, I had only eaten limited kinds of things, so calling it the best was probably...

So I added carefully. "Although...umm, I haven’t tried a lot of others before, so..."

"My, isn’t this from my daughter’s place?" she waved her hand and lifted a red candy that glimmered like a garnet as it hovered in front of us.

Oh, she knew about it?

"Yes!"

I watched in excitement as she took the garnet-like candy and put it in her mouth. Jade, who had smelled its favorite sweet scent, wriggled out of my coat and rolled into my lap, looking at the box of candy with sparkling eyes.

I patted the green head, sternly told the little bird through our telepathy that it wasn’t ours, while observing the Progenitor’s face expectantly. Would she like it? Would it be enough payment for an answer?

I mean...I knew it was ridiculous to expect an answer from a pseudo-deity being with only sweets as bribes and not, well...you know, riches or artifacts or anything more valuable, but...

She did say ’might’.

"Mm, tastes like home..." she nodded, the corner of her mouth curled slightly as she savored the taste of the candy.

I gulped unknowingly and kept staring at her while holding Jade in my hand, waiting for a verdict. The little bird, feeling my nervousness, also stared at her in tension. And it seemed like staring was working, because she suddenly laughed at us.

"Alright, alright," she chuckled and waved her hand. "I’ll give you three tickets for three questions."

My eyes widened at that. Not one, but three? Was that each for the candy, chocolate, and cookies?

"Thank you!"

[And Jade? Can Jade fly around, Teacher?] My little bird carefully jumped on the table, looking at the first vampire with eagerness. It was as reserved as Jade could be, but I looked at the little bird with teary eyes.

Look at my baby asking permission directly by itself!

"What a smart child," she raised her brow at the little bird, and again, I was surprised because it seemed like she could understand what Jade was saying. "Of course, you can. Flying is not a big deal."

[Thank you, Teacher!] Jade chirped excitedly for a second, before pausing and continued with a distraught tone in the next. [But Jade...not a child...]

She laughed at the downturned little bird, whose wings were sagging. I had to tell Jade later that she called everyone a child, but for now, at least we have clearance!

She looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes, before speaking softly. "Think about it well before using it," she said. "Now go rest and come back for dinner."

* * *

Again, we were free to roam around the resident without a guide, because, well...Natha was the guide.

Apparently, nothing had changed from the time he still lived here, except for the new decorations and collections. Hmm...it seemed like she truly wanted to keep things from changing. As we walked to the fourth building, which was where the ’disciples’ were staying, Natha gave me a rough explanation of the castle’s layout.

I knew that the second building was her main residence, but the biggest building was actually the first one. It was rarely used, however, only if there was a guest, who probably only came here once every century. The third building was used to store the things she collected throughout millennia, so it looked like a museum. The fifth building was a library, which also connected to a research room, laboratories, and a golem factory inside the mountain. And finally, the last two buildings were functioned as a warehouse and an arsenal.

Indeed, it looked like a nice place to study.

There were dozens of golems working here, and we met a few on our way to the fourth building. Based on how Natha went to the room directly, it seemed like we were given his old room--although, since we were the only ones staying here at the moment, it felt like we were given the whole building.

"Oh, how nice," the first thing I did was to check the view from the balcony. I didn’t know if it was a coincidence or not, but from our room, we could see the field where the golem was taking care of Vrida.

I called out to the wyvern and she screeched in response. Jade flew down to tell her that they had permission to fly around, and not long after, I could see Jade sitting between Vrida’s horn; the excited loud chirp echoing throughout the mountain as they raced to the forest.

"Ahahaha--Jade treats her like an amusement ride!"

"What do you think the brat will do if it meets a plane?" Natha wrapped his arms around my waist as we watched the wyvern and her little bird rider getting further and further away.

"A plane?" I tilted my head to ponder about it. "I think Jade would try to race it first, and then demand to sit on the cockpit."

Natha chuckled and suddenly, we were talking about what might be if everything were happening in the modern world--provided I was healthy, of course. Natha would be the billionaire CEO everyone raving about, and I would be a mafia grandson running away from my vicious relatives who wanted to take my inheritance.

"Would you ask me to take revenge?"

"No," I shook my head even without thinking much about it. "Even back then, I just want to...not having anything to do with them anymore," I shrugged. "But I can’t exactly cut ties because my medical fees came from the trust fund."

"In a world where you’re not sick, you wouldn’t have to stay, would you?"

"I guess," looking into the horizon that started to be dyed in a reddish hue, I looked up to see the silver eyes. "My late Grandpa would be sad, but I think I’d just give them the money and run away."

"To me?"

"Would you take this beggar, Sir?"

"Is that a question?"

"They might target you and your company, then."

"I would have a justification to enact revenge, then."

I blinked, and, after a few seconds, laughed at the delight on Natha’s face as he talked about revenge for my family in another world. Ah, well, in a way, being sick actually made me live long enough, because who knew what people would do if I was actually healthy? I mean...I might be naive, but I understood enough that my parents did not just get into a random accident.

"Mm...it’s quite nice wondering about pointless things like this," I laughed again while watching the sun sink into the horizon.

"I used to do it a lot," Natha said, stroking my arms and staring into the distance. "After I came back from the Sanctuary, I would stand here, thinking about showing you this sunset."

I looked up, turning around so I could see his face better. He stroked my cheek and smiled as he continued. "I would think about what it would be like if you were there with me, imagining how we would meet again, taking note of the places I would take you to, the things I would show you, the food I would feed you..."

In a breathtaking smile, he cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead. "I’m glad I don’t have to imagine it anymore."