The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 278: There’s always a lot of things to unpack after vacation

Chapter 278: There’s always a lot of things to unpack after vacation

[Hmph!]

Ah, my little bird was sulking again in the morning. I hugged Jade and rained kisses on the green head until the little bird made a sound between whining and laughing.

"You also spent the whole day with Vrida yesterday, except when there’s food," I argued, and Jade gasped. The beady eyes moved, as if shaking, and in the end, Jade buried its face on my chest in fluster.

[Jade sorry!] It was only after I caressed the colorful plume that Jade lifted its green head. [Did Master miss Jade yesterday?]

"I did," well, at least before the sunset. "But you seem like you’re having a good time with Vrida, so it’s alright."

The little bird giggled and gave me a little peck on my cheek.

"If you want to come here, you can just come by yourself," D’Ara told me as we walked to the yard toward Vrida. "Wyvern always remembers the path they had visited, so she would be able to guide you here. Come with the little one."

She patted Jade, who didn’t mind being called ’little’ this time.

I bit my lips and hesitated for a bit, before shifting closer and whispered in her ears. "Will you...will you come to our...mm, w-wedding?"

I didn’t know why I had to whisper when I was sure Natha could hear me well with his heightened senses and everything. But for some reason, I was still a bit too embarrassed to say these things out loud. Well, even if he heard me, Natha acted as if he didn’t, and just continued to approach Vrida while smiling subtly.

Uhh--he definitely heard it.

"Well, of course," she replied easily. "I have to officiate you, anyway."

"...huh?"

"Well, after I pondered about it last night, rather than making you do it and risking a mishap, it’ll be better if I do it for you instead," she explained. "The mark of eternal, I mean."

Oh? Oh!

My eyes widened, and she pinched my chin. "How about it? Would you like that?"

"Yes!" I answered immediately. It wasn’t just a matter of mishap and whatever. I was happy because it meant she would definitely come. As Natha’s teacher and Eruha’s...well, mother, wasn’t she basically a family already?

She stroked my head for a bit as we arrived beside the wyvern, and she leaned down slightly to kiss my forehead. A strange sensation came through me, and I blinked as I asked her. "What is that?"

"A small blessing," she said. Oh, right--she was more or less a demi-God. "Help with your metabolism."

...that wasn’t what I expected. But then again, she was a vampire; the Mother of Gluttony.

"Eat more, will you?" she stroked my chin again before laughing.

Well, it wasn’t like I hated eating; I just couldn’t digest things easily. I guessed, since my stomach would work better, I should be able to eat more in one sitting. So...yay?

I waved to D’Ara with Jade, and it was rather heartbreaking seeing the slightly forlorn look on her face as Vrida took off. Ah, I was reminded of the face my grandma would have when my vacation in her house ended.

And thus, our visit to the lonely Vampire Mother ended.

* * *

"Fuck!" Izzi greeted us with a curse as she stared at Vrida.

"Language, Izzi!" I hissed, scooping Jade, and looked into the beady eyes. "Don’t remember that word."

[Okay! No fuck!]

Damnit!

"How could you just come back with a dragon mount like this?" Izzi parted his lips, the golden eyes widened and sparkling bright like a summer sun.

"She’s a wyvern," I corrected, stroking Vrida’s snout.

"Same thing."

"It’s different! It would be like people calling you a drow!"

Izzi blinked. "Ah, noted," he nodded. "So, how?"

"By having a filthy rich fiance?" I shrugged. Natha ruffled my hair for that and Izzi grumbled in response.

"Should have known..."

"Ah...so that’s why His Lordship asked me to build a wyvern nest," Arta chimed in, approaching us from the Castle. "The keeper hasn’t arrived, though."

"Lesta and Eruha is still in Gluttony?" Natha raised his brow. They should have arrived before us since they were supposed to use the portal, along with Vrida’s caretaker. But it was already nighttime, and they still hadn’t come?

"Eruha sent a message, telling us they had to stay another night since Lesta is still recuperating," Arta said, scratching her neck with complicated emotion.

I spent a few seconds blinking, before letting out a sharp gasp. "They did it?!"

"Heh," Natha smirked and patted my head. "Seems like you were right on the mark."

Oh my, oh my! Lesta did say the only reason he hadn’t given Eruha an answer was because he had no leeway to do it since they were busy with...uhh, each other. So I guessed Lesta finally managed to give his answer. Still...

"Talk about fast..."

"He waited for decades already, so..." Natha shrugged. "I know how that feels," he smiled, looking at me so warmly that I started to feel warm in the face too.

Ugh...what a way to feel embarrassed as soon as we land. I turned toward Arta to distract myself, asking about someone else I wish was here to see Vrida. "Has Zia come back to the Lair? I have a ton of souvenirs for her."

The one who answered me, however, was Natha. "She visited her home for a bit."

My eyes widened, looking at Natha in wonder and swirling question. "She went home? Would she be alright?"

"Of course, she will," Natha smiled, holding my hand as we walked inside the castle. "It’s not like she’s actually an exile. She’s just fed up with home and running away like a princess."

"Well, she is a princess," I shrugged.

"That’s true," Natha smirked. "You don’t have to worry about her. Zidoa has more royal blood than anyone in her generation, so her status is the highest after that brat."

Haha...he really called the Lord of Lust a brat. "Hmm...I wonder what’s the situation with the...punishment," I muttered. It had been a few months since then, but I doubt the incubus had learned anything about love.

"You don’t need to think about his existence," Natha said coldly.

Alright, alright, my petty demon. I squeezed his hand and laughed. Well, I hoped Zia come back quickly since there was so much I wanted to tell her, including my decision about the wedding. I wanted to gather all of my close friends and tell them all at once--since I didn’t think I could repeat such an embarrassing announcement more than once.

"I wonder what’s for dinner," I muttered as we came closer to our beloved quarters. After being fed with nonstop delicacies in the land of gluttony, my appetite had risen slightly. And with the blessing from D’Ara, it increased even more.

Natha looked delightedly surprised when I mentioned mealtime first, but he also chuckled and gave me a warning. "You have to get used to normal food again, alright?" he said. "But tell Arta what you liked to eat when you were there so she can procure the ingredients."

"Can I?"

"Why can’t you?" Natha looked slightly offended. "It wouldn’t be as good unless we hire a cook from the gluttony, but--"

"Oh, no--don’t do that. The cook here might get hurt, you know."

Natha laughed and pinched my cheek teasingly. "Fine, I’ll just send them to study in gluttony."

Hmm...that much should be okay. I nodded in agreement, because the food from Gluttony was just that delicious. Probably because my druid body craved mana as much as the vampires, so their palate matched mine well.

Just not the crazy appetite.

But a long journey did tend to make people hungry, and I was so looking forward to dinner. So imagined my disappointment when the first thing that greeted me inside the Lord’s quarters was Heraz instead of food.

Umm...no offense to you, my guy, but...could you come before bed as usual instead of during dinner?

"Apologies, my Lord. I have to go away soon, so I couldn’t pick a better time," the demon said, as if he could read my mind--which made me rather guilty.

"We can do it over dinner," Natha said, and I perked up instantly, which made him press his lips to prevent a laugh from coming out.

Ugh--whatever. I was too hungry to think about embarrassment.

We waited until all the food was laid down and the servants retreated from the room. I offered Heraz to eat together, but as usual, the shapeshifter didn’t want to do anything that seemed to be stepping on boundaries.

How curious. Opti practically barged in on my first day here for breakfast.

"Anyway, you have anything new from the Hero?" I asked.

"Yes, Young Master," he took out a scroll from his coat and delivered it to Natha. "This is the update list on the Hero’s current companion," he said, and then continued to explain as Natha unrolled the scroll--since my hands were busy with steak. "The newest addition is someone...familiar."

My fork paused before the steak entered my mouth. "Oh?"

Natha looked at the list and chuckled. "Ah, it’s that person," he said. "The one you probably want to see the most."

My eyes squinted in suspense, waiting for the revelation, and Natha told me with a deep smile. "The one who tried to make something resembling a smartphone."

...my steak got further and further away from my mouth.