The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 279: I might not have the insight of someone living for thousands of years, but...

Chapter 279: I might not have the insight of someone living for thousands of years, but...

Amidst my surprise, Natha picked up my fork and delivered the steak to my mouth. He looked at Heraz and told the shapeshifter to continue as I mulled this new information. Something was tickling my scalp, like I was so close to connecting some dot, but wasn’t quite there yet.

"This is still a conjecture, but I believe the Hero and his companions will start to move soon, Young Master."

"Oh, why do you think so?"

"The magician you told me the last time; it was quite a journey to reach the place," he said. "I believe they would try to reach the magician before winter come. If they want to receive the magician’s help by autumn, they would need to start moving now."

Ah, right. It was summer in the human realm. And while they had the sponsor of Midas, which meant the convenience of transportation, the path to that island wouldn’t be easy. It would be like going to D’Ara’s abode, albeit on a much smaller scale. Unless they had a flying mount like a wyvern or griffin, they would need to thread on foot.

Not to mention, if they would immediately go to our Lair after...

Wait.

Wait...

I put my hands over my palm as the tingling in my scalp increased. What was it...hmm...

"Sweetheart? Is there something wrong?"

"No, wait--" I raised my palm slightly, before raising my gaze to look at Natha. It was then, as I looked at him, something clicked in my mind, and the tingling stopped. "Ah!"

"I got it now! Why they would dare to go to our Lair!" I slammed the dining table, surprising both Jade and Heraz. Natha, however, smiled after blinking once. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because you said our Lair," he said. "But what did you get? Why do those humans have the audacity to infiltrate our Lair?"

Wow...he really emphasized that ’our’. "Well, you said you built it for me--but we digress. Anyway, I figured it out after seeing the new party member."

"The inventor?" Natha tilted his head in ponder. But as expected of our academic genius Demon Lord, he figured it out immediately. "Ah, you mean, because she has a contract with me?"

"Yeah!" I nodded enthusiastically, forgetting my poor steak.

I had always been wondering about it. The fact that they knew Natha had Amrita could be obtained from two sources; either the magician told them, or the daughter of Midas was truly the author girl I knew. But that did not explain why they would be so daring as to go to the Lair--which might be counted as aggression--instead of trying to contact him through some other channel.

"The inventor knew you--at least as an investor, and knew you are at least rational," I said. "They would be in a hurry, and contacting you through the bank would be too long."

"True," Natha nodded. "A message from other realms would only come to me after months. The only reason why your letter came to me swiftly was because it’s you."

Natha did not tell me, but I had a guess that he had always been keeping a tab on Valmeier, so any contact made by him--well, me--would be treated as utmost priority. But even that took the spy at least two weeks--crossing the border illegally tended to cause that.

"Right--so she will probably tell them to try going to the Lair," I continued. "Because it’ll be far better to face you in the Lair, which was situated on the border, than going to the Lord Castle in the heart of a demon realm."

"I see," Natha nodded with a smile, but his hand was leading mine back to the plate. "Is there anything you want Heraz to do?"

"Not really," I shook my head. As I resumed my meal, I could see Heraz was frowning slightly, although his gaze was on the floor as usual.

Ah, he must be confused, hearing us talking about an event that had yet to happen. If I was alone, he might had more courage to ask me about it, but with Natha here, he held himself back because it would seem impertinent.

Well, it was better this way.

"Then, should we end the report?" Natha asked for confirmation.

I was about to nod and just told him to watch the hero as usual, but I suddenly recalled something; the red envelope inside my storage ring.

Was it fate, that Heraz gave me an update just as we got back? Or was it just the insight of someone who had lived for thousands of years?

"Ah, there was something," I looked at Heraz, who straightened his back in attention. "Please give me a list of the stuff from the Druid Kingdom’s treasury that is still being kept in the Empire."

* * *

"What are you trying to do with that?" Natha finally asked while we were soaking in the hot tub to clean ourselves from the travel’s dust.

"Hmm? You mean, the list?"

"Yeah," he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me between his legs.

I leaned my back against his chest and lay my head on his shoulder. "Just...in case someday I have a way to rob them," I shrugged.

I could sense Natha raising his brow even without looking at his face. "Well, well, look at you," he tilted my head so he could see my face, sweeping my wet hair off my face. "Even thinking about doing crime, now?"

"It’s not a crime to take back your rightful inheritance," I pursed my lips indignantly.

Now that I have taken the name Sil Seahl, thinking about the fallen kingdom irritated me so much. Recalling how even the royal scepter ended up being sold to another kingdom made me...ugh! Sometimes I had this thought of toppling the Empire and taking back the land that had been occupied by them.

But then, I realized such thinking was very eighth-grader. Toppling an Empire wasn’t just about destroying the palace or killing the emperor, and it couldn’t be done without meticulous planning, enough manpower, and adequate funding.

Not that I thought Natha couldn’t do it, but...would the destruction be worth it?

"Quite right," Natha nodded in agreement, before curling his lips and pinching my cheek in the next second. "Still, I’m impressed that my cute little sweetheart could think about doing something like that."

"Well, I am the bride of the Demon Lord of Greed!" I huffed and slammed the edge of the tub with my palms.

"That’s right," Natha chuckled, kissing my temple and taking my hands--which, I had to admit, was stinging a little bit, hehe...

"Hmm...if I knew your background beforehand, I would have robbed them myself a long time ago," Natha said while rubbing my reddened palm, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

"You might spark a war with the human realm, then,"

He scoffed in return. "War? I only take back my future bride’s inheritance," he said, parroting my reasoning. "They are the ones who occupied other’s territory unprovoked, and caused environmental degradation everywhere."

True. They were the ones who started the war, and because of that, the druids retreated deep into the realm, becoming a recluse race. The number of druids who wanted to roam the world to purify the mana in nature dwindled, especially because the royal blood was annihilated.

"They could taste a punishment or two."

I turned my head to laugh against his neck. See, my Demon Lord was ready for a war, even. But let’s not dwell on that now. Him mentioning of punishment made me think about my best friend.

"Nat...Zia wouldn’t be punished over there, right?" I asked him carefully, playing with the water to calm the slight uneasiness in my heart.

"Why do you think so?"

"I mean...since she was running away from home and such," I paused for a bit, sending the miniature water duck swimming around in front of me, before adding carefully. "Also...for not taking her brother’s side."

I felt his cold hand caressing my hair. "I told you not to worry, she is stronger than you thought," he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and then stroked my cheek with his thumb while at it.

Ugh...I know. I know, but...I don’t think strength mattered much in front of family, though. Be it strength or money, unless we’re planning to cut ties completely with our family, those things wouldn’t be an advantage. Perhaps...they might even become a shackle.

"But if you’re that worried, why don’t you just call her tomorrow? Didn’t you give your communication orb to her?"

"Oh! That’s right!" I gasped and my back straightened with reflex, only for Natha to pull me back to lay on him again. "How could I forget about that? Right, I’ll call her tomorrow."

I would have liked to call her immediately after the bath, but I didn’t think it was polite to disturb someone at night for trivial things. There was also a possibility that Zia had already fallen asleep. Ah...if only we could text each other...

Right. After the hero party came to me, I could just recruit the inventor to my research floor. At the very least, I’d arrange for that person to meet with Izzi, and something might come out of it. It’d be best if we could get the one staying in the realm of sloth too, but Natha said that place was too cold during the winter, so...

We soaked in the tub for a bit more, until Natha fished me out because I was getting drowsy. The long-distance travel, the satisfactory meal, and the nice bath worked like a sleeping spell. Natha even had to help me dry myself and put on the nightshirt. When he was rubbing my wet hair, however, I caught the inquisitive gaze of the silver eyes.

"Ng?"

Natha chuckled and tilted my head up. "Can you tell me now?" he asked. "What are you going to do with the hero party?"

Huh? He had been wondering about that?

"Hmm...nothing, really?" I shrugged languidly. "I mean--I just don’t want any infighting in our Lair

So I was planning to just talk to them first, and see from there."

Natha stopped his drying motion and raised his brow. "Was?"