The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 316: Moral fights with older generation is an unwinable battle

Chapter 316: Moral fights with older generation is an unwinable battle

"Was it to your taste, Little Prince?"

The grandma, who went by Letaruen, asked me at the end of our dinner. She kept piling more and more food on my plate earlier that Natha lost his role as my meal watchman. If I got caught off guard and not covering my plate with my hands, she would never stop.

So, thank you for giving me a better digestive system, D’Ara.

But the meal was also really delicious. Somehow, Letaruen managed to cook something that fit both of me and Natha’s palate. It wasn’t overly stimulating, but still rich by using a lot of herbal seasoning mixed in perfect harmony.

And it wasn’t a luxurious spread of many different types of food and flavor; it was just stew, bread, and salad. But it was delicious, hearty, and comforting. A perfect simple meal to be enjoyed after a long journey.

After being pampered with royalty treatment for months, this homey meal felt really nice--which was kind of funny because the one who cooked it kept on calling me Little Prince even after I asked her to call me something else.

But yeah, it was a nice meal.

"Yes, I really like it, Letta," I told her with a genuine smile. "Will you be the one who cooks for us while we’re here?"

"If you want me to," she replied with a hearty smile that seemed to contain delight every time she opened her mouth.

I didn’t even hesitate. "Yes, please!"

Her hard laugh reverberated loudly around the dining table, and Amarein ushered us to move to the seating area to have an after-meal coffee. While stroking Jade, who got sleepy from eating too much jelly, I listened to her telling me about what our schedule would be tomorrow.

Apparently, I would go to the Tribe Hall in front of the big tree to meet the Chiefs or their representatives. And I would have to meet them alone, without Natha--which was something we were already expecting anyway. Then we would have a banquet--again--in which, of course, Natha would participate.

That was probably the time they would take to scrutinize him and our relationship, huh?

Before we got the time to talk about the information on the queen’s conception--which was my main objective and the whole reason we played goody goody--I couldn’t help stretching out a little bit as I started to get drowsy. I might not get tired physically, but a prolonged journey was also a burden to someone’s mind. With several yawns managed to come out, we decided to stop chatting and called it a day.

As I looked up the stairs, thinking about pillows, Amarein turned toward Natha and said something that almost made me gasp.

"Pardon me, Lord Natha, but I only have one spare room here," she said with a charming smile. "Letaruen will show you to one of the guest houses. I hope you don’t mind."

"...huh?" I turned around swiftly and blinked at her. "But we sleep together,"

"Not in my house," Amarein said; the charming smile suddenly didn’t look charming anymore. "Not when you are yet to be wedded."

"...oh,"

Oh, Mother. This was the time I realized that people didn’t always live together before their marriage. It was something I was used to on Earth that I failed to recognize it wasn’t something common in this world.

No, wait...it didn’t seem to be something common on Earth too back in the day.

Mother--had I been committing debauchery all this time?

"Umm..." I looked at Natha, fidgeting slightly on my feet. I knew that I had to adhere to the host’s rule, but also...this was so abrupt I had a difficult time accepting it.

I mean...when was the last time I spent the night without him?

But, as if he already knew it would happen, Natha didn’t have much reaction; his face remained calm, and he gave me a reassuring smile. When he reached out for my hand, however, I could feel the tip of his fingers were colder than usual.

That being said, he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Isn’t it, fun?" he stroked my hands gently, as if trying to transfer some warmth. I looked up and watched the gleaming silver eyes curl softly.

What do you mean fun? What was fun about having to sleep separately like other peo--ooh...

When I stopped fidgeting from anxiety, he smiled and caressed my hair. "Please miss me a lot tonight," he said, before taking my hands and kissing them; kissing the mark on the base of my ring finger. "Good night, sweetheart," he whispered against my knuckles, "sleep tight."

Fine; it was just during the night. Surely it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. he probably thought it was best to follow Amarein’s words to gain a good image in the druids’ eyes. "Okay, you too," I nodded and pulled him down slightly so I could kiss his forehead.

With a heavy heart, I let him go and watched him walk away with Letaruen, to a guest house a bit further away. The place wasn’t so far, and almost looked like a villa, so at least I knew he was treated well--well, after all, he was still a Demon Lord.

I watched him until I couldn’t see him anymore down the road. Amarein brought me upstairs then, to one of the bedrooms with a window facing the big tree in the plaza, and even the waterfall in the cliff.

"Don’t worry, you will be safe in this place," Amarein said, to which I only responded with a simple nod.

"Good night, Aunty,"

She stroked my arms and gave me a sweet smile. "Good night, my dear."

Haa...what of my heart’s safety, though? Oh well, just a few nights sleeping by myself should be doable. And I wasn’t alone, for that matter.

[No Nightmare!] Jade twirled in the air and dove into the bed joyfully. [Like old days!]

Oh, right. We used to sleep together in the Lair. But Jade got its own room and was barred from our bedroom during the night in the Lord’s quarters because...well, because we should maintain the little bird’s innocence.

"Pfft--" I laughed when Jade started to roll around the mattress, making a mess of the blanket. "You’re that happy?"

[Jade want to sleep with Master!] the little bird replied cheerfully, jumping up to the pillow. [Sleep in Master’s pillow!]

"Sure, sure," I chuckled while taking out the clothing chest and started shedding the traveling clothes I had been wearing all day.

A flash of red scurried across the ceiling and I looked up with a smile, watching a red little gecko observing the whole room.

"What about you, Ignis?"

The Salamander crawled down and stopped above the bed. "Haa...the bed is made of wood," he whined. I looked around and realized almost everything was made of enchanted logs and vines. Since there was no winter here, they did not build any fireplaces too. In the end, Ignis crawled to the windowsill. "I’ll just stay here,"

"Alright," I laughed and finished changing, before crawling inside the bed and playing with the little bird for a bit, wondering if Natha had already gone to bed or not.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was clutching Jade and Ignis tightly in my arms. They had been squirming from feeling stuffy, which woke me up in the first place.

I didn’t remember much, but I guessed I couldn’t sleep last night and snatched Ignis from the window to sleep with me on the bed. Thankfully, there was no burn mark anywhere.

Loosening my constricting arms, I kissed my little companions’ heads apologetically before letting them go. "Good morning Jade, good morning Ignis."

"Mm..." the little gecko just murmured and slithered away.

[Good morning, Master!]

The little bird nuzzled my cheek before flying around the room once and then perched on the windowsill with Ignis, staring outside the window which showed the view of the big tree and the waterfall. Lazily, I stretched out and sat on the bed, blankly looking around.

Huh...

Dazedly, my mind felt confused when there was no glass of herbal drink on the nightstand. It took my brain a while to feel the emptiness of Natha’s absence, and another full minute before my senses caught the scent of a familiar herbal concoction.

With a gasp, I jumped off the bed and hurried out of the bedroom. When I looked to the first floor from the railing, I saw the blue skin and dark horn and without hesitation, I ran down the staircase. It was honestly a miracle that I managed to not trip even once until I threw myself in Natha’s embrace.

"Haa..." I sighed contentedly as his refreshing coldness enveloped me.

"Did you miss me a lot?"

"Mm," I nodded furiously, pressing my face against his chest and tightening my arms around his midriff.

Gods...I could no longer remember how it felt like not spending the night with him. Even when Natha had to work until late at night, I could still feel his cold embrace later. Even when he woke up before me and left the bed before I opened my eyes, the trace of his touch would still linger, and I could always smell his scent on the sheet, and the pillows, and on me...

Waking up to none of that was...haa...

I had been spoiled so much.

I felt his caress on my hair and his lips on my crown. "When did you come?"

"Just around ten minutes ago," he said, stepping back so he could fix my bedhead.

"To make me a drink?"

"Who else would make it?" he said nonchalantly, before moving to the stove and proceeding to strain the concoction he made on a pot, pouring it into the cup he had prepared on the counter beforehand. "Here you go."

I received the cup, holding it with two hands, and looked up. "Kiss," I demanded, and he gave me a sweet one with a laugh.

The patio door creaked open then, and I could see Amarein as well as Letaruen walk inside with a basket of garden products and herbs. "Oh, good morning, Valen."

"Good morning!" now that I saw Natha again, I was charged enough to greet them enthusiastically.

"Good morning, Little Prince," Letaruen greeted me with a big smile as usual. "Wait for a bit, I’ll prepare a tasty breakfast for you."

"Oh, thank you!"

I sipped on my herbal drink and, after giving Natha a peck on his cheek, ran back to my room so I could wash and change, choosing my outfit carefully while recalling our dear Arta’s teaching.

Today, I would need a battle dress.