The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 320: Bargaining for an intimate time with your elders is never not embarrassing

Chapter 320: Bargaining for an intimate time with your elders is never not embarrassing

"We can’t?" I asked in dismay.

Now that I had gotten calmer, I climbed off Natha’s lap and someone brought an additional armchair for Natha to sit on. Good--at least they let him in on this conversation. Perhaps because they were afraid I would go into panic again.

Amarein glanced at the Chiefs, and they proceeded to take their seat. Now, it felt like a meeting again, especially with the more tense atmosphere.

"My dear Prince," the scribe of the Alnin tribe, Grandma Renalien, spoke softly. "Lady Amarein had informed us of the information you wish to see. I am yet to be aware of whether she had told you about it, but the record is something that could only be read inside the archive room of Alzeriya--the Great Tree."

"Every record, book, and scroll placed in the archive room may not be brought outside," Tiralein explained further. "So the only way for you to read it is by letting you enter the archive room."

"Unfortunately, for us to allow you to read this archive, you need to be a true druid," Amarein added. "There’s no exception, even if you’re our dear Prince."

I bit my lips at that. "True..."

My druid blood, while it was thick with royalty, was only a quarter of my genetic structure. Doesn’t that mean I won’t be eligible to enter? I couldn’t help but sigh, rubbing Jade’s plumes to console myself.

"It has nothing to do with you being half, however," Amarein told me swiftly.

Huh? I lifted my gaze, my mind instantly wondering what she meant. If it wasn’t determined by the purity of the blood, then...

"Do you mean...I have to follow the rules and the custom of druid?"

"Yes."

...oh. So that was why they told me I shouldn’t live with Natha? Because I had to follow their norms to be eligible for the room?

My cheek felt hot from embarrassment. All of that outburst, and there was actually a deeper reason for that. But that would mean, despite having explained everything and gained their understanding, I still had to live apart from Natha.

Clutching his hand, I asked quietly. "Do I...need to live here?"

"Well..."

I looked at the Chiefs’ faces, and it was clear that they hoped I would do so. I had an inkling that they wanted me to have a tour and visit all of the tribes. But Mother...could I really survive spending my nights without Natha for two months?

"Does he have to live here because there’s a ritual he would need to perform, or simply because we shouldn’t live in the same quarter?" Natha suddenly asked, clutching my hand that had been holding his.

"Nat?" I turned my head and looked at him in surprise.

Natha continued calmly. "If your concern is only about living together, he could simply live in our Lair instead of the Lord Castle."

My eyes widened. The Lair! That’s right! If it was the Lair, I could simply go back and forth, seeing Natha whenever I missed him. And Natha could spend a night every few days--surely it was allowed? After all, we weren’t technically ’living’ together.

It would be like the old days, before I moved to Lord Castle. There would be Zia and Angwi and the other demons, so I wouldn’t feel so lonely and scared.

But of course, some of the older Chiefs shared a look of disapproval. "That’s..."

"That works," Amarein, however, nodded calmly.

"Amarein..."

"I heard the Lair you’re talking about also has a good environment for a druid’s training," she looked at Natha, who nodded and replied like a real estate agent.

"The tower is contracted to a colony of elemental birds."

[Jade’s seniors!] my little bird chimed in, chirping energetically from my lap.

The Chiefs looked at each other, and whether it was because Amarein had given her approval, or they reached an understanding, they nodded, albeit some did it reluctantly. "Ah, in that case..."

I almost let out a breath of relief, but I held them because nothing was set in stone yet. And honestly...even living in the Lair and not being able to see Natha when I woke up made me want to sigh heavily.

Natha pressed his thumb on our engagement mark and swept his gaze at the Chiefs, before asking calmly. "Do we have a deal then?" he stopped his gaze on Amarein. "You’ll show the archive and Val will stay in the Lair until our wedding day."

"I don’t have any issue with that," she replied with equal calmness that made my outburst earlier feel even more ridiculous. "As long as you let me check in from time to time."

There would be inspections?! Amarein’s sweet smile suddenly looked like my old homeschool teacher’s smile.

"You need to start teaching Valen anyway," Natha said nonchalantly, and the curl in his silver eyes told me something he didn’t say. Before he endangers himself even more.

"Alright," Amarein nodded and stood up, turning toward the Chiefs. "Should we draw the oath?"

There was...an oath. I blinked as I watched them huddle over a small table. Renalien, who was in charge of the archive, proceeded to open a parchment and started to write on it.

"Is it like a contract?" I asked Natha in a whisper.

"Yes," he nodded solemnly. "It is indeed an important document for them, so we have to respect it."

I nodded to affirm my resolution, but when I caught Amarein’s gaze, I brought up the courage to ask carefully with warm cheeks. "Can...Can he spend a night with me every few days? I...I don’t think I can have a whole two months of sleeping alone."

The Chiefs turned to look at me too, so I tried to look as pitiful as possible--although I was sure I probably looked like a pathetic child already. I could see some of them making soft expressions, so I had high hopes.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Natha smiling a little bit, and his hand stroked my back briefly as if telling me I was doing a good job.

And it seemed like I did, because they decided Natha might spend a night with me every five days. It was something, I guess. We joined the druid around the table, and put both of our mana to seal the deal.

The parchment glowed, and I watched in interest as the lines and the runes were moving around until they formed a formation of some sort. Renalien rolled the parchment carefully and tied it with an enchanted cord, sealing the oath.

"We shall escort you to the archive room tonight," she said.

"Now now?"

"Patient, dear one," Tiralein patted my arm. "We cannot open the archive anytime."

"Oh..." I nodded then, and Tiralein clapped her hand.

"For now, let’s have some feast under Alzeriya!" she said cheerfully, and the energy immediately shifted. The solemn atmosphere turned brighter, and we moved out of the tribe hall, back to the plaza.

"What’s in your mind?" Natha asked as we reached the porch.

I looked around and pulled him to the corner, ignoring the Chiefs’ curious gaze. Thankfully, Amarein urged them to keep going and left us alone, so I could talk with Natha alone.

Holding his hand, I looked at his eyes and whispered restlessly. "Do we really have to?"

"I’ll visit you every day if you want, there’s a portal now anyway," he reached out and caressed the side of my head, stroking my temple with his thumb. "Just treat it as if we lived in the same neighborhood but in different houses."

"Still..."

[Master, Jade will stay with Master!] the little bird jumped to Natha’s shoulder so the green, beady eyes could gaze at my eyes clearly.

"Jade can take the human shape and sleep with you," Ignis added. "Although you’ll be the one to sing a lullaby this time."

There was a problem with the mana consumption, but...

"...I guess," I nodded, patting the excited little bird, who was clearly happy with the prospect of sleeping with me again after so long.

Natha patted my head too in return, before bringing his hand down and stroking the black pendant below my neck. "Let’s think that we do it for Shwa, mm?"

"For Shwa..." I looked down, feeling the soft pulsing of the flower bud. "Yeah, okay. I think I can do that."

I nodded, more firmly this time. Right. Let’s see it as an effort to give birth to our future child. I only need to endure five--no, four nights without Natha. I used to do that anyway, so...I might get used to it faster than I thought.

Natha smiled and rubbed my lips, which started to stretch a little bit. I lifted my head to look into his eyes, and his brow arched inquisitively. "What?"

"I used to think that your anxiety during the time before the trial was rather excessive, but..." I bit my lips and gripped his lapel as my heart felt heavy despite my new determination. "I think I’m experiencing it now."

Natha raised his brow higher, before leaning down and whispering in my ear. "That sounds like a love confession, and I’m all for it."

Well, it was a confession, but I couldn’t help but slap his arm lightly for flirting in front of all those elders. He chuckled and cocked his head toward the plaza, where the other druids--not just the Chiefs but also the whole tribe--had congregated there. The previously empty plaza had been turned into one big buffet venue, and they seemed to be waiting for something.

Well, someone.

Natha reached out his hand for me. "Shall we?"

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