The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 321: why would an introvert have companions who like to draw attention?

Chapter 321: why would an introvert have companions who like to draw attention?

"As you already know, we are being honored by the presence of our long-lost Prince, His Highness Valen Valmeier Sil Seahl, the grandson of Princess Yuralein Sil Seahl,"

Mother! Mother! Could you open a hole beneath my feet and let me drop down? Or you might want to invite me to your abode? Please?

My back might be straightened, and my face might look calm, but I was screaming inside--could you just say I’m a guest named Valen instead of all that flowery title?

Natha was definitely enjoying it, though, holding back his laugh in his seat while Jade was clapping its wing on his shoulder.

Tiralein, who was introducing me, patted my shoulder and continued. "But our Little Prince here is still young and quite shy, so please be mindful when you approach him."

Oh, at least she warned them. I breathed a sigh of relief as I was finally able to take a seat beside Natha while the other druids clapped their hands and cheered. It kind of reminded me of the citizens in L’Annak Eed’s plaza, and for a second, I realized in dread that I might have to make several public appearances after we got married.

"Wave a little bit," Natha whispered. "Don’t forget your smile."

I did as he said, and the druids--especially children--returned the wave excitedly. In this aspect, I could see that they were more casual than the elven society. Halurean told me it was because we were at home, however. Druids tended to be rather shy outside of their turf.

Hmm...genetics, I guess.

They were quite timid when approaching me, glancing at Natha from time to time as they told me they were happy to see me. But on the rare occasion that Natha left the table to fetch some food for me, they would eagerly start to strike up a more engaging conversation, becoming more animated as they asked about my journey and my opinion about the realm of nature.

Purposefully--I knew it was on purpose--Natha would only come back when the topic at hand had finished, or when I was getting too overwhelmed with the crowd. The druids would either disperse or get timid again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was what I looked like all this time--quiet and shy in front of strangers, and chatty when it was with people I already knew.

At any rate, they all seemed to be happy seeing me there, which I appreciated. Some of the younger druids asked if I really engaged with Natha, and they blushed when I showed them the ring and the engagement mark on the base of my ring finger. It was nice to see that they weren’t aversed to the idea that I was to marry a demon.

Later, I found out that the tale of Natha rushing to the druid tribe to seek my cure had been circulating from tribe to tribe. The younger generation, who rarely left the tribe because of the isolation policy erected by the elders, truly liked that kind of story which involved their kin but coming from a place outside of their environment.

Gosh--look at you, my Lord. You have a new reputation now.

All in all, it was more peaceful than I had imagined. I didn’t feel like I was very much the center of attention, and the way these druids got excited when someone made a cooking show told me they just needed an excuse to throw a festive event. The children were the ones most delighted by the event, it seemed; they didn’t care about me, but they cared about the many snacks provided for free.

I glanced at Jade, who was watching the children playing with unblinking eyes. Perhaps the little bird remembered the playtime with the elf children. I stroked the green head as I asked the people around my table. "Is there any elemental bird colony here?"

"Hmm...that would be rare to find," Halurean said. "Elemental birds typically always roam around the realm to inform us if there’s a place that undergoes mana corruption, so they rarely stay in one place, much less in a big colony."

"There’s a tribe that made a contract with a colony, however, so the elemental birds stay in and around the settlement--there, the tribe is under Uncle Carohen in that table to the left," Amarein added.

Wow...and Natha managed to convince a colony to make a contract with the Lair?

"Do all tribes have guardian contracts?" I asked curiously.

"Of course,"

"Then what is this tribe contracted to?" I looked around, because I didn’t sense a typical colony or spirits around here. Surely if they were contracted with an entity, it would show itself during such a festive event? Or at least watched from nearby?

"Why, it had been staring at us all this while," Amarein smiled, and I tilted my head in confusion, until Natha hooked a finger below my chin and pointed my face toward the center of the plaza.

To the big, mighty tree whose foliage acted like a canopy above us.

"Oh!"

Alzeriya, the one remaining druid tree grew from the seed that Mother gave the First Druid.

To think that the guardian was the tree...

It made sense, though. The twin of this tree, which had perished, had its branch made into my spear, which was now vibrating in my arm--perhaps getting triggered by the attention toward Alzeriya. So I raised my hand and let Alveitya out, the white scepter manifesting on top of the table.

[Spear! Spear is out!]

Jade was jumping on the table, and the rest of the druids stopped what they were doing to stare at our table. Their plethora of green eyes widened, and they slowly walked closer to take a better look.

Alveitya, this spear--I had no idea it had a penchant for showing off. It definitely could manifest instantly without any gimmick, just like how it did in the arena. But now, it deliberately doing it slowly in a flashy way, absorbing attention. I almost thought it would yell ’Tada!!’ just like Jade after the form was completed.

So much for avoiding attention.

The ones that immediately crowded around the table were of course the Chiefs. And once Alveitya fully manifested in its white, green-jeweled scepter glory, floating above the table in glorious light, they were all sighing in awe--some were even clapping.

What I didn’t expect, however, was tears.

"Oh," Tiralein clutched her chest, tears flowing down her cheek. "Oh, how fortunate! How fortunate that the Sacred Scepter found its way to the right bloodline!"

She wept. The other Chiefs wept. And I left awkwardly sitting as Tiralein grabbed my hand again. "Oh, thank blessed Mother!"

I didn’t have the same emotional invocation that they had, but I understood. The druid’s treasury had been plundered, and the only thing they had was what was left in the tribe from the start, or what the elves managed to find and deliver to them. But most of those treasures--artifacts, relics, scrolls, family heirlooms--were still sitting on humans’ vaults and galleries.

It wasn’t about wealth, but the value that spoke to their culture and worship of the Goddess. And then there was a sentimental value, of preserving the remnant of the perished guardian tree. Because the moment Alveitya fully manifested, Alzeriya was shaking its branch and leaves as if welcoming the product of its twin.

"I pray that the rest of the heirloom will find their way to you someday, my dear Prince," Tiralein said solemnly, with a trembling voice and tears-stricken smile.

I had to struggle with doubt and pessimism for a few seconds, until I saw a pair of silver eyes beside me. "Don’t worry, Grandma," I told her. "My groom is the wealthiest person in the world, don’t you know that?"

I knew money couldn’t resolve everything, but I could hear the sound of Natha’s lighthearted chuckle--which was the same as affirmation. I mean, this guy told me he had no qualms about waging war should I desire so. What was acquiring a few lost treasures, right?

Tiralein smiled and patted my cheek, her gaze was a mix of delight and sorrow. Alveitya, meanwhile, had started to move, flying around the plaza to circle Alzeriya. Thankfully, it shifted the druids’ attention from the table to wherever the spear moved, giving me a chance to ask Tiralein something that had been on my mind.

"Grandma, is there...is there no one left in the royal family?" I asked carefully. "I mean...was there no one who managed to get away like my late grandmother?"

It had been long since I was curious about it. They treated me like I was some kind of treasure, even if I was only a quarter druid, as if I was one of a kind. Yes, I knew that the royal family was annihilated during the war, but just like how my grandmother, Princess Yuralein, managed to get away, I wondered if there were others who did the same.

At my question, Tiralein made a forlorn look again. She exhaled and smiled wryly. "There were," she said. "The youngest prince--Princess Yuralein’s brother--managed to run to us under His Majesty’s order, warning us not to make any move; to stay in our settlements and avoid more casualties."

She wiped her wet cheeks with a handkerchief, before continuing. "At first, we thought it meant the palace would be able to win, but...when we realized that the Prince’s condition was worsening from poison, we knew all hope was lost," she shook her head. "The humans were using poisons that blocked our circuits, which, as you know, is deadly for us."

My heartbeat spiked in reflex, and I unconsciously touched my solar plexus, where my core was. It had been months since I was healed, but the memory of those days when I had to struggle to live with blocked circuits was still vividly recorded in my mind. Perhaps because the feeling was not so different from the time when I had to struggle to live in an environment that was lack of mana.

"The prince managed to last until the end of the war, but the progressing poison and the heartbreak from the news of how the palace had fallen just worsened his condition," Tiralein let out a long, heavy sigh. "In the end, he passed away a few months after the war."

"I’m sorry..." I bit my lips, feeling the sorrow emanating from her.

But there was also dread, because...it could have been me, if I didn’t find Natha in time back then.

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