The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 332: It’s a nice thing to be a bride in this realm

Chapter 332: It’s a nice thing to be a bride in this realm

Home.

No matter how nice a new place was, how interesting it was, home was where the heart felt the most at ease. I was tired from the journey--the kind of exhaustion that assaulted the mind--but when I saw the familiar faces of the servants and the vassals, I was ready for a small welcoming party.

Well...although it changed into a farewell party, somewhat.

"What?! Until the wedding?!" Arta looked like I was about to embark on a pilgrimage for two whole months instead of going somewhere only a few hours away by carriage, and fifteen minutes of leisure walk to the portal.

But there was of course one person who got excited. "Really??" Zia jumped and hugged me on the sofa, giggling happily. "We can play a lot again, Jade!"

[Play!!]

How weird. This girl had been spending so much time in the Castle Lord anyway, so what was the big difference?

Well, I guessed the night chatter, or the afternoon ’tea and scandal’ event was only possible in the Lair, when Natha wasn’t around.

"So, what about Young Master’s lesson?" Eruha, as usual, asked the important question.

"I’ll be here for that," I said. "And I need to check on Izzi from time to time anyway."

"For what?" the elf paused stuffing himself with the elven food I brought from Sarteriel.

"To see if you’re working properly."

"Hey!"

Arta, who was protesting earlier, suddenly strokes her chin in ponder. "Hmm...this might be good actually," she nodded. "This way, we can have the fitting and finish the outfit without His Lordship laying his eyes on them."

Them. How many would those outfits be?

"Well, it’s normal for the bride and groom to live separately before the wedding," Lesta said.

I turned on my couch while hugging a cushion, looking at Lesta keenly. "It is?" I asked curiously. "Do you not have couples living together?"

"Unmarried demons usually lived with their parents until the wedding day," he said. "One of the traditions is to escort the married couple to their new house after they got married."

"If there’s any," Arta added. "There are also married couples that live in one of the parent’s house--but in that case, they will be ushered to their shared bedroom or living quarters."

"Oh..."

I glanced at Natha, who averted my eyes by calmly reading the realm reports while sipping on his tea. So...were we truly living the life of debauchery, my Lord?

...not that I mind.

"Couple living together is not a rare thing, however," Eruha, unexpectedly, continued the topic. "In some cases that family is not the type to uphold tradition, or if one--or both--is without family, they usually end up living together."

I perked up a little bit. "Oh, so we’re not violating some tradition or anything, right?"

Arta chuckled and pinched my cheek lightly. "Are you worried, Young Master? If that’s the case, those elders would have used it as a weapon from the start."

Oh! That made sense!

"And we’re not that strict about it, honestly," Lesta added. "Tradition is tradition, but not doing it is not a crime."

"That’s right," Arta nodded. "Besides, technically, His Lordship is from the land of Lust, and...let’s say there’s no such tradition there."

Ah...

"Still, for the couple who live together, when the wedding day is close, the bride would usually live in a friend or relative’s place--"

"Or an inn,"

"--that, so the bride and the groom wouldn’t see each other before the wedding."

"Why?"

They did not answer immediately. Rather...they were averting their gaze. "So...it’ll be more exciting?" Arta answered awkwardly, which made it clear that it wasn’t the real reason.

"So the bride has a chance to back out," the one who answered, instead, was Natha. I turned toward him swiftly, eyes widened in surprise. "During the time when they didn’t see the groom, the bride might rethink the decision with a calm head, away from the wedding furor."

"I don’t think I’ll be calm enough just by getting away from the wedding business..."

Natha smiled and leaned closer to me. "And I don’t think you’ll change your mind anyway."

Of course, I wouldn’t! But it was nice to know that he knew that. I laughed and kissed his cheek lightly--since it was there and so close anyway. "But...why only the bride?" I tilted my head. "Can’t the groom make the decision too? Oh, not that I think you’ll change your mind or anything..."

"Right; we’ve been calling you the bride to match what the human realm used," Natha chuckled and took my hand.

I could only tilt my head in confusion, but also curiosity. Does that mean there was another way to call the bride and the groom here? Hmm...now that I thought about it, why did he--and everyone else--call me the ’bride’ when I wasn’t a woman?

"If we go by the traditional term here, you are ab’rama," he explained. "The one being asked."

"And you?" I asked. "The one who asked?"

Natha nodded. "K’rama," he said. "And it wouldn’t make sense for the one asking to rethink it, would it? They have to do the thinking before asking."

Oh, true. "Then...is that why the...umm...ab’rama will take the other surname?"

"Yes," Natha stroked my hand gently, looking into my eyes as he explained. "When we asked for someone’s hand in marriage, we asked for their willingness to be a part of us, including taking our names. In turn," he raised my hand, and continued with his lips against my skin. "I am responsible for your well-being, your safety, your prosperity, your comfort..." he paused, before adding in a quiet voice and a mischievous smile, "...your satisfaction."

I pulled my hand away and pinched his cheek in embarrassment. How dare he flirt with me in front of other people?! He laughed softly and got back to his report and tea while I fought the urge to fan my reddened face.

Well, that was it, then. It wasn’t the matter of sex or gender, apparently, but timing--pfft. "So, if I were to ask you first, I’d be the k’rama?"

Natha just answered it with a smile, and it got me thinking about something. I turned to Eruha, and asked rather provocatively. "Wouldn’t that mean vampires always be the k’rama? Since they’re the one who can make the other their eternal."

Lesta crushed the cookie in his mouth rather harder than usual, but Eruha replied without hesitation. "Yes."

My mischief sense tingling, I asked while hiding my mouth behind the pillow. "Does it mean Lesta is taking your name? Aren’t you basically married?"

"Being someone’s eternal does not equal marriage," Lesta replied, but he was met with a cold gaze from both his eternal and his twin sister. I bit my lips behind my pillow and Lesta cleared his throat. "But I’m not the type to take that kind of relationship with paltry feelings."

"Heh..."

"That being said, there’s no need to change my name for that," Lesta added, finally making Arta smile. As for his lover who had been narrowing his eyes in disappointment, he tapped his chest slightly. "The mark means more than a name."

Look at you, tethering between your partner and your family. I hid my giggle until Lesta shot me a mean glare for a split second. Oops. "Are you going to move tonight, Young Master?"

Look at him throwing the topic away. "No," the one who answered was Natha. "There’s too much stuff to pack, and he’s tired from the journey."

I wasn’t tired, and I didn’t really need to pack because I still had a closet full of clothes in the Lair. All I needed to do was pack some books and my companion’s food.

But there was a firmness in Natha’s voice that not only made me quiet, but prompted Lesta to clap his hand. "Right, Young Master still needs to rest, so we have to let him," he said, standing up and whistling in Jade’s direction. "Come, Sir Jade; we made new popcorn flavors yesterday."

[Candy Corn?!]

Jade perked up; aside from jelly and candy, the little bird also built a fondness for the fun popcorn, especially the sweet ones. The little bird flew toward Lesta, who left the room just like that. Of course, Eruha followed him, and Ignis followed Jade. Zia dragged Izzi away, who frantically scooped all the elven snacks away, following Arta out while giggling to themselves.

And just like that, the Lord quarter was empty; not even a servant was present there. It made me nervous, for some reason, and my heart beat loudly as I turned to look at Natha.

Calmly, he folded the report and put it on the table, as well as his tea. I knew I had always wished for a chance to be completely alone with him, but now that I did...I felt so embarrassed.

At least, I felt embarrassed for a few seconds. But as I watched Natha tidy up the report and put away his cup, I slowly became impatient. He felt too calm, too slow, and before realizing it, I already pulled him to the couch and climbed onto his lap, pressing my lips to his.

"You’re not even going to wait for bedroom?" he asked with a chuckle that grazed my lips.

"You’re the one who drove them away," I pursed my lips, yanking his clothes off. "Don’t tell me about waiting."

"I won’t," he held me tight and I shrieked a little bit as he stood up abruptly. "I’m not even going to stop you tonight."

...Oh?