The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 335: Have you ever pictured a little bird with a flowy dress?

Chapter 335: Have you ever pictured a little bird with a flowy dress?

"Arta! Arta! Listen to this!"

Zia pulled Arta down to the couch the moment the vassal strolled through the door, almost knocking on her big wedding journal--my wedding journal?--off her hands.

"What’s the fuss?"

"Have you heard about bridesmaids?"

Arta tilted her head, and Zia flailed her hands excitedly. "Tell her! Tell her!"

Mother! How could she expect me to explain what a bridesmaid was? I had never attended a wedding in my life! Not as a guest, much less on the side of an organizer. Even if I did, I was a man, so I wouldn’t know the bride’s side of things.

Not that I knew anything about the groom’s side either.

Well...I guess this time, I had to consult the movies and dramas I watched in my previous life.

"Well, you can guess from the name; they are the bride’s maid," I tapped my chin to ponder, recalling what those ladies did in those movies. "I think their role is to help the bride, especially during the day of the ceremony--you know, physically and mentally."

"Of course!" Zia hit her palm with her fist. "I heard brides sometimes got sick or panicking during the day, oh--and of course, there’ll be a lot of things needing help that day with the outfits and drinks and meals--"

"I see," Arta nodded, already scribbling in her journal. "So it’s like the people who take care and accompany ab’krama during the three days leading to the wedding days."

"Yes, that!"

"There’s something like that?" I raised my brows at this new revelation. Hmm...but I had a feeling it was still a different kind of role. "I think they are all unmarried ladies,"

Arta scoffed. "It’s rarer to see a married person around here. His Lordship’s work style is such a burden for people building families."

I glanced at Zia, and I could see that she was also thinking about what the little bird tweeted--I mean chirped--earlier. Eruha probably wanted to live outside the castle, just the two of them. But I could imagine, with how much work Natha put on him, Lesta would find the commuting time a waste. And that was besides the stuff about him feeling guilty about his sisters.

But of course, I would forever be in team Eruha, because I was the type that would want to spend quality time alone with my lover all the time. As of now, even after becoming Eternals, they still--officially--stay in different rooms. I heard Eruha slept in Lesta’s bed from time to time, but that was not quite the same, wasn’t it?

But I digress!

"Oh, the bridesmaids usually wore similar outfits to each other--you know, like a uniform," I added. I wasn’t so sure if it was truly important aside from looking good in the photograph, but...

"Oh! That kind of sounds nice?"

"Hmm...perhaps so they could be easily spotted, so the guests can come up to them if there’s any inquiry regarding the bride," Arta made her own deduction and jotted it down in her journal.

Mother--that journal was getting thicker every day.

Looking at it like this, the maid of honor should probably bestow on her, but...nah--Arta was more like the head of the event organizer than anything. She practically took care of every internal matter of this wedding--outfits, venues, logistics--while Lesta worked on the external matters such as taking care of the invitations and the accommodation for the guests. Malta, meanwhile, was in charge of the finances and the security.

You know what, these siblings were my wedding planners.

"I don’t think I need bridesmaids or anything..."

Zia looked at me, eyes drooping slightly. "Oh..."

"I mean," I grasped her hand and held it. "I don’t need maids. I just need a friend to help me through it."

Zia bit his lips and grabbed my hand tightly.

"I’m sure I won’t change my mind about the marriage, but...that doesn’t mean I won’t be getting nervous or have silly thoughts--you know..."

I glanced at her, shrugging. We just had that silly thought conversation just a few minutes earlier, after all.

"Oh, Val..." Zia pulled her hand and hugged me again, which pushed a sheepish laugh out of my mouth. I patted her back and continued.

"I’ll probably need more help during the...uh...the receptions in the Lord Castle, but I presumed Arta already arranged people for that?"

"I do," Arta smiled and tapped on the journal with the top of her pencil. "I think I’ll incorporate this similar outfit thing, though. Party outfits as uniform sound nice."

Ah...now I felt bad for the seamstresses under her command. They had to make my wedding outfits, and now another colossal task was waiting for them.

But well...if there was one thing good about this place was that the pay proportionate to the work. Especially because everything would come out of Natha’s own pocket--rest assured, we weren’t going to get married in taxpayer’s money.

"So..." I looked back at Zia, swaying our hands. "I just need emotional support for now."

Zia shook my hand and nodded firmly, with eyes akin to a soldier charging for battle. "I’ll be that! I’ll work hard!"

I giggled and patted her head. "You don’t have to work hard, but thank you."

[Jade! What about Jade?] the little bird, who was watching in confusion all this while, suddenly jumped on the backrest of the couch. [Jade help too! Jade want to help Master!]

"Oh, baby," I scooped the little bird and nuzzled its side. "You’re also my emotional support!"

[Jade help?] the bird chirped joyfully. [Jade help Master?]

"Of course!"

The little bird let out a crisp chirp and sounded like a giggle in my head. [Jade bridesmaid!]

"Uhh...no, but..."

The raised wings lowered, and a low-energy chirp could be heard. [No?]

"Hmm...no," I pressed my lips to prevent myself from laughing out loud at the mental image of a little bird in a flowy bridesmaid’s dress. "Jade will be a flower bird--or boy? Which form would you like to be in on the day?"

"Oh, that’s right!" Arta clapped her hands at my words. "I need to make Sir Jade’s outfits too!"

The little bird gasped and jumped to the table, patting Arta’s fingers with its wing. [Jade will get clothes too?!]

"Oh, right," I smacked my thigh lightly, remembering the conversation we had while we were choosing some fabrics, back before Jade could turn into a boy. "You said you’re going to make one for Jade."

"I was going to make some outfits for birds, but I should make some for a boy as well," Arta stroked the bird’s plump belly, before scribbling things on a new page.

The beady green eyes followed the pencil tip movement and it jumped excitedly. [Jade clothes!]

"Wouldn’t people think Jade is your and Lord Uncle’s child if he appears as a boy?" Zia rubbed her lips, eyes shining in mischievous light. "That will be sensational."

"Why do you look happy about that?"

* * *

"I’m sad," the tips of my mouth bowed down, even after I promised I’d brave this temporary separation.

I pressed my head on Natha’s chest as he pulled me into an embrace, enjoying the caress in the back of my head that I wouldn’t be able to instantly enjoy in a minute’s time when I wanted it. "Me too, sweetheart," he whispered against my hair, kissing my temple while at it.

"I’m not!" Zia laughed joyfully, grabbing my coat and twirling it with Jade in the air.

[Jade not!]

Wow, what a way to break the mood. Natha just rolled his eyes at the children’s antics, and it somehow made me better.

"Why are you acting like you won’t be able to see each other for years?" Lesta tilted his head. "Isn’t His Lordship having dinner there today, anyway?"

I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Tsk--you won’t know, Lesta. You should try living with your lover first before you qualify to make an input!"

"..." Lesta parted his lips, but closed it again after failing to produce an argument in two seconds. He must have recalled his squabble with Eruha before.

My little jab to Lesta, to my fortune, awarded me with less homework than before from his Eternal.

Although to be fair, it probably had something to do with the fact that I would start my druid lesson earlier than scheduled.

"Please inform me if you make an agreement on the lesson’s schedule with Lady Amarein."

"Yes, Sir!" I saluted the rarely generous teacher who even gave me a more smiley face than usual today. Heh--I did good, didn’t I?

Before stepping through the portal, I gave Lesta a wink, which he returned with a roll of his eyes. But there was also a slight blush in his cheek when he caught Eruha’s gaze, so there was that.

Well, best wishes to the vaguely married couple. I had my own wedding to think about from now on.

It seemed like Zia and Jade weren’t the only ones who were happy with me moving back to the Lair. Our housekeeper had been waiting in front of the portal, as usual, as if she knew exactly when I would arrive.

"I’m back!" I beamed at her rare smiling face, diving into her embrace as she enveloped me with her arms--all six of them.

"And he said he’s sad," Natha scoffed and pursed his lips slightly, making a sulky face. I skipped back to him and kissed his cheek in apology before we headed down to wait for dinner.

"I am sad," I whispered to him on the way. "I will be terribly sad before going to sleep tonight, so I might as well try to enjoy myself while you’re still here."

"You don’t have to be sad," Natha chuckled while caressing my nape. "I was just jesting. You shouldn’t be sad. Let me do the sad part, mm?"

How could he tell me to not be sad and then say he would be sad by himself? If it wasn’t because of the sudden spiking cold in his touch, I would have thought he was merely teasing me. But knowing what was on his mind the other day made me think that Natha truly loved me more than I thought.

Made me think his sulky face earlier wasn’t just a ruse.

My darling Demon Lord could be so adorable sometimes.