The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 336: Nostalgia doesn’t just belong to the seniors

Chapter 336: Nostalgia doesn’t just belong to the seniors

"Vrida!" I ran to the balcony after dinner, where the keeper had led Vrida to hover around.

She was too big for her to land fully there, so she only perched on the railing, using the magic from her wings to balance herself and prevent her weight from crushing the structure. I raised my arms and Vrida leaned down eagerly, nuzzling my side while making a whining sound.

"I’m sorry for not greeting you immediately," I stroked her maw, and she let out a deep purr. I had ordered the keeper to bring Vrida to the Lair earlier, and she must have been confused because she was made to stay without knowing I would come too.

[Jade sorry too!] the little bird jumped to her head. [Jade sleep with Master tonight, but Jade will sleep with you tomorrow, okay?]

There was a rumbling sound that felt like laughter, and I stroked her a few more times before she flew back to the yard. Doun had set up a temporary keep until Vrida finished making her own nest at the place she had personally picked, and the keeper would stay with us in the Lair from now on.

[Master, Jade will play with Vrida until night night]

"Alright," I waved at the little bird who hopped onto the wyvern’s head.

"Should I wait until you fall asleep?" I heard Natha’s footsteps while I was watching Vrida land. He took a seat on the sofabed in the corner of the balcony; a nostalgic place where we used to flirt in the past.

Hmm...this wasn’t so bad.

I skipped over and plopped down beside him, laying my head on his lap. He chuckled and ruffled my hair as I watched the silver eyes gleam. "You used to be the one who did this," I giggled, thinking about the past.

I was much too shy back then, getting flustered just from him whispering to me, wondering if it was right for me to touch his hair when he was lying on my lap, being insecure about his affection, and feeling guilty about receiving it.

I was his contracted bride back then, but now, we were just two months away from making our eternal bond.

Natha looked at the distant horizon while caressing my cheek. There was a soft smile on his lips that made me so mesmerized I didn’t even dare to blink, for fear of missing it.

"It felt like a dream back then," he said. "I had to prepare my heart every time I came here."

My brows raised in surprise. "Why?"

"Because I was afraid that it might be an illusion," he smiled, pinching my cheek as if to make sure I was real. "I was wondering if someone had trapped me in an illusion spell--you know, the one that granted the target’s greatest wish and trapped them in eternal happiness?"

I raised my body, shifting into his lap and touched his cheeks. He covered my hand and looked at me; the smile that he gave was so brilliant that the darkness of the night seemed to fade away.

"I was torn; I thought that if it was indeed a spell, then so be it, as long as I can see you," he closed his eyes. "But that would mean I might never be able to meet the real you in the real world, and that would be so pathetic and disappointing."

I...I could understand that. If I were to be trapped in an illusion where I could be with Natha all the time, without any interference from anyone, and...and if I could carry on my own without the need to use a dryad’s trick, having a child--children--on our own...

It might be hard to resist, even after knowing everything was a lie. After all, I was weak to temptation.

"Back then," Natha continued. "Aside from making sure you can live in the Lord Castle, I held back from seeing you every day because of it."

"Because...you were afraid it was an illusion?"

"Yes," he chuckled, circling his arms around my waist. "I knew that if it was only an illusion, it wouldn’t allow me to spend time on work. I would have followed my desire and just spent all my time with you, trying to make you fall in love with me again."

I put my arms around his neck and tilted my head. "And you wouldn’t stop when you were in a rut?"

He frowned, and I had thought that he was offended by that. But he sighed and nodded. "Probably," he said. "That kind of illusion spell would slowly force the target to just follow their desire, eroding logic and self-control bit by bit until the target’s mind is broken."

"That’s scary," I shuddered at the thought that was flashing in my mind. "I don’t think I’d manage to hold on for long if I were to be trapped."

"Mm, that’s true..."

I was well aware that my biggest weakness was my mentality. With my druid ability and my companions’ presence, as well as the protective barrier Natha always used on me, I was confident I could withstand most physical attacks. But I wasn’t so sure about things that targeted my mind. I remember that it was the hardest part of the trial that the Demon God gave me.

Well, although I felt like I got better these days.

"Hmm...I should search for some artifacts that could deter mental attack," Natha suddenly muttered to himself. As usual, the conversation shifted to something like this. Oh, well.

Yeah...whatever. Eruha’s lesson opened my eyes more to how wealthy Natha truly was. All I could say was that...if he wanted to randomly build a kingdom out of nowhere, he could. He was the financial emperor of the Demon Realm after all. Feeling guilty about spending his mountainous wealth was such a silly thing to do, especially since we were about to get married anyway.

"Ah, I decided to make a fish pond here," he said, randomly so.

"Huh? Not an aquarium?"

"That too," he said. "We’ll build that one in the Castle, but cutting transparent crystals into slabs for the tanks takes a lot of time, and I have to commission the magic tower for filtering arrays, as well as carving the necessary formation on the crystal slabs, so--"

"It takes a lot of time, I get it," I nodded. "Jade will have a lot of swimming done after this," I laughed as I recalled how excited the little bird was in the elven pond. Good thing its diet was jelly and candy, huh?

Natha raised his palm, and there was silver dust manifesting and moving around, forming the landscape of the Lair’s garden. "We’ll incorporate the pond with the garden--not as much as the elven one, just enough so you can see it from the patio."

The new design put the pond at the front of the garden, ending it just before the labyrinth hedge. There was a small artificial waterfall from which the water would come, and the sound would be so gorgeous on sunny days. From the elevated patio where I usually had my luncheon or afternoon tea with Zia, I would be able to see the pond clearly, surrounded by beds of flowers.

I let out a sigh as I lay on his shoulder. "That’s beautiful," I whispered, reaching out my hand toward the silver dust structure. There was a mini-me on the patio, having tea and gossiping with Zia, while Jade was making a dive into the pond.

"Tell me if you want to make anything more," Natha said, waving his palm and scattering the silver dust. They circled around my hand and formed butterflies. "My wealth is your wealth, so you shouldn’t be shy about using them."

"Don’t make me blush,"

Not in such a serene moment!

"I’ve told you," he held my hand and turned it so my palm was upward. The silver dust gathered and formed something new; the Lair itself, the Lord Castle, L’Anaak Eed...until it formed the entirety of the Realm of Greed.

"I amassed this wealth for you, sweetheart," he whispered. "It’d be a waste to let it be unused, mm?"

"Don’t say things that make it harder for me to let you go back tonight," I pursed my lips and pulled my hand back.

The silver dust scattered and vanished from sight, as if being blown by the night wind. I tucked my arms closer to my body, clutching Natha’s clothes as my heart suddenly grew heavy. I could feel his hold on my waist tightening, and before I knew it, he was carrying me inside.

He was smiling all the way as he helped me change into my nightshirt, and the smile was still on his lips when he laid me down on the bed. When he pulled the blanket over me and patted me to sleep, the smile was still there. But the smile wasn’t apparent in his eyes.

"Nat..."

"Hmm?"

"Are you sad?"

"...I am," he said. "I feel like I wouldn’t be able to leave if I stayed any longer."

I held his hand; the one that was patting me. "Then...just for a bit longer," I whispered. "I’ll be better tomorrow night, so..."

"I know, sweetheart," he leaned down and pressed his lips on my forehead, before adding teasingly. "I, on the contrary, won’t be better tomorrow. But that’s alright, so just go ahead and sleep soundly."

I frowned slightly at his words, but he started to stroke my forehead too, so I got drowsy in no time and soon fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes later after midnight, the room was dark, and Natha wasn’t there. I rolled to the side, pulling Jade into my embrace, and quietly sobbed, wondering if everything was real or an illusion.

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