The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 345: When you’re multiracial so you have to be multi-dressed

Chapter 345: When you’re multiracial so you have to be multi-dressed

Ah, I had a very good dream.

I wasn’t asleep for long, just...three or four hours? But I had such a good dream that I woke up feeling so refreshed and happy. Weird, wasn’t it? Considering I woke up in the arms of a Nightmare.

"Haa..."

I let out a sigh of contentment, scooting closer to the source of that refreshing and happy feeling. His bare skin was cold as usual, but I would rather lay there than on a fluffy blanket.

"It’s nice to see you full of smile first thing in the morning," his voice caressed my ear as his fingers ran through my scalp.

I rolled and laid myself on his chest, giggling. "It’s nice to see you when I woke up," I poked his cheek and ran my finger on his face, tracing the pattern on his skin. "It feels like...it had been so long..."

"Oh, you have no idea," he pinched my cheek lightly. "I don’t think I’ll be able to follow the rule if I have to sleep alone longer. Five nights is my limit."

"Is that so?" my lips couldn’t stop smiling at that simple statement that I fully agree with.

Yes, I was no longer crying during my sleep now, but I always felt empty in the morning, like a part of me was lost. Like you wake up feeling hungry, but for your heart.

That sounded ridiculous, I know, but...

"Hmm...then what if you have to go on a trip that lasts longer than five days?"

"Then I should put you in my pocket," Natha grasped my face and pulled me down for a kiss that was mixed with giggle and laughter. When he stopped kissing me, I was already on my back again, and he was half-hovering above me.

Reaching out to fiddle with his green pendant, I looked up and asked in a quieter voice. "Are you going to work today?"

The silver eyes dimmed and when he answered me, he started it with a deep sigh. "Unfortunately," he lowered his head to kiss my shoulder. "I have a regional meeting with the mayors today."

"Okay..."

Again, Natha sighed and caressed the side of my head, brushing my hair away from my face. "I’m sorry. I’ll fix my schedule later so I can clear the day when I’m here."

"It’s alright," I replied with a smile so I wouldn’t look too disappointed. "Can we...can we just stay in the bed for a while longer?"

His smile came before his kiss, and I heard a faint sound of the door locking. We had a very late breakfast--well, more like a brunch--and Natha was almost late to the meeting. But hey--it’s the happiest morning I had in the past week.

And that happy morning gave me extra energy for the rest of the day and the next, which was important because we received an important guest!

"Aunty!"

Amarein came through the sky; not with a flying mount like a wyvern or a griffin, but by transforming into a bird.

Uh-huh, she could shapeshift--or rather, fuse with animals she was contracted with. I didn’t even realize it was her until she transformed back, splitting into her druid figure and the bird she was fusing with.

I was having a stroll in the garden with Zia and Jade and watching the colorful fish in the pond when Amarein came swooping in; landed gracefully with a soft green glow on the white stone path while the bird perched on her shoulder.

As I greeted her with a hug, Jade flew curiously toward the bird, who was also eyeing Jade. That bird wasn’t a spirit like Jade, but it didn’t hinder them from becoming acquainted with each other. Before I even pulled away from Amarein, the two birds had already flown together to the elemental bird statue.

Pfft--so Jade just wanted to brag.

"Have you been well?" Amarein asked softly.

"I managed; Natha was here yesterday, so I’m alright now," I replied with a grin, before introducing her to Zia, who was timidly hiding behind me. "This is Zia, my first friend."

Zia giggled slightly at my description, and curtsied to Amarein. "I’m Ra Zidoa, Lady Amarein."

"The Lord of Lust’s cousin, I presumed?" Amarein nodded politely, before shifting her gaze toward the pond. "It turned out great," she commented. Of course, she preferred these fish to be in their natural habitat, but she appreciated the effort of carving formations on the pond to provide an optimum environment for the fish.

"We have books and the manual provided by the elf to make sure we care for them as best as we can," I explained. That would be Doun’s job, who took upon it willingly, but I also read them bit by bit. Well, for now, I was only in charge of feeding the fish, although the one who did it was Jade.

"Yes, make sure you do."

I grinned sheepishly and took her arm so we could walk to the upper garden and have some tea. "Aunty, can I...will you teach me how to do what you did? Fusion, I mean?" I asked carefully, glancing at her with expectation.

"I will," she said, and I instantly perked up. "But not now."

"Oh..."

She chuckled and patted my head. "We need to work on your basics first, my dear Valen," this time, she pinched my cheek. "How would you try to meddle with a living being when you haven’t even mastered the essence of life?"

Ugh...well, that was true. The essence of life, mana, was inside all living beings. And so far, I was still being controlled by them instead of controlling them, so...

Huff--lots of homework.

But damn...was all teachers had a switch from their usual personality? Amarein suddenly sounded like Eruha, who sounded like my homeschool teacher. Was there like...a standard operating procedure for teachers?

"Umm...we’re not going to start immediately, right?"

"Are you trying to make me work right away?" Amarein replied with a mischievous smile. "Of course, if you’re so eager, we could--"

"No, no!" I shook my head swiftly. "You should rest properly today. Also...I had something to do this evening."

"Oh?"

"A fitting!" it was Zia who gave it out. "We’ll be having a fitting for Val’s wedding outfit."

Amarein raised her brow and curled her lips. "Oh, that would be interesting."

* * *

Right after we were done with our tea, the Lair was invaded by Arta and her troop of seamstresses, along with their chests full of fabrics and holding unfinished frames for what would be my outfit. Outfits. There were five of them.

Hmm...Arta would pay them overtime wages, right?

We had decided on which outfit I would wear before. Arta had been working hard to incorporate designs from all realms because...well, we were the union of all three realms. There was the white outfit I would wear for the ceremony, two outfits for the banquet in the Castle, a going away outfit or something, and an outfit that was made in a druid style.

This was the reason why Arta decided to have a fitting when Amarein was here. Immediately, she asked for her input right after a greeting, while the seamstresses worked on my measurement.

The clothes that the druid wore were rather different from the clothes I usually wore. Druid’s clothing was flowy and had minimum sewing--sometimes, they just looked like a few long fabrics being draped over the body, fastened with a sash or jeweled accessory bought from the drows. There was no glaring difference between clothes worn by the male and female. Rather, the difference in clothing was based on their job. Naturally, the guards, warriors, and guides wore a style that allowed them to move more freely despite retaining the flowy fabrics.

The fabric and dyes were all-natural, but they were woven with magic so intrinsically that they came out smooth yet luxurious, like comfortable silk. This, aside from purifying the land, was the druid’s main commodity. They rarely made ones for outsiders’ consumption, however, and most were made custom by order. They were expensive too, so only the upper classes like the High Elves could buy them. With drows, they usually trade it with jewels.

For my wedding gift, however, the Chief Council had given me a chestful of fabrics with all available colors, which I immediately showed Arta once we got back to the Lord Castle. Arta was almost foaming in the mouth, and I had to prevent her from drooling into the fabrics.

And that was how the decision to make an outfit in druid style was made.

Honestly, I was happy. And Amarein looked happy when Arta asked her with sparkling eyes and a thick journal in her hand. She explained everything kindly, just like when he explained things to Jade, with a face full of smiles. Arta’s hand was moving without stopping, and at the end of that interview, she had produced a design. Amarein proceeded to give even more input and Arta changed the design based on that immediately, until both of them nodded in satisfaction.

How peaceful.

Arta only stopped when one of her assistants came to her with my new measurement, and she chuckled as she looked at it.

"My, my--you’re getting plumper, Young Master."

I gasped.