The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 398: Intense feelings are exhausting, no matter what kind

Chapter 398: Intense feelings are exhausting, no matter what kind

Aah...truly, having a friend is a good thing!

As expected of my dearest old friend, she knew exactly what I was getting at. I would have come to allow negotiation in the first place, but it wouldn’t be too credible if it came from me, right?

Since it was the other party who ’requested’ a negotiation, I could proceed without losing any bargaining position.

Honestly, it was tiring, getting angry. I was channeling both my and Valmeier’s disappointment, and it exhausted my mental capacity to process this anger, this sorrow I had suppressed ever since I heard about her from D’Ara. Of course, I knew that it was also a part of what fate had drawn for us, but...that didn’t mean I could just forgive her for what she did to grandmother.

When D’ara told me about Tsalinade back then, I did not immediately connect it. But afterward, I recalled a memory I had of Grandma, how she would tell me about ’that one pitiful daughter’ she had. I didn’t know who she was talking about because her children back on Earth were all males, but...now I understood.

And I understood why she always had this saddened look on her face when she talked about that ’daughter’.

And to think that this woman, whom my grandmother had thought as her own daughter, whom she had asked for nothing but the safety of her other daughter, betrayed her in the end. Betrayed the whole druid race. Betrayed Mother, who had given her a blessing...

Sure, as fate stated it, perhaps Valmeier’s mother would still lost. Perhaps the kingdom was indeed meant to fall. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to do anything. But even if she failed, if only she tried just a little bit...if only she took our mother and tried to protect her even just a little bit...

Grandma’s husband wouldn’t curse her. And I wouldn’t even have anything to forgive her about.

So, no--despite I knew it might be the course of fate, I would not forgive her easily.

But this feeling...this hatred and anger was so, so heavy and tiring. Not even when I constantly hated myself for stealing Valemeir’s fate did I feel this exhausted.

It made me realize I had been living so blissfully in peace and surrounded by love all this time. So much so that I never had to feel this kind of heavy feeling. I had to hug Jade tightly and feel my companions’ warm beating hearts to soothe myself as Tsalinade messily made some teas to be served.

Just for me, initially, but she ended up making enough for everyone when I glared at her.

We had moved to a more comfortable room, with proper cushioned chairs and table, even a fireplace which Ignis lit up immediately to keep us warm.

[Master? Master alright?]

Not really, Jade. But thanks for asking.

[Master want candy? Can’t Master eat candy just once? Just once is alright, right?]

"Mm, I think just once won’t change your weight," Ignis nodded at my shoulder.

Oh, my sweet companions. They were so sweet that I was truly tempted to take a piece of candy I brought for Jade’s snack. But I couldn’t--my facial expression would loosen up too much if I consumed sugar now.

And so, before I lost any more energy, I started the conversation while caressing Jade as emotional support. "So? What kind of negotiation is this? What are you going to offer as the price for my service?"

"Umm..."

"Ah--just for your information; what Tsalinade planned to do was absorb the corrupted mana in your land. But with it, the land would lose its natural mana and became...well... lifeless, so to speak."

Tsalinade flinched slightly and Fatia widened her shaking eyes; both of their faces were getting paler in dread.

"But still, the place wouldn’t produce a corrupted beast that would terrorize your country," I explained further. "For that, you are willing to look for an elixir that only two--three people have at most. They are rather priceless too, don’t you agree?"

I let that fact settle in their mind before continuing.

"Now, what I will do is purify the land, exactly as you have hoped; I’ll turn the corrupted mana into pure elemental mana and spread it back to the environment so the land can continue to live and thrive," I looked at Fatia and tapped my fingers on the armrest. "So, what do you think is the right price for that?"

They might think I was playing them for not disclosing the condition from the start, but I didn’t really care since Zarfa totally understood me.

"I wasn’t even asking for you to fight another race," I tilted my head at their silence. "Am I not generous?"

[Master is super generous!]

"Mm, the most generous."

Ugh...I knew I was the one who said it, but it was rather embarrassing hearing my kids answer it like it was a consolation or something. It was good that I had further honed my poker face skill with Lesta before coming here, or else I would already be red from fluster.

But I did think I always did better when it wasn’t about Natha, so...

"But--ahem--Young Master...no matter how strong someone is, taking over an entire fief and driving away the citizens is not visible to be done just by one person--I mean, one group..." Zarfa said, putting on an act to look confused and worried. "Even if we do it...we’ll have to make an elaborate plan that will take at least a decade for it to come to fruition. I mean...putting on a rebellion is easier than a total exodus, you know? Unless..." she--either consciously or deliberately--lowered her voice to increase the tension. "Surely, you don’t want us to bombard the land with like...explosive magic or anything...right?"

"Hmm..." I tilted my head and tapped on the armrest, pretending to be in contemplation. "Indeed...I’m going to hate it if the land gets even more destroyed; it’s already losing Mother’s blessing as it is..."

The expression on the gullible Fatia and the impacted Tsalinade visibly brightened.

"Also, surely it will be too boring for you, waiting for more than a decade without any result," Zarfa continued with the smile of a successful merchant leader’s daughter.

"What are you getting at?"

"You imply that we should pay you with something more precious than the all-cure elixir, but...honestly, there’s nothing we can give you unless we acquire a vampire’s Elixir of Second Life."

"Oh, I have that too, so you shouldn’t bother."

"Y-you do?" this time, even Zarfa looked genuinely surprised, not to mention the other people, including Tsalinade. Well, wasn’t it even more possible for me, who lived in the Demon Lord, to have that rather than an elixir produced by children of nature? But anyway, Zarfa cleared her throat so she could continue. "A-ahem--well, t-that’s even more the reason! We definitely can’t match quality, so we should provide quantity instead!"

"Quantity--yes, yes, that’s it!" Fatia nodded. Her country needed a lot of funds to repair the aftermath of the civil war right now, but surely using it as compensation for a royal druid’s service would be deemed necessary.

After all, wasn’t it a part of ’repairing’ the country?

Good, good--you should at least prepare to do that much. Still, I shouldn’t make it easy, right? Lesta said I should never make it as if I would do things for free, because knowing my worth is a part of loving myself. Yep!

"And what exactly are you trying to supplement me, the future spouse of the Demon Lord of Greed, with?"

Now, do not entice me with trivial things, okay? I looked at Zarfa with a smile, and although she still put on her business smile, her eyes were gleaming as if she was having fun.

Just like in the old days when we make trouble by running away from the nurses.

"We know that Lord Natha would have provided you with all kinds of riches in the world, Young Master. But there are things that can’t be bought with money alone."

I tried to hide my smirk as I implored. "Go on."

"I know this might come as offensive to you, but..." she looked at the others first, as if trying to get their support. Only after Fatia and Tsalinade nodded did she continue. "You want to get your kingdom’s land back. It’s impossible for us--I mean, impossible in the near future--but we can at least try to get something...smaller in size, that should belong to you as the rightful heir."

Fatia and Tsalinade, the ones with the biggest stakes, frowned deeply. They seemed to churn their mind, trying to think what Zarfa meant--and muttered at the same time.

"The treasury..."

"Druid’s relics..."

And Zarfa hammered the nail further. "It is shameful to say this, but most of your rightful inheritances are either inside the principality’s treasury, or scattered across the human realm. I’m sure even Lord Natha would have difficulty attaining all of them."

My lips curled. "All of them," I stared at them one by one. "Surely you know what it means with ’all of them’," I shifted my gaze to Tsalinade. "That would also mean the Heart of the Forest, the symbol of my kingdom, and all the sacred treasury--which I’m sure hadn’t been destroyed."

Unlike the scrolls they deemed useless because they couldn’t read it. What a bunch of uncultured swine!

I opened my left palm and a light of intertwined green and white burst forth to form Alveitya, who struck the stone floor with a vibrating impact.

"Because my Scepter longed for its friends."

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