The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 400: There are all kinds of ways to instill fear

Chapter 400: There are all kinds of ways to instill fear

Tsalinade was basically becoming my hands and feet now, so it was easy to tell her to make a teleportation scroll for us, including Jade and Ignis. To make sure the scroll was of good quality, I gave her a drop of Amrita.

The moment that elixir entered her system and worked to fix it, she became feverish and almost delirious—which I guessed was how I fared when I got Amrita the first few times too. Only worse.

Unlike me, Tsalinade’s condition wasn’t life-threatening, so the healing process wasn’t as extreme. She did not go as far as fainting, and the Fatia took care of her while the rest of us fixed some meals for our lunch.

Since it was mine now, we foraged the vegetable garden and made a nice stew with potatoes and herbs and the meat Angwi put in my storage ring, as well as fresh late summer vegetable salad with citrus dressing. And of course; a plate of jelly for Jade.

[Master, should Jade stay bird at all times?] Jade asked in the middle of eating its jelly.

Hmm...let’s see first if they can really be trusted, okay? I don’t mind Zarfa and Aina, but I’m not sure about the others or the rest of the citizens

[Why?]

[They might kidnap you and sell you, Jade] Ignis said inside our mind. [My predecessor said humans trade magical beasts and bind them as slaves]

Jade gasped and chirped in fright, diving inside my cloak while trembling that I had to pat it soothingly to calmness. No one can take you away from me, my baby--I told the little bird. But you are weaker in your child form, so let’s be vigilant for now.

[Okay!] Jade nodded profusely. Through our connection, I could feel that rather than the notion of being kidnapped and sold, the little bird was more afraid of being separated from me; for our bond to be broken.

And there was indeed a way to sever the bond and contract between magical beasts and their owner. There was a reason why poaching had always been a business, and why the drows kept patrolling the realm of nature to stave off those wicked entities away.

Anyway, that was probably one of the Hero’s missions. What a long and hard way to home, huh? Sometimes, I kind of feel bad about him, but...I’m no longer the slave-of-the-kingdom Valmeier, so I wouldn’t help him more than this. The most I would do was find out the church where my father received his blessing, and that was it.

As a spouse of a Demon Lord and a prince of the druid kingdom, I was hardly a part of the human race at this point. And the problem in the human realm should be solved by humans.

"Are you like...talking telepathically with your Jade and Ignis?" Zarfa tilted her head with a grin.

"Uh-huh."

[Master’s Jade...hehe, Master’s Jade...]

Zarfa curled her eyes and I rolled mine. "I’ll tell you later."

She giggled and scooted closer after putting away her empty plate. "You were cool, earlier," she whispered and giggled. "Reminds me of your grandfather."

"Grandpa?" I glanced at Tsalinade’s bedroom, making sure she wasn’t in hearing distance--although we were still whispering quietly. "You mean, my Grandpa from Earth?"

"Uh-huh!" she nodded. "I saw him being angry once and you looked just like him. Blood does not lie, huh?"

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment. It kind of makes me feel...happy?

"Hey, I wonder..." Zarfa made a contemplative look and pulled me to the window. "Is there like...a possibility that your Grandpa and the grandfather here also have parallel souls?"

My brow arched. "You mean...like Natha and the doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm..." unlike my grandmother, there was no picture of Valmeier’s grandfather in the book because he was not of royal blood. "If we look at the spite he exercised to curse Tsalinade...he did seem like my Grandpa."

I had told them about the curse that Tsalinade had and where it originated from. After that, none of them felt my actions and emotions were exaggerated, and it would help them not to be afraid of her too much. For them to enter a partnership in their search for the kingdom’s relic, the band of humans under Fatia and Jin couldn’t feel too much respect or fear toward Tsalinade, no matter how strong she would become after being temporarily healed.

"I mean, it would make sense, right? Since you and Valmeier were practically coming from the same source, that might be why both of you only have one soul to be split," Zarfa continued with her theory.

"Maybe..." I pursed my lips in pondering. "Hmm...should I ask D’Ara about this? She’s the one who tells me about everything, after all."

Apparently, Valmeier’s grandfather was a hex user, despite being a druid. I had a feeling he was the one who held Alveitya before, or even the one writing the method of druid judgment’s hex in that scroll, since I was also doing the same to that incubus.

Funnily enough, the original inventor of hexes wasn’t even the drows, but demons. Especially, the creatures who had to limit their mana usage; the vampire.

D’Ara did not mention it, but I wonder if she was the one who taught Valmeier’s grandfather--which was why she knew about the magician. In that case, she might be able to provide me with a portrait sketch.

At that time, we suddenly heard a shaky voice from Tsalinade’s bedroom door. "B-by D’Ara...are you...are you talking about The Progenitor?"

We almost gasped in surprise, but Ignis tactfully told me that she only heard me mentioning D’Ara when she was walking out of the room--since I was no longer whispering at that time.

Oh well, that was good.

No, this was perfect, wasn’t it?

"Naturally," I replied nonchalantly. "Is there anyone brave enough to use the progenitor’s name other than the person herself?"

"Y-you know...the First Vampire...S-Sir?"

"Well, obviously," I shrugged. "She’s my fiance’s master, my teacher’s mother, and my familiar’s teacher. It will be weirder if I don’t."

[Jade’s teacher!]

This fact was new to everyone else, not just Tsalinade, and Zarfa spoke energetically. "You mean, you’ve met her? You’ve been to her abode?!"

Ah, that must be one on her bucket list.

"Uh-huh; the white blossom hill is absolutely beautiful. Oh--you can see her at my wedding, since she’ll be the one to officiate the ceremony."

"Oh my Goddess--really?" Zarga was practically jumped in joy. "I swear I’ll be on my best behavior, so can you introduce us on that day?"

"I’ll try," I patted her head and she was beside herself with joy. While Zarfa was busy squealing, I glanced at the stunned magician.

Tsalinade was definitely wary of me, since I was the key to her curse. But there would also be a doubt about whether or not I would be able to undo her curse. She still did my bidding because I had Althrea, though. Her obedience, thus, was coming from the contract for the cure she desperately needed. Her fear was not of me but of the possibility of never getting cured of her affliction.

But this time, her gaze was different.

This time, she finally looked at me with genuine fear.

Heh. This is why people say having connections is the best!

Well, I could probably instill fear by beating her up with my magic or Alveitya, but...wouldn’t it be better to do it without excessive violence? Just like how Natha did it with his clutch on the realm’s economy.

"So, you’re good now?"

I scrutinized her. Of course, she wasn’t completely cured; but she had no blockage so she should be able to do more magic.

"Yes, I can exert more mana now, uh, Young Master," she confirmed while lowering her head. There was no longer any trace of her proud, superior attitude.

"So you can make the scroll now?"

"Yes, but...as of now, it will be faster to teleport you directly, Young Master."

"Is that so?"

Indeed, creating a scroll took time. We probably would need to stay the night here in that case, which honestly wasn’t so comfortable for us. Tsalinade had been living in this tower alone, so except for the place she frequently used, the other rooms were basically abandoned.

"Hmm...but that’s a bit tricky, isn’t it? What if you drop us in a weird place again? Maybe deeper in the lake this time..."

"N-no!" she swiftly refuted. "There’s no way I will do anything to harm you, Young Master. Without you, I will never be freed of this curse."

What? You believe me more, now?

"Besides," she glanced at the other humans and added. "The contract stated that we shall not harm each other."

I tapped my smiling lips then. "So you do remember," I nodded. "But can you really send us there without any mishaps?"

"It’s a place I had once visited in the past, so it’s definitely doable," she turned to look at Fatia. "I can send you to Indria’s fief."

"Ah, no," Fatia shook her head. "Please send us to the outskirts of the Capital."

Tsalinade looked at me, and I shrugged. "Sure, send us there. In the meantime, make more of that teleportation scroll to go back here, and give them to the people I left here."

"...yes?" she blinked in surprise. I glanced at the window, and another shadow guard appeared right outside. "Oh..."

"Surely you don’t think I’ll leave my island behind without supervision?"