The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 447: Wedding panic is only a thing for the committee

Chapter 447: Wedding panic is only a thing for the committee

Do you know the feeling of standing outside a burning house while everyone else is busy putting off the fire?

My wedding was kind of like that.

I mean, aside from feeling depressed and lovesick, I had nothing to do even though everyone was very busy. All day, I heard people coming in with supplies, and the golems going around the tower and the garden to prepare the venue; both for the ceremony up there and the garden banquet down there.

All the demons were busy giving instructions, even Zia, who was in charge of the garden banquet below. Angwi was readying the bedroom guests and double-cleaning the Lair from top to bottom. Doun, as our gardener, had been tending to all the flowers and the plants with extra care, and the twins were patrolling the place more often. Even the keeper had been cleaning Vrida and made sure my wyvern looked pretty; scales shining and horns gleaming, the whole thing.

Me? I was sipping tea on the balcony watching everyone do their work.

Oh, and it was a different kind of tea from my usual. It was sent among the gifts that same through the second batch from the Realm of Lust. Zia said it had a beautifying effect or something, make our skin glowing and moisturize or whatever. I wondered if it was a skincare product or a drink, but hey--who doesn’t want to get prettier?

That was my only job in this whole thing, really; to stay pretty. A masseuse came once every three days for the past two weeks to take care of me, and the servants that usually served me in the Lord’s quarters, including Panne and Mara--you know, the ones hand-picked and scrutinized strictly by Natha--came on the last day to help me get ready for the ceremony tomorrow.

Yep. Tomorrow.

"Are you nervous, Young Master?" Mara asked while spreading a blanket on my lap. From her expression, I could see that she was more curious than concerned.

"Hmm...I don’t know..." I looked down at my chest which had been a bit restless these days. "I don’t think I’m nervous, but..." I let out a sigh and leaned back to curl on the hanging sofa. "I just want to be with Natha soon."

Mara chuckled and gave me a fork with a piece of fruit in it. It had been a while since I had been pampered by servants so it was quite nice--especially because I was in the mood of being pampered and indulged with Natha’s absence.

"That’s good, Young Master. His Lordship had been panicking these days."

That got me to straighten my back and look at the servants in surprise. "Natha? Why?"

"What do you mean why?" the servants laughed softly. "He’s going to marry the love of his life--it’s normal to be nervous."

"Just like you, His Lordship is excited and wants it to happen as soon as possible," Mara said. "But like any groom, he’s afraid of making a mistake during the ceremony or if you suddenly change your mind."

"What? But that’s impossible!"

"It’s not something that could be helped, Young Master," Panne told me. "Every groom has this kind of fleeting fear, no matter how unreasonable it sounded. Not because he doesn’t trust you, of course."

"That’s right," Mara patted my thigh and gave me another piece of fruit. "It’s common to think something would go wrong in a big event like this, and honestly--isn’t this the biggest event in both of your life?"

Well...that’s true. And now that I think about it, two of his biggest helpers were probably busy being jittery around his teacher, so that might have affected him too.

"Not to mention, it was very hectic in the Lord Castle," another maid said. "With all the guests arriving in the annex and the banquets..."

"It’s not just in the Lord Castle--it’s the whole city! Everyone is excited about the festival and the parade!"

Oh...that’s right. If it was busy here, where we would only have a ceremony and a small feast with family and friends, how would it be with a full-fledged realm-level party over there?

And then I looked at myself; curling comfortably on my balcony’s plush sofa, being surrounded and waited on by a group of servants, doing nothing but resting and eating...

"I felt guilty..."

"No, Young Master," Mara held my shoulder and gently pushed me back to a relaxed position. "We are the ones who would feel guilty if you end up stressed or tired before the big day."

"The big day..."

Those words, for some reason, made me blush. It still didn’t feel real, honestly, that I would bind myself to Natha forever tomorrow. Funny, wasn’t it, when on the other hand, I wanted the day to come quicker. Mara was right--it would be the biggest day in our life.

At least, until Shwa was born.

"A blushing bride is indeed the best bride," Mara said with a teasing smile, making me blush even more.

And if everything hadn’t felt real before, it became very real the moment my white ceremony outfit came. It was the final one, sparkling white with that soft rainbow gradation on the edge. The other outfits were waiting for me in the Lord Castle, of course, since I would move there again after the ceremony tomorrow.

Oh, gosh--thinking that I would sleep with Natha again after tomorrow made me kick my feet in happiness.

Well...at least I was happy. Jade was in a mixed state.

[Jade can’t wait for Papa’s wedding...but Jade don’t want Papa to be away...]

I spoke to Jade about the sequence of events that would happen during the wedding; the ceremony, the parade, the banquets. We had talked about the little bird staying in its own room again--now with an added small bed. And then, the conversation came to the part where I would be away for a week with Natha and Natha only.

We had talked about this before, but when we talked about it again, Jade still cried for a long time. I had to ask Zia for help, and the succubus had promised Jade a lot of activities during that week--even as far as visiting the realm of lust! I guessed she didn’t mind coming back now that Aleena had become the Lord.

But anyway, after a lot of coddling and cuddling, Jade finally stopped crying and whining, although that didn’t stop my little bird from feeling sad.

Oh--of course, I was sad too, but...

To be honest, the excitement of spending time together with Natha after two weeks of absence was shadowing everything else.

But don’t tell Jade that.

Thankfully, another babysitter came that night. "Aunty!"

Amarein came right before dinner, and Jade forgot about the sadness for a while while we were having a catching-up session. She also offered Jade a trip to the Realm of Nature during my honeymoon, and now Jade was busy contemplating where to go.

Good, good--problem solved!

Arta also came after dinner to stay for the night because apparently, I would need a whole morning to get ready tomorrow. Izzi came to stay too because he was terrible at waking up in the morning unless it was for buying bread for Zia.

With additional people, we had a nice time in the drawing room talking about the wedding. From Arta, mainly, who shared how chaotic it was in the Lord Castle. She even told me that Natha was losing sleep these days--not just because he was busy, but also because he couldn’t sleep.

"He brought this piece of paper that he always took out if he had a chance and mumbled it, as if he was chanting a spell or something," Arta told me. "I think it’s the oath he will make tomorrow."

...oath.

A vow!

Oh, Goodness--I hadn’t made anything!

I was suddenly in a panic and returned to the bedroom quickly so I could think of something. But Arta and Angwi followed me and told me I should sleep--otherwise, I might have dark circles tomorrow and it would be a big no-no for a wedding.

And so, I had to go to bed before I could prepare a vow or anything. I thought that I could make it while lying on the bed before closing my eyes, but I suspected they put something in my drink because I slept immediately that night--so soundly too!

I closed my eyes for a bit and when I woke up, the sun had shone through the opened balcony window.

It took me a while to wallow in a self-scolding session of how stupid I had become. Before I could reach a notebook in the drawer, the servants had come and ushered me to the bathroom for a full-fledged luxurious spa session; bath water with flower petals that gave me a natural spring fragrance, a whole grooming session from head to toe, even a massage to relax my tense muscle.

Although I was tense about the non-existent vow rather than the ceremony itself.

But did I have time to worry about it? Of course, not! Even while they were massaging my arms and legs, Arta was busy taking care of my hair. And once everything was done, I had breakfast while Malta came to tell me about the procession. Everything felt like a blur and the presence of many people made me rather dizzy. It was good that Panne was there to clothe me or I would never have managed to put myself in this outfit.

"Where’s Jade?" I asked in a daze when I realized I hadn’t gotten the usual morning greeting.

"He’s with your Aunt," Arta said. "Don’t worry and just focus on yourself."

Well, I didn’t think I’d be able to think about anything anyway. I was just sitting there getting ready, dazed, feeling like floating and wondering if I would suddenly wake up in a hospital bed realizing everything was just a dream--

"Hello?"

We heard a knock, and then Zia’s head peeked out behind the door and she quickly slipped inside the suite. She pressed her lips as she looked at me, eyes sparkling. But then she shook her head and glanced at the door.

"Umm...Val," she cleared her throat and whispered. "Would you like to talk with your groom?"

I flinched and stood up abruptly.

"You can’t see him yet, but it’s okay to talk through the door--"

She didn’t need to ask twice; I had already run to the door before she could finish. "Nat?" I pressed my ear to the door, and finally--finally, after two weeks, I could hear his voice.

"Sweetheart."