The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 462: what’s the use of friends if not for promoting wild ideas?

Chapter 462: what’s the use of friends if not for promoting wild ideas?

What happened after I sat Natha down with his great-aunt was rather blurry.

I remember sitting on a swing in the backyard where they could see me from the sunroom. The night breeze, the soft swaying of the swing, and the exhaustion from today’s event all contributed to a drowsiness that sent me to sleep right then and there. When I opened my eyes again, it was already morning in the huge bed of Lord’s quarters.

My eyes were only half-open when Natha already gave me a kiss on my forehead, my eyelids, cheeks, nose, my chin--anywhere but my lips. I laughed and grasped his face to direct his lips to mine, which he gave while embracing me tightly.

"My precious treasure," he whispered against my lips. "My most precious treasure."

Umm...it was nice to hear such things in the morning, but why did you have to make me fluster right after I opened my eyes?

I knew it was not an attempt at seduction, however. The softness in his eyes told me he was genuine. My fingers raised to stroke his cheek before I could realize it, perhaps because he looked so vulnerable suddenly.

"Did you have a good talk with your great-aunt?"

Rather than answering, he turned his face slightly to press his lips on my palm. It kind of looked like he was nuzzling my hand the way Jade or Vrida did, which was adorable. I could feel the line of his lips stretched as he closed his eyes, and it was enough to tell me that last night’s endeavor brought a good result.

"Do we have another banquet tonight?"

"No," he kissed my palm and got up. "Just a little soiree in the afternoon."

"Oh, is it like...afternoon tea, or something?" I rolled to my stomach and lay down for a bit more while Natha was fetching my morning herbal drink.

"You can see it like that," he replied. "It’ll be a more casual setting where we could converse more with the guests--not just a greeting."

"I see..."

Uhh...so I had to interact with more people? Well, at least it shouldn’t be too much since it was a soiree. I rolled to my back again and got up to receive the warm drink Natha brought me. "Who are the guests?"

"People with decision-making power in Realm of Greed," Natha said with a deep smile, before adding in a whisper. "It’s essentially a business meeting, so don’t think too much about it."

What are you talking about?! Shouldn’t a business meeting require more thinking than a regular soiree? This demon...just because business was second nature to you...

Phew--I puffed my cheek and blew on my drink to calm down. "Where are we going to have it?"

Natha tilted his head and smiled mysteriously; eyes curling and gleaming in mischievous light. "You’ll see."

* * *

[Papa! So many fishes! Fish house all over the wall!]

I’d see...

Oh, I saw it alright. The sparkling blue-tinted room. Rays of sunlight streamed from above, casting a dreamy reflection on the floor and table.

When I heard he was building an aquarium, I was thinking of a single massive fish tank. I had no idea it would be as close to the aquarium on Earth as this. All hail magic, I guess, because I didn’t think it would be possible to install something like this on a Castle’s reception lounge without it.

It was even more magical because there was no visible filtering system and cables, thanks to the magic formation that Lesta probably worked hard to complete. The floor-to-ceiling tanks along the wall were joined in seamlessly so that if I ignored the huge double doors on either side of the room, I would think we were transported into an underwater observation deck.

I had to admit that I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds when I entered the room.

That wasn’t the case for Jade though, who immediately flew toward the ’wall of fish’s house’ in front of us. The little bird was immediately face-to-face with a fish that was bigger than its wingspan, which made Jade startle for a second before shrieking in delight when more fish came near. There were way more variants here than in our pond back in the Lair--including those that weren’t fish--so Jade was beyond thrilled. For the little bird, it would feel as if it was plunged into the vast blue sea.

Oh, wait...

"Jade, do you want to enter the tanks?" I broke out of my trance and Jade was in front of my face in record time.

[Jade can? Can Jade?!]

"Is it okay?" I asked Natha, who had been watching us silently from behind.

"Sure; we still didn’t have a swimming bird variant," Natha shrugged.

Jade twirled in the air while chirping excitedly. [Hurry, Papa! Hurry!]

It had been a while since I made an air bubble for Jade, and it was kind of hard making it while laughing. Not that Jade needed air for breathing, but my little bird couldn’t swim, and I didn’t want those pretty feathers to get all wet in the middle of the soiree.

The moment I finished the air bubble, Jade immediately rushed inside and rolled around happily, before pointing toward the tank with its wing. Natha flicked his wrist and Jade was thrown inside the tank with a shriek. The moment it fell into the water, however, the shriek was quickly replaced with a joyous chirp as the fish came and surrounded the bubble, nudging it forward and around.

As I laughed at the scene, I felt a pair of cold hands around my waist. "Do you like it?"

"Do you really need to ask that question?" I held the arms hugging me and leaned back against his chest.

"I’m glad," he kisses my temple gently. "It’s your first wedding present."

"Huh?"

Wedding present? From him? But...I thought we got married, so...why would the groom give a present?

And what...first?! Were you going to give me more than one?

Before I could voice my surprise, however, one of the staff told Natha that the guests had arrived. I kept my surprise inside then, and immediately forgot about it once the event started.

Just like last night, I tried my best to remember their name, what their position was, and what was their role in the society. Observing the way they talked to Natha was interesting, and I wanted to send my gratitude to Eruha for all of his lessons because otherwise...I would barely understand what they were talking about.

The conversations were rather boring in my opinion, but the food was great as usual, and because this was my second last outfit, Arta had lifted my snacking ban. I could eat whatever I wanted now--all those delicious cakes in front of me! Between the cakes and pastries, and watching Jade rolling around between the fish and making friends with the jellyfish who thought the air bubble was one of them, it was pretty easy to survive the soiree.

At least until one of them talked about the aquarium and how Natha was building it solely for me and I ended up blushing like crazy. It didn’t help that Natha replied to it with a smug and proud smile, saying things like it was a given that I should receive this kind of stuff and whatnot.

Ngh--it felt like I was entering the aquarium to get cooked, because at the end of it, I left the lounge with a face as red as a boiled crab.

[Papa is so red! Papa should enter the tank like Jade!] my little bird said innocently, making me even more embarrassed. Perhaps I should really dunk myself inside the tank.

But was that the end of my fluster? Oh, of course, not!

"Did you pack what I gave you?" Zarfa whispered after Arta finished clothing me in my going-away outfit--a nice leather coat that was almost identical to Natha’s.

The one who answered her, however, was the one who packed my suitcase. "Don’t worry, Miss--I already did," Arta raised her thumb. "As well as the gift from the courtesans."

"Why would you do that? And why did you give me such things?!" I hissed at them, and Zarfa wiggled her fingers at me.

"Sometimes, it’s more alluring to have a few strands of clothes than being completely bare."

What do you know? You were a virgin!

"Don’t worry; leave everything to Lord Uncle. He will know what to do with them," Zia, yet another virgin even though she was a succubus, patted my shoulder.

"Wouldn’t that be more embarrassing?"

"Wouldn’t that be the point?" they winked at me and ugh--whatever.

I left the giggling girls who kept advising me wild things and went to Angwi. She shook her head and patted my hair in a consoling manner--as I thought, you were the best, Angwi. But that wasn’t why I came to her. I took the black pendant that usually circled my neck, and placed it in Angwi’s palm.

This time, I would spend time only, and only with Natha, so I had to leave Shwa behind. My heart felt heavy, and my neck felt too light, but still...

"Please take care of Shwa and Jade," I held her hand tightly. "And Ignis and Vrida...and Zia too."

She gave me a little smile and patted my head again. Just then, the door was opened and I heard the sound of serious chirping and Natha’s whisper--I guessed they were on negotiating terms again. The moment Jade saw me, however, the bird ran and hugged my cheek, nuzzling my neck in a show of sorrow I didn’t catch when Natha was bribing her earlier.

"Be good, okay? I’ll be back in a week."

[...’kay]

I hugged the little bird one last time and sent him to Ignis, who immediately wrapped its flaming tail around Jade. At last, Natha took my hand and led me to the balcony. I thought we would go immediately, but I saw a surprise there.

"Great-aunt!" I approached her, whose smile had become less stiff. There was a new spark in her eyes as I got closer, and she stroked my cheek gently once I stood in front of her.

"My little darling," she said, and then softly embraced me. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

I blinked in surprise for a few seconds before holding her back with a smile laugh.

"I’m glad," she whispered more, holding me a bit tighter. "I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad that you’re the one who stays by his side."

"And I’ll do so until the end of our time, Great-Aunt, so you don’t need to worry," I patted her back, and she pulled away with a brighter smile than before. I could see the tears pooling in her eyes, which were adeptly blinked away.

"Yes," she cupped my cheeks and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. "Yes, I believe so."

Ahem--we heard Natha clear his throat and the great-aunt chuckled in response. "Right, I won’t hold you much longer," she looked at Natha and suddenly had the stern gaze back. "Be good and don’t tire him too much."

This time, I could hear several coughs and people clearing their throats in the back as Natha looked at his great-aunt dumbfoundedly.

"Me? Tire him out?" he scoffed while pulling me by my waist. "It will be a miracle if he manages to stop before I beg for it."

Nezja’s flabbergasted face was the last thing I saw before Natha enveloped us in his wings.