The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 475: Sticks and Carrots are equally important

Chapter 475: Sticks and Carrots are equally important

"Master," Tsalinade made an awkward curtsy as we approached the sunroom. I had no idea whether it was because it had been a long time since she bowed to anyone, or because she still had some apprehension toward submitting herself to me.

Well, didn’t matter to me.

I observed her briefly as we stopped walking. "Are you here because you need another drop of Amrita?" I asked dryly.

It might be because I now knew that Valmeier’s grandfather was an identical soul to my grandfather, but I found my annoyance with this magician not lessening one bit--if not increasing. I couldn’t say I was glad to see her, so depending on her objective, I would either listen or kick her out.

She flinched and shook her head swiftly. "N-no, that’s not--" she paused, biting her teeth and took a deep breath before continuing. "Well...that also why, but I would not dare show my face in front of you with nothing in my hands, Master."

I looked at her hands and tilted my head. "I don’t see anything in your hand, though?"

"I--I already handed the stuff to this--"

"This?" Zarfa raised her brow and her voice while at it.

Tsalinade cleared her throat and started over. "I...I mean, I already handed the items to Miss Goldbel here..."

"Hmph!" Zarfa scoffed and walked passed her inside the sunroom.

"Hmph!" Jade followed with narrowed eyes and puffed cheeks that only made him look adorable instead of menacing.

Normally, I wouldn’t let Jade act that way, but this openly expressed hostility seemed to stem from their anger after hearing my story about my--our grandfather back during the night after the wedding, so...

I let it be for this time.

"Hmm...let’s see if they are worth a drop," I followed my friend and child inside, pulling the whistling Natha along with me.

* * *

It was fall in the Human Realm, and I could enjoy the beautiful spread of autumn foliage in Zarfa’s garden with a nice afternoon tea and a table full of sweets. Since my friend was the host, of course, the tea was strong and the cakes were sweet--a bit of a torture for my husband’s delicate tongue.

Thankfully, Natha was busy doing other things so he could escape the strong-tasting food without looking out of place. What did he do?

Cosplaying as an appraiser, apparently.

Tsalinade brought me a treasure chest that almost looked like it came out of a pirate ship--of a dungeon, depending on what kind of entertainment you were savoring. That didn’t mean the chest was full of items, however.

Perhaps fearing my wrath if she treated the items haphazardly, they were laid on a velvet-coated plush pedestal inside of the chest, protected by a preservation spell. A scroll, what looked like a letter opener, and a pouch. Inside the pouch was a bracelet, and Natha was in the middle of appraising it.

Looking at it briefly, it looked like an extra fancy version of the druid token that I had--the one that could guide me to the Alnin tribe’s settlement. In the middle of it was a tree with various gemstones as its branches.

"Papa, looks like the tree in the river!" Jade jolted the memory of a journey through the underground waterway.

"Ah, yes--the monument of Ahrat," I clasped my hands. There was no doubt it was made by the children of nature, then.

"Oh, how I wish I could see it one day," Zarfa sighed while cupping her cheeks. "The sparkling bejeweled city."

"It was indeed beautiful," I nodded.

"Yes! Everything is sparkly! It’s dark but not dark at all!" Jade raised both of his thumbs in endorsement.

"How envious!"

Jade giggled and patted his lamenting aunty in consolation. Hmm...I wondered if there was something I could do so Zarfa could come and visit. Would Tourna be upset if I asked him about it? I knew the children of nature were still distrustful toward humans. I doubt they would welcome me this warmly if I hadn’t awakened my druid bloodline.

"This is a carving knife," Natha cut my wandering thought with his second appraisal.

Ah, so it wasn’t a letter opener.

"It’s kind of weird, however," Natha narrowed his eyes at the tool. "There are very tiny holes along the tip of the blade, going all the way through to the hilt like tunnels. They are so thin too, barely the size of..."

Natha paused, and I completed it. "Threads?"

"...yes," Natha smiled and put the knife in my hand. "It seems that we found a part of the druid’s method in creating elemental mana thread."

"What--really?!" Zarga gasped, eyes widened at the seemingly delicate decorative knife in my hands.

Haha...I held the knife carefully. Having this tool did not mean one would be able to do it, however. The proficiency in handling elemental stone and the ability to keep the integrity of the substance as it was being shaved into a singular long thread was not something that could be copied just because you knew the method.

More than the method, I was curious about who this knife belonged to...

But well, in the meantime, this was also proven to be a druid item.

That left the scroll.

"I think you should do it yourself, sweetheart."

"I guess," I nodded and flicked my fingers to call out the scroll.

Natha wasn’t a druid, so he wouldn’t be able to lift the seal of the scroll. Even if he could open it, it would only look like an empty scroll or unreadable gibberish. Even those who learn druid language wouldn’t be able to read it without any druid blood in their vein.

This was why a lot of scrolls ended up being destroyed--since they were just useless pieces of paper for the humans.

Agh--just thinking about it made me mad.

"Papa?" Jade caressed the side of my head in concern. "Papa okay? Want a candy?"

Well, I was fine but...I wouldn’t say no to a piece of candy! I laughed and opened my mouth so Jade could put a candy there, while also unfurling the scroll in the air. A breeze flew past me, bringing a refreshing feeling that had nothing to do with the mint candy Jade had inside my mouth.

Ah...it had been a while--no, a long time since I last received a scroll. Was it the one from the druid? The scroll about breathing technique?

Now, this one...

My eyes widened and Mother--it was hard for me to stop myself from smiling. It was good that I had candy to bite into.

"Anything good?" Zarfa asked enthusiastically.

Yes! Immensely!

But no--I needed to stay cool. "Ahem--not bad, kind of usable," I shrugged. "I already learned it from my aunt, but I guess one more material wouldn’t hurt."

Or so I said, but the scroll was literally giving me a shortcut about the fusion that I had been struggling with! Arrh--this was why the royal family was always above everyone! They had a freaking cheat sheet!

Not that I was complaining.

"My apologies," Tsalinade bowed her head, the sigh could be heard from across the table. "I’ll make sure to bring better items next time."

"You should bring all items, not just the better one," Natha said. "It’s been what--two months? And this is the best you can do?"

She pressed her lips; the quiver of his brows told me she was either annoyed or scared, or perhaps both. Admittedly, she had been avoiding Natha’s gaze since earlier.

"Yes, I’ll work harder," she said finally.

"Good," I nodded, putting the scroll back in the chest. Each of them would need a separate box later, but Natha would take care of it. For now, I needed to take care of this one. "Ceci, do you have a small vial? A thick and strong one?"

Zarfa answered without bothering to question me about what I would do with it. "Sure, just let me get my staff for a second."

When she left the room--with Jade tailing her because...more candy, I guess--I turned toward the magician. "Here’s how we do things," I started.

She straightened her back in response, although her head was still bowed. She peeked at me, hands curling tightly above her knees.

"For every three items you bring me, I will give you one drop--although I could be generous and give you a drop per item if it’s of great value," I summoned Amrita to my palm.

From what I saw, a drop was enough for her to last two months. She should be smart enough to see what I implied. As her eyes widened at the sight of the golden bottle, she nodded quickly.

"However, don’t be mistaken that you can be cured with just that," I continued. "Not even if you drink the whole bottle."

Well, more precisely, she would just die if she drank the whole bottle.

She stood up and bowed deeply this time. "I understand, Master."

"Mm."

Good, good. This should be good enough, right? It was tiring acting cold and mean, especially in front of Jade. Thankfully, Natha respected me enough to stay back and let me on my own--because I would surely break character if he were to give me even a light, consoling stroke.

But well, feeling annoyed also helped to maintain this facade.

Anyway, Zarfa came soon with a nice, luxurious-looking vial. Tsalinade widened her eyes when I put three drops of Amrita inside, but I held it right in front of her stretched hand like a hostage.

"I’m being generous today because it’s your first errand, but I shall not be for the next one," I told her firmly.

"Yes, Master!"

Well, the truth was that I didn’t want her to bother me for the next six months or so--but she didn’t need to know that.

"But...Master?" she suddenly looked at me cautiously while clutching the golden vial.

"What?"

"Are you..."

I raised my brow at her sudden timidity. "What?"

She flinched and lowered her head again. "You’re...stronger than the last time we met..."

"Oh, really?" I turned toward Natha, who nodded briefly before sipping his tea--and winced at the taste afterward. "Maybe because of the special training I did before the wedding..."

"Special training! Running with Cotton Rabbit!" Jade yelled energetically, slapping the armrests while laughing. "Playing with siprits!"

"Spirits," Natha corrected.

"Spirits!"

"Good boy."

Needless to say, Tsalinade was getting even more confused.