The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 484: a birthday is a reminder that we survive yet another year of life!

Chapter 484: a birthday is a reminder that we survive yet another year of life!

"My darling little Prince!" Grandma Chief hugged me tightly the moment I stepped down the stairs from the waterfall side walkway. She cupped my cheeks and smiled widely. "You look radiant! And so much healthier!"

Was that her way of saying I looked chubbier now? I patted my cheeks once she let go of my face, wondering how much weight I had put on since the wedding. Oh, well--Natha liked it anyway.

"Come, come--the others had been waiting!" she ushered me and Natha--who was carrying little boy Jade--toward the Great Tree. "You’re just in time!"

Indeed, just in time. Midnight came about five minutes ago before we were landing, and I had the most spectacular birthday kiss for a whole minute in the sky.

Just a whole minute, since Jade was pushing Natha aside so he could give me a kiss on my cheek on his own.

Thankfully, Amarein had warned me about the feast that Grandma and the others wanted to make for me, so I wasn’t surprised this time. And I didn’t mind--after all, only Grandma and the other Chief came to our reception banquet last time.

Even from here, we could already see the sparkling light of the glowing moths and fireflies surrounding the trees, as well as the long tables with a scrumptious feast on top of them. The other druids were standing up around the plaza, including the children, even though it was past their bedtime already. Flowers and banners decorated the plaza, so, even though it was kind of a birthday thing, it was almost as if I had my second wedding party here. Or was it the fifth?

I told Amarein they could just do it in the morning, but it was the druid’s tradition to celebrate one’s birthday as soon as the date changed. It was for a bigger blessing, they said. I had no idea what was the logic behind it, but...who cares?

And you know what? Since it was a midnight banquet, there wouldn’t be lots of activity; just a feast and a prayer led by the Amarein as the Goddess’s proxy. Nice, calm, and short.

Surely, the children would be too sleepy to run around, right?

"Natha, Jade will walk!" the little boy slid down Natha’s arms and ran toward the plaza before me, meeting up with his druid friends who welcomed him with delightful shrieks.

I was wrong. The children were full of energy.

"He said he’d walk..." Natha shook his head and smiled amusedly as Jade laughed and skipped around with the other druid children, who had been missing him--according to Amarein.

"I’ll watch him," Ignis huffed from my shoulder before hopping off and crawling toward the swaying green head.

What a good older sibling. I turned to Natha and took his hand. "Now you can escort me."

"As you wish, Your Highness."

Hey! I pursed my lips and he merely gave me a little peck. With this cheeky husband on my side and Grandma Chief on the other, I reached the plaza, where the druids clapped their hands to welcome me. I was given the head table in the middle, and after a little thank you speech for me and another short one from Grandma, the feast began.

I was hungry from the journey, so I really devoured the late dinner. Devouring it with tears welled up in my eyes. Because, as the druids came to me one by one to congratulate me, I could see the sincerity in their eyes, and I remembered how people were visiting me before we departed to the Realm of Nature. The servants, the vassals, even the guards and the other Castle staff gave me an early birthday greeting. Zia clung to me and whined about not being able to celebrate it on the real day, and...guess what? Even Angwi and Neel showed up in the Castle!

Natha stroked my hand while I was deep in thought, and when I turned to look at him, he was smiling softly. "It’s what you deserve," he said. "People who sincerely love you."

Oh, it was as if he could read my mind. Well, he could be, but I didn’t mind.

"No one loves you more than I do though," he added with a smirk, and the tears in my eyes disappeared in laughter.

While the feast continued, Amarein took out a wide white sheet and suspended it in the air like a cinema screen. Naturally, the druids were confused about it--and so did I. But Natha took out a device and...

Oh, Mother--I wanted to bury my face in embarrassment as the recording of our wedding day played on the ’screen’ like a cinema. After a few seconds of amazement, the druids cheered once they realized what the recording was. Even Grandma hadn’t seen this, because Izzi took a long time to edit it with finese.

"Oh, Great Mother--look at how pretty you were!" Grandma clasped her hands as the recording device perfectly captured my entrance.

"That’s Jade!" the little boy exclaimed joyfully as he appeared with swirling flower petals, looking so adorable in matching clothes and a hat.

"Oh, the elemental birds!"

"Is that...the Progenitor?"

Various exclaims could be heard while the recording was playing, as well as laughter when Natha stuttered. I could finally see how long he was freezing in this recording once I entered the venue, but instead of being embarrassed by that display, he looked somewhat proud.

"Hmm, I was losing my mind at that time," Natha nodded as if approving his own reaction. "My head went blank; I just stared at you and forgot everything."

"Understandable," Grandma also nodded in approval.

Ugh--if only I had that confidence.

And then, the scene I dreaded came; the scene of me telling Natha to shut up and telling D’Ara to proceed with the eternal oath.

"Oh, my..."

Aaaaaagh! I buried my face in my hands and Natha laughed while pulling me closer by my shoulder. He kissed my temple and spoke without an ounce of hesitation. "I fell in love even more at that moment."

Aaagh!

Thankfully, everyone seemed to be more captivated by the magical oath than my rough display. Indeed, it was a beautiful scene that I enjoyed immensely, seeing how our lives entwined so deeply at that moment. Once again, I could hear the same applause and cheers surrounding me, and this time, I couldn’t hold the tears anymore.

"Are you going in the evening later?" Grandma asked later, after she finished crying herself. "It shouldn’t take too long with your wyvern."

"Valen will go in the evening," Natha was the one who replied. "I’ll go first after lunch."

Huh? This was the first time I heard of this itinerary.

"What do you mean? We’re not going together?"

"I’m going to make sure the area is safe first," he stroked my cheek. I was about to say that we could do it together, but he beat me to it. "No, you just rest and make sure you’re in the best condition, okay?"

Ugh...

Natha looked at the Chief next. "Would that be alright?"

"I believe so, but..." Amarein tapped her chin, seemingly in contemplation. "Shall I come with you? I’m good at masking my presence."

"What’s this about? Why you should mask your presence?" my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Silly boy," Grandma stroked my head and chuckled. "If there are unwanted people there, they would run away first if your husband and aunt don’t mask their presence."

Ah...

Ahem--yeah, silly me.

"Don’t worry about it and just have your rest," Amarein said. "Take a walk around the forest and meadow to purify your mana if you will, but don’t do anything else that will tire you out."

"Ah, but that’s a difficult order for Valen," Natha hummed and stroked his chin in contemplation. But what did he say?! I glared at him, but he just turned toward the playing children and nodded. "Right--we’ll ask Ignis to watch over him."

Huh?

"I’ll watch him too, so don’t worry about it," even Grandma chimed in.

Err...

You thought after you got married you would stop getting chided like a child, but nuh-uh. Seemed like I was still the same walking clumsy hazard in everyone’s eyes.

Hmph--couldn’t believe he trusted Ignis more than me...

Seeing my expression, Natha chuckled and stroked my hand again, as if trying to appease me. "As much as I want to see you turn into a fluffy bunny, we couldn’t afford any mishaps for tomorrow, okay?"

...ugh, fine. Perhaps I was that clumsy.

"Ah, I’ll take care of Jade too while you’re at it, so don’t worry about him too," Grandma patted my back and raised her thumb.

Grandma! Not in public?!

* * *

"You didn’t want Valen to know?" Amarein asked Natha as they ran through the forest on a quiet afternoon in the twenty-second.

"I don’t want to stress him out," Natha said with a pair of cold eyes. "After all, we don’t know what that person’s objective is."

Amarein nodded in agreement and fastened her steps. It wasn’t as fast as using a wyvern, but between the two of them, they could move faster than if they went with Valen.

"It’s just ahead," Amarein warned the demon at one point and stopped.

As they had agreed before, she stepped back and covered herself in a protective barrier while Natha shot forward. The silver eyes flashed and the jungle screamed quietly at the assault of invisible fear blasting all the way to the converging point.

It merely happened for a second, but Amarein shuddered at the aftermath of the spreading cold. She took a deep breath before chasing after the Nightmare while calming the trees and the plants along the way.

When she finally entered the clearing, she saw the Demon Lord subduing a hooded figure in what looked like a camping spot not far from the lake. The spirits ran toward her, trembling in fear, hiding inside her cloak as she approached the two people.

Natha yanked the person’s arms and pulled down the hood, allowing Amarein to look at the person’s face. Like the spirits said, it was a druid; an old one, with deep emerald eyes similar to Valen.

"Good day, Prince Zurheien," Amarein greeted dryly. "What are you doing here?"