The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 494: we shall heed the wisdom of the veteran in life

Chapter 494: we shall heed the wisdom of the veteran in life

Great Aunt Nezja had been wanting to see me, Natha said. After all, we only had a chance to talk about Natha the last time, so she wanted to know me better this time. Seemed that she didn’t have any problem coming over since her problem with Natha was already resolved.

Well, I had nothing to do these days, so...of course, I wouldn’t refuse. She was one of the few who knew about Shwa, since she used to be Natha’s legal guardian, and she was immune to mindbending spells--if anything, she would be the one doing the mindbending. It was nice to talk to someone without skirting around trying to hide Shwa’s existence or location.

"How are you, my dear?" she asked with a soft smile that was totally different from the strict, headmaster’s face she had the first time we met. How she did it while still in a perfect posture and in an elegant tone...I had no idea.

I couldn’t even start to try to want to be like her--I had already given up when I looked at her straight back. It would be nice, though...if I could appear that put-together and elegant all the time, perhaps people would be less worrying about me. Perhaps Natha wouldn’t be so easy to ban me from doing things...

But, oh--it wasn’t time for me to daydream.

"I’m...fine?" I replied two seconds late with a sheepish grin.

She looked confused for a second, but I grabbed her arm and led her to the dining room. It was time for luncheon, and Natha was on the way to the Lord’s quarters to join us, so I shouldn’t look like I had a problem. I asked how she had been instead, and our conversation quickly shifted to her, which was also a good distraction for me. When Natha arrived, I was already in my hyper mode again--enough to distract myself from the tasteless food.

But how should I say this? Was it her instinct as someone who had been living for centuries? Once the lunch was over, she said she wanted to rest in the living room. But once we sat on the couch, and Natha was about to pour us some drink, she shifted her position so she could look at me, and Mother--she looked at me straight in the eyes.

"Valen, are you alright?"

"Huh?" I blinked in surprise. "...yeah?"

But even as I said it, I knew I was lying to myself, to everybody. Perhaps it was her eyes, that seemed like they could pierce through my soul like Natha did.

"Yeah, I’m all...right..." I nodded, still trying to convince myself that I was fine. It was just a phase. Yeah, that was it. Even if my voice cracked and my eyes grew blurry, I convinced myself that I was fine. "I’m alright..."

Huh? Huh...why...why did my eyes sting? Why were my cheeks wet? Oh no--I quickly wiped my cheeks with my sleeve before Natha could see it. It was because Jade and Ignis weren’t here, I was sure. It was harder for me to be this emotional when those kids were present...

"Oh, dear," Nejza shifted closer and took out a handkerchief to help me dab the tears from my cheeks.

But it was too late--Natha had already seen it. I could hear his hasty steps as he came over. Quickly, I bit my lips to stop myself and shook my head. "I’m fine! I’m--nghh--fine...don’t..."

But my voice failed me when I saw his worried face, and a fear that he would tell me I couldn’t see Shwa for even longer gripped my heart. Against my will, my tears flowed even harder.

"Sweetheart? What--"

Nezja suddenly pulled me toward her and I could hear her sharp command. "Natha, go away for a bit."

"What?!"

"Stand back," she repeated curtly, even though Natha sounded like the world was crumbling.

"But--"

"Stand back--go stand in that corner or something. Keep out of Valen’s vision."

"I..."

"Go."

Natha’s footstep as he scooted away from the couch was heavy; filled with confusion and anxiety. But Nezja did not allow me to think about him at that point; she held the side of my face and spoke to me gently. "My dear, would you look at me?"

"I...I..."

"Ssh--it’s okay, it’s okay, no one is blaming you, alright?"

I looked at her, biting my lips, and felt so silly and childish for this outburst. But also...oh, she made it feel like it was alright to be silly and childish and vulnerable.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded and let out a stuttered reply. "k...kay..."

"Would you like to tell me what happened?" she held my hand then, massaging my palm soothingly. "And no, don’t say you’re alright when you’re not. Don’t think about anybody else, okay? What do you feel now?"

"...I..." I swallowed, feeling my tongue numb. But I forced the words to come out of my mouth, because I had no idea if I could say it any other day. "I m-missed...I m-missed my child..."

The moment the words came out of my mouth, tears flowed even more from my eyes. I couldn’t help it anymore, no matter how much I tried to hold it back.

"I w-want to s-see Shwa..."

Ah, the moment that name left my mouth, the dam was broken completely. I had already dripping tears before, but it turned into a pair of rivers quickly. I gripped my empty black pendant tightly, and Nezja pulled me into her embrace, patting my back soothingly.

"Oh, my sweet dearest," she rubbed my back, and although I felt sorry for wetting her nice dress, I pressed my face on her shoulder and let it all out.

"Where have you been?!" and then, I heard her sharp voice toward Natha. "How could you not realize your husband is feeling unhappy?!"

I heard his footsteps, still as heavy and agitated. But he stopped beside the couch without saying anything. I heard a soft thud, and I knew he was kneeling on the floor. Soon, I felt a bit calmer after pouring my tears wholeheartedly, and I pulled away, wiping my tears. I saw Natha beside me on the floor, looking at me with shaking eyes.

"But why can’t you see your child?" Nezja asked us in confusion.

"N-Natha said...I c-can’t..."

She quickly glared at him, but Natha was already holding my knees. "Sweetheart..." he looked up, stroking my arm. "You know I didn’t mean that you can’t see Shwa, right?"

Nezja frowned and responded curtly. "Natha!"

"He can’t go near the child, Aunt!" he raised his voice in agitation. "His energy is depleted!"

"B-but..." I bit my lips and gripped the hem of my clothes to gain courage. "But you see Shwa every day!"

Natha paused and looked at me with widened eyes. Before my rationale could tell me how ridiculous the stuff I blurted out was, my mouth was already spewing it all.

"It’s not fair!"

"But...I need to make sure our child is safe, sweetheart..."

"But it’s not fair!" I slammed the couch, feeling the tears flowing out again. "It’s not fair!"

Deep down, I knew it was illogical. But my heart and mind were incapable of something logical at that moment. With our Great Aunt by my side, I felt like I gained support and the brat in me was slipping out.

"A...Aunt?"

"Natha, you should not argue with someone carrying a child," she told him firmly like a warning.

But that statement made me pause. A feeling of guilt and embarrassment overcame me. "I’m...I’m not carrying..."

Wouldn’t it be a disservice to pregnant people out there to say I was carrying a child? I mean...I didn’t have Shwa in my body, and I wouldn’t feel the burden of carrying an extra few kilograms inside my stomach, along with all the complications that came with it.

"Yes, you are," she stroked my cheek, which was still wet from all the tears. "Perhaps not inside your body, but you still carrying the burden of energy needed to grow this child."

"And this is why I tried to--"

"No, young demon," she cut Natha short and glared at him.

"..."

"Do you ask a pregnant woman to stop feeding nutrition to her baby?"

Natha blinked--I blinked too; even my tears stopped.

"Of course, you don’t," Nezja hit her knee, before continuing with a raised voice. "If it’s a matter of energy deficiency, you should give him more energy rather than keeping him away from his child--your child!"

Natha widened his eyes, seemingly at a loss for words. "I..." he covered his lips, looking like he just became the dumbest person in the world.

Perhaps, it was easy to lose sight of things because we were both nervous and anxious about the whole thing, that even such a simple solution flew over our head.

"Sweetheart..." Natha held my hands; his voice sounded like a plead and his hands were trembling. "Oh, sweetheart...I’m sorry..."

"I...I’m not...I’m not upset at you..." I tried to take a deep breath and calm myself down. "I j-just...I just..."

"I know, sweetheart," he put his face on my hand, and I could hear his breath stuttering. "I’m so, so sorry."

Hearing his voice made me cry again, and I tugged his hand so he got up and hugged me, and I cried even more in his embrace. Gods--I was such a mess.

"Natha," Nezja spoke again while I was sinking myself in Natha’s arms.

"Yes?"

"During pregnancy, it’s not enough just to keep the body healthy. You need to keep the mind happy too."

I couldn’t help but blush when she called it ’pregnancy’, and moreover, Natha replied seriously. "Yes, Aunt."

"Health can be maintained easily with your resources, but happiness..." she stroked my hair. "It’s a lot harder to maintain."

"I understand," Natha nodded at those words of wisdom.

"Good."

She shifted away and finally took her drink, leaving us to work it out between ourselves. Natha cupped my cheeks and apologized again. "I’m sorry, sweetheart," he kisses my forehead long, before moving to my wet cheeks and the tip of my nose. "You can see Shwa whenever you like, okay?"

"R-really?"

"Of course."

Finally, my lips could stretch easily, and I hugged him tightly in gratitude. "T-thank you."

"There’s no need to thank me," he pressed his lips on top of my head. "But...thank you, Aunt."

"You need to be careful, Natha," Nezja said with a flash in her eyes. "This kind of thing might happen a lot in the future."

What? Did she imply I would keep feeling like this in the future? We looked at him in surprise and dread, and she just casually added.

"A battle against pregnancy hormones is neverending."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.