The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 513: mother knows best

Chapter 513: mother knows best

"Sweetheart!" Natha quickly scrambled to the bed, hiding the emotions he had just let out beneath a charming smile.

Just making it hard for me to reveal that I heard what he said earlier.

"Is there a problem?" I asked while getting up, dragging my upper body to lean against the pillows and the headrest. "I heard shouting..."

In the end, I just feign ignorance. At this point, if Natha knew I heard what he said, he would just feel even more guilty about a situation that wasn’t his fault in the first place.

"No, no--what could be a problem?" he replied quickly, brushing my hair that had tousled messily during my nap. "Don’t think about anything but getting better, yeah?"

I stared at him; at his dull eyes that betrayed the handsome smile he gave me. He was tired, I could see it. He must have forgo sleep because he was worried about my condition, as well as trying to look for more mana stones. All while the war was happening--the war he had no choice but to support.

Oh, I wanted to console him. I wanted to say it wasn’t his fault. In the first place, the deities wouldn’t make me bear this child if I couldn’t get through this with my body. It was just...a bit hard, yeah. I felt very tired and could barely move, but I wasn’t in pain. Compared to what I experienced in my previous life, it wasn’t hard at all.

But I knew Natha didn’t see it like that. He hated the thought of me going through hardship, and I loved him for it. So I couldn’t just tell him it was alright.

Yeah...all I could do was show him. Showed him that although it was hard, I was still fine.

I looked at him and patted the bed, telling him to sit down. At the corner of my eyes, I could see D’Ara leaving the room--probably to leave us alone, which I appreciated. Obediently, Natha took a seat on the mattress, and I dragged myself to shift into his lap.

"Sweetheart?" Natha caught my arms and pulled me into his lap before I had the need to exert myself. Phew--didn’t think it would be hard to just slip into his embrace like that.

Leaning against his chest, I let out a satisfied sigh. It had been a while since I claimed my throne, and I had missed the cool sensation of his temperature. More importantly, I missed hearing his heartbeat--although, this time, it wasn’t the steady, shooting rhythm, but a little chaotic one.

"Do you want to see Shwa?" Natha, probably decided I was acting clingy because I wanted something for him, asked softly. Which was rather surprising, because I thought he would prevent me from going there. "I can carry you if you want."

"Really?"

This was even more surprising; the fact that he offered it, despite knowing my mana would get sucked faster if I got closer to Shwa. For a few seconds, I perked up, looking at him with wide eyes and a smile that came out in reflex.

But then I closed my mouth and pressed my lips, shaking my head while holding his shirt tight. "...no, it’s alright."

"Why? What’s wrong?" Natha held up my chin, looking bewildered. "I won’t be upset, it’s okay--"

"I know," I giggled, leaning my head against his shoulder and exhaling slowly. "But I want to get better fast."

If I went there, my mana reserve would get depleted more. I didn’t want to empty out our mana stones supply, knowing how hard it was to get them these days. Ignis even gave up on its fire elemental stone’s allowance so I could have them instead. I should try to sustain myself with the food and absorb mana from the environment. I couldn’t keep taking Jade’s mana, since the little bird had been sleeping a lot after sharing it with me to conserve energy.

So I should hold back appropriately. I needed to prioritize well now, and not let my emotions or selfish desires mess up my wellbeing.

Natha looked at me with slightly widened eyes, before planting a hard kiss on my forehead, pulling me deeper into his embrace. Oh, how nice--I nuzzled his neck, and he shifted to a better position in the bed so I could snuggle on his lap more comfortably.

"Umm..." I peeked up after he pulled the blanket over me. "I don’t mind seeing the nursery though..."

For the first time that day, I finally saw a genuine smile break across his lips; not the forced kind he made to hide his distress and anxiety. "Alright," he kissed my hand and pulled the bell beside the bed to call for the servants. "Let’s have a meal first, and I’ll take you across the hall."

I giggled, and then looked around the room, belatedly realizing the absence of my children. "Umm...where’s Jade?"

"In the garden," Natha replied with a hint of fond laughter in his voice.

"Picking flowers?" I laughed. That had become Jade’s habit anytime I was sick.

Natha smiled and cracked a small chuckle. "Maybe."

"I want to tell Vrida to come to the nursery side," I told him. "It’s been a while since I saw her."

"Alright," Natha nodded and slid me off his lap. "I’ll go tell the brat."

"You’re calling Jade that again?"

"Sometimes," he laughed and winked, and it felt like the problem we faced was just an illusion.

I pinched his side and playfully scolded him. "So naughty."

This time, he laughed a bit louder before leaning down to kiss me. "Stay here."

"Where would I go?" I laughed light-heartedly, but Natha stiffened and a guilty look flashed across his face. Oh--stupid Val! It must have sounded like a jab since I literally couldn’t go anywhere. I quickly put on the biggest grin. "Go quickly, and come back with my meal! I’m hungry!"

The guilty look was no longer on his face, but he stayed there wordlessly for a few seconds. Just as I started to feel awkward, he looked at me and spoke sincerely. "I love you."

I smiled and nodded without without hesitation. Without doubt. "Yeah, I love you too."

I held my breath and only let it out slowly after Natha left the room. Just then, like a ghost, D’Ara walked inside as if she had been waiting for Natha to go out, startling me.

"Oh, gosh--" I patted my chest and suck up a breath just after expelling it a second ago.

Unbothered, she sauntered to the bed and sat on the armchair that Natha usually used when he fed me. "It’s a good decision," she said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"Pretending you didn’t hear his outburst," she said, and when I blushed from embarrassment, she smiled. "That brat’s composure is a trained condition, not a natural trait. When his stress piled up, it’s easy for him to revert back to his old days."

"...you mean...when he was living with you?"

"Mm," she leaned back and tapped on the armrest, staring at me keenly. "You look better than I thought. From how he acted, I had thought you looked like you were dying."

Hmm...indeed, Natha always looked like I would die with the smallest wound. There was a time when I thought he was being too much, but after our wedding, when I got a glimpse of how he saw me, I understood a little bit.

"It’s because he had seen me when I was dying," I said with a wry smile, pulling my knees close to my chest. "And I mean, when I was really dying, without possible cures. It was only for two months, but..."

He saw me almost every day, and he was temporarily my attending resident after picking up my fainting body on that rooftop. He had access to all my medical records, so he was able to see my downward graph; how my condition worsened and worsened no matter what the doctors did. He had heard from the other doctors how I had no hope, and just counting the days until my critical organ stopped working.

"And when he saw me again, I was in another state of dying," I laughed bitterly, recalling the sorrow beneath the joy he felt about me. "I guess...I’m glad he didn’t actually witness my death."

"He wouldn’t come back sane if he did," D’Ara shook her head.

"Well..."

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, before falling into silence. The aura around her felt solemn and she seemed to be thinking deeply, so I couldn’t even ask her about why she was here in the first place.

This silence persisted until the door opened again and a bundle of rainbow flashed in my direction. [Papa!] flowers scattered around me as Jade nuzzled into my chest. [Papa okay? Papa not cry anymore?]

"No, thanks to Jade’s flowers," I patted my sweet child. A sliver of heat grazed my cheek and Ignis materialized on my shoulder. "Thanks to Ignis’s warmth too."

"I did nothing," Ignis replied cooly while curling his tail around my nape.

"Have you told Vrida?"

"I met the keeper on my way to the garden, so I asked her to bring your wyvern in an hour," Natha said, before glancing at his spot which had been stolen by a vampire. "I thought you went back?"

Ignoring his question, D’Ara opened her eyes. The deep red eyes gleamed slightly as she looked at me. "Maybe..."

Natha stiffened, and my heart unconsciously skipped.

"Maybe there’s a way...to transfer another’s mana."