The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 519: In the shroud of the night

Chapter 519: In the shroud of the night

Zia’s blood ran cold when she heard the scream, and she pounded even harder on the door. At this point, she might break the door before someone opened it. Oh, she wished she could do that.

"What happened?!" she screamed, pounding the annoyingly sturdy frame until the side of her hands reddened. "Open the door! What happened?!"

When Zia thought she should ask the guards to just break the door, it finally opened. She wished, oh, she prayed that it would be Valen’s face greeting her drowsily; but what she saw was Panne’s pale face.

"L-Lady Zidoa..."

Zia rushed in immediately, her neck feeling both hot and cold. Inside, she could see Mara clutching the edge of the blanket, and the maid stuttered when she saw her.

"M-my Lady! Young Master is--"

"What--"

"He’s not here!"

Zia stopped in her tracks for a second, before rushing to the bed, which clearly had been used not too long ago. The indentation in the pillow and the wrinkle in the sheet were still there. If she concentrated, she could feel the trace of Valen’s warm mana, but...

There was no Valen.

"I’ve checked the bathroom and the nursery--he’s not there," Panne said; his lips were blue and trembling.

"Ja-Jade’s room?" Zia clutched her cloak. "The treasury?"

Panne shook his head before lowering it, staring hard at the floor while clenching his fist.

What the fuck is happening?!

While Zia was tearing at her hair, the bedroom door slammed open. "Young Master!" Arta dashed inside, still in her nightgown, while Angwi was following behind.

Zia snapped and ran toward the vassal. "Arta! Valen is gone!"

"What?"Arta was bewildered. Her brain could not yet comprehend such a ridiculous statement. "What do you mean he’s gone?!"

Angwi walked briskly to the mattress, while Arta glared at the guards who came through the balcony and the bedroom door. One of them, despite having a pale face from dread, managed to answer.

"No one is leaving or entering the Lord’s Quarter after dinner time, Ma’am," the guard informed them. He had made an inquiry earlier, the moment he heard the young master had gone. "Not even the servants."

The servants, except for Panne and Mara who lived there while on duty, left the Quarter after taking out the dishes after dinner. In turn, the guards came inside to lock the windows and doors, as well as watch them. As they adored the young master and were scared of the Lord, no one was slacking off. Especially not that night.

"Then how is this happening?!" Arta yelled in frustration.

"The door was locked, Ma’am," the guard continued, rattling the window frame near him. "And so are the windows--they still are. The detection spells are still intact too."

"What about other rooms?" Malta, who had just arrived, asked with a deep frown after listening to a guard’s brief for a bit.

"We checked, there’s nothing wrong."

"J-Jade and Ignis have also gone," Zia pointed at the pillows with two small indentations. "If someone kidnapped Valen, they wouldn’t stay still."

Malta narrowed her eyes. "Are you suggesting Young Master leave on his own will, my Lady?"

Zia nodded--that was her hope anyway. It was still worrying, but it still sounded better than Valen getting kidnapped or harmed by someone who could slip inside the locked master bedroom without alerting anyone or breaking the spells on the doors and windows.

"What if they are incapacitated?" Arta muttered anxiously, but her older sister immediately refuted it after looking at the bed’s condition.

"Incapacitating mythical beast? There should be a trace at least."

"Yes, this is clean," the guard said after looking at the bed too. There was no trace of a scuffle or someone being dragged away. As Malta said, an entity like the Salamander had an automatic survival instinct that would kick in if someone attacked them in their sleep. But there was not even a scent of burning bits in the air. "Looking at this...it almost seems like Young Master got up and then...gone."

The room fell into silence, except for Mara’s soft sobbing. Whatever happened here, Valen was gone, and that was the only thing that mattered.

"Valen..." Zia sat on the edge of the bed, biting her nails in anxiety.

"But...why?" Arta asked dazedly. Of course, it might be the best scenario if Valen left by himself, but...why? Why would he leave without saying anything?

And more importantly; how?

"Have you contacted His Lordship?" Malta asked the guards, and while they all nodded, their expression wasn’t good.

"We can’t establish a line yet," the guard said. "It seems like the spells on the battlefield mess with the connection."

Arta couldn’t help but curse.

"What about the castle’s emergency communication system?" Zia stood up, looking at Malta. "Can’t we call the Red Fortress instead?"

"I’ll get to it," Malta nodded.

"Oh, but where could he be..." Once again, Zia slumped her shoulder and turned toward the bed. She caught Angwi’s eyes, and where her finger pointing outside the window.

In the middle of the night, glowing water lilies illuminated the lake like stars upon the night sky. A path of light from the lamps on the bridge stretched across the lake.

"Oh, shoot! I should have thought about it!" Zia grabbed her head, gasping, before turning towards the sisters and the guards. "Can you contact the guards in the forest?"

They widened their eyes, and even Malta frowned as she scolded herself for not considering it right away. The guards came to their senses right away and nodded. "I’ll do it."

He, who seemed to be the leader, took out a communication orb and activated it. But even after a nerve-wracking minute pass, the runes were only blinking instead of glowing bright. The guard looked up and shook his head dejectedly.

"Nothing?" Zia yelled and stomped her feet nervously. "What do you mean nothing?!"

"I don’t know, Miss," the guard was also getting paler by the second. "There’s interfere--"

Suddenly, the orb glowed, and everyone gasped at the sudden connection. For a second, their previously crumpled expression brightened.

That was, until they heard screams instead of greetings.

[Aaargh!]

[How do they get here?]

[The shed! Go to the sh--urk!]

The sound of crashing and rolling could be heard next, before the connection died completely.

With tremble, they turned their head toward the lake, just as a series of explosions came from inside the forest.

* * *

Around thirty minutes before the demons found out their young master vanished, several figures shrouded in cloaks and robes came out of a hidden door beneath an old pavilion in the back garden.

"How foolish," the cloaked figure emerging from the deserted pavilion sneered.

Sacrificing overall security to guard only a few points...it became very easy to infiltrate like this. Although, to be fair, they also used a path that no one knew. After all, it was made by the previous Lord’s family, and there was no way they would tell that bastard Nightmare about it.

"That’s why the Lord’s seat should stay in the family," the cloaked figure, who seemed to glide across the dark garden as if floating, clicked their tongue.

A rather old demon who was following them nodded in agreement, speaking with a honeyed tongue. "You’re right, esteemed One..."

"Shut up!"

Obviously, the cloaked figure was not fond of sweets.

"Your family also colluded with that traitorous brat!"

"That’s...that wasn’t my decision, Esteemed One..."

The cloaked figure clicked their tongue again. He would like to flay these incubi just the same, but they were still useful for now. Their grudge toward that pesky Nightmare was still useful.

Afterward...yes, afterward, killing them was not a problem.

So they held themselves and moved begrudgingly toward the cliff. Below, they could see the forest by the lake, which glittering surface and bright bridge disgusted him. Acting like a lovesick bastard--such disgrace!

They shifted their gaze toward the forest, which looked like any other forest. From where they were, there was nothing but trees in the forest, but an expert could tell it was due to an illusion barrier.

A tightly guarded treasure would invite more thieves. Protecting the place excessively like that only told them something very precious was inside.

"You’re here," someone came out of the boulder, as if they just passed through the solid rock. Which they did.

"Ocla, are you sure about this information?" the cloaked figure asked once again.

"Of course...I’m not completely sure," the broker shrugged, grinning at the invisible glare he could feel beneath the cloak’s shadow. "But what else could it be, if they were asked for a bassinet?"

The cloaked figure hissed. Certainly, there was only one use for a bassinet; a child. A child of that traitorous Nightmare.

How dare! How dare! Prancing around bearing a sword of justice to fell them because he felt wronged, but what?! Breaking the oath by becoming a Lord and even siring a child?!

How dare!

A storm of mana rose from beneath the cloaked figure. Darkness, like smoke, rushed from their pores to the forest below.

I’m going to take everything you treasure, Ra Natha!

With that oath, they jumped into the forest.