The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 548: Every life-changing decision needs emotional support

Chapter 548: Every life-changing decision needs emotional support

I knew dragging her out abruptly like this didn’t look good, but I also didn’t think having a conversation in front of all those adults would bring the best result. Well, it wasn’t very far anyway, just across the second-floor gallery.

"V-Val?" Zia called out to me bewilderedly, but she still followed me well.

Perhaps, unconsciously, she also wanted to leave the room.

Still, somehow, she kept trying to convince me--or perhaps herself. "It’s...it’s not a bad thing, you know! I will be able to help Sister Aleena more and...and it will be good for me and...and Izzi if I have more authority, you know..."

Honestly, it would be a compelling argument if she wasn’t stuttering so much.

I pulled her inside the nursery and closed the door. There was nothing but a white bassinet under a protective sheet in the middle of the room, but it didn’t matter. I turned around to hold her shoulders and looked at her keenly.

Taking a deep breath, there was only one thing I wanted to make sure of. "Are you sure you won’t regret it?"

Asking whether she was sure of doing this was useless unless I could provide another solution, but at the very least, I wanted Zia to be able to voice out what she really felt before taking on this literal life-changing decision.

And as I thought, the fierce and determined mask she had been wearing crumbled.

She replied to me with trembling eyes in a shaky, almost whisper-like voice. "I...I don’t know..." Zia gripped my coat tightly with unstable hands. "I don’t know..."

A sigh escaped my lips as I pulled her into an embrace. When I started caressing the back of her head, she trembled even more. It reminded me of the time she was overwhelmed by her feelings for Izzi.

"I think...I might regret it a lot in the future," her muffled voice vibrated against my shoulder. "But...it’s time I stop running away."

I pulled her away, and Zia raised her hands to wipe the tears that started flowing down. "I’ve been running away all this time, hiding behind silly reasons like finding love or whatever, but really--I was just running away from my responsibility..."

"Zia..."

"No, I’m serious!" she raised her voice, but I didn’t mind. I let her just like everyone always let me rumbling and screaming when I had emotional outbursts. I learned firsthand that it was better that way. "I was born as a noble; I have a role to play. And yet...I had been running away from them all just because I felt a bit suffocated."

"That’s not just ’a bit’, isn’t it?"

Personally, I also wouldn’t be able to live in the middle of people who mocked my beliefs and way of life.

"Maybe, but..." she looked down, and her hands slid off my coat to fiddle with the hem of her clothes. "You know...I kept thinking about this..."

"What?"

Suddenly, she started trembling again. "What if...What if I stayed? What if I stayed to scold him and made sure he did not stray?" she raised her face which was filled with self-doubt. "He wasn’t always an asshole like this you know; he might be a bit annoying and full of himself, but...but he was still kind to me, and never thought of harming others."

Well, I guessed no being was born bad from the start. As I said, Zir’Kal was more stupid than evil. It was just that he was groomed by bad people, and ended up involved with worse kinds of people.

"I used...I used to believe that she could grow into a good big brother, but...but..." she bit her lips. "So much had happened and..."

She lost her voice and from the way she tugged on the edge of her clothes, I almost thought she wanted to tear it out. "Zia," I carefully peeled her hands off her dress and held them. "It’s not your responsibility to babysit your adult brother."

"But my mother told me to!" more tears dropped from her amethyst eyes. "Mother...Mother said I should keep an eye on him, but I...but I ran away!"

As her shoulder shook from emotions, her legs buckled and I let her slide to the floor, although I still held her hands tightly.

"If I...if I stayed then..."

Ah, my poor friend...what should I do to soothe her mind and convince her it wasn’t her fault? How did Natha usually do it for me?

But then, as if the universe gave me an answer, the door opened softly. "If you stayed, you wouldn’t be able to meet Valen."

Both of us flinched and I raised my head to see the bright head of an elf passed through the frame. Like a ray of sunshine, the elf calmly entered the room and closed the door.

"Izzi..."

The usual mischievous face was softened up when he saw Zia on the floor, staring blankly at him. His brows furrowed for a second before smoothened up, and he crouched beside the sobbing succubus.

He stroked the wet cheek to stave off the tears, smiling faintly. "And if you stayed there, we wouldn’t be able to meet."

Zia let out a single hiccup and her tears stopped flowing for a while.

"Because you know...there was no way a fugitive like me could ever meet the princess of Lust in any other scenario," he shrugged, speaking lightheartedly with a crooked smile while wiping Zia’s tears with his sleeve. "So it’s just my selfish opinion, but I’m glad you decided to leave and come here," he paused to glance at me and added in begrudging embarrassment. "Just like how I’m glad I made that contract with the Bosses."

Damn, this smooth elf...

"B--but..."

"If you want to blame someone, shouldn’t you blame the elders who treated him like a doll?" the frown was back on Izzi’s forehead while he grumbled. "If you stayed, they might try to control you too, you know."

"Yes, that’s true!" I nodded strongly, letting Zia’s hands go since someone was there to hold her now. Good job, Izzi--I guessed he really was serious about being emotional support and taking care of her.

"Well, even without that, those demons in the basement would still attack anyway," he shrugged, cupping the damp cheeks of the blinking succubus. "So none of this is your responsibility."

Slowly, Zia turned her head to me and I nodded firmly. Of course, it wasn’t her fault--just like none of it was Natha’s fault.

Perhaps feeling reassured by my silent reply, the tension left her body fully and she started to cry in earnest, clutching the elf and wailing on his shoulder. True to his promise, Izzi held Zia tightly, patting her back.

"Silly girl," he still had to grumble, although his voice was much softer. "The one who should be feeling guilty right now is your brother...making you cry and all."

"Hngh..." Zia pounced on the elf’s back while still crying her heart out, and Izzi just laughed in response.

"You’re brave, aren’t you?"

"I’m scared!" Zia shook her head. "I’m so scared!"

"Of course, you are," Izzi snorted harshly. "Everyone would be--if they’re sane anyway."

He glanced at me, and I just nodded wordlessly. Of course, people would be scared if they suddenly had to face something they had been avoiding all this time. We would keep doubting ourselves, thinking about another way out, wondering if we would be able to go through it, wondering if we would survive at the end of it. If we still remained as us.

But even if we were scared, there were times when we had no choice but to challenge it anyway. And I had to do it anyway, I wanted to make sure I would face it with no regret.

Because the moment I had regret, I would keep coming back to those questions I had before I started. I would be thinking if this was the right thing to do, keep thinking if there was something else I should have done. In the end, a temptation to run away would surface again and it became a vicious cycle.

"But I still need to do this," Zia said quietly between sobs. Her voice was a bit muffled in Izzi’s shoulder, but we could still hear her growing determination.

Not one born from the force of guilt, but one’s own calling.

"I’m going to change the clan and the realm with Sister Aleena, and I’m going to stay true to what I believe," she spoke with a steadier voice, even with occasional sobs in between. "I’m going to punish my brother accordingly, and keep an eye on him even if he’s no longer a ’Ra’."

I had no idea if what she said was the right thing to go about, but I was sure both Aleena and Natha--and perhaps Aunt Nezja--would be able to guide her through it.

And more importantly...

She raised her head, pulling away slowly to look at the elf in front of her. "You’re...you’re going to be with me, right?" she asked with flaming cheeks and a trembling voice. "I think...I think I won’t regret it much if you’re there..."

Oh, wow...that was basically a proposal, wasn’t it?

And Izzi’s answer was as full of determination as she had. "Of course I will."

I wasn’t sure Izzi fully understood the implication of his answer, but well...I was sure he would not back away. No--I would make sure of it.

Slowly, as Zia started to bawl again, I left the nursery and tiptoed my way to the edge of the hall, where my husband was waiting with a smirk.

"It’s not a spectacle," I scolded him while taking his outstretched hand.

"And yet you stay until the important part."

Shush! I have privilege!

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