The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 560: It’s just a polite thing to do to applaude at the end of a movie premiere

Chapter 560: It’s just a polite thing to do to applaude at the end of a movie premiere

It started with a scream. Just a sound; there was no face, no body. The screen was still showing a dim-lit corridor, and some guests even thought the voice came from outside the venue. But they soon realized it came from the pillar--or rather, from the projection.

Oh--I belatedly realized they had managed to capture the sound.

On the screen, the scene finally shifted; the camera arrived at a chamber at the end of the stone corridor. There, fire blazing from the torch acted as lighting instead of a mana lantern, casting a swaying shadow on the floor and wall that complimented the eerie scream.

Instinctively, I reached for a small bowl of popcorn that Arta secretly brought.

As the guests were confused and scared at the same time, the camera turned to the side, and two rows of prison cells could be seen. The focus of the camera, however, was on the single cell on the other side of the chamber.

Inside the cell, clear for the other prisoners to see, was someone with their knees on the ground. A warden pushed the prisoner’s head down to a large basin. [Eat] the warden said; Hagai’s cold and heartless voice was very fitting for such a role.

Natha told me that his grandfather--that old demon Di patriarch--used to be the previous Lord’s interrogator before his older brother died and he ended up becoming the heir and had to go back to his clan. Seemed like the trait ran in the family.

The guests must have thought the basin was filled with stale food mixed into disgusting paste, or even rotten parts. But the camera moved closer and Hagai yanked the head up so the nightmare’s face could be seen in the camera, with the brand of exile on his forehead and a splatter of suspicious substance around his lower face.

The camera also recorded what was on the basin, and they belatedly realized what it was. Those who were holding food in their hands trembled and dropped it.

I, too, stopped eating the popcorn.

[Names] Hagai yanked the nightmare’s hair, but he was too dazed to answer it. I had no idea how long this punishment I devised had been implemented in that video, but I could no longer see the sliver of hope and anger in that nightmare’s face.

[Names] Hagai repeated, and the nightmare still did not say anything. Or rather, he probably couldn’t. With a face full of disdain--that I strangely could relate to in the past--he gave a signal to someone. It was another warden wearing protective gloves and a big spoon.

It was clear to everyone what would happen, and they gasped. Some were staggering back and closed their eyes as the warden scooped the mixed fecal matter in the basin and shoved it down the nightmare’s throat. The warden proceeded to pinch the nightmare’s nose while Hagai lifted the head so there was no choice but to swallow it down.

Once again, that cold, heartless demand rang throughout the hall.

[Names]

"W-what is..."

Voices of distress started to spread around the hall. A clear tension amidst the silence as the procession of the punishment continued with only two words. [Eat] and [Names]. I bet there would be a lot of guests who heard those two words in their nightmares for at least a few nights.

Meanwhile, another Nightmare stood at the podium; the elegant countenance he showed the guests earlier had changed to a menacing executioner. The silver eyes swept the hall, and cold seeped inside the room as if the temperature control spell in the building was a joke.

His eyes, which penetrated their soul, silently read their thoughts.

"Young Master, perhaps you shouldn’t see this part," Arta, despite providing me with refreshment, was trying to censor me from the recording.

"If you’re going to do that, you should just leave me in the Castle," I replied, fixing my gaze on the screen.

"But..."

"It’s fine," I grabbed the bowl tighter. "I need to see this."

At that point, new sounds were introduced to the guests; every time Hagai ended a round of [Eat] and [Names], the camera would move to another cell, and another execution would take place, with those two words still continued in the background.

This was where I, as well as the other guests, finally found out how those bodies were in the plaza on the first sacred morning met their end.

Some guests, especially the delicate nobles and the feeble scholars, started to shriek and tried to get as far away from the screens as they could. It was then that they realized the doors and windows had been locked, and Castle’s soldiers were guarding them. They screamed and turned toward Natha, probably to protest and questioned what exactly he wanted to do.

But the moment they saw his eyes, they were paralyzed by fear. They couldn’t move, they couldn’t speak. The generous Lord who brought profit had just shown who he really was; a Nightmare.

I took a deep breath. So, this was how he wanted to show the realm.

My jaw clenched as my heart drummed inside my chest. Was it fear? Was it satisfaction? Was it a fear of that satisfaction?

I had no idea. What I knew was that I had decided not to feel guilty about it. I should not feel guilty about my enemies.

Yes. I shall not waste any compassion for anyone who wished for my and my family’s harm.

And then, finally, something else happened.

After who knew how many times Hagai said [Names] like a broken record, the nightmare finally snapped. With tears and feces running from the corner of his lips and his nose, he started to speak hoarsely.

[P...please...kill...kill me...]

[Names] Hagai repeated, but this time, something else was added. [Names, and we’ll end your life cleanly]

People usually confessed when they thought they would be rewarded with life. But not this one.

[Will...will they get...what you give me?]

This time, the expressionless Hagai stretched his lips. [Worse]

The nightmare, for the last time in his life, let out a satisfied smile, and names started to spill from his mouth.

Names I did not really know, but made the guests blow their eyes wide and clasp their mouths. Among those names, I only knew two;

Atsar Ya Hiri; the Lord of Envy. And...

Auddha Ya Jigisu; the Lord of Pride.

Should I say I wasn’t surprised? I was more surprised to find out they came from the same clan, honestly. But the other guests were--at least most of them. Some already knew those two didn’t have a good relationship with Natha, although they probably had no idea it would go this far. And some...

Some started to panic.

They were representatives of the two Lords, and demons whose names were also mentioned by the nightmare. Ku An’gor, Ho Rinza, and Na’ra Ahmac.

"Number 3, 7, and 8," a voice provided a sudden explanation behind me, before a teenage boy plopped down on a chair beside me with a cheerful smile. "They are so~ bold, aren’t they?"

I had no idea what he was saying, but I nodded. Indeed--coming to this party after what they were plotting...how audacious. How shameless. Whether they were at the party to ascertain what Natha wanted or gained profit just anyone else, it was just audacious.

And it wasn’t even their representatives; they came by themselves.

The moment their name came out of the nightmare mouth, heads were turned and gazes were fixed on them like spotlights. One of them, who Opti called Number 3, looked around in panic; face pale and stuttering in denial, shaking their head.

"No...no...it’s not me...I--I don’t know anything about this--" Number 3 spoke with a trembling voice. "I wasn’t...I wasn’t the one who..."

Meanwhile, the other one was shouting in anger. "This is slander! Lord Natha, is this how you treat your guest?!" he smashed a glass and made a fuss. "This is nothing but a play--a ploy! Are you that desperate to--"

The ’movie’, however, was yet to finish. The prison basement had ended, and the screen showed another location. A rather luxurious room decorated with rare weapons. Opti whispered ’Number 5’ to me. It was one of the names mentioned by the nightmare.

In that screen, another interrogation occurred and this time, there was a ledger and some kind of chat log involved.

Oh; and an eight-way phone conversation talking about whether or not they would come to this party. It was clear enough for us to recognize some of the voices--including the voices of the three mentioned earlier.

Well, well...

At that point, perhaps given up on trying to deny it, Number 3 slumped down to the ground; Number 8 stood still in silence; and Number 7 bolted--or at least tried to. Guards in shadow, as well as Caba and Haikal appeared out of nowhere and easily captured the three.

The guests, who were scared of Natha earlier, shifted their emotions to anger. If it wasn’t for those perpetrators, they wouldn’t have to be subjected to the horrifying horror documentary that would haunt their dreams in the future.

On the stage, Natha looked at the screaming, crying, and stunned perpetrators and smiled, raising a wine as if he hadn’t just showcased an execution documentary a few minutes ago.

"Thank you, for attending my execution party."

And I alone clapped my hands.