The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 577: Puny mortals need to adapt for their new prolonged lifespan

Chapter 577: Puny mortals need to adapt for their new prolonged lifespan

"Valen?"

On the evening before dinner, when my friends were back in their rooms getting ready for the big dinner we would have and my husband was yet to come back from the banquet preparation meeting, Aunt Nezja caught me staring blankly at the dark sky on the balcony.

I blinked stupidly as my mind was trying to register her presence, and only managed to reply three seconds later. "Oh, you’re here, Aunt?"

I couldn’t blame her for looking at me suspiciously. "What’s wrong?"

Clutching the new scroll I just received tightly, my answer came with a slight flinch. "H-huh? N-nothing?"

Yeah. Very convincing, Val.

As expected, Aunt Nezja came over and sat beside me instead of going back inside. Her uncompromising gaze that always reminded me of a Headmaster made me feel tensed somehow, even if I didn’t particularly do anything wrong.

Her voice when she spoke again, however, was soft and soothing. But so did Natha, even while he was angry. "Valen,"

I hoped she couldn’t hear the sound of me gulping nervously. "Yes?"

"Let me tell you something," she leaned back and clasped her fingers on her lap, as if about to give me a long lecture.

My back instinctively straightened, and I couldn’t help but remember all the stories Zia told me about her ’education’ under Aunt Nejza. I wondered what she was going to reprimand me about...

"If you’re going to lie, you should not stutter."

Hicc--I did not stutter this time, but I did hiccup undignifiedly. "I..."

"But that doesn’t mean you have to tell anyone everything," she held the hand I used to grip the scroll tightly, stroking it. I realized then that my knuckles had turned white--of course, Aunty wouldn’t just go away after seeing me like that. "If you are not willing to share what is in your mind, then it’s enough to say that you don’t want to talk about it."

"...really?" I raised my head and looked at her with a doubt I couldn’t hide. "Wouldn’t people just ask more if they knew we were hiding something and didn’t want to divulge it?"

"You are not obligated to entertain other people’s curiosity," she scoffed, before holding my chin and lifting it, prompting my eyes to get level with her. "It’s time you learn that someone of your stature could get away with not divulging information."

I blinked in a daze. "Oh..."

She let go of my chin and turned forward again, staring at the night sprinkled with mana lamps and fluttering petals. "Stuttering will only make people think you’re hiding something bad," she continued. "You can only get away with acting as if there’s nothing you’re hiding if you mastered a poker face like those cunning kids working for my nephew."

"...Lesta?"

"The spy."

I clasped my hands. "Oh, Opti!"

"Yes. You may learn from them," she nodded.

Ah, so it was like...I should only lie if I was sure I wouldn’t get caught. Mm, ’kay. "Yes, I’ll try," I nodded. "Umm...thank you, Aunty."

Aunt Nezja smiled, looking more like an aunt than a headmaster now. "I won’t probe around much, but if there’s something on your mind, it’ll be better for you to share it with someone--either your husband or your friend," she stroked my head--the way she brushed my hair away and tucked it behind my ear reminded me so much of Natha. "You have a child now, and it’s not good for you to have a muddled head while caring for him."

I pressed my lips and nodded, lowering my head in shame. "Yes, I understand..."

Her stroking turned into pats, and I unconsciously leaned into it. To say I wanted to keep it a total secret wasn’t true, but I didn’t know who I could talk to that would give me sound, unbiased advice.

Well, there was one, but...

"Actually..." I looked up at her hesitatingly. "If I have to talk about it with someone, I think you’ll be the best choice, but..." biting my lips slightly, I continued in a quiet voice. "I’m not sure if you’ll be alright with it."

"Hmm..."

The hand retreated from my head, and I had to admit I was feeling a loss. Aunt Nezja intertwined her fingers on her lap and hummed, seemingly in contemplation. I waited nervously, fiddling with the edge of the scroll while peeking at her.

After a little more than a minute, her head tilted slightly and the light grey eyes glanced in the direction of my lap. "Does it have something to do with your kingdom?"

I unconsciously flinched and my brows arched high as my grip on the scroll returned. How did she know?!

"If it’s something that you think will burden me, it must have something to do with a ’fallen’ family," she said while patting her knuckles. All I could do was swallow dryly because my throat suddenly felt parched. "It’s fine," she chuckled, stroking my flustered cheek. "It’s already something far away in the past for me, and I managed to fix my relationship with Natha, so I’m not as affected now."

"Oh, in that case..."

When she nodded, I slowly unclenched my grip and unscrolled the parchment on my lap. Her eyes turned stormy for a second, but she quickly controlled her expression--I wouldn’t have been able to catch it if I hadn’t observed her reaction keenly in the first place.

Was that what she meant by masking everything well?

But it wasn’t time for that. Taking a deep breath, I started to share what had been plaguing me since I received this scroll earlier. The floorplan, which encompassed not only the whole palace but also the rooms beyond it--dungeons, tunnels, secret passages hidden for centuries--brought upon a desire I didn’t know I had inside me.

Was it because I felt more and more like I finally found places where I belonged? My bond with my druid side was getting stronger day by day, and it evoked a sense of ownership. The fact that I felt these treasures Tsalinade had been getting for me belonged to me instead of the druid race as a whole was enough proof.

That, mixed with the human side that was more aggressive about claiming what I thought was mine made me long for that palace; that throne and crown, and my rightful inheritance.

Before, I had mentioned taking back the palace and the territory that used to belong to the druid’s royal family to Tsalinade. That being said, at that time, it was nothing more than a means to inflate the price of the negotiation. Truthfully, I didn’t really think it was possible.

Well, no--it was possible if I asked Natha for resources and went all out to attack the place. But I didn’t want to have a war; not after looking at Valmeier’s memory. I wanted to get the territory back since it was the rightful inheritance for the druid’s race, but I also wanted to have it without spilling blood and sacrificing innocent lives.

Which was impossible. I knew that. I knew that and yet, when this floorplan came into my possession, I started to think that it might be possible.

In the end, however, it wasn’t about whether or not it was possible. I was just...surprised that I still had such a desire.

"I see..."

"I... it sounded selfish and childish even in my mind, but..."

"No, I understand," she held my frantically waving hand and stopped my movement. "But Valen, you have something that I don’t."

Huh?

"Numbers, and time," she said with a wry smile. "And perhaps...a desire for a future."

Needless to say, I just looked at her blankly in confusion. Thankfully, she did not look at me as if I was a hopeless idiot and explained it properly.

"You still have a lot of people," she said; a spark of loneliness flickered in her stormy eyes. "There are druids that are ready to move for you, human friends who are ready to help you, and demons in your beck and call."

"Well..."

"And you share your time with Natha, so there are still many decades in front of you," she lightly rubbed the mark over my ring finger. "You can take your time to think of the best move, and more time to execute it--if you are willing. I...don’t even have the willingness to return the nightmare’s community to how it is supposed to be."

"Aunty..."

She let out a wry smile and a soft sigh. "For me...it’s just too tiring, too mentally draining," he said bitterly. "It is the community itself that contributed to my family members’ demise--you have seen that nightmare who attacked you; there are a lot of them back then, who hated on Natha instead of protecting him."

"Oh..."

"Well, we are an individualistic race in the first place, so I don’t really expect them to put their own life on the line, but..." the sneer coming out of her was filled with pain. "Still, it’s hurtful when none of them speak up about my nephew’s accusation. I might hold this useless title of matriarch, but...there’s no real household or clan under my title."

That was honestly...painful. Perhaps that was why Natha never talked about other nightmares. Hell--I didn’t think he would talk about Aunt Nezja if I didn’t ask about her. Rather than the nightmares, he seemed closer to the lust demons instead, to the point that Zia ran away to his place and Aleena confided a lot in him.

"But you," she pinched my chin and smiled. "You’re different. You have what it takes to do what you desire, so I wouldn’t stop you. Just remember...you have time," again, she rubbed my mark to remind me of the prolonged lifeline I shared with Natha. "Not everything has to be done in a flash."

Ah...

Was it because I used to be someone with limited time? I seemed to be moving at the speed of someone who might get snuffed tomorrow. Everything I experienced, from meeting my old crush to getting married and having a kid...how many years would it take for other people?

"Also, I think it’s alright to talk to Natha," she patted my hand and smirked. "He became very obedient to you, so just tell him to not be hasty and to follow your pace."

"You’re right," I giggled, feeling the heaviness receding from my heart as I scrolled the floorplan again. "Thank you, Aunty."

I gave her a tight hug--oh, I just realized we hadn’t seen each other for several months now, and the first thing I did was share some secretive burden with her. Silly Val.

She chuckled when I let out an unconscious sigh. "Now, how about introducing me to my grandson?"

"Yes!"

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