The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 588: In the end, your embrace is home

Chapter 588: In the end, your embrace is home

"H-huh?"

The only thing I could do was stare blankly at the frantic bird, because...what do you mean Natha is here?!

What about the banquet? Ah, well...I guessed that didn’t matter anymore. But how? Did he make multi-teleport from there to the realm of nature? Or did he use the elf’s intra-realm portal?

Irregardless, what about going inside the forest?! The border guards wouldn’t just give him a pass right away--especially not without agreement from the tribe. And no, they would not provide agreement to anyone, not even the Demon Lord, if Amarein said no--which I presumed she would have done when she sent the messenger bird.

Did he enter the forest illegally?!

I glanced at the librarian, who merely looked at me blankly. It seemed like she didn’t know anything about this, which meant Natha did not come through the guardpost.

It was only because Jade had been flying around the forest and playing with fairies while waiting for me that we found out.

[Fairies said running around, running around!] Jade flew in a short circle, chirping worriedly.

From the concerned look in the bird’s chirping, I could tell that Natha’s condition wasn’t good. At least, the fairies didn’t think he looked good. But that was natural since the forest was filled with traps and illusion barriers.

My heart clenched--I had no idea if it was from concern for his safety or happiness that he chose to look for me.

I caught the frantic bird and whispered. "Can you show me the way?"

[Fairy can!]

I nodded at the wing pointing into the forest. "Show me!"

* * *

I heard his voice before seeing him.

Need to see him...

A whisper resounded across the forest, as if the leaves and branches were conveying his thought. I had been wondering how he could come so far inside the forest, but I found the answer right away.

The moment I entered the forest, I could feel him, albeit vaguely. But there was a certain feeling that told me he was there, and even gave me an idea of where he was. It wasn’t precise, of course, just a vague he was ahead, he was on the left, he was in that direction--something like that.

Still, it was very helpful inside a forest designed to lead us astray. No wonder he could reach the center of the forest. With the fairies’ help, however, I could find him faster.

I ran to the forest without even explaining to the archivist grandma since I couldn’t just say my husband was entering the forest illegally--merely shouting goodbye and disappearing. Using mana to increase my movement, I tossed some candy pieces to the fairies and they instantly rushed through the forest, even helping me move some plants out of the way so I could go unobstructed.

And at a particularly dense section of the forest, I could hear his voice. Clearly this time.

"Please...Please let me see him!"

He sounded even more frantic than Jade, trying to shove away some fern leaves from the path--only, there was no path. I couldn’t see his cool and composed usual self as panic spread across his face. It reminded me of his face during Shwa’s birth, and oh...even in my anger, I couldn’t help but worry.

I had planned to just watch him first initially, but my heart seized at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

He paused, frozen as if someone had cast a petrification spell on him. And then his head turned, almost in a slow motion, and his shaken pupil was very apparent in his widened eyes.

"Valen!"

I stopped and took a deep breath to calm my heartbeat. "Natha, why are you he--"

"Valen!"

Before I could finish, he was already scrambling in front of me, which reminded me of this morning. I flinched unconsciously, but the look on his face made me unable to move away.

He just looked so...devastated.

"Sweetheart...sweetheart," he was on his knees, clutching my legs, looking up with swollen eyes filled with tears. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry--please don’t leave me..."

He wasn’t the Demon Lord, that charismatic and stern figure. He wasn’t the Nightmare of the battlefield, who seized his enemies with fear before slaying them. He wasn’t even a family head, who led the house with a steadfast and reliable attitude.

He was just Ra Natha; a terrified husband groveling in front of me.

"Please...please..." he hugged my lower body, voice hoarse and breaking. "Please don’t leave me...what should I do so you won’t leave me?"

I bit my lips; my heart was breaking at the sight of his devastated, crying face. He looked desperate. He sounded desperate. The anger I felt was still swirling inside my chest, but it also started to melt away with every tear dripping out of the silver eyes.

"Please..." as the grip on my rob got stronger, his voice got weaker. "I’m sorry...I’m sorry..."

"...why?"

I looked at his startled face while curling my fingers to hold back the tears gathering behind my eyes.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I..."

"What are you sorry about?"

"Everything!" he grabbed my hands and pressed his forehead against them. "I’m sorry for everything..."

No--that wasn’t enough.

Fortunately, he wasn’t finished yet.

"I’m sorry for not listening," he continued with a trembling voice and raised his head so I could look into his eyes. To see how apologetic he was. "I’m sorry that I dismissed your valid concern, and chose to listen to the King instead of you."

"..."

"I’m sorry...I’m sorry for putting someone else above you and our child."

He gripped my hands, rubbing them, speaking with the same sincerity he had during our wedding. His eyes, full of regret and vulnerability, were what broke me down.

"Stupid!" I pulled my hand off his grip and hit his shoulder. His arms. His chest. Before I knew it, I was already on the ground too, on his lap, screaming inside the thick forest. "You’re stupid, stupid husband!"

"Yes--yes, I am," Natha did not deny it as he pulled me into an embrace.

Still, my hands did not stop hitting him, and he did not stop me. "Do you know how scared I was? How much it hurts?!"

"I’m sorry," he kissed the side of my head deeply, holding me in a firm grip that was both gentle and secure. "I’ll never do that again, I’m sorry," he repeated. "Tell me what I should do so you’ll forgive me, sweetheart..."

The lump in my throat, which never disappeared no matter how much I cried, burst out, just like that night above the lake. I shook for a second before gripping his head tight, wailing.

"I don’t...I don’t want to leave you!" tears came out of my eyes like a river flooded out of a broken dam. Everything I had been holding since that carriage ride flew like a torrent. "I want to be with you forever. I want to go through this with you!"

"I know...I know..." Natha held me tighter, burying his face in my hair. I could feel his tears on my neck, sliding down as our cry echoed in the dark forest. "I’m sorry I couldn’t do that for you. I promised you I would always protect you, showering you with happiness; I had promised to never make you cry from sadness," his breath stuttered as he let out a choking noise. "I’m sorry...I’m sorry I couldn’t fulfill that promise."

"Y-you have to..." My shoulder shook as my anger melted away gradually. "You have to--hicc--from now on."

"I promise," he pulled away slightly so we could see each other, and oh...how much his callous fingers on my face soothe my troubled heart. "I promise I will no longer succumb to others’ influence. I promise to listen to you well, and I promise that your safety--our son’s safety--is my top priority."

I bit my lips and closed my eyes as I finally heard what I had wanted to hear the most during that carriage ride.

"You are the most important, the most precious to me," he kissed my wet, closed eyelids, whispering in a pledge. "You and our son."

Oh...if only I could hear that this morning, we wouldn’t have to go through this heartbreak. I wanted to ask how he managed to break away from the King’s default influence, but it wasn’t the time.

Not yet.

"It’s...it’s not like I d-didn’t know," I bit my lips, grabbing the lapel of his coat slightly, making a confession on my own. "But I...I was hurt that...t-that your resolve can be b-broke--hicc--ugh...so easily..."

"Forgive me," Natha rubbed the swollen, soft flesh under my eyes, which I knew had reddened so much. "Gods--sweetheart, I’m so sorry..."

"...I’m...I’m sorry too...that I banned you from touching Shwa, and...and making t-that barrier and...and leaving abruptly..."

"No, it’s what I deserve," he shook his head, kissing my wet cheeks with trembling lips. "I was so foolish, so stupid--Gods, I don’t know how you could ever forgive me,"

I looked at his face, where agony and regret were deeply etched. I had been longer for those silver eyes, rippled with unbending love.

"J-just..." I held his hands and absorbed the spreading cold. "Just promise me you’ll support me no matter what."

He nodded and answered without hesitation. "I promise."

"And...and protect Shwa," I looked at his eyes sternly. "Even if you have to go against them."

"I promise."

There was a split second of delay, but he managed to give me a suitable response. Still, I needed more assurance.

"And...and uphold that promise."

"I promise by the bond carved between us," he raised our intertwined hands and kissed the mark on our fingers. "It shall burn me until I remember that promise should I ever forget it."

As the anger in my heart vanished and was replaced with relief, I threw myself into his embrace and let everything go. "I missed you so much!" I wailed, clutching onto him and wailed to my heart’s content. "It’s scary...it’s scary without you!"

"Oh, sweetheart," he called me with a choked voice. "I have never been so terrified in my life before."