The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 613: Indeed, nice things should stay hidden

Chapter 613: Indeed, nice things should stay hidden

"Papa, secret tunnel!"

After we were done with the history lesson, the Bishop brought me to the back of the house. It looked like an ordinary yard fenced with a stone cliff, but I knew there must be a path to the church somewhere. It wasn’t on the cliff, however.

On one side of the yard, there was a clutter of mundane backyard stuff like a set of wooden picnic tables and chairs, as well as an outdoor stove that made me want to have a barbecue party. A few steps away, there was a well with a washing section attached to it, and when the Bishop led me there, I was like--no way...

Mm, yes way. The Bishop cranked a handle on the well, and the bottom of the washing box slid below the ground, revealing a stair leading to a stone corridor.

Oh, of course the hidden church would be hidden with tricks!

"Are you excited?" I looked at the boy whose drowsiness from the history lesson earlier had totally gone.

"Mm!"

Jade giggled while skipping and swaying our held hands as we followed the Bishop, who looked back at us strangely--maybe because the hallway was dark and damp and scary, but we looked like we were on a fun excursion. "We love secret paths," I told him with a smile.

"Jade and Papa always go aventuring--"

"Adventuring,"

"Adventuring! In secret tunnels around the houses!"

Oh, look at him using plurals! Again, the Bishop looked at us with raised brows, and I had to explain. "We have two."

The little boy shook his head. "No, Papa--we have three!"

"No, Jade," I corrected him. "The Castle is not ours."

"No?" Jade gasped.

"We’ll have to leave the Castle someday," I told him. Well, now that I thought about it, that would be a bit of a hassle with the greenhouse, the nursery, and the shed needed to be moved out. But I’m sure Natha would find a way.

That was...unless we were forced into hiding from the world at the end of this mission.

Jade tugged on my hand in concern. "Then, what about the one near the big river?"

"That is ours."

"Yaay! That one is so fun! Jade rolling through the wall!"

I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of Jade kicking a wall and the wall disappeared, prompting the little bird to roll forward. "You remember that?"

"Yes!"

We giggled and walked hand in hand happily, recounting our adventures inside every secret tunnel we had done--the only adventure a homebody like me could enjoy. The Bishop glanced at us from time to time and smiled in response.

"It seems like you’ve been living well over there," he said as the path widened slightly and slanted up.

"Yes," I smiled and looked at Jade, who was grinning at me. "The happiest I have ever been in life."

"I’m glad."

The Bishop stopped in front in the middle of the hallway and reached out to the wall on our left, pressing some pattern that was invisible to my eyes. Oh? That was new. Usually, the other door would be located at the end of the path, but here, the path was clearly still continuing.

Interesting.

With the sound of creaking stone and Jade’s excited squeal, a square hollow appeared on the wall, and we continued walking for about ten meters before the path ended and the Bishop softly pushed the stone wall in front of us. The wall--or door, I guessed--slid to the side and golden light shone upon us.

Whoa...kind of made me feel like entering the gate of heaven.

"Flower!" Jade rushed out and ran around another yard filled with rosebushes and climbing roses. Tall hortensia bushed in autumn colors made it seem like the yard was decorated with balloons.

Oh--perhaps it really felt like we were at the gate of paradise.

That was if the path connected to the yard did not end in a ruined building.

Past the yard was a stone bridge across a waterfall. The thunderous sound drowned Jade’s loud yelling, but the view was spectacular from the bridge. Even the ruin on the other side did not dampen the beauty--just the atmosphere.

The church, or what was left of it, had sustained damage on half of its frame. The remaining building, made of white marble that turned golden under the setting sun, tried its best to retain the dignity of once a magnificent structure. The climbing roses and vines managed to work as a beautiful decoration rather than defiling it.

"Wow..."

An exclaim escaped my lips before I knew it. It didn’t feel much before, but after seeing this view, I knew why the princess could live there for as long as she could.

"It’s nice, isn’t it?" the Bishop laughed, seemingly happy with our reaction.

"Yeah, the kind of place that I want to hide from others."

The Bishop laughed even louder. "Yes, yes; I get that!"

I grabbed Jade’s hand and followed the Bishop to cross the bridge. The bridge had an adult waist-high railing, but there was still a little gap between each rib, and the waterfall was at least a hundred meters high. While I knew Jade could turn into a bird if he fell, it still scared me as a parent. "Hold my hand tightly, okay? Don’t just run off while we’re on the bridge."

"Okay!"

Again, the Bishop chuckled and led us while humming softly. For some reason, he had a different vibe than the guarded, rather sly-looking old man during the tea time earlier. I suddenly remembered what he said before we exited the secret tunnel earlier.

"Are you really?" I asked him; my voice carried clearly because of the noise-isolation spell around the bridge. "Glad, I mean..."

"Yes," he caught what I meant quickly, and while I couldn’t see his face, I could hear the smile in his voice. "I believe things happen for a reason. If fate guided you to that place and you are happy, then that is a good thing."

"Things might happen for a reason, and fate is inevitable, but...that doesn’t mean everyone has to be happy about it," I argued.

I mean, if everyone did, there wouldn’t be people envying other’s success and attacking them like what those demons did to Natha.

"I supposed so," the Bishop nodded. "But why choose to be miserable?"

Honestly...I couldn’t find a flaw in his principle. So far, the Bishop had left a nice impression and didn’t feel like someone who would smite me for marrying a Demon Lord. But better be cautious still.

"Then...do you think the misery of the world is also guided by fate?"

He glanced at me and carved a smile--the kind a priest gave to curious people questioning their belief. "Fate is mysterious, Lord Valen. Us mortals are not capable enough to unravel it," he replied with a little shrug. "But I believe that every event is a thread, and while those threads might look tangled at first glance, it would still lead to something."

"Hmm..."

"We just couldn’t see it past the entanglement."

"Because we’re mere mortals?"

"That is so."

Well...I guessed he did have a point. It wasn’t like I had any beef with fate, which had worked in my favor many times. But his answers, if they were genuine, significantly increased the trust level I had for him. Around...fifty-five percent, I guessed?

"So, even the fact behind your birth," the Bishop continued. "It was guided by fate."

"...I know that much," I smiled sheepishly. "I don’t blame them, or the method of their union."

After all, my union with Natha was also pre-ordained by fate. "But if there is something I know about fate, it is that fate can not control one’s feelings," I said carefully. "Do you at least know if they are actually in love?"

Rather than answering right away, the Bishop smiled mysteriously. "You can see it for yourself."

I tilted my head, and then realized that we had reached the other side already. The white marble looked even more impressive after the sky darkened even more. There was something inside the marble that shone at night, sparkling like fireflies.

The Bishop, however, did not bring me to the church, but the path beside it, leading to the back. "We no longer used this church because it felt too sacred," he explained when I looked at him confusedly. "Only during a holy day did we come to use the altar."

"I see..."

Careening my head to the end of the path, I could see a space where several trees had grown with flowers hanging from the branches. "Ah, we’re going to the cemetery?"

"Rather than a cemetery, it was a grave--well, two graves," the Bishop replied, and then stepping aside so I could walk forward and saw what was at the end of the path.

In the middle of those trees, two graves lay side by side in the same lot. The fragrant flowers from the tree fell on top of the graves like beautiful confetti. Far from the eerie vibe a cemetery might give, the place felt peaceful and beautiful enough for a picnic.

Not that I would really have one.

I stepped closer to the graves, and there was a glaring difference between the two. Both of the graves were considerably clean, but one looked newer and bare, while the other one was filled with many things: carved animal figurines made of wood, marble, and other stones; as well as flower engravings. Everything seemed to be made by hand, and placed near the head tombstones like how people on Earth would place flowers and dolls on their friends’ and relatives’ graves.

Hmm...I wondered what my grave looked like back on Earth. Was there even someone care enough to put me in a grave? Or maybe I was cremated? I just realized that I never told anyone what they should do with me after my death.

Oh, whatever. It didn’t matter since I was alive again in this world.

"When she died, he asked to be buried together," the Bishop stopped beside me, looking at the grave with a smile. "But it is counted as desecrating one’s grave and is forbidden, so we buried him by her side."

"Those engravings..."

"They were made by him."

All of them? That was...cute, I had to admit.

"Lord Valen," the Bishop turned toward me. "I can not say for the lady, but at least I know how much your father loved her," he smiled. "Otherwise, he would choose to stay with you rather than her."

Well...

"Ah--pardon me!" the Bishop gasped and for the first time showed a panicked look on his face--even slapping his lips while bowing apologetically. "I shouldn’t say that."

"It’s fine," I smiled subtly. It wasn’t really me at that time, so I didn’t get affected by it. Ah, for the record, Valmeier also didn’t really care about it. As I said before, he didn’t have much feelings for them, sad as it may be. "At least, it seems that he still loved me too somewhat."

Yeah...he still visited once a year at least. It was such a long journey from Lenaar to this place, so I got why he couldn’t go every month. I mean...it could take months if he used normal paths.

"Of...of course he loved you," the Bishop said quickly, before sighing to himself.

I held back a chuckle and gave him a way out. "Can you leave me alone for now?"