The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 71: The Words That Remained Unsaid

Chapter 71: The Words That Remained Unsaid

He cried again, the poor soul.

Natha sighed as he caressed the slightly damped forehead. This time, he didn’t even know why the man suddenly cried—silently, yet in so much agony. Val had cried even as Natha flew down to the dock, and brought him back inside the greenhouse. He cried silently inside the Demon Lord’s embrace until he passed out from exhaustion.

But the Lord didn’t know why.

When Val cried before, even without peering into the man’s thoughts, Natha could easily guess the cause. But this time, he had no idea.

Val was so happy before, so full of joy when he entered the greenhouse. So adorable when he lay down on the couch, using Natha’s thigh as a pillow, saying that he didn’t mind just living there between the exotic plants and looking at the small lake. Innocently asked if there were dangerous pets in the lake and whether it would be safe to swim there.

He was happy, wasn’t he? They made so much progress already. He was no longer flinched and flustered too much at the sign of physical intimacy. Natha had made sure he was being careful, patiently watching for the young man’s mood.

Natha had been cautious, anxiously waiting on Val’s verdict about living here. Was there something that made him uncomfortable, was there something that made him anxious or scared?

He was glad and relieved when he saw the blissful face against the natural illumination of the lake, the brightness in those beautiful pair of emeralds.

But then, suddenly, his sweetheart pushed away from him.

It was just a fraction of a second, when he lost his grip upon the man. But in that split second, he felt his guts churning. He felt like he was going to lose this man.

Again.

It felt worse than the eternal wound he had on his chest.

And yet, it didn’t give him as much shock as when the man clutched into him, tight, and started to shake. Crying in silence as if he was in too much pain to be able to make any noise.

Natha had never wanted to break a promise so much at that time, as he held the shaking figure in his hands, so strong and yet so vulnerable. He wanted to peer into the young human’s mind, wanted to know what caused him this much despair. He wanted to fix it, whatever it was that made his sweetheart cry in agony.

It did not guarantee that he would be able to understand them though. It had always been hard, sensing Val’s thoughts.

Sometimes it was so raw, so straightforward, so adorable in its purity. Sometimes it would be a jumble of messy thoughts that he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly that Val was thinking about.

But he also understood that the reason why Val could cry like this was because he said he wouldn’t sense the young man’s thoughts. So he couldn’t just break his promise, and ended up letting Val cry his heart out, even as he stayed there in pain and confusion at this sudden outburst.

"What got you so sad, sweetheart?" Natha caressed the sleeping face. He looked so peaceful now, probably because all of those dark thoughts had been washed away by the silent cry.

The man looked as pretty as ever now, as if he wanted to match the beautiful soul beneath. Natha thought he had managed to fix that broken soul, but it seemed like he was naïve.

One soul could only be healed by oneself completely.

Sighing long, he pulled the pliant hand toward his lips, kissing the contract—no, the bond that they had. Softly, tracing every line, and then down, feeling the steady pulse on the man’s wrist.

"Should I just tell you everything?" he whispered against the wrist, hovering above the pretty face and pressing his lips lightly on the closed eyelids.

But he didn’t know what would happen to this beautiful yet vulnerable soul if he did. Would it anchor the man here, with him, or would it make the man shatter, like he’d been afraid of?

Slowly, softly, he kissed the ebony hair, and pressed his lips long on the fair forehead, before fixing the blanket over the man and getting up.

Soundlessly, he crossed the bedroom, toward a couple of chairs below a small window that was illuminated by the moonlight. He sat down on the bigger chair, and reached down. With a glow of the rune on his arm, a hidden line appeared on the wooden frame. Accompanied by the softest sound, it slid out, revealing a notebook inside.

If the human saw it, he would immediately recognize its similarity with the book he found in the Tower’s study. The only difference was that this one looked relatively in better condition, as if it didn’t go through as much hardship as its predecessor.

There was a nostalgic gleam inside the silver eyes as the Demon Lord held the record of his youth in his hand. The cold fingers brush the leather cover, before opening it slowly.

The first date recorded there was the day right after his summon to the King’s Sanctuary. He smiled slightly, remembering the human’s teasing remark about how he probably forgot where he put the notebook.

No, he did not forget.

In the first place, this book had never left his side. He could share anything with his sweetheart, but this one...not yet.

Just not yet.

_____________________________________

[Day 06, Month 8, Year 1772

The Sanctuary was something that I can’t describe. Not because it was so wonderful, but because I’m mentally incapable of recalling the place.

All I remember is a void, a space in the border between the physical and subconscious mind. Even the King’s voice—I couldn’t put a finger on it. While I can remember what His Majesty said to me, I can’t remember the voice.

—You are not destined to be King, my child

Wow, my parents would be so disappointed if they knew.

—Because the King should thread the path of life alone

—But you are someone destined for sacred procreation, and it can’t be threaded by oneself

You mean my role in this world is to...make children?

—It’s time for the seed of the Primordial One to descend once more into this world

Oh, so...a vessel? I had to give birth to a vessel?

And with that, the King stopped talking. I didn’t really feel anything about that revelation. It was quite good actually, the sense of having a role in this world. Whether that child became a God or whatever, it didn’t affect me much.

What I wondered at that time was something else. The King had implied that I would need a partner for this...mission—which is obvious. So did it mean that my fated partner had already been decided?

And then, just as I was thinking about it, I felt an invisible touch upon my head. A pressure on my forehead, like a finger being pressed there.

And it’s not stopping. It pushed inside, deep, reaching my brain, reaching my soul.

Propelling me to a different space and time]

_____________________________________

Natha closed the book and leaned back, closing his eyes as the moonlight shone upon his face, reminiscing.

Upon a pair of green eyes, and a flurry of snow.

He put the book back in its hiding space, and climbed back up to the bed, watching the sleeping figure that was now curled up inside a cocoon of the blanket. He pushed away strands of hair covering the fair cheek, and a smile formed on his lips just like that.

Those emerald eyes were his now, he could look at them whenever he liked.

He didn’t need the notebook anymore.

* * *

Aaah...it felt like deja vu.

When I woke up at the touch of dawn with swollen eyes, I was reminded of that one time I cried to sleep in his arms the first time, after I shamefully begging not to be abandoned.

Gosh, Val—was there no end to your patheticness?

I groaned into my palm, wallowing in self-disgust for a bit. But truthfully, it did help to make my heart feel lighter, although I knew all that I did was shoving the root problem under the carpet.

Haa...but what would Natha think about me suddenly bursting out tears like that? Not to mention trying to fall down...

I really should stop doing things impulsively.

Talking about Natha...

I looked down, and had to bite my lips. How long had it been, since I was able to gaze upon his sleeping face? He usually woke up earlier than me, and sometimes even had already gone out of bed.

Looking at his sleeping face reminded me of the first morning in the tower, when I woke up to the scenery of his handsome face and solid upper body peeking behind a loose nightrobe.

Just like now.

I pulled my knees up, hugging myself while enjoying the view. The room was dark, since the fireplace had gone out, and the sun hadn’t risen up yet. And yet I could see his face clearly, because I had grown accustomed to it.

The face of the Demon Lord, with the traceable runic patterns and the cold skin.

He was frowning slightly in his sleep, and I wondered if he had an unpleasant dream. It made me feel guilty because I had a nice, dreamless sleep last night. Was he worried about me?

No, I knew he must have been worried about me. Confused too. I wondered if he ended up sensing my thought to learn what made me cry so. For some reason, however, I felt like he didn’t.

He made a promise after all.

Slowly, while trying not to make any sound, I laid back on the bed, still staring into his face. With a timid hand, I reached out to touch some strands of his dark hair, and brought them to my lips.

I like you, truly, my Demon Lord.

Even if it was unhonest and temporary, I was glad that it was you.

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